Training Update

So remember when I was going to post diligent training updates each week? Yeah, sorry about that. Let's get caught up shall we?

As you know from my last post, this past Monday marked the 8 week point until the 123rd Boston Marathon - meaning we are half way through our 16 week training program which kicked off back in December. Training was going well until I strained a hip flexor in early January while scaling a mountain in Peru the day after running a 3 marathon. Okay, so it wasn't from scaling a mountain in Peru or running a time I can only reach in my dreams, but man that sounds better than saying it was during what was to have been a routine/easy 3 miler on a regular running route. Seriously?! Yup.

Having learned in previous seasons that you can't rush healing, I gave my hip time to heal and started easing back into my mileage with plenty of help from my foam roller, advil, and stretching. Foam rollers come in all shapes/sizes and are particularly popular with runners for helping to massage muscles and speed recovery.  

Things have been progressing nicely and with a few 14 milers in the bank with 16, 18, and 20 all on the schedule in these next few weeks. You might be asking why only 20 miles if the marathon is 26.2? Most training plans have you maxing out with a long run of 20-22 miles around 3 weeks prior to a marathon, as by this point you should be able to tackle that distance and - if you can - you are able to get to 26.2 on race day. Following that long run at the end of March, we will begin tapering.  This roughly 3 week period allows your muscles to rest/repair, optimize you immune system (which gets stressed during long runs), and build up glycogen stores (the carbs your body holds onto which you use as energy when exercising) so you can arrive to the start line in peak condition to take on 26.2 miles. 

Speaking of peak condition, one of the best things runners can do is ensure they are getting proper amounts of sleep to allow their bodies to heal/repair, and I have certainly been guilty of short changing that as of late. As such, I am off to bed so I can tackle some early morning snowy miles tomorrow (we have another storm system moving in). Friday will be a light cross-training day with plenty of stretching, and I'm eyeing 15-16 miles this Saturday including the Newton Hills (the four famed hills of Boston's course including Heartbreak Hill which I have not yet tackled this training season). 

And since a picture is worth a million words, here are some of my favorites from training thus far - a mix of weekday runs, DFMC group shots and volunteers, and a few from today's 6 miler around the Charles (a rare treat given my schedule/Mama duties no longer allow me to train in Boston on weekdays - this was the first time in 3 years that I have done that loop)!

Monday Motivation: 8 Weeks To Go!

As I am typing this, snow continues to swirl outside our windows adding onto the 3 or so inches we received overnight (with another 3 or so expected before end of day), and I am contemplating which layers to wear when I head out for a blustery 4 miles shortly. Thankful for today's holiday which allows me to run midday after the plows have come through making conditions a little more ideal.

Training wise we are half way there, and late last week we received an update from the BAA (Boston Athletic Association) with some standard updates for all marathon participants. Tucked near the bottom was a link to the Official 2019 Boston Marathon Course Preview. While I have ran Boston twice thus far, put in countless training runs on the heart of the course, and have watched similar footage of the course in the past, seeing this preview coupled with commentary from some of the most elite athletes to take on all 8 towns and 26.2 miles of Boston's course gives me butterflies all over again (the good kind)!

8 weeks from today I will join some tremendous fundraisers and athletes in tackling this course - and for the 500+ members of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team, it will be a celebration of all the hard work each of us (you included) have put in towards getting us closer to a world without cancer! But there is still a lot of work to be done before we make our victory run. I am back on track to put in 16, 18, and 20 milers in these next few weeks after staying conservative mileage wise throughout January/early February while allowing for a strained hip to heal properly. And on th fundraising front, once some gifts in progress post to my page, we will be $9,284.20 towards my goal of raising $13,100 for vital cancer research, or roughly 71% of the way there!  

So yup, there you have it - there is still a lot of ground to cover but we're making great progress and I am confident we will surpass my goal before I line up in Hopkinton in 56 days (but who is counting)! And with that, I'm off to go skiing running! 

Baby It's Cold Outside

Why hello friends! We have so much to catch up on, I know. Between training kicking into full gear, work travel, and chasing a toddler around, well #LifeHappens. BUT, I have a bunch of updates coming your way this week to get us all caught up. But until then...

How cold was today's group run? Well, it was about 4 degrees when I left the house and by the time I hit one of our water stops around 7 miles in, the water was FROZEN SOLID. No joke, a solid block of ice. Crazy!  

                          

Even crazier? How lucky we are to have the world's BEST volunteers out there each and every week, in all kinds of weather, manning water stops for us for hours on end to keep us hydrated, fueled, and motivated. Incredible. The volunteers always thank us and say we have the hard part, but I am pretty sure they have the hardest part - that is dedication and we are so, so grateful! 

It's a team effort to get us closer to a world without cancer. From the runners, to the volunteers, and of courseYOU - our steadfast donors/supporters!

Quick update on the FUNdraising front (and yes, I am capitalizing the FUN in fundraising because I do my best to plan ways you can support vital cancer research while keeping things fun and giving you the chance to win prizes, attend fun events, etc.): 

• To date we have raised $5,489.20 towards my goal of $13,100 (in honor of the half-marathon distance) - woohoo!
• THANK YOU to all my donors, but particularly to everyone who purchased Super Bowl Squares for Cancer Research (and for putting up with my incessant social media posts to fill the grid) - the grid is sold out and has generated a $1500 donation which will be matched by an incredibly generous anonymous corporate match bringing that to $3,000 - wow!!!
• After that gift alone posts to my DFMC fundraising page, it will put me at $8,489.20 raised to date and, pushing me past the $8k Pacesetter mark, will deem me a 2019 DFMC Pacesetter - yeah!!! 
• There are still so many exciting things in the works to help us keep the FUN in fundraising, such as my Paint-For-A Cause event at Muse in Legacy Place next Sunday, February 10th, where 40% from every ticket will be donated to my DFMC fundraising! 
• You can click the "EVENTS" tab above or click HERE to view all the ways you can support the cause with new events such as my March Madness drawings and a few other things being added in the near future!

Time to get some rest after a great run today and to gear up for that little football game down in Atlanta tomorrow. GO PATS and GO DFMC!!!!