DFMC 2011 Video

Less than a month to go!

The last three weeks of training I've been pushing the mileage and with just under a month remaining until race day I have a very challenging 19-miler as well as an 18-miler under my belt, and am looking forward to next week's 20+ mile run!  This will be my longest training run, and then the tapering begins!!  Can you tell I'm excited?  Anyway, over the past couple weeks I've been able to attend several DFMC group runs, which has certainly made the longer training runs more bearable.  My moving pace has been pretty consistently below 11 minutes for all the longer runs, so I feel well-prepared thus far but don't want to get too far ahead of myself just yet.  In terms of fundraising, I'm just over the $3,000 mark and am hoping to have a strong push before Marathon day!  I spent most of the day today putting together a video that outlines what the DFMC team is all about, so be sure to head over to my facebook page and check that out.  Pretty cool stuff!  I'm going to attempt to post that here as well, but since I'm not terribly blog-savvy then I won't make any promises.

13.1? Nah, let's make it even and do 13.5

Today marked my first participation in a Dana Farber Group Run - and it was awesome!  This year I've attempted to schedule my long runs on Thursday or Friday due to my hockey schedule, but I decided to make an exception this week since I had a rare weekend off from hockey and the DFMC run was schedule on Sunday (today).  My longest run to date had been a 10-miler on a treadmill, so I was a bit wary about increasing the mileage to quickly as this week my long run was scheduled to be 12-14 miles.  I also didn't want to go to a group run and be the last one to finish...but, I when my alarm rang at 7am I dragged myself out of bed and headed over to Watertown to meet the team.  I found an old hockey friend of mine, Christine, in the group of people inside the gym and we waited together to hear the announcements and an outline of the run.  It turned out that there was a group of women along with Christine and myself who were all running a similar pace.

We set off in the freezing, windy weather together and I got to chat with a couple different women who I hadn't met before.  The talking made the time pass faster, although the biting cold wasn't so pleasant.  Every 3 miles, the DFMC team had a water stop set up with Gatorade, water, fig newtons, M&M's and chocolate covered raisins.  Now, let me backtrack for a second.  During last years marathon I got sick halfway through and had to familiarize myself with nearly every porta potty between Mile 13 and Mile 22.  Prior to that, I had run two half marathons - one of which had a run to the bathroom immediately after I had finished.  Since those experiences I've been particularly careful what I eat before and during long runs in hopes of finding a successful combination before this years marathon.  Last night, I had a plate of Vegetable Lo Mein and two cookies (hardly a good night-before-a-long-run dinner) and this morning I had a large bowl of Kix cereal and milk.  In other words, I wasn't optimistic about my chances of making it through the long run without having to run to a bathroom.  Then, at the first water station and each successive one I decided it'd be a good plan to have a handful of chocolate covered raisins or M&M's (I alternated) along with my standard cup of Gatorade.  If I was gonna have to sit on the toilet for a half an hour after the run, might as well make it worth it right?

Then...surprise of all surprises, the longer I ran the better I felt.  My stomach was fine, my legs were relatively loose and I was cruising along nicely.  Who knew that eating chocolate would solve my stomach issues??  Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised  : )  I ended up running 13.5 miles instead of the 12 I had originally planned on, and got to meet many new DFMC teammates along the way.  It was a great experience that I hope to participate in again very soon.

