NEW BLOG!

For those of you looking for Little Betsy Runs a Big Race, head on over to:

http://www.runbetsyrun.wordpress.com

Little Betsy outgrew this blog....so check out the new one! Bookmark it, and check back often. I won't be writing on this blog anymore.

approaching double digits

Yesterday's run was a beautiful 8.8 miles up in Ipswich with Fred. We ran past Russell Orchards Farm, the Crane Hill Estate, and finally reached Crane Beach. The knee felt good, though the pace was slow.... but I'm approaching double digits again! The 'real' training begins December 14th. In the meantime, I'm just having fun using my legs again! It doesn't get much more beautiful than New England in the fall.

Love, sweat, and tears

Now that I've started sweating again, I don't think my boyfriend is going to dump me anymore. Intrigued?

Towards the end of the summer, I worried Fred was possibly going to dump me if I didn't stop complaining about my knee. When I tried to run and it hurt, I complained. When I could get a good run in, but it hurt the next day, I complained. ('Gosh, what a baby!' you must be saying. It's okay.) Finally, he convinced me to take a full month off running altogether--ostensibly to fully heal my knee, but more likely to have a break from all my grumbling. I obliged. If I didn't, our relationship might have been in real trouble!

A month of no running meant a month of no sweating, no way to get my aggressions out, and no release for the stresses of school, life, and--yep, not running. Although Fred was freed from the complaining about my running, he was then subjected to me being out-of-sorts and generally miserable because of my [not] running. It's amazing how much free time and mind-wandering happens when you don't run 4, 6, or 8 miles after school, and how that can really mess with your mind. A month is a long time to keep it all in. A month is a long time to go without built-in alone time for someone who is around 46 kids all day, has 3 roommates, and spends every weekend with a long-distance boyfriend.

That month turned into five weeks, and then six, but now it's finally, blissfully over! I've been steadily running every four days, then every three, now I'm trying every other day. I have a way to release the stresses of a very stressful job! I have alone time! I'm sweating again! I didn't ever really think Fred was going to dump me. But he might be glad to have a [somewhat] sane and healthy Betsy again. I know I am, and I owe it all to him.This is the face of a man with infinite patience and far more common sense than myself.

Little Betsy takes a break

I haven't been writing because I haven't been running. And I haven't been running because I've been trying to give my knee a good rest before Boston training begins. No use wasting time writing about that minutia!

In the meantime, I've been cheering on some other marathoners! In the past year, I've convinced my brother Ted, my brother Tom, my [almost] sister in law Nina, and my boyfriend Fred to run marathons.

Who's next? :)






Fred qualifies for Boston in his first marathon! Running for the Nativity School in Boston, he finished in 3:10 and raised $1000 for the school.

Two Maine Marathon finishers: Fred and Dad

Ted and Nina run the Chicago Marathon together! Ted is in blue, Nina in yellow.

Team Born 2 Run [Boston]
Aimee, Bob, Emily, Katie, Glen, and Betsy

100 miles
6 people
1 van
2 nights
17 hand-offs
12 pairs of sneakers
3 old friends (Katie, Aimee, Betsy)
3 new friends (Glen, Bob, Emily)
90 degrees
4 cases of water
18 sets of sweaty clothes
14 hours
2 rounds of beer
1 condo with 15 beds

100 miles on Route 100, Heart of Vermont Relay

Canadian Triathlon

The best run I've had in months: 2 miles straight down a rocky trail, followed by 2 miles straight back up the same rocky trail.

Fred and I just returned from a 10 day road trip in Canada that was filled with camping, beaching, hiking, running (a little), and good seafood. We drove and camped all over Nova Scotia, and concentrated most of our time in Cape Breton Island national park. Between the cliff drives, whale watching, local beer sampling, and photographing, we also found time for some hiking, trail running, and swimming....which we later found out is known as the Canadian Triathlon.

