This blog began as an effort to document my training for the Boston Marathon 2012 as a member of Dana Farber Marathon Challenge Team and it continued in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. I will be back in 2017. Through this blog, I hope to share my journey and lessons learned along the way with friends, family and supporters. Thank you for joining me on this journey.
When we aspire to do big things, we are often reminded that
there are no shortcuts to achieve them. This is something I am constantly
reminded of as a member of the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge Team. There are
no short cuts to finding a cure for cancer. It requires the work of many
scientists and researchers which requires continued funding and support for
such work. This is why we run.We are doing our part to raise funds to support a world without cancer. There are no short cuts when preparing to run a
marathon. Our body only becomes ready to run a 26.2 after a consistent
commitment to logging many miles. This week our commitment was tested. Many
days this week were close to zero degrees.We may have made adjustments to our training but we continued to log the miles.
Fundraising Update
We continue to move towards our goal of $10,000. This week
there is $5787.45 posted to my fundraising page which is $75 dollars more than
last week and I have also sent in checks that total an additional $490. This
will bring us to a total of $6,277.45. This means we are $3,722.55 away from
our goal with 11 weeks to go. I am so grateful to so many of you who have once
again contributed so generously. I am also confident that with continued
support we will continue to make progress each week and that by April 15, 2013
we will reach our goal. If you have not had a chance to make a donation, please
consider doing so this week to help us keep moving towards our goal. I cannot
do it without you.
There Are No
Shortcuts
This week temperatures made it challenging to run outside. In
fact, our Dana Farber Team long run was cancelled due to the extremely cold
temperatures and the wind chill factor. I have come to realize while I may be
able to make adjustments to my weekly runs, the long run for me is the most
important. It is not only logging the miles, it is also maintaining my
confidence that I can go that far as well as continuing to develop my ability
to endure the inevitable wall that I hit when running longer distances. It is not
simply training our body to be able to physically endure the distance; it is
also training our mind to stay with it even when we think we cannot. So when
this weeks run was cancelled, I made arrangements with my friend, teammate and
running buddy, Steve. We decided to meet at the gym and face 14 miles on the treadmill
(otherwise known as the dread mill) together. Not only would this be challenging to run
14 miles, but for anyone that runs on a treadmill, you know how mentally
challenging this can be.
Steve and I ran on treadmills right next to each other. I
cannot begin to express how much this helped. I guess there is truth to the
“misery loves company” or actually in the spirit of last weeks post about
attitude, I think I will recognize the power of team that I discussed in week
5. It is amazing how each week’s lessons seem to weave together. I will not
pretend this weeks run was easy. It was anything but easy. At times I found
myself questioning how I could expect to run a marathon when logging 14 miles
felt so difficult. I then would remind myself that so much of marathon training
and actually completing a marathon is learning to be mentally strong. So, I
really reframed this weeks run. It was not about the miles, but about enduring
wanting to stop and resisting the wall. To be honest, I was more bored than
tired. Running on a treadmill for 2 hours and 16 minutes is a long time without
a change of scenery. Again, I am so grateful for Steve because in the midst of
my boredom I never felt along and I never forgot why I am running. I am running
to support Dana Farber’s Ultimate Goal: A World without Cancer. When we aspire
for big things, there are no short cuts. One mile and one dollar at a time we
are making a difference. Will you help bring us that one step closer? Please
remember that no donation is too small. Collectively we become a powerful force
when we commit to do what we can to make a difference.
Life often feels like a bumpy ride. This is certainly what
this training season has been so far. I have arrived at week five with such
mixed emotions. I am so honored to be part of such an amazing team and such an
important effort-we are running to support a world without cancer. Yet, like
many who have had cold or the flu this winter, I am growing tired of the
lingering cough and the many challenges that brings with my asthma. Of course
this is minor in comparison to the many challenges faced by those for whom many
of us run and I will never loose sight of that perspective.
Fundraising Update
I am happy to report that while fundraising has been slow for
me in comparison to last year, with the generous support of many family,
friends, and co-workers, I am currently at $5,712.45.
This is more than halfway towards my goal of $10,000. I thank those of you who
have already donated. I recognize that this is the second year I am asking for
your support. However, I am sure if you look around at people in your own life
you will see that we have many miles and many dollars to go to supporting a
world without cancer. I have continued my commitment to Dana Farber and to logging
miles and I hope you will continue to show your support in any way you can.
Please remember that any amount is appreciated. Collectively our donations add
up and support the amazing research that is taking place at Dana Farber. My
goal is to continue to see the dollars increase each week. Perhaps you will be
one that helps me reach my fundraising goal this week?
