week In review, week 13: 3/23-3/29

Sunday: off
Monday: 4 easy (knee feels good)
Tuesday: 6
Wendesday: off (gentle yoga)
Thursday: 6x1000meters with 200m recovery. Did not feel great. Total: 7plus
Friday: 2.5 easy
Saturday: 21 - felt great! Knee feels good! Hilly! Last long run...
Total for week: 40.5
2008: 405

Looking back: Was cautious with the knee and it paid off. It felt important to get in the speedwork and long run. Felt awesome on the 21 thanks to some well timed Gu, and there was a good variety of hills (a few long gradual hills, a bunch of short, steep hills and a couple of long, steady, tough hills). Knee feels good. Tough workout on Thursday left me a little dissapointed. The schedule called for 8 repeats, but it was not happening. All in all a great week.
Looking ahead: One final speed session! One longish run and then the taper period begins.

Fundraising: thanks to all who have given! Don't forget, there is no deadline for making a donation so if you haven't made a donation yet and you are willing, now is as good a time as any. If you have given, spread the word! Tell them it is so simple to make a gift to this wonderful organization. Just mention www.rundfmc.org and all they have to do is click on support a runner and remember my last name: Barry. You can even tell them that giving on-line at www.rundfmc.org is safe and secure. It is also quick and simple.
So as Marathon Monday approaches, make sure you mention that you know someone who is running for Dana-Farber and if they want to they can make a gift to his cause. I would love to get a few donations from people I don't know!!!!
If you have been waiting to donate, here is another reason to put it off no longer: my birthday is coming up. I will be 28 on 4/7. So there are a couple of numbers for you: $28, $47. There is of course the magic number: 26.2!

Thanks!

#22183

I am number 22183.

Search and Destroy

I'm sitting at my desk at work on break, sorting peanut M&M's by color and I realize that like the number of peanut M&M's in a king size package, there are many reasons why I run.

One of the better writer's on the subject of running, John Bingham put it simply: I am runner because I say I am a runner. It doesn't matter if I run 1 mile or 100 miles; or if I run because I am trying to lose weight, I am a runner when I say I am a runner. But he did not answer the question of why I run. He wasn't eating M&Ms and he did not realize that each M&M seems to be a reason.

I run so that I can eat at Curtis' BBQ and eat packages of king size peanut M&Ms without too much worry. I run to honor my body. I run so my mind can wander and come back clear. I run because I sit at a desk all day and instinct cries out that humans are supposed to move. I RUN, I don't jog. I run to annoy snowmobilers in the winter by not giving way on snowcovered trails. I run because it makes me feel good. I have never once felt regret over the time spent running. I run to find my limits. I run because it fills a need. I run because I always run against my greatest competitor: myself. And for the extra portions of food. I run for the food. I run for pancakes and pie, and reuben sandwiches, and sausage and BBQ and donuts. I run because...

I run in Pearl Izumi SyncroFloat2 and SyncroSeek2 shoes. I run in black shorts. I run in shirts that have soaked up years and miles worth of sweat and no matter how often I wash them, they still smell awful. I run with a green watch on my left wrist and I stop it any time I stop, for any reason even when I hesitate at a crosswalk. My socks wear through on the back of my heels and my heels themselves are calloused and blistered. I am a stocky runner with quick leg turnover and I must be blessed with a decent heart and lungs to be able to move my 5'4" frame fairly quick. I traded in the raw speed of my high school days for endurance. I eat GU and prefer water to gatoraid, but I'll drink the latter on a long run. I listen to music when I run; why seperate my two passions? I use the iPod shuffle and I am forever skipping songs. This week, I have listened to "Search and Destroy" by Iggy and the Stooges on every single run/workout.
I'm a streetwalkin' cheetah with a heart full of napalm. Thank you Iggy. Thank you.
I am a runner.

week in review: 3/16 - 3/22

Sun: 10 (This is when my knee started acting up)
Mon: 3
Tue: 30 min on the Elliptical, 15 or so on the bike
Wed: Yoga focusing on the hips and knee
Thu: 35 min Elliptical
Fri: 50 min Elliptical, 25 min bike
Sat: 1:40 bike ride
Miles running for the week: 13
2008: 365

Looking back: Stupid knee. Had a great ride on Saturday through snowy trails and was able to keep the effort level up. All this cross-training has confirmed that I am in great shape. It is very difficult to get close to the effort level I usually run at unless I crank up the resistance or ride the hills hard. Definitely had a great time trying to ride through the melting snow.
Looking ahead: Stupid knee. At this point it is all about balance: somehow get one more long run and one or two more speed workouts in. Just get to Hopkinton. I can rest on 4/22.

Fundraising: I'm getting thank you notes out and trying to plug the blog in them. Drop me a line of encouragement if you've been checking this out...

1 Month To Go!

This is it! One month until Patriot's Day! One month until Boston!

It is a good day to reflect on the work I have done and begin to look at the final push towards Hopkinton.

It is also a good day to reflect on just how amazing the work is that Dana-Farber does. By aiming for a goal beyond a cure for cancer, specifically, a world without cancer, they provide world-class research and advances that help cancer patients today. Who knows if we will ever live in a world without this ruthless disease, but with Dana-Farber working towards nothing less than that, we can live in a world where the suffering is less and the odds are greater.

