One-third of the way there!

I am happy to announce that I am 1/3 of the way to my goal of raising $10,280 for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge! I am so grateful to everyone who has helped me get this far: Thank you!!

My daughters ran more than 5 kids' races in 2013 with our running club, DSE Runners, so they each received a trophy at this Sunday's race. They were more excited than they look in this photo (taken after they had scootered the Rainbow Falls 5K)!

The Boston Marathon is 12 weeks away. I have been running 6 days a week and am feeling good. This weekend is the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon in San Francisco. 

It might be raining, but due to the drought I will welcome the rain, even though it might make for an uncomfortable 2 hours of running!

Today's Tribute: Verna Wefald

Verna Wefald

October 5, 1964 - August 30, 2010


 

I met Verna at our neighborhood park, when her daughter Maya was not quite 3 years old and her son Miguel was in 5th grade. Our girls would play together at the park, and we would chat and enjoy the sunshine. What struck me about Verna was her calmness. She always had a relaxed smile, and just emanated a positive vibe that said "everything will be ok".  Even though she appeared quiet, Verna was a force to be reckoned with! She had found out about her breast cancer in 2006, just a few days before giving birth to Maya. She endured her initial cancer treatment, stayed focused on being a great mom to her newborn daughter and her son, and became an advocate for others with cancer. In 2007, she organized a dance fundraiser for the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic, raising $3000 to help provide cancer treatment services to low income women. She climbed Half Dome in Yosemite National Forest three months later with the Bay Area Young Survivors, a group of women who'd been diagnosed with cancer under the age of 45. 

Verna and her husband, Steve (who grew up in CT and ran the Boston Marathon as a college student)

Unfortunately, in September 2009 Verna learned that her cancer had returned. She remained positive, dedicating herself to her family and focusing on beating cancer a second time. When it became clear that the battle could not be won, she spent her last months writing letters to her children, so that on every holiday, birthday, and other life events in their future, they will feel her love and know how proud of them she is. 

Verna died on August 30, 2010, at the age of 45. When I see her children, Maya and Miguel, her eyes and her smile shine through, and I know she lives on in the hearts of those who knew her.

Verna with Miguel, Maya and puppy Gigi

If you knew Verna and would like to leave a remembrance of her, we welcome your Comments below.

DFMC teammates meetup!

Today I had the pleasure of meeting one of my teammates on the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team. Lynda is from Southern California but was up in the Bay Area this weekend, so she contacted me by e-mail a few days ago and we arranged to meet this afternoon. It was great to connect and we are hoping to get together next time she is in the area. Good luck at the Huntington Beach Half Marathon next weekend, Lynda!

I am now an official entrant in the 2014 Boston Marathon

On Thursday I received the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge training shirt, and on Friday my B.A.A. Confirmation of Acceptance came! The processing takes a little while, so even though my DFMC team acceptance occurred in October, I was not officially registered with the B.A.A. until they processed my paperwork. So now it's official!

Race #94: Hot Chocolate 15K - January 12, 2014

I wore the boot during all my waking hours from Thursday, December 26, 2013 until Tuesday, January 7, 2014. After that I wore it intermittently and wore my Hokas the rest of the time. My foot was still strangely bruised but felt ok on Friday, January 10, so I did a short (just under 3-mile) jog that afternoon, and felt good enough to do 5 miles on Saturday, so I picked up my Hot Chocolate race packet on Saturday and decided to go for the 15K on Sunday morning.

Edward dropped me off just outside Golden Gate Park; it was chilly and overcast. The race was well organized; there were plenty of porta-potties, and the 5K and 15K were staggered enough that it didn't feel crowded. The line to check gear was a bit long, but they were pretty efficient getting people's stuff in. After dropping off my sweats, I headed to the start.

My start corral was right up front, because I had registered with an estimated time of 8:30 per mile, which, at the time I registered, was feasible based on my recent 9-mile DSE race. However, 2 weeks with no running changes everything, so I decided to take it easy and jog the race at a comfortable pace. Usually my training runs are anywhere from 9:20-9:50 per mile, so that's where I planned to be for the whole race.

Since I wasn't racing, I also brought my phone to take photos along the way, which I've never done before.

As you can see from the course map, we started out in Golden Gate Park. There were lots of trees, the morning was overcast, and the park looked especially green. With the crowd's great energy, the early miles were quite enjoyable.

When we reached the Great Highway, at the beginning of Mile 4, the sun was shining and the ocean looked magnificent! We were running on the actual road, not just the path next to the road, so the runners in the southbound lanes could see the leaders in the northbound lanes.

