What next? Rest, races and remembering

Well! It's been over a week since the marathon and life is chugging along. It is normal to feel a 'gap' once a big goal is accomplished- when that big event or performance is over and that focal point ceases to act as a daily beacon to organize events around. Lucky for me, I get to experience a seasonal shift as the weather improves- other volunteer projects such as work for the Fenway Garden Society, fundraising and project managing for several area parks projects, and deadlines for grants applications have all made days even busier than I would have thought (and sometimes want!) post-marathon. Right now, the challenges look to outweigh the successes, but like anything, this is a temporary phase as exploration of challenges lead to solutions going forward.

I will miss my great teammates, including Ben,who was a recipient of a rarely awarded Volunteer of the Year award with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and whose amazing and inspiring blog account you can read here. I'll miss being surrounded weekly by a bunch of people who believe in making a difference through their actions and committment, but as I told our coaches, I think the ripple effect on the way their runners will continue to be impacted by the experience will be limitless.

And... There will be more races! This weekend is the Grafton Gazebo 5 Mile Road Race, held on Saturday, May 3rd at 10:00 a.m. This is a hilly and exciting (especially when you don't know the course!) race, and we should have a nice Team in Training contingent there. And my good friend Chris and teammate Patti have propelled me to sign up for the ING NYC half marathon in November. HALF marathon? That's right! I plan to work on pacing on shorter distances and see where that takes my running. I have yet to resolve my right ankle tendinitis, but am planning on working that out asap. For advice on how to recover from Boston, check out this recovery plan.

I would be remiss in not pointing out some great sponsors, whose products you can STILL BUY through my fundraising website until May 31, 2008:

Planet Buff:
Thank you, Scott, for offering a generous donation for each unit sold through my Original Buff Headwear link. Scott not only has agreed to donate a portion of each sale made through my site with the appropriate fundraising code listed, but to throw in a shopping spree drawing (one lucky winner!) for products for anyone purchasing through this site. Planet Buff is a great company whose products I can't say enough good things about.

Wrap n Mat:
Bonnie at Wrap N Mat has been most generous from the outset, allowing me to sell these great plastic saving reusable sandwich wraps on my site, and resending a large order of products that somehow (!) got lost in the mail.

Yuko Adachi:
Yuko's Fine Art Cards are just a tiny window into her vast artistic world, which you can view on her website. Yuko generously donated her proceeds for these cards for fundraising, and has helped me for a number of years in supporting LLS despite a busy painting and exhibition schedule.

Deans Beans:
Charlsie at Dean's Beans has been the best. She has split orders into small amounts to provide direct shipping of small qtties for my web orders , and provided quick, efficient and cheerful support all the way. This is my second year working with Deans Beans and they have turned a group of coffee lovers into satisfied and loyal customers.

All of these vendors have provided generous fundraising rates that have allowed me to sell their products while raising important funds for blood cancer research. Please take a look at their products and let me know if you are interested in purchasing their products! I can tell you more about any of them, as I've been a customer for all these items myself.

Next Stop, Hopkinton!

Starting point, Hopkinton

Finish Line, Boston

Here we are! Just a few days and we'll be saying "remember the Boston race in 2008?" We are excited and hope to pick up our race packets at the expo tonight. For anyone who is interested, our bib numbers can be used to track our progress on the course by clicking the B.A.A. Site on race day:

Tim: Bib #21825

Marie: Bib #21806

Our timing chips will be going off at 5k intervals each time we cross the mat. With luck, we will make steady progress from Hopkinton to Boston!

How do I feel? Well, given the tendon injury, I have to be honest in saying that I do not know what will happen race day. I've made good progress this training season, we've cut some serious time in our pacing, and with a week break from running, I am reminding myself that anything can happen, including GOOD THINGS! If I find I cannot continue, I will deal with it when that happens, but I am hoping hard to pull out the fortitude I need to cross that line should my injury degrade on the course. I am grateful for all the support I've had and am honored to have the chance to run for Judy, and that together, Tim and I have raised more than $16,000.00 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Whatever happens on Monday, I'll live to run another day, but I am grateful for every single moment training and fundraising this year with Team in Training and thank you all for helping this happen!

