The lottery system has failed me, so I won't be visiting the five boroughs in November.
Looking for alternatives. Late fall, east coast. Suggestions?
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Post-Marathon: Volunteer Edition
Due to a desire to give my friends, family, and so on a fundraising break, along with the need for me to get my legs - especially my ankles - back to 100%, I decided to take this year off from DFMC. It wasn't something I necessarily wanted to do, but I knew that it was ultimately for the best. It turned out to be a wise decision, as I was waylaid with respiratory infections more or less from New Year's Day to the present.
That did not, however, prevent me from being involved. I decided the least I could do was volunteer, and that is how I spent this past weekend. On Sunday, I hung out at the Copley Marriott, where I was on the runner check-in desk. It was a pretty enlightening experience, being on the other side of the table from the runners. Seeing that so many people have the same concerns and emotions that I had last year is comforting, in a sort of strange, retroactive way. Getting to know the people behind the scenes a bit was also nice. It's amazing how hard they work to make everything (and everyone) run smoothly.
On Monday, I was out at the DFMC Cheering Station at mile 17. Unfortunately, thanks to the T, I arrived just a bit too late to see the elite runners. Undoubtedly, their record pace didn't help matters much on that regard. At any rate, when I got to mile 17, runners with three digit bib numbers were effortlessly passing by. It was amazing to see, up close, people who make one of the hardest athletic challenges look so easy. I was at Mile 17, cheering, clapping, and whistling for the better part of four hours, starting from those top tier runners and going all the way through my kind of people - the people chugging and slogging and grinding through those tough Newton miles. The wide range of runners really made me appreciate the marathon on a deeper level. Seeing so many people working as hard as they can, seeing others dejected, like I was, after getting hurt at some point in the race, but still pushing toward the finish at whatever pace they can manage... it's all very inspiring.
---
Some highlights of the crazy things that ran by us (sadly, no photos, as I forgot the camera). All of these were actually officially registered runners.
*A man in a gorilla suit. I high-fived him as he ran by. His gorilla gloves were soaking wet. Gross. Then again, he was pacing at about 3:30, so he probably should have been that sweaty.
*Less than ten minutes later - a man in a monkey suit. He was not nearly as sweaty.
*A guy running barefoot. Crazy.
*Double crazy - a man wearing nothing but a loincloth and a caveman wig. Barefoot, bare-assed. Yes, seriously.
*A woman dressed as a sailor. Like, Popeye-esque sailor.
*A man juggling as he ran. Pretty sure he was on pace for a sub 4 marathon.
*A guy dressed head-to-toe as Napoleon. Carrying a French flag.
*One guy dressed as Robin. And another guy dressed as Batgirl.
*A Korean man whose gimmick seemed to be stopping with entirely random people along the way to take photos with bewildered fans.
*A guy dressed as Jackie Moon, the character played by Will Ferrell in the movie Semi-Pro. Don't think he was an official runner, but he was a dead ringer for the real thing.
That's about all I can remember. It was a great great day, and it makes me anxious to even think about the prospect of running NYC in November or Boston again next year. Congratulations to those of you who fought hard and finished this year!
That did not, however, prevent me from being involved. I decided the least I could do was volunteer, and that is how I spent this past weekend. On Sunday, I hung out at the Copley Marriott, where I was on the runner check-in desk. It was a pretty enlightening experience, being on the other side of the table from the runners. Seeing that so many people have the same concerns and emotions that I had last year is comforting, in a sort of strange, retroactive way. Getting to know the people behind the scenes a bit was also nice. It's amazing how hard they work to make everything (and everyone) run smoothly.
On Monday, I was out at the DFMC Cheering Station at mile 17. Unfortunately, thanks to the T, I arrived just a bit too late to see the elite runners. Undoubtedly, their record pace didn't help matters much on that regard. At any rate, when I got to mile 17, runners with three digit bib numbers were effortlessly passing by. It was amazing to see, up close, people who make one of the hardest athletic challenges look so easy. I was at Mile 17, cheering, clapping, and whistling for the better part of four hours, starting from those top tier runners and going all the way through my kind of people - the people chugging and slogging and grinding through those tough Newton miles. The wide range of runners really made me appreciate the marathon on a deeper level. Seeing so many people working as hard as they can, seeing others dejected, like I was, after getting hurt at some point in the race, but still pushing toward the finish at whatever pace they can manage... it's all very inspiring.
