I ran Heartbreak Hill Today!!!! And my heart did NOT break!

What a day!! 2nd Boston Marathon course visit. This morning, I joined my old high school track friend, Katie Stomski for a 12 mile run up the Newton hills. I attribute my long running runner status to Katie and her family and the reason why I'm pretty good at it. She set my running schedule in high school and we were a force not be reckoned with. The Katies united again today and I think everyone in the Newton area knew!




The 12 miles flew by, we caught up on job status, living situations, boys, running advice, and before I knew it, we had already run up Heartbreak hill! I do not know the Marathon course at all. Stomp announced when our loop arrived on the course, but we ran up several hills and up Heartbreak Hill and I said after awhile "Well, where is Heartbreak Hill?" and Stomp said, "We just did it." I screamed in delight and shock! Oh, I guess that was the hill that I said, "Oh Look at this one." It is a big long intimidating hill, but nothing heartbreaking... but we had only done 8 or 9 miles at that point. It will feel different on marathon day, but it's been a momentous day! And Thank you so much for running with me Stomp! I had an absolute blast and felt good for most of the run! It was romantic, we decided to run the Valentine's Day 16 miler together.

I had a iPod Nike mishap and did not accurately record the mileage, but we did 12 miles in 1:48.

I quickly took off down the road to my next adventure - the Team GO FAR meeting at the new Bottom Line facility. They have expanded to a new building and it's beautiful. With the new space, they will now be able to hire more counselors.



I won a Bottom Line hat and calendar for being a top fundraiser! I really did win!! Thanks friends. Anyone that donated, just ask and you can borrow my hat. Speaking of fundraising - our team goal is 100,000 dollars. I really hope we reach it. It would be thrilling! Check out the thermometer!



:-0) It was another delightful meeting. Rick inspired us again and gave me chills about Boston Marathon preparation. I cannot wait. I am so excited - I AM RUNNING THE BOSTON MARATHON! Today, my day was pretty much dedicated to marathon events and I am much more pumped than before. I was excited before, but the level has been stepped up a lot.



Tomorrow, I am running the Marathon Sports Super Sunday 5K with Joe Piedrafite, Nick LaPete, and Mike Arnold. Joe and I picked up our race numbers this afternoon ... see picture below. This is Joe's first 5K, it should be a great race! I was hesitant to sign up for the race since Sundays are my rest day, but Joe and Nick extended the invite with lots of love and excitement that I couldn't resist. I also want to run a slow race to enjoy the race with Joe and Nick, but it's hard to post a time online being that I can't asterisk it with "Katie's rest day". Joe registered me for the race though and spelled my name wrong. I win! So my name is Katie Weunmann according to the Super Sunday records, in case you need to check up on my records. Joe is also training for the Boston's Run to Remember half marathon on May 24th. Come out and cheer him on!


Sweet picture, eh? JUST RUN!

Okay folks, enjoy your night!

I'm winning!

I'm in the top three for fundraising within my charity! hahaa I'm wicked competitive. We're all on the same team, but I'm winning!

Tonight, I had a date and we traveled to Shrewsbury for an incredible fun date of painting pottery. Since 'Clay Time' is across the street from Moe's and I need to have my burrito before tomorrow's long run, I asked if he'd like to join me for a burrito. hahaa I thought I had explained my Burrito tour already, but I think he was perplexed by how much I insisted on a burrito for dinner.

I rate Moe's burrito a 6.
To work backward a little, I rate Chipotle burrito a 9.

The scale is from 1 -10. Goodnight everyone! I didn't drink tonight! I'm winning!

Running

I love running. But I absolutely love running outside. I don't enjoy the treadmill so it's not even an option for me. I'm going to be selfish on this one point, I will not run on the treadmill. After hours in the office, it feel so good to run down the street with the cool wind and the beautiful scenes. I feel I've earned the joy of running outside vs. inside, right?

I try my best to work my schedule to not run in the dark, but with work and the sun setting so early sometimes I can't beat the sunset. Today, I jumped out of my office and ran down the street to squeeze in my 6 mile run at 5pm.

I survived this run earning just one small scrap on my thumb, and two large bruises on my knees. This is my first fall since the crazy competitive high school track meets. I fell almost every meet as I muscled for a good inside position or my legs are too long to keep me standing properly. I'm not quite sure what happened, but this fall this evening was because I thought I could hurdle over a snow bank while running sideways into a street. I landed on my knees and hands. You can see on the below Nike chart. I had been running up a hill, then where I fell, sat down, and immediately stood up and sprinted the rest of the hill!

The biggest struggle with marathon training is finding the time to fit in an hour - two hour workout during the week. It's only the beginning and the workouts are going to be getting longer so each day is a victory to fit in a good workout!

1st Fundraiser - Amherst Brewing Company - done!

