Hills are Hard!

This past Saturday was the first DFMC group run of 2018 as the previous weekend's run was canceled due to the 15" of snow dumped on us on Jan 4.  It was great to see numerous teammates that I've run with over the years and great to feel the camaraderie that exists between team members.  We're all motivated by similar circumstances, running in honor of or in memory of family and friends and hoping to help DFMC make a difference.

This first run as an interesting one.  Having run the Boston Marathon with DFMC from 2012-2016, I have run the hills of Newton many many times.  Taking 2017 off though, apparently I forgot exactly what to expect on the hills.  Luckily I had good company along the 12 miles and the company and conversation helped me forget about those pesky hills. Weather-wise, the day was also an odd one.  We started the run with temps in the upper 50Fs and a warm SW wind.  As we turned around at the 1/2 way point, we noticed the weather changes - a temp drop to ~40F and a now bitter wind from the NW, brrrrr.  Overall though, I was happy with the run and felt good throughout.  It was my first double-digit run of the season, though as a friend pointed out, 10 miles would have been sufficient to be double digits :)  I was a bit tired the rest of the day, but it just made it easier to stay home, have a beer & watch the Pats game.

This week will begin speed workouts and I'll aim for ~14 miles this coming weekend.

Training Begins

With the holidays approaching and 2018 in sight, time to start preparing for April 16 and the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston.  After a month of cross-training, I went out for my first jog, ~3 miles.  I felt good and it was nice to be out on a Sunday morning.  I'll go back out for another short jog later today and slowly build up over the next few weeks in preparation for the real training to begin in January.
As we prepare for the holidays, I can't help but think of Heather, Don, and others, and their families, and the loss that will be felt this year.  I also think of a friend & fellow DFMCer who's husband just finished cancer treatment and is in the clear. I think of RJ and the life ahead of him thanks to the successful treatment he received at Dana-Farber. Though there are numerous success stories, there's still much to do and I thank everyone who has donated thus far, helping raise $2700 for innovative cancer research at Dana-Farber.

A Celebration of Life

Today was a tough day.  After a difficult marathon 3 weeks ago, I had hoped that today's 1/2 marathon would be a strong race.  The weather wasn't ideal (20mph winds, rain) but it wasn't awful.  I ran my 2nd fastest 1/2 at 1.53 but similar to the marathon, it was a struggle.  I didn't feel strong and labored through the whole race. I'm not sure why these 2 races have gone this way, but something I need to figure out before April arrives.
Though these races have been challenging, I kept thinking of Heather and what she (and others) have gone through in their cancer treatments.  Unfortunately, just a few days after sending my first fundraising e-mail and 2+ years of treatment, Heather lost her battle with breast cancer.  Today was the Celebration of Heather's Life and many kind words and memories were shared.  It was a nice bookend to the race where I saw a shirt that summed up this coming DFMC season.  The shirt read: To run a marathon for oneself is an accomplishment, but to run in honor of another is a gift.  It is gift to run Boston in 2018 with DFMC in memory of Heather and others as well as in honor of RJ and others who have beaten cancer.

Year 6, Starting Strong

Nov 6 and $1250 raised for DFMC thus far!  It's a great start toward our $15,000 goal for 2018.  Hopefully November continues to be a strong month and we finish above $2,500!

As I prepare for the upcoming training season, I plan to spend a bit more time focusing on both core strength and revisiting some of the PT exercises I learned while recovering from my last injury.  Hopefully these will help throughout the training season and the actual marathon.

A simple, short update for now as I look ahead to the training season beginning in December.