Week 3

This week has been a slower week than the last few. Monday & Tuesday were 3.7 milers. Luckily we timed our run well and just missed the downpour yesterday...

Today is a rest day and tomorrow, we'll ramp it up to 5 miles...shooting for 6 this weekend since I have vanilla flavored goo that I want to try out...

Week 2

7 miles down!! Last night, we completed a 7 mile run in an hour & a half...this is the farthest I've run, ever. It was overcast, slightly drizzly and the perfect temperature. I drank plenty of water all day and made a quick pit stop to guzzle an electrolyte-rich lemon lime carb/protein drink (which tasted dry and powdery) about halfway through the run. But it did the trick (no post-run sickness this time). I feel great today and I'm pretty impressed that it seemed so easy to finish this distance. This week we taper down a bit and the longest run will probably be about 5 miles.

Week 1 (part 2, lesson 1)

Wednesday was a 5 miler, I've done this before, so it should have been manageable. My roommate & I mapped out a course and hit the road. The run was fine, we ran the Boston side of the Esplanade and I felt good the whole time. It took us 55 minutes to complete the route, which I was pretty satisfied with. The problem didn't occur until about an hour later when I walked into a restaurant that was packed full of people. It was hot, noisy and crowded. The feeling hit me like a brick...I became restless, lightheaded and needed to sit down. My stomach turned as I sat, only half hearing what my roommate was saying to me. I got up, told her I'd be right back and ran to the bathroom. I won't describe what transpired over the next few minutes, the only thing I'll say is that I didn't envy the guy waiting in line for the bathroom. I overheard him talking to on his cellphone "I don't know what's taking this girl so long, she's been in there forever". Lucky for him, I'd made it to the sink just in time.

So lesson 1. If you're going to run more that 2 or 3 miles at a single shot, it is useful to make sure that you've stayed hydrated all day. I'd had a couple cups of coffee and very little H2O. I know. Bad move. Lesson learned, the hard way.

Week 1

Yesterday was our first 'official' team run. We met at MIT and were told that we were going to do a short 1 miler. My roommate & I looked at each other in surprise-that was it, only one mile?! We decided that to get a better workout, we were going to extend the distance to 3 miles. So we took off running on the Memorial Drive side of the Esplanade. For those of you not familiar with the area, the Esplanade is a paved trail that runs parallel to the Charles River on both the Cambridge and Boston sides and is a popular place for runners, bikers, in-line skaters and walkers. It stretches quite a few miles and is a great place to people watch. We ran by a group of people who were cheering on rowers in a crew race, up a small hill to the BU boathouse, crossed the BU bridge down to Comm Ave and crossed back into Cambridge over the Mass Ave bridge. It was a beautiful morning and the temperature couldn't have been better.

Since Sunday is our 'long' run day we decided that we'd add on an extra 3 miles later that afternoon. It took a lot of motivation, but around 7:30, we headed out the door again for a quick run around Coolidge Corner. It was a bit of a struggle, my legs were pretty stiff from not stretching properly after the morning's run, but I pushed through it and we finished in about 30 minutes. Needless to say, I slept like a baby last night.

Another Way to Donate

As a part of my fund raising effort, I have decided to donate $50 for each 'Recuerdo' bracelet sold through my Mezze store. I created this petite sterling bangle as a personal reminder of the reason I am running this half marathon. I put it on the day I pledged to run and I will not take it off until I cross the finish line.

For each bracelet sold, I will donate 100% of the proceeds to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Proceeds will be submitted in the buyer's name or in the name of a person they wish to honor and are entirely tax deductible.

The bracelet is entirely handmade by me out of sterling (.925) silver. The thin bangle is highlighted with a string of 5 Japanese seed beads and a 1/2" diameter hammered circle.

Materials: Sterling silver, Japanese seed beads (available in purple or blue)

Size: 2 1/4" diameter

Please contact me directly to order.

Week 0 (part 2)

Last night we had our kickoff meeting with the rest of the Team in Training participants. There was a huge turnout, which was fantastic. We will have our first group run this Sunday morning and from that point on, the team runs will take place every Saturday bright and early at 7:30am. No more sleeping in for me :)

Tonight is a short 3 miles with my roommate. As I type this, it is drizzling outside. I hope it doesn't start raining, otherwise we're in for an uncomfortable run.

Week 0

I just returned from vacation (which resulted in a 4 day hiatus from running) and was nervous that I'd have a hard time getting back into the pattern of running regularly. My roommate and I decided we'd go easy on our first day back and ran 3 miles at a talking pace last night. It felt great to get back - the weather was definitely on our side and we weren't worn out at the end of the run. Tomorrow we go to the kickoff meeting where we'll be paired up with our coaches and mentors...can't wait.

Saw this article today in the news about The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's new industry partnership http://www.biospace.com/news_story.aspx?NewsEntityId=95123