My first fundraiser was a success! Thanks Amhizzle friends! Your support was tremendous and it means so much to me!! AND it was a blast to see you all. A special thanks to Mark Gumz, President and CEO of Olympus America & David Willard, Director of Employee Communications & Community Services for their generous donation to my fundraising efforts. Olympus donated three Stylus 840 digital cameras for my raffle. - Something to Look forward it at the other fundraising events! I emailed Mr. Gumz two weeks ago. He responded within hours expressing his eagerness to help my efforts. David Willard followed up and miraculously delivered three cameras within days from when I first spoke with him. Thank you to John Sarantos for helping me sell a couple more tickets!

Best instance of kind human nature: Brett Burdick, an old college classmate stopped by my fundraiser to drop off a donation and say Hi. Brett and I spent our Senior Fall semester at Umass together, enjoying the lessons of Communication- Public Speaking 280. I haven’t kept in touch with Brett over the last two years, but with the magic of Facebook I was lucky enough to contact all old Umass classmates, teachers and friends about my Boston Marathon run and charity fundraising goal. I tried to send as many individual emails and messages as time would allow with my running schedule, work, and most importantly, sleep, but I know I did not reach everyone. Brett certainly surprised me with his visit. Since he’s a professional Poker player, I convinced him that he’d need to bet on my marathon time. Brett signed up for two times and I secretly want him to win just because it was so sweet of him to drop by. I can’t recall the times though, so maybe I don’t really want him to win! I think they’re over 4 hours and that’s over my goal time!

I had two friends, Courtney Smith and Doug Lemieux drive up from Wareham. I thought my drive was far from the Boro, but Wareham is a hike and a half! That’s love and I couldn’t appreciate it more! A ton of fellow bandos came out to support, Thank you to Todd Monroe, Jeff Fazio, Kait Cintolo, Sean Monroe, Eleni Kalafatis, Kristen Dye, Chris Bill, Michelle Gray, Steph Chueng, Danni Marone, Megan Kolb, Jen Iaconetti, Jay DeFuria, Kathryn Rapacki, Allison Norton, Greg Walters, Katie Wise, John Sarantos, Courtney Smith and Doug Lemieux. Pictures will be posted soon…. I promise!

During the raffle ticket selling spree, John and I had the pleasure of talking with a couple, Ruth and Paul? I'm honestly not sure about his name, but he told me of his horrific Boston Marathon experience. It sounds like a rough race! Ruth tried to hold him back. Ruth is very inspired by "our call to action" from President Obama. She's a Freshman College Writing teacher - Teaching Assistant? Professor? I didn't investigate, so I won't categorize her. Anyway, she was very interested and passionate about passing on the Bottom Line charity information to her class. Her semester plan is to involve her class with charity work. Each student will choose a charity, write for them, and change the world! I'm not exactly sure how it will all play out, but she's definitely leading the charge and it was a pleasure meeting them both.

In pure Katie Weinmann fashion, I’m planning to create a beautiful scrapbook of this adventure. I spread out a few pages as a guest book, one dear friend mentioned that she’s “in awe of me.” What an amazing compliment! All of the praise is overwhelming, but it the best way possible. I don’t really feel that I deserve all the compliments. I’m running a few miles, but it’s all YOUR donations that are making it happen!

Okay, I must be off to bed. I am sick and I need my rest! A few generous co-workers brought the gift of germs to work last week. I will update more tomorrow.

Thanks again everyone!!! HEY! We passed the $2000 mark! Can we make it? $1000 a month for the next threee months?

Morning Gym Visit

My little non muscular arms have an odd sensation this morning. Although, I think it's actually the feeling of accomplishment before 7am! I dragged myself out of bed, peddaled for 45 minutes, leg lifts and push-ups!

I perform 3 sets of 10 push-ups each morning. I am not certain what the quality of my push-ups are. I've heard that a push up can be done incorrectly, but I argue that if the arms feel a strain than it must be correct in some form!

Anyway, come out to UMass - ABC this evening! It's the beginning of the Katie Weinmann Boston Marathon fundraising tour! Don't miss it!

Lasagna Dinner

Thank you. Thank you! Thank you! The donations are wonderful this weekend and I thank you for your generous support! Thank you Bruce Daley! Stephanie Crawford donated $26 today, a pretty sweet number! Steph was a key factor in my decision to run the marathon. She said, if you're considering it all, go for it! Thank you to Tracey Sanford as well for your donation today!

This evening, I prepared a Lasagna dinner. My parents and I drove out to Milford, MA to visit with Molly, Josh and little Elizabeth and enjoy dinner with them. Anyone will let you in his or her home if you bring dinner, a good trick of mine. I also tricked my family into enjoying a marathon meal. I don't mind eating pasta and lasagna leftovers all week long, but it's easier if I can make a whole lasagna and share it with someone. I squeeze in my lasagna meal and I can enjoy sensible variety for the rest of the week. Hint Hint, Just ask Me and I will make a lasagna dinner for you! I am free on Sundays and Tuesdays.

