The Long Cold Run

Another view of the marathon

2007-04-21T19:52:00.000-05:00

For the first time in several years, I spent marathon Monday on the sidelines behind my Nikon D59 taking photos of the runners. I had a good time and will admit that taking a year off was the right thing to do -- but that didn't stop me from missing being out there. I was at the finish line for the elite racers and then headed out the Cleveland circle for the rest of the day. In the end, I had about 500 photos and managed to get enough good shots to put together a set on Flickr.

On the training side of things, I am enjoying the start of training. After tomorrow's run, I will have run 18 miles this week which was right on target for the jump in mileage planned. I have an 8 mile run tomorrow and then rest on Monday (I'll be at the Red Sox game!). Tuesday brings speedwork during lunch and a 3 mile easy run with Speedy after work. The weather will hopefully allow me to bike to work and get a little skating in during the week as well. I recently switched gyms and will be heading in this week to get a tour of the new gym and start increasing my weightlifting and use the elliptical.

We hopefully will close on our new house this week so my running at this point is one of the few things helping to keep me sane! The new place is near the area where I do hill repeats so I'm looking forward to just heading out for a warm up and being right there. We will also have enough space to set up the bike trainer and weights in a permanent fashion. I am guessing this will make for a very happy family of runners.

Putting one foot in front of the other

2007-04-08T17:49:00.000-05:00

Today's run was simply a process of reminding myself to put one foot in front of the other. The weather was sunny, around 45 degrees, and super windy where I was running. I hit a head very strong headwind going out and was looking forward to a good push home and then found that the wind had changed. As a result, I found myself pushing 45 pounds of running stroller and screaming toddler for 6 miles. Pushing Speedy was something like running with a parasail - good for training but not exactly what I had planned!

In the past 4 months I've torn a ligament in 1 shoulder (picking Speedy up) and dislocated the other one (sleeping) but todays run is the first that I've done pain free in several months. This was good news as I have begun the start of training for Boston's Run to Remember and Dublin in October. The Run to Remember will be slow - just a long training run. I'm really focused on spending time base building and focusing on form, speed, and strength over the next few months. Dublin's course is flat and presents a good opportunity to PR - I'd like to train to get the most out of the Dublin course.

My training also has to prepare me for 2 weeks of hiking/climbing in Morocco right after Dublin. I'll have a week off before heading into the High Atlas Mountains...then 8 hour hikes for a week! Hopefully I'll be strong enough to comfortably do the hiking so soon after completing the race.

The next few weeks are filled with training, work, and closing on our house!!!

Dublin, Morocco, and Disney

2007-02-19T21:05:00.000-05:00

So, after running with Dean Karnazes, tearing my rotator cuff, and agreeing to take a year off of running the Boston marathon, I had a hard time deciding what to do for a running/racing schedule this year. So, I've decided to run the Dublin Marathon this October to raise money for Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership. After Dublin, I'll be heading to Morocco for an 8 day trek through the High Atlas mountain range and then home again. Finally, I'm planning on running the Goofey challenge at Disney in January. My hope is that by running Dublin and the Goofey so close together that it will inspire others to give more money to my fundraising efforts.

Want to know more about why I'm running for MBHP? Checkout the Somerville Journal article

For now, that's it here in runningville...I'm off to rehab my shoulder, do some dishes and hit the hay. Take a moment to go to firstgiving.com and make a small donation - $5 is a cup of coffee in some places - skip the coffee and help someone have a place to sleep for the night.

Back to Training

2006-06-05T16:13:00.000-05:00

With summer upon us, I'm back to training and looking forward to some summer fun runs and preparing for the fall race season. So far, I'm registered to run the Let's Run, Have Some Fun series in Cambridge. The series has 4 races, each with a different music theme, after-party, and band.

I'm also excited to report that Speedy Ima and I picked up our brand new B.O.B. ironman running stroller. I took Speedy for a rollerblade trip last Wednesday afternoon and if the weather holds, we'll be going out for another 12 miles tonight. I suspect that pushing that extra 40-50 pounds of weight while still going fast enough to pass most everyone on the path will help my training. Hopefully, Speedy will continue to giggle as the world flies by while we are out. This weekend, I'll take him out for a short run and start building from there.

This time around, I'll be posting a weekly training schedule so that I can stay accountable and motivated. I can say that there will be some changes to my approach -- lots more jumping, speed work, and flexibility drills. The focus will be on speed and form this time around. I feel like I'm in a good place to build distance for the BAA Half-Marathon this fall and want to focus on lowering my 5K pace over the summer.

Finally, my friend Blair successfully completed her first marathon in San Diego over the weekend while raising money for Teddy's Team -- YAY BLAIR!!!!!!!!!

Taking a break...

2006-05-09T20:08:00.000-05:00

It has been quite a while since my last post -- I've been running around trying to catch up on the parts of my life I ignored while marathon training. Preparing for my final papers has been a big focus lately. The semester ends this week and everything is due on Monday. I had a touch of food poisoning today which didn't help me get any work done. Instead, I came home sick and slept all afternoon so as to pretend the nausea didn't exist -- oh how strong pregnant women are...we guys are mere mortals in comparison!

My son is almost 6 months old and his running stroller is on the way! Speedy Ima and I will be hitting the bike paths and trails soon so that Speedy can see the world, or atleast our little patch of it! I'm looking forward to running with him. We go for a walk when I get home after work each night and soon it will be a nightly run. My guess is that eventually I'll be able to take him on my 10-15 mile training runs as I prepare for the BAA half marathon this fall. The big factor at the moment is how long he goes between feedings -- his growth spurt should be over by the time we pick the stroller up so hopefully I won't have to interupt my run to give him a bottle or some mashed up bananas.

Other than finals and family, it has been quiet on the exercise front as of late. I've been doing a few miles of walking each day and when it stops raining I'm looking forward to getting out on skates or a bike. Friday, I'll run home from my therapy appointment rain or shine.

Next week, I'll get to explore lovely Long Beach, CA as I'll be on a business trip. The conference that I'm going to is about hoarding so I'll definately be in need of a break in the evenings. The hotel also has a pool and weight room so I'm hoping to resume my regular early training routine while there.

Speedy Ima and I have signed up for a fun summer race series by the Charles River. She'll run 2 races and I'll run the other 2. They are only 4 miles per race and there is a BBQ event after each one -- sounds like a fun way to spend the summer. I'm also hoping that these will help me prepare for the Somerville Homeless Coalition 5K this fall. The 5K is the week before my half marathon but I'm actually more worried about hitting my 5K race goal than about my half-marathon time...more on that another day.

I promise to start posting more - and answering the knee injury questions that I've gotten....thanks for reading!

2006-04-23T16:02:00.000-05:00

I had a good post-marathon recovery week. Between taking Tuesday off, the last day of Passover, and my usual half-day at work on Fridays, I'm feeling fairly rested compared to the week after Boston last year. I over did it cooking and carrying Speedy on Friday and my ankle has been bothering me since. I had hoped to run 3 miles this weekend but think that I need to ice my ankle, stick it in a brace for a few days, and hit the Advil before trying to run. So, Tuesday I'm going to take my bike out for a spin and then will attempt to run 3 miles at a relaxed pace on Wednesday after work. I want to take it easy for the rest of April and most of May before jumping back into training.

I know that I want to run a couple of 5K races this summer and the BAA half-marathon in October but I'm still trying to decide which races to really push for. Likely, it will be the Somerville Homeless Coalition 5K this fall. That way, I can spend some time on speedwork and getting a stronger stride.

I've also set a goal of doing an Ironman Tri by the time I'm 40. That gives me 10 years to understand the training needed for triathlons and as Speedy grows up, hopefully finding time to train will get a little easier.

Click here to see photos from Marathon Weekend courtesy of DFMC. Also, for those who have time to search through hundreds of photos, you are virtually guaranteed to find yourself by looking through photos from Jim Rhodes and company!

On the fundraising front, I'm going to continue to try to raise money until July 31st final deadline. Please, if you haven't given, contribute a small amount. DFMC needs you -- $1, $5 -- anything helps in the race against cancer. The finish line is still a ways away but with your donation, we come a little closer! I'll continue to say it -- IF A 6 YEAR OLD CAN GIVE HIS ALLOWANCE, YOU CAN MATCH IT!

It was only a dream....

2006-04-19T20:33:00.000-05:00

So, the process of blogging about marathon weekend will take a few days -- here is another story about the big weekend...

On Thursday afternoon, I made a mental note that after the festival days for Passover and then Shabbat were over, I needed to clip my toenails (which were REALLY REALLY long and grazing the toe of my shoes...). On Saturday, I made another mental note to do this before race day and then promptly fell asleep on Saturday night without doing so.

I got dressed on marathon Monday, proceeded to Hopkinton, and started the race (read previous post for list of things that hasn't gone quite as planned). Down the road a good bit, I started to notice that my feet and toes felt irritated. I chalked this up to rubbing on my socks despite all of the lubrication I put on them to avoid blisters. I was thinking about what else the problem could be and eliminated toenail problems since "I cut them on Sunday evening."