A little bit of adventure, a lot of inspiration

This week has been a mixture of adventure on my runs and some inspiration sent my way in the mail.  First, the adventure.  Thursday I was getting treadmill-crazy and decided that I was going to run outside in the fresh air no matter what.  I headed out for an 8-9 mile run and decided to trek along memorial drive in Cambridge.  I have to say, the view of Boston from that side of the river is arguably my favorite.  I did find, however, that the sidewalks were much worse than I had anticipated.  In other words, it was 100% ice and 0% pavement or anything other than ice.  Despite the fact that I felt like I was prancing and dancing on the ice rather than running, I carried on until I was 4.5 miles out and then turned to return home.  I was feeling confident, so I decided to try a slightly different route home that would hopefully put me on some pavement rather than the ice route back.  I soon found myself somewhere in Cambridge other than where I had thought I would end up.  I knew generally where I was, but couldn't figure out how to get back to the bridge over to Somerville.  Soon enough I was at mile 7.5 and still running circles around Cambridge, so I quickly decided that although I could likely find my way home it would probably add another 3 or 4 miles to my run that I hadn't anticipated.  At this point I was very thankful that I always run with my license, phone, and some money in my pocket in case of emergencies.  I found my way to the nearby T stop and was able to buy a ticket and catch the next train just as it was pulling up.  After changing lines, I was on the Orange Line heading home and breathing a sigh of relief.  My relief was short-lived, as at the next stop the doors to our car opened for .2 seconds and then shut as the train operator announced that the cars were filled to capacity and couldn't take anymore passengers.  The next stop came, and this time the doors to all the other cars opened normally - except my car.  The doors stayed shut.  Soon enough there were other passengers knocking and banging on the windows to the bystanders outside yelling 'Let me out!!'.  I'm sure we looked like idiots.  Then the T took off to the next stop - with several displeased passengers still stuck in my car.  At the next stop someone found the emergency intercom and began pressing it, with no response.  The man shouted into the intercom 'Car 1233 the doors are not opening!  Do you acknowledge?!'  I truly felt like I was in a movie.  But at the next stop, the doors slid open normally as if nothing had happened.  It was a good thing too, as it was North Station and there were several Bruins fans who were headed to the game.  The rest of my T ride was uneventful, and I made it home safe and sound!

My inspiration came from a note that I received in the mail today accompanying a DFMC donation.  The note came from a lady who lives down the street from my parents, and who had supported my run last year.  She wrote, "Cherie, Great picture!  Good luck this year in the marathon, it sure is a great cause.  Dana Farber research saved my life 6 years ago."  That small note manages to reach to the heart of why I'm running.  To say it made my day would be an understatement.  I could go on, but I won't - the note says it all.

Woodward - for the long run

I must say, since my training last April I think I forgot what it was like to feel the pains in my knees and feet after a semi-long run.  Now I remember.  The last two weeks have been forgettable in terms of training...I was sick and then last week was my 'getting back on track' week.  Originally I had intended to run yesterday outside, but in my haste to take advantage of the one day this week that didn't have snow in the forecast and get some errands done it was suddenly 8:30pm and I hadn't run yet.  Oops.  So today I headed to the gym with some friends for a semi-long run...unfortunately on a treadmill since we are in the midst of yet another snow storm here in Boston!  Melissa cleverly pointed out to me that the Woodward treadmill was different than the other ones, and was supposed to be easier on the knees.  It also had the slogan 'For the long run' on it, so clearly it was for me.  I have to say that it did feel different than the other treadmills I had been running on - bouncier, for lack of a better term.  I ran alongside Thatcher, another friend of mine, for 1.34 miles before Melissa notified us that the basketball court was now unoccupied.  For the next hour or so the four of us played knockout, 2 v 2, and 'horsies' - kind of like horse, just with two more letters since we weren't very good.  But don't be fooled!  Our lack of skill didn't translate into a lack of competitiveness - put a few hockey players together and...well...it's not your average pick up game.  We had a lot of fun, but after an hour of chasing the basketball around the idea of hopping back on the treadmill for another 4.7 miles wasn't very appealing.  I knew I had to push through though, so I somehow made it through for a total of 6 miles on the treadmill plus an hour of basketball.  Not a bad day at the gym!  But after two weeks of light training, pushing my mileage back up has certainly been a bit of a struggle and my feet and knees are feeling it.  That said, I'm happy to be getting back on track!

On the fundraising front, I've raised just over $2,400 already!  Thank you to all who have donated!  And to those who haven't, check out my fundraising page and please consider making a donation  : )

Everybody can do something

After over a week of battling a thick cough and fever I'm back in the training saddle!  Last week I missed nearly the entire week's worth of training because I was lying in bed sick - so my long run was shortened to a paltry 4 miles.  That said, although my pace is still a bit higher than I'd like I'm feeling more energized by the day!  I decided for one of my no-impact cardio workouts to test out the gym's pool - man, I forgot how tiring swimming can be!  After twenty minutes of lap swimming I was very tired and headed for the showers.  Since it appears as if Boston has been a snow magnet for storms lately, I've been relegated to training on the treadmill for the past two weeks or so since the sidewalks are just barely cleared.  And although the treadmill is something I dread - it's been good for me to push through.  This week I'm looking to have a long run of 7 to 8 miles, although we'll have to see how my legs respond after last week's lack of training.

