Short Songs, Oh I mean Shorts & Songs

I bought my first pair of official running shorts! I am a real runner now! Well, I own two Nike shorts, but I would consider them winter shorts because they were warm and cotton shorts. The new pair, pictured below is a nice light fabric - Body: Dri-FIT 100% polyester taffeta. Mesh: Dri-FIT 100% polyester knit. Liner: Dri-FIT 100% polyester crepe.



I don't own a ton of shorts, but the rest of my wardrobe consists of basketball type shorts. I only played basketball for a few years, but the shorts are cheaper and more prevalent. My old high school track shorts were leftover or old shorts from our basketball team. Shepherd Hill wasn't a poor school. They had the same position toward shorts that I do, or perhaps they're the reason I just purchased my first pair of real running shorts!

I know it's against all recommendations to buy a new item specifically for a race, but I wore them tonight on a 7mile hill run and I will run with them again on Saturday. They match my Bottom Line running shirt! Everyone wins! I need to look official for the Boston Marathon and I definitely need to match.


Running Mix on my iPod.
I barely ever listen to my iPod while running. I clock my run times and pace with the iPod Nike Plus, but I like listening, noticing my surroundings, and I am always running with someone else. Last Saturday was my first time running a long run on my own! I rocked out with the ol' Running Mix and to my delight, it helped a lot! But I also now have a few holes in my Mix. I realized some music is very inappropriate for running. I will share my discoveries, and give rating based on my running mood and I beg you to share your music choices for Marathon Running. Also if you want to send an actual CD with the song my way, that is completely okay!

1. I did it - Dave Matthew's Band. - ok
2. Girl - OTown - great
3. Champagne Supernova - not a good running song
4. So Damn Lucky - not a good Marathon song
5. Swing, Swing - All American Rejects - great
6. Lie in Our Graves - okay, but not a good Marathon running song
7. 1, 2 Step - Ciara - Perfect Marathon song!
8. Risen - OAR - what could be better? Perfect Marathon Song!
9. Chicago Medley - University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band - This one is Better! Best Marathon Music!
10. Grace Kelly - MIKA - ALL MIKA songs are top rated for Marathon Running
11. Feel It - BEP Excellent
12. Happy Valentine's Day -OutKast - Awesome, but not the entire song.
    

I have a few more songs, but the post would be too long! In the official BAA booklet, it states that personal headphones are not allowed. At the charity logisitcs meeting held a few weeks ago by the race director, David McGillivary said that he would allow it! I don't think I will actual use my iPod, but it was so helpful during my training run... so who knows???

This is Insane!

The 20 Mile run from the starting line in Hopkinton to the base of Hearthbreak hill in Newton was a success and enjoyable! I finished in a time of 3:01.24. My iPod Nike was a little off, it had me clocking 7 minute miles from the starting line! I must have calibrated it with a wider stride than my normal pace. Not being able to rely on my iPod to inform me of my pace, I was on my own to run.

I kept my backup watch running the entire time, which clocked the 3:01 time. Remember that neat pace chart from my last post? In another tab of the Boston Marathon Excel sheet, I had the chance to print of a Wrist Pace watch – a list of my pace per time and time elapsed per mile according to a goal time entered by me! I finished 6 minutes over my goal time. According to a 3:50 finish goal time, I should have finished the 20 miles in 2hours and 54 minutes. I AM PUMPED! 6 minutes off the pace is nothing, right?! If I can rest, train, taper, and rest properly, I should be lined up to run a great marathon!

