Part of my goal in sharing this training journey with all of you was to stay accountable and also give a glimpse at what it takes to prepare for a marathon. However all this snow has been, and continues to be, a game changer. I am not gonna lie, the first two weeks of storms really threw me off my training game. Up until two weeks ago, venturing out into the pre-dawn chill for a winter run was more a mental challenge than a physical one. But once the snow came it peppered my once safe and reliable running routes with new and dangerous obstacles, particularly in the form of reduced roadways, impassable sidewalks, and towering snowbanks now obscuring intersections. I could go on and on about the (now) hysterical hi-jinx of 2-3 hour commutes and attempts to squeeze in runs the past two weeks, but I would rather share what I learned.
It is okay to get off track. It is okay to have setbacks. It is okay to be frustrated. It is okay to cry. It is okay to scream. It is okay to breakdown.
But it is not okay to give up, and it is not okay to come out of every situation all the stronger for it.
So this morning, as yet another day dawned with snow forcing school and office closures, my wonderful husband saved the day by suggesting I run laps around our neighborhood. It was the lightbulb moment I have been missing and needing these past two weeks. I had been so focused on the BIG picture (being unable to run in Boston as is my routine, the massive snow totals, falling off track from my schedule, etc.) that I couldn't see the solution right in front of me. We quickly hopped on a computer to map out the distance and wouldn't you know, one lap around our 'hood comes in at just under a mile - .93 miles to be exact. And just like that, my problem was solved. 4 and 1/2 laps later and I had gotten in my scheduled 4 miles. Without being run down by a plow. Without putting us in danger to drive five messy miles to the "dreadmill." And without any frustration or excuses.
You know what else? It was BEAUTIFUL. No really.
Running in the snow is actually very calming and relaxing, as long as you have the right layers and route. And with each lap, my neighbors braving the storm to clear driveways and clear cars would give me a wave or a "woohoo" as I passed by. I can't believe I hadn't thought of this sooner, and thank goodness Dave suggested it- though I certainly feel silly that I let two weeks pass by without a seemingly simple solution that was right in front of me!
I imagine that the Barr program investigators working to study cancer and develop new approaches, treatments, and cures have been in similar situations. Surely there have been times that they have been staring at the big picture and then they look at things differently, and BOOM- a discovery is made. I am reminded of this when reading about the work done by Barr Investigator Myles Brown, MD. By discovering the way estrogen works in normal tissues and breast cancers, this resulted in the first genome-wide map of all genes that estrogen controls. For the first time, this has enabled scientists to understand why certain drugs have been so effective in treating breast cancer, including the 33% improvement in survival for women whose breast cancers respond to estrogen. Dr. Brown’s work is expected to lead to new drugs and treatments for cancers that target critical pathways in breast cancer. His team has then used this information to discover new ways to treat breast cancers that do NOT respond to Tamoxifen. So often research is focused on developing new drugs and treatments (the big picture), but in this case because Dr. Brown and his team stopped to question why these drugs were working for some breast cancer patients and not others, they were able to make a major breakthrough.
And so the lesson of the story my friends, is to have faith that there is always a solution. Even when it might be buried under six feet of snow and take you two weeks to find it.
T-Minus 69 days.