After a quick 6 mile hike around the Skyline Trail outside of Cheticamp Nova Scotia, we headed towards the Fishing Cove trail, hoping to just get a short trail run in before grabbing some lunch. What we didn't know was that the trail was STRAIGHT down a rocky gorge for 2 miles....think burning quads and twitching muscles by the time we reached the bottom. But we were rewarded at the bottom by the most beautiful, pristine, isolated beach I've ever seen: clear blue water, cliffs on either side, a small freshwater stream, and bald eagles soaring up above.

view from the trail head at Fishing Cove

Soaking up the scenery, we steeled ourselves for the 2 miles straight back UP the gorge. It took a lot of willpower and quad strength, but Heartbreak Hill has nothing on me now! We rewarded ourselves with a picnic at another little isolated stream, and took a quick swim before heading off to do some more sightseeing.

How can you not have a good time with a boyfriend that looks like this?

Little Betsy and Dad run a Big Race

Today was the annual Beach to Beacon 10k in Cape Elizabeth Maine--something of a family tradition for the Gotts. The 10k race began 12 years ago by none other than Joanie Benoit, my running hero and fellow Bowdoinite. Since the inaugural Beach to Beacon, my Dad has run all 12 years, and my brothers and I have joined him whenever our summer schedules allow.

As things usually are in the Gott Family, the race becomes The Competition of the summer. When my brothers Ted and Tom run, we always talk a big game and try to out-train, out-talk, and out-run each other. When it's just Dad and me, I always train secretly and then try to crush him after the first few miles.

Last year's Beach to Beacon fell during my training for the Chicago Marathon....and being in really good shape, I ran a 10k PR. Today was a completely different race though. Coming off this knee pain and having raced just 36 hours ago in Boston, I decided to stick with Dad for the whole 6.2 miles this year. He (literally) dragged me through the first 3 flat miles, and when we hit the hills at mile 4ish, I actually started to feel a little more warmed up.

This race is fun and special because I started running it way back as a semi-interested high school runner. I wasn't very fast, or very excited about running, but it was a fun thing to do with my Dad. It was neat to run with him this year because Dad was a huge reason I ever started running in the first place! He ran in high school and at the University of Maine, and even when I brought up the rear in high school track meets, he was supportive and excited. We crossed the finish line together this morning, and although I tried to let him win by a step, we actually tied in the official results!

Here's how we spent the rest of the afternoon:

when the going gets tough

Yesterday was my longest limp-free run since the marathon: 6.5 miles! I'll be honest, there was nothing pretty about it....heavy legs, labored breathing, and a rainy river backdrop. About four miles into it, I had talked myself into a pretty negative cycle of thoughts. But then I suddenly realized: I had been miserable and complaining about NOT running, and here I was miserable and complaining about finally running!

Committing myself to loving every wonderful, horrible, minute of this run, I remembered the words that my esteemed running mentor Glen told me once, way back during a cold and hard Boston training run: "If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it." There is no marathon on the horizon right now; there is no PR just asking to be tackled; and there is barely any hope that I can be healthy in time for a fall race. This is hard. But I am not ready to break up with running just yet.

the end of the beginning

In honor of today being the last day of school before the start of summer vacation (!!!), this post has nothing to do with running. I told Mike that whenever I don't have something witty or entertaining* to write about I would post one of the many hilarious quotes from my kids, the 3rd graders at the Boston Renaissance Charter School:

Student J-"Hey Ms. Gott, I have a special Asian marking. Do you want to see it? Nobody else in the world has one like it."

Ms. G-"Sure, I guess?"

(J whips up his shirt and puffs out his chest, pointing to one dark little freckle on his ribs)

J-"See?!?! How cool am I??"

Ms. G-"um, J that is actually a freckle..."

J-"A what-le? I didn't know my special Asian marking had a cool name!!!"


*disclaimer--Mike will tell you that I never have much that is witty or entertaining to say. His opinion doesn't count.

FIT GIRLS run a big race!

No, I am still not back to running. But today I ran/walked the Chelsea River Revel 5k with the lovely Fit Girls team from Chelsea. It was such a fun morning! Many of them were doing their first race, and Sarah, Abby, and I were their "race buddies". Fit Girls is an organization started by my teammate Sarah, and it's mission is to get girls running, reading, and reaching out to the community. Three of my favorite things!

The knee did not hold up so well today, but the girls sure did. They may not have run the entire 3.1 miles, but they were so encouraging to each other, positive, and excited to be actually doing a road race! Their sprints across the finish line were pretty much the cutest thing I've seen in a while.

