Tuesday, April 27, 2010

WE DID IT!!!!!

By "we" I mean not only the Boston Partners in Education 2010 Marathon Team, but everyone I have involved in this experience!  We did it!  Months of training, rain, snow, freezing temperatures, injuries, illness, exhaustion, joy, anticipation... the list is endless.  I still can't believe it happened and I still can't believe it's over.

I can't tell you exactly what I was looking for when I decided to do this.  Running a marathon is not something I ever imagined doing.  Sure, I thought it would be cool, but I never really thought I would actually devote months of my life to running.  To be honest, I had to run 10 miles to truly believe that I could run 10 miles.  There were times that I was really upset with myself that I had agreed to do this.  I didn't tell anyone that, other than Matt and Nikki, of course.

I also can't tell you how incredibly meaningful this experience really has been.  I've been putting off writing this blog post because I can't describe with words everything that this meant to me.  We chuckled at Coach Rick when he described this as "life-changing."  And while I don't have an inspirational story, and my life hasn't really changed for some reason I do feel different.  I have just a little more focus and a little more confidence and a little more clarity now that I know I have done something that I never knew I wanted to do.  I'm not one to over-romanticize things (it makes me feel a bit embarrassed) - April 19, 2010 was a day that I will never, ever forget.  It's funny... around mile 24 I thought, "The only thing I'm going to remember about this is how much I hurt right now."  And it couldn't be further from the truth.


So let's talk about the run!

Matt, Nikki and Thais drove me to the buses awaiting us near the Boston Common.  Well, let's be real - I drove.  When I found out Travis (Laur's hubbie) almost got a ticket when he dropped her off, I made Matt swap seats with me at a red light.


Post-seat swap.


I met Laurelin, Todd, Erin (as I linked this I realized I totally stole Erin's Blog Post Name... sorry about that), Kelly, Laura, and Meghan at Lisa's apartment, conveniently located across the street from the Common.  The line(s) for the buses were out of control winding all the way through the Common.

When we finally made it to the front of the line, we were directly across from Lisa's apartment... back where we started.  There was some drama getting on the bus, the team was almost split up, but as it turned out there were just enough seats for all of us.

Laur and I sat next to each other, which would have turned out to be a total bummer if she had thrown up into my tupperware container of oatmeal I was trying to talk myself into eating.  Lucky for me she did not do this.  Unfortunately for her, she was a bit "bus sick."



The bus ride seemed to take forever.  Once at Hopkinton Laur and I made some bad decisions about which line to get in for a porta-potty and ended up waiting forever only to leave the line in search of our designated area at Athlete's Village.  We were worried about the time as we still had to pin on our bib number and tie our chip into our shoe.  You know, things that don't take long at all, but of course our nerves were getting to the best of us.  It was calming to see the Boston Partners banner (and nearby porta-potties with a shorter line).

The team at Athlete's Village.  Thanks for the pic, Laur.

The next thing I knew we were heading to the start line.  The. Start. Line.  As in THE START OF THE BOSTON MARATHON WE'D BEEN PREPARING FOR AND FUNDRAISING FOR AND REALLY DOING THAT DAY.  Needless to say, it was intense.

Our bib numbers were in the 23,000's.  23,000.  We were in Wave 2, so many (thousands) of people had already begun and there were still thousands of people in front of us and thousands of people behind us.  We were basically herded to the start line.  It was all so overwhelming I was crying when I started running.  Yep, tears running down the cheeks.

At the Start.  
Image via Laurelin, courtesy of Meghan Malloy (who also rocked the Marathon!)

I would just like to point out here that before all this marathon business while I am completely ok crying in my own private home, I was not ok with crying in public.  Look what this has done (yoga, marathon, what's next?!)

Anyway, I feel like you can all cut me a break for crying on Marathon Monday.

I had decided, against my better judgment really, that I would run alongside Laurelin throughout the race.  She would pace me, we would not do run/walk and we would spend some time running together!  I can't tell you how much I missed her these last few months!

