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.

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!

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. 

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). 

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! 

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!!!!

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.

I almost forgot

 

I almost forgot!!!  Thanks Aunt Shelley for this sweet new jacket.  

MITTEN HANDS!  YESSS!

A day of cross-training

Yesterday was Wednesday.  Wednesday is our cross-training day.  Cross-training is essential to the training process.  You have to work out your muscles in a way that is different than running.  I had a very... let's say interesting experience this week.  It was a good one, just very interesting.

I finally, finally, finally made it to the 5:30 spin class at the gym.  It started off rocky when I walked in and there was one bike left and I was asked if I was "on the real list or the wait list."  Well since I called the night before I was of course on "the list."  After I sat down the instructor announced that it is "bad karma to lie about being on the list."  I'm not exactly sure who the comment was directed to... but we'll let karma play itself out there...

Aside from the instructors horrible taste in music (Coldplay, really?) the class was actually great.  It was an incredibly intense work out.  There was a massive amount of sweat pouring off of my body - I really wish I would have taken my make up off... gross.  We did hills, jumps, sprints, the whole bit.  My muscles were screaming by the end.

Since I was feeling all cramped up, I decided to check out the 6:30 Vinyasa yoga class.  I had been to this class before and enjoyed it so I thought it would be nice to stretch out.  Yoga is new to me.  I don't know the moves, I have trouble with the moving/breathing timing.  I can clear my mind I think only because I have to pay attention so I don't look like a total fool. I feel like I can keep up, but I'm 2 for 2 in having yoga bring out the "weirdsies" in me.  Any guesses?



Yoga makes me cry.  I have no idea why, but this class and the class prior I cried.  In public.  At the gym.  Please tell me the first "spiritual" revelation I have ever had is NOT happening at the Boston Sports Club in Copley Square on a sweaty, nasty mat.  What?!  It's the strangest thing I have ever experienced; I can't help it... my jaw quivers and everything.  We finish up, the instructor turns down the light, we sit in the cross-legged position with our hands together (I'm sure it has a name, but I don't know it - looked it up "Namaste") and I cry.  I hope that you are all incredibly entertained by my "story" since it is completely embarrassing for me, but I also think it's very, very interesting.

Namaste Postition

So why the tears?  I did some reading.  Check it out:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21073097/
http://www.yogajournal.com/for_teachers/806

My best guess is... after much pondering... that this whole running thing is putting an incredible amount of stress not only on my body, but on my mind.   The stress on my body is no surprise.  I assumed that I'd have sore, tight muscles.  I figured I'd be exhausted.  But I truly had no idea just how much committing to this would take.  It's constantly on my mind, sometimes it's excitement, sometimes it's anxiety, doubt, pride.  And it's taken up so much of my time, so much.  Don't get me wrong, I'm so glad that I'm doing it, but it really is taking everything that I have.  I so much appreciate all of the support everyone.  Apparently, I need it even more than I imagined.

**If anyone has any other thoughts on what the heck my problem is, or if you have ever cried in yoga class, let me know.... let's chat.  :)

Even though I have a mini meltdown in yoga class, I can't tell you have good I feel when it's all over.  So, I'm going to keep at it.  Even if it makes me cry.

Anna's Taqueria - delicious, but not the kind of fuel you need.

Sorry to all of you loyal blog readers... I know there are probably hundreds of you out there.  Ok, maybe 10... ok, maybe it's just my teammates and Grandma, but to anyone reading I apologize for my negligence this week.  It has been a busy, busy week.

As some of you may know every year Boston Partners throws a fundraising gala.  I have the super fabulous job of designing all of the distributed materials for said gala (save the dates, invitations, the program, etc.)  This week we were finishing up the invitation, so needless to say I was BUSY.  It was tough to find the time (and the motivation) to do the mid-week runs.  Monday it was surprisingly warm...(wait, was that last week?) I ran by myself in the evening.  Tuesday the BPE runners and Tricia went out together, it was a good one.  Thursday I was unable to fit a run in during the day and by the time I got home it was cold, windy, icy and I just didn't feel like running.  So I didn't.  I was pretty torn up about it, but not torn up enough I guess.  I really wanted to get a short one in on Friday, but again a (freezing cold) busy day.

