Money to date: $1,825
Miles to date: 90
I do not want to make this a recurring theme, I really don't. I live in New England by choice. I love it here. Winter weather is part of the bargain. It snows every year, it's inevitable. But this is all a bit much.
In the last month we have had over FIFTY inches of snow. As I type this, another six to ten inches is coming down.
I went for a run this morning and took two spills. I took another digger last week. (Public service aside: Shovel your sidewalks!!!! And if you're on the corner, please make sure there is an entrance point). This is all to say that I am getting a little frustrated with the training conditions.
Last weekend I went on my first training run with the MGH Marathon team. A small, intrepid group of us headed out on Saturday morning and put in seven miles on the esplanade. It was a cold, crisp morning and it was a great day to be out for a run.
I am currently rejiggering this weeks training a bit to work around the snow fall. I suppose this is what makes Boston so special, you have to sacrifice and fight through the elements, all of which makes the end result so worthwhile.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Mother Nature is a wench
Miles to date: 72
Money to date: $1,300
I mentioned in passing that there was some snow in the forecast last week. I knew it was coming, but I had no idea how much. We had almost two feet on snow come down last Tuesday night into Wednesday day.
Forewarned is forearmed though, I planned accordingly and got in my long weekday run on Tuesday morning and used Wednesday as my off day. Granted, my off day consisted of shoveling for almost five hours, so I was not really able to let my body recover all that much.
This weekend the Unlikeliest Team expanded. Roger, Steff and I were joined by our friends Rachel and Lesley for a ten mile run on the esplanade. It was a very difficult run as the snow had not been cleared. By five miles in my calves and feet were already screaming. The second half of the run was very slippery as some of the ice had begun to melt. It felt good to get out there for a while though.
In other news, the fund raising is going great. $1300 has already been raised after only two weeks! Thank you to everyone who has given so far, your generosity is incredibly appreciated.
Onward and upward.
Money to date: $1,300
I mentioned in passing that there was some snow in the forecast last week. I knew it was coming, but I had no idea how much. We had almost two feet on snow come down last Tuesday night into Wednesday day.
Forewarned is forearmed though, I planned accordingly and got in my long weekday run on Tuesday morning and used Wednesday as my off day. Granted, my off day consisted of shoveling for almost five hours, so I was not really able to let my body recover all that much.
This weekend the Unlikeliest Team expanded. Roger, Steff and I were joined by our friends Rachel and Lesley for a ten mile run on the esplanade. It was a very difficult run as the snow had not been cleared. By five miles in my calves and feet were already screaming. The second half of the run was very slippery as some of the ice had begun to melt. It felt good to get out there for a while though.
In other news, the fund raising is going great. $1300 has already been raised after only two weeks! Thank you to everyone who has given so far, your generosity is incredibly appreciated.
Onward and upward.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Technical Issues and some updates
Miles to date: 51
Money to date: $550.00
Again, thank you to everyone who has donated so far! Your generosity is amazing!
This weekend it appears as though the donation webpage hosted by MGH was down, so to anyone who was attempting to donate then, I apologize. It appears that everything is up and running smoothly at this point, so please do not be afraid to give to the cause.
I had been planning on running with the MGH marathon team this weekend for our first organized long run; however, the inclement caused the run to be cancelled. Instead, Roger and I logged a beautiful long run in a light snow. It was very Winter Wonderland-ish. We met at his house and did a Fresh Pond Loop followed by the Minuteman Bike Path through Cambridge, Arlington and Somerville. Thanks to Rog for being a good host.
In all seriousness, it was a beautiful run. It was early enough that there were not too many people out and about and the snow was coming down at a decent pace. Not enough to accumulate and be a pain, but enough to provide a really nice dusting to everything.
One goal I am working on for this marathon is to focus on completing my cross training, something that I largely neglected for my first race. To that end, I spent some time at the gym yesterday lifting and on the elliptical. Really the last thing I wanted to be doing, but if it can help stave off on injury and make me a better runner, I think I owe it to myself to try my best at it.
Money to date: $550.00
Again, thank you to everyone who has donated so far! Your generosity is amazing!
This weekend it appears as though the donation webpage hosted by MGH was down, so to anyone who was attempting to donate then, I apologize. It appears that everything is up and running smoothly at this point, so please do not be afraid to give to the cause.
I had been planning on running with the MGH marathon team this weekend for our first organized long run; however, the inclement caused the run to be cancelled. Instead, Roger and I logged a beautiful long run in a light snow. It was very Winter Wonderland-ish. We met at his house and did a Fresh Pond Loop followed by the Minuteman Bike Path through Cambridge, Arlington and Somerville. Thanks to Rog for being a good host.
In all seriousness, it was a beautiful run. It was early enough that there were not too many people out and about and the snow was coming down at a decent pace. Not enough to accumulate and be a pain, but enough to provide a really nice dusting to everything.
One goal I am working on for this marathon is to focus on completing my cross training, something that I largely neglected for my first race. To that end, I spent some time at the gym yesterday lifting and on the elliptical. Really the last thing I wanted to be doing, but if it can help stave off on injury and make me a better runner, I think I owe it to myself to try my best at it.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
And We're Off!