I thought we would chat more.  I am normally a chatty runner and as is she after a couple (Gu packets that is!)  But no, we were both in awe of what was happening around us.  At mile 6 I got a tightness in both my hips that I thought I could shake.  As we went on the tightness crept down both my legs.  I got a boost of energy at Wellesley College where thousands of women were screaming for us.  It was cry number two of the day.  Thanks to all you Wellesley ladies, you were awesome.

Into Wellesley (near mile 14) we saw my dear friend Hillary, former cheerleader jumping up and down screaming embarrassing her mom... thanks, Hil!

At this point keeping up with Laurelin was tough.  I was hurting.  We needed to stop and stretch.  My muscles were just super tight.  We saw Travis, David, Barb, Tim and Laurie just before mile 17.  Laur went to give hugs and since I was falling behind I thought it was best not to stop.  I smiled and waved and finally felt some relief.  Laurelin and I hugged, ran to the next water stop together and that was when we parted ways.  I needed to walk for a while as I sipped my water.  I needed to walk frequently as I climbed the hills in Newton.  Everyone keeps asking me about Heartbreak Hill... I think I may have been slightly delirious because I can't really remember.  I know it was the beginning of the rest of my miserable run.

I know that sounds terrible.  It sounds like I didn't enjoy myself, but it's not true.  For all of the pain I was feeling that I had never before experienced I was determined.  It was bad, but it could have been worse.  I was going to finish and that was that.  End of story.  Newton seemed to crawl by, mostly because I had run there so many times before I knew exactly how many tenths of a mile it was to my doorstep.  At my doorstep I was still three miles away from the finish.  Yikes.

As I rounded the corner in Cleveland Circle I saw David, Matt's dad waving wildly and there was the group again.  I was so glad to see them.  At that point I it was the furthest I had ever run and I was so, so, so, so close.  I couldn't wait to get closer to our house!

Beacon Street was flying by... there goes Shaw's, Starbucks, The Golden Temple, Gimbels, 7/11, The Washington Square Tavern.  Wait, the Washington Square Tavern?!  I am in Washington Square?!  That's my impression of me talking to myself in my head.  As I ran just past the Tavern, just past the T stop I heard, "Baker!" from my left.  I see Jessey, do a U-turn, and give him a big, nasty, sweaty hug.  And, you guessed it, started to cry.  Immediately on my right is Thais, Rachel and Allie yelling and screaming and giving me hugs.  It was the best part of the race.  I was in all-out crying mode.  I had to actually tell myself to relax or I would have had to stop running!

I somehow trudged my way to Coolidge Corner where out of the corner of my eye, on the left-side, I spotted Karen who also got a big, sweaty hug from me.  She reminded me I only had two more miles to go!

At some point I ran into my teammate Lisa.  What a wonderful surprise!


Down Beacon past all of the things I see every day on the T, into Kenmore Square, under Mass Ave (jerks), right on Hereford, left on Boylston and THREE FRICKIN BLOCKS TO GO, WHAT?!?!?!  (That's my impression of me again.)  There it was the finish line.  I don't know how I did it.  I really don't, but there it was.  The end of the race.  26.2 frickin miles later.  I crossed the finish line and cried.  Got a call from Matt and Nikki who saw me finish.  Hugged them and cried.

That's me!!! 4:48:27

They make you walk for awhile post-marathon.  It's a really good idea, but MAN did those wheelchairs look inviting.  I asked everyone I passed for a banana - the volunteer who gave me water, the volunteer who gave me a cape, the volunteer who taped my cape, the volunteer who gave me my medal - all were asked the same question, "Do you have any food, like a banana?"

Finally, I found a banana and an egg bagel.  I walked down to Berkeley and around the corner to St. James.  When I approached Skippy's there were a few friendly faces on the patio.  They took me in, gave me a beer, and it was great.


Woo hoo!

The weekend was a whirlwind.  So much happened the weekend before the marathon.  So much happened following the marathon.  Food, drinks, food, drinks, food, drinks.  And on and on and on.  It was all amazing, but I'm sure much less interesting for you to read.  I was excited at first to blog about getting my bib number and visiting the Expo, but it really pales in comparison to the day of the race!

