February 25th: Today we were scheduled for a 13 mile run, but it ended up looking a little more like 12.8 on the Google Earth gps measurements. It was nice to run away from the hills and I think most of the Team felt the same way- in combination with running lower mileage than the previous week, this was a very pleasant training session.
We had a great dedication by Dave Tierney and his family as they spoke about Dave's father, Chuck, who passed away after a long battle with prostrate cancer. Dave has been such a help to the Team with organizing and working the water stations for us, despite the difficult time he has been through. I didn't realize that on TOP of the compartment syndrome surgery he had a few months ago, that he was dealing with his father's illness at the same time.
We are working at organizing our fundraising party next Thursday and hope everything goes well. It has been amazing to get such positive responses from the donors who contributed to raffles and from our friends who have contributed their artwork, time and talents.
-M

Got It: 17 miles today, tough run on the original course out in Wellesley. Phew!-M

Visit to Team in Training!: I was very happy that Jacques and Ruth made it to our Team in Training this Saturday! Our coach introduced Jacques and Ruth, and Jacques spoke a few words to the team. It was great for everyone to get to meet J&R, and we had a special addition to our regular agenda- Jacques agreed to play a tune for us before we headed out to our 17 mile run.

Unfortunately, a cold prevented my completion of this run, and I will look forward to making it up- maybe tomorrow!

We had some sad news as Dave Tierney's father passed away after his long illness. We wore ribbons in his honor, as the memorial service would be occuring during our training run. We also learned of a young woman who is fighting ALL over at Brigham and Women's. The Team will make sure to keep her in our thoughts.-M

The Hills of Grafton:
Today we ran 15.8 miles in Grafton. Grafton is a beautiful town, full of hills that alternate between pleasantly rolling and annoyingly relentless- depending on whether you are running up or down them! But the hilly course is good training. People are pleasant and wave hello when we run by, unlike poor Wellesley, where I am sure they would rather we just leave them alone for a change. :)

Next week is our longest run yet, at 17 miles. Here's to the days in between long runs- hurrah!
-M

February Training: February started off with a nice run AWAY from the hills, and with less mileage than the previous week.:) From here, it's mostly a challenge- 15, 17 and 13 mile runs to come. We continue to receive great support from our team coach Rick Muhr, his wife Lori, and the professionals who have donated their time and energy to TNT-

• Marathon Sports owner Colin Peddie
• Sports nutritionist Nancy Clark
• Sports psychologist Dr. Grayson Kimball