OMG! We have exceeded my fundraising goal!

When I set out to raise money for Dana-Farber, I took a long time deciding what goal I should set for my fundraising effort. I didn't want to set it too high nor too low. I really thought that $10,000 was a stretch goal. I thought it was achievable but not easily. I certainly did not think I would be able to reach the goal with a little under 10 weeks to go until the race.

So, for those of you who are following my blog and have donated all I can say is THANK YOU!!!. I feel truly blessed to have such great friends and family who care enough about others to go above and beyond any expectations I had for raising money. Not to mention how difficult it could have been in these tough economic times. I assure you that I will run with pride in April knowing I have y'alls support.

If you have not had a chance to donate, please feel free to donate even though I have exceeded my goal. Maybe we can make it to $12,000 before April 20th. I hope and pray that all the money I and my teammates have raised this year will finally get us to that finish line where we can cure this dreaded disease.

Stay tuned for more training updates!

Running the Course Part 4...

OK, OK! My Dad told me this week that he likes it when I write about the actual marathon course. It has simply been too cold and icy to chance the 4th 5 mile section (miles 15-20). There are not too many sidewalks along this portion of the route and what there are are covered with ice. So, I have been holding off until it started to melt. Today was the day because the morning temperature at 6:30 am was 44 degrees. A heat wave by recent standards. Who knew I would think that is warm.

I drove into Wellesley and parked at the Wellesley Congregational Church. This put me right near mile marker 15. I headed up Washington Street knowing that this portion of the course would take me through Newton Lower Falls and into the dreaded Newton Hills. At mile marker 16, I crossed the Charles River and entered Newton. This is also the beginning of the first of the 4 "Newton Hills". From 16.00 to 16.62 there is an uninterrupted 93 foot climb, followed by about a 20 foot drop to the 17 mile mark.

I have been training on the hills around Westborough. So, they are not intimidating when I am running them on a training run. I know that on race day it will be different as I will have already run 16 miles when I reach the Newton Hills. I have heard from some runners that even though Heartbreak Hill gets the notoriety, the climb over Rte. 128 is considered by some the toughest part of the whole race. I have to say it was tough even early in a leisurely run.

When I reached mile marker 17, I had just passed Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Newton-Wellesley Hospital is known for being one of the top bariatric surgery centers in the country. This is where you go to get your gastric bypass surgery for weight loss. I don’t think that anyone running Boston would need to stop there for that type of surgery. Here is what they say about themselves, “A comprehensive medical center located right in Newton on Washington Street, Newton-Wellesley Hospital provides the services and expertise of a major medical facility with the convenience and personal attention of a community hospital. The Hospital is committed to delivering high-quality, safe and efficient medical care to each and every patient.”

I continued on and after a hard right onto Commonwealth, the road flattened out for about 1/10 of a mile before beginning a short, but steep 64 foot climb that crested right at the 18 mile marker. This was the second of the Newton Hills. I almost didn’t feel it. What is unique about this section of the course is that it is the exact opposite of what most people think of when they hear the name Commonwealth Ave. This part Commonwealth is lined with trees and passes through a residential neighborhood. The houses are very nice and well maintained.

This section was a nice break as I was gradually rolling downhill (from 153 feet at 18.00 to 96 feet at 19.25) as I approached the mile 19 marker. When I passed the mile 19 marker, I knew I was headed for one of the nastier hills in Newton. I have heard that mile 19 is probably one of the two toughest miles of the course. After dropping about 30 feet for the first 1/4 mile, "Hill 3" begins at Walnut Street at 19.25. This hill is about 1/2 mile and climbs 64 feet, topping out at Cedar Street at 19.75. You then drop about 20 feet to "the wall" at 20.00.

I ran to Cedar Street and the base of Heartbreak Hill. I was tempted to run it just to see how bad it really is compared to its reputation. But, I decided to save it for another day. I turned and headed back to my car. The surprising thing was that I ran this 5 mile section in 44:19 (8:51 per mile pace). I felt really good at the turn around. I ended up finishing in a little over 88 minutes. It was a really nice run with warm weather and not a lot of traffic to deal with.

There is one more section to go. I am not sure when I will run it. But Dad, I will be sure to post the information when I do.

Here are my training totals for this week. :

Jan. 31 – 14.10 miles (2:15:59, 9:38 pace)
Feb. 2 – 6.00 miles (53:34, 8:55 pace)
Feb. 3 – 3.00 miles (22:37, 7:32 pace) – Speed work
Feb. 5 – 7.10 miles (1:04:07, 9:02 pace) – Tempo Run
Feb. 6 – 6.00 miles (55:04, 9:11 pace)

Feb. 7 – 10.10 miles (1:31:00, 9:00 pace)

Total Miles: 46.30 miles

2009 YTD Miles: 218.85 miles

My Secret Addiction

As I was looking back over my training totals for the week, it dawned on me that I have been writing this blog for almost 4 months. I went back and reread my entries and noticed that I have not really been talking about my training much at all. Instead I have been subjecting my followers to odd subjects and ramblings of a runner who apparently has a bit of Attention Deficit Disorder.

Today I am going to try and explain why I run. I just finished reading the book Dr. Sheehan on Running published in 1975. Although it is an old book, there were many things that still apply to running today. In fact, it is most likely what inspired me to get back to writing about my running.