I have a lot of people who deserve thanks.  First, my most recent donors:
Lori!
Pete Corritori!
Damon Kimball!
Christina!
Jim Rothwell!

I have raised:
$5, 942.60

I am so grateful and amazed by all of the wonderful people who have donated to Boston Partners in Education.  Your support has meant the world to me and my organization.  I'm so proud.

Thank you to everyone who made this experience so great.  Whether I ran alongside you, gave you a hug on race day, or communicated with you from afar thank you!  Without you this experience would have probably been the pits.  Seriously.  I would go through and name all of the folks that I want to personally thank again, but I'd be like that celebrity at the Oscars who gets boot-music after taking up more time than Academy has to offer.  If I still have your attention - thank you for reading.

I'm overwhelmed with joy every time I revisit this experience in my mind.  Looking at the pictures makes me a little giddy.  This was amazing and I hope that those who shared it with me enjoyed it as well.

We did it.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

As of 10:30 tomorrow morning, one week.

It's not like I'm counting down or anything...

That's right all, as of 10:30 tomorrow morning I have one week until I run the freaking Boston Marathon.

Luckily for me, I've had some distractions lately that have kept me from fretting too much about April 19.  As you know from my last post, I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago (it feels like months already) and upon my return I had a ridiculous amount of work waiting me.  As you also know from religiously reading my blog, I work for Boston Partners in Education.  As you may or may not know I work in Development.  There is one major day that is always on my mind: Gala day.  This year our gala was planned for April 8.  Long story short, after my vacation I had just a couple of weeks to catch up and get ready.  There was a LOT to do.  I won't go into all of the details, but we were working on a number of hard deadlines and I had no time at all to worry about running a marathon.  To be completely honest, I had very little time to focus and clear my head to concentrate on running.  After the 21 miles, it was all about the gala.  And honestly, thank goodness.  My marathon nightmares were replaced with gala nightmares.  What if there was a horrible glaring error in the program that I forgot to edit?  What if we didn't get the signage in time?  What if I completely screwed up the entire guest list?  AHH!  Lucky for me, all was well and good.  The gala was a success and it took my mind off of the insanity that is about to happen next Monday.

Like I said, running the last couple of weeks - with the exception of my epic comeback (21 miles) was relatively easy and I just didn't give it the amount of anxiety/focus I normally do.  Two weeks ago I ran 12 miles with Todd.  It was half of the Power Lunch run.  We ran all over the city to visit some (not all of) the Power Lunch schools.  The full run would have been 20 miles.  Anyway, we met at my house and Matt (who is awesome) drove us to Allston to begin our run.  We ran from Allston to Jamaica Plain to Dorchester to South Boston back downtown to Mass Ave.  It was the hottest weather that I've trained in.  I really hope it isn't like that on April 19... I'm pretty sure it was over 80 degrees.  It was awesome though - I ran through areas of the city that I have never been to.  Also, we saw some interesting and random things.  Todd stepped on a snake that had been run over by a car and if I hadn't been sweating so much I probably would have shed a tear for Mr. Mittens.  He did not get run over by a car, but he no longer lives with us and that makes me sad every now and then... until I think about feeding him.  Anyway.  We also saw this in South Boston (obviously):
At first Todd did not believe that I saw a leprechaun bus sign, but luckily we passed it again.  And now I have proof.

We also ran along-side the ocean, past the beach.  We stopped at a bath house to refill our water bottles and were horribly shocked that the outdoor drinking fountains had not yet been turned on.  After a dramatic 10 second "NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  A man who was air-boxing with weights told us that we could just use the drinking fountain inside.  Crisis averted.  After the run I missed the number 1 bus, twice.  I think the cruel bus driver enjoyed seeing me sprint my butt off to make it and just to approach the bus as he/she (never did see either way) closed the doors on me.  Did I mention that happened TWICE?!  Anyway, I had to get home as fast as I could to make shower and return downtown to work as Skipjack's.  Which leads me to my next topic...

On Wednesday night bartenders Rachel, Pia, and Cory hosted the most amazing fundraising event ever.  They generously donated all of their tips to me that evening.  It was awesome - and much needed.  It was quite a stressful day (the day before the gala) and being able to surround myself with kind-hearted, kick ass friends later that night was exactly what I needed.

