T-Minus 18 Weeks: Let the Training Begin!

So I have been a little quiet on here lately - rare for me, I know. In late September someone very near/dear to me learned they had a potentially cancerous tumor - a few weeks later with a referral to the very best at Dana-Farber's diagnostic clinic and Brigham and Women's surgical team, we learned this would require major surgery which took place just after Thanksgiving. While I'm not able to share much more than that at this point in time, I can say that the honor and privilege to run Boston for Dana-Farber, and the critical research this team funds, has never been made more real to me than in these past two months.

Intermingled with this news was our first team meeting on November 7th and our first group run this past Saturday, December 8th. Both allowed the chance to reconnect with so many from our DFMC family as well as to welcome our "newbies" to the team. Our "official" training plan started today and over the next 18 weeks we will run upwards of 250 miles - or 840,000 steps and 85+ hours on our feet - with one hell of a 26.2 mile victory lap on April 15, 2019. I hope to be celebrating having raised at least $13,100 to fund vital cancer research - though if I am being honest, after raising $18,668 in 2016 and being just shy of the 20k Pacesetter mark (Pacesetters are top fundraisers on our team who meet various milestones such as 13.1k, 20k, and 26.2k), the competitor in me is not so secretly aiming to raise 20k to kick cancer's butt!

Quick shout outs to my #BirthdayChallenge and #GivingTuesday bonus winners - Peter Naughton and Ellen Hourihan! Each received a Starbucks gift card for donating during those challenges, and I appreciate your support!

Running wise, I had my first 6 mile run on Saturday since before I got pregnant in 2016, and I felt great! No surprise that getting to be back out on the course with my favorite teammates and volunteers was a game changer. Day 1 of my plan called for 3-4 miles and I stuck to the lower end with a solid 3 and plan to do 4 tomorrow (when Day 2 again calls for 3-4). Stretching, core work, and even greater focus on diet will all come into play now as well.

Thanks as always for your love and support...here we go!

Getting in today's miles while wearing my new Tracer 360 LED safety vest
on Day 1 of training for the 2019 Boston Marathon.