Choose your attitude
We cannot always choose our situation, but often we do have
the power to choose our attitude which influences how we experience it. This is
often incredibly challenging. I have been accused of being a “positive Patty”
or a “snow globe” which I actually accept with great pride. However, I must
admit that while I do tend to see the positive this requires great effort which
others may not always see. I do not always arrive at the positive immediately.
In fact, I am one who embraces the struggle to get there. This week was yet
another example of being challenged to “walk my own talk.” You see, I am often
one to tell others that struggle is good. It is what makes us stronger. In
fact, conceptually, I do not believe that we achieve our potential unless we
are willing to engage in struggle. Without struggle we only experience what we
can already do, not the possibility of what we potentially can do. While these
words make sense to me, I am reminded this week that doing something is harder
than believing in the idea of something.
For those that are close to me you may know that I have been
struggling a lot with my asthma this season. It began in early December with
bronchitis and has lingered now for almost 7 weeks. I have been through two
rounds of antibiotics and last week started a steroid treatment. Needless to
say, logging the miles has not been easy. I have tried really hard to balance
taking care of myself with also logging the miles that I need to stay on track.
I am driven by the importance of why we are running: to support cancer research
and a world without cancer. I have tried to embrace the struggle. I took most
of this week off from running to give my body some rest and to let the steroids
do their trick. In the past this has been what has worked for me. It is a quick
6 day treatment.
Yesterday, I had hoped to be able to do 14-15 miles for my
weekly long run. Running with the team always adds such perspective and the
company helps to pass the time. I actually felt ok for most of the run. Again,
it was not an easy run but given all that I have been dealing with my expectations
did not include an “easy 14-15” miles. However, I wanted to get it done. I was
filled with gratitude to have such amazing teammates to run with on a chilly
Saturday. Our training runs typically consist of an out and back route. This
allows for water stops and for teammates to choose a variety of distances. When
we arrived at the second water stop we decided that we would run out to the
last one instead of turning around half-way to make it the 15 miles we had
planned. After all, what was an extra mile?
On our way back I started to struggle quite a bit and was
experiencing terrible cramping and discomfort in my legs in particular my calf
muscles. This sometimes happens if ones salt balance is not right; however I
sometimes get tired legs but never have issues with cramping like this. When we
arrived at the last water stop which was at mile 12.7, I talked to our coach
about it briefly. He always asks such great questions. He asked something like
“what is different this week?” I had explained that as a result of the asthma I
had started a round of steroids. He then explained that he had a friend who had
a similar issue and he ended up tearing his calf muscle and suggested that I
not push it. This was not something I wanted risk. There are times to push
through and there are times to heed the advice of others. It was not easy for
me to cut out on the last leg of the training run. In fact, I was quite
disappointed. I am a push through kind of person. However, I worked at
reframing it realized that I had run just about 13 miles in spite of the
difficulties I have had with my asthma. This is actually pretty good.
So, at mile 12.7 I hopped in the car with our coach, Jack
Fultz who brought me back to the Longfellow Club. He is such an amazing coach
and for those who do not know, he won the Boston Marathon in 1976. I was appreciative of the ride, and although I
knew I was making a smart decision, it was still not easy. I was reminded at
how important attitude is when later in the day I received a text message from
a teammate and a old high school friend with whom I had been running with
earlier and she said, “you added another highlight to your long list: getting
personally chauffeured by a Boston Marathon winner.” I smiled, and thought she
is absolutely right. Today was a good day. Thank you to Elaine for reminding me
how very important it is to choose our attitude. Now on to week 6!
The passage of time always seems to take me by surprise. I
am not sure if that is because we often neglect the power of pause and
breathing space or because we simply pack so much into our days that our days
quickly merge into weeks, months and years leaving us with the recurring question,
“where does the time go?” Well, I am going to accept that it is probably a
little bit of both. Stopping to write up a weekly blog is creating a space for
pause and reflection, yet the passage of time still surprises me. As I write
this week’s post, we are now just 13 weeks away from the marathon. This is both
exciting and overwhelming. I am finding my groove and have accepted the many
challenges that exist in front of me. We
have a ways to go with the training and many miles to log and a long way to go
with the fundraising, one dollar and donation at a time.
Fundraising Update
This year I have been a bit slower with the fundraising. With
the generosity of many friends, family and colleagues, we have raised $5,346.20
which is about halfway to my conservative goal of $10,000. This is quite a bit
behind last year, however I have not sent out as many reminders because I am
hopeful that many of you who contributed last year will once again step up and
support such an important effort-working towards a world without cancer. We
certainly do not need to look far for the reminder of just how important this
effort is. I am sure most of us know someone if not many who have been impacted
by cancer and if you haven’t, unfortunately you probably will. Fighting cancer
is all of our responsibility. So, I thank those who have already supported this
critical effort. You are part of our extended Marathon Challenge Team! For those
who have not yet made a contribution, please consider joining us in this
important effort. Every donation brings us a step closer. Individually we are strong;
collectively we are a powerful force.