Rachel and Cory (Pia is too damn quick for my camera...)
Team Baker
Team Jess

How frickin amazing are they?  And guess what, they raised $435 for Boston Partners on Wednesday.  

As we move onto fundraising, I have to say I have had a HUGE week.  The Skippy bartenders raised $435 for Boston Partners and on Friday, I had another someone pulling for me.  My dearest Matt hosted a "jean's day" at State Street.  It's a simple concept, people pay $5 to wear jeans on Friday and the money goes to charity - I mean, how easy is that?!  People were incredibly generous - a number of people giving more than $5 - a special thank you to Ryan Yanaro for your $40 jean's day donation - whew!  And to all of Matt's co-workers who have been so supportive.  Donating money, attending fundraising events, participating in jean's day... so great.  You guys rock.  And thank you, thank you, thank you to Matt for getting up at the ridiculous hour you had to get up to finish up your morning work so you could sit in the lobby and collect the cash.  $354 later - totally worth it.

Thank you thank you thank you to:
Aunt Shelley, Uncle Sean, Hannah, Spencer, & Sydney Carl! 
Aunt Amber!  And of course, the rest of the Genetski family!
Nikki Dissette! 
Trixee!  :) 
Gina Portnowitz!
Mom!
Brian & Evelyn Sommariva!

At this point I have raised $4,779.40 which is $220.60 short of my $5,000 goal.  I am so super close!
All in all, it was an awesome week.  We had a great gala, beautiful weather, and with the help of all of the amazing people in my life I had a great week of fundraising.  

I cannot wait for April 19 - although, my anxiety is at level yellow/orange (measured appropriately in ROYGBIV; red being the highest level of anxiety).  Fortunately for me, I plan to give up coffee this week.  On the flip side of that, I am drinking my last glass of wine for the week.  Cheers to being properly hydrated!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

saddle up, partners

Seriously.  Saddle up, because this is going to be quite a blog post.  I've been out of the blogging loop longer than I was previously out of the running loop.  Whoops...

Let's briefly cover the topics I will discuss:
1- My comeback
2- Vacation (this includes a photos of awesome mountains and cute animals, nature in general really so stay tuned)
3- 21 miles (this will be separate from my comeback solely because it is awesome)
4- I will highlight other folks' awesomeness
5- Anything else that I think of as I type this ridiculously long post that I hope you read thoroughly.

*I will spare you some detail, since this will be a lengthy post.

Chapter 1: My Comeback
I have started this sentence about 10 times.  I don't even know what to say.  I got so used to feeling crappy that I wasn't sure if I was going to feel right again.  Honestly, I don't even want to blog about it because I am so over it.  Sinus infections suck.  Horribly.  While the rest of my team was averaging 20-30 miles a week I was averaging 0 and feeling incredibly anxious.  My first real weekend back I ran 10 miles.  My team ran 13 (and had run 18 miles the previous weekend; I ran 0).  The next weekend was the 19 miles.  While my 10 was so-so, I was not feeling ready for 19.  It was a dreary week.  As the long run approached, I resolved to run 16.  Todd and I devised a plan.  I would meet him at his apartment, we would run 9.5 miles up the marathon route, we would then turn around and we would part ways when we arrived at my apartment and he would continue on to his.  Me running 16, Todd running 19.

This was the run that I considered to be my comeback.  And wow... was it crappy.  It was POURING.  POURING RAIN.  Did I mention it was POURING?!
I don't know that this picture does me justice, but I'm completely soaking wet, miserable and struggling to find the strength in my hands to take off my jacket.  I believe the words coming out of my mouth (loudly) at this point, directed toward Matt were: "Quit taking ****ing pictures and help me take off this jacket!"  Which he did do.  Thanks, Matt.  For the 20 minutes, I was doing math aloud trying to figure out ways that I could NOT have run 16 miles.  But as it turns out, I did.  I was back.
*Note the Jimmy Johns cups in the background.


