Three Weeks and Counting!

In retrospect, the training period has disappeared into the mists much more quickly than it seemed it would 15 long weeks ago. Three weeks from today all of the training, the taper, and the race itself will be history. Hard to believe!

Saturday I did my last ‘long run,’ a 20 mile power walk, and at a pace that very much pleased me. Best of all, although I was understandably tired at the end, I felt quite good. Now the daily and weekly miles will diminish until that magic day, April 18, in Hopkinton. My body will have a chance to heal if it needs to do so, I doubtless will be a little more relaxed since I don’t have to look forward to hours at a time on the pavement, and I can turn my attention to being sure that I have everything I need to take with me to Boston. The bib pick-up card and information arrived in the mail last week, a sure sign that the race is getting close.

Weather has been a continuing challenge this year. A week ago, for the first time all year, I was out in garb close to what I hope to wear for Boston – shorts, a tech shirt (long-sleeved, although a short-sleeved one would have sufficed), and my visor. Didn’t need the tights both top and bottom, a headband to keep my ears warm, gloves, or a light jacket that have been almost constant necessities on virtually every other training run this year. Not with temperatures in the high 50’s. But Saturday (26^th), for the 20-miler, it was back to full winter gear to cope with temperatures in the low to mid 20’s for most of the session with a wind that at times was quite brisk. I guess the good news is that, if Boston weather is really nasty, it won’t be the first time I have had to cope with it!

That’s the good news. But March 4 brought news that is a real bummer. Kenzie that day, after a couple of months of seeing a doctor, doing physiotherapy, and trying to do whatever she could to overcome continuing pain in her ankle, was put in a ‘boot’ for a stress fracture in the ankle. She has provided much more information on her blog at http://kenziesheadedforbostontoo.blogspot.com/ What that means, of course, is that we will not be side by side for 26.2 miles – a tremendous disappointment to both of us, as she won’t be able to do the marathon. My long run the next day was one of the most difficult that I have done; I hadn’t realized just how important the mental component is in long distance running, and of course I couldn’t shake the disappointment of the previous day. Not that the disappointment has diminished now, but I have overcome that initial shock and now look forward to whatever we are able to do together as Dana-Farber teammates. She (and Steve) will be in Boston, pick up her bib, visit the runners’ expo, check in as a Dana-Farber Team member, attend the pasta party on Sunday, and, I hope, be able to ride the busses to join the Team before the race at the parish house in Hopkinton and be there for the Team photo. Then she will meet up with Steve and Jule to watch me on the course a few times. Her goal now (and all is subject to how quickly she heals) is to be able to run me in the last mile or so. If that doesn’t work, we will figure out something else for the end of the marathon so she will have a chance to experience at least some of the tremendous thrills and excitement of the event.

To her credit, Kenzie hasn’t slacked off at all on her efforts to raise funds for the Barr Program for Innovative Cancer Research. As she says, her ankle will heal, but those battling cancer don’t always have the same certitude. She started out on this adventure to support what she considered to be a very important cause, and that hasn’t changed. What has changed are some of the personal things that we were both looking forward to experiencing, but in the larger scheme of life those are of very minor importance. We will still have experiences that we will remember for years to come, and I suspect that there will be some unexpected surprises of one kind or another along the way too.

We are both working to garner a lot more support, as our fundraising efforts have not been nearly as fruitful as we had hoped, and expected. Three weeks to go, and we will be putting on a push to generate contributions. It is easily done on the web on our joint site at http://www.runDFMC.org/2011/cameron If you haven’t already done so, won’t you please consider supporting our efforts to help those who really need to be able to benefit from the results of research supported by the Barr Program? What the D-F Marathon Challenge Team does really does make a difference, one of which we all can be proud. Thanks so much!

Just Six Weeks from Today!

Where has the time gone? As I write this, six weeks from today I should have the finish line in sight with only a few hundred yards more to go as I move down Boylston Street with an unbelievable mix of emotions swirling within. But between now and then, there remain just about 200 miles of training, and the Marathon, before I can experience that thrill.

Last Thursday, Tara Murray, a local runner, Boston veteran, and regular participant on the local Centre Volunteers in Medicine team that annually raises funds for a clinic to help those who cannot afford needed medical care (all team members are Boston qualifiers; each year there are twenty or more running in Boston), wrote a nice column in the local paper. She described the adjustments being made by those CVIM runners who were shut out as a result of the quick closing of Boston applications this year. These community-minded folks simply added two other spring marathons scheduled for about the same time as Boston as events where those who missed Boston will run in support of the clinic. Tara also generously included a couple of paragraphs on my participation on the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team. You can read her column at http://www.centredaily.com/2011/03/03/2557074/boston-closing-puts-runners-on.html