So, it's Saturday again and we had 14 miles to run.  I kind of psyched myself out.  Convinced that skipping 6 miles on Thursday would set me back, I had made up my mind that today would be difficult.  Maybe that's why I didn't make very good decisions when fueling for my run last night.
1) Lunch at Lucky's (thanks, Hil for taking me to lunch... totally worth it).  Tuna melt and fries... yumm
2) 2 Sam Lagers at Rattlesnake.  I mean, I could have gotten Harpoon's... I really felt like I was trying to be good.  If you didn't know, while Harpoon IPA is my go-to beer, I am surely to have a horrible hang over from it the next day.  It could be that they taste so good, I always drink too many!  But who knows...
3) Chicken quesadilla from Anna's Taqueria.  I knew this was a bad idea.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not an idiot.  It just sounded so good and everyone else was doing it... and it was late... and I was hungry.  And who can resist a warm tortilla with melted cheese, chicken, sour cream, salsa, extra hot sauce and jalepenos... and due to a miscommunication steak instead of black beans!?!?!?!  In short, bad idea.  *To add to the "bad-ness" I ate this at maybe 10:45 pm.  (I can't believe I'm admitting this.  Stupid, stupid, stupid.)

Back to the 14 miles.  I was running with Kelly and Laura, fast, really fast.  Like super speed.  We are feeling great.  We get to ohh, mile 7 perhaps and I go to drink some of my water (I know you've all seen my fuel belt).  Well, it was SO COLD that BOTH of my water bottles were FROZEN, almost frozen solid.  I could extract no liquid from them.  Their sole purpose.  Yes, I was running in 6 degree weather with 2 ice blocks on both hips.  And then, ohhh a half a mile later I started slowing down... turns out there was more weight in my middle region.  Well, you all know where this is going.  Pit stop had to be made.  Luckily, stopping by a Mobile bathroom gave me a chance to run my water bottles under some hot water thawing them out enough for me to take a drink and dump the rest.  Off I was again.  I did run the rest of the way, alone.  It was probably for the best.  I had plenty of time to review my bad decisions and decide that I would, in the future, not make those decisions again.  At least not while training for a marathon.

I will say, I feel pretty good now.

Thank you to......
Matt Allen, Wendy Beninati, and Aunt Janice for your contributions this week.  I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!
I'm off to a fundraiser for Erin on Sunday, please join me!

Upcoming events:
Friday, February 19 at 6 PM - Team Trivia Night at Crossroads Pub (Mass Ave and Comm)
Teams of 4 or 6.  $10 a person.  $5 off a team rate if you can pre-pay!
Prizes for winning team!!!

Friday, February 26 at 7 PM - A special fundraising event.  Cash prize.  Email me for details:
baker.jessicaa@gmail.com

I promise to blog again soon, with pictures!

Not my forte...

In life, there are always ways you can improve.  I am by no means ashamed to admit that I have a few skills that could use some, well, sharpening.  For example, Matt seems to think I could "clean better" - ha.  Anyway, that's really neither here nor there. A skill that comes to mind because of today's adventure... route-plotting.

There are a couple of elements to this:
1) Map reading.  While I have come a long way, I know I could work on this.  I often get my lefts and rights confused and have a fairly difficult time with understanding where to go if someone tells me to head east.  Unless of course I'm in Michigan and you tell me to go West, there happens to be a large landmark that I use called Lake Michigan.  I really am improving though, I swear.

2) Visualizing myself in the particular area I need to navigate.  This one is tough, since I've been running in so many new areas these days!