---
Some highlights of the crazy things that ran by us (sadly, no photos, as I forgot the camera). All of these were actually officially registered runners.
*A man in a gorilla suit. I high-fived him as he ran by. His gorilla gloves were soaking wet. Gross. Then again, he was pacing at about 3:30, so he probably should have been that sweaty.
*Less than ten minutes later - a man in a monkey suit. He was not nearly as sweaty.
*A guy running barefoot. Crazy.
*Double crazy - a man wearing nothing but a loincloth and a caveman wig. Barefoot, bare-assed. Yes, seriously.
*A woman dressed as a sailor. Like, Popeye-esque sailor.
*A man juggling as he ran. Pretty sure he was on pace for a sub 4 marathon.
*A guy dressed head-to-toe as Napoleon. Carrying a French flag.
*One guy dressed as Robin. And another guy dressed as Batgirl.
*A Korean man whose gimmick seemed to be stopping with entirely random people along the way to take photos with bewildered fans.
*A guy dressed as Jackie Moon, the character played by Will Ferrell in the movie Semi-Pro. Don't think he was an official runner, but he was a dead ringer for the real thing.
That's about all I can remember. It was a great great day, and it makes me anxious to even think about the prospect of running NYC in November or Boston again next year. Congratulations to those of you who fought hard and finished this year!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
DFMC volunteer, at your service
Though I am not running with the Dana-Farber team this year, I will be volunteering. On Sunday, I will be at Runner Check-In, from 1:30 to 5:30. If you're planning on checking in on Sunday, come by and say hello!
On the big day itself, I'll be hanging out at Mile 17, at the cheering station in Newton. I will be there from 11am-3pm. Curiously, this is damn close to where my calf strain reduced me from a hearty jog to a walk last year... But I digress. When you come for your magic envelope, I'll be there, and I'll be loudly cheering.
See you this weekend!
On the big day itself, I'll be hanging out at Mile 17, at the cheering station in Newton. I will be there from 11am-3pm. Curiously, this is damn close to where my calf strain reduced me from a hearty jog to a walk last year... But I digress. When you come for your magic envelope, I'll be there, and I'll be loudly cheering.
See you this weekend!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A modest set of goals for 2011
I have one main goal for 2011: get my fast back.
I lost it somewhere between graduating high school (almost 5 years ago... good God) and now. I was never the fastest at anything, by any means, but through injury and lack of dedication, I've lost at least a step, if not two or three. I'm not expecting to run 23 second 200s again. I'll settle for anything in the 24s. I'm not quite as resilient at almost 23 as I was at 18.
Reasonably attainable goals (at least I think they're reasonably attainable):
12.xx 100m
24.xx 200m
60.xx 400m
Sub-7 mile at Derby Street
Sub-25 5K
Sub-40 Turkey Trot
2:29:59 or better Half
List could be amended throughout the year, notably if I get picked to run NYC. Or if I manage to get dreadfully injured.
But no, fuck that. That's not happening.
If any of you have any tips, tricks, or workout ideas, leave them in the comments. I'd greatly appreciate it.
Let the renaissance of fast begin.
I lost it somewhere between graduating high school (almost 5 years ago... good God) and now. I was never the fastest at anything, by any means, but through injury and lack of dedication, I've lost at least a step, if not two or three. I'm not expecting to run 23 second 200s again. I'll settle for anything in the 24s. I'm not quite as resilient at almost 23 as I was at 18.
Reasonably attainable goals (at least I think they're reasonably attainable):
12.xx 100m
24.xx 200m
60.xx 400m
Sub-7 mile at Derby Street
Sub-25 5K
Sub-40 Turkey Trot
2:29:59 or better Half
List could be amended throughout the year, notably if I get picked to run NYC. Or if I manage to get dreadfully injured.