That reminds me, I have decided that the steak Burrito with rice is my official dinner before the long run. To date, I have enjoyed burritos at Chipotle and Acapulco’s. This blog will also be dedicated to my 2009 Burrito Tour!! On Friday night, my goal was a burrito for dinner. I ventured out with Carolyn Cross and Julia Smith for post work drinks and dinner. By drinks, I mean I had one beer and that was one too many. I drink a lot of water, but one beer can really dehydrate me. Phew, I need to be more dedicated to the state of hydrated. Ha! It's a struggle every Friday! We ended up at the Cheesecake Factory so I had pasta instead. It was delicious, but the burrito is the meal for me and now I know that.

Guess My Time 50/50

Good Afternoon Friends,

The Countdown is ON! 85 Days until I run the Boston Marathon!!! My coach mentioned yesterday that the next 4-6 weeks will be the toughest part of training because it’s a long stretch with no view of the end. I couldn’t agree more so I will attempt to distract and motivate myself with your support at fundraising parties. Also another great way to focus on the final goal is… introducing …GUESS MY TIME 50/50.

GUESS MY TIME 50/50

Bet on the time that I finish the Boston Marathon according to my official Champion Chip timer and win some money! 50% will go in the winner’s pocket, 50% to Bottom Line.

$5 – 1 minute slot

Pick the minute of your choice.
Example – buy finish time 4:38. If I finish in 4:38.6 – you win!
A minute can only be purchased by One Individual – one overall winner


The Guess My Time 50/50 board will travel across the state for each Katie Weinmann Boston Marathon fundraiser, but if you’d like to win/secure your time early, feel free to email in your bet.

Payment:
$5 – 1 minute slot
· Cash is the Best Form of Payment because 50% needs to be supplied to the winner on April 21, 2009.
· Checks should be made out to Bottom Line – Please send directly to my address at
50 Fairmount St Apt 2
Marlborough, MA 01752

I will post/ update the time list on my Blog, under the January 25, 2009 entry. You can also check my blog for my race time history (predictor times if you like to play the game), and my training run times thus far.





Good Luck Everyone! Don't Miss Out! What do you think I'm capable of??

Time References:

Men’s Overall Boston Marathon Record: 2:07:14
Women’s Overall BM Record: 2:20:43
Bill Rogers 1979 Finish: 2:09:27
2008 Top Woman Finish – Dire Tune: 2:25:25
BM Women’s Qualifying Time for Ages 18-34: 3:40:00

My Half Marathon Time: 1:50:03
Best 5K: 19:54
1 Mile: 5:47
400: 69.5
100 Dash! : 13.9

Marathon Goal: 3:59:55
Realistic Marathon Goal: To Finish!

The Dunkaccino is Back!

What a gorgeous day!? I had the pleasure of running along the Charles River this morning with the Bottom Line charity. Look at the beautiful blue sky!



Check out my time. We ran 10 miles, but since I stop my timer for picture opps my mileage is a little off. I ran slowly at the beginning to make sure I made it through the whole run without pain.



Public Service Announcements:
1. The Dunkaccino is Back!

Good evening and I'm sorry.

This week has been a slow marathon week, as you can clearly see from my blog.

I was down for the count on Monday and Tuesday from my Sunday run, despite my joyous blog entry on Sunday. My hamstrings were a little strained, and by a little, I mean I took the elevator at work forty-six times in one day and shuffled around to avoid pain.

It's okay now. I'm rested and ready for a big week ahead. I've been brainstorming for my upcoming Fundraisers and you (Westborough,Mass; Long Grove, Iowa; Bethesda, Maryland; Andover, Amherst, Wareham, Westborough, Scituate, Southborough, Boston and Chelsea MASS readers!) just wait, they're going to be Amaaaazzzing. At least, when I add up all my activities they equal amazing, but you will have to be the judge.

Check back over the weekend and next week - more to come real soon!

Thanks Grandma!

I took a trip to Charlton this evening to visit my grandma and enjoy dinner with her. She's not doing well very lately, although for a ninety five year old woman, she can still laugh, joke and deliver some zingers.

I explained my marathon process, showed her pictures, and told stories from my training. She insisted on donating $45 to my fund. She explained that she wanted to give more, and I had to remind her that she doesn't have a job and that's much more than necessary. I haven't visited for a while and she gave me some flack for it. I've been busy - literally running around, but I told her that I'd see her next week for dinner. I can wake up early for the gym and head out to Charlton for dinner. I figure friends in for dinner so I can squish my grandma in as well. Her response was, "Will it cost be another $45?" !! hahaaa Too funny.

Thanks to everyone for their donations! Now I'm heading to bed for an early gym visit.

This is Long Overdue

I have hinted at the many accomplishments of the Team Go Far coach, but I stumbled upon this small bio of Rick on the Bottom Line website.