Today on the runDFMC community board one of my teammates had posted a link to a website for a new movie - www.myrunmovie.com.  If you have an extra minute or so to check out the preview for the movie then I highly recommend it.  The summary: 75 marathons in 75 days.  75!!!  This man had lost his wife to breast cancer, and was a single parent.  Oh, and he wasn't a runner.  Anyway, during one of his interview he says, 'Every one of us can do something.  Be a hero.  Be somebody's hero.'  I liked that a lot - everyone can do something.  What can you do?

A little extra motivation..

Today was the long run of the week, and since Somerville is still covered in piles and piles of snow then I grudgingly headed over to the gym to do my run indoors.  Ugh.  But I was a bit excited since this would be my first trip to my new gym, the local BSC.  There was hardly anyone else on the cardio floor when I picked a treadmill and started running.  The quirk about the treadmill was that it wouldn't allow me to run any longer than an hour - so after my hour was up I had to stop, and then restart again to finish up my last .9 of a mile.  I felt pretty good overall though, staying at a relaxed pace most of the way through and then kicking it up on the last mile to just under a 9:00/mile pace.  Overall, I did 6.5 miles in about 66 minutes (give or take a bit, considering my stop / restart).  My legs still felt fresh at the end of the run, which I was happy about and I was right around my target pace.  During my miles of running, I came up with a creative way to motivate myself over the next 3 months that remain before the marathon.  Last year, I fell far behind my target time and finished the marathon in 5:56.30.  I was, and still am thrilled to have finished my first ever marathon.  That said, I'm also a competitor - so to motivate myself to keep pushing hard in my training I decided that in addition to setting an overall time goal (which is 4:56 in case you were wondering) is to pledge that for every minute I cut off of last years time, I will donate two dollars to the DFMC team.  So, if I hit my goal time of 4:56 then that's 60 minutes, or $120.  I figured it's a unique way to motivate myself - and all for a great cause!  If you'd like to join my minutes for money challenge then let me know!  The more the better!

The dreaded treadmill run

Hi all and belated Happy New Year!  I took a bit of break from blogging over the holidays, but not to worry I'm back  : )  As I'm currently snowed in at my apartment I decided this would be a good time for an update.  2011 has arrived, and with it I've received several donations via my fundraising website as well as in the mail.  With each donation, I'm humbled by the generosity of family and friends particularly during this challenging economic climate.  At times I feel hesitant to ask for donations, as I'm very much aware of the financial squeeze that many people are undergoing.  But with every DFMC team email that we receive, I'm reminded of the important work that the donations are funding.  Just this week, I read about this update from one of the Barr Program-funded scientists:

William Sellers, MD, and his colleagues identified genetic abnormalities in proteins that control cell growth in cancers. These major discoveries led directly to the development of targeted drugs used  by patients worldwide for the treatment of multiple cancers, including lung cancer, leukemia, and melanoma. This work has become the model for personalized medicine in cancer treatment and is widely 

credited for helping transform the approach that pharmaceutical companies use for drug development.


Being able to support the efforts of these scientists is a very exciting endeavor, but one that I couldn't do without your help.  If you'd like to donate, head over to my Fundraising Page !  As for my training, this past week my long run was 6-7 miles.  I was on the road with my hockey team, the Boston Blades, on the day of the run so Annie (my marathon running buddy!) and I headed down to the hotel treadmills early in the morning.  I'm not much of a treadmill person - it's incredibly boring for me.  But nonetheless we finished up our 6 miler without too much difficulty.  This week will be the turning point in terms of running distance as we move past 7 miles and start really building up to the longer runs.  I can't believe that the marathon is just about 3 months away...time is certainly flying!  I'll be heading to the gym later today to run on the dreaded treadmill since the snow has made running outside nearly impossible - stay safe in the snow!