Chapter 2: Vacation
My main vacation this year was a ski trip/visiting friends in Colorado.  I was nervous about a) running at a high elevation (Boulder ~5,400 ft., Dillon ~9,100 +/-).  I was also a bit worried about my sinuses because when I was there in May I had some serious allergy issues and ended up begging a pharmacist for the strongest over-the-counter meds available.  So, I was sure to pack a serious med kit before traveling (who doesn't spend $80 at CVS before vacation?)

We flew out on the Monday following my 16-miler.  During the flight it felt like someone was chiseling away at my knees.  Needless to say I was sore.  I was also sore on Tuesday, but with the wonderful company of Liza & Meghan I went out for 5 miles.  Now, anyone whose run with me at sea-level can attest to the fact that I tend to blab a lot during runs.  Well, at 5,400 feet blabbing proves to be an incredibly difficult task.

Wednesday was St. Patty's day.  Who runs on St. Patty's day?  Apparently, not me.  Thursday/Friday were ski days.  As well as much needed hot-tubbing days.  Thursday evening I was a bit sore due to the ridiculous number of times I fell on my butt, knees, side(s), face, etc.  But Friday I did much better.  I was sad that Colleen was unable to witness my amazingness on the blue blacks since she had to put up with my not-so-amazingness on the blues on Thursday.  It's not like I had to take off my skis and slide down the mountain on my bum... oh wait... I did.
 On a mountain!  At Keystone (I think). 

My next run didn't come again until Monday.  I was having a difficult time feeling motivated, especially since the end of my vacation was drawing near.  Liza accompanied me on the first half of my double-digits and for the second half, I let myself take it easy stopping to take pictures of nature as well as my many obstacles.
This is scenery that I'm not used to.  First of all, please note I am running on a dirt path.  Second of all, THERE ARE MOUTAINS.  It was really nice to not have to weave between people or cars or bikes.  Although there was some weaving involved.  Obstacles of this run included: mud, puddles of water, piles of snow, piles of cow poo (they roam freely in the area), prairie dogs, prairie dog holes and geese (one hissed at me - I did NOT take its picture).  I did dodge one cow during my first run.
That, my friends, is a prairie dog!

I will now continue to post some more pictures from vacation (via Matt's iPhone & Liza)
 
 Tuesday night we saw Band of Horses in Denver.  Amazing.



The view in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Also amazing.

The Continental Divide.  I viewed this from the car.  It was freezing.

Again, I'm leaving out a lot of fun details.  There was also a ridiculous amount of beer drinking, Jameson drinking, margarita drinking, $1 well drinks drinking (yikes), sushi, lasagna, laughing (mostly at each other), merciless taunting, wishing-there-was-a-karaoke-bar-in-Boulder (ok that was me), spending too much money, and of course riding in the car, but I'll leave it all for another day.

Chapter 3: What was chapter 3 again?!  I have to scroll up and check.... OH RIGHT, 21 miles!
This Saturday I ran 21 miles.  It was the peak of our training.  It was the furthest we'll run until April 19.  It was my first team run in ohhhh a month and a half or so.  It was also my first trying actually trying the walk/run method (more on that in a bit).  

I originally did not plan on running with the team for this run.  I was unsure that I would be ready for this training run since previously the furthest I had ever run was 16 miles.  Now, this wasn't just any team run that I could choose to attend or not, it was one of two Children's Hospital runs, the first covered the second half of the Boston Marathon route, which I missed.  The second covered the first half from Hopkinton all the way through Heartbreak Hill.  The reason that we had to decide weeks ahead of time if we were going to participate is because Children's Hospital provided bus transportation to Hopkinton to the official start line.  I decided the day before that I was going to run.  Finally, doing something nice paid off and in exchange for a favor I did for the folks over at Children's Hospital, I was free to hop on a bus that chilly morning provided there was room for those who had previously signed up.  I did have a back up plan, but it is long and confusing and I doubt you want to hear it.  

Although, I wasn't on the same bus as the BPE staff crew I found a fellow BPE runner, Lisa and we had a nice chat allllllll the way to Hopkinton.  It felt like a really, really, really long way.  
*Interestingly enough, when I looked up driving directions from my house to Hopkinton (specifically the intersection of the start line) for my back up plan it was 26.2 miles away.... well, I thought it was interesting.

