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  : )