Boston Marathon Course Tips

This great article from Runner's World takes you through the marathon course and breaks out the course and mileage with excellent insider tips for running and managing the race.

I am going to focus on a few things:

• Starting conservatively: This is kind of done for you the first few miles due to the crowds, but it is important to watch your feet and not trip, and not to get carried away with the initial energy and downhills of the course.
• Fueling and drinking as needed: This should follow patterns during training, with any adjustments made for weather as needed.
• Getting to mile 15 in relaxed form
• Hitting the hills one at a time: The downhill after mile 15 is steep, and starts the counter going for the real hills of the race- the initial climb through 'Hell's Alley' over Route 128, the first hill at the turn onto Comm Ave, one more short one, then Heartbreak... Each hill gives you a good space to regroup in between, and recover heartrate and turnover on the downs.
• Pulling it out on Beacon Street: This is the place to pull out your guts and put them on the road- whatever fortitude you've got mentally, this will be the place to draw on it. Saving some strength for the bridge to Kenmore Square and the uphill right on Hereford.

Still facing the ankle injury and not sure what will happen! This week is a full stop on training to allow things to recover- I had great recovery on pacing and time on Saturday, which was enough to convince me that I will be able to run on Monday, as long as things don't degrade on the course. Next posts should be about race day tracking. Have a good week focusing, everyone!

Born to Run the Boston Marathon (video)

Get Ready, Boston! Watch the marathon course to this revved up songtrack and get ready for Monday!

We Finally Catch a Break!

We have finally caught a break! Despite a severe storm that blew through the East Coast, we managed to miraculously run in between two legs of the storm, encountering nothing more than a few misty moments. We are still in shock!!!!

Our hilly run through Grafton did not quite meet 17 miles, but our 16 mile pacing was encouraging, averaging 8:40's despite a minute bathroom break. The hill profiles are quite similar to the Newton Hill ranges, and having the last two miles with building hills and a final downhill gave the legs a good push to the finish.

Today we both discussed the run and decided to run a good clip- no reason why we could not set our usual goal pace, we thought. I like the idea of planning to succeed and running 'as if' we are already at our goal- it does leave the brain more room to succeed, rather than planning conservatively for crisis management. The last few hills were actually difficult for me, and I was left a bit behind, but I managed to make my way up and almost catch up by the finish.

We are starting to plan for our Team 20 miler, to be held at the start in Hopkinton on March 29th. Any runners who are interested in joining, please let me know, as there is only a 5 dollar charge to cover gatorade and transportation- though you need to fill out a form in advance. We will be bussed to the start from Wellesley Community Center, with parking is available at the DPW below the center.

We are also looking for volunteers to assist at water stations and ferry runners from the finish at Heartbreak Hill back to the community center, along with massage therapists to volunteer services. This run is held along with other charity organizations, and refreshment stations are going to be set up along the course. It is an excellent way to experience the course under supportive conditions.

Entry Confirmation 2008: We received our entry confirmations by email yesterday!

Here's to April 21st!

Our training is going well- we have an odd week, where we delayed a 14 miler until this past Sunday and have another 14 miler on Saturday. Adjusted weekday training to compensate and worked on cross training on the off days. We ran the course from Wellesley through the hills of Newton and back Sunday, so am hoping for the flats this Saturday! Pacing is going oddly well, despite a major asthma attack after Sunday's run, and the homework with that is to not get too anxious or pressured to keep each run the same. As long as you stay focused on PROCESS and not OUTCOME, you can focus on what it is that actually is getting you through the run. My mantra for running this season is to go out and just do my best. That's it. If I sense I am getting upset or losing focus, I relax and try to regroup. -M