With the race completed, I headed back to the DFMC runner's center to change out of my stinky running clothes and put on a nice comfortable pair of dry socks and my flip-flops. When I took my race socks off, I found a bloody toe - nothing compared to last year but bloody none the less. Upon closer evaluation, I also found that I had not trimmed my toe nails and the irritation I felt during the race was my toenails rubbing the end of my running shoe briefly during each stride.

The medication I am on for depression has listed as a potential side effect "vivid dreams" and I've definately been having some. Apparently, the toenail cutting that I thought happened on Sunday was simply the product of a worried marathon runner on medication that causes vivid dreams! Sadly, it was only a dream. Lesson for next time: double check the toes when getting dressed before a big race.

Thankfully, once cleaned off, the blood was only from a tiny nick in the skin on one toe -- disaster averted (atleast this time)....

Race Recap

2006-04-18T10:38:00.000-05:00

So I'm going to do a couple of posts today, starting with a general recap of the race.

Race conditions: 55 and overcast at the start but it got warmer and sunny through most of the course. There was a significant headwind for much of the way. At several points, I couldn't hear the music on my IPOD because of the wind!

As for the race itself, once we got moving to line up I removed the sweatshirt I was wearing and felt fine. With the wave start, there wasn't as much excitement and buildup as there is when the entire field starts at once. It lacked the celebratory quality that I felt last year. The upside of the wave start is that we all cleared the starting line VERY quickly!

I had prepared a goo bottle full of honey and attached it to my fuelbelt in place of the goo that I would normally need during the race. Just after crossing the starting line, my fuelbelt came loose and started to fly off. While I caught the belt, my honey was lost -- talk about panic. This left me with only orange juice and oranges passed out by little kids along the way. My major source of energy was gone less than a mile into the race!

At about 5 miles, I miss stepped and had a shooting pain in my right (not surgically repaired knee). This lead to freakout #2 of the race -- do I keep going or stop? I kept going and after about 1/2 a mile it calmed down. This morning it is a little sore but nothing that ice won't cure.

I was slower than I wanted to be for much of the race -- once I lost my honey container, I switch to conserve and finish mode rather than break a PR mode. I had friends planted along the route with orange juice mix in case I needed it. These people also helped break up the race as I focused on running from person to person. Navah was at mile 7 or so with a sign, a smile, and much needed OJ. At Wellesley College I found Lisa and Kerry with bananas and was pleased to have Lisa as a brief running companion. A mile later, Larry met me with a smile and refreshed water bottle.

Speedy Ima and Speedy were at the firehouse turn onto Commonwealth Ave at the base of the Newton Hills. Seeing them really gave me a needed recharge before hitting the hills. I managed to pull of for a quick kiss to both of them before heading up those brutal hills. About a mile later, my legs turned to lead and I had to walk. This is where I started to identify lost training opportunities and had to resist the temptation to beat myself up. This is also where I was sorely tempted to just walk or quit. I had to keep reminding myself that as a full-time student with a full-time job and new baby, that something couldn't be full-time but that does not mean that I don't take my running seriously. This conversation with myself also helped as a reminder that just because I was undertrained didn't mean that I didn't deserve to finish...a break from my normal, do it right or don't do it at all tendancy.

So, I found myself walk/running the hills but was reenergized by seeing David and his camera and Boston College. A couple of miles later, my friends Ben, Ruth, and their son Aaron Solomon were out with a juice cup and bananas. Ben ran along with his camera for a section of the race bringing a smile to my face at a difficult point in the race for me.

Next thing I knew, I was running the last downhill miles into a headwind and smiling again. The Beacon Street section was a little difficult because of potholes and drunk students in the middle of the street for a mile or so. At some point, I remember thinking that I wish these people understood that I could barely hold my arms up to run much less to slap their outstretched arms. One guy was running along drunk and high-fiving runners so hard that he almost knocked a few folks down.

The last mile or so brought a huge DFMC cheering group at Kenmore Square complete with Jan yelling "Go Jesse" on the bullhorn. This was a definate highlight. Seeing all of the kids and their families out was a great reminder that if we run enough miles we can beat this disease. It was also a reminder of the kids that were with us last year and lost their fight against cancer -- making it more clear that we have to raise more money, one step at a time.

Just as I ducked under Mass. Ave, my friend Karla greeted me with waves and smiles -- like many of the folks who came out to support me, Karla has seen the struggle from walking with a cane to health. Because we worked together in a small office, she is perhaps the only person in Boston other than Carolyn who clearly understands how difficult life was during the last year before surgery. She had to watch me struggle to get into the office on cold mornings -- but her family were also some of the first to celebrate the success of my knee surgery. Having her on the course was a real joy.

Once I made the turn onto Boylston St, I could see the banner at the finish line and my legs received the "Back to the barn" message. I ran faster at that point than I had in the whole race. Crossing the finish line last year was never in doubt. To quick would have meant letting Chris down -- and 12 days after his passing, I wasn't about to let that happen. This year, despite having several friends touched by cancer, I did have some doubt but along the way I conjured up their names, the names of Jimmy Fund patient partners, and of those in my family lost or battling cancer. Their strength and a bit of grit and determination on my part got me through to the finish.

Once I got my medal and retrieved my baggage, a wonderful DFMC volunteer escorted me back to the Marriot runner's center. Along the way, someone from the media asked me to pose for a portrait and I should get that via email in a few days. I'll post it here when I do. Once back at the DFMC site, I changed and called SpeedyIma who picked me up and we headed home for a bath, hot chocolate and matzah lasagna. At 10:30, I finally hit the hay and slept like a rock.

Thanks to everyone for the support. I'll be resting for the next month or so with minimal running and some cross training. I'll still be blogging though, there are summer races around the corner with the BAA half-marathon in October. So, stay tuned in -- I may be resting but there is still plenty of life and running to explore!

The Marathon is Coming....

2006-04-16T20:02:00.000-05:00

I'm back from the DFMC dinner and am hoping to hit the hay soon. My running shorts for tomorrow are in the dryer, dinner is in the oven (there was a snag in the kosher dinners at the event), and I'm about to tape my race bag so that is doesn't break and go to bed.

I've loaded the IPOD with lots of music to keep me going, and at this point the only thing left to do is remember to relax and get some shut eye. I have to be at the Boston Common tomorrow morning between 7:30-8 am. That's much better than when I arrived with other DFMCers earlier. The Common is easy to get to from here so I'll be able to squeeze in an extra hours of sleep.

Hopefully at this time tomorrow I'll be sleeping off another successful Boston Marathon!

WWW.BOSTONMARATHON.ORG
BIB # 18639

2 Days and Counting

2006-04-15T19:05:00.000-05:00

The marathon is right around the corner and now that the Passover cleaning frenzy (and the late night seders) are complete, I've gotten the chance to rest up for the race. Speedy Ima and Speedy have both had colds this week so it has been a struggle to stay healthy. I've been VERY tired the past 2 days and think my body is working to fight off whatever they have. So far, I only have minimal congestion and a slight headache. Strangely, someone told Speedy Ima that eating the pith of lemons along with the rind helps like any medication would -- I tried it and sure enough, it works for hours.

On the fundraising front, I've raised just under $4500 to date. Thanks to everyone who has donated! The folks at Figaro's Boston gave me a check on Wednesday morning for $250. Again, they've been incredible -- give them your business!

As for the rest of the weekend, I'm planning on picking up my number tomorrow morning sometime and then heading home to rest before going to the DFMC pasta party. We'll be back around 7 so I'll be sure to post a party re-cap here before heading off to bed.

The race weather is predicted to be 55 degrees and partly cloudy -- let's hope that my race goes as well as the weather forecast!

For those running on Monday -- good luck! I hope that those of you who are keeping Passover have found tricks that work for you.

The Swadfather

Final Stretch

2006-04-09T14:20:00.001-05:00

While my training is wrapping up, the fundraising has really begun to sprint off! My class at CPCS raise $90 to meet my challenge of matching or matching + a 6 year-old's donation to help the Barr Program find cures for cancer to help people like his mom. In the past 7 days, I've raised $1732. If you haven't chipped in your coffee money for the week, do it now! Marathon Monday is just 1 week away. I'm doing the hard part by running, giving is easy! $2, $10, $20, $262, or more -- any of these makes a huge difference in the fight against cancer. You know people touched by cancer -- and you have the power to make a difference!

Figaro's of Boston will be wrapping up their fundraiser at the end of this week -- they have been unbelievably involved both in the fundraising but also in training updates, food, and support. Go give them your business -- the food and staff are fabulous!

I'll post a few final things before race day -- right now, I have to get in 10 miles and finish the pre-pesach cleaning frenzy (space aged foil kitchens anyone? I hear they are fashionable in the Jewish community this time of year!)

The big 3-0

2006-04-09T14:20:00.000-05:00

The big 3-0 has arrived...that's right readers, I turned 30 last Thursday. Along with it came a minor freak out about having a career, partner, child, etc. Speedy Ima threw a party for me on Shabbat complete with my favorite Carvel ice cream cake --- yummy junk food goodness! I had asked for donations to Dana-Farber in lieu of gifts and was happy to have raised some good $ for the Marathon Challenge Team.

Along with the freakout over being 30 came the realization that I'm getting more comfortable with parenting (atleast for now). At the moment, I mostly know what Speedy needs when he cries, laughs, etc and I have gotten better at anticipating diaper changes, bottles, going for a walk, etc. We start him on solid food the week after Passover and I am interested to see what changes in our lives that brings! He is holding himself up when we get him into a sitting position and has started to roll over in his crib. Watch out world (and parents!), mobility is just around the corner!

