A BIG THANKS TO ALL: I would like to post thanks to all the people who have supported me in my training for LLS and my efforts to run in support and honor of Jacques. Listed below are all the people who have donated their money and efforts to my Team in Training, in alphabetical order. Thanks, guys!:

Bert Antonio
Ferdie Antonio
Fidela Antonio
Michael Arthur
Peter Arvidson
Rich Ash
David Bermon
Kelly Brilliant
Stephen Brown
Ed Burke
Katelyn Campbell
Jared Carr
Pauline Chin-Mori
Nolan Cook
Ellen Cosgrove
Nicole Dailey
Emily Dahmen
Chris and Kosta Demos
Lauren Dever
Jenn Doyle
David Eppstein
Jon Fukuda
Ken Fukuda
Kimie Fukuda
Norie Fukuda/Hiro Matsushima
R.Paul Fukuda
Cynthia Fraser
Sophie Glikson-Cahen
Yuko and Andy Gmur
Peter E. Gordon
Sara Gordon/Scott Janzen
Neil and Janet Heestand
Sara Hirshon
Kathy Holgersen
Timothy Horn
Walter and Valerie Hunt
Joichi Ito
Jacqueline Jacquiot
Michael Jasko
Pete and Sue Jerabek
Lois Johnston
Pat Keck
Penelope and Phillip Kleespies
James and Carina Kopp
Rita Kraner
Julie and Luc Kress
Christina Lanzl
Chi Leung
Limina LLC
Ron Lopes
Chris Lynn
Liette Marcil
Neil Martelle
Tim Mathews
John Matthews
Erica Mattison
Sean and Sandi McKinley
Kay Meckes
Lisa Moro
Steven Murdoch
Yoko Nakatani
Renato Orara
David Osler
Kevin Owen
Juan Perdiguero
Julie Picher
Chef Bill Poirer
Bethany Pratt
Martha Reckdahl
Bill Richardson
Riemer & Braunstein
Rubin Robinson
Ruth Rothstein
Mark Samson
Liz Saunders
Jon Seward
Asako Shibata
Ari Shimo
Steve Short
David and Camelia Sullivan
Ichi Takata
Chris Taylor
Machiko Urasaki
Frederika Veikley
Meg Walker
Kenneth Wheeler
Judith Winters
Woody's Grill & Tap
Andy and Ros Zimmerman
Robin Zucker

In Addition (phew!), I have the following extra people and businesses to thank:

• Artists: Bert Antonio, Peter Arvidson, Pat Keck and Chris Taylor- thanks for donating your original works for our fundraising party!
• Andy Gmur: Your T-shirts were WONDERFUL. Thanks for helping us out with your time and generous use of your talents.
• Joe Porcari at The Artful Hand Gallery: Thanks for your gift certificate- more than any neighbor could expect!
• Game On! and Chef Art Welch: Thanks for making our fundraiser happen for us.
• Bauer Wine & Spirits: Always a pleasure visiting your store and thanks for your gift certificate.
• Whole Foods: You beat Trader Joe's, who turned down our request. Thanks for your gift certificate!
• Woody's Grill & Tap: A generous donation AND a gift certificate? We will carbo load at your place for life!
• Dean's Beans: The best organic fair trade coffee that we buy by the bulk- thanks for throwing a gift our way.
• Copoli Salon/Javier and 10 Newbury Salon: Alas, I will never know the life of a well-coiffed woman, but thanks for your donations for our party!
• Boston Red Sox: Thanks for the autographed ball- I promise not to complain as much during ball season this year!
• The following organizations who donated tickets: The Boston Philharmonic, The Boston Ballet, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Berklee College of Music, The Museum of Fine Arts and Boston Lyric Opera,
• Mr. Steve Short and Central Reservation Services of New England: Your hard work gave us prizes that we would have never been able to source- those great hotel packages. And your M.C. talents... well! They will not be soon forgotten!

On support staff for running and injuries:

• Rick and Lori Muhr: What great coaches- you guys have been dead on with every tip you have given me so far. To have your advice and your care has been just an amazing experience. I have gotten spoiled!
• Mika and Dr. Thomas Michaud: Your skills in working me through early ankle issues resulted in my being able to manage and minimize my issues and get to April in good shape to run.
• Michael Leonard: Your PNF stretching and acupuncture have kept me in fine form, despite increasing mileage. You are the best!
• Dr. Lyle Micheli and Dr. Thomas Vorderer: My great Children's Sports guys- you are there through the years as I bang around!

And last but not least, Mr. Jacques Chanier- your inspiration got us up and running and without you we'd still be sitting around on the couch.:)

As an example of how you have inspired and drawn together those around you- a recent donor wrote that her donation was "in honor of the gift of music Jacques has given and continues to give to the world". Jacques, you have given us your music, your friendship, and your example of courage and strength. We love you and are so proud to run this race in your honor.

Just a few more weeks- GO, BOSTON!

20 MILER DONE!: Today was our last long run before the taper- 20 miles from the start of the marathon in Hopkinton up to Heartbreak (but not including Heartbreak). Got it done- yeah!
Bert Antonio was generous to wake up early and meet us at 6:00 a.m. today in order to help out at the water stops. The Team was great and everyone was so supportive! Okay, feets- take a break now! -M

OFFICIAL BIB NUMBERS!: A fellow team-mate wrote today to inform us that bib numbers have been given out by the Boston Athletic Association. Here are our numbers:
Marie: #19132
Tim: #19146
Exciting! -M

Grafton revisited: Saturday's run was out in Grafton and back to those rolling hills! I found that breathing some sharp exhales before starting uphill helps the asthma greatly. The first half felt great and the 2nd half more challenging, but overall a very good run. Next Saturday is the 20 miler out in Hopkinton. This will be exciting!

