I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And helped TNT raise over 12 MILLION dollars!!
(I know the photo's lousy quality- I totally copied it from the race photo website. For more race photos of me, visit this site: http://results.active.com/pages/oneResult.jsp?pID=86473896&rsID=94092#asi Scroll down and you can even view a video of me crossing the finish line! (click on the "finish" button under "Choose a camera angle"). My brother also took a bunch of pics so as soon as he send them along I'll be trying to post those too.)
(I'm putting my updates front and center, so to read more about "What I'm Doing and Why," just scroll all the way down!)
Wednesday, June 9 - AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Holy huge race-there were 30,000+ runners in the San Diego marathon this past weekend. And with over 4,000 of those as TNT runners including myself, we collectively raised over 12 MILLION dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!!! WHAT?!?! Is there any other word to decribe that besides, INCREDIBLE?!?! I think not!
I didn't get home from San Diego till 9:30 last night to a 2-year old munchkin refusing to sleep, and I had to work first thing this morning so I'm sorry I'm only just updating my page now. But talk about an experience of a lifetime! Just check out my Cheshire cat grin in the finish line photo above if you don't believe me! Although I admit a tiny part of me had hoped to get a PR marathon, my time was not so awesome (5 hours and 13 minutes)- but then again, this wasn't about me!!
First I have to start by giving props to our TEAM. We may not have had cute matching shirts like other TNT chapters, but we have such an awesome group of people that I had afabulous time before and after the race too. My brother picked me up from the airport Friday to spend the weekend with me. We had a nice couple days tooling around the cool SD "Gaslamp" district, walking the red carpet at the health expo, hitting the hotel pool & hot tub, and joining teammates for fun meals. We had an unbelievably inspiring pre-race lunch on Saturday featuring a Dad from I think the Minesota chapter sharing the story of his 10-year old little girl, Makenna, who had passed away from Leukemia after an 8-year battle. We cheered for an 87-year old woman who was doing her 12th consecutive SD marathon, and for other TEAM members who raised up to $50,000 for the event!
Then Sunday morning I was up at 3:30AM, checked in at 4, and caught a 4:30 shuttle to the start line. The crowds were mind-boggling and I crossed the start maybe 25 minutes after the gun went off. The weather started awesome in the 60s and overcast, but by mile 7 or 8, that sun came out. And let me tell you- there was not a drop of shade to be had along that route in San Diego! It got hot, and fast! I ran with a teammate, Jenna, with whom I did most of my long runs all through training.Thankfully she has one of those nifty watches that kept our pace in check so we wouldn't go too fast in the beginning. There were bands at every mile along the course (it was a Rock n' Roll marathon after all!) and the route took us through an art village area, past a giant outdoor pipe organ, Petco Stadium, the SD zoo, a Navy Reserve area, along a closed freeway(163), some nice residential areas, a waterfront park, and finally a decidedly not-so-festivus-at-the-time, 4-mile "Festival Island", with gorgeous views and a heaven-sent breeze, but essentially devoid of any spectators and felt like pure evil as the remaining hardest miles of a marathon!
I seriously can't tell you everything in this post or else your eyes would just bug out of your head, but some of the highlights (and lowlights) of the race included:
- first and foremost - my brother, Matt, who was the TEAM cheering squad, the BEST cheerleader EVER and popped up at least 5 times over the course of the marathon (he ran his own little marathon that day chasing us down!) I think the rest of my team (and random other runners for that matter!) would attest that calling him a spectator would be a gross understatement. He cheered the loudest and longest of any spectators I saw and even jumped in and ran in the last couple miles with us, which was incredible as he egged on the finish line spectators to cheer us by name!
- Mile 8-ish when the timing worked out that my brother was talking to my husband and little girls as I was running by. He put the phone on speaker and they all cheered me "Go, Mommy, go!!"
- It was awesome running with a teammate to be accountable to: like when I had my roughest miles in the high teens (the thought snuck into my head: "Dear God, we're only at mile 16?" (then 17, 18, 19?) I was ridiculously dripping with sweat, starting to feel nauseas, and some quick math revealed I still had another 10 miles to go)
- The dedications plastered all over the backs of runners' racing shirts indicating who they were running for. One that touched me the most (and whom I ran relatively closely with in the final miles) was a man whose shirt read "If you think this run is hard, ask my Mom about her chemo." Words like that, pictures of loved ones, Makenna's story, and thikning of all the people I've known who battled cancer kept me as strong as I could be in those final miles when it all comes down to how tough you are and what you are made of. As our coach, Geno, had told us many times in training- the body will do whatever the mind tells it to do. The hard part of course, is keeping the mind strong when you're sweaty and tired and dehyrdated!