Lil' Swiney walks a full race (well, almost)

This knee issue that I wrote about last week finally has a name: patellar tendinitis. So, rather than running the Harpoon 5 miler this past weekend and attempting my 5 mile PR along with all my friends, I walked it.

yup. walked it.

It took enormous amounts of self control, and I'll be honest: I felt like a complete idiot the entire time. I started 20 minutes early so I could get somewhat of a head start, and I kept bursting out laughing at myself the entire way. But I finally just embraced it. In the end, I only walked about 4 miles of the 5 mile course because my knee was starting to get tight. And I kept telling my friends that I'd won the the unofficial walkers category, but I can't even say that much, because I chopped a full mile off the course. This tendinitis thing better start healing itself, because the icing/stretching/massaging/swimming/medicating combo isn't doing much of anything.

I have to say though: there is something kind of fun about showing up for a race with no nerves, not having to be well-rested, not having to stretch out completely and tie my shoes 714 times and make sure I get in line for the porta potties before I start. It's a whole new kind of road race when you're not actually running to be competitive!

Little Swiney runs a Big Race

nb: due to the outbreak of the swine flu at my school, I have been dubbed "Lil Swiney" for the time being. My hope is that the nickname will end as soon as the swine flu vacation ends this week.

Last week was my first race since the marathon: a whopping 5 miler. (5 miles? That's your 'big race'? you are probably thinking). Unfortunately, my knee hasn't been loving this running thing very much recently, and I have probably run a total of 10 miles since the marathon--most of them completed with the companions of an awkward limp and a few choice words. I've tried resting, icing, elevating, stretching, massaging, poking, prodding, drugging, and running amidst the pain, but nothing seems to work.

So I set out to run the first race of the summer race series with a race plan I've never tried before: run till it hurts then walk the rest. Let's just say it hurt from step number 3, and it's the first time I've ever not run a full race. I did finish, but it was not pretty or fun...at least the after party was! Lil Swiney got to live it up since the swine flu vacation meant no school the next day!

A little season summary

This is cute! Thanks for the shout out, guys!

http://alumni.explo.org/seen_and_heard/explo_adventurers

What do you think about for 26 miles?

Well, it's a few days late, but I finally have enough energy and perspective to write a recap of the actual marathon itself. People ask me all the time "what do you actually think about for 26 miles?" Well, here it is....uncensored, and sometimes unintelligible! (yes, it IS long...but so is a marathon!)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

DFMC meet up/warm up in Hopkinton-Mike asks me "How are you feeling little one?" Strangely, after telling him all week how nervous I was, the only answer I had for him was a resounding "EXCITED!" I knew I was well-trained for this, and I believed in my body and the thoughts of why I was doing this to carry me through. It's going to be a good day.

Staring line-Holy cow, I am really doing this! Our coach Jack was at the starting line, officially announcing people's names as we passed under the giant arch. How many people can say that their coach is the official starter of the Boston Marathon?? I wonder if I will have to pee during the race?

Mile 1-Holy cow, I am really doing this! First two miles were an average of 8:20/mile. Perfect, right where I want to be. As Jack drilled into our heads "If you don't feel like you're going too slow, then you're going too fast." Over and out, Jack.

Mile 2, 3, 4-Just keep it consistent Betsy. 8:05 miles through here. You're right where you want to be, and you don't want to pick it up now...the hills are still a few hours away! I preferred to adopt another Jack-ism at this point: "Doing the first few miles too fast is like taking tequila shots one right after the other; you don't know what hit you until you're lying flat on the floor."

Mile 5-Yes, this is awesome. My legs feel great. I can do this! What should I eat when I am finally finished?

Mile 6-Time to eat! Luna gels will do, but I really want a granola bar. Or a bagel. I wonder if people can see my name on my singlet?

Mile 7-There's John Crisafulli! Wow, didn't expect to see such an enthusiastic Dana Farber teammate cheering from the sidelines! Huge energy boost. "Go Dana Fah-bah!" Thank you!

Mile 8-I can't wait to see Laura and Adam at mile 13 so I can give them these damn gloves. I wonder what Mom and Dad are doing with Aunt Karen in Brookline right now?

Mile 9-Great, almost double digits. Legs still feel good, but I can't believe I have a few more hours left to run. "Go Dana Fah-bah!" Thank you!

