Mel Runs Boston 2010

A Whole Month...

2009-12-21T14:53:00.003-05:00

Without a blog post. Its official- I suck. On the bright side training is going pretty well! Fundraising, not so much. New Years Resolution- Raise TONS of money and also hopefully lose 10 pounds with all this running!

On a brighter note, I had some great group runs this past week! Group runs are WAY better then running by yourself and go by quicker as well. I love this time of year- Always puts an extra 'Pep in my step'! Thursday night I went to the Crossroads run, ran out to C. Circle and back, which got some hills in. I haven't really done hills, so it was kind of tough for me, and to top it off, it was FREEZING. The coldest I have ever ran in. I think I drank a few too many at the bar after the run because I woke up Friday with a slight hangover. (So unusual for me!) And I only had about 3 or 4 drinks, I usually have quite the high tolerance for a girl- I used to be able to demolish 8-10 beers no problem. Maybe its all this training and less drinking. Who knows? Less about booze, more about training...

Saturday I went to the group run at GBRC in Lexington and broke in my new sneaks that my dad and Karen bought for me- awesome shoes! I did something to my knee on the Thursday night run and it was still bothering me a bit. I iced it with some frozen Green Giant corn (good thing they were on sale at Shaw's last week!) and woke up feeling OK Saturday morning before the run. Around mile 4 it started to hurt a bit, and did until the end of the run. It is feeling MUCH better today- Probably because I took yesterday off. Tonight I plan on doing hopefully 7-9 miles on the DREADmill. Since I've been running outside almost all the time, I've come to HATE (very strong word) the treadmill. My walk to work this morning was a treacherous one, so I figured I'd play it safe, suck it up, and go on the treadmill. At least its warm in the gym, and I hope Jersey Shore is on MTV for my viewing pleasure while running...

Side note- we found out my sister Jen and fav bro-in-law Jeff are having a girl!! Auntie Mel has probably never been so excited about something in her life. Every time I think about the little peanut, who they are going to name Avery, I get a huge smile on my face! (People who are walking by my office right now probably think I'm such a tool. I'm staring at the computer smiling...) I think my mom- aka Nana- cries herself to sleep with tears of joy every night at the thought of having a granddaughter! And Andy, my brother, cant wait to be the cool, gay uncle!! (I'm still going to be wayyy cooler then him!) Everyone is basically overjoyed. Jeff has already said on numerous occasions that he has a license to carry and will use it in 16 years when she brings a boy home. God bless him...

OK- Back on track. With one of my favorite holidays (Christmas, the other being my birthday) fastly approaching I have been bad at running. I think in these past three weeks I have ran the least since August. Not good. Especially since the official training calendar started last week. After Christmas/New Years I pledge to get back on track. Between parties, shopping for gifts and myself, work, etc things have been crazy! Back into the routine after the holidays- I swear.

I'm still trying to figure out how to link people's blogs on my DFMC team to my page. I'm going to sit here after I post and figure it out. I'm not a technical idiot, but I feel like it with this blog. And my layout/color scheme is very ugly. I need to update it ASAP!

I hope everyone has a great holiday season! And don't forget to donate! http://www.runDFMC.org/2010/melissah

Mel

PS- I signed up for the Hyannis Half-Marathon and am doing it with a few other team mates. It will be a great training run a few months before the marathon! A little under 4 months until the Boston Marathon- eek! :-)

I'm Horrible at This...

2009-11-17T10:26:00.003-05:00

I am so bad at blogging, I apologize! I will hopefully be getting better at it, now that I see my fellow DFMC's are all way ahead of it then I am.

Hmmm... Where to begin??

Last Saturday I attended a DFMC First-Timers meeting for everyone on the team that is running their first marathon, and that this was their first time on the team. It was a bit early in the morning, so I was hesitant to go- you guys know how much I love my sleep! Anyways, I sucked it up and went, and am so glad that I did! I met some amazing people, learned more about more training runs, and got some great training and fundraising ideas. We broke up into smaller groups to get to know one another, and that's when I really got to know some of the team! Our team was team 'Stronger' (for the Kanye West song!) and we have kept in touch via email this past week about training, runs we are doing, etc. I think its great to have them! In fact, many of them have blogs, so I'm going to try and learn how to connect their blogs to mine so you can read up on them as well!