But no, fuck that. That's not happening.
If any of you have any tips, tricks, or workout ideas, leave them in the comments. I'd greatly appreciate it.
Let the renaissance of fast begin.
Monday, November 8, 2010
To infinity and beyond?
Lame news up front - no DFMC for me in 2011. I've been injured too often in the back half of 2010, I need to spend the winter in the pool, rebuilding myself from the ground up. I may volunteer on the big day, though.
I am, however, hoping to add another big race to my resume in 2011. Inspired by the brilliant performances in yesterday's NYC Marathon, I'm going to throw my name into the lottery for a spot in the 2011 five-borough affair. With a half marathon here in Salem at the end of September and a training period that I can spend almost entirely outdoors, I'm really excited at the prospect of putting a much more thorough marathon effort together than I managed over last winter.
One last note. DFMC raised $4,556,954.60 this year. $6,485 was my final tally. Congratulations and thank you to every single runner and donor. What we accomplished this year was simply phenomenal. Cheers!
I am, however, hoping to add another big race to my resume in 2011. Inspired by the brilliant performances in yesterday's NYC Marathon, I'm going to throw my name into the lottery for a spot in the 2011 five-borough affair. With a half marathon here in Salem at the end of September and a training period that I can spend almost entirely outdoors, I'm really excited at the prospect of putting a much more thorough marathon effort together than I managed over last winter.
One last note. DFMC raised $4,556,954.60 this year. $6,485 was my final tally. Congratulations and thank you to every single runner and donor. What we accomplished this year was simply phenomenal. Cheers!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
A Brief Thank You
I just want to thank all of you who have read this blog over the DFMC season. Thanks for all your support!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
If you fall off the horse...
...you must of course get back on. That is what has always been said. They never got around to saying what to do if the horse throws you off, though.
If running is the horse, the marathon certainly threw me off.
After two months off, I woke up on the morning of June 20th to participate in the first ever NSMC Cancer Run - a 5K held after the NSMC Cancer Walk. Unfortunately, I was hardly awake 15 minutes before realizing that I felt like death. I spent a considerable amount of time in the bathroom, then a considerable amount of time in the kitchen, and eventually, my stomach was quieted enough that I felt I could at least soldier through it. It was Father's Day after all.
I drove down to the area in which the race was starting (and finishing), and got a pretty good parking space. It was warm, so I didn't do much more than light stretching. I felt pretty bad - probably the worst I've felt on a race day ever.
We got underway at 11am, and once we got moving, I felt a bit better. However, while my stomach felt less awful, the rust on my legs and in my lungs made its presence known. I ran an absolutely lurid 33:xx, on a particularly easy course. I know I shouldn't get down on myself considering the circumstances, but I can't help it. I feel that, if I really focused and worked at it, I could get my 5K time down into the low 20s. Time now to get back to regular running...
I finally replaced my trusty red and white Asics 2140s, the shoes which I wore during my training for and running of the Boston Marathon. They treated me well. Their replacements? Blue, white and black Asics 2150s. They were straight up blue and white when I bought them, a color scheme I wasn't really a fan of, but it was the only choice available in my width. I replaced the white laces with black ones, and now they look snazzy. Though, looking at them now, I see I need to re-lace them, because they aren't the same as my old shoes. But I digress. My only complaint, at least so far, is that the cushioning in the heel isn't as good as it was in the 2140. I hope it's just a matter of the shoe needing to adjust to my foot, but I'm worried that I'll have to invest, for the first time, in new insoles. Not something I want to have to experiment with...
Upcoming races... A 5K to benefit Salem High Track and Field on July 25th. First week of August, Heritage Days 5K and Yankee Homecoming 5K. Derby Street Mile, August 20th, Salem. Considering going to some of the Lynn Woods races, if I can coerce some people to come along. They go off every Wednesday, so I should get to a few of them...
I think that's about it for this running update. More news as it happens.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
