It is hard to believe that it is already February. I must say that I certainly picked a great year to be training for the Boston Marathon. Who would have guessed that we would have 40 degree days in February? Although, I say that cautiously because the hearty New Englander knows that Mother Nature can change her mind at any time and remind us of life’s unpredictability. So, for today I will simply appreciate the warmer weather that has made training easier, and at times, even enjoyable. However, I will also be ready for whatever may come our way because in New England anything is possible. As of today I have logged 283.1 training miles since December 12, 2011.
Fundraising Update
Each week when I post, I feel as if I lament about how “tough” the week has been. I am not going to do that this week. Quite simply, it is supposed to be tough. Training for a marathon and raising $13, 100 is not a small undertaking. So yes, it has been another “tough” week but it was also a week of major milestones in our effort to support Dana Farber’s ultimate goal- “a world without cancer” so I am really seeing the fruits of our labor. This week we passed the $10,000 fundraising goal and I logged my first 20 mile run!
Below is a picture of me with Chris Dubuc at our Dana Farber team run this past Sunday! Thank you to Chris and his mom Sandy for being out there supporting us while also honoring Matty. When I see the Dubuc Family, I cannot help but be inspired to want to do more, run longer, or suck it up when I need too (which is on most long runs). Perhaps it is because of their incredible strength in all that they have endured and continue to endure and the way they enter each day with such a deep commitment to honoring Matty while working relentlessly to make the world a better place for others. I am sure I am not alone when I say that when I see them I hear “Don’t Stop Believing” in my head. So a very special thank you to the Dubuc family for your inspiration!
This week I was so incredibly excited to see that we not only met my initial goal of $10,000 but that we are well on our way to reaching my double stretch goal of $13,100. When I say “double stretch goal” I mean that initially I felt $10K was a stretch. I was not sure how we would get there, but like running a marathon where you train mile by mile, with fundraising, it is your generosity one donation at a time that is bringing us to our goal. WOW!! As of today, $10,661 has been posted to my fundraising page. This is $851 dollars more than last week when I posted. We are just $2,439 away from $13,100. As I look at these numbers I feel the same way I did when I was running the hills of Newton yesterday. I ask myself, “Can we really do this?” I pause, take a deep breath and tell myself “yes” and with a steady and sometimes slowed to almost a stopped stride, I put one foot in front of the other. I don’t always know how I am going to get there, but I can say with great confidence, we will get there. So thank you to each and every one of you that is helping to make this possible!! Collectively we are making great strides towards a world without cancer and in the process we are honoring the many loved ones in our lives that have faced or are facing such a horrible disease.
The Passage of Time
Yesterday I ran the longest distance that I have run since 1995 when I ran the Boston Marathon as a bandit with my friend Beth and my cousin Meg. This was 17 years ago. This was also the year that my dear friend Matt (I am running in memory of his nephew Josh) and I graduated from college. I spent a great deal of time on the run yesterday thinking about the passage of time and was filled with gratitude for my family and friends who have been on this journey with me. Years certainly slip by. I kept thinking that the first time I ran the marathon was 20 years ago. How can that be? I will also add the disclaimer that after 1995 I did not run regularly until 2010.
It is amazing how much has changed since then. I remember training in weather that would keep most inside. We did not have the luxury of dry fit clothing. We kept warm by wearing garbage bags underneath our heaving cotton turtle necks and sweatshirts. However, when we finished our runs we had icicles on our eye brows and our faces were chapped from the winter winds. We did not have fancy fuel belts to carry water and other items we may need. I actually remember a training run when Beth and I were attempting 18 miles. We used old tube socks to hold our water bottles and then used a shoe lace to tie the sock around our waste. Fortunately, there were smarter engineers working on this over the last years because the sock did not work very well. I think we actually threw them away about a mile or two into the run. We were young and just ran dehydrated.
We also did not have iPods; a luxury that college students of today cannot fully appreciate. We had clunky walkmans which I either carried or wore around my waist in a fanny pack. When they came out with “auto reverse” this was a huge improvement because we would not have to flip the tape while we were running. We had the choice of having a cassette tape of a favorite band or making a mix tape by recording either from the radio when songs played or by taping a song from tape to tape. The first time I ran Boston I actually ran to Billy Joel’s greatest hits. Billy Joel’s music will always have a special place in my heart. In fact, many days I listen to “Allen Town” on my way to the gym or before a run. There is something about the rhythm and cadence that says to me “its time to get to work.” It is also part of a very powerful memory and metaphor that has anchored much of my adult life-we can do anything if we are willing to put one foot in front of the other and move towards a goal.