3) Memory/paying attention in general.  Today I screwed up the route (again) not because I plotted it incorrectly or wrote down left inside of right, but because I completely forgot to make a turn.  Completely forgot.  In my own defense (someone has to stick up for me, right?!) we had discussed taking a different route that was impossible due to the location of the USPS (grr...) and I did not look at the map one last time before heading out.  I'll quit making excuses.  In the picture below the plotted route is in blue and the route that we took is in red.

Whoops.

Needless to say, my route-plotting "privileges" were revoked.  Probably for the best.  I still think the route has potential.

Today certainly was an adventure.  I also had a too-close-for-comfort-almost-incident with a bus that scared the hell out of me!  We had the walk sign and the driver of said bus decided that (s)he was still going to turn left, even while I was making my way across the cross walk.  Yikes.

Lucky for me the rest of the day was uneventful.  Good thing too, my legs are feeling it today.  I'm happy to be relaxing and eating sushi.  30 Rock tonight!

Experimenting....

So, last week I found out something really important.  I need to start thinking about eating during runs.  During my 11-miler last Saturday I got to mile 7 and my body felt great.  My legs felt strong, I felt hydrated, I was ready for the last 4 miles and then my stomach started grumbling.  And of course, I didn't have anything to eat.  At 9 miles I was starving.  When we finished 11 I was close to chewing on my own arm.  Luckily, we only had a short walk back to Simmons where I had a banana and pb&j awaiting my arrival.
This week we ran 12.  I knew that I needed to eat something during my run.  As it turns out there are a lot of options and choosing what works best for your body is really just trial and error.  On Friday, the BPE marathoners/staff (Kelly, Erin, Todd and myself) took a trip to City Sports.  I left with a handful of possibilities ($7.97 later).

I left with two of these, one chocolate and one vanilla.  They are called "Gu" - sounds appetizing, right?  I've heard mixed reactions on Gu.  Some people hate it, some people swear by it.  I had the chocolate packet during my 12 miles, between 6-7.  The consistency was frosting/pudding with a chocolate pudding taste.  Not too bad.  Later on, it was not so good (not going in to that with all of you).  My Aunt suggested trying the Power Gel brand as it is nicer to your tummy.  What I liked about Gu is that I really didn't need anything else during the run (the whole wheat bagel and a banana at 6:30 that morning may also have helped...)

I also brought these guys along on my run.  The Clif Shot Bloks.  I saw Laura eating them the week before and they actually looked good, so I bought a pack.  I only had one during my run, it tasted good but it was really, really, really chewy.  I think I will try them again!

Laurelin suggested I try these.  Caffeinated energy Jelly Beans - Jelly Belly brand.  I've had one or two in the past and one or two doesn't do the trick.  I would obviously have to eat the whole package, next run I'm going to try them and see how I feel.  Update to follow.

I fully realize that this is cheating.  It's not really what you would think of eating during a run.  My biggest worry was that when I get hungry I don't want Gu, or gummy bites, or jelly beans; I want food.  ME WANT FOOD.  Really, all the time.  This I grabbed at Trader Joe's ($1.99).  I figure when we get into longer runs if I really need to put legit food in my stomach I will eat one of these because they are tasty and filling.

The most important part about eating all of these mid-run snacks is having water to chase them with.  Otherwise, you are going to feel like you ate a rock and that would be horrible.  That's why even on the group runs where they kindly set up water stops for us, I like to carry my new Fuel Belt (not tool belt, Kelly) with one of the bottles filled with water and the other a water/gatorade mixture (thank you Erin for the water/G mixture tip).  That way I can snack at my leisure without having to wait for the water stops.

This week the long run was a great success.  I had a ridiculous amount of energy after 12 miles and for the most part I felt great.  I did eventually need a nap and sadly could not join Jessey and his friend for a night of dancing (there's no WAY I could have danced yesterday-- ouch).  But today I am pain free.  Although, it does feel like my calf muscles are growing by the second... weird.