- And later that night, we had a "victory celebration" where the team and I actually danced our tails off and basked in the glow of all we had accomplished (hey I didn't say that a bunch of people who had just run 13 and 26 miles were dancing GOOD, but we were cutting a rug just the same! :)
Now I can't sign off on this recap without props for last and certainly the farthest from the least: my husband, Brendan and all of YOU!!! Without all your suport, encourgamenet, and generous donations, I never would have pulled this off. You helped me make this huge contribution to battling cancer and for that, I am eternally grateful. Thanks a million from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of all the people with cancer who will benefit from the money you've helped me raise.
Peace out!
Michelle
Monday, May 31 - Happy Memorial Day!
Have I mentioned "the taper?" It sure is nice and yet, unsettling all at the same time. My "long" run this past weekend was only 8 miles in gorgeous 60 degree sunshine along the hills of Manchester! It was a great run and amazing to think how far we've come, as this is my 16th week with this "Team in Training." Sure, the crazy snowicane and freezing rains seem a distant memory now that my newest challenges include drinking enough to maintain my hydration. But I can't believe how quickly it's flown by! I'm psyched to say I am sending off another few checks in the mail tomorrow toward my fundraising efforts and i am so proud of all the loving and generous support you've all shared with me in this journey. I am super-excited for my trip (I fly out Friday morning and will be meeting up with my brother who will be my personal cheering squad and support system) and the race (Sunday!!!). We will have an awesome pre-race feast and inspiration dinner with the team Saturday to give us all a chance to get centered on WHO we're running for. And then after the race Sunday morning (a 6:15 start, west coast time!) we'll have a terrific "victory celebration." And of course, in between there, is this little thing, called a marathon, which, should be a piece of cake, since the hardest part is behind me... At least that's what they tell us in training. ;) Really, once you've run 3 and a half hours, what's another hour? Another 6 miles? bahhh! Bring it! :) i can't wait!! i will try and post something Thursday night before I head out Friday morning, but no guarantees, since I work that day and I'll also be last minute packing. I'm bringing my ipod too so i'll try to at least get a short little update after the race to let you all know that I survived :) Hoping you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. Wish me luck! (here's the race info: http://san-diego.competitor.com/)
Monday, May 24 - Ahhh... the taper
Well this is the fun, yet strange time of marathon training when the hardest work is past and the focus turns toward rest. Huh? It defintely feels weird with still (only?!) 2 weeks to go, but many marathon training programs taper down the miles as you're in the home stretch. So Saturday was another gorgeous day for a run with the sun and 60 degrees and I "only" ran 12 miles. I got to run the whole thing with a mentor and had a blast! The old knee pain is stable and I've got another date with my friend/neighbor/PT tomorrow night to work on that a bit more. So I wouldn't say I've got a buger and soda on my belly like the guy in the picture (I am a dietitian afterall- of course I would eat the burger and soda while sitting upright to prevent aspiration- ha ha!) but I am looking forward to enjoying this time...
Monday, May 17 - "Don't call it a comeback..."
...I been here for years/ rockin' my peers and puttin suckas in fear..." **
Ok, so maybe not so much about the "suckas" part, but I definitely feel as though I've made a comeback!! I contemplated posting in all caps today to try and tell you all how pumped I am to have annihilated this run, but reconsidered since CAPS can be easily misinterpreted as anger or just plain obnoxious. So I'll use them sparingly. I ran the whole 20 miles with a fellow teammate who clocked us at 9-10 minute miles! That, my friends, is absolutely a COMEBACK from my wimpy, unbalanced quad muscles making my knee track funny and causing pain. Now don't get me wrong- I am not pain-free. My knee still tracks funny, but thanks (a million) to PT (4/16 post) it is manageable and I have rebounded from my crawling-knee-pain pace to a "usual" distance pace (for me!). And the weather Saturday was just about the most perfect running weather a girl could ask for: partly cloudy and about 60 degrees and breezy. Ahhhh. Now I have no deep observations or particularly awesome stories this time around since I was able to run and gab with a teammate (although, truth be told, she did turn on her ipod and zone out for a good bit of the run - which I didn't take offense to, since I am well aware how much I talk when I run :-) I do have this bit of advice to offer folks who are particularly fond of lawn ornaments: I would suggest picking ONE theme, holiday, mythical creature, or animal group of choice and just sticking with that. Several holidays and an entire zoo-like display of animals and gnomes, I daresay, can be a bit overwhelming to the eye...