Rick Muhr, Team Go Far Coach
Bottom Line is proud to welcome Rick Muhr as Team Go Far's new head coach. Rick comes to us with an incredibly accomplished history as a runner and a coach. Rick was the head coach for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America's Team In Training program for 12 years beginning in 1996. Rick joined Team In Training shortly after losing his mother to leukemia in 1996. During a conversation he had with his mother just before she passed, Rick promised her he would do something significant with his life that would make her proud. He didn?t expect that would be the last time he would speak with her. He also didn't fully understand what that commitment would entail.

Rick joined Team In Training as a qualified runner for the 1997 Boston marathon and was asked to become the head coach shortly thereafter. He completed his 12th Boston marathon with Team In Training in 2008, at which point he decided to find a new challenge. We are proud to announce that Bottom Line's Team Go Far is his new challenge. Rick was instrumental in raising more than $52 million dollars in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's mission and helping thousands of participants realize not only their goal of completing an endurance event, but also their goal of making a significant difference in the lives of those battling blood cancers. He has trained more than 15,000 runners for marathons throughout the world.

Rick is currently coaching Bottom Line's Team Go Far for the 2009 Boston Marathon and will be running Boston himself, celebrating the 30th anniversary of running his first Boston marathon in 1979.

I also found this on a Leukemia Boston Marathon blogger from last year.

On October 28th, during a severe storm, Rick ran 61 miles around the Grafton High School track to honor the memory of a former TNT runner and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his employer, Saltus Press. Rick's goal that day was 100 miles within 24 hours. The driving rains and wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour put a damper on the mileage Rick made, but not his spirit. While thousands in New England lost their power, Rick powered through his run, always stopping to thank supporters and talk with those who made the laps around the track with him. I was lucky to be there that day both during the first 26 miles and during the last several hours, and I will never forget the grace and courage he displayed as an athlete and as a human being.

Rick has already been a big help to me and the Go Far team. It's easy to run with an inspirational coach leading the charge!

Although sadly, my legs are still sore from yesterday. I called Rick after work almost in tears, asking for advice about sore hamstrings. He mentioned rest then followed with a simple, "keep your chin up!"

Thanks Rick! You're the best!

Update

Victory # 2: I feel great!!!!!! Victory # 1 comes with completing each training run. It takes the day to see how well the # 2 will span out. My legs are sore, but it's not very bad at all and it's to be expected with my legs working as hard as they did in the slippery snow.

Today has been a great day!!!!!!! Thank you to Miss Anonymous for your $50 donation! It makes the 1.5 hours of snow running worth it! And I have a secret accomplishment as well! Lesson learned today, you just have to ask!!

THANK YOU to all my friends for the words of encouragment over the last two months. I absolutely delight in the simple words of, "I am so proud of you." In passing conversation around the office, it gives me chills to hear mention of those words. I received a text from Joe Pi last weekend with those exact words. It means so much and makes all the training, extra training, icing, reading and planning worth the effort! Yes, I am attempting something that only less than 3% of the US population have accomplished, but I'm all talk until it's completed. 91 days until the marathon, I'm putting in all my effort, ENTHUSIASM, and dedication to this effort with your nice words pushing me along.

Thank you!!!

Check out who is reading the blog along with you. Hello Germany, Mexico, Spain, and India readers!!

You know you're training for the Boston Marathon when...

The race is cancelled, but you run the course anyway. How and Why can a race called the Frostbite 15K be cancelled? To my advantage, I did not preregister so I didn't lose any money, but I received a sweet tshirt, new Power gels, a tons of marathon advice.

I also finally wore my hip new PUMA raincoat. Yes, Tim, you were right, the compliments on my slender wrists were overwhelming!

Look at the Snow!


The entire group of seven that I ran with were all training for Boston so I asked them all for advice. One member mentioned training on the last six miles so I'm familiar with it, because if you don't know where you are than it goes on forever.

Anyway, here are the details on the race and a few pictures of the course. How beautiful!! According to my iPod, we ran a few miles over the scheduled amount. Oh well, a long run is a long run, right?

Can you get a prettier picture?





Check out that average pace! 8:11 per mile! That's why I like a race!

I definitely learned how to run in the snow and my butt will feel awesome tomorrow. As I mentioned back around Christmas, Mr Miceli gave me a few boxes of Shot Blocs, but I learned today how much all those goos and blocs can help. I was nearly dead around mile 6. My legs killed, I had a cramp, and I just didn't feel good. Paul gave me some accelerade, a goo and I felt a million times better! I guess that's what training is for! I'm learning folks.

Day Two:Complete

Three sets of ten push-ups and six sets of leg lifts held for twenty seconds. I feel a little sick and I'm not sure if it's the mix of Cherrios, orange juice, and muscle workout. I cannot wait until the morning that I can do a push-up and not feel so much pain. :-0) Happy Friday and rest day!

A Struuuuggle. 31 is my new number.

To survive the rolling hills of the Boston Marathon, Coach Rick Muhr mentioned that we should strengthen our core muscles. Rick works on his abs for 30 minutes each morning. I like the morning schedule because as it works out already, I spend roughly 2 hours dedicated to prep time, eating, stretching, and working out in the evening. Now, clearly I might just be poor with my gym time efficiency, but with all the work I like to relax and enjoy myself. If I attach the ab workout to my normal workout, I'd be at the gym for three hours. Morning push-ups is on the schedule for a few months.

