National Margarita Day!

Saturday AM was deja vu...up at 6.30am, getting ready for our team run with DFMC, heading to Boston College to run the Newton Hills and the national weather service reporting that it was really cold.  We managed ok but unlike the previous weekend, there was a decent breeze making it bit less fun at times.

To motivate us before the run, one of our volunteers and a former DFMC runner, shared a picture of Matty, who passed away several years ago.  Team Matty are big supporters of us DFMC runners and have been out there just as much as we have during training season.  The constant debate is who has the harder job...the training is a lot but certainly much better with water stops and volunteer support, whereas they are constantly thanking the runners for running and making a difference.  In this cold, at least we're moving around whereas the volunteers are standing in 1 place so I think they have the harder job!

This week Team Matty put together a water stop in celebration of National Margarita Day!  They had sombreros, margarita glasses of pretzels and snacks as well as many other themed items.  Thanks to all our volunteers this week and every week who help us train and prepare for the marathon!

Margarita water stop from this weekend's volunteers!

Group making our first stop after 4 miles

Even the local CBS news station was out there this week taping us runners and interviewing a number of folks.  While I wasn't interviewed (probably a good thing), others sum up the experience quite well.  I did get taped crossing the road and you can see my back ~46" into the video.  Not too exciting, but again, the video conveys the training experience this winter!

Runners Brave The Elements Training For 2015 Boston Marathon « CBS Boston

Running in Hoth...

I don't think any us runners would have thought we'd be running around 7+ foot piles of snow when the first snow storm hit in late January.  After 85" of snow, we're still getting out there and this week we're dealing with an artic blast!  To give you a sense of running conditions, here's a shot of the sidewalks.

We've had to move our last 3 group runs to start/end at Boston College because we simply cannot run in other places around Boston.  This past weekend we ran Saturday morning before the latest blizzard and got a solid 12 miles in along the marathon course.  The run was like deja vu as it was the exact same run as the previous week.  While the run was not new, it was the first time that I've resorted to wearing a neck warmer for face protection during a run.  Luckily, though cold, there was not a substantial wind.  We still ran more miles than degrees outside, but got the run in.  This week I'm looking forward to our first track workout on Tuesday night.  I certainly won't be going all out but will be extremely happy to be running inside!

A Lot of Updates

After a busy few weeks, I realize that there's a lot to update on the blog...

First, thanks to everyone who has donated so far!! We've raised $5,521, more than 50% of our goal for the year!!  Thanks so much for your support and donation.  With a fundraiser or 2 to come, we are well on our way to reaching our goal!

Speaking of fundraisers, thanks to Flour Bakery, Fuji Kendall, Duck Tours Boston, Core Power Yoga, the New England Aquarium and Mohegan Sun for recent donations of gift cards, tickets or dinner!  More details to follow but if you're in Boston/Cambridge on March 25th, hopefully you keep the hours after work free!

Juno dropped a bunch of snow, but that didn't stop us from running.  Luckily last weekend we visited family in California and were able to run in nice warm weather, perhaps too warm!  Like past years, we ran the Huntington Beach Surf City Half Marathon on Super Bowl Sunday.  It was ~65F, sunny and an adjustment coming from snowy and cold MA.  We had a great visit and after hearing about the cold in MA for the DFMC team run, I was glad to be running in CA.  We even got to run ~20 feet with the future runner in the family.


Our travel back to MA was delayed due to last week's snow storm, which also disrupted our training this week. We ran outdoors on Thurs PM on poorly shoveled sidewalks, in the road a bit and luckily on a number of 1 way streets that didn't have lots of traffic.  This weather is certainly making normal life difficult and running even more so.

Yesterday, our DFMC team run was changed due to the huge snow piles and lack of sidewalks.  We, along with what seemed like 100s of other runners, ran back and forth on the Newton hills section of the course (miles 17-21).  Though it gets quite boring after your 2nd trip, it is relatively safe and easy as the carriage road is low traffic and provides better footing than sidewalks.  Luckily, our volunteers continue to support us and cheers us on during these runs.  One stop always has a theme and yesterday's "Beach Day" theme was a nice throw back to our trip to CA.  Team Matty are some of our biggest fans and seeing them and pictures of Matty are great reminders of why we run for those fighting cancer and in memory of those, like Matty, who have lost their fight.  Thanks Team Matty and all our supporters for all you do!

With another 14-20"+ snow coming in the next 2 days, I don't think we'll be at the beach anytime soon.  Hopefully we get some warmer weather though soon and can start to enjoy our outdoor runs a bit more!