Mile 10, 11-I wonder when the Wellesley girls start screaming?

Mile 12-The Wellesley girls made me deaf. I don't like this, I can't concentrate. ( I'm probably the only one, but I felt really overwhelmed and overstimulated for a full mile.)

Mile 13-Halfway done distance-wise, but certainly not effort-wise. I'm nearly two minutes ahead of my goal, so I can keep this pace up until the hills, and then let the hills come to me. There's Laura, Adam, and Sarah! What an awesome sign! I wish I could stop and talk!

Mile 14-damn, I won't see anyone else I know for 10 more miles. Some guy yells: "Good job runners...that was the easy half, you're in for it now." Is he for real???

Mile 15-I think my legs hurt, but I'm not really sure because my stomach hurts too. No more gatorade, it's too sweet. "Go Dana Fah-bah!" Thank you!

Mile 16-My stomach feels awful. No more water either, I don't want anything else going in. mental static. Where is the damn fire station?

Mile 17-The hills are coming, the hills are coming, the hills are coming. Maybe it will seem like a relief since I know them so well? (aaah the power of positive thinking). I hope they have pizza at the finish line.

Mile 18-Shooooot. Nope, no relief here. I am an idiot. If the first hill is this hard, I wonder what hill #2 and Heartbreak will bring?

Mile 19-Nausea. ugh. More hills. ugh. And still 4 more miles till I see anyone I know. I can't believe I actually have to run all the way to Boston. Hey, there's Fred Warburg! Yes, a familiar face!

Mile 20-This hurts. I'm tired. It's okay if I don't run a 3:40...that way, I won't ever have to run a marathon again. I'm fine with that, I don't really like running anyway.

Mile 21-HEARTBREAK HILL! I don't know if I can do this...must walk now, I don't care how much time I loose. Oh crap, there is Team Hoyt, and he is PUSHING his son up the hill. If he can do that, I better be running. Just get to the top, just get to the top...

Mile 22-mental static. What?!?, I'm still on pace to break 3:40?! I can rest now, or I can actually DO this thing. more mental static, no decision.

Mile 23-MUST FIND FRED FOLLANSBEE! MUST FIND FRED! Yes, there he is...no, I can't take gatorade from you...no, I don't think I can make it. No, I do NOT look good right now. mental static.

Mile 24-THERE'S MY FAMILY! AND MY ROOMMATES! I've been waiting 24 miles for this! I can't believe Aunt Karen made it all the way here. I should be running faster just for her. Do I have the energy to stop and then start again? (no). Will I be able to yell? (no). Can I at least wave? (yes). Tunnel vision...must get to Tommy at St. Mary's Street.

Mile 24.5-mental static. tunnel vision. There's my brother Tom! He looks really excited! Woah, he's so tall. Damn, why won't he come run with me and pull me along? I wonder if my legs will lock up like you see on tv sometimes...and if they do, will I have enough time to crawl across the finish line and break 3:40?

Mile 25-Where is Theo??? I hear some of my friends cheering, but I can't think of who it is. Chris? Ellie? Where are they? Maybe we can all go bowling this weekend.

Mile 26-please legs, just keep turning over. I have twelve minutes to run 1.2 miles. That should be a piece of cake. But will it?

Mile 26.1-tunnel vision. Is this a joke? I feel like I'm on a treadmill, and that stupid finish line is NOT getting any closer.

Mile 26.2- 3:38:30. YES. i feel like crying, but i don't even have the energy for that. ooh, pretty medal.

Mile 26.3-must sit down. must sit down. What, a wheelchair? Sure, that sounds nice.

WE DID IT!!!

• 3:38:32, which means I can run Boston again next year as a qualified entrant!
• $6,000 raised for Dana Farber!

running through Wellesley, at mile 13

For the past few weeks (okay, the past five months), this marathon and fund raising has been my life. I'll do a more thorough race recap soon, but right now you'll have to excuse me while I take a nap :)

THANK YOU!!!

"It's a piece of pancake"

Just a little 26 mile jog today from Hopkinton to Boston. No big deal :) Or, as Boston Champion Utta Pippig told us at the pasta dinner tonight, "It's a piece of pancake!"

If you want to track the race online, go to www.baa.org and put in my bib # 22181...or my last name and DOB 9/12/1981.