Marathon Training takes over your life! This was part of the reason why I laughed at people when they asked when I'd be running the Boston Marathon back in May 2007. I knew that marathon training would take over my life, but I'm now going to detail how it's taking over mine and ways in which I'm trying to sneak around it.

1. I am watching my favorite hour of television. It's the only hour of TV that I committed to, and at the same time I am strengthening the front of my lower legs - opposite muscle of my calves.

2. Waking up early for 15 minutes of leg lifts and push-ups in an attempt to survive the hills of miles 17-20. Now, today was my first core workout, but it was a struggle and added to taking over my life. Two workouts in one day? It's completely my choice and I'm not complaining about it, merely recording and explaining the full extent of my marathon training commitment. Push-ups. The last time I did Push Ups was a part of my workout was high school track. It's a struggle- a laughable struggle and get this, I only did 3 repeats of 10. It's my own fault for never ever working my arms.

3. Working out Monday through Thursday. I love this part, although, by Thursday I might be looking for better entertainment than the gym. Today was a cross training gym day, I biked for 45 minutes at a rate of 16-17mpm. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it felt like a workout to me! The way that I avoid boredom at the gym is I carry a large bag of books with me. Check out my list, another example of how marathon training is taking over my life.

What I talk about when I talk about Running - Haruki Murakiami ~ Melissa Blanksteen gave me this book earlier during the week. Haruki is her favorite Japanese writer and it's a memoir about his marathon run from Athens to Marathon.
Food Guide for Marathoners - I'm a science project.
The FairTax Book - Neal Boortz. A few weeks ago, a friend gave it to me. It's really interesting and causes me to gasp and laugh out loud at the gym.
The Runner's Day-by Day Log 2009 Calendar. I record my training in the journal, and lots of articles, quotes and advice are available too.
The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide - Whitsett, Dolgener, Kole. This is an actual text book for a college class. Eureka! This afternoon as I contemplated my lunch in relation to my workout and dinner, I sadly thought I need to take a class on how to prepare for the marathon. As I sat at my gym, reading my Japanese running memoir and pedaling my legs, Martin Finn came by and gave me a copy of the above-mentioned book. I read the book for the next half hour of biking.

The point is, the books capture my attention away from the blinking exercise screen for longer than 10 minutes at a time. I am also consumed with marathon training all the time. It's pretty crazy.

At the beginning of this blog, I mentioned that I am avoiding letting the marathon training take over my life. Although, as I reflect through the blog, it's not really true, training has taken over my life! There is something about receiving $340 in two days that carries my motivation. My friends believe in the Bottom Line mission as much as I do, so I'll keep running!

Comments are encouraged. :-0)

23% is a sweet number.

Wow!!! Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!!!

My day started off fantastically. I had a nice surprise when I checked my morning email. My manager, Deb Adams made a very generous donation of $150 to the Bottom Line marathon fund! Thanks Deb! She's been super accommodating and supportive already especially relating to my random icing habits and running schedules. And get this, she's even going to let me have the entire day off for the Marathon! I know, I have it waayy too good at the 136 Turnpike.

We made it to the $1000 mark! All day long, I walked around the office with an extra bounce in my step.

At the office for the next two weeks, we're training a group of new hire Endoscopy sales reps. During the introduction portion of training, we all take a few minutes to say our name, home city/state, title, previous work experience and a fun fact. I've always hated the fun fact throughout life, but I've learned over the last year for the New Hire classes that if my fun fact is FUN enough it can really spark some good conversations. I've used "training for a half marathon", "rowing on the Charles River," and now "I'm training for the Boston Marathon!". Another rep in the class shared that he qualified for Boston! Congrats Bert Bair! Our Sales Training director, Tracey Sanford is also a marathon veteran - completing the New York marathon a few years back - under four hours!! With all the marathon excitement in the atmosphere, Tracey mentioned that she thinks the office should close down to cheer on Bert and me during the marathon. I know this isn't quite possible, but it's the cutest suggestion that I've ever heard!

It's Wednesday! I'm free! I don't have any plans. I packed my triple layers for the Bowditch track workout, but sadly it was far too cold to be outside. I attempted to complete a "track" workout on the treadmill. I ran my 5 miles with 5 repeats of 800s. Now that I'm thinking about it, I did not really do 800s because I only sprinted for 3 minutes at a 7:30minute pace. The small skinny boy that started running next to me thought that I was racing him. Awkward. We're stuck on treadmills and there's no finish line so it's hard determine winners. Everytime I started running fast for my three minutes, he ran faster too! Anyway, he might have been twelve and if it was a race, I won and I'm fine with that!




Thank you Martin Finn for suggesting the Nike iPod connection. Thank you Nike. Wow, running on the treadmill was a fun game today!