Updates

2006-04-05T21:44:00.000-05:00

The taper has begun and there are less than 2 weeks left before Marathon Day.

The fundraising has picked up in the last week. Tonight, my classmates met my challenge to match or more the donation made by my friend's nephew. 12 people gave a total of $76 while we met for our Program Evaluation class at UMASS-Boston. Thanks all! You've done a great thing!

The other big news is that tomorrow I turn the BIG 3-0....I'm not sure how I feel about this other than some excitement that I'm now at the bottom of my age group in most races again. I guess there is something to be said for getting older...

Speaking of older, I'm exhausted....when is it that I start needing LESS SLEEP like my grandmother????? She gets by on 3 hours of sleep but could run circles around me!

Just In Case You Needed Some Motivation...

2006-04-02T13:33:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I had the best reminder of why I run and raise money for DFMC that I've had all year. Some friends of mine invited me over to talk with 2 kids that are living with them about the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge and why am running a marathon to raise money for them. When they get their allowances each week, they put money in a tzedakah box to save and give to cause they believe is important. The kids' mom has cancer and they wanted to know what people are doing to help people like her to get well, or to keep them from getting sick in the first place.

They also had LOTS of questions about the marathon, the course, etc. We watched a video clip of the course and I tried to answer their questions. At the end, they counted up the money from the tzedakah box and the younger child kicked in his allowance to raise the total amount going to Dana-Farber. So, for those of you who are reading this and listing all of the reasons why you aren't clicking on the DFMC link on the sidebar, a 6 year old gave his $2 allowance for the week -- surely you can give $5 dollars, $10 dollars, or even match his donation times 10 ($20). The amount isn't as important as your participation in the fight to beat this disease.

People like their mom, my mom, my Uncle, grandfather --- and your friends, family members, and your friend's family members need for you to join us in giving to fight cancer. A 6 year-old gave his allowance - can't you forgo a cup of coffee and join him in giving?

Pesach Prep Test Kitchen Part II

2006-03-30T19:43:00.000-05:00

Valuable lessons learned during last Sunday's long run:

1. Use orange juice not grape juice for your drink base (the acid helps your body to absorb what it needs). Grape juice was a huge failure for me

2. Honey in a goo flask is easier than small packets - I needed to hit the honey more often on this run than with goo but found it easier to eat and less upsetting for my stomach. I'm also wondering about how royal jelly would impact a run....I'll try that one later this summer

3. Sweet potato is too fiberous -- I'm going to stick with regular potato slices/kugel for my pre-race eats.

Planning my food ahead of time is going to be a key to successful running on Marathon Monday. I didn't plan ahead for my dry run this past weekend and made whatever we had the ingredients for --- I paid the price during my run. I don't think you need to obsess about what you eat race weekend but giving it some thought ahead of time would be wise.

If you are running during pesach, let us all know how things are going -- I know that some of you are running and keeping pesach....

The latest update

2006-03-28T20:25:00.000-05:00

I did my second to last long run this past Sunday. It was a complete weekend of testing for the marathon. Yes, I subjected my very patient friends to a Shabbos meal that would be similar to what I'll eat during Passover (minus the ring-gels, I just can't bring myself to go through that twice!) I put honey in my goo flask and set out for a 19 mile run. Along the way, I did some off road running in the Fells and then missed a turn on my route and some how ended up in Winchester. Luckily, I knew roughly where I was (have I mentioned my really excellent internal GPS system?) and ended up running back through Medford along the Mystic Reservation.

Talk about a beautiful return trip -more hills on the lost part of my route than I had planned but the return trip by the lakes was gorgeous! There were ducks and geese out, the weather was cloudy and not too hot -- a perfect day for a long run. Hopefully, I can find an equally beautiful route for my last long training run before the big day.

At this point, I'm starting to think about getting in quality runs and cross-training this week and tapering next week through marathon weekend. I also want to make sure I get enough sleep and stay hydrated. That will be a tough task with school and Pesach (Passover) preparations/frantic cleaning.

In the meantime, we had a great fundraiser at O'Naturals in Davis Square tonight. Thanks to everyone who came out! In addition to the 10% of sales donated by O'Naturals, I raised another $70 or so while there. Figaro's by South Station in Boston is still collecting donations. I'll let you know totals as soon as I hear.

Another round of fundraising letters/emails will go out this week. I don't think that I'm going to come anywhere close to the 10K goal I set but would like to try to raise as much money as possible between now and the end of May. Thanks to everyone who has given!

That's it for now -- I'm heading to bed (it's only 8:30 and I can go to bed -- YAY! A parent's dream!)

BIB NUMBER!!!!

2006-03-21T20:05:00.000-05:00

18639

That is my marathon bib number. Just go to www.bostonmarathon.org on race day and you can track my progress!

Bone Crushing Headache

2006-03-21T19:54:00.000-05:00

I started my medication for depression over the weekend and have had a bout of nausea and an off and on headache for 2 days -- all expected side effects that should go away in a few days. Unfortunately, it is 4 weeks minus a day until the marathon so I had to get out there and do a run. This is especially true because I didn't workout yesterday or Sunday (unless you count lots of walking carrying a 15# Speedy)! I'm hopeful that the meds will positively impact my battle with depression. I'm still less than thrilled about taking them but I had to do something. For now, I have friends checking in and Shabbat is rapidly approaching so I can have some time to relax (kind of relax I should say).

As for running this week, I have a big 20-22 mile run on Sunday so I'll run again on Friday for 5 nice easy miles and do some cross training. The anxiety is kicking into high gear because I'm so UNDER TRAINED and worried that the course is going to chew me up and spit me out. I must remember to stick to the training plan, cramming at this stage of the game doesn't help --- can someone write that on my forehead for me so that when I look in the mirror that is what I see??? Ack, 4 weeks -- not much time!

Gut Check

2006-03-18T20:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a gut check run --the makeup run from Monday's bailout in NC. I did 19 on the course and back to my house. It took a while for the anxiety of a bad training run to work its way out of my system but once that happened, it was quite enjoyable. There were a number of runners on course doing some of the last long runs before race day.

I turned around at Walnut St. so that I could get a good look at the John Kelley statue. It was the first time I've seen it since I'm always coming from the opposite direction. The turnaround point was perfect for giving me the extra kick I needed to head back up Heartbreak Hill. In all honesty, my experience has been that Heartbreak Hill isn't that bad of an uphill -- I have had a much more significant challenge feeling comfortable on the downhills that make up much of Boston's course. The impact of that much downhill on my leg muscles and my surgically repaired knee is a bigger problem. This year, I need to remember to start out slower than I'd like to that the sharp downhill followed by an almost imperceptible uphill going from Wellesley into Newton Lower falls along with the last 4 miles at Boston doesn't hurt too much.

At this point, I'm still not feeling ready for race day but I'm feeling better than I was last week -- a few more long runs to go and lots of cross training will hopefully help me to win the all important mental race.

In the meantime, Speedy Ima and I are running a 5k tomorrow. There is a slight chance that I may have to pull out in order to watch Speedy while Speedy Ima and some of my friends run but hopefully, we'll all be out there running. I'm not looking to go too fast this time - with a 19 mile run yesterday, I'm trying to focus on enjoying the run and allowing my body to recover. This summer I'll focus on getting back to 6 minute miles for my 5k pace -- for now, I just don't want a repeat of last year's pulled hamstring 3 weeks before Boston.

Secret Pesach Marathon Fuel???

2006-03-15T20:50:00.000-05:00

I was wandering the aisles of the local grocery store this evening after going to the gym when I noticed that they had put out Pesach products already. Like most Jews, I have a few items I look forward to from year to year and others that I would just like to forget exist (like Ring-gels..sorry David!). One of the things I look forward to are chocolate covered marshmellow cookie things. I only eat them once a year and while standing in front of them and telling myself "it isn't Pesach yet, you have to wait" I realized that they might be my secret power fuel for the marathon....which, of course, means that I have to test them on this week's long run.

I'll keep you posted...at the very least, I'm going to enjoy eating the leftovers!

Back in Boston

2006-03-15T20:21:00.000-05:00

Well, we got back from NC yesterday and arrived home to snow flurries and chilly weather today. I'm looking forward to a long run on Friday (to make up for "the incident" on Monday). I hit the gym after work for a good elliptical workout and will be back tomorrow for a little weightlifting.

The nerves are starting to hit about the marathon. I haven't put nearly as much work and time into this year's training as I would have liked. I'm trying hard to think about this as a step to a higher fitness level and better running during the summer/fall season but it can be tough. Worst comes to worst and I suppose run/walking is better than a DNF but it ain't what I'm shooting for! Hopefully, the long runs will go well from here on out and things will be okay come race day.

In the meantime, I'm running a 5k on Sunday that should be fun. I'm not going out to break any speed records - just a nice St. Paddy's day race with a beer afterwards. A number of my friends are running the race so it will be nice to celebrate a run with them. More importantly, it is Speedy Ima's first race since Speedy's delivery!! Go Speedy Ima, Go!