That pampered rodent over in Punxsutawney, Phil, didn’t see his shadow this year (one of the relatively few times that has happened; guess not enough photographers with flash bulbs turned out this year on a nasty weather day!), so the word is that we will have an early spring. In general, he seems to have been right. We had a few days up into the low 60’s last month, but then a return to more normal temperatures with a few pretty cold overnights mixed in. Several days had very strong winds as well – so strong that, for brief periods, it was actually difficult to make forward progress into the teeth of the wind as I chugged along the edge of the road. A couple of times the Gatorade I carry with me on training runs has turned to slush because of the cold. But those days should be behind us by now. Training hasn’t been interrupted or missed yet because of weather, and I have been outside each day rather than having to resort to a treadmill or indoor track. It hasn't always been easy. Fortunately today is a ‘day off,’ as we had 10” of fresh, heavy snow yesterday afternoon and evening. With bright sun today, and warming temperatures, a lot of it is melting, and I expect that by tomorrow this latest storm won’t have left any problem areas on my usual training routes.

I splurged at Christmas and bought a Garmin Forerunner 405. Among its many advantages is that I can, if I want, strike out in any direction and don’t have to try to measure distances after I finish a session. Everything is all nicely recorded for me – distance, time, and pace (which is calculated automatically). While I have tended to stay more or less on my usual routes (in large part because there are few major roads I have to cross so am not delayed by lights and traffic), I have explored a few new hills and loops. Happy Valley (as our area is known) has lots of hills anyway, so it is a great area to train for a Boston kind of a course, and I figure a few more won’t hurt. Even with some additional terrain challenges, I am still maintaining a pace that varies from nicely below 12:00/mile to, on a slow day, maybe 20 or so seconds/mile above that pace.

State College has a strong and active running community, so I usually see a reasonable number of others out putting in their miles. As a University town, of course there are also many students who jog around our neighborhoods. Must admit that I would love to know the thoughts behind some of the faces of some of the ‘kids’ I see. They seem to take in stride the fact that someone 50 years (or more) older than they are can still get out and enjoy power walking as much as they enjoy their runs, but occasionally their looks are a bit quizzical.

But that’s the training end of things. Not a whole lot that is exciting, but it is rewarding and, most days, quite enjoyable too. My ‘long run’ so far has been 16 miles (and I realized at the end of that one that I still need lots of additional training to be ready for 26.2, even though my pace was among the best long run paces I have recorded). I am one of those lucky persons who doesn’t have to worry much about weight. Even so, I have dropped a few pounds since I began training in earnest. Actually I am today at my playing weight when I was on the intercollegiate volleyball team as an undergraduate – a little over 50 years ago. Not too shabby!

The fundraising has been slower this year than last. While Kenzie and I do not plan to reduce our goal for ‘Team Cameron,’ we do need your help to reach it. You can donate through our Dana-Farber joint web site at http://www.runDFMC.org/2011/cameron/ Please do so. Every contribution is not only greatly appreciated, but also much needed to assure the continuation of the innovative basic research that very bright and creative scientists are pursuing in their quest to get us to the ultimate goal, a world without cancer.

Until I post again, enjoy each day. Life is too short not to make the most of all of our opportunities, and there are so many good things that we can do. Cheers!

I Know I’m Training Now!

This begins the eighth week (of 18) of my training program leading up to Boston. Last year I was concerned about training through the winter for a spring marathon, as the others I had done were either in the fall, or much later in the spring. It turned out not to be all that bad. As I recall, I shifted one long run ahead by a day to beat a forecast snow storm, and only one day was cold enough that I added a fleece to my normal tight top and long-sleeved tech shirt. This year has been a little different!

We were in Chicago for Christmas with our daughter and her husband. Kenzie and I were out for a couple of short sessions on the sidewalks of the city before Christmas, then the day after Christmas we had a 7 mile run scheduled. She has joined CARA (Chicago Area Runners’ Association), and we met our group along the lakeshore first thing Sunday morning – with fresh ankle deep snow on the ground, and maybe as much as half of our route cleared of snow. Add to that a nice brisk temperature and a stiff wind off the Lake, and we had an invigorating workout. I was smart enough to add a jacket to my normal apparel for that one. Unfortunately, my socks slipped down and my shoes rubbed nasty blisters on each heel – without me being aware of it – and that shut me down for the next week or so. But we did enjoy the run.

Back in State College, I think I have been out without my jacket only once in the last month. Most days have been nice, if cold, and there have been only a few days where we gained up to 2” of new snow during the time I was out. I happen to like the cold, but a start temperature of 1^o, and a finish over two hours later of 6^o, is about as cold as I hope to have to contend with. Today was ‘washed out’ because of freezing rain that made footing simply too treacherous, and tomorrow I will have to stay indoors as we expect up to 1” of freezing rain overnight. Maybe I should switch to ice hockey – every outdoor surface should be suitable as a rink substitute!