The Collective Power
of Team
Training to run a marathon is hard. Raising $10,000 or more
is also hard. Finding a cure for cancer is hard. Perhaps it is suppose to be. Hard
is not something that discourages me. In fact, the challenge is a call to
action. I am also a firm believer that “many hands (or shall I say feet) makes
light (or lighter) work.” This is something that really resonated with me this
week. As I mentioned in last weeks post, I have really been struggling with my
breathing. It started with Bronchitis in early December and has continued. This
week I began a second round of antibiotics and was feeling much better.
However, the weekly runs were still tough.
Our Team Run was in Lexington
this week and the mileage was 10-12 miles. There is something magical that
happens on Team Runs. For me, it is the reminder that I am not one person
training for a marathon; I am a member of the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge
Team. I find myself in a room full of people who are all driven by a shared
sense of purpose- a world without cancer. Everyone in the room has joined the
team because cancer has impacted their life in some way. Some of our teammates
are cancer survivors. Some have lost parents, sisters, brothers, children and
friends. Some of us are running and some of us are volunteering. All of us are
doing what we can to support Dana Farber’s ultimate goal- a world without
cancer. I think I mentioned last week
that we begin our runs by coming together as a team to hear the “Barr Impact”
Statements. This reminds us all of the research that is being done and the
reason we are hitting the pavement and logging so many miles. This week we were
all crowded into the basement of Boston’s
Running Company Store in Lexington.
As we were standing and listing to team announcements, a woman came up to me.
She was a volunteer for the day. She stood beside me and whispered, “thank you
for running! I am going to try not to cry. I had cancer this summer and really
appreciate what you are doing.” How is that for perspective? It was all I
needed to fuel my run yesterday. As I listened to the gratitude of this woman
and stood in a crowded room of runners who were ready to hit the road, I was so
honored to be part of such an important effort.
As we left the store and began our run on the Lexington Bike
Path, I was reminded of how much I have grown to love running with a group.
This was a major change for me because I was always a solo runner. Our group
this week included some veteran runners and also a number of first time
marathoners. How exciting. I think one of my favorite things about running in a
group is the collective sounds of our feet hitting the ground. It is a reminder
that we are not doing this alone. I have learned that even on days when I am
not sure I am going to be able to go the distance that it becomes possible when
I am with my teammates. We talk about why we are running. We talk about our
goals. We challenge each other to think about how realistic the goals are. One
of my favorite reminders this week came from a teammate who has run many marathons.
As we were sharing some of our goals, he reminded us that above and beyond all
goals, we must remember the number one goal is to get to the starting line as
healthy as possible. This is true for life too. Sometimes in pursuit of a goal
we forget the most important is to take care of ourselves as we work towards
our goals.
In the end this week long run was 12.5 miles. I was so
filled with gratitude for the friends that I have met through the Dana Farber Marathon
Challenge Team. I appreciate their companionship on runs and their collective
commitment and effort in supporting a world without cancer. Running with such a
great group reminds me that we achieve great things when we are willing to push
the capacity of what we think is possible. We are not just running to log
miles, we are running to raise money to support cancer research and a world
without cancer. I cannot think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning.
Happy New Year! Today was the second official Dana Farber Team run which means we are now 14 weeks away from the Boston Marathon. Yikes! As part of my marathon training and fundraising, I also aim to keep a weekly blog during the 18 weeks of training. This gives me the opportunity to document and share my journey with friends, family and supporters. Well, here I am at the end of week 4 and I missed week 2 and week 3. This is not such a great start. I could blame the craziness of the end of the semester and the holidays and that certainly played a part. However, to be quite honest, this year I have simply not been able to find my rhythm (disclaimer: this does not mean that I will not find it).
As the official training season began I developed bronchitis which can be challenging with my asthma. However, I tend to see the glass half full so I saw this as a blessing that it happened at the beginning of the season when there is plenty of wiggle room for catching up on the miles. Certainly there are lots of people who deal with a lot more difficult things that labored breathing. Well, like many who have been sick this season, I am still coughing and being challenged by it. Running has become one of my greatest teachers. Today I was reminded that many times when we cannot find our rhythm we can choose to start again. Before I share my thoughts on my “ah ha” moment of today’s run, let me give you a fundraising update because after all, this is the reason I am logging the miles and once again running the Boston Marathon- to raise funds to support cancer research and Dana Farber’s Ultimate goal: a world without cancer.