Anyway I also took some salt pills this time (samples and per the recommendation of my coach- thanks Geno!!!) and it really made quite a difference in how I felt afterwards. No nausea(5/3 post) at all! And had plenty of energy for a girls night/sleepover without kids afterwards. Now that's what I'm talkin about!
Now I start to "taper" and my next LONG run will be... race day! "Only" tackling 12 next weekend, then 8 on Mem. Day weekend before the 26 on June 6.
San Diego, here I come! :)
** for those of you not familiar with LL Cool J in his pre-acting days, this is an old school LL Cool J reference from the song "Mama Said Knock You Out," one of my brother's and my favorite tapes (yeah they were tapes then, not CDs! lol :)
Sunday, May 9 - Gross post
"Gross...post... hey, that rhymes!" Clearly I spend too much time with my little ones to refrain from calling that one out. Apparently Friday night was a rough one for the Manchester wildlife, as I had quite a menu of options for the road kill du jour. Ew.
And luckily for you, since I think the road kill comment is gross enough to justify the post title, I don't need to write about how my allergies were making my nose run so badly that I couldn't be certain that was actually rain running down my face. (oh wait, I just did, huh?) Ew. Ew. But I do feel compelled to share about my purple fingercicles (ewwww) that resulted from my underestimating the weather. The forecast for yesterday morning was calling for 50s-60 (at finish) and rainy. However I totally regretted leaving my gloves behind as it turned out a lot windier & rainier than predicted and it never did go above 52. So not that my gloves would have prevented my frozen hands altogether, but it could have prevented an unfortunate incident in which I may have made some form of obscene gesture as I tried to wave "thanks" to a passing car and my fingers refused to unfold from their protective curl. It's pretty weird how "only" a 12-mile run felt, in many ways, harder that last week's scorching 18-miler. But I guess I have Mother Nature to thank for that- thanks lady. Ok off to bed. Gotta rest the bones for next weekend's 20-miler!
Monday, May 3 - Feeling HOT, HOT, HOT!
Wow, where to start? I'm afraid we're not getting off without a long post here. So before I lose you all, maybe this calls for some bullets:
- Pretty much goes without saying, but let's start with the brutally obvious- it was darn hot yesterday, people! Actually about 40 degrees hotter and sunnier than my last longest, 16-mile run (4/17 post). Please don't hate me for putting in a cloud request with the Big Boss and spoiling your Sunny Sunday. I'm not ashamed that I was incredibly grateful for all the clouds I could get- a blessed bunch of them for the early part of the route. I chuckled and compared myself to a groundhog when the sun appeared around mile 10 since it made me want to run and hide! ("tee hee, how funny am I?" Oh yes- you do talk to yourself like this when running these long miles by yourself). Now, add the mental image of me with a salty goatee by the finish and that, my friends, is HOT! :-D
- Sadly my walk commenced with a bit of self-loathing for not trying harder to raise more (hunger) $ as I was banished from my normal registration table where I normally register (for walkers who raise at least $500). It was a bit like being sent home from a cosutme party for showing up in your street clothes. I reflected on my early days of fundraising which was collecting penny-per-mile donations from my classmates and getting up to $200 one penny at a time. Going door-to-door in the neighborhood started sounding good again (till the sun came out and my knee started getting sore- then I thought I'd much prefer resting on the couch after the run).
- Then there were my observations that food vendors must be banding together to conduct social experiments on Walk Day to confirm the theory that people will eat whatever they're presented with WHENEVER, as long as they are under unusual circumstances. Now this is not the first year I've seen this, but why else would they line the walk route to offer a lovely assortment of inappropriate foods for the early morning hours? I decided we must have this weird reckless voice in our heads crying out "I'm walking 20 miles today!! Slushies at 7:30? You betcha! Fried dough at 8 AM? Bring on the grease! (chestnut hill res.) Pizza in Newton Center? Mangia!!"
- I've gotta give props to man who joked that I "must not have gotten the memo (that it was a walk for hunger)" as I ran past them. Still makes me laugh.