I know that conditions will get better, and doubtless before the marathon I will be unhappy with some very hot early mornings. There is variety. The good news, for me at least, is that my times are dropping back to a little under a 12:00 minute/mile pace from times quite a bit higher than that early on. I hadn’t done a lot of power walking during the fall, and it showed. At my age, and as a walker, I am happy to be able to do even the long runs now in not too much over 12 minutes. Throw in the fact that conditions have been far from ideal most days, and things are going well. On top of it all, I feel good at the end of the long runs, so the training is showing. Of course, it gets only more intense with each week from here on.

Kenzie and I are gearing up our fund-raising efforts, but we still have a long way to go to meet our ‘Team Cameron’ goal of $18,000. I invite you to consider supporting our efforts. You can make a donation on line at http://www.runDFMC.org/2011/cameron/ Each of us is participating this year in honor and in memory of people who are special to us. I believe that everyone, without having to stop and think too hard, knows one or more special persons who also have been challenged by cancer. Fortunately, as a result of previous research, many of us (myself included) have survived cancer, but we all know too many who are actively fighting the disease or who have lost the battle. The Barr Program at Dana-Farber provides critically needed funds to support innovative basic research by some of the best and brightest minds out there today. Their efforts continue to bring breakthroughs in identification and treatment of various cancers, and take us one step closer to a World Without Cancer. Won’t you help us help them? Not only will ‘Team Cameron’ appreciate your support, but those who, in future years, benefit from the results of the research that is funded by Dana-Farber Barr Program support also will have a very personal appreciation of your contribution.

I look forward to continuing to train, to seeing the personal results of that training as I feel more and more prepared for the marathon with each passing week, but most importantly, I take deep satisfaction from the contribution the Team will make to the larger battle.

Cheers!

Boston Marathon 2011!

Welcome back to my blog!

It is hard to believe that it is more than eight months since I completed my first Boston Marathon. Yes, the first. Cancer is still far too common a disease. I am fortunate still to have good health and enough energy, so I decided to apply to Dana-Farber again for a Marathon bib for the 2011 race. As I said in my January 18, 2010, blog, I realize just how important it is to help to provide funds for innovative basic research that will take us steps along the way to reaching a world without cancer. There are many steps yet to be taken, and I want to continue to do what I can to help.

This year’s Boston Marathon will have an extra special personal thrill for me. Our daughter, Kenzie, will be jogging beside me every step of the way this time! She didn’t know that I had applied for this year, but when she found out that I had been accepted again to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team, she immediately submitted her own application. You can read more details in her blog at http://kenziesheadedforbostontoo.blogspot.com/ The first marathon either one of us did, we did together in 2005 in Chicago. Kenzie registered us, and then told me! I have done three more since then (Twin Cities in Minneapolis-St. Paul, 2008; Ottawa, 2009; and Boston, 2010). Throw in the magic of Boston, and our cooperative efforts on behalf of Dana-Farber will be another very special experience we share.

Cancer has a way of becoming very personal. Last year, one of those I honored was our neighbor, David, who was in a very challenging battle with glioblastoma. After a valiant battle that lasted a year and a half, David passed away just before Christmas. It will be with a heavy heart that I will have his photo on my singlet again this year in memory of his struggle, and with the hope and prayer that research will, sooner rather than later, find answers to combat this deadly form of cancer.

Once again, I am pleased to be participating in honor of a teenage grand-niece, Angela, now a freshman in College, and in remission for more than three years following her battle with lymphoma. As I said last year, she is an inspiration to others with her attitude and outlook, and keenly recognizes, as do we all, how fortunate she is that medical advances have helped her to reclaim her life.

Two other special family members, Dale and Norma (my wife’s cousin and his spouse), are also survivors whom I am honoring. Norma is a breast cancer survivor, and Dale is still battling but recovering from lymphoma.

These four individuals are represent many more relatives, friends, and colleagues who have been stricken. As a cancer survivor myself, I appreciate the challenges this dread disease can bring. At the same time I am very much aware of the tremendous strides that have been made over the years to understand causes and to develop treatments that eliminate continuing development of some forms of the disease. There is much yet to be done, and a great need for financial support – far beyond what the public purse chooses to afford – to discover new and better ways of combating cancer. That is why I have embarked on an 18 week training period that will culminate in 26.2 miles on the road from Hopkinton to Boston on April 18 – just a little over three months from now.

Kenzie and I have a joint web page for our fundraising this year. Our goal is to obtain at least $18,000 to support the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research. You should know that every cent raised goes directly to the support of research – no administrative or fundraising charges are deducted from what we raise. I ask you to consider supporting our efforts as we put in the miles of training. Contributions can be made on line at the ‘Team Cameron’ DFMC web site that you will find at http://www.runDFMC.org/2011/cameron Your support, no matter what the level, will take us one more step along the way towards a world without cancer. Please do what you can to help us help others. I can’t think of a better way to reach out and make it count.