10 weeks to go and over half-way to my $10,280 fundraising goal!

Ten weeks from today, I will wake before dawn and walk across the Boston Common to board a big yellow school bus for the hour-long ride to Hopkinton. I have kissed my husband goodbye on the Common twice before, and this time we will get to ride that bus together. After our arrival in Hopkinton, we will try to stay warm as we wait anxiously for the start. Although I love the design of the 2014 Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team singlet, it will be hard to see the Boston skyline under the honor ribbons that will be pinned to mine. 

It seems that almost every day I meet another person who is fighting the battle of their lives, or who has lost someone dear. It is very humbling to receive donations in honor of so many wonderful people. With my practice's year-end donation of a percentage of proceeds from procedures, my fundraising total is now over $5,200, so I am more than half-way to my $10,280 goal for Dana-Farber. On days when it is cold and rainy, or I am exhausted from a long procedure at work, when I would rather plunk