- I drank ridiculous amounts of water to make up for the extreme dehydrating weather and had to stop a couple times to use the friendly porta-potties (another bonus to running the walk as I got first dibs on those bad boys! Did you know that they actually start out clean!?) Unfortunately I'm hypothesizing i didn't take in enough sodium during my run because I struggled with nausea for much of the day after my run. But heck- nothing a big salty pizza can't fix!
Anyway, the bottom line? I actually felt pretty darn good for the majority of the run and lived to tell the tale. :) http://www.projectbread.org/site/TR/Walk/General?px=1049049&pg=personal&fr_id=1130
Saturday, May 1 - Anticipiating 80s!!
Ok so this is me just posting a quick line about tomorrow. While the rest of my team cranked out 18 miles today (go TEAM!), I will be tackling my 18 as part of Boston's Walk for Hunger tomorrow and braving the forecasted 85 degree sunshine. Feeling a tad nervous as the last half will all all along the charles with no shade! Argh! But hey- I'll have another 40,000 of my closest friends with me so it'll be all good, right? ;) Please say a little prayer for me and my hydration. Also wanted to clear up confusion since people have been asking if I'm actually fundraising for the Walk for Hunger- the answer is YES. Did I come out and ask you for money for it? NOPE. Not this year, when you've all been so supportive of my marathon/cancer fundraising! But if you are feeling compelled to contribute to my 23rd Walk for Hunger or want to just check out my walk page, here it is! http://www.projectbread.org/site/TR/Walk/General?px=1049049&pg=personal&fr_id=1130. Wish me luck for tomorrow!
Sunday, April 25 - Little Miss Chatterbox
Although our team Seacoast run fell through this weekend, I had a great run with a few other fellow teammates yesterday morning in Derry! The weather was fabulous (50, sunny) and we dropped down to "only" 10 miles. I was pleasantly surprised and grateful my gang slowed their pace to match my running-with-knee-problems pace. And let me tell you, I guess I had been storing up all my running thoughts since my solo 16-miler last week, because I was so excited to having running pals & chat again- I was Little Miss Chatterbox! I swear I didn't monopolize the conversation though, and anyway my teammates assured me they'd cut me off as needed. :)
So now I turn to next week's challenge of tackling 18 miles, in Boston, and without my team! Why, you ask? Well first I need to reiterate how incredibly humbled I've been by everyone's supporting my training for the LLS, especially in this economy. I know so many people out of work and struggling to make ends meet. Which is also why I've been ridiculously torn about how to manage the rapidly approaching, 20-mile Walk for Hunger in Boston (http://www.projectbread.org/site/TR/Walk/General?px=1049049&pg=personal&fr_id=1130), which I've done every year since I was just a wee 6th grader- ah the "tween" years! I've considered skipping my 23rd consecutive walk because I just can't ask people to contribute to two causes at once. Then I'd think about the many families struggling to put food on the table and finally decided to at least try and do my part- however small it may be this year...
So where does that leave me? Next Sunday on May 2, I will be doing my 18-mile TNT long run AND completing the 20-mile Walk for Hunger... all at once! Don't you just love overachievers? ;-)
Saturday, April 17 - Gummy Trauma (WARNING: disturbing content)
Now you know I've got mad love for the Gummies & running (see 4/9 post & remind me to tell you the backstory sometime), but I was downright traumatized today. The good news is though we jumped up to 16 miles this week, the weather wasn't nearly as awful as it could have been- it was about 40 degrees and rainy, although it slowed to a drizzle for much of the run. I ran most of it solo and it was a 2-loop course. I had just finshed running the longest uphill EVA for the 2nd time and I totally earned my reward of a big fat fistful of gummies. See it's not worth the coordination effort to unzipper and reach into my belt pouch repeatedly to retrieve reasonable amounts of gummy bears because by mile 15, trust me, you need to pay attention to your running. So while it's not lady like, I was chomping away on a wad of gummies when my mentor drove up next to me. Please refer to Figure 1 above to note the stubby arms of gummy bears, which tend to detach from their bodies when chewed. Detached stubby arms are not a problem in and of themselves under normal circumstances. However I would advise against calling out to someone while storing roughly 20 detached gummy arms in ones mouth. As I called out to say I was doing ok, a rogue gummy arm seemed to get lodged in my throat and I choked a bit. Then (and during my last mile or so of my run, I might add!) i started sneezing! A million times! I thought it was weird because I'd been out in the rain for over 2 and a half hours already and hadn't had trouble yet (you smartty pants know where I'm going with this, dont you?) I sniffed and sniffed trying to avoid the energy expenditure of digging out a tissue from my coat pocket which was now tied around my waist. But I finally gave in and managed to get out a tissue and blow my nose. And don'tcha know that rogue gummy arm shot right out! I KNOW!! GROSS, RIGHT???!! (you can't say I didn't warn you). Ohh gummies! How will we get past this?