Money to date: $375
Miles to date: 39
The first real fund raising push has begun and after two days I have already been able to raise $375 due to the generosity of my friends and family members. This is a great start. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far.
Training has been going well so far. Prior to committing myself to the race I was dealing with some hip issues and met with a physical therapist over at Kennedy Brothers PT in Watertown, he was able to give me some stretches and exercises to do, along with some minor modifications to my training schedule that have helped quite a bit so far. I am looking forward to working with them more over the course of my training.
Last winter I decided not to pursue the Boston Marathon because I was not sure about training through the months of January and February, with their nasty weather and freezing temperatures. I ended up training for the Hyannis half marathon in February anyways. Lesson learned - I'm an idiot.
However, my concerns were not without some validity as we are already seeing the first weather related problem of my young training schedule. This Saturday I am scheduled for 9 miles, the area is also scheduled to get some snowfall. The exact amount is in dispute, I have heard everything from "The end of days!" to somewhere between two and five inches of snow. This is suppose to start tomorrow evening and stretch into Saturday evening. So I got some figuring out to do.
Thank you all for your support and remember: comments are welcome and encouraged.
Miles to date: 39
The first real fund raising push has begun and after two days I have already been able to raise $375 due to the generosity of my friends and family members. This is a great start. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far.
Training has been going well so far. Prior to committing myself to the race I was dealing with some hip issues and met with a physical therapist over at Kennedy Brothers PT in Watertown, he was able to give me some stretches and exercises to do, along with some minor modifications to my training schedule that have helped quite a bit so far. I am looking forward to working with them more over the course of my training.
Last winter I decided not to pursue the Boston Marathon because I was not sure about training through the months of January and February, with their nasty weather and freezing temperatures. I ended up training for the Hyannis half marathon in February anyways. Lesson learned - I'm an idiot.
However, my concerns were not without some validity as we are already seeing the first weather related problem of my young training schedule. This Saturday I am scheduled for 9 miles, the area is also scheduled to get some snowfall. The exact amount is in dispute, I have heard everything from "The end of days!" to somewhere between two and five inches of snow. This is suppose to start tomorrow evening and stretch into Saturday evening. So I got some figuring out to do.
Thank you all for your support and remember: comments are welcome and encouraged.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Catching Up and Moving Forward
Alright team, it's been a long, long time since I last updated and a lot has happened since then.
First things - the Marathon!
The Cape Cod Marathon was October 31 and I completed the course (the awful, grueling, hideous, hilly course) in 4:56. I was hoping to run in about 4:30 and was on that pace for the first 20 or so miles. It got real ugly around mile 22 and the wheels fell right off the bus.
The marathon was available as both a full marathon and a relay. Roger ran the opening portion of the relay and stayed with me for the first seven miles. Since it was halloween there were a lot of people running in costume. Roger and the rest of the relay team ran dressed as Waldo, which was a big hit with the crowd. Roger, Kara Cotich, Rainey Mills Turner and Melissa Clarke ran the entire length of the marathon with me. It was an incredibly kind and uplifting thing for them to have done and made a HUGE difference for me.
Meghan and my mother (and Levee) were able to move along the course and see me at various points. The support given to me by Meghan, my mother and the relay team made it possible for me to finish the race.
Following the marathon I took a brief sabbatical from running to give my body some time to heal. Aside from my annual Thanksgiving road race I did not run at all in the month of November.
Now for some exciting news: I will be running the 2011 Boston Marathon!
I was selected to be part of the Mass General Marathon Team. I will be raising money to support pediatric cancer care and research. I am very excited about this opportunity and can not wait to contribute to such a worthy cause.
I will be updating this blog much more often as I train for the race. I have set a goal of $5,000.00 and will chronicle the amount of money raised and the miles I run.
Thank you for coming along on this journey with me.
First things - the Marathon!
The Cape Cod Marathon was October 31 and I completed the course (the awful, grueling, hideous, hilly course) in 4:56. I was hoping to run in about 4:30 and was on that pace for the first 20 or so miles. It got real ugly around mile 22 and the wheels fell right off the bus.
The marathon was available as both a full marathon and a relay. Roger ran the opening portion of the relay and stayed with me for the first seven miles. Since it was halloween there were a lot of people running in costume. Roger and the rest of the relay team ran dressed as Waldo, which was a big hit with the crowd. Roger, Kara Cotich, Rainey Mills Turner and Melissa Clarke ran the entire length of the marathon with me. It was an incredibly kind and uplifting thing for them to have done and made a HUGE difference for me.
Meghan and my mother (and Levee) were able to move along the course and see me at various points. The support given to me by Meghan, my mother and the relay team made it possible for me to finish the race.
Following the marathon I took a brief sabbatical from running to give my body some time to heal. Aside from my annual Thanksgiving road race I did not run at all in the month of November.
Now for some exciting news: I will be running the 2011 Boston Marathon!
I was selected to be part of the Mass General Marathon Team. I will be raising money to support pediatric cancer care and research. I am very excited about this opportunity and can not wait to contribute to such a worthy cause.
I will be updating this blog much more often as I train for the race. I have set a goal of $5,000.00 and will chronicle the amount of money raised and the miles I run.
Thank you for coming along on this journey with me.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)