I'd like to end with some thank yous!  My favorite part!
Thank you to Erin McGrath, co-worker, fellow marathoner, and baker extraordinaire for your donation that bumped me up to 25%!

AAANNNDDDD to...
 Stephen Sacco for your very generous donation!  And, thanks for reading my blog!  :)

AAANNNDDDD to...
Grandma and Grandpa VanGinhoven for your donation!  We miss you lots!

Last but not least, thank you to Pamela, Laura and Miki for being at our run bright and early Saturday morning to share our mission and work our water stops!

Really, thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this endeavor.  There have been so many people who have helped me in so many ways already.  This has been such an amazing experience already and we still have 3 and a half months to go!

**Also, I have an event coming up on Friday, February 26.  Please email me for details:
baker.jessicaa@gmail.com
Chances are, you'll hear from me soon anyway!

Cool Winter Gear

When I tell someone that I've been training for a marathon in Boston, in the winter, outside I generally get the same reaction... (s)he asks me if I'm crazy.  Well, maybe a little bit, but I'm telling you there are some positives about training in the winter.  Despite the bitter cold wind, snow and ice - often times a winter day provides a much more comfortable running temperature to a summer day (give me 40 and cloudy over 75 and sunny weather to run in any day!).
To be comfortable at 40, 30, 20, even 10 degrees you have to get some winter gear.  Below are photos of some sweet gear that fellow runners wear to stay warm in the cold temperatures.

This is Kelly.  She is also running the marathon on behalf of Boston Partners in Education.   Underneath the top layer (jacket with a zipper -- zipper is key) is a hooded Under Armour long sleeve with a hole for her pony tail.  If that isn't ridiculously cool, I don't know what is.  Seriously. 





On Tricia, a fellow runner and floor-mate (not to mention former Boston Marathoner) we have the mitten sleeve.  I don't know if this is the "technical" term for this piece of outdoor running gear, but it seems to do the trick.  Yes, you could just wear gloves or mittens, but what happens when your hands get hot?  What do you do with your gloves?  What if you are pocketless?  In this situation, there are no worries.




Some gear that I don't have photos of that I'd like to try:

• Long underwear made of silk (suggested by the one and only, Aunt Shelley)
• A pair of gloves like Erin's - they have a soft patch on the side, so if you have to wipe your nose and you don't have tissue it doesn't tear your skin to shreds. 
• A neck warmer (although I feel like I would get really sick of this really fast) 

This is me dressed for the coooooolllllddddd weather and wearing my awesome new contraption.

If you have any running gear that you love and you think that I must have, please let me know!

And, last but not least... a big thank you to Francesca and James for their donation!  You guys rock!

10 miles!!!!!!

I don't know what it was about 10 miles that felt so... scary!  But it did, it felt scary!  I was nervous last night before I fell asleep and nervous this morning when I woke up.  And, especially nervous when I walked out the door at 6:45 am and it was snowing!  Which it did all the way to Grafton, MA and continued to do for the duration of my run.  I should have taken a picture there, but I forgot.  This is what it looks like off of our back deck though!      --->

10 miles.  It was HILLY and SNOWY and SLIPPERY and I feel great.  Do you know what the best part about running 10 miles is?  Everything is better afterward.  I ate the best pb&j ever after my run and took the best shower when I got home.  Everything just feels awesome.  Well, except my legs, they're a little tight.  Nothing a rest day can't cure!

For the most part, this week has been full of interesting runs.
Monday- ran to the gym for my Club Strength class, which is incredibly difficult but equally as ass-kicking awesome.
Tuesday- this was the bad apple of the week.  4 miles on a treadmill because it was too cold outside to run.
Thursday- 5 miles with Kelly and Tricia.  What a great run!  We ran before work along the harbor.  It was beautiful.

Pictures from Thursday's run! 

Zakim Bridge

Ice Sculptures at The New England Aquarium

Boston Harbor

Saturday- A snowy, slippery 10 miles in Grafton


I hope next week feels just as good as this week did!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!


Miles Run: 116