I dashed home for my big evening of donation box decorating and to catch a few laughs with American Idol. The donation box does not need to be anything fancy, but it's a great opportunity for it. I'm having a blast and it's going to cause you to immediately grab your ATM card to withdraw large amounts of money, or write larger checks for donation purposes. :-0) With any luck, it won't be thrown away while sitting around at the fundraising events.

With plans to blog about the big $1000 mark and the weird gym visit, I opened my laptop and quickly checked around the evite and email. To my delight, I immmediately jumped up, down and around the room, screaming with two more donations made to my marathon fund! Honestly, until this moment, every single previous donation has been a feeling of relief instead of excitement, but 23% is a sweet number! $300 of donations is one day!!

I can't fall asleep! I'm too excited!

Pat on the back!

Running before dawn to... get the workout in for the day!



ALL THE dips in time are because I ran through snow!

Grocery Shopping? Fundraising?

What to get? I'm not sure if it's because I'm the youngest in my family, I'm too impatient to cook, I'm not a food planner, or because I'm lazy, but I'm turning over a new leaf!

I'm heading out to the grocery store after studying my nutrition book. I have my meals planned out for the week with my workout scheduled. Although, it is ridiculously overwhelming for me! ... on the other hand, what's the worst that happens? I've been fairly healthy so I would just end up eating Cheerios although I need the proper energy! The worst thing is I won't be prepared for the marathon! Phew, here is the list.

Select Items on my Grocery List, all suggested by Nany Clark and her "Marathoner's Basic Shopping List"

Bananas
Tomato
Animal Crackers
Nuts
Pasta
Tuna
Lentils
Kidney Beans
Carrots
Cottage Cheese
Cereal with 25% iron, 5 grams of fiber, and whole grain as the 1st ingredient.


I am not a fan of fundraising. I've never undertaken such a large project of raising money on my own. My last fundraising effort was probably a high school band fundraiser and I sold something in exchange for the cash. Yesterday, my coach mentioned that he was never a giver until after he lost his mother. After the loss of his mother, he raised Thousands of dollars for cancer research. Rick, care to comment on the exact details of this? He also mentioned that he appreciated our efforts of giving because life is more than bad economies, credit cards, fancy shoes, and expensive things. Life is about your legacy. What do you want to be remembered for? Helping others and giving is a great legacy. I still hate asking for money though. I realize it's hard to give to ever cause! We all have lots of friends and family that are involved and perhaps you even know someone else running the marathon for a charity. My little solution to this problem is come get something for your donation. I'm offering you a fun night out in Amherst, Boston, or Southborough - a little reunion, beer, conversation, squishy feel good about yourself because you've helped me and Bottom Line!

Please see the below Evite for the Boston event. I am, admittedly, very nervous about the success of the event so reply and have a good time! Thank you!! My Pointe February 15th Evite

You're going to be a RockStar!

The day began at 5am in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Last night, I joined Meg Bannon, Chris Bill, Matt Miceli and Adele Dockendorff for a goodbye Matt dinner last night. It was a splendid evening and we were all in bed early, perfect for me! Although, I didn't sleep well because I was worried about sleeping through my first group run.

I don't think I've been awake that early, that tired, and also that excited since UMass band time! I jumped out of bed at 6:13am, minutes before my alarm to avoid waking up Meg. I jumped in my car for a quick journey up Rt 3. The sun was rising behind me, the dunks coffee was sinking in and slowly waking me up, and my nerves were high. I managed to arrive early, even with one stop to ask for directions.

The Bottom Line - Team Go Far will be training with two other charities - Boston Partners in Education and the Esplanade Association, which we met this morning. Our teams are small so it's helpful to combine our forces and resources. Our coach, Rick Muhr coaches all three teams and it's helpful for our training runs - gym locations, water stops. This morning, we met at Revolution Fitness on Columbus Ave. Thank you to the gym! It's absolutely beautiful.

Jenny, Katie, Meagan, and Allison

Rick, our coach and marathon man, ran the Boston Marathon in a time of 2 hours 36minutes, taught the teams how to run efficiently this morning. We're suppose to run with 90 steps per minute, which means decreasing the stride during the runs. The smaller stride helps decrease the pressure and pounding on my feet. I also learned how to tie my shoes! I'm a big girl now! The coach taught us a secret weapon with triple knots, bows, and marathon sprinkles. Well not exactly, but I can't describe the loops of the special lacing. The new tying option keeps our sneakers tight and feet in place for optimum running power.

Team Go Far running!

Here are the stats on our run and pictures! My mile pace was a little slower than usual, but it's an average time and I had a few stops for traffic and photo ops.



I also enjoyed chatting and meeting with my new team members. Meagan Meleragni, another young woman on the team works at AIG in Boston and I think she really wanted me to get the word out that her office did not have a Christmas party! She was a little embarrassed to admit her employer. It was a very enjoyable run even with the below freezing temperatures. I honestly didn't notice the cold weather. The scenery, conversations and my Nike iPod stats successfully distracted me.