Yankified

2006-03-13T19:09:00.000-05:00

My grandmother is constantly telling me that I have been "Yankified" when she asks me to slow down when I talk or complains that I go to work when there is snow in Boston. Normally, I laugh and ignore her. I've run 2 times since I arrived in NC and now, after wilting in the mid-80s heat while running, I believe her.

On Thursday, I ran 13 miles in Charlotte's concrete sidewalk jungle (you can't run in the road because of traffic and the fact that Southerner's don't know what to do with runners or bikers except smush them). During the run, I had to stop and refill my waterbottle at a fountain outside of someone's house. It was a lovely setup -- a nice bench in the shade, a dog bowl chained to the water fountain base and a nice faucet for grabbing a drink. It was 82 degrees in full sun on the course and what I really wanted to do was fill the water bottle and take a nap on the bench but I pushed on. I was slow but managed to get the mileage in feeling like I had just completed a marathon and needing a nap.

Today, I didn't fare as well. In fact, after 8 miles I called my partner to say "come pick me up." BONK!! I should have known that the run wasn't going to go well when I stepped out into the 85+ degree sun only to have to run back and get my route map after a mile. Next, in my rush, I closed the screen door on my ankle leaving a nice imprint on the little knobs. Finally, out on the route I started to relax into things trying hard not to think about the sun/heat. After running in the teens and twentys all winter, 80+ is just brutal. About 3 miles in, my digestive system started to threaten rebellion. A mile or so later, I wasn't paying attention to the ground under my feet and stepped onto a very dead and decomposing racoon -- you could only make out the striped tail. At that point, my brain started to join my digestive tracts protest. Finally, after pushing 4 more miles, my digestive system fully rebelled and I gave it up. This one, I'm calling a mid-week run and will do the long run back in Boston later in the week. There are times when you can push through a run -- this clearly was not one of them.

So, yes grandmother, I have been "Yankified" -- I live in a place where I only see raccoons on snowy, very early morning trash day runs when the weather is in the teens. And frankly, I think my running is safer that way. I'll be staying above the Mason-Dixon line with the rest of the folks you think of as a little "off."

The M-Word...

2006-03-06T19:28:00.000-05:00

So I met on Friday with a shrink about starting medication to treat my depression and PTSD symptoms. As I mentioned previously, I've been battling depression for quite a while now but things have just gotten to the point that I can't fight it without a little additional help. In the course of trying to decide on meds vs. no meds, I was really concerned with the possibility of anything interferring with my running. Luckily, the medication that I'll be taking doesn't usually cause weight gain, though it can cause sluggishness at first in some people.

We are heading down South later in the week to visit our families so I'm going to hold off on starting a new medication until after the trip. I don't see any point in risking an allergic/bad reaction and ruining a week of warm weather running and spending time with the family. Especially when my stress level should be lower which will hopefully make interacting with the outside world a little less paralyzing....in the meantime, I've got to manage to get through one more day at my office (not a small feat these days!).

On the upside, yesterday's run was good for the most part. My feet were hurting by the end because I failed to think about running surfaces when I mapped my route and ended up running on concrete, cobble, and slate for much of the run. I was worried that they would hurt this morning but it seems that the post-run foot massage did the trick.

The only adventure of the evening was a near decapitation of my head by a 8-10 year old boy standing on the steps of a brownstone with his mother! He smiled as I passed and I smiled back, next thing I know a 2 foot stick is buzzing my head (yes, I could feel the breeze) and bouncing off of a near by car. He had to have launched the stick 15-20 feet from the top step. I opted to keep running as I heard his mother crying and screaming "Not at people, you don't throw the stick at people!" For me, that begs the question - what does he normally throw his sticks at? I hate to think...

Well, that's it for now...the next post will be from the warm, hopefully sunny south. The forecast is for 70s-80s while we are there which is a significant change from the weather here in New England of later...until then, waddle on...

Bush proposes cuts in cancer funding for FY07

2006-03-02T21:57:00.000-05:00

The President's administration has proposed a $40 million cut in cancer research for the FY2007 budget. Federal funding of cancer research has declined since 2003, despite the federal government's goal to end all cancer deaths by 2015. In addition to the cuts to cancer research, the administration has also proposed a $1.4 million cut to the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program -- this program provides FREE cancer screenings for low-income and uninsured women. At it's current funding level, the program is only able to assist 1 in 5 women -- a funding increase would be significantly more appropriate (and likely long term cost saving) than a cut to this program.

Private fundraising, while important, can only do so much. Researchers, like those at Dana-Farber, need these valuable federal dollars to find new options for cancer treatment. Without these dollars, the 2015 target for ending deaths from cancer is slipping further and further away. Without free early detection, thousands of women risk more significant and costly treatments (difficult to afford while living in poverty or without healthcare), and what is worse, the lack of early detection will cost some of these women their lives.

Take a moment to contact your government officials. Contact local advocacy groups or Livestrong.org to find out how you can make your voice hear to prevent these cuts.

An Empty Place at the Starting Line...

2006-03-02T21:39:00.000-05:00

This morning's Boston Globe carried the story of Dan Peterson, a 24 time Boston Marathoner hoping to make it long enough in his battle against cancer to start a 25th Boston this April. A little while after I read the story, Boston.com updated its website: Dan Peterson passed away at his home this morning. His friends will be carrying his number along the route of this year's marathon.

Even for those of us who didn't know him this provides us with the perspective to keep pounding out those miles and raising the dollars necessary to reach our ultimate finish line -- a world without cancer.

-4 and looking like Elmo

2006-02-27T14:02:00.000-05:00

I ran last night after Speedy Ima's 30th birthday party because I didn't have time to run beforehand. The windchill never got out of the single digits yesterday and by the time I got out there, it had fallen to -2 at the start of my run. Six miles in it had dropped again to -4 windchill.

The run, although fun, left me with 2 frozen water bottles (more on that later) and looking as red as my son's Elmo toy. In fact, I matched my bright red Under Armour beanie hat! All of this despite dipping my head and body in a tub of vaseline beforehand !! Out on the run, I definately had an adventure. My first water bottle (oj, water, salt) was frozen less than 2 miles into my run. I couldn't even open it without whacking it against a light pole (much to the amusement of drivers stopped at the traffic light) -- a few miles later, I tried again and managed to get the top unscrewed only to take a deep gulp and discover that the foamy stuff on top was actually a soapy OJ due to not rinsing my water bottle out well enough.

This meant a quick detour into CVS for a bottle of Gatorade (they didn't have Powerade). By the time I got 20 minutes down the road, the Gatorade was also frozen and I couldn't get it open. By this point, I am cold, cranky and getting dehydrated. I was supposed to run 16 miles but ran 12 (in 2:07) before calling it a night. I hadn't gotten to hydrate for a few miles and wasn't going to run 4 more miles with no liquid.

The final blow to my run was the wind. I had a headwind going out which for most parts of the country should mean a tailwind for the return trip. Those of you who know, Boston will also know that a tailwind is never guaranteed -- and in this case, I ended up fighting a headwind for the entire run.

When I got home and peeled off my 2 layers of pants, 2 shirts, running jacket, gloves, and hat my body was VERY red all over and my face looks like I've been on a beach in Key West -- too bad I didn't get the relaxation of the beach! While I enjoy what my non-running friends feel like is "extreme running" there is a limit...and this morning when my face hurt and my ears protested yet another cold day, I realized that last night was as extreme as I want to get right now....

Waddle on!

Breaking the Silence

2006-02-24T16:37:00.000-05:00

This month's Runner's World magazine issue featured broken the silence about a serious issue impacting member of the running community -- clinical depression. I've been battling depression and serious PTSD for a number of years while consistently maintaining that I can fix it on my own. My inner mantra has been "you have to push through, you've been through harder." Last year I was so depressed that I couldn't train for the BAA half-marathon. Just getting the basics of daily life done frequently is a struggle.

"What do you mean your depressed, you're training for a marathon -- that's just not possible" is a frequent response from folks when I try to talk about my depression. How is it possible to both active and clinically depressed? Good question -- depression for me, sometimes means that I can't get out of bed or that when I do, I only manage to make it through the workday and come home to hide. Other days, I've gone out to run so that I can "push through" only to be completely miserable. Lately, running has been one of the only things I've enjoyed (though Friday I bailed on a long run after work sent me into a major tailslide). Work, school, and everything else have been exhausting and left me unable to function during the hours that I'm at home. The stress put on me and my family as a result has been unbelievable.

Runner's World's willingness to take on the issue of depression among athletes has caught me by surprise, but it has helped knowing that as a runner and a person struggling against depression, I am not alone. The feeling of isolation and that I should be able to handle everything without help has always been a significant barrier. I'm beginning to realize (well, atleast today I realize...)that if I am strong enough to run a marathon, I'm strong enough to say that I need help and medication to keep me on the roads...

Figaro's Boston

2006-02-23T12:57:00.000-05:00

Hi all -- just a brief FYI for those of you who live or work in the Boston area:

Figaro's of Boston are raising money for my DFMC run. They are located on Beach St, just 2 blocks from South Station on the Red Line. The wonderful owners have agreed to match all contributions collected at their restaurant from now until April 17th (Marathon Monday)! This is a great opportunity to have a great breakfast or lunch and support Dana-Farber -- so go, eat, give, and tell 'em I sent you!

