Quick Post

This past weekend was my 2nd 18-mile training run.  Unfortunately I couldn't join the DFMC team and ran alone.  It was a good reminder of how great it is running with teammates and with volunteers and water stops!

Pre-run 6.15am pic

Post-run, snow covered

My run started early on Saturday before several inches of snow fell.  I completed my 1st mile when I saw the first flakes begin to come down.  Miles 2-8 we're a light snow fall while the last 10 were a bit heavier and with a breeze.  In the end this was a day where I just aimed to get the 18 miles done and not slip on the snow as it built up.  I felt good but look forward to joining my teammates this weekend for a shorter 12-14 mile run.

Solid speed workout

One thing about Boston is that you never know what to expect weather-wise come the marathon.  Training throughout the winter to run my best marathon and then getting a bad weather day for the marathon is just unfortunate.  Inevitably, at some point during training I wonder if all the effort is too little and it will be a great day, or too much and I'll just try to survive and have a decent day.  This year, when this thought crossed my mind, I thought of Chris's celebration of life and some of the stories people remembered.  One that stuck with me was that Chris liked photography, knew the shot he wanted and would put the effort in to getting that specific shot.  Remembering this quickly squashed my uncertainty and since I can't plan for the weather on April 15, I will continue to put full effort into my training and hope that I get a good shot at my best race yet.

Today's workout plan was a speed/strength run, 4x 1.5 miles.  With the high winds still in the area, 1/2 the run was straight into a 20+ mph headwind, but well worth it for a great tailwind on the other 1/2.  It was a solid workout and good preparation for training on Thursday followed by 18 miles this weekend.  With the marathon less than 7 weeks away, training will be peaking in a month.  Fingers crossed that I stay healthy and training continues to go well!

8 Weeks to Go

I headed into this weekend's run feeling a bit stiff but overall pretty good following the last run and a lighter week. As Saturday morning rolled around though, I was not looking forward to the 18 mile run nor feeling like I had the energy to make it a solid training effort. Luckily, the weather was good and my teammates pulled me through the first few miles.  After that I seemed to find a groove and managed to complete the run thanks to my running partners.  This coming weekend will be another drop down week before ramping up to 22 miles in a month.

With 2 months to go, we've already raised $12,388 for innovative cancer research at Dana-Farber!  Thanks to the 75+ donors who have supported my effort in honor of Chris this year.  We have a little ways to go to reach our $17,000 goal, but I'm sure that we can do it before the marathon.

If you'd like to donate, you can do so here: http://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/chrisd

Drop Down

Wow, just after my last post some company matches and additional donations came through and we've now raised more than $12,200 for innovative cancer research this year!  This puts us less than $5000 to our goal of $17,000 this year!  I'm continually motivated by the generosity of so many people and couldn't do this without this amazing support.  Thank You to everyone!

This past week was a drop down week for training, at least for the long run.  After 16 miles last Saturday, I've been feeling some tightness in my calves and soreness in my left foot.  As such, I played it safe and ran 13 miles this weekend.  The weather was quite windy but otherwise nice and running with Scott and Nancy always helped pass the miles.  I've also been better this weekend about stretching and massaging the leg muscles to make sure the tightness & soreness don't get worse.

Otherwise training has been going well.  I was in DC for a work conference and had a great morning for a run around the National Mall.  I had forgotten how many times the mall is interrupted by traffic, but was still able to get in a speed workout and some nice sightseeing. I'll see how I feel mid-week but hope to continue the speed work and temp runs before next Saturday's group run of 18 miles.  Hard to believe that the longest training run (20-22 miles) is only about 6 weeks away and the marathon is only 9 weeks out.