Rick gave us another awesome and successful pep talk. This morning, he inspired us with compliments and visions of our future training. We're awake at a gym in Boston before 8am ...on...a...Saturday! And will be for weeks! If that doesn't say committed to the Boston Marathon than what does? I definitely need to adjust my Friday night plans for the next few months. I can avoid drinking, but I need more rest as well so that means an early light dinner and then to bed. In the next week or so, I'm going to post my training schedule. Rick mentioned that we'll become intimately familiar with the first twenty miles of the marathon, and "with the last six it doesn't matter because you're a rockstar and that carries you through!" We'll be rockstars for the day! I can't wait! We also received our official Boston Marathon entry forms today!!!!!!!!!! I might scan a copy of mine and keep the original. I'm a badass!

Okay, I must move along to fundraising activities and emails! Have a nice weekend everyone!

$800 celebration run!

Hi Friends,

We've reached $800!!!!! Yes, we is the correct pronoun here. I've donated some time to this little adventure and money, but my friends and family have donated time, advice and money too! So Thank you - we're almost there! Thanks to Karen McG and Chris Henry for putting us at the big number this morning! I've been flying high all day long as a result!:-0)

Today, with the new inspiration in my step I ran during my lunch break. Risky, I know! The sun was shining though and it was absolutely beautiful- much better than a treadmill. Although, I am not in any position to be the smelly girl in the office and it's really just rude. Could I pull it off - Run 5 miles during an hour break, stretch, make myself presentable, and be able to function for the rest of the day??

No! I couldn't do it! haha Well, I wasn't smelly for the rest of the day, but it cannot be completed within in a hour. BUT - I have the nicest manager is the world! Deb nicely allowed to me work a little later so I could enjoy a run at my leisure. I don't want to make a habit of running during work because it's just too much work.... With a little shower after the run -It's quite a rush. And for your reading pleasure, I will let you in on a horrible marathon training event.

From top to bottom, my running outfit for the afternoon run consisted of:

Brooks Diad Sneakers - old but they're in the rotation
Comfy Adidas socks - My feet like being in shoes because of them.
Underarmor ColdGear Frosty tights - I don't know how I survived without them. Although admittedly, other runners intimidated me if they wore them!
UMass Shorts - I don't think it's appropriate to wear tights without shorts - especially around the office.
Nike Coldgear Shirt - This is the menace in my outfit.
Columbia Pink Vest with pockets - My favorite piece of running apparel. I love the color. It keeps me warm. The pockets are a new thing for my running life. I can now carry my cellphone- take phonecalls, text while I run, and generally feel at ease for my safety.

Now back to the menace of my non-matching ugly running outfit, the Nike ColdGear LimeGreen long sleeve shirt. It's a great shirt, keeps me warm with one simple layering of cloth. It's almost a mystery, but that's neither here nor there. I arrive back from my run and wander into the office gym area. A few lady colleagues are in the gym. I quickly move into the locker room to beat the lunch hour countdown. The worst hits - I become awkwardly tangled in the Nike LimeGreen mess of a winter running shirt. My left arm is hurting, caught in the shirt nearly behind my back. I am stuck in my ColdGear, but now very hot and paniced! How will I ever run the Boston Marathon if I can't undress from a Nike ColdGear shirt? Although more importantly, how will I go to work like this? Well, to my delight, I finally escaped seconds before my colleague Nanzy Zizza walked into the locker room. Nancy would have been able to help me, but that's also pretty rude.

Ok- I must finish this blog so I can stretch annnd fully enjoy the new a 30 Rock episode tonight. It's my favorite show next to the Office!


Check out my run below!



The Run Route

Why am I running the Boston Marathon for the Bottom Line charity?

The complete lie and short answer is that "In a moment of not thinking, I signed up for the marathon." I've often rambled off the previous statement in past conversations, but I'm going to take a few minutes to explain the real reasons.

The Boston Marathon is the most prestigious and oldest marathon in the world. Although, the excitement that surrounds the marathon hasn't exactly reached me.... Oh, I am definitely excited, but reality of 26 miles is nothing to shake your finger at.

I've always been a runner! I LOVED tag as a kid. I loved racing my friends. I loved running the mile during gym class. I remember in the 3rd grade, running around the middle Heritage school baseball diamond because it was our regulation track for the mile assessment test. I couldn't wait to be a Shepherd Hill student to join the track team. I started as a sprinter with the 100 dash in 7th grade. I never won because I ran against seniors, but I did compete in the 1st heat! I'm fast! In fact, I might be living a lie. I'm really a sprinter trying to pretend to be a distance runner. Anyway, one thing led to another and I finished my high school track career with the mile and mile relay as my special events.

Years passed and I ran whenever the puddles were splashing around the UMass campus. I love puddle jumping and running with Andy Cook!! With my real world career underway, the love hate relationship of running called me back.` I joined the Greater Framingham Running Club (GFRC) and signed up for my first ridiculously long race - the Run to Remember Half Marathon of Boston in May 2008. It was a great race. I enjoyed all the training leading up to the big day and finished strong in a time of 1:50.03. Everyone that I spoke with following the race asked me when I'd be running Boston. I laughed and said it was crazy.