The marathon route is a great little course. I like the start through Hopkinton and Ashland, but it definitely takes discipline to hold back to not zoom down the hills. It was my first time running past Ashland. I ran the Newton hills with Katie Stomski a few weeks ago, but it was a thrill to string the route together run all the way from Hopkinton to Newton, seeing all the town signs, and the few historical (well Marathon historical) highlights along the way. I did not enjoy running through most of Framingham! It was a long stretch of nasty road, luckily on Marathon Monday, the cars won’t be bothering us. The Lake Cochituate was beautiful as described, so I’ll give that to Framingham. Natick was uneventful, I don’t recall hating or loving any point of the route there. Wellesley was the best part of the run! It was a shady area along the suddenly sunny day! I always like running through towns too. I was flying down the streets, although, this is also where I first turned on my iPod for musically entertainment. The University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band is a great artist and really had my legs moving! OH my Goodness, at Mile 15, there is a LARGE downhill and I almost screamed. Yikes! I don’t like reliving it! Any advice, anyone? Anyway, another very exciting moment was arriving in Newton and running over Rt95! I took out my iPod earphones and yelled to the runner next to me, “THIS IS INSANE! WE’RE RUNNING OVER ROUTE 95! WE JUST RAN FROM RT 495 TO 95!” He responded with, “Yea, and who put this hill here?!” The Newton hills are as bad as I’d heard. They are hard. Well, they aren’t all that bad…it’s the other 16 miles before that cause the real problem! My coach advised stopping at the base of heartbreak hill to avoid hurting ourselves during training. 20 miles in 3 hours! I stopped a few times for water, Gatorade and I think I walked 4 times to relax my muscles. I also stopped at the Dunkin Donuts in Ashland for a bathroom break. I ran inside and a few other runners were waiting so I said, “Oh, you needed your morning coffee too?” Everyone in line laughed! It’s so close to the route, I don’t think it messed with my time all that much. On Marathon Monday, hopefully I’ll be able to take all bathroom visits before crossing the starting line!

Many of my experienced running friends have told me about racing strategies. One particular method is running the last 100-150 feet of a 5K as a warmup to the race to understand the finish line and when to kick in the last sprint. Now for a marathon, is it essential to run the last 6 miles of the route? I’ve never run it before. I won’t be blindly running, because the mile markers are clearly displayed. The surprise and waiting to experience the route until Marathon Monday adds another degree of excitement! We’ll see… I guess!

Okay, another quick funny story for you. I woke up on Saturday morning at 6:15am! Earlier than any other day of the week! I woke up before my alarm sounded! I gazed at my phone and thought, is today the marathon? Phew, wow! Apparently, I psyched my body and mind up too much and I am also really confused in the mornings.
Okay time for bed!

Long Run Preparation

I have a long time of items to prepare before a long run.

This evening, I will share with you the preparation for the biggest, and most exciting training run. Drinking, drinking, bathroom break, drinking, eating, eating, drinking, bathroom break, bathroom break, drinking was the order of my day. I barely worked with all the bathroom breaks. I ate and drank a lot. Everyone was laughing at my lunch feast. I had a bowl of plain wheat pasta, 1 banana, yogurt, a half of ham sandwich, and sliced pineapple. On top of it, I had my breakfast, 2nd breakfast of oatmeal, and a snack before I left work.

I printed out the nice wrist pace chart for myself. Pacing for 3:50 finish. I'm testing it out tomorrow morning! I'll be sure to report back.

Following work, I ventured to the Marlborough high school track to calibrate my iPod with the Nike sensor. I planned on running around the track once, but definitely ran around several times while talking to the Apple support. Phew, I think it's up and ready for tomorrow.

My clothes are picked out, the Blocs are set aside, my stomach is almost full to the brim with lasagna. I called up Coach Rick this evening asking about timing and a ton of other questions. We talked all about the plan for tomorrow. Then I admitted to him, that I'm exhausted mostly from all the excitement. Partly my fault, I actually wore my wrist band around the office in an attempt to memorize the desired splits. Anyway, at 2:30pm exactly, I wanted to take a nap. On the way home, I still felt like I was dragging. Rick mentioned that it's very natural to feel lethargic before a long run. He said you're body and mind realize that something BIG is coming and it's getting ready. How convenient, right?

Alright folks, I'm signing off - back to the FUN! To combat my usual pre-long run nerves, I made some lasagna and invited over my dear friends Miss Stef Hiller and Shari Warden over for the evening. It's a blast watching friends drink, and getting to laugh just as much as them, but be stone sober! I'm also in the comfort of my own home with couch, ice bags, water, and my bed so close by!

I'm going to win the race tomorrow!

Welcome Booklet!

Do you remember the day you received the acceptance letter for your 1st choice school, the welcome package from your dream job & company, or when you waited in line for the latest Harry Potter book?

I received the Boston Athletic Association 113th Boston Marthon Welcome booklet this evening! I don't know if any of my above descriptions helped paint the picture of my excitement. I carefully craddled the small booklet in my Johnny Kelley Marathon book, and happily headed off to the gym. I pumped the iron on the hamstring machine. That last sentence was wrong in many ways, but anyway, I read my Welcome booklet and analyzed every graphic and read every word. I only made it through 4 pages because I read the entire table of contents word for word. I still have 25 days so I'm sure I'll eventually make it through!

P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E

This evening, my goal was to run 6 800 repeats and I exceeded my goal! The Bowditch track was crowded this evening, but it was all very good company. I meant to take a group picture, but became distracted with conversations. Anyway, I ran 3 repeats with Phyllis and Jim, but I really like to take a tiny walk break and they continue to truck down the track between each repeat. After my third, I walked around the track with Tom Abbott and Sue Ericson and chatted about pace. Pacing for the marathon is constantly on my mind!

Check this out! Amazing, right?

Now with all the numbers displayed - reaching the ultimate sub 4 hours seems reachable... Phew, we'll see though!

OH yes, the rest of the workout included a 1000 run with Bruce Daley and Mike Laing. They're working off a rigid Marathon program! I ran 2 repeats at my own pace - 3:05 finish!

This afternoon, I emailed my running club checking the numbers for the evening track workout. I like to gather support and excitement. Anyway, I ended the email with my signature and the countdown. - 26 days!! Is it okay that most of emails from today ended with that?

I received one particular email back from Wayne Buckley, a fellow GFRC runner. He's offered tons of great advice over the course of the training. From my first email/ call for desperate help, and follow ups with great encouragement and advice. With this email, all he said was, "PATIENCE". Wouldn't that be something to say back in November when I started training? I've been patient for 5 months! I've been careful with my mileage and working up to the speed workouts. I'm not saying this is bad advice, so I guess I'll try to stop being so excited and get back to focusing on rest... Being my young impatient self - it's probably my biggest flaw, I'm not sure if this is what Wayne meant.

I'm not going to lose sleep over it. I'm almost finish with "Last Pick" by David McGillivary. Check it out. It's the best book ever! Goodnight!

Marathon Fever - 20 Miles! - $10 Campaign Challenge

Good evening everyone! I know I should be in bed... but the Marathon Fever came over me as I discussed with my sister her logistical strategy for meeting me along the Marathon route. She might even run the last mile with me!!

As I talked about the upcoming marathon with my sister Molly, she said, “Wow, Katie! 20 Miles! You’re golden now!”

I definitely feel a sense of excitement and relief, and I know the students of Bottom Line feel the same way once they’re accepted into the Bottom Line program, perhaps even more excited!

Bottom Line offers guidance, mentoring, and support for disadvantaged students - for students that want to go to college, but don't know where to begin. Their guidance counselors are overwhelmed, their parents don't have the experience; the students don't have the necessary to support to navigate through the process, but with Bottom Line they're on their way to go far in life!

Please view this new short video (the end is the best part!) about Bottom Line: http://bottomline.org/about/mission.shtml
Bottom Line counselors give personalized attention, and the small gestures of help and attention are creating big results! Bottom Line students are earning college degrees at twice the rate of the national average in their peer group!

One recent study tracked eighth-graders who were high achievers in math over a 10-year period. Among those from high-income families, 99 percent went to college and 74 percent graduated. Among similarly high-achieving students from low-income families, 75 percent went to college but only 29 percent graduated. Even these high-achieving students were faced with obstacles throughout college that they did not have the means to deal with.

Whether a student has financial, academic, professional, or personal barriers to overcome, the one-on-one guidance and the network of support that Bottom Line provides gives our students the tools to graduate from college at high rates.



I haven’t trained for the marathon on my own and these students need our help to make it through the marathon of high education!

Please visit my Firstgiving.com/katierunsboston for the

$10 Campaign Challenge!

Help me Raise $1500 in the last Marathon Fever MONTH! Ask your friends, forward to your parents, mention it to your neighbors -

Let’s Gain Strength in Numbers! Don't miss the chance-

donating just $10 can help change the lives of the Bottom Line students. They have dreams of becoming doctors, teachers, accountants, orthodontist, scientists, designers, surgeons, and looking to make a difference in the world!

Thanks Everyone!

Spring Fever Will Hit You in the Middle of the Face

I ran 20 miles this morning, starting at 6:45am with Linda York from the Brophy school in Framingham, Ma. We trekked all around Framingham, Sudbury, and perhaps other towns to complete our loops of fun, thrills, and training. When I run, I'm thinking about last weeks events, upcoming plans, my goals, where I am in the route, how my body feels, the Boston Marathon, the Bottom Line students, and my surroundings. Oh and of course, the lovely chatter that occurs with my running partner. Today, the day focused mostly on my surroundings. I notice the numbers on the houses to gauge the length of the road. When running 20 miles, I have small goals of finishing one road or portion of the run. The day started out to be very chilly at 23 degrees and my body was tense. Linda and I tried a new style of running, our plan was to run for 10 miles and walk for 1 minute. You're suppose to feel so much better and have energy for the end of the run - it worked! I ran fast up the last hill and for the last stretch through the path to the parking lot. Exciting... perhaps I WILL be able to sprint the last mile of the marathon! I want reallly want to RUN the last mile! We clocked about 3 hours and 20 minutes. I felt not so hot after two hours, but then felt great after completing 3 hours. It is a huge relief completing 20 miles!

I immediately jumped in the shower, and jumped back in the car to head to the Bottom Line meeting in Jamaica Plain for a noon time meeting. We chatted for about two hours about fundraising, Bottom Line, and Rick talked about preparation and the Boston Marathon experience. We have 29 days and this is going to be the most exciting month... in my life!

Rick mentioned that "Spring Fever Will Hit You in the Middle of the Face!" Marathon Fever will hit soon and I have to admit it already has plagued my office and friends. Everyone is asking, how far, how long, how many days? I couldn't ask for anything more! Rick mentioned, and it's very true, as the weather changes and the days count down, the media coverage is going to gain momentum. The Boston Marathon is more elite than the Olympics for running, it's the MECCA of running! It's completely crazy that it's going to be my 1st marathon, but being this is my home state, I couldn't do it any other way. I have the privilege of running the Boston Marathon and having friends and family line the course.

Rick gave us all kinds of advice - fuel, clothing choice, Hopkinton throw away clothing choice(all the clothing that is thrown off in the first miles of the marathon are donated to a homeless shelter!), 9AM arrival time, ice is great along the marathon route (HINT HINT!) Helium Balloons held by visiting friends, red liquorish, and reminded us of all the great work that we're doing.

I'd like to plan a Pasta Party Fundraiser with Marathon Logistics Focus for April, but I'm not exactly sure of the date ... or location!

Okay, I want to lie down and rest before my Saturday night. I bought two new Boston Marathon books on my way home!

Please visit my Fundraising Webpageand forward the link to your friends. Thanks for your help! Nothing significant in life is ever achieved alone!

1 MONTH! 1 MONTH AWAY!

One month away and I could not be more excited.

19 miles to run tomorrow morning with my great running friend Linda York.

The website to track my progress during the marathon is the Boston Marathon website. The ability to track is not available yet because I'm fairly certain that's some kind of stalking crime, but when I'm running the actual marathon I will wear the Champion Chip and the website will be changed around for your tracking pleasure!

Fuel.

I'm fairly certain that I need to eat more. Glorious thought to many, right? It is to me as well, but I'm a little concerned. I ate like a champ when training for my half marathon, I couldn't stop eating, but I am not nearly as hungry during this training.

Tonight, I worked out at the gym and upon leaving at 7:30pm, I felt ready for bed vs eating dinner and relaxing with the Office. Maybe it was my long day at the office? Anyway, I was reading one of my many guides to Running a Marathon last night, and it dawned on me that I need to eat a lot more carbs. I've been eating more carbs than usually, but I think with my 19 mile run this weekend I need to "carbo load"?

With that in mind and not a lot of prep time, I grabbed my box of Rotini and dashed to work. It was a delightful lunch with Julie Smith homemade dressing to spice up the dish. Instead of skipping dinner tonight, I forced myself to enjoy an early burrito from Chipotle. How many carbs and fats are in a burrito, if the Chipotile website was more informational than I would tell you!

Okay, I'm going to sneak in a little more nutritional reading before the Office and bedtime. Any advice, please leave comments or send me an email! I'm afraid there isn't enough time to eat and store enough glycogen in 4.5 weeks to run an entire marathon!

Bib Number!!!!!!!!!!!

My Boston Marathon bib number is 21886.

Track me online during the marathon!

Third wave of Training - I feel like a marathon runner!

Welcome back to Massachusetts! Well, thank you kind Spring weather!

I woke up this morning with the goal of running in mind, and a few other errands. I set out of a short ...slow run. I couldn't pick up my feet to move and so began my reinvention. I took the run slow, and decided that I would try to make it to the GFRC track workout in the evening.

Reinvention. Third Wave of Training. My first wave of training was in the cold uncertain months of November, December, and January, where I was completely lost and confused in the marathon training. The second wave started with the Julie Jenkins marathon training suggestion and my consistency with the schedule of long runs and adding of strength training. The Third Wave started today. I'm coming off a very nice relaxing, ice cream and cotton candy filled vacation. I have about one month until the marathon. It's the big last push of training and focusing my mind and body for the marathon.

Reinvention. I bought a used iPod today so I'm back on track. As suggested by Rick, the running coach, I bought a new pair of sneakers. He wants the team to run about 15 or 20 miles on them, use them for the 21 mile run and then set them aside until the marathon. I ran in my new sneakers at the track this evening. They feel amazing. I had forgotten how nice new sneakers are, I wrote 'marathon' on the side of the shoes and now we're all set for April 20th!

Reinvention! I'm not only reinvented because I bought new things, but today I added the almighty track workout back into the mix! I love track workouts. It feels great to push hard and with the company of other GFRC members, I also receive the exciting Boston Marathon stories. I'm a little kid sitting back for story time. Anyway, I ran 4 800 repeats with Bruce Daley and Phyllis Lowry at an average of 3:14 per 800. Phyllis is a fast woman, her PR for a marathon is 3 hours and 46 minutes! Bruce is also a very fast gentleman. My favorite memory of Bruce was meeting the club out on Friday night at John Harvard's for drinks. Bruce came out, had two beers, and ran an amazing marathon the next morning with a ridiculous time of something like 3 hours 20 minutes? I wish I could do that, but I won't even make the attempt. Bruce, Phyllis and Katie, we're an unstoppable track workout team!

Third wave of training! With the great track workout done for the week, and the nice weather of the evening, I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel and it looks delightful. It's mid March, and I've made it through the nasty New England Boston Marathon winter training! The countdown is on - One month of training left, with four dedicated month of training behind me, along with $5000 of support of friends and family for Bottom Line. I feel like a marathon runner and I can't wait to run the race!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hello again readers! I am currently waiting in the Tampa airport and contemplating a little stretching activity before boarding.

The vacation was glorious and filled to the brim with fun! I toured around the Floridian landscape with my cousin and parents. I played three incredible rounds of golf, jet skied for the first time, made sure to enjoy one or two afternoon drinks, walked on the beach to view the dolphins jumping, relaxed with yoga on the beach, screamed at Animal Kingdom, cheered on the Red Sox as they beat the Yankees at Fort Meyers, drank my last Coors Light at Downtown Disney (more to be explained later), and didn’t get sun burned!

I ran a few times too! When I arrived on Thursday morning, I hit the beach and swimming for a little and then headed out for a run. To my delight, I’ve found relief and an explanation for some of my leg pain. When I run on even level terrain, my legs are happy and pain free! I ran 10 miles that day, not quite on purpose, but it felt good to accomplish a run so early in the vacation.

Friday was a scheduled rest day, and I enjoyed a game of golf and prepped for the next day! My mom read in the local paper about an 8K- 5mile race starting and ending at Sharkie’s - our favorite waterfront restaurant! A T-Shirt would be given, along with prizes for age groups, door prizes and water stops! Thrilled at the chance to get in another run in the midst of my crazy vacation schedule, and one with water stops sounded too good to be true. Even though I attended my first Sox game of the season, I kept my promise of discipline and did not drink anything and it paid off!

I won the race! Well, winning has a fuzzy definition for me. My goal was to run 8 minute miles and finish under 40 minutes and I blew it out of the water so that means I won! I finished with an official time of 35:48 seconds, earning a 2nd place medal for my age group, and finished 29th overall in a group of a few hundred. My motivation to run fast came from my cousin Lynn, who mentioned before the race that the whole course is FLAT so I better run fast. Very good point, the course was flat and pleasant to run on! My first mile was 8:10, then my second mile was around 6:30 and I averaged just over 7 minutes per mile! It appears that I'm in pretty good shape! I had to run off to Disney World immediately after the race, and I figured that only the top finisher received a prize. Anyway, I picked up my second place medal from the YMCA a couple days later.
Race Results

Pictured below is me with my parents following the race.



Heather explains that a 25-year-old woman is not allowed to drink Coors Light. I’m taking her advice, but here’s the documentation of my last silver bullet.


My cousin Lynn Wille and I travel around the island together.




Thanks Karen and Chris for the St. Patrick's day donation!!!

Best Day Ever!

I started my day with a good workout at the gym in the morning.

I had a great day at work, for no particular reason.

Then to my delight, I stopped at the local convenient store to quickly pick up a beverage for my sister's birthday party. Sam Adams Summer Ale is out! I found the Sun! The summer has arrived!

Time to sign off for a few days.

I'm going on vacation to Florida! The official Golf season begins! I went to the driving range about a month ago, but I will be golfing for days straight! I'll fit in some runs and I've already scouted out a gym. Have a good weekend everyone!

Progress Report

Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! I noticed on Sunday through my statcounter, I had 73 visitors to my blog. I hope you're all enjoying the content.

Update for you. My body feels better, much better than it did on Saturday! And my spirits have improved as well.

If you're on the fence about my last post, go buy the book! I cannot wait to visit the gym each day to read it. I worked out harder and longer yesterday than I ever have before in my life... while at a gym, that is! David McGillavry's story is very inspiring and motivating. I came close to tears while riding on the little exercise bike, but in a way that I cannot wait for Marathon Monday. I can't believe I'm going to have the opportunity to run with and through so much history!

Happy Day Light Savings! I've made it! We've made it to safer running times!! I am actually all suited up at the moment, packing in some energy of yogurt, accelerade, and toast for a quick 5 mile run before my buddy's charity fundraiser at the Fireflies.

Time to fess up and a Quick plea, I lost my iPod over a week ago. I might have left it at the gym, but the real problem is I'm scared my marathon training is going to fall. I'm not sure where it will fall to, but it could go to an 11 or 12 minute pace. I WILL HAVE NO IDEA and NEITHER will YOU! Extra pod anyone? I'm not sure I can afford another one at the moment. It's a ridiculous question, I know, but I'm not certain who those 73 readers are. Maybe Steve Jobs is reading and wants me to succeed as much as all of you!

Okay, it's time to run in the cloudy, but warm fun!

David J. McGillivray

David J. McGillivray is the race director for the Boston Marathon. He first came to fame, as I learned from reading, info also located on the BAA website, for his cross-country run for the Jimmy Fund in 1978. He has run for 24 hours straight, biked 24 hours, run 122 marathons and generally impresses me in many ways. All of the charity runners had the pleasure of hearing from Mr. McGillivray on Thursday evening has he hosted a logistic meeting to calm our nerves and pump us all up. He's a hoot! His jokes were light and witty, and all well delivered in the company of scared, naive, excited charity runners.

This afternoon, as I recovered from my over eating at breakfast, I sped off to the bookstore in search of a running motivational book. I looked around, and within a moment of fret and dismay, I noticed, "The Last Pick" by David McGillivray. As mentioned in the forward by Joan Benoit Samuelson, "this book seems to belong everywhere. It's a management book, a self help book, a sports book, a biography, and even a history book." Perfect, it speaks to all my literary interests. I immediately start reading, and only put it down for driving, but continue reading as I pump iron at the gym. I had decided during the charity meeting on Thursday that I'd love to work in some way for the Boston Marathon. What better way to get there than to read about the path of the great David J. McGillivray? Even if I don't end up in the ranks of the Boston Marathon management team, I'll be further inspired for my April 20th run, and moving in the right direction.

Well, that's Marathon Training

Today I had big plans to run 18 miles. My week was a little busy with training, fundraising and charity meetings that I felt extremely tired and I ended up only running 16.5 miles. My body was in pain for the entire run, but it was a gorgeous Spring sunny morning. It was my first warm Spring day to run so I didn't want the agony of my pain to be an issue, I kept telling myself it was a beautiful day to run, with some pretty funny people, and that I'm training for the Boston Marathon and I have tons of people cheering me on. Hehee No, no one was on the sides of the roads in Southborough, but I could hear them loud and clear from Wednesday night at Owen O'Leary's.

Owen O'Leary's Fundraiser was a blast. I can't thank you enough if you took the time out of your busy week to stop by. It means so much to me!

Anyway, I finished the run and fell immediately into a snow bank. I love Massachusetts. We're running in 60 degree weather, but with the convenience of snow banks for easy relief. When I came home, I finished reading my book while 'snowing' my shins in the snow banks outside my apartment. sweet, right?