Lisa and I met up with Erin, Kelly, Laura and Todd and away we went.  I kept pace with Erin, Lisa, and another runner who I hadn't met and whose name I unfortunately cannot remember... Todd was also with us at times.  As I mentioned before it was my first real experience with the "run/walk" method.  Run/walk you ask?  Why would you walk during a marathon if you don't have to, you ask?  Well, as it turns out since you are using different muscles when you are walking than the muscles you are using when you are running the walk provides recovery time for your otherwise worn out running muscles.  You run for 9 minutes and then walk for 1 minute.  And if you do this from the very beginning and continue over the course of your run, your legs will be very happy.  Mine were.  It was incredible.  At mile 19, and maybe this was just the runner's high, I stated that I felt "good, happy even."  It really was an excellent run.  Perfect weather, plenty of water stops, enough people to make it feel official - it was happening.  Now, don't get me wrong... I felt the hills that begin at mile 17 and stretch over the next 4 miles.  I was sore for the next two days.  I still can't really believe it.  21 miles.  Done, check, complete.  And the best part is, I KNOW that if I had to on that day keep going and complete another 5.2 miles, I could have done it.  I am so frickin ready for April 19!

 This is Erin & I finishing up.  See that truck?  It was pretty much coming right at me as I was about 3 seconds away from the finish line. 
More running action.
Look how happy we are. 

My comeback is complete.

Chapter 4: Thank you!

I owe a lot of thank yous.  Here we go - huge thank you to:
Kelly Strauch!
Jayne Dissette!
Don Inman!  *Who, might I add I don't even know!  You are awesome!
Lee & Betty Van Ginhoven!
Mike Scannell!  *Who is also running the Boston Marathon - good luck, Mike!
Krissy Van Ginhoven!
Nick Crawford!
Liza Briggs!
Brian Moriarty & Lisa Cohen!
Sharon Warner!
Pia Bagni!
Virginia Frederickson!
David & Barb Van Ginhoven!

A super special thanks to those who helped me plan my most recent fundraising even - Buster & Gerry and all of the awesome folks at the Legion!  Also to everyone who attended, especially Tom Ricketts & Matt VanGinhoven who both donated all or part of their winnings.
With your help and the help of all of the rest of the amazing people who have donated to my Marathon fundraising efforts I have raised: $3,511.80 for Boston Partners in Education.

My goal is $5,000.  I have 20 days left!  

Oh, I have one last thank you.  I received a very special gift a couple of weeks ago.  It made me cry.  Thanks Laur for the very special pair of running shoes that I will wear to complete the Boston Marathon on April 19.  Best. Gift. Ever.  Also, my hair straightner recently broke, so if you are also interested in purchasing me the second best. gift. ever....  just kidding (sort of).  Love you!

I have nothing for Chapter 5 (I'm sure you're all thanking goodness for that).  I wrote this all in one sitting, very excitedly... my apologies for any embarrassing grammatical errors that I will surely find tomorrow when I re-read.  I'm going to bed now.

Ooh, one last thing.  I have to make dinner reservations for Marathon Monday.  Any restaurant suggestions?  We'll have a large group and I'm thinking entrees priced up to $20-$25 a plate.  Tasty suggestions only.  

I promise right here and now that my next blog post will happen BEFORE the marathon.  Not in a month.  Thanks to all who got me in gear to write this novel. 

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Waiting.................. the hardest part (of training for a marathon)

I am waiting.  Waiting until I am well enough to run again.  I feel like I'm so close.  My nose is still overflowing with the nasties (yes, I'm still using the Neti pot).  I'm still hacking like a life long smoker every time I start laughing, but I can feel myself getting better.

Laurelin and I have devised a plan (that needs some revising since the plan was originally scheduled to begin this week) for how I'm going to get back on track.  I've missed a decent sized chunk of training and I've got 20 miles to run in a few weeks and 26.2 miles to run in less than 8 weeks!!!

That's my running update.  I promise it will get more interesting very, very soon.

In other news...

