Almost Time... and what about the weather???:

Okay, everyone! Thanks for all your help! We are just about ready for race day after picking up our registrations and have the following news for tracking on race day:

Race Day: We will be running the Boston Marathon on April 16th, 2007. We are in the 2nd wave of runners, officially starting at 10:30 a.m., although it takes some time to actually get to and cross the starting line! We will have timing devices on our shoes, and you will be able to see where we are by going to http://www.baa.org/. The face of this site will change on race day, and you will be able to look us up by number and name:

Timothy Horn: Bib number 20936
Marie Fukuda: Bib number 20922

During the race, our good friend Bert Antonio will have my cell phone and will be viewing 5k splits up until we are close to the finish. You can reach him for updates at (617)347-2037 (cell) or (617)859-3646- please do so if you are considering coming out, so that you are not waiting forever!

Our dear friends Bob Roppolo and Christine Lynn will be dropping us off in Hopkinton in the morning, and Jacques Chanier will be meeting us at mile 15 at the Wellesley Community Center.

If we are vertical that evening, we plan on a pizza celebration at Woody's. If anyone would like to join us, please send your phone number and we'll call you with the plan.

Goals: Well, we had hoped to have a sub-4 time this year, but it seems that we may have some additional challenges. The weather forecast includes the possibility of strong winds and heavy rain, which will make this a memorable race! If we run in good time, we will be happy, but if not, we will finish. My post about preparation will now be supplemented with garbage bags for feet, extra clothing for the start, umbrellas and rain poncho, extra shoes and socks for the start, a dropped change of shoes/socks for emergency halfway through, and a bag of dry clothes to drop off at the finish. :)

We had a great 6 months training with our Team, and have now raised over 13,000 dollars with the help of all of you- money that goes towards the Society's goals to cure blood cancers and to care for patients and their families. We are dedicating this run to two wonderful and brave people who are no longer with us, and in hopes that one day there will be a cure for these diseases.

We are so grateful for the support of everyone out there and look forward to celebrating another year with the Team. All the best, Marie

LAST TEAM TRAINING AND TAPER WEEK!: Hi Everyone! We are officially finished with our Team training and are in full taper mode this week as we prepare for the marathon. Here's pic of our race day shirts from our 20 miler. The back of mine will have ribbons with your names- as soon as I sew them on!


As many of you know, tapering is a traditional part of race preparation. Giving the body enough training, and then enough rest can maximize performance on race day by giving the body the training it needs and then time to recover and replenish. It sounds nice, but it can be difficult for runners who have gotten used to the training schedule. It can also be difficult mentally, as one starts to wonder if they will remember how to run or whether they will lose skill from a week of rest.

This is when the mental part of training has to overcome the body's messages. Instead of training on the road, you can use this time to start preparing mentally, getting organized for the race and in using focus to prepare the brain for what lies ahead. Good tips include visualization- taking some time every day to picture yourself on the course and how you will be handling different sections of the race, meditation and breathing, and preparing for the logistics of the race before race day arrives. Knowing that you have everything in order gives peace of mind, especially the couple of days before the race! It is also a good week to schedule some gentle massage. :) And maybe one after the race!

Here is a tip sheet for what to think of to bring to any race:

• Your running clothes and race numbers: Make sure to pin this to your singlet before race day and try it out by swinging the arms around! It will help avoid problems in having to repin once you are in the race! If you are not sure of the weather, bring a change of clothes, one for each possibility.


• If the weather is chilly, a garbage bag or throwaway sweatshirt/pants for prerace. The Boston Marathon is great in that charities collect this prerace gear as you come through the runners corrals. If you use the garbage bag, you can punch out holes for the arms after using the same bag as a seating tarp for pre-race waits.


• Money and essentials: It is good to know that you have that extra little bit in case you fall into an emergency and are in between aid stations! For extra essentials, dont forget: anti-chafing lubricants, bandaids, any medications you need, sunscreen,sunglasses (if needed), gels or carb supplements, liquids and pre-race food.