Friday, April 16 - TGI....PT??
I am incredibly grateful to have a friend&neighbor who is a PT/athletic trainer! She has been so generous with her time helping me this week in maganing my knee problems. I've tacked on about an hours worth of strengthening and stretching execises per day, but it's helping. :) I wouldn't say I'm all the way fixed yet, but I am optimistic. Big day tomorrow jumping up to a 16-mile run and with a little taste of winter to keep us mindful that it is only April in New England after all, and we're not out of the winter woods yet!
Friday, April 9 - Morning gummies and Letters to God
Rainy and 40s this morning- actually nice weather for running. :) Got up early to do my 13 miles before hubby went to work since I have to miss team practice tomorrow. Ipod died again before the halfway mark (really ipod??) and knee hurt. But whatever. I may look into PT, but I'm sure as heck not quitting! I did reflect this morning though on one of the perks of marathon training is being able to -- even encouraged!- to eat gummy bears at 7 AM. And this from a dietitian- ha -the irony! Those little waxy guys (yeah there's actually wax in them) are such a tasy treat to pick me up in the run. Also PSYCHED for the weekend to see my cousin's film "Letters to God," hit theaters everywhere today! I blogged about it before and can't wait to see it again. Check out moviefone/fandango to find it a theater near you! It's an amazing story about how a little boy's battle with cancer touches the lives of everyone around him. Hope you can catch it and have a great weekend!
Saturday, April 3 - Ahhh Spring!
Wow - this is what we wait for all winter, isn't it? Started the run at about 50 degrees and finished in the 60s without a cloud in the sky! BEAUTIFUL! Ran an extended version of last week's course. In some ways that's good (you know how much more you have left) and some ways it's bad (you know how much you have left!) lol. The knee was a bit mad at me stiill and I had to start my walk breaks a little sooner. But all in all it's not any WORSE, so i'll take that as GOOD news! Now my Easter baking is done, the Easter Bunny has come and baskets are loaded, so it's time to ICE the sucker and rest! Happy Eater everyone!
(**4/5/10: Ok remember i did warn everyone about my tendancy for typos, right? So I could just fix this one, but everytime I re-read it it cracks me up, so I think I'll leave it, and just add: "Happy EASTER everyone!!")
Monday, March 29 - Focus, Focus, Focus...
I was back with the team for our 11-miler this weekend (yahoo!), feeling a little spoiled and reluctant to head out into the 18 degree weather after running in the 40s and 50s. But boy was it a gorgeous sunny runny morning (and low 20s by the time we finished, so it was all good)!! Some teammates were wary of extending the previous week's challenging route (those of your from the area would appreciate our route going up Webster (yep- all the way!) and then up Smyth and Mammoth!- and I do mean UP!!) But I felt like a rockstar charging up those mean Manchester hills, chatting with our coach and other team members who I hadn't seen in a couple weeks. Usually the good news would be that it's all downhill on the way back. But with my grumpy knee, that's actually bad news. So I was bumming when I had to slow down and start little walk breaks about 3/4 of the way back down Webster. But the cool thing is I "walked with purpose" as our coach would say and got to know another teammate I hadn't really run with before. Plus I kept my focus on WHY I am doing this. I was able to crowd out the cranky runner in me who would be appalled at the idea of walking and remind myself it wasn't about me. So I will keep on cross-training for weekday workouts, ice, stretch, and baby my IT band/knee. And I will cross that 26.2 mile finish line no matter what. Even if it kills me...er... requires walking. So be it! It is what it is. And I am lovin it! :)
Monday, March 22 - It ain't all sunshine and gatorade.