Our trivia event raised $765.00 for Boston Partners, which Kelly, Todd, Erin and myself split four ways for $191.25 toward our individual fundraising goals.

A big thanks to Crossroads Pub for hosting us (and donating a $50 gift card) and to The Capital Grille, Picco, Flour, 606 Congress, and B.Good for generously donating prizes.  Last but not least to Bob and Gary for being our awesome trivia masters (can't get enough of them, they host trivia at Comicazi!)

Currently, I have raised $2,246.80.  That's $253.20 away from 50% of my $5,000 goal.  I know it's a lofty goal, but it would be amazing to reach.  Let's get there!  Less than 8 weeks until the marathon.  If you haven't donated yet, make my day!!!

Thank you thank you thank you to...
ALL the folks who joined us for trivia last Friday.  You rock!

And also to...
Tom Hutchings, Team Schnaible, Uncle Steve & Aunt Ayako, Grandma Barb, and Gretchen Anderson for your donations!  THANK YOU!  I'm grateful for you financial support!

I'm also incredibly grateful for all of the encouragement I've received from my teammates, coworkers, friends and family the past few weeks.  It's been really tough to stay positive and not be overwhelmingly envious of my teammates exhaustion and suffering (i.e. training). 



Friday, February 19, 2010

Mia Loves Boston Partners!

 
too cute.

Blog post soon to come!  Trivia tonight was a great success!  
Thank you to everyone who came out to support the Boston Partners staff marathoners! 

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

For the love of running

I have been sick for a week.  I'm feeling a ton better than last week, but here I am still hacking up green nasties and feeling like someone jammed a bunch of cotton up my nose alllll the way into my brain.  I didn't run last week.  It was terrible.  I felt like I was totally missing out.  I guess the only thing worse than running 17 miles is missing a 17 mile run.  I left them this message:



So, I decided it was time to see a doctor.  I missed them Friday and couldn't get an appointment until today.  Good news is it's not a sinus infection.  It's what I thought, a really bad head cold.  Unfortunately, there's nothing by way of antibiotic to take.  Even more unfortunately my immune system needs energy to get well and running expands a LOT of energy so I'm supposed to take a few more days off.  And my doctor actually laughed when I asked if I would be ok to run 17 miles on Saturday.  I ran 3 miles yesterday and it felt awesome but it was also 37 degrees and sunny.  I can't say I was too crushed when told to take off today, as this is what it looks like outside right now:

Yeah - it's snowing.

Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly for any runners reading) this past week has been the hardest part of my training so far.  Not being able to run is scaring me.  While I know my insides are getting better (haha, sorry that was gross-sounding) I'm worried that my muscles are weakening at a rapid pace (yes, I'm being dramatic).  But really, the next long run I'm scheduled to do is 18 miles.  18 miles seems like it would be easier if I hadn't missed almost two weeks of running, including two long runs.  At the peak of my training. 

At this point, I'll do just about anything to get well again.  For the love of running... ok the fear of not running.  My doctor suggested a couple of over-the-counter remedies which I just picked up at CVS (don't you love going to CVS and spending thirty frickin dollars?!)  One of which is the last image I will leave you with today. 
photo credit: Nicole Dissette
See the watering can I'm sticking up my left nostril?  That's a Netti Pot.  You mix a saline solution powder and warm water in the pot stick it up to your nose and tilt your head to the side so that the water runs all the way through your sinuses.  See what I mean... I'll do ANYTHING to get better.  Including shoving a plastic watering can up my nostrils (yes, I had to do each side) in the hopes that they get flushed out and my head ache goes AWAY.  It might even be worth it if it works.  I hope it works.  Soon.

Big thank you to...
Laura Lintz, Colleen Dobson, Mike Hunter, and the Buzzells for your support this week! 

I'm getting there!!!!

Friday, February 12, 2010

FUNdraising

Ok y'all this is going to be a long one.  Feel free to skim.

I’ve been talking a lot about running lately, let’s for a bit chat about the other challenge that I’ve mentioned here and there – fundraising.