As one of the Runner's World writers says...."Waddle On Friends"!

Pesach Marathon Preparations

2006-02-21T12:49:00.000-05:00

I've settled on what I'll be drinking during the marathon -- I've been using the OJ, salt, water recipe I posted a few weeks ago on my long runs to great success. I think that I'm going to carry a fuel belt just to be one the safe side during the marathon because I'd hate to miss a person with fuel and bonk as a result.

I did use Goo during yesterday's run because I'm having a bit of trouble finding individual honey packets -- if you happen to have a source in the Boston area, please let me know! A honey alternative goo substitute is still in the works -- I'll let you know when I hit on something.

This weekend I'll be starting to eat dinner the day before my long runs roughly the same way that I will the day before the marathon. My breakfasts will also change to be more similar to what I'll eat that morning. As time goes on, I'll adjust my start time to noon and do a couple of long runs following the ritual I expect on Marathon monday.

I haven't heard from those of you who are preparing to run and observe Pesach as well -- how is it going out there?

Lost...

2006-02-21T12:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I found myself thankful for a great inner GPS system since I got lost in the West Medford and Arlington areas. I missed a turn on my 16 mile long run and realized that I'd have to "punt" my route from there. Making a quick mental map of where I thought I was, I calculated roughly where I should turn to get back near the original route and luckily, I was right on. The downside to all of this that my run through the Arlington Hills turned out to be hillier than I had original plan. The 2nd half of the run was flat or slightly downhill for the most part so things balanced out. I finished in 2:20:43 -- not breaking a speed record but I've been trying to focus on my pacing for the past couple of weeks.

I'm starting to think a lot about how to become a better runner -- understanding the impact of form on my runs, feeling out different paces, knowing how the food I eat impacts my body. There is so much to learn but I feel like I'm a few steps ahead of where I was last year at this time which is all I can ask for...much like adding mileage, the improvements happen from run to run in small increments.

One final thought...

2006-02-16T20:12:00.000-05:00

When I leave my office at 5 and take the train home, I normally get home around 5:45 or 5:50. Today running home, I walked in my door at 5:53 -- I don't know if this says something about my running or something about the state of the T (the train). Probably both but it still felt pretty cool

The Anti-Diet....

2006-02-16T19:34:00.000-05:00

Some of my co-workers have started a group called "The Biggest Loser Club" to lose weight. The person who loses the most body fat gets a cash reward -- and they are making me ABSOLUTELY MENTAL in the process. I admit, I'm 118 pounds with little body fat and I eat pretty much what I want. That, however, has not always been the case -- in college, I was pushing 180 for a while...

Today, we had cake to celebrate the recent birthdays of some staff members. All morning, BLC members could be heard talking to eat other about to eat the cake or not to eat the cake. I heard more than one say, if I eat cake it means that I should skip lunch because I don't need the calories. Another, accused one staff member of falling off the wagon...

I've tried to talk to BLC members about other ways to reduce body fat without getting into the food as punishment cycle but have been stopped at each attempt. I have offered to help people get running (just a little running, jogging, any cardio ...even) but was told that exercise is just too much work. Others go for walks during lunch but don't move fast enough to break a sweat or get their heart rates up...in most cases, the message they are communicating to each other is, we need to lose weight by any means necessary...which for me signals less about wanting to have a healthy body that has less body fat and is a message that screams potential eating disorder in huge red flashing lights. Certainly this isn't true for all of the members but I worry about some and their relationship to food and their bodies.

There are a couple of people in my office (I'm not sure if they are in BLC or not) that have recently started to ask about running and working up to a 5k -- this is exciting. More people to talk running, nutrition, exercise with in ways that are sustainable and healthy! Yay potential runners..

As for falling off the wagon...if you are having such a miserable relationship with food and your body, shouldn't you consider trying a different wagon? There are plenty of ways to have a healthier body without starving yourself or beginning to hate to eat. Yes, I run -- which allows me to worry less about that 100 calorie snack that one woman complained about this morning (there are men in on this group too...) but, the key is eating in moderation and adjusting my body to be more active so that I burn the calories.

It makes me sad to hear my collegues talking about everything they can't eat and at the same time talking about how they go home and do nothing but watch Lost or American Idol before bed. I have nothing against T.V. but if you want a healthy body, how about finding a wagon that combines good food, exercise, a little T.V and a great image of yourself/your health too?

Which wagon are you on?

Absolutely Mental....

2006-02-16T19:28:00.000-05:00

Absolutely mental: A phrase used by my co-workers to describe my running "habit" -- Does this mean they think I'm crazy? I think that is what they are trying to tell me...

Absolutely mental: running at it's best is a mental as well as physical endevor. Tonight, I ran 5 miles home from work at a pace just under 8:00/mile. Somewhere about halfway home, I realized that I wasn't mentally in the game and was just flinging my legs forward and back rather than using the power in them to push off -- wasting precious seconds because of a mental lapse. On the marathon course, you have to keep your head in the game for some things (form, eating, drinking, pace...) otherwise, Boston's course will chew you up and spit you out....some of the biggest names in running history have bonked on this course

Absolutely mental: The process I'm going through in changing from thinking about running in order to finish Boston fast than last year to thinking about running as a year long process with the goal of improving all year, not just for one race. I'm faster and fitter now than last year at this time despite more layoff than I should have taken. I've begun to realize that faster and fitter is really the goal -- and that takes time....this is absolutely a mental shift for me

Feeling Hardcore...

2006-02-15T13:35:00.000-05:00

I ran 14 or so miles before heading into the office yesterday...although this year, I've been less fanatical about my training I still felt, just for a moment, a little hardcore...the run was great. My co-workers always give me a hard time when I get to the office at 8 having already run more than a half marathon and eating everything in sight! I got up at 3:30 and was out the door an hour later -- there was no one on the road since we had more than a foot of snow on Sunday which made for a nice run. I averaged around 9:40 per mile over the course of the run and felt like I could have run another couple of miles if time had allowed.

Donations are starting to come in again -- I received a few today from co-workers and family members. A collegue of mine is a member of a shul on the marathon route and I'm hoping to talk to them about both sponsorship and having food for Pesach observant runners on the course...great project for a youth group I think! I keep forgetting to email Jack Fultz (our DFMC coach) and ask him to address eating before, during, and after the race for those of us who are observing Pesach. I know that atleast one other person on the team is impacted by Pesach and I've heard from a number of other runners as well.

For those who have emailed from out of town to ask about where to eat Marathon weekend, your options are unfortunately few. I would recommend buying food at the Butcherie in Brookline since I am not aware of any restaurants where you will be able to eat. Another option is to contact a local shul and ask if they can match you with an individual or family for meals that weekend. I keep hoping that a shul in the area will figure a pre-marathon or post-marathon party out but I'm realizing more and more that the assumption is that when it comes to marathoning "Jews don't do that...". Incorrect, but part of the stereotype I'm afraid.

If any Jewish marathon gatherings come together, you'll read it here so keep checking in....

Return of the White Stuff...

2006-02-10T14:56:00.000-05:00

The weather here in New England has been very mild up to now which makes me worry about what the rest of February and March will bring. This weekend's weather will definately make an impact on my running schedule. We are expecting 8-14" of snow on Sat./Sun. along with very high winds. The forecast makes me think that it is likely that I'll be doing my 15-16 mile run on Monday after work rather than my normal Sunday morning run! Last year I ran after 27+" of snow which was incredibly stupid -- this year, I'm trying to be a little smarter about knowing when to rest or re-arrange my schedule. If the weather Sunday afternoon isn't bad, I'll get out there. Otherwise, a post work run will take care of the mileage.

In fundraising news -- I have had just over $1650 in pledges so far. The largest pledge to date has been $500 from a friend and fellow Havnik. The fundraising minimum is $2500 (which should be no problem). I'll be sending some more letters out next week when my new computer and printer arrive. Hopefully, I'll also be able to make arrangements with local businesses for "DFMC day" or to donate gifts for raffles.

Doing it for Chris

2006-02-07T20:34:00.000-05:00

Last night at my team meeting, there was a woman talking about what it was like to find out that your baby son has stage 3 cancer in his testicles, lungs, and other organs and what it was like to run 5 years after the treatment ended, covering that last mile with the same son who thankfully has remained cancer free.

I listened, holding my son asleep in my arms and began to think about what it was like last year, out on the course when in the beginning, people would just see "Chris" and not "For Chris". The turning point came when a young man of 9-10 yelled "Go Chris" and then looked again at what my singlet said and after seeing "For Chris" and Dana-Farber began to yell "Do it for Chris --- you gotta do it for Chris." That energy kept me going.

The day we lost Chris was also my 29th birthday. I remember feeling angry that he died on my birthday (I don't really enjoy birthdays but nonetheless, that's how I felt) and sad that he wouldn't be able to come watch the marathon with DFMC folks at mile 25 afterall. Just a few weeks before, he and I had talked about him coming to watch...now, almost a year later, I find myself in a different place - still sad but also realizing just how much borrowed time we all got with him.

The experimental treatments gave us a little extra time -- he was Stage 3 when diagnosed and things quickly progressed from there but when he opted for the experimental treatment, things slowed back down. Days turned to weeks, weeks to months -- he made it almost a year. Last year, crossing the finish line, I saw his favorite biblical passage flying on a church banner to celebrate the marathon -- he asked that I use it during last year's fundraising. "May you run and not grow weary. May you walk and not faint" -- Isiah 40:31

On the hill again...