I had to miss my team long run for a conference Saturday, so my planned 10 mile solo long run was early Friday morning before my husband would leave for work. It was a super rough week all around and I was not feeling mentally or physically prepared in any way to tackle 10 miles on my own. I cross-trained all week (no running) to rest up the knee, was armed with brand new running shoes, a newly updated ipod, and limited my run course to my own neighborhood (a very convenient, flat half mile loop) so as not to get myself stuck 5 miles from home with a cranky knee. When I got up at 5:30 I was thankful for a quiet, relatively warm (40s) and sunny morning; and was pleasantly suprised that the knee felt ok- tight, but not painful. And besides, my music kept me going. I was super conscious of my running form, how the knee was feeling, and grumbled to myself about the inconvenience being so cautious of an injury- when all I really want to do is just enjoy the running and focus on WHY I'm running. Then my ipod battery died not even halfway through the run. I reached into my gummy bear stash for a pick-me-up and they all tumbled to the ground. Now, don't get me wrong, I live in a lovely neighborhood, but facing down the rest of my 20 laps of the same scenery, worrying about the knee, and in the context of my week had me struggling to keep my focus. I had to (and did!) stamp down really hard not let my disppointment and emotions from the week drag me under. But you know it's often said things happen for a reason. The rest of that quiet time I reflected on my training, the week, what people with cancer go through, and everything in life. No one ever said it should necessarily be easy. Or without curveballs? Because, running, like LIFE, just ain't all sunshine and gatorade. And God knows, that the tough times (or tough runs/injuries) make us appreciate the good times (or easy runs) all the more for it. I finished the 10 miles.
Sunday, March 14 - Just escaped the rain for an a-ok run...
As I write this the wind is still howling outside, it's cold, and the rain is pouring down!Talk about a close call. I could have been running in this nasty weather-bleh! I didn't follow the forecast too closely all week but I knew this storm was headed our way. Luckily though Saturday morning in Manchester proved to just be 30s and windy. Now I've not mentioned this before since I didn't want to come off as whiny or complaining, but a couple weeks ago my knee (an old "IT band" injury) started hurting after a long run(our 7-miler). Luckily I played it smart and cross-trained and "rested it" that whole next week and the 8-miler was awesome! Phew! Crisis averted! Well not so fast I guess. The only reason I bring it up now (again, DON'T want to be whiny!) is that I am pretty sure I've found my common denominator... or 2 (which is a good thing, since it's waaaay too early in the game ot be getting myself injured!) During yesterday's run (which ended up being 10 miles instead of our planned 9) my knee started hurting again. My mind starting rifling back through the week to try and pinpoint a culprit - what had I done wrong!? Well for one, I went back to business as usual and resumed my training scheudle in full strength (maybe could have rested a bit more); I still hadn't gotten around to get new running shoes; and oooooh yeah-- it dawned on me. I did another stroller run this week! Because of my husband's slow hand surgery recovery and all household and kiddo-related tasks charged to me, I was crammed for time. Since the weather was decent enough, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and plop the girls in the stroller for my 4 mile run last Wednesday. Now I ran with the stroller all last summer with no problems. But... that was last summer! And the girls are definitely bigger now. So I figure (in retrospect of course;-) that pushing an extra combined 100 or so pounds for my 4 mile run after an "easy" week was not my smartest move for a knee on the brink of injury. Duh. Really? Anywho. I've already got myself some new shoes, resolve to not tackle any more stroller runs for a while, and will rest up the sticks this week so as not to sabotage myself. That's the point, right? To learn from our mistakes?
Monday, March 8 - What a difference a week makes!
There's not much that compares to that first warm sunshiney New England day in March when temps in the 40s have everyone out in their yards in shorts as if it were 80! (you know we do it!) In fact, I'd say the only thing that's better, is to run 8 miles in that happy weather with an awesome team, knowing that you are raising money to help find a cure for some cancers. Hmm scratch that--even better than THAT is to follow up with an evening at a movie screening about an amazing little boy fighting cancer, writing letters to God, and transforming the lives of everyone around him! And you know what? That's just what I did. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, check out the movie website to view the trailer: http://www.letterstogodthemovie.com/. Now I swear I'm not just biased because my cousin is the mailman (a lead role)in the film, although I am wildly proud of him. :) But after a tough week caring for kiddos and a hubby with a broken hand (and post-op hand surgery) I really needed that something about seeing things through the eyes of of kids that just puts things in perspective and humbles us all... It was an inspiring weekend.
Saturday, Feb 27 - Wicked Haaahd core... (Holy Weather Batman!)