Fundraising Update
As of today, my fundraising page reflects that $5,386.20 has already been donated. THANK YOU! I cannot begin to express my incredible gratitude for the many friends, family member and colleagues who have stepped up and made donations for the second year in a row to support me and my teammates in this incredibly important effort. My goal this year is to raise at least $10,000. Last year with all of your support I raised over $15,000. Some might ask why my initial goal is lower than last year. Well, last year my initial goal was actually $7,000. I am someone who likes to under promise and over deliver. While I believe it is completely possible to exceed my goal as we did last year, I want to be cautiously optimistic. So if you have donated already, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are once again part of this incredible effort that is working toward a world without cancer. If you have not donated yet, I ask you to please consider making a donation. It does not matter how big or how small, collectively our donations add up and make a very powerful push toward a world without cancer. If you are unable to make a donation, you can support with words of encouragement. Every bit helps. So thank you to all of you who are here for year two! We have 14 weeks to go. I cannot do this without your support.
New Beginnings
Ok, let’s get back to the “ah ha” moment about new beginnings. Running truly has become one of my greatest teachers and the amazing thing is that while I know this to be true, her lessons always take me by surprise. I had shared that I have not yet seemed to find my rhythm this training season. Like many, I have been sick and struggling to get back to 100%. The holidays came and were filled with great times with family and friends. For me, this included a trip to Colorado for my cousins wedding the week before Christmas. This was so wonderful to spend time with both family and friends.I have managed to get in all of my longer runs with the longest being 11 miles so it has not been a complete bust. Although, none of these long runs have come easy but they have been logged. Last year at this time, I had logged one 15 miler but I still have time to catch up. Where I have struggled is getting all my weekly runs and balancing it all.
So I arrived at today’s run both excited and nervous. My breathing continues to be labored especially when I run. However, something magical happens when running with the Dana Farber Team. I remember why I am running and am surrounded by so many amazing people that the labored breathing is simply a sign to slow the pace. It is not about going fast. It is about moving forward with a purpose. The team met today at the Mount Auburn Club in Watertown. As we gather for morning announcements and an overview of the course, we are also reminded of why we are there. We are introduced to specific research projects that are taking place at Dana Farber when a teammate and board member reads one of the Barr Impact Statements. We all stretch and listen. This is not your average Sunday morning run. We are charged with a purpose: a world without cancer.
Jack Fultz (our coach), me, Steve and Elaine at mile 6
The team was off. We started to make our way over to the Boston Marathon course through Brighton for our training run. My “ah ha” moment or lesson for today came at mile 2. This was not very far into the 12 mile run and certainly not what I would have expected to happen. My breathing was labored but it was cold. I figured if we found the right pace and as I adjusted to the cold, I would be fine. Then we started our way up the first hill good size hill. The dry heaves started. I had hoped it would pass. However, they did not. I found myself on the side of the road throwing up. This is perhaps more details than I should share, however it is very relevant to the lesson. I was running with my good friend Elaine. She was so patient and asked if I was alright. As other teammates passed they all asked if I was ok too. Lovely, I thought to myself. It is only the second run and I am getting sick maybe at mile two. “I am a hot mess,” I thought. Then after a few minutes, I felt better.
Elaine and I started to run again. It was then I decided that the run was starting over. I was not going to think about how terrible it is to get sick at mile two or worry that because I got sick that I would not be able to continue. Instead, I simply changed my thinking to “the run starts now.” It was not the greatest run I have had, but it was wonderful to be running with a high school friend. In my head I reminded myself I was not only training for a marathon. I was part of an effort working toward a world without cancer.
Steve, Kerry and Elaine: Miles Logged!
Lesson from Team Run # 2
I was not thrilled to have gotten sick today. However, shortly after I did feel much better. My breathing was still labored a bit, but I was reminded that in any given moment we can shift our energy and begin again. Most often we cannot control our environment or what happens but we can control how we respond to it. As I drove home from the team run, I no longer felt bad that I had not yet found my rhythm this training season or that I have missed two weeks of blog posts. Just like today at mile two I decided that the run began from that point, I too can choose to focus my energy on creating my rhythm rather lamenting about not having found it yet. Perhaps I found it today. I am looking forward to week 5 of training. Bring it on!
I want to end by sharing a video. Many of you may have already seen this. It was shared by a number of my friends on Facebook and is an incredible story of the power of possibility. My favorite quote from the video is “just because I cannot do it today, does not mean I will not be able to do it tomorrow.” These words resonated with me today as I tackled the hills in Newton, MA. For some of us it is building up the endurance to run a marathon. For some of us it is also trying to imagine reaching our fundraising goal. For all of us it is dreaming a world without cancer. Just because we cannot do it today, does not mean that we won’t be able to do it tomorrow. One step at a time and one dollar at a time anything is possible if we are willing to work towards our goals with laser like focus.