2006-02-07T19:17:00.000-05:00

...on the hill again, just can't wait to get on the hill again...(to the tune of Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again")

I look forward to hill repeats as much as I look forward to a trip to the dentist's chair...at the time it seems like needless pain and suffering, only later, after I've recovered do realize that my body feels a little better. Tonight was one of those nights. 30 minutes of hill repeats with an icy headwind on the uphill portion. Last night at our team meeting, Jack Fultz was talking about the pain becoming more nusance than pain as you mentally adjust to training -- the reality is, that when it comes to running up and down a hill over and over again, I'm just not there yet.

Successful Adventures In Parenting Part I

2006-02-07T19:05:00.000-05:00

Last night Yoni and ventured out together for the first non-coffee house solo outing last night to the DFMC team meeting. I wasn't sure how taking him to the meeting was going to go but he did really well. He spent most of the meeting either sleeping or flirting with staff and team members.

I did learn the importance of double checking the top of the bottle before giving it to him. I was having a conversation with a teammate when he began to indicate he was hungry -- I made my way over the the diaper bag to get the bottle (still having a conversation and feeling like "hey, maybe I can do this runner parent thing afterall) when all of the sudden, milk began pouring out of the bottle when I gave it to him...like an idiot, all I could get out of my mouth was "uhh no, uhh no..." Thankfully the woman that I was talking to grabbed the bottle out of my hand and wiped off with a napkin, tightened the lid, and gave it to me -- all before the baby could realize the bottle was gone....ahhh, adventures in parenting!

Hitting the trails

2006-02-05T12:39:00.000-05:00

I've been jealous of those people in runner's world who are hitting beautiful trails and beaches on their runs so I ran to one of several wilderness reservations in the Boston area to do a little trail running for this week's long run. After being sick all week, I needed a little time running with the rocks and trees.

The route was by far the hilliest I've run this training season. My legs and cardio system seemed fine even when pushed a little bit. I stopped my watch for a bit and took on an additional rocky, steep section just so that I could see what turned out to be an amazing few of the city. All together, I ran somewhere between 12-13 miles.

The bonus for the run was getting to spot a red fox scurrying around some trees and under the rocks! I saw something running beside me in the trees and was able to just get my head around as it disappeared in the rocks. Simply beautiful. Birds and running water -- I didn't even notice the rain showers and when I looked at my watch was shocked to find out it was time to turn around despite running at a good clip!

After the run, I realized that despite being behind in my training, I'm in a lot better shape than I was last year at this time. My baseline fitness is better, I'm a more experienced runner, and I'm getting atleast 2 out of 3 runs per week in. Marathon Monday may not be as ugly as I've been fearing after all...

Pesach Marathon Prep Test Kitchen I

2006-02-05T12:26:00.000-05:00

Today's experiment: drinks

Ingredients:
1/4 water bottle of OJ
3/4 water bottle of water
1/4 teaspoon of salt

I thought I'd pick something easy to try and test for a Powerade substitute come marathon day. This one tastes better than fruit punch that has been watered down! I found that it worked well -- the salt seemed adequate to offer fuel to the muscles but I want to do some research on what the optimal amount is.

For those who want to make sure you get enough salt on marathon day, carry a pesach friendly boullion cube with you on the course -- crush it up and eat it periodically during the race. I highly recommend trying anything new during training to see how your body adjusts. It sounds gross, I know, but it works well!

Next week's test kitchen adventure: Gu substitute!

Challenge to my readers!

2006-01-30T13:53:00.000-05:00

According to my blog's site meter, there have been 122 visits from 8 countries to my little corner of the blogosphere. I'd like to challenge you all to give a small amount to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge. Why give? Well, my guess is that each of you know someone who has been touched by cancer. You may even be a cancer survivor. If everyone who visited this blog gave $5 or $10, that would raise hundreds of dollars to assist other's who are struggling to beat cancer or to have a higher quality of life for the time they have left. Giving is easy...think about it, $5 -- that's not much....most people spend more than that on coffee each week. So, the challenge is easy -- can Long Cold Run readers raise $250 by marathon monday? I hope so...I believe in you....and the kids at Dana-Farber need you.

Check out what money raised by DFMC donations have already done: http://www.dana-farber.org/how/danafarber/barr_researchers.asp

Connections between alcohol and cancer

2006-01-30T13:50:00.000-05:00

CNN has posted a story discussing the connection between some types of cancer and alcohol consumption. When my Uncle Chris was sick, this is something I researched a fair amount since he was a recovering alcoholic...and what I found out is that alcoholics are more likely to get cancer -- and pancreatic cancer is one of the more common among that group.

Flu season strikes...and doubt creeps in

2006-01-30T13:41:00.000-05:00

19 minute 5k time on Friday and on Saturday morning, I wake up with the flu...sigh. Last week I had a great training week -- 2 fabulous runs and some good cross training. Unfortunately, my long run for the week was hijacked by a runny nose, fever, and headache. I called in sick to work this morning (which almost never happens) and am hoping that some rest and my partner's "soup to wake the dead" will allow me to do a run tomorrow.

This does mean, however, that I've lost 2 long runs in a row and now I'm starting to panic over my performance at the Boston Marathon. I'm trying to remind myself that running sick only leads to more lost runs but right now I WANT TO BE OUT RUNNING!

What do those of you reading this do when sick ( I know you are out there -- my counter says someone is reading this....) Any advice from blog land?

Globe Article

2006-01-26T14:34:00.000-05:00

The Boston Globe published an article today about Steven M. Meyer, an MIT prof. who is living with cancer -- and it seems by reading the article that he is doing so with as much grace, humor, and enjoyment of life as one could hope for....

For me, this is just another reminder of why instead of "just running", I run to raise money for Dana-Farber.

Rise,Run, and Learn

2006-01-24T13:36:00.000-05:00

The alarm clock went off at 4 this morning and I found myself wondering if I have the mental toughness to run the marathon as a new parent. Soon after, I found myself pounding the pavement for a slushy but warm (33 degree) run and decided that YES I AM TOUGH ENOUGH! In addition to new music on my IPOD, today's run featured 2 skunks, only 2 other runners on the road -- at 6am (an hour and a half later than I was), and running that sometimes was a combination of cross country running (due to large unshovelled areas) and running on a hockey rink (memories of Cool Runnings anyone?). Needless to say, I wasn't able to get my full mileage in during the time before work but I did learn a few valuable lessons.

About half way through the run, I realized that I wasn't paying attention to form and foot/pavement contact. Rather than attacking the pavement, I was just bouncing off of it. Once I began to use all of the muscles in my backside, the running was more effecient and faster. My feet also took less of a beating because they had an active role rather than simply being a battering ram for the pavement. I wonder how it is that I've been running this way and never noticed it!

I also was able to remember (once I talked myself out of my nice toasty house) that I actually enjoy running tremendously when I get out before work -- long before other runners and traffic. At 4 am, you never know what you'll see...today it was 2 skunks -- one day last year, a coffeeshop employee noticed me running a route by their shop. The next week, on my last pass, they had a cup of hot coffee in a "To Go Cup" with the lid taped shut so I could run home...

The most important lesson of the run -- I have the mental toughness to do this crazy marathon training during New England Winter while being a parent thing!

Frustration...

2006-01-22T18:52:00.000-05:00

I've been noticing that after playing with my 2 month old son -- especially when I've been bouncing him (mostly to put him to sleep), that the inside of my left knee has been sore. At times, like today just before my long run, it has hurt so much and so sharply that I haven't been able to run. The pain is very localized and I am becoming increasingly frustrated.

This afternoon after making all of my long run preparations, I realized that the area was too sore to push off effectively so I boycotted the run in favor of icing followed by some time on the elliptical trainer at the gym. Unfortunately, while I still got a workout in, this means that I'll be running home from work and then some for my long run in snow, sleet, and rain...

I need to pay better attention to how I'm holding him so that this doesn't continue -- I have to be able to make my mileage every week and I can't do that if I'm injured...

12 weeks to go...must run, must raise $$!

Post Race Pesach Plans

2006-01-18T13:23:00.000-05:00

I'm contemplating what to do after this year's Boston Marathon -- the usual recovery at Woody's in the Fenway is out because of Pesach. If you are a runner out there who is also asking this question, let me know. I'd like to get a sense of who's running the big race during Pesach this year!