Training is going really well! I've taken down my mileage a bit because I was a little ahead of the training schedule. I'm doing about 8-10 miles a day 4 or 5 times a week usually around a 8:54 pace. On my off days, I don't really have any off days actually, I do Pilates/Yoga. I've never really been a huge fan of either of those, but they have been great to get some good stretching in! I went for a run on Saturday after the meeting during what I thought would be a nice break in the rain- it wasn't. I got drenched, and started thinking that I would prefer running in snow, which falls lighter, then in the rain. Isn't that horrible to think?! In early December I'm going to bring my running back up to 10-13 miles a day. I was really nervous about the marathon, but something in the past week or so hasn't made me as nervous! I figure I have 5 more months of training and if I'm doing 10 miles no problem, whats another 16? I did do a little over 13 on Sunday morning and thought- hey I just did a half marathon and feel pretty good!! Now I just have to add in some serious hills, and I'll be done with the hard part! Its all about staying positive! I also have a feeling that this will not be my last marathon... Maybe I should wait until April to say that?!

Back to training- this Thursday I'm doing a training run with some of my fellow DFMC's. It leaves out of Crossroads, which is at the corner of Mass Ave and Beacon, and we basically run the route that I run now along the Charles. Starting in January we take the D line out to Woodlands and run back to town, doing the Newton Hills. After the run the bar gives us free pizza and we all drink beer- my type of place!

In other news- I just sent in my official Boston Marathon Entry Form (!!!!!), so that means no turning back now!

Hmmm... I think that's it. Please leave comments/ cheer me on!!! Thanks so much for your support everyone!

And don't forget to donate- http://www.runDFMC.org/2010/melissah - Thanks to Mom (my #1 cheerleader!!!), Jack, and Auntie Donna for donating!!!

Mel

First Post (!!!!)

2009-10-22T12:24:00.000-04:00

So... I figured I would keep a blog during training, and a little bit after, to inform everyone on how its going, I'm feeling, etc. Here goes...

I am honestly so excited to be running the marathon. It is something I have always wanted to do, and am honored to be part of the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) Team. My goal is to finish it in under 4:30:00. I'm running a 8:57 mile right now, and still have over 5 months of training right now, so I'm praying to: Run Fast, Run Hard and Run Healthy.

As many of you know, my Nana passed away 12 years ago this past September of lung cancer. She was, and remains to be, the most amazing person I have ever met in my life. She was full of life, and wasn't just my Nana, but basically everyone's Nana. Her spirit lives on, and I like to think that on marathon day she will be my 'guardian angel' running right beside me and pushing me when the running gets tough.

I'm also running for my Pappy, who passed away from Leukemia a few years back as well. He was just like my dad- amazing! A southern gentleman who was soft-spoken, but would let you know how it was. My dad got his good looks from him, and I got my good looks from my dad- so I feel I owe it to him! While my Nana will be on my right side, he will be on my left, pushing me along the whole way- especially through Heartbreak Hill and the Newton Hills as well. Since he was a true lover of the outdoors and nature, I'll be sure to take in the scenery during my run in honor of him.

Lastly, I'm running in honor of my step-brother Russell. After doing a tour of duty in Iraq, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He was treated at Dana Farber and is now doing very well! His red hair matches him- bright and out of control! I'm hoping on marathon day he will run with me for a mile or two because I know he wont let me quit and will really push me along. What I'll be going through that day is nothing compared to what he had to endure during those months of treatment. He is my true American Hero!

Training so far is going really well. I'm currently doing about 9-11 miles four or five times a week. Last week and this past weekend were pretty tough because of the cold, so I'm investing in some serious cold weather gear and gloves! I've always made fun of people that run with the water bottles attached to their waist, but I bought one of those yesterday, so now people are going to make fun of me! After mile 5 I get pretty thirsty! This weekend I'm going to attempt a 15 mile run. I'm hoping to find a running buddy who also lives in the North End at our first team meeting, which is on October 28th. I don't mind running alone, but it would be nice to have someone push you when it gets tough. It hasn't yet, but we'll see how this 15 mile one goes this weekend.

I have to raise $5,500, all of which goes directly to the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber. Dana-Farber really is leading the way in cancer research, and I hope in my lifetime to see it cured. This is my small part in helping.

So please consider making a donation- http://www.runDFMC.org/2010/melissah. And if you will be in Boston on April 19, 2010, come and cheer me and my teammates on as (I love this quote!) 'We race towards the ultimate finish line: a world without cancer'.

So check back often- I'm going to try and do weekly updates for the next 3 months, and then when it gets closer hopefully two times a week. Feel free to leave words of encouragement!

Thanks so much for your support everyone!

Mel