The idea was planted. All my GFRC running friends have glory stories from various marathons, if I wanted any respect in the club, I would need to take the plunge. Although 26.2 miles of running is quite a commitment and they're all very nice to me now anyway! I needed further motivation to sign up.

On October 20th, Bottom Line sent their Boston Marathon charity application to the GFRC. The application was due by Halloween. At this time, I rowed three nights a week, helped the Gardner marching band on Tuesdays and weekends, had recently started a Kaplan GMAT prep course, and worked full time! I didn't want to rush into this decision, but I barely had time to think about it! My initial reaction was pure thrill and excitement at the possibility of running the marathon for a charity. Since I graduated I've been searching for volunteer opportunities, but couldn't find the right fit for me. Running the marathon for a charity seemed like the perfect solution and a great way to do my part.

For days, I thoroughly considered all the factors. Whether I'd be able to handle the time commitment of training for a marathon, would I put myself in a huge financial hole for years, can I really run a marathon??? I even submitted my application after the due date. I wanted to make sure I could fully commit to the challenge. I talked with several veteran marathon runners, charity runners, my parents, and friends. I considered all my great friends and family that have supported me over the years. Even with the tough economy, I decided that the UMass Band alumni, the GFRC runners, the Gyrus golf tournament attendees, the members of my old service organization, former and current DSG employees, Corporate Challenge runners, my old & new cubicle neighbors, the NSO staffers, the February training class, my Facebook friends, and even Matt Miceli would respect the idea of a marathon and Bottom Line enough to throw a few bucks my way. I mentally ran through all these people to determine that I know some pretty stellar people. I'm not sure I can run a marathon, but I know that the Bottom Line students deserve my efforts to try.

I had my phone interview with Mike Wasserman and after weeks of waiting, on November 21st I found out that I made the Team Go Far 2009. You're welcome to read about the rest of the journey until mid April. I'm running the Boston Maraton for Bottom Line because I love to run and I want to help others.

Hallmark can declare new emotions?

This morning, I jumped out of bed for my favorite Sunday morning runs. I clicked on the radio for my other favorite Sunday morning ritual Mix Acoustic Sunrise as I contemplated my breakfast choice. I ate Strawberry mini wheats and some walnuts. I heard somewhere that people don't lose weight because they eat too many energy bars before exercising. I ordered Nancy Clark's Nutrition Guide for Marathon Runners yesterday so hopefully I will be on my way to powerful meals and strong muscles in no time at all. I'm not looking to lose weight, but energy bars don't even taste good so gaining weight from them is a double wammy!

According to my trainig schedule, I wanted to run between 7-9 miles today. I joined the GFRC Brophy runners, but it's tricky because we're all training for different races, at different levels. I stuck to my schedule as much as possible. I don't want to add too much mileage too fast! The men were running the terrible 10. I joined them and then cut off a few miles early. I bought the new iPod Nike system the other day, but my iPod battery died on the run. I know, you're jumping up and down! My blog is going to improve by leaps and bounds once I can figure out how to upload the details of my run with that little iPod gadet. Anway, it was a nice run! Happy Sunday everyone!! Go out and enjoy the Sun!

ps. Oh and the blog title topic was mentioned during the run. Check it Out - HallMark Scientists Identify 3 New Emotions.

Julie Jenkins, I owe you one!

Happy New Year! Happy Mentoring Month! That's right folks! What a great time to support a swell mentoring organization like Bottom Line during the National Mentoring Month of January?! The one on one support that Bottom Line students receive not only help them through their application process and college, but the part that I appreciated hearing directly from Bottom Line students is that they become resourceful students. This organization is not holding the hand of helpless children. The counselors are aiding students that face many hard problems in their daily lives- loss of parents, dangerous living environments, and helping to provide them with the tools to succeed in life!


Julie Jenkins provided me with the tools to succeed this past week. Julie is a veteran of the Boston Marathon with two complete Dana Farber runs under her belt. She gave me the amazing, yet simple advice that I don’t need to run everyday. First time marathon runners get caught up in the idea that we must run all the time. Seems sensible to me? I’m stuck in that idea. I knew to a certain degree that it was crazy though– I’m accepting my rest days more and more. She graciously mentioned her old training schedule and I am now very much more excited for training. I will now run only three days a week, cross train twice, and rest two days – possibly sneak in a few Yasso 800s! This greatly decreases chances of shin splints or any other hard pavement pounding injuries!! I love to cross train too. I grab a good book and spin on the bike for a few minutes. Phew, it’s a relief to have a real training schedule set up and one that I truly believe that I can handle!

Thanks to everyone for their donations and support so far!!! :-0) Especially thanks to Michelle Sparr and Julie for their hospitality over the New Years break!!!