Marathon Changes

2006-01-18T13:22:00.000-05:00

FYI for those who are running or watching this year's race:

Courtesy of the Boston Athletic Association
1/17/2006
This Year’s B.A.A. Boston Marathon To Implement Wave Start
Improvement will have positive effects on participants and residents in the town of Hopkinton; entire race will be more efficient.Also, a minor change in course near race’s finish will allow pedestrian and vehicular traffic on Massachusetts Avenue to pass above while race is in progress.BOSTON – In a change designed to provide a better experience at the beginning of the race both for participants and residents, the Boston Athletic Association in cooperation with the Town of Hopkinton will implement a wave start for this year’s Boston Marathon.In employing the change, all participants will be staged and begin on a single commercial street (Main Street, also known as Route 135) in two waves of approximately 10,000 athletes in each wave. No longer will runners wait to begin the race while lined-up on residential streets. Hundreds of volunteers will escort runners from an expanded Athletes’ Village at Hopkinton High School to their starting corrals, preventing them from stopping on or in front of private (residential or commercial) or public property. Approximately half of the anticipated field of 20,000 official entrants will begin in the first wave, and the remaining half of the field will begin one-half hour later in the second wave.The starting time for the first wave of runners will be Noon, and the second wave will begin at 12:30 p.m. Remaining the same as in each of the last two years (since 2004), a few mobility-impaired participants will begin at 10:00 a.m., several dozen wheelchair division competitors will begin at 11:25 a.m., and approximately 50-70 of the race’s fastest women will begin in a separate Elite Women’s Start at 11:31 a.m. The exact starting line itself, adjacent to the Hopkinton Town Green, remains unchanged.“This improvement will result in a vastly more efficient race,” said Dave McGillivray, Boston Marathon Race Director. “This change is all positive and will benefit everything about the Boston Marathon, including our transportation plan and our accommodation of runners in the hours leading up to the race. The effects of this plan will be extensive: we are sensitive to our impact within Hopkinton, and this operational innovation addresses the concerns of town residents and officials.”Another of the benefits of the wave start is that it will reduce the amount of time that it takes for runners to cross the starting line. Last year, with approximately 20,000 official entrants, the last official participant crossed the starting line approximately 30 minutes after the starting gun was fired. Although the B.A.A.’s timing and scoring system records participants’ net times, in the past it may have taken runners until several miles down the course before they could begin to run freely and without obstruction due to the density of runners during the race’s early stages.“Whereas it took the last official runners 30 minutes to cross the starting line last year, this year it will take fewer than 10 minutes for each wave to cross,” said McGillivray. “It is important to note that the anticipated net difference in this method versus previous years’ ‘one gun, one start’ is only about 10 minutes, meaning the last runner will be crossing the starting line this year at 12:40 p.m. as compared to 12:30 p.m. last year. We get the benefit of a wave start without any significant delay in anyone’s starting time. Runners will continue to be seeded and started according to their qualifying time, which means that – in theory – no one from the second wave will ever catch anyone from the first wave. In practice, of course, due to a number of variables, some runners from the second wave will mix with the last runners of the first wave far down the course. However, by that time, the race will have thinned itself enough so that no issue will arise for runners who are passing other runners, getting the fluid replacement that they need, or other race services.”Another change will be that runners will be scored and ranked by their net time, which means that – although they will be starting 30 minutes later than those in the first wave – runners from the second wave will be timed and scored from the time they cross the starting line until the time they cross the finish line. Prize money winners will continue to be awarded by gun time (not net time).Because the second wave will begin at 12:30 p.m., the finish line timing and scoring operation will remain open until 6:30 p.m. Since 1997, the Boston Marathon finish line has stayed up and running until just after 6:00 p.m., recording all official participants who run within the six hour time limit.“These changes represent a major step forward for the Boston Marathon and its runners,” said the B.A.A.s’ Executive Director Guy Morse. “Everyone wins with this plan. Wave starts have been implemented and received with overwhelming and widespread success in road racing, as well as in other sports. There is no anticipated down-side with our plan.”Benefits of the B.A.A.’s plan to begin the 2006 Boston Marathon in a wave start, consisting of two sections of 10,000 participants each:-An expanded Athletes’ Village will be used to implement the plan, resulting in more space and greater comfort for athletes prior to the race; each wave will have its own designated section of the Athletes’ Village; -Athletes will be staged for a shorter time in downtown Hopkinton;-Athletes will be staged on a smaller geographical footprint in Hopkinton, and they will occupy less real estate in Hopkinton, minimizing impact on town property;-The last runners of each wave will cross the starting line 20 minutes sooner than recent past years;-Once crossing the starting line, runners will be able to run free sooner;-Runners can be transported to Hopkinton later, decreasing the time they will need to be accommodated while in Hopkinton waiting for the race to begin;-On the course, between Hopkinton and Boston, the wave start will reduce the density of runners on the route, enabling systems such as fluid replacement and emergency facilities to stay ahead of the needs of the participants and spectators with the services they are providing;-Runners – except for prize money winners – will be timed, scored and receive age division awards according to their net time;-The finish line in Boston will remain open to time and score official participants until 6:30 p.m.Start timeline for the 110th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 17, 200610:00 a.m. Mobility-impaired athletes11:25 a.m. Wheelchair division competitors11:31 a.m. Elite WomenNoon Elite Men and first wave of approximately 10,000 entrants12:30 p.m. Second wave of approximately 10,000 entrantsUnrelated to the wave start, the B.A.A. and the City of Boston will make a minor course change within the last mile of the route. In the 25th mile not far after the runners pass through Kenmore Square, participants will go under Massachusetts Avenue as they make their way along Commonwealth Avenue. In the past, the course has taken runners across Massachusetts Avenue on Commonwealth Avenue. The change allows for pedestrian and vehicular traffic on Massachusetts Avenue while the race is in progress, providing an outlet in the Back Bay on a major roadway which previously did not exist. The course has been re-measured and the course change does not necessitate any alteration of either the starting line or the finish line. The exact distance from the existing starting line on Main Street in Hopkinton to the existing finish line on Boylston Street in Boston is 26 miles, 385 yards.This year’s marathon will be held on Monday, April 17; it is the 110th edition of the world’s oldest annual marathon. The Boston Marathon has started in Hopkinton, Massachusetts since 1924. From the race’s inception in 1897 until 1923, the Boston Marathon began in neighboring Ashland, Mass.

Progress!

2006-01-17T19:30:00.000-05:00

At last I am seeing progress in my DFMC fundraising and training efforts. On the fundraising front, O'Naturals in Davis Sq. will be donating 10% of sale between 4-8 on March 28th to my fundraising and Figaros by South Station in Boston will be collecting donations for DFMC from February through race day. Figaros will then match the total donated by their customers! I encourage everyone to support these businesses both during the DFMC fundraising events and throughout the year.

On the running front, I got all of my runs in this past week for the first time since Yoni was born! The temperatures were VERY warm for New England in January last week so I was able to run in shorts -- ahh, the wind in my leg hair! I've started running during lunch 1-2 days per week and then running home from work on Friday afternoons. I had a 40 minute commute home so I thought I'd prefer to spend that time plus a little extra running home so that I could spend more time with Yoni.

Later on this week, I'll be checking out a restorative yoga class at my gym. Next week, I'm heading back to spinning class. Between getting my workouts in, tweaking my diet, and hitting the gym more often, I'm feeling less tired and more energized by training. Hopefully, the energy will keep on coming....and the baby will keep on sleeping a little longer tonight :)

Why Run?

2006-01-14T19:48:00.001-05:00

Lately a lot of people have all been asking me the same question -- Why do you run????? Some of them phrase it a bit differently -- Why do you run, haven't you had enough knee problems??? My answer is actually very simple -- Because I Can! After 14 knee surgeries and several years of needing a cane to walk more often than not (despite only being in my twenties), I can run. More specifically, as I found out last year, I can run 26.2 miles and still want to run more.

Since I was a teenager, I have struggled with a knee injury that caused my knee cap to dislocate repeatedly. The injury was caused when someone lost their temper and I was the closest target. Surgery after surgery failed and I was told to suck it up and learn to adjust to the fact that I would never play sports again. That wasn't easy to hear for a hard-core soccer player and someone who was running 5:15 miles.

In the spring of 2003, I was walking down the street on my way to work when my knee cap dislocated again -- and life has never been the same since! I had a new doctor through the university I attend and he sent me to a surgeon at the Boston University. After some discussion, he was convinced that my knee could actually be fixed. It turns out that one of the surgical options that we ruled out more than 10 years ago is close to 90% successful now.

That surgery, the fulkerson osteotomy, happened 2 weeks after my wedding. The procedure involves surgically breaking the bone that sticks out beneath your kneecap (on the shin) and digging a new channel to one side, then reattaching the bone with screws. I was in bed for 12 weeks except for trips to the bathroom and physical therapy with the occassional trip out in the world if a car was availible.

On Thanksgiving Day of 2003, I "ran" around the parking lot of a hotel in Mt. Laurel, NJ with my partner Carolyn - the best run either of us has ever had. My leg was dragging behind me but it was more running than I'd been able to do in years. In January of '04, I started playing indoor soccer with a brace. That following February, I started working out in the gym and in March, my surgeon told me that I was medically cleared to do anything I wanted. I asked what anything meant and he said "whatever you want to do." I laughed and joked that I should run a marathon and he said go ahead!

Over the summer I ran a half-marathon and then when my Uncle Chris got sick I decided to see just how serious my surgeon was. I applied to the DFMC marathon team and was accepted. I probably would have run even if Chris hadn't gotten sick just to see how far I could push it. Running with Dana-Farber is a way to remember Chris -- but running is a way to remember that I can survive life's challenges. Running with DFMC gives me a way to take the challenges I've had and use them to raise money for others to fight the challenges they are facing.

