Tag Archives: dana farber

Training, training and more training

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I really don’t have anything exciting to write about this week.  No new personal records or race registrations.  Just boring old training.  I’m getting to the end.  This weekend is the last big run before the Marathon.  22 Miles from Hopkinton to Boston College.  I’m getting nervous about it, I always get nervous about long runs.

  • Will I make it through the whole run?
  • How will I feel that day?  Will I be energized and ready to go or will my legs feel like led from Mile 1?
  • How am I going to feel after running the Hills mile 15 and on?
  • Will me knee and foot (injuries) hold up okay?
  • What if I have a bad run and then I go into Marathon feeling anxious?

The last question is probably my biggest fear.  If I have a bad run on Sunday I know I’m going to be very nervous for Marathon Monday.  If I have a good run, then I’ll be excited, pumped up and ready for the big day.  Cross your fingers that it’s the latter.

So far training this week has been as follows:

  • Monday – Rest & recovery day – 30 minutes of Physical Therapy “homework”
  • Tuesday – 40 Minute Spin Class (tough), 60 minutes of weights (including my PT “homework”)
  • Wednesday – 5 mile run at a 1% incline at an 8:25 pace followed by 28 minutes of spinning (hill climb, 30 sec sprints, 20 sec sprints and jumps) totalling 70 minutes of cardio (8 mile run)

My physical therapy homework is killing me.  It’s 300 leg lifts (various types) along with 3 types of squats with a resistance band that you hold for 30 seconds (3 times each) and walking squats with the resistance band.  It’s tough!

I’m off to Physical Therapy shortly (I hope she goes easy on me) and then to my last Dana Farber meeting. I’m very excited to hear all the details for marathon weekend and get final training advice from our running coach and 1976 Boston Marathon winner Jack Fultz.

15.5, 13.1 and 2….

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15.5
Saturday morning I headed out to Lexington, MA to meet the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge team for a group run.  It was actually a perfect running day for January in Boston.  It was low 30’s and the sun was out so with the right amount of layers, a hat and gloves, it was great for a long “winter” run.  The run started at the Greater Boston Running Company.  They made a few announcements and then shared some fundraising successes.  Two people were recognized for hitting the $5,000 mark and two others for hitting the $10,000 mark.  I thought I was doing well at $2,000 but now I realize I need to get moving.

If you look really close you can see a sidewalk...

Due to the snowy conditions we had to alter our running route.  We headed out of Lexington down Mass Ave into Arlington Center. A young boy and his parents hosted the second water stop.  The boy was a cancer survivor and was excited to greet and cheer on the runners.  It was really touching.

Overall the run went well for me.  I ended up pushing a little past the Dana Farber mileage and doing 15.5.  The first few miles I took it easy warming up.  Miles 2.5-5 were great, I met a nice woman who was running at my pace and we talked quite a bit about Dana Farber, running tips etc.  At the second water stop I met a girl who lived in South Boston and was also running the marathon for the first time with Dana Farber.  We ran for 2-3 miles together and she was quick.   She definitely pushed my pace a bit but it felt good.  At 7.5 miles I was at 1:05:40, a solid 9-min pace and feeling good.  I started to feel a little knee pain around mile 8 but pushed through it.  I’ve been suffering from IT Band issues for about a year now so knee pain is not uncommon for me.  I ran miles 10-15 alone, it was a bit challenging but I kept seeing DF runners along the route and got friendly waves.  I put on my iPod and ran to new “Boston Training” mix.  At 15 I was feeling pretty good so I did a little detour back to the finish and completed 15.5 miles at an average pace of 9:04, which is a nice pace for a long run.  I felt great!

I love buying new shoes!

Post run I headed into the Greater Boston Running Company. I was due for a new pair of running shoes, so I figured I would pick up a pair while I was there.  I bought my 4th pair of Brooks Adrenaline shoes.  I love them, so why not?  I also talked with a very informative employee and fellow DF runner about my recent issues with tendonitis in my left foot.  He fitted me for some inserts that should help support my arch better and help with my tendonitis.  My orthopedic doctor advised me to get some inserts so I’m excited to try them out.

13.1
Congratulations to my cousin Heather for completing her second Half Marathon this morning and taking almost 10 minutes off her time.  I’m very excited for her and can’t wait to hear about her performance in the Disney Princes Half Marathon next month!

Birthday girl with her new dress and leggins!

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It was my little cousin Lily’s 2nd Birthday party today.  I had to add the “2″ just so I could post a picture of the “birthday girl”.  Lily is really growing into a little girl and I love spending time with her.  Lily ran the Disney Halloween Kids dash in October so she’s already a competitive runner!   Happy Birthday Lily!