If you will be at the race, look for my shirt:


















My quote of the day today is from Theo. He found a megaphone at the DFMC pasta party today, and waddled over to me. His Dad said "Theo, what did you want to say to Betsy?" He puts the megaphone up to his mouth, and in a deadpan, barely audible voice, said "go." Thanks Theo, I will!

It's Marathon Monday!!!

It's been a long five months that have, seemingly, flown by. Five months ago, I had raised zero dollars for Dana Farber. As of today, I am up to $5415, and SO CLOSE to my $6000 goal. [There is still time to contribute. Go to www.runDFMC.org/betsyg2009.]

Five months ago, my long run of the week was about 8 miles. As of today, I have run 700 miles of hills, sprints, races, slow recovery runs, and loooong long training runs.

Five months ago, actually running in the Boston Marathon seemed so far away. And now it's here. Sure, I'm about to go off and run 26.2 miles by myself, on my own two legs. But for every single step, there are hundreds of people that have helped in so many ways. I would be nowhere without....

My "coaching staff":

• Jack, my running coach, but also my thinking coach--he has taught me so much about the thought process that goes into each run, and into a training period as long and demanding as this

• Aimee, my ultimate motivational coach-- i would never have made it around the track as many times, or through as many long hilly runs without her pep talks

• Katie, my partner in crime for any and all snowy, rainy, windy, morning, midday, or evening run...and also for spending so many of those miles listening to me dissect my job, or what this person said, or this problem or that

• Mike, my reality check and calming influence--he knew when to push the buttons, and when the positive reinforcement was necessary

• Sarah N, my voice of experience--one marathon does not a marathoner make, so i appreciated every word of wisdom she offered

• Mom and Dad, my listeners and therapists--i don't know anyone else that has been more interested, more supportive, and more encouraging than them

• my roommates and friends, who dealt with sweaty-betsy-out-in-public-in-her-running clothes more times than i can count!

• Aunt Karen, who (though she didn't know it), provided inspiration and clear focus throughout the toughest workouts and the longest runs

And last but not least, all 105 of my donors so far...ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE!!!!!

Amy Fossett
Andrea Lucien
Angela Glabach
Angela Hart
Anna Van Zee Phillips
Ashlee + Jamie Arsenault
Barb Trainor
Bethany Chandler
Brian Gonyar
Cathy Schumer
Chris Glasser
Colin Drake
Connie + Bernie Lynch
Danika Maddocks
David Torcoletti

Dawn Cobb
Deidre Mulligan
Doreen + Tim Callahan
Ed + Debbie Gott
Tom Murphy
Ted Gott
Eileen St Louis
Ellie Doig
Elizabeth Boyle
Elizabeth Gurnee
Elizabeth Backer
Ellen Port
Eric Olmsted
Erin Troy
F Alden Brangwynne
Flavia Reardon and the RSTs at the Renaissance School
Frederick Follansbee
Friends of Betsy
Gladys + Paul Tardiff
Grace Shorey
Greg Solomon
Jennifer Meyer
Jillian Amirault
Joan Gott
Joanne Kimball
Jocelyn Weidner
Jordan Harrison
Joyce Goldweitz
Marlene Wight
Kara Schnabel
Karen Gott
Kathleen Murphy Meagher
Kathryn Brennan
Kathryn Germani
Katie Irving
Katie Chandler
Katie Parks
Kent & Irena Sinclair
Kiirsten Finn
Kristan Murphy
Blakeney Schick
Laura Callahan
Laura Stroessner
Lauree Gott
Lauren Sarno
Linda Archibald
Mallorie Hulse
Marisa Flavin
Mary Graff
Matthew Main
Maya, Matt, and Lauren Whitcomb
Michael Archibald
Michael Weinstein
Miguel Williams
Millicent Harris
Nick Malakhow
Noelle Hendrixson
Tom + Ellen Finn
Richard Horgan
Robert Kahn
Ronald + Faith Dionne
Ruth + Dan Doughty
Sarah Durrin
Shandy Schroder
Shannon Foley
Shawn Corbett
Shelley Gilman
Sheryle + Mike Towle
Susan + Dan Perkins
Susan Logan
Tara Frazier
Terrill Jennings
Tom Gott
Tim Watson
Tracy Cobb
Whitney Krause
Peggy Manzer
Eleanor Bagley
Jason Neault

Athena Lentini

Dan Perkins
Katie Miller
Kaitlin Herlihy
Anna Thurston

Kids [really do] say the darndest things

I wanted to write something each day this week, to keep a record of all my thoughts and feelings as Marathon Monday approaches.... but as soon as I got to Wednesday, I sort of lost the ability to put my thoughts into words.