The Pesach Problem

2005-12-29T16:05:00.000-05:00

This year and next, Pesach and the Boston Marathon are on a collision course for those who both keep Pesach (particularly those who are Ashkenazi) and run the Marathon. Over the next 2 months, I'll be testing recipes for alternatives to the usual performance nutrition products. For now though, here are some things to consider if you also find yourself needing these alternatives:

1. Carbo load with potato -- we Jews know potato, now the question becomes, how many potato dishes can you make the night before the marathon? If you have good recipes, lets read them!!

2. KP fruit juice with extra salt and water is your friend...take that salt water from sedar and toss it in with fruit punch. Give it to your friends to have every few miles along the course! It is too bad we can't organize Boston's Jewish Community to show up near all water stops to hand it out to those of us who can't take the Gatorade!

3. Honey packets as a Gu alternative; Another alternative (that I personally can't stand) are RingGels -- I may be able to get my friend David to come watch the marathon again this year just by promising to eat them (YICK!)

Some suggestions for what NOT to do:

1. Avoid matzah when possible --- we know what running does to our digestive systems and we know that matzah has it's own special impact...eating matzah the weekend of race day will only cause problems

2. Dried fruit can be tasty but can also loosen things up - some thing that happens naturally while running as well. The last thing you want is to be a few miles into things and have to hit the port-a-johns every few miles. If you do dried fruit, be conservative -- a better alternative could be bananas and oranges that can be found along the route.

Those are my thoughts for now...if you have ideas, I'd love to hear them! Jesse's test kitchen will go into production mode next weekend!

The Long Warm Run??

2005-12-25T19:47:00.003-05:00

Well, it is Dec. 25th and it was 55 degrees around noon here in Somerville, MA....that's really unusual for this time of year but made for a beautiful run along the Charles River. I did 9 miles through a number of different neighborhoods in Cambridge and Somerville. The route was a new one and little did I know that a major demolition project was going to block access to a cut through about half way into the run. I manage to make a reasonable guess to the detour's distance and after a route adjustment came in at the correct distance.

This week, I tried a couple of the new Clif products and was generally happy. The new Cran-Raspberry Blox are fantastic -- much easier on the mouth feel and stomach than Gu. The taste was also a definate improvement. 3 blox = 1 Gu and there are 6 blox to a package. The strawberry, while still an improvement doesn't taste quite as good...next week's long run will allow me to taste the Lemon-Lime variety. I LOVE lime so I hope that I'm not disappointed.

The Mango Recovery drink was also a good purchase. I found that it has aided my recovery better than other products that I've tried. The taste still needs some work but I'm going to track down the Vanilla variety and see if that is any better. I hope that Clif will come up with a couple of other flavor options for this product.

This week's training should be pretty straightforward. I have a 6 mile tempo run on Tuesday, a 6-8 mile run (distance depends on how much sleep I get), and then a 10 miler on Sunday. As always, there will be crosstraining on Wed, Friday, and Saturday after Shabbos ends. Let's keep our fingers crossed for warm weather this week!

You can make a difference

2005-12-21T21:46:00.000-05:00

On April 6, 2005 Carolyn and I received a phone call with the news that we had lost our Uncle Chris to pancreatic cancer at age 44. Twelve days later, I ran the Boston Marathon in Chris’ memory with the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team. About 6-8 miles into the race, the cheering started to change from “Yay!” to a more focused cheer – “Go Jesse” (my name was on my arms) and "Do it for Chris!" (“For Chris” was on my shirt). I lost count somewhere between miles 8 and 10 of how many times Chris' name was yelled along the course. It was in the hundreds by that point -- with 16 miles to go! There were people thanking Dana-Farber runners for raising money that helped get them treatment, small kids running after us with cups of water or oranges, and my personal favorite -- juice pops at the turn onto Commonwealth Ave! Thanks to your help, I raised $5500 for cancer research.

This year, I am running the Boston Marathon again to raise money for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team. The DFMC team’s goal is to raise $3.6 million to support cancer research for the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research. Since 1987, this program has helped to provide hundreds of researchers with the money to begin researching new cancer treatments. Experimental treatments such as the ones developed through the Barr Program gave Chris valuable extra time with his friends and family.

Today, you have the opportunity to help cancer patients from around the world benefit from the treatments developed at Dana-Farber. My personal fundraising goal this year is $10,000. This is almost twice the amount that I raised last year. Please take a moment to click on the DFMC link under “Sponsor Me.” By giving to DFMC, not only are you supporting my dream of running the Boston Marathon, you are supporting the opportunity for cancer patients to receive critical treatment options.

Training for the Boston Marathon in New England is always an interesting challenge. Last year there were frozen water bottles, frozen goo, and a 12 mile run with 30” of fresh snow. This year, in addition to the weather, I’ll be training with a new baby and running the Marathon during Passover! To track this year’s challenges, check back in on the Long Cold Run.

Thank you for your support!

The bell tolls...

2005-12-11T17:28:00.000-05:00

The constant getting up to bring Yonatan, my 3 week old son, to my partner to nurse and then waking up again to burp and change him before putting him back down to sleep has finally caught up with me. I would estimate that I MIGHT have slept 3 hours last night but I suspect that might be a generous number. Needless to say, I switched my rest day and long run day -- so instead of hitting the pavement, I'm sitting here typing this and pulling together the list of people to send letters to for my DFMC fundraising.

When I haven't been running or changing diapers, I've been checking out the latest product line from the folks at Clif. Their products are kosher certified and have worked well for me in the past. I've placed an order for Clifblocks and a new energy drink that they have...I'll write more about them after I get them from REI next week. I've also been pulling together nutritional information, breaking in a new pair of running shoes, and pulling all of my cold weather gear out of the closet. With another 8.5" of snow on Friday, I can definately say that the winter training season has arrived. Atleast on some of these cold, windy nights I will be able to sit with Yonatan and hopefully make some progress in preparing for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge...

Here comes the snow again...

2005-12-08T19:05:00.000-05:00

It is 23 degrees and clear this evening - making for a pleasant but slippery and chilly 5 mile tempo run. We are supposed to get 4-8" of the white stuff tomorrow but lucky for me it will be a weight lifting day so I won't have to run in it.

I'm enjoying these first runs of the training season but know that I've only just begun. These first weeks though are a good reminder of how much I enjoy running just to run. With old man winter knocking on the windows here in New England I am trying to enjoy the runs while I can. Soon, I'll be back to work from parental leave and running long miles before heading to the office.

One tool that I just discovered to help plot out my runs is the Gmap-Pedometer . It has allowed me to pick new routes rather than getting stuck on the same of paths. This website is a must for anyone running this many miles.

First snowy cold run of the year

2005-12-05T19:02:00.000-05:00

I just got back from a 7 mile run on snow and ice -- the first of these cold wet runs of the training season. The titanium pin in my left knee helped to remind me that yes, winter is indeed here! The temperature was 31 degrees at run time with snow and ice all over the place from the 3" we received yesterday.

Trying to train as a new parent running on less than 4 hours of sleep has been interesting. I'm learning a great deal about the need to be flexible but not too flexible. I'm off of work until the New Year so trying to have a training schedule when nothing else in my life is scheduled right now has been tough. That's when I start focusing on why I run with the Dana-Farber Team.

The Boston Globe provided this week's inspiration when cover the life and death of a 15 year old Red Sox fan and cancer patient named Patrick White. Take a moment to consider making a donation to my Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge run so that together we can give the Patrick White's of the world a fighting chance!

Return to Running

2005-11-30T18:13:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a surprisingly warm sunny November day which made for a perfect chance to return to running outside post-baby and stress fracture. I went out just before sunset and it was in the mid-50s. The run felt great. As expected, I didn't run my usual 7:30/mile pace but I kept the pace under 9:00/mile which I felt good about for a first run in 8 weeks.

Now that I can comfortably run again, my focus is turning to 2 things. 1) Trying to get enough training time without overtaxing my body because of a lack of sleep and 2) Raising $10,000 for Dana-Farber's Marathon Challenge. I'm hoping to find a radio sponsor to track my progress on-air over the coming months (and co-sponsor a large event this spring) and planning on trying to organize a Dana-Farber day in Davis Sq. For Dana-Farber day, I'm going to attempt to persuade various businesses to donate a % of profits from that day's sales to my fundraising effort.

With several hundred team members, their family and friends, these business would likely see an increase in traffic and sales on this day. Last year's team did a great job of showing up for each other's events and I would expect nothing less this year!

New Arrival Slows Training

2005-11-27T18:18:00.000-05:00

My training kick-off has been delayed a bit -- my partner gave birth to our first son on the 17th and I've been living in the world of sleep deprived parent ever since! From a training perspective, I wonder if the dancing and rocking him to sleep count as cross-training??

I have gotten to the gym twice for 1-1 1/2 hour workouts since he was born and am going to take the plunge into training with a newborn at home this week...

The Training Season Begins...

2005-11-13T14:56:00.000-05:00

November is here and with it comes the beginning of training for the 2006 Boston Marathon. This should be a quite an interesting training season -- my partner is set to give birth to our first child at any moment so I'm going balancing 40-60 miles a week of training with school, fundraising for Dana-Farber, and family life. For the next 2 years, the Marathon is during Passover so I'll be learning more about the nutritional content of powerade and gu than I've ever thought was necessary (a frightening thought for a runner that pays a fair amount of attention to what goes into my body). Anyway, thanks for coming along for the ride...