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!