Om Gal and Cara running Boston for Fit Girls!

....because readers are leaders!

It is official! Yoga enthusiasts, Cara and Rebecca, will be running their first Boston Marathon and raising funds for the Boston Fit Girls Project (sponsored by the DMSE Children's Fitness Foundation!!!

Please come and support Cara and Rebecca at the Fit Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Event at the Lululemon Store at the Prudential on Tuesday, April 7 6;30-9:00.

DFMC and The Great Gatsby

What began as a "tickle" in the back of my throat on Thursday turned into a hacking cough and sore throat late Friday night. I chose to sleep in this morning and pass on the 7:00 wake up call to get to Waltham by 8:00 for the DFMC group run. Jack has us running a relatively short "long" run (12-15) as our top priority is to feel strong and healthy for the BIG 21 mile run out on the course next week. At some point today I'll get outside and shuffle along for 12 miles or so.

In the meantime, I'm sitting here with a nice cup of Hazlenut coffee after reading through DFMC teammate, Meredith's, college senior thesis - In Pursuit of Fulfillment: Gardens and F. Scott Fitzgerld's The Great Gatsby. I had the pleasure of meeting Meredith on Thursday night as she shared some of her wonderful experiences, both in and out of the classroom, at Bates College (she is a recent graduate). We started talking about some of her English classes, and I was intruiged when she starting describing her senior thesis. She was a bit suprised when I emailed her the next day asking if she wouldn't mind sharing her thesis with me, but I really do care and enjoy these types of papers. Her thesis was a real literary treat for me this morning. Gotta reread the Great Gatsby this summer!

My oldest daughter, Kallie, is in the midst of the college search and Bates seems to be at the top of her list; at least for this month! One of the many great things about running for DFMC is the range of people you meet over the course of your training. And there are many smart, interesting and fun "young ones", like Meredith, each year. Not only has it been super helpful to hear their perseptive on college (i.e. Betsy and Katie from Bowdoin, Meredith and Sarah from Bates), but these gals are super fun and a challenge to keep up with out on the roads! And one day I hope they will show Kallie the ropes when she signs up for her first DFMC Boston Marathon Run!

So Sarah, what was YOUR thesis at Bates????

The Grossman Hill was my warm-up

I wisely opted NOT to run long on Saturday as I was battling some sort of bug, and unfortunatley could not attend the DFMC group run on Sunday due to a family bridal shower. This time of year you just can't fool around with the long run schedule...you just gotta suck it up and do it despite how boring and lonely it can be to run 20 miles solo. I HAD to run on Monday. I decided to run on the course as that provided me with at least a slight possibility of bumping into other runners who might be training. The other plus about running on the course was all the potential water and bathroom stops along the way. I don't run with a fuel belt (just can't stand anything hanging from my waist) so it is super helpful when I can pop into the Wellesley Booksmith (mile 13) or the any of 3 Marathon Sports (miles 15, 23, and 26) stores along the course.

My 20 mile route started at the WoodlandT stop (mile 17). I proceeded to run back on the course (yep...I had to tackle the awful Grossman's Hill the first mile!) to mile 11.5 which is a bit past Wellesley College. It felt wonderful to finally turn around at that point and start heading in the direction of the finish line, only another 14.5 miles to go! The wind was tough but I finally made it to the official finish line on Boylston. After a quick stop into Marathon Sports #3 and a great deal of moaning and groaning, I hobbled over to the T to catch what turned out to be an extremely slow train back to Woodland where my car was waiting. After another 30 minutes of driving I was finally back to my home in Medfield...a very LONG day, indeed!

Because I'm loving every wonderful, horrible moment of this.

These were the words on the poster that I just happened to glance at in the window of the Greater Boston Running Club (Lexington) after finishing a 15 mile long run on the Minute Man Path. It was an Adidas poster, and I'm guessing that this may be their theme for the 2009 Boston Marathon, as they've been the official merchandise sponsor for 21 years.

Because of the injuries this winter, the following weeks are going to be tough as I've got to throw in at least 2 runs of over 20 miles. Daily runs (ranging from 5-10 miles ) feel just fine, but the long runs are tough. And I'm guessing age might play at role in that discomfort too!

Gotta love my new mantra!

2009 Fundraising Theme/Campaign

FOR THE

Initially I had plans to "go green" with my fundaising and do all my letters/fundraising campaign through emails. My philosophy was "save a tree; save a life" by making an on-line donation towards cancer research. The response has not been great. This does not mean that friends and family members do not want to make a donation. It's just because the email is easy to overlook when one's inbox is full and often gets lost. In addition, I don't have email addresses for many individuals who have made donations in the past. So I've been working hard in getting out what will probably be over a hundred snail mail letters with a self-addressed stamped envelope for donors to send checks. Because I've been running for DFMC for 14 years, most of my friends/family know all the basic facts about DFMC, and my letter is short and sweet as I added in some fun "life is good" graphics. Life IS good...and the funds we raise has the potential to save many lives. I recently found out that a dear friend from high school (a mother of three young boys) is batting some sort of bone/lung cancer which brights to light the NEED for MORE RESEARCH to work towards treatments and eventually a cure for this horrible disease that affects so many of our loved ones. So Show your LOVE and let the $$ rippling factor begin for DFMC!!!!