We had a visit from an honored hero, a young woman who had been diagnosed with lymphoma. She went through chemotherapy with one remission, and after a relapse a few years later underwent a stem cell transplant and is now in complete recovery. She is in the process of adopting a baby with her husband, who she said is a 'keeper' after proposing to her after seeing her bald. :)

I have really enjoyed training with the crew at Team in Training. Over time I have gotten to speak to many of my teammates and to get to know them better. Although I think I was intimidated at first, we have all gotten to know and support each other by running together. Whenever I pass a teammate during a training run, they wave and I get to wave back or give the thumbs-up sign. This week, although two runners had injury issues, they still attended in order to assist with water stops and to support our team. This made me realize- we are really a TEAM. Walter Pero, one of our honored heroes, has been so helpful in offering to talk with first time Boston runners about what to expect, and his work with LLS extends to patient advocacy for clinical trials. This is a bunch of people who really care about what they are doing, and I will never forget this, regardless of what happens on race day!

COUNTDOWN: Yesterday I took my boss to Marathon Sports on Boylston Street, next to the marathon finish line. I saw a countdown saying "33 days until the Boston Marathon". Wow. Only 33 more days to go!!!!!!!

This week has been off schedule, as I missed the Run to Remember on Sunday due to a seafood convention here in town. Our awesome coach Rick helped me reschedule runs for this week and I have been reading Programmed to Run by Thomas Miller, PhD., which has been great for refining my mental focus and helping me develop some effective tools while out on the pavement.

We only have two more long runs- one 15 miler this Saturday, and a 20 miler next weekend. Then... taper time!

Wellesley 18 miler: Today was a difficult long run in Wellesley. I have to say that things were feeling very emotional for me, which is really a pretty new experience! The last time I can remember getting upset was getting towards the finish of the Bay State Marathon about 7 years ago. A good friend of mine who had always been on my cheering team had passed away, and I became emotional thinking that she would be proud of me for finishing the race!

At any rate, after a brief cry this morning, I realized that as all runs, the only way to attack them is with a positive attitude and a mile at a time. Luckily, in training with TNT, water stops are set up so regularly that all you have to do is think of getting from one until the next!

My positive attitude held up to 13 miles or so, where I had another brief cry (!) and then continued on to finish up. In retrospect, it was a tough workout physically, but we managed to finish within our time goals, regardless of my little meltdown. I realized that getting upset during the run is pretty counterproductive, as it sets off the asthma, so I will do some real work on getting my mental edge under control. Today I worked at touching my thumb to my pinky and thinking 'wow, that pinky is not one bit tired!' as a way to distract myself. :)

I think the fact that I am actually running for a cause and a friend and with the support of so many people around me makes this a pretty intense experience. In a GOOD way, though!

As a last comment- The fundraiser was a big success, thanks to the support of so many of our friends! The artists that contributed and the friends who helped with prizes really made for an event that got us to and ABOVE our goals. One of the biggest surprises was my girlfriend from D.C. flying in for my event. How lucky am I? -M

Fundraising Party! I am happy that the day is almost here for our fundraising party for Team in Training. We are having an event at Game On!, one of the restaurants owned by Lyons Group, for whom I work part-time doing pastry. We have culled together a great group of prizes, thanks to the generous artists, friends and organizations around us, and I am happy to think that the guests not only have the opportunity to contribute to a good cause, but a good chance to win some excellent prizes. Here is a list of the items we managed to get: 5 for $5.00 raffles: The Artful Hand Gallery: $100.00 gift certificate
Bauer Wine & Spirits: 6 bottles of wine
Woody's Grill & Tap: $50.00 gift certificate
Sam LaGrassa's: $50.00 gift certificate
Boston Lyric Opera: 2 Tickets to final dress rehearsal 'La Traviata' 3/29/06
Boston Ballet: 2 Tickets to 'Grand Slam' 3/16/06
Boston Philharmonic: 2 Tickets to 4/29/06 concert Jordan Hall
Berklee Singer's Showcase: 4 tickets to 4/27/06 performance
The Salon at 10 Newbury: Haircut
Copoli Salon, Lexington: Haircut with Javier
The Museum of Fine Arts: 2 Tickets to 'David Hockney Portraits'
Whole Foods: $50.00 gift certificate
The Institute of Contemporary Art: 4 passes
The Boston Red Sox: Tim Wakefield autographed baseball
Deans beans coffee: Coffee Gift set
Chris Taylor: Hand designed key chains and jewelry
Jacques Chanier: 'Quilt' CD
Andy Gmurr: 'Running for the French Guy' t-shirt
The Copley Square Hotel: 2 nights stay with breakfast (room up to 4 people)
The Boston Park Plaza: I night's stay with breakfast
The Lenox Hotel: 2 nights stay for 2 with b/fast and parking
The Back Bay Hilton: Dinner at Boodle's for 4 (175.00 value) In addition, Pat Keck, Peter Arvidson, and Bert Antonio have all donated original artworks, and Andy Gmurr has made a custom T-shirt for Jacques. We hope people will have fun and look forward to wrapping up our fundraising for this event!!!!!