Wow. Where to begin? Ok I'll start with -- today was our 7 mile long run. And for those of you in the area, you know what's been going down in these parts lately-- "snowicane?" crazy power outages? downed trees and power lines? closed roads? Yep. Got 'em all. I'm proud to say we still showed up to practice (including our high school kid who drives with his Mom from an hour away!); many of the team is still without power at home, and many took long &creative routes to get to our meeting spot because of closed roads. The roads were flooded, slushy, and strewn with downed trees and branches. And oh yeah, we were running in wild snow squals with snowflakes the size of baseballs! (I swear it! check out the photo our coach took!) Surprisingly there were only a few times that we got totally splashed by passing cars (picture that old laundry detergent commercial). Regardless, we were soaked to the bone in no time at all. And truth be told, at the end of 7 miles, doing some interesting acrobatics dodging puddles, branches, and snowbanks, and some killer Manchester hills, I was pooped too!
But after our fellow teammate and cancer survivor's pre-run "dedication," in which he shared his cancer experience, we knew that no running weather could hold a candle to what cancer patients go through!
After a week of a nasty cold myself, and finally getting the littlest munchkin sleeping through the night again (hooray!), I was looking forward to a night of relaxing and maybe a celebratory glass of wine... SIGH. If only the older munchkin's body got the memo. Seems she may also be fighting an ear infection and sleeping in only 15 minute spurts. (What is it about Saturday nights kiddos?) Ah well. There are many saturday nights to go! And besides, after today's run, I think I can say I'm officially wicked hahhhd core!
Sunday, Feb 21 - Week 2 and feelin' great!
Wow - second group run yesterday morning was awesome. Weather was absolutely gorgeous: sunny and 30s-perfect to crank out 6 miles. Feeling good today too, considering my recovery sleep last night was nonexistent as the little ones were up ALL night sick! Ah well, will only make me stronger! Will have to try and turn in early tonight...
Thursday, Feb 18 - More on the funds I raise- Increasing my PERSONAL GOAL!
So I just wanted to post a little blurb about the money I raise. For my race, I have pledged to raise a minimum of $2,900. And a whopping 75% of that goes right back to reserach, patient aid, and education. But here's the thing- I know that I can raise more than that, and I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say I'd actually hope to rasie at least $3500. And the best part? Every single dollar (as in 100%) that i raise above and beyond my minimum pledge goes back to those same services. That's pretty darn awesome if you ask me...
Saturday Feb 13 - I Ran 5 miles!!
Yeah first practice today! (check out the pic of my team) Unfortnately the morning included me frantically calling my husband from the road to mapquest our training spot since I missed a turn getting there. I didn't want to no-show for the first practice! Y'know, I even set the coffee pot timer the night before, but Iguess you just never do know when a littl'un in the house will insist on Mommy helping her to the potty or doing her hair, so I got a late start out of the house. But thankfully it was all good as I was only a little bit late and no one left me behind PHEW!
Anyway I'm training with a team of (I think) 17 runners who all seemed pretty jazzed and ready to go, even though it was only in the 20s outside. And truth be told, the sun was shining and happy, and the run was great! We cranked out 5 miles for our first long run ands there were high fives all around when we finished. I think we're off to a good start!
"WHAT I'M DOING AND WHY"
Welcome to my Team In Training home page!!
I'm training to run the San Diego marathon on June 6 as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am completing this event in honor of all people who are battling all cancers, and especially the amazing survivors in my life including my own grandmother, aunt, uncle, and great-aunt; friends' loved ones; the women from the breast cancer study I worked on at Beth Israel; all of my patients at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where I work now; and my friends' now 5-year old son, who was diagnosed at only 15 months old.
Every Saturday morning, I will drag my sleepy butt out of bed at the crack of dawn, plow through long runs in any wild weather that New England throws at me, and keep pushing when my legs beg me to quit, because I know that my hard work will make a difference in the lives of all these amazing people.
Please make a donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission. Donations are tax-deductible and NO DONATION IS TOO SMALL.
I really do hope you will visit my web site often! I intend to update it regularly, so be sure to check in to read about to my progress. (And I do have also offer my advanced apologies for typos, as I tend to be a sloppy typist and I have yet to find a spell-checker on this site ;)
Thanks for your support!
(Ok now that you know what I'm doing and why, go ahead and scroll back up to check out my progress!)
--Michelle
ps-- don't forget to ask your employer if they do matching gifts!!
