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!