I have nothing coherent to say tonight, just a lot of nerves and excitement. So rather than belabor those two points, I'll leave you with some recent quotes from my 3rd graders:

"Ms. Gott has really nice ankles!"

"Ms. Gott, come verse me in a race. I'll win you!"

"Just run so hard and don't give up forever."

"I heard about you. I heard you was going to walk a mile next week."

"Ms. Gott, you're a good teacher. So if you be a good teacher, you can run too."

"Run like the wind! No, run like you on a football team!"

"If you don't win the race, do they make you give all the cancer money back?"

"I saw a blonde lady running a race one time. Was that you? I think it was!"

"Hey, that's my teacher, Ms. Gott! She's going to be famous, she's running in the World Series next week!"

sometimes inspiration comes from the most random places....

I have been getting so many emails and phone calls this week leading up to the marathon...everything from "you can do it!" to "what's your goal?" to "how do I know when you'll be at mile 17?"

This was a very special and unexpected one that I received this morning; I post it here to share with my fellow DFMC teammates, because it really speaks to all of us!

Hi Betsy,
My cousin Susan works with your Aunt Laurie in Veazie and she shared your website with me. As a breast cancer survivor myself, I just want to say Good luck--kick butt--and thank you for ALL you do for this disease. I am currently training for my second triathlon-Tri for a Cure held in Maine this summer and also the Danskin Tri in Mass. I know all that hard work will pay off when crossing that finish line. Just know that you have friends here in Cumberland Maine who will logging on and getting updates on how you are doing. I think you are amazing--I can't imagine doing a full marathon--maybe someday--hah! Rest well, and get ready to kick some butt.
Fondly,
Karen C.

On my way home from school today, I got a voice mail from my co-teacher Carrie. She updated me quickly on a student situation (we never have time to talk about these things during the day!), then went on to say she was so excited for the marathon. "During my quiet alone time in the morning, every day this week, I've been thinking about you and sending good mental vibes your way. I am so excited for you, and just amazed at all the hard hard work you've put into this."

It's true, I have put in a lot of time and effort into training for this thing. About 700 miles, in fact. Which, at an average pace of 8:00/mile, is about 93 hours. (woah, I just scared myself with that math!) But none of it has ever felt like work to me. Sure, I had some bad runs and some days where I just didn't feel like turning my legs over. But most days, I actually look forward to my run...whether it's some alone time, or running with Katie and Aimee. Since I started running seriously, it's been the only constant thing in my life amidst leaving an old job and starting a new one, relationships beginning and ending, family and life changes, and lots of other hobbies that just didn't stick.

In general, I really like doing this, and it hasn't been a chore for me. Maybe this tapering has gone to my head...

and then there were 7 (days)...

Today, I am trying to remember: This is more a celebration than a final exam.

http://www.boston.com/video/viral_page/?/services/player/bcpid10609694001&bctid=19204768001

Words of wisdom from Coach Jack.

2 reasons and $4200 later...

With track workouts and long runs behind us, I spent a pretty painful hour on the massage table today. Calves, lower back, hammies, you name it--they were all tight. While trying to distract myself and ignore the pain, I actually got thinking more deeply about pain...and in turn, how I ended up on that massage table and doing this whole DFMC thing to begin with. It all comes down to two simple reasons.

1) The reason I am running a marathon.
Most of you know about my broken neck and shoulder from the bike accident of 2007. It was during that recovery period, when I was out of work for weeks, and doing physical therapy for even longer, that I decided to commit myself to this running thing.

I'd always liked running, and had been casually saying for years "someday I hope I will run a marathon". Well, 10 weeks of a neck brace and zero physical activity leave a lot of time for thinking. "I hope" became "I WILL" pretty darn fast.