Luckily, we are having fun thinking about race day, what the run will mean for us and for the people we are running for, and about the people who have been so supportive to us so far. We are excited to be joined again by Jacques Chanier at the 15 mile mark, and will look forward to seeing friends on the course. I will make one more post about race day and tracking. Thanks to everyone for all you've done- buying coffee, donating, attending our party, writing your encouragement and cheering for us through this training season. Thanks for helping us to continue raising money to further cancer research and to care for people who are going through these diseases. Best, Marie

Twenty Miler!!!!!! And Fundraising Party:

It is so nice to be writing after the 20 miler. What can you say about twenty miles? It was a training run I was looking forward to as much as fearing. :)
For charity runners, a moderate training program usually peaks with a run of this length, scheduled a few weeks before the marathon, followed by a taper.

We woke up to near perfect weather at 5 a.m., just a slight headwind of 5-7 miles with temps in the mid 30's and rising. Our team kicked off with a meeting at Wellesley and two moving dedications. Our great team organizers had buses drive us to the start line.

This was a day that most charities and many individuals scheduled their long runs, and the result, even though the roads weren't closed, was a marathon-like festive atmosphere. Support groups from each charity were manning water stops at at least 3 mile intervals, sometimes more, and did a great job of keeping runners hydrated and cheering them onwards. We knew that our Team would be at the 15 mile mark.

This was also the first day that we saw and wore our running singlets. It was a great feeling to put these on and be able to run as a dedication to the people on the backs of our singlets.

How does running 20 miles feel? Well, I have done this distance about 10 times now, and it is still hard to describe. I think it is kind of an adventure, mostly good. I don't think I've had a run where there hasn't been difficult patches, but I do think that the older I get, the more resourceful I am in dealing with problems. If I can think back to Saturday, I would say the progression was: nervous and excited, relaxed and excited, meditative and methodical, meditative and resolute. At about 15 miles, I definitely felt tired, and seeing our water stop across from the community center was a great source of strength. Wonderful Dave Tierney offered to take my jacket and hat, and I heard our coach Rick telling runners that the next section was basically downhill. This combination and knowing that we had people we knew at the finish line gave me the pep to carry through, and the last part went by quickly if not easily. Overall, I felt a bit more fatigued that I have in past long runs, but because my excellent running partner helped work me through the last miles and because I stayed focused, we ended up with a pretty good time, just 2 minutes over our goal. :)

The best part? Our friends Chris Lynn and Robert Roppolo were at the finish line! Both Chris and Bob had volunteered to drive tired runners from the finish back to the community center. Chris had decorated trees and signs and Bob gave Tim and I a ride back with two other girls from our team.

Well, the rest of the day was pretty much a wash. Stretching, sleeping, drinking and eating, with sleeping in between most of those activities. And Celebrating the fact that the taper was upon us. From now until race day, we will be cutting back mileage to rest up for the marathon!

Our fundraising party is tomorrow. Looks like things are in good shape and hope we have a great turnout! Will post following the event. Best,-M

Snow storms and sun:

Well! A week of beautifully warm temps was followed by a sudden storm that left Boston with about 9" of snow and a canceled team practice on Saturday morning. Temps are climbing back up and if we can just avoid rain next week, we should be in good shape!

Our 15 mile run was fine, although we missed having the water stops and the support of our team. It was chilly and icy in spots, and we stopped several times to buy Gatorade but we did it, and hope that we may make good time on our 20 miler. All the same, and as our coach reminded us- it is possible to have a hard time on the long run and do well in the marathon, and vice versa. I am feeling positive!

During the run, we bumped into a father and son near Heartbreak Hill. They were obviously working on some physical therapy, as the son was having difficulty walking, though they took the time to say hi to us. It was a moving scene for me and a good reminder that putting aside a training season to run for the society and fund raise is nothing- NOTHING compared to dealing with a serious physical challenge or the fight against cancer that patients go through. I realize how lucky I am to be out there doing something for a charity, and how great it is to be supported by the people who have donated to my fundraising efforts.

We have just over a week until ourFundraising Party! I will check in w/the event manager shortly to review numbers of guests and logistics. I am lucky to have support of many people who helped with prize donations, and will look at how I can recognize them during and after the event.

18 Away:
Hello, everyone! We just finished our 18 miler on Saturday- AWAY from the hills- yippee!
I think this was the first week that I saw the course past Natick and it was a welcome change.

Adding to this- lovely weather! After a chilly week, the temperatures warmed up and made this run one of the most comfortable that we have had so far.

