So here we go, the one month countdown to the 120th Boston Marathon. Earlier this week our bib numbers were assigned (I hear 26470 is the one to watch) and this morning the traditional banners that will grace the streets of Boston leading up to the race were unveiled. All winter long there has been a quiet buzz throughout greater Boston, and beyond, as runners have trained for one of our city's most beloved traditions. In the next 31 days that buzz will grow to a palpable roar as we prepare to host the 30,000 plus runners, as well as the countless (and indispensable) volunteers and spectators who come together for our Patriots' Day celebration.
It is an exciting time for sure.
It is also bittersweet. My training season has been less than ideal and I have been repeatedly sidelined by respiratory issues, culminating in my most recent bout with what I can only dub "the plague" which cost me about a month of vital training time. While last winter's record setting weather meant we were often confined to repeatedly running the infamous Newton hills, that training made us stronger. This season, I have been battling painful calf cramps that begin late in my long runs and which only increase with hills (though I suspect this is also a hydration/sodium issue that I am now addressing). Yet life has a funny way of giving you the perspective you need at the time you need it most.
Last Saturday was the first day I had felt 100% healthy in over a month and I was laser focused on running 16 miles for the first time this season (by this point last year I had already tackled that distance several times). About 13 miles into the run, those aforementioned calf cramps ended my run early and I had to accept a ride back to our host gym from one of our DFMC rockstar volunteers (thanks again Amy Jo!!!). By the way, only in maration training will you hear runners grumling "I only did 13 miles," and to say I was frustrated is an understatement. After chugging a gatorade, stretching, and a much needed shower, I headed back into the gym to greet my patient partner Darla who had just arrived for our DFMC poster party. Looking around the room at my fellow teammates and their patient partners, I felt like a fraud and a failure. I found myself questioning whether I will be able to run this year's race and worried I would be letting Darla down if I could not. But as we started working on Darla's poster - which will be displayed along with all the other patient parnter posters to honor these incredible children and inspire DFMC runners on marathon weekend - I was vividly reminded why I am on this team. And running? Well, that is just one very small piece of what we do.
Together with her family, Darla and I set about crafting her new poster. I smiled as Darla supervised the design, choosing the exact shades of purple and pink to use for her name and informing us of precisely the right spot where each butterfly, heart, and smiley sticker should go. As I looked at the slew of photos from the past year, I realized just how much Darla had grown. How much taller, stronger, and spirited she had become. And when I gave her the custom DFMC keepsake pillow my incredible teammate Heather made for her, Darla's face broke into a smile and she gave me a hug that I thought would break her tiny arms. Suddenly I realized, I was worrying about the wrong race. Because while the marathon is an incredible experience, it is just one day. The real race - the one that really counts- ends with the namesake for my blog: the ultimate finish line. A world where no child will ever have to make a poster celebrating that they went through hell and back to beat cancer (or are still going through it). A world where the word "cancer" is no longer feared because it is followed by the word "cure." A world that will be forever changed by the research happening right this very second, made possible by all those who have supported me and so many others in this journey.
So as I mentally prepare for tomorrow's group run, I thought I would share this - my Friday motivation. She is also my Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday motivation. And that race we are running one month from today? It will be a celebration. It will be a declaration. And (no matter how long it takes me), it will be a victory.
Darla showing off her cheerleading moves and cheering me on!
Darla insisted we race - if I keep up this speed work,
maybe I will win the marathon!
I am only $611.74 away from my goal of raising $13,100!!!
Don't forget that every gift of $10 or more made in March gives you a chance to win a $450 Coach handbag OR $700 Red Sox tickets!!!
maybe I will win the marathon!
I am only $611.74 away from my goal of raising $13,100!!!
Don't forget that every gift of $10 or more made in March gives you a chance to win a $450 Coach handbag OR $700 Red Sox tickets!!!