But this post is not to preach about why you should donate to MY marathon fund. It’s to share ways that teammates and I have been fundraising. There’s a lot of creativity happening and I think that many folks will find useful. I’ve tried to break it up into sections as best as possible. And for goodness sakes if I’ve missed something, comment on it and add to the list!  I will just list some of many ways to raise funds; I will expand on others (not too much because this is going to be LONG, please feel free to email if you’d like more details.

Take the easy stuff to the next level:
  • Write a letter, write an email, do it. Many people feel bad about asking others for money, but you shouldn’t. If they don’t want to give, they won’t. There isn’t anything wrong with writing a letter or email asking for a donation.
    • *Also, include a post-script mentioning that donations are tax deductible (make sure you or your organization sends a thank you because a) you need to thank these donors and b) it will serve as a tax note).
  • Email often!  You don’t always have to make a “direct” ask. Let people know about events, important milestones, blog posts, etc.
  • Update your facebook, twitter, myspace, whatever you’re using to stay in touch.  Don’t be crazy and write something every 30 seconds, but link to your fundraising page and to a blog (if you have one) just so that people can check out what you’re doing and easily link to you.
  • Blog!  Connect with people… you are reading this now, right?
  • Keep your change – I have so many quarters left over from laundry
  • Return bottles/cans
  • Give your donors some incentive – when someone donates at least $20 to Todd he writes them a song and performs it on YouTube
  • Challenge your donors – Kelly challenged all of her donors to donate a dollar to her marathon fund when they purchased a cup of coffee, latte, cappuccino, etc and she matched each donation.

Raffles:

Have a hobby that other people enjoy?  Have a monthly raffle. My teammate, Erin is a fantabulous baker (and cook – check out this woman’s blog).  She has had amazing success with a monthly baked goods raffle.  I myself won a bourbon apple pie and it was well worth the $10 in tickets I purchased.
Other things you can raffle:
  • Into graphic design?  Holiday card design raffle (I totally bonked on this one… good idea Judy)
  • Anyone you know into beading?  Raffle off some homemade jewelry
  • 50/50 raffle – these are good at events
  • Online raffle: ask local organizations for gift cards or goodies and raffle them off online or at an event

Events:
Events are great. Some take more effort than others, but for the most part they can be easy to plan and wildly successful. Assume all events include a cover charge.  I will try to list beginning with most simple (as far as planning) to more difficult…
  • Have a party.  Don’t have a big enough place? Contact local bars/restaurants to see if they will donate their space (they will). And while you’re at it, ask them for some free appetizers… I bet you’ll get them!
  • Game Night. Make it a potluck so you don’t have to worry about making food for everyone. This works best in a residence versus a bar.
  • Wine Tasting. Everyone brings a bottle of wine in a different variety; assign varieties to avoid duplicates. Cover the label and give each bottle a number. Have a key somewhere for when this is all over. Each guest tastes each wine and tries to guess which variety it is. Give the winner a prize, perhaps a bottle of wine…? (Thanks Jim)
  • Trivia.  This can get tricky.  You need: 1) Space  2) Trivia Master  3)  PA system  4) Prizes (stuff or cash, but prizes are necessary)
    You can get all of these things donated. I know because the staff team members are hosting a trivia night. We’ve gotten all of these things donated to us.  Email for more details.  Or, see it in action FRIDAY, FEB. 19 at 6:00 PM at CROSSROADS PUB (Mass Ave and Comm Ave)     $10/person
  • Poker – a tournament of your choice.  Please email me for details on this one.
  • Pub Crawl!  ‘nuff said

A word on gambling:
People like to gamble.  It’s not technically legal. My only advice, be wise when planning events or pools.
  • Superbowl squares
  • March Madness
  • Poker tournaments

At the office:

  • Again, put a letter in everyone’s mailbox informing them of your endeavor and asking for their support.  Oh, and send an email too.
  • Invite your co-workers to events
  • Swear jar!  F bombs are worth a dollar!
  • Jeans day – many companies will allow a casual day midweek for $5.  All proceeds go to charity. 

Company Gift Matching:
Many companies match employee gifts made to charity.  Urge potential donors to check with their employers about matching gifts.  And, make it easy for them.  Send them your nonprofits 501.C3 form.