Difficulty- yes, this was hard. After a long run of 17 miles and a couple dropped down weeks, the brain will try to convince you that the body is not able to do that last mile. But this is where you can talk yourself through it- Tim and I managed to do a great job- we were pleased with our time and we are hoping that our goals on the big day are reachable. But...

• We were running away from the hills
• Our return gave us wind behind us, which was opposite to our usual experience
• 18 miles is still 8.2 miles away from a marathon distance

Well! We will have to see what happens, and in the meantime, have 2 more weeks before the taper- a 15 mile run, and the 20 miler.

It was great to see our team members, and we had sections where we ran with some of our team and thoroughly enjoyed that! Dave Tierney did an awesome job of heading up the coaching session. We had a moving dedication from a co-worker/friend of one of our Team members, who had success with a bone marrow transplant after her diagnosis with ALL. She and her mother were very nice to thank us for running for the Society.

We are still working towards our fundraising party and hope it will be a success- I will try to wrap up the donations this coming week.

Tips for the day:

• Recovery drinks: Did you know one of the most talked-about recovery drinks this past year is not Gatorade, but chocolate milk? It turns out the carb/protein balance after a strenuous workout is more effective in aiding recovery than that sports/electrolyte drink most of us reach for. If you don't like milk, you can still use this lesson and take some protein with your after workout carbs and liquids.
• Recovery time: The first few hours after a long distance run can be hard- the body is recovering, and immunity is not as high as at other times. If you know you have a social event following a run, try to get a few hours down-time in between, preferably somewhere quiet and relatively secluded. Try to stay away from anyone who seems like they have something you don't want!
• Recovery list: After a long workout, make sure you do a few things: Change into comfortable, dry clothes (if you can't shower first), Stretch, Eat and drink within 30 minutes of your workout, AND- later on,try to walk around. Your legs will thank you the next day.

Best,-M

Seventeen in the City:

Well, Boston is just getting over a messy storm that blew into town a week ago. The minimal snow in itself was not a problem, but the icy sleet followed by low temps and high winds did a great job of encasing the streets and sidewalks in a slippery glaze. Our team practice was cancelled for the week due to conditions in Wellesley towards Natick (our planned route AWAY from the hills!), and we were advised instead to train on our own when weather allowed.

Saturday morning had Tim and I planning possible routes via Google Earth, and we headed out to scout out which roads were actually passable. We ended up selecting a variation of a reverse Boston Marathon route. We headed out onto Commonwealth Avenue, running towards the Public Gardens.

We flipped back at the gardens and then ran up past Kenmore Square and onto Beacon Street, basically up the marathon course backwards. For anyone who is interested, there is a great fast motion film of the actual marathon course as it starts in Hopkinton, running for 26.2 miles to its finish on Boylston Street here. And it's only one song long...

The best part about the run was bumping into Team members who were doing long runs on their own. We also were fortunate at the bottom of Heartbreak Hill to see a water volunteer from Joints in Motion, who generously offered us Gatorade and candy. It was hard running unsupported, and we lost some time stopping into various stores for drinks, but we did make it, running out over the hills, and then turning and coming back over them. We ran a great portion of this run in the road with cars, and many were none too happy to be sharing the streets with us.

The good part? We will be back to training with the team this coming week AND with a shorter run of only 13 miles. Yeah!

Tips:

Challenges while running, whether fatigue, cramps, or just an 'off' day, can happen to anyone. The trick in training is to work on your brain's ability to manage those challenges. Thomas S. Miller's Programmed to Run has an excellent section on mind and body control. His theory is that the brain has two sides- the right brain/programmer and the left brain/critic. When you start recognizing a problem running, the left brain sometimes works in a way that is harmful, flooding the brain with negative feedback, and as such incapacitates the programming side of the brain from effectively carrying out function. The trick that Miller offers is that the voice of the critic can be managed by giving it another 'task'- according to him the left brain can only perform one verbal task at a time. By offering another verbal command to your left brain, you can remove the negative critic and effectively manage both sides of the brain to your benefit.

Giving energy/getting energy:

Never underestimate the importance of giving positive energy, whether it is waving at that runner coming towards you or gesturing a thank-you to a car that is letting you by. Maybe not everyone will smile back, but you will remember those who do. This is one thing that you will not run out of if you give it away. Try it and see!