I loved Billy Joel but after 4 plus hours, I realized if I ran it again, I would need to have more of a variety. I loved making mix tapes. It could take an entire day to get the songs in the right order. In fact, I think it was in 1995 that I mapped out the course and actually tried to order the songs on my mix tape so they would play at a certain point in the marathon. For example, I wanted the song “I saw the sign” by Ace of Base to play as I passed the CITGO sign in Kenmore Square. This was a major undertaking because it was really a giant math problem. I had to figure the length of the song and factor in my projected pace all within the context of a 90 minute cassette tape which meant that I would hear each song several times. This added to the excitement of the marathon when songs actually fell when I wanted them to. I don’t remember how it all worked. I do know that “I saw the sign” came at the right time.
Today we have dry fit clothing. We have Ipods and cell phones. We have fuel belts. We have GU gel. As members of the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge Team, we have amazing volunteers that have water stops every three miles on our training runs. It is a drastically different experience, however many of the lessons are the same.I can't help myself from imagining what my post would be like twenty years from now if cancer research is supported in the next twenty years in the same way advances in technology have been supported and funded over the last 20 years. Twenty years ago, I did not have a cell phone. Actually I did not have a computer. Today, my cell phone tells me where I am with GPS, allows people to send me messages via email, Facebook, and text messaging. I would have never thought that was possible. So I am confident that we must continue dreaming a world without cancer and keep working towards it. It only remains out of our reach if we believe it to be and if we are not willing to stretch.
When Tired Legs and Labored Lungs meet a Relentless Spirit
My lesson this week is not a new one. In fact, it is one that I have learned and relearned throughout my life. It is the lesson that is echoed in the words of Phil Riley, “just don’t stop.” This week, I was reminded that running the hills in Newton is more than challenging. Especially when you arrive at the hills after you have already run 16 miles. On our training run we ran the hills out and back which meant we hit hills on the 10 miles out to Wellesley and then hit the famous hills of Newton including heartbreak hill as we will meet the on the day of the marathon.
Training is supposed to be hard. However, I am reminded that it is not just the body that we are preparing for such a challenge. In fact, if I had to choose a strong body or a strong mind, I think I would go with the strong mind, especially, when hills are involved. Fortunately for me, we are training both our bodies and our mind. Anyone that has run the Boston Marathon or who has watched runners from the sidelines anywhere along the hills in Newton knows that this is a test of mind over matter. It is a place where many runners slow to a walk. This is ok. The importance is that you find a way to release the relentless spirit that keeps you going.
I believe that while we train to run a marathon, we are really training to run miles 16-26.2. For me, this has been a place where my most tired self meets my strongest self. My legs are tired, my lungs are labored, but my relentless spirit is just awakening. I am aware of her presence in the moment that my stride has slowed its stride or even slowed to a walk so I can catch my breath. I recognize my fatigue because my muscles are not sure they can carry me. My lungs are labored and feel like they are on overtime. However, my relentless spirit is awake and reassures me that even if I am walking bristly for a moment, I will return to running and I will not only get up the hill, I will find my way to the finish line in spite of my tired legs and labored lungs.
Fueled by a Greater Purpose
Running as a member of the Dana Farber Team cultivates a relentless spirit. After all, I am not running simply because I want to finish a marathon. I am running to honor a very special boy named Josh. He did not have a choice when faced with cancer. He simply faced it with his family and my dear friend Matt by his side. I am so inspired by their love, strength and courage-their relentless spirit- and my training and fundraising aims to honor them and their grieving hearts. I have also learned about so many others who have battled or who are battling with this horrible disease and quite honestly, I just feel so proud to be part of such an amazing team. When I think of Cancer it mostly makes me feel powerless. Running with Dana Farber makes me feel strong. We are doing what we can and at the core of my being, I believe we are making a difference. We are not only dreaming a world without cancer, we are relentlessly pursuing it. I am not quite sure how we will get there but my relentless spirit tells me that step by step, mile by mile and dollar by dollar we will get there. A world without cancer is possible and we are doing what we can to make it happen. Thank you for joining me on this journey.
With Gratitude,
Kerry D
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