Three months of PT later, and I could finally run again. Within a month I signed up for the 2008 Chicago Marathon...and haven't stopped running since. If I hadn't had that accident, I'm not sure I ever would have picked a time and a place to actually do it.

2) The reason I am running a marathon for Dana Farber.
Love. Fear. Empowerment. Worry. Helplessness. Hope. Perseverance.
When someone you love has cancer, it's impossible not to feel all of these things at once. It's a strange thing to see the people in your life that are meant to be the stable and responsible ones suddenly need the very support and stability they've always offered. Because I live in Boston and Aunt Karen lives in northern Maine, I obviously couldn't be there during her treatments. So this--fundraising and training for the DFMC--was the next best thing.

While I have spent the past 5 months running in hopes of crossing the finish line on Boylston Street, Aunt Karen has been doing her own kind of training: fighting the disease, keeping her spirits up, managing the chemo, regaining her strength, and battling her way towards a very different finish line. She is doing fantastic with her physical therapy and strength, and even went back to work full time last week!

The support and donations I've received in honor of Aunt Karen are incredible:
people she works with in Damariscotta, Maine...
her sister Sue's friends in Newburgh and Bangor, Maine...
her sister Lauree's friends and fellow teachers in Old Town, Maine...
my parents' friends and co-workers in Portland, Maine...
my Nana's church friends...
my Bunna's Red Hat Ladies...

The list is endless. THAT is why I am running this marathon for Dana Farber.

the runners are coming, the runners are coming!

Spring is definitely here. How can I tell? This is what I see on my daily commute to and from school each day:

The Boston Marathon banners are out along Boylston...

The really cute and feel-good Adidas ad campaign greets me when I get off the T at Arlington...
(The text of this one reads "4:48:31. The time it took me to capture the elusive unicorn.")

And a marathon banner hangs RIGHT above my school's entrance on Stuart Street. If that's not a constant reminder and a motivation, I don't know what is....

I've been telling you guys all along that I take my camera everywhere. Now do you believe me?

the local 3

I've been to a lot of fund raising events this season, but the biggest so far was Shifter's road race: The Local 3, to benefit Dana Farber.

Katie, Aimee, Fred, and I gathered a bit before the race to do 9 miles (our long run for the week was meant to be 12). The first 4 miles over the Newton Hills were hot and sunny, but as soon as we turned into Brighton it got windy and rainy! Luckily Aimee had the strength and fresh legs to drag me along the last 5 miles back to The Local.

Fred, me, Katie, and Aimee before our 9 mile warm up

Ten minutes, a quick change of clothes, and a lot of hellos later, we lined up at the starting line for The Local 3. A lot of Dana Farber teammates were there, along with family members and friends, and some other charity runners.


"quick chicks" (thanks jack): Laurie, Aimee, me, and Katie

Running a hard-ish 9 miles and then trying to run an even harder 3 miles was quite challenging...Katie and I joked afterward that we felt like we were moving backwards when the starting gun went off! But all in all, the race was a good little push at the end of a long run. Now that track is over and that race is complete, the tapering can REALLY begin!

Photos from the after party at The Local......

A little shout out, volume 4

This shout out goes to Glen, who provided some classic inspiration the other day:

"If it wasn't hard, everyone could do it."

Tuesday Night Track is on a hiatus (for now), long runs are complete, and the hay is in the barn.

Dancing for a Cure

Thank you to everyone who came out to The Place this weekend to support us!!!

22 days to go, 22 miles this morning: a coincidence?

At the Hopkinton starting line, ready to run the 22 miles back to Boston!

Today's epic charity run by the numbers:

6am - wakeup
7am - bus to Hopkinton
1 - group picture with friends from DFMC, Joints in Motion, and the Liver Foundation
2 - running buddies for the first 12 miles (Aimee and Katie)
12 - peanut m+ms
5 - water stations
2 - bathroom stops
11 - shot blocks
3 - running buddies for the last 10 miles (Aimee, Katie, and Sarah)
6 - towns (Hopkinton-Ashland-Framingham-Natick-Wellesley and Newton)
4 - pictures taken of us during the run
3 - big hills
1 - trip up Heartbreak Hill
8:15 - pace per mile
tons of red DFMC training shirts
handfuls - volunteers on the course
hundreds - other charity runners
and
21.5 - miles run!

And now, let the tapering begin...