With one month to go, almost to the minute, I am proud to be part of this marathon challenge and proud of my friends and family who have been so willing to support this cause, especially in difficult economic times.

Some Finish Lines Just Mean More!

5K

It is the distance that requires the perfect mix of raw speed and endurance;
the distance that the average runner can easily test their fitness or progress;
sucess at other distances doesn't guarantee sucess at this distance - the miler is too short focused and the marathoner is too long focused.
The best in the world cover the distance in under 13 minutes; anyone who covers the distance in running shoes has accomplished something;
To the American, the distance is odd, 3.1? To the rest of the world it is an even 5000 meters.
Just as the first mile adrenaline fades, the middle mile is upon you and the last mile is as quick and painful as you want to make it... but then it is over.
The greatest American runner* ran this distance. To paraphrase him, You have to run every race as hard as you can, to do anything less is to waste the gift.
He also said "I don't race to see who is fastest. I race to see who has the most guts."

5000 meters, 5K, 3.1 miles. It is a great distance.
5000 also happens to be a great fundraising milestone.

*Steve Prefontaine

An ounce of Prevention

This is normally when I would rant about elliptical machines, stationary bikes and other horrible "fitness" creations. I won't. I'll reluctantly acknowledge their role in my training at the moment.

I am in full prevention mode... as in preventing my knee from getting any worse. The pain is tolerable, manageable, but I know that running through it will make it much worse. I have to trust that I am in great shape and that doing what my body needs now will lead to success on 4/21 and beyond.

IT: it's my job and the bane of my knee!

The Illiotibial Band on my right leg is making its presence felt. I'm not happy about this. With just over one month of training to go, I woke up this morning with pain in my right knee. I've been through this before.
I'm in touch with Coach Fultz and I know the drill: Ice, Cross Training, stretching. Not too happy about this, but I have to try to see the big picture.

I'm not injured, but I would appear on Bellicheck's injury report as "Probable"

Week In Review, Week 11: 3/9 - 3/15

Sun: 17.5 Felt Great
Mon: Off
Tue: 5 (sore)
Wed: 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800 w/ 400m recovery. Total: 6.5
Thu: 7 (Felt good, threw in another 1600 repeat)
Fri: off
Sat: 4 plus (ran outside, with shorts!)
Week Total: 40
2008: 352

Looking back: tough week, a lot of soreness. Was squeezed for time during the ladder workout and cut out one of the 1600 repeats.
Looking ahead: Long run tomorrow. Nap later today.

Fundraising update: Closing in on 5,000 by my unofficial total. What's posted at my DFMC page is always a little behind. Maybe I won't hit 8000, but, who knows...

addendum to week in review: Eight days a week version

Just want to say that I got the long run in today. I ran to my mother-in-law's house 17.5 miles to the south. That's all really. No complaints, felt good, worked miles 12-16. Ate one Gu.
Liz met me at her mother's with dry clothes and little chocolate donuts. No complaints.

The donuts were better than the GU.

Week in Review, Week 10: 3/2 - 3/8

Sun 3/2: Skiing
Mon 3/3: 5 hard
Tue 3/4: 5 easy
Wed 3/5: 10x800 with 200m recovery. Total: 8.5
Thu 3/6: off (ankle pain)
Fri 3/7: 3 easy
Sat 3/8: 5 - pushed long run to tomorrow due to NASTY weather and decision to not run 18-20 miles indoors.
Total: 26.5
2008: 312

Looking back: I was hoping to do 8-10 on Thurs and long on Saturday. Oh, well. Still a great workout on Wed.
Looking ahead: Long run tomorrow, try to put in the midweek 8-12 miler that I haven't been getting. Tough workout looms on Wednesday.

Basic Knead

The past few days have been a struggle with tightness in my right ankle and the big toe on the same foot. I took yesterday off, which was tough because I really wanted to run. The weather was nice and I decided on an ounce of prevention.
The silver lining is that I got a massage from Maegen at Basic Knead in Keene and it really helped loosen the foot. I recommend Maegen to anyone who is looking for any kind of massage in the Keene area.
I'm going to try to run this evening to get loose for tomorrow's long run. Hopefully the weather cooperates tomorrow. I don't want to do 20 miles in the rain and I want even less to do 20 miles inside. I'll just have to play it by ear - at this point, I will err on the side of caution.

more reasons

"It turned out that, like Satan, cancer had many names. Baba's was called 'Oat Cell Carcinoma.'"
- Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

I was not asking for extra motivation for my training, but it arrived in one of its many forms. In fact, I received a double dose of it yesterday. I visited a friend's mother who is near the end of her courageous battle. And I received the latest news on a family member who is just beginning her fight.

This is why DFMC is real to me.

Week in Review, Week 9: 2/24 - 3/1

I go to pet your monkey, I get a faceful of paws

Sunday: light swimming
Monday: 3
Tuesday: 7
Wednesday: Yoga
Thursday: 4x(4x400 with 100m recovery and 400 recovery in between each set of four) total miles: 7.5
Friday: 3 (sore)
Saturday: 15 (indoors)
Week total: 35.5
2008 to date: 285.5

Looking back: Nothing to complain about except running indoors today because of the weather.
Looking ahead: More of the same. The speed work gets tougher...

Just cruising along, working hard.