One of my assistants at work lives a couple of blocks from the Great Highway, so I was looking for her along the way, but there were so many runners and a fair number of spectators, so I figured our chances of seeing each other were slim. (It turns out that she did see me, but I did not see her! Sorry, Bridgit! I would have loved the energy boost of your smiling face!)

My left quad was a bit sore by the time I hit the 10k mark, but I didn't feel really tired until miles 8 & 9. Looking at the elevation map afterwards, now I know why!! I remember on my first half, the Kaiser Half Marathon, in February 2009, the last 2 miles were killers and it was pretty much the same as the home stretch of this race. My legs felt like lead!!

 

I was so happy to have my phone to photograph the grazing bison - I mean, how often do you get to see BISON during a race?? By then I was pretty tired, so I actually stopped for a few seconds to take a breath and make sure I got a good photo (instead of the blurry, clicking-while-running shots!).

The 8-mile mark was shortly thereafter, and by then my legs were really tired. My paces for Miles 1-7 had all been around 9:15-9:30 per mile, but on Mile 8 my pace was 10:18, and then it slowed even further, to 10:50 on Mile 9. Thankfully, the last 3-tenths of a mile were slightly downhill, so I squeaked in under the 1:30 mark (1:29:55 was my official time - phew!!). A far cry from the 1:19 I was aiming for when I registered, but considering the injury and the 2-week hiatus, I can't complain. I went out there really just to enjoy the beautiful day (and to be able to wear the gorgeous Hot Chocolate hoodie)! I was happy to be greeted by a colleague and former co-worker at the finish line. After catching up with him and his wife, I headed over to collect the finisher's mug, featuring a delectable assortment of treats, including hot chocolate (of course), and a marshmallow, banana, Rice Krispie treat and pretzels to dip in chocolate fondue. I met a nice couple who'd flown up from LA for the race, who were kind enough to take this post-race photo. We chatted for a bit, enjoying the gorgeous, sunny day, before I headed back outside the park to meet up with Edward and the girls, who had run a DSE race across town. My quads have been a bit sore since, but the foot feels pretty good, so in all I am pretty happy with how things are going.

Today's Tribute: Richard C. Roberts

Although we both grew up in eastern Massachusetts, I didn’t meet Rich until August of 2006, just one month after he and his wife, Michelle, had traveled to China to adopt their daughter, Lucy. Rich and I had a lot in common: in addition to being “New Englandahs” and having adopted our daughters from China, we were both extroverts, had both been into swing dancing during graduate school (he at UC Berkeley, myself at UC Davis), and we had both become inadvertent family documentarians through writing blogs during our adoption journeys. Even though our families only got together occasionally, it was easy to get to know Rich because of his friendly, gregarious nature. His smile could put anyone at ease. 

Despite being diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in January 2007, Rich maintained his sunny disposition throughout the initial surgeries. Even after the cancer returned and he underwent further surgery and radiation treatment, he fought on, chronicling his efforts in a blog (richfights.blogspot.com) with both humor and candor. Sadly, the melanoma metastasized to Rich’s brain, and continued to spread to other organs despite a rollercoaster of radiation, chemotherapy, immunomodulatory drugs, and investigational medications. After a 27-month battle, at just 38 years old, Rich passed away at home on April 23, 2009. It was the nine-year anniversary of his first date with Michelle, and six months shy of Lucy’s 4^th birthday. A larger hole was never left in a family or community.

When I first decided to apply to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team, I knew I wanted to run in Rich’s memory. Dana-Farber is on the cutting edge of research for new treatment options for melanoma. I know that the funds I raise as a DFMC team member will forward their mission to find a cure, to prevent other families from suffering the pain of losing a son, a husband, a father, or a brother.  I hope that some of Rich's family members and friends will be along the course in Boston on April 21; just 2 days before the 5^th anniversary of Rich’s passing, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate his life.

If you knew Rich and would like to share some memories of him, please leave a comment below.

Happy New Year!!

Day 7 in the boot on my left foot! I apparently have given myself extensor tendonitis after that big hill in Walnut Creek a few weeks ago; went to the doctor to make sure the cause of nagging soreness on the top of my foot was not a stress fracture. X-rays were clear, so extensor tendonitis is the most likely diagnosis and he put me in a boot on Dec 26. I had been running on it despite the soreness, only about 3-5 miles a day, but he gave me a strict "no running" order, and I've been going stir crazy! He also has me on 400mg naproxen twice daily, and it is feeling better. After 10 days I will take off the boot and try walking on it through a normal day at work on Monday, January 6th. If all goes well through the week, I will start running again on Friday, January 10. I'm signed up for a 15K on January 12th which I may have to jog at a slow pace at best and may have to opt out of at worst.