16 Miles and 1/3 of My Fundraising Goal

Yesterday’s run started out HARD. I forgot to take a Gu (my energy gel) before we started, and couldn’t figure out why the first hill before we even reached the 1-mile mark was SO hard. Then I remembered I hadn’t taken Gu but you need to wash it down with water and I didn’t have any, so I had to wait for the first water stop around Mile 2. After that, I felt much better.

When we started out, it was around 2o° with the wind chill. I was comfortable in my fancy new DFMC 2017 jacket – which we got yesterday before the run started so naturally everyone wore theirs to run – plus a tank top and long-sleeved based layer. But by mile 2, I stripped off my gloves and ear warmer and never put them back on again. The sun was strong and the sky was cloudless, and the winds had died down. They would pick back up later, but I never felt cold.

Advertisements

Running is Good for the Soul

I feel better when I run. Maybe not during runs and maybe not even the next day, but definitely for several hours afterward – I sleep better, I am more mentally focused, and I feel “recharged.” So when I tell you I’ve felt like total crap the last two weeks, it’s because I haven’t been running enough. Last week, I only ran 8 miles during the week (4 Monday and 4 Wednesday) and 12 on Saturday (12 was all the training plan called for). This week, I skipped my runs on Monday and Tuesday and only ran 5 last night. I’m praying I’ll be able to cover all 16 the training plan calls for tomorrow.

It’s been a vicious cycle that sadly is because of Rags. After his cardiology appointment two weeks ago, he began to decline despite the addition of Lasix. The vet suggested I up him from 2 doses of his meds to 3 doses per day for 2 of them. This meant a weekday schedule that looked something like:

• 6am – wake up, give him dose 1, take him for walk
• 7:30am – let him out to pee, then go to work
• 6:30pm – get home from work, give him dose 2, take him for a walk
• 8pm – let him out to pee
• 9pm – give him dose 3 (feeling like it’s too soon but we’re both falling asleep), take him for a walk
• 10:30pm – let him out to pee, attempt to go to sleep but now wired from being outside in the freezing cold at 10:30pm

$3,000 Raised, $7,000 To Go!

You guys have helped me raise more than $1,000 in just over two weeks! Some long overdue thank you posts are coming soon but in the meantime, THANK YOU ALL!

My First Real Run in Snow

Today was my first time truly running in fresh, messy snow. Our official DFMC Group Run was canceled because the route in Waltham and Lincoln is hilly and curvy with no sidewalks. So a bunch of us met at BC at 8:30am to run the carriageway (the side road that runs along the main road/actual Marathon course) of the Newton Hills. Because BC is 1.4 miles from my apartment, I ran there.

First, I had to put Target bags over my shoes because my neighborhood wasn’t shoveled yet, and I didn’t want my feet to be soaked before I even started running. I also wore my reflective vest because there were 3 inches of fresh snow, and people have been driving like jerks lately. I threw the bags into the trash as soon as I got onto the main road, but I splashed in some slush pretty soon after. Once I crossed Chestnut Hill Ave, I started to regret running there and not just taking the T or an Uber. The sidewalks were a mess. Then, I saw a plow coming toward me. It was on the main road and I was on the sidewalk, but I could see that it was sending huge plumes of dirty snow onto the sidewalk up ahead. I waved my arms over my head like a fool – realizing there was NOWHERE for me to go to avoid getting covered in the dirty snow from the plow. Thankfully, they noticed me, and slowed down to let me pass before they picked back up again. Crisis averted.

Snow, Snow, Go Away

Anyone who knows me, knows I love snow. I always have. Winter 2015 took its toll on everyone eventually, but it took a while for me to get sick of it. I’ll be honest – I love working from home so the fact that Boston’s transportation system comes to a screeching halt any time it snows is actually A-OK with me.

Rags also loves the snow, despite doing most of his “growing up” in Florida. He won’t walk in snow without his dumb boots, but since I always remember to put those on, he’s happy as a clam and never wants to come in from the snow.

However, I keep hearing horror stories from my DFMC teammates about training for the 2015 Boston Marathon in snow banks taller than them. I guess there was one 4-mile stretch between Boston College and Newton that they would run every weekend because it was safe, sometimes for their 20+ mile runs. Um, no thank you!

Sugar-Free for 10 Weeks

Let me preface this by saying: I WILL STILL BAKE. Rags’ cardiology appointment for my dog threw a wrench into my plans for baking this past weekend, but it will get done this coming weekend and I will be mailing cookies to everyone who donated, as promised.

So the title is misleading. I am not giving up sugar, but rather added sugar and not even really all added sugars. Once upon a time, I gave up candy, sweets, chocolate and ice cream for Lent. I was in college, thin and healthy to begin with, and lost so much weight that my pants were falling off me. It was amazing and gross at the same time, but not sustainable.

As I’ve increased my running, I have received compliments from people I don’t see every day saying that I look thinner. My clothes do seem to fit better and my legs look insane when I’m stretching – and I thought my quads were permanently tight but actually they are just newly ripped.

However, the scale has barely budged and my gut hasn’t shrunk a bit. I have a sweets problem, and I know it.

So I decided to give up candy, sweets, chocolate (except for 85%+ cacao) and ice cream

15 (Brutal) Miles

As I type this, I am lying in my bed fighting sleep with the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy on while waiting for my takeout order to arrive. I am also icing the back of my left knee and hamstring, wishing I also had some ice for the soles of my feet. My feet felt fine on the run – I think they’re just sore now. My hamstring also felt mostly OK for the run, but I always ice it afterward.

I am so proud I ran 15 miles this morning – my new farthest run but actually not my longest. Last weekend’s 14 miles took 2:46:03 because I was doing a 3-minute run/1-minute walk interval. Today’s 15 miles took me 2:45:01 because I was running almost the entire time, but my new running buddy, Jackie, and I needed to walk a few times during the last 5 miles.

 

Jackie and I somehow still smiling at Mile 12 – this will be her third Boston with DFMC! Our amazing water stop volunteers must have been SO much colder than us and I am SO grateful for them.