Everyone at the GFRC is really helpful. They all gave me tons of advice for all my aches and pains, and I think I'm on my way again...

Anyway, you can check out pictures on the shutterfly from my fundraiser. Enjoy!

Jiaiie (Charles) Su - College Essay

Charles is a high school senior in the Bottom Line program right now. He emigrated from China and is in this country, basically by himself. He wants to go to college, but it is difficult for an 18 year old from another country who has no family here except for grandparents that don't speak English. He comes to Bottom Line for the support that is missing in his life. His story is incredible, but he is not the exception. We have many students in the same situation as Charles. Please take a minute to read his story.

Charles' Essay

Late winter. Early morning. Dawn had just broken.

My mind wandered as I walked to school. One year already, I thought, how time flies! One year ago, my dad and I emigrated from China to America. At the beginning, we lived in my grandparents' home, which was in a senior housing project. We had to sleep on the couches in the living room since there was only one bedroom. A month later, the housing manager asked us to move out because the housing was for seniors only. We quickly found a room to rent for ourselves. After two months, dad told me that he was thinking about going back to China. I did not disapprove because I knew the language barrier frustrated him. Besides, a decent job, a wife, and a daughter were waiting for him in China. He left, and I started to live by myself. He called me once a week, asking how I was doing.

"I'm OK." I would tell him, "Everything's fine."

I lied. Having an independent life was not as easy as I had expected. Buying groceries, cooking, cleaning room, doing dishes and laundry, managing time and money... All of a sudden, I had to deal with things that I was not good at. The biggest challenge, in fact, was the enormous loneliness and homesickness which I had never felt before. The street, the train, the people, the trees... Everything seemed so alien to me. There were nights that I talked to myself. There were nights that I could almost see the immense shadow of loneliness filling up my bedroom and trying to engulf me. I struggled, but I did not feel lost. My father's decision to leave showed his faith in my self-reliance. I strived hard to adjust to this new lifestyle by balancing schoolwork and housework as best I could.

Time went by fast today. The bell for the end of the school day took me by surprise.

Carrying bags of ingredients and a cake bought in Chinatown, I went to my grandparents' apartment. It was just a plain space with old furniture, but it was the only place that I could still feel a sense of home, of belonging. When preparing dinner with them, I could not help but notice that they were aging. I loved them more than anybody else in the world because they had sacrificed a lot for me. In 1998, they moved to America not know any English and had been living here in order to apply for my immigration. They wanted me to get the best education and career. Whenever I think of their sacrifices, I know that I will never disappoint them.

After finishing dinner, I put the cake with a lit candle on the table. I felt grateful to my grandparents for taking care of me in both China and America, and joyful for them still being healthy compared to other people their age.

"Happy eighteenth birthday!" my grandparents said cheerfully.
No crowds of friends. No dozens of gifts. Yet my heart felt warm and bright.
"Hope they will always be healthy and happy." I made a wish and then blew out the candle.
Late winter. Late evening. The silence rested in the darkness. Lying on my cot, I closed my eyes, waiting for a brand new day to come.

Marathon Week! I am so blessed!

Wow, what a week! I am high as a kite and as exhausted as a runner that just finished the Boston Marathon twice!

My Southborough Owen O'Leary's fundraiser on Wednesday, March 4th - Parade Day was a wicked awesome success!!! (the wicked phrase is a shout out for the enjoyment of Aunt Sue, Cousin Craig and Michelle) We raised $1200!! I feel so blessed to know such amazing people that are so supportive! Thank you to my wonderful work friends that extended their day to join me, thank you to the Greater Framingham Club Members that ran 10 miles and still came out for my event, Thank you to all my UMass friends for driving from far and wide to attend, and thank you to my Mom, Dad, Molly, Josh, Laura, and little Elizabeth for all the support. Elizabeth said she enjoyed her first visit to a bar. It was a big night all around.


********* We've raised over $5000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!********
I can't describe how excited I am to have raised $5000 already. Everyone around my office has been so supportive and excited for me. It's been the talk of the office all week and today was a big day as I could joyfully answer the question of "How did last night turn out?" with, "I've made it! We've reached the goal!" Since it was the subject of all discussion, the few times that I had a moment to myself to think, it was almost overwhelming to reflect on all that's happened. All the support has been fantastic. Thank You Friends!

As I mentioned, I am exhausted so I promise to update on my week tomorrow. I'm happily going to bed.