I have been running since 1985 when I moved from Las Vegas to Watauga, Texas. I was trying to find something to do to relieve the stress of my job and to try and be healthier. There I was a 24 year old out running in the Texas heat. I have to say it was a bit meshuggah. But, it did relieve the stress and made me feel good.

It wasn’t until about 10 years later and I was living in Arkansas that I realized that I was becoming a bit fanatical about my running. I would go out in all kinds of weather and conditions and run. I remember going out for a long run after finding out that my friend Brent Moore had succumbed to colon cancer. I found myself running to deal with all kinds of emotions, stress, aches and pains. I figured running would make everything clearer and much better than when I headed out.

So here I am today a 47 year old middle of the pack recreational runner who wants to admit to the world that I am addicted to running. Dr. Sheehan wrote, “The addict is not escaping from reality but is trying to find himself. Runners are doing the same thing, but in a constructive, continually satisfying and maturing way.” Luckily for me I found an addiction that has a positive effect on my life rather than a detrimental one.

I guess there is no cure for this addiction. Besides, I am not sure I want to be cured. Alan Sillitoe wrote a book called The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. In it the main character Smith says, “Sometimes, I think I’ve never been as free as during that couple of hours when I am trotting up the path.” I can relate to how Smith feels. My running frees me from all constraints and it is just me, my heart, my lungs, my legs and nature. It makes me feel part of all that is around me and reinforces my obsession with running. Dr. Sheehan wrote, “The obsession with running is really an obsession with the potential for more and more life.” I run so that I can enjoy more and more life and continue to feed my secret addiction.

Here are my training totals for this week. :
Jan. 25 – 8.10 miles (1:15:08, 9:16 pace)
Jan. 26 – 6.00 miles (55:11, 9:12 pace)
Jan. 27 – 3.00 miles (22:48, 7:36 pace) – Speed work
Jan. 28 – 7.20 miles (1:09:02, 9:35 pace) – Light Snow
Jan. 29 – 7.20 miles (1:05:57, 9:10 pace) – Tempo Run

Jan. 30 – 8.00 miles (1:14:16, 9:17 pace)

Total Miles: 39.50 miles

2009 YTD Miles: 172.55 miles

Konley Thomas

Dr. Morris, Konley & Gonther at St. Judes

Yesterday, the world lost another beautiful soul to cancer. My sister Jody works at Pray-Woodman Elementary School in Maize, KS. She met a young student there named Konley Thomas. Unfortunately, Konley Thomas was diagnosed in 1999 with an anapestic ependymoma which is a brain tumor. The last eight years of Konley’s life have been filled with radiation treatments, check-ups, and trips to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN. At Konley’s last check-up in May 2008 the doctors discovered that Konley’s tumor had returned. This time it was inside the brainstem and on the right cerebellum. Things did not look promising.

According to my sister, the people at St. Jude’s were wonderful and did everything they could to try and reverse the prognosis. As you know, cancer is a tough disease to fight. In keeping up with Konley on the Caring Bridge website, I got the feeling that he stayed positive and really tried to fight his disease. Sadly, Konley lost his fight yesterday January 23, 2009. He was 10 years old.

It is unfathomable to understand why G-d decided to take Konley from us at such a young age. But, I believe that knowing that our days on Earth are numbered makes life that much more precious. It makes us value the time we have to spend with loved ones. It is also why when we lose someone so young it hurts even more. Rabbi Joshua Liebman wrote, “I often feel that death is not the enemy of life, but its friend, for it’s the knowledge that our years are limited makes them so precious.”

I believe that our soul leaves us and goes back to G-d where it is nurtured and saved until our family’s souls can join once again and be happy. I also believe that we obtain immortality through deeds of value performed in our lifetime. I know that even a life cut short like Konley’s has a profound impact on so many people outside of his family. He will be long remembered for how valiantly he fought this disease and his positive attitude throughout all of the treatments. While he will be sorely missed, his life will continue to influence those who knew him and be an inspiration to all.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital “is unlike any other pediatric treatment and research facility. Discoveries made here have completely changed how the world treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.” They did everything they could for Konley and continue to help other children like him. And most importantly, all patients accepted for treatment at St. Jude are treated without regard to the family's ability to pay.

As you know, I am running the Boston Marathon to support Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in hopes that through their research they will find cures for cancers like Konley’s. If you want to donate to Dana-Farber for my run that would be wonderful. But, I do encourage you to look at St. Jude as well. Perhaps researchers at one of these fine institutions will finally bring us to that day when there is no cancer left in this world.

I will have Konley’s name on my singlet as I run from Hopkinton to Boston along with the names of my family and friends I lost to this disease. I am sad that I never got to actually meet him. But, I feel like I know him after reading his story and his parent’s journal on the CaringBridge.org website. I know Konley is in a better place now and his pain free and happy.

Here are my training totals for this week. It was a big mileage week this week.:

Jan. 18 – 12.00 miles (1:50:17, 9:11 pace)
Jan. 19 – 6.00 miles (1:01:56, 10:19 pace) -- Snow
Jan. 20 – 3.00 miles (22:51, 7:37 pace) – Speed work
Jan. 22 – 7.10 miles (1:04:05, 9:02 pace) – Tempo Run
Jan. 23 – 6.20 miles (56:04, 9:01 pace)
Jan. 24 – 10.00 miles (1:33:11, 9:19 pace)

Total Miles: 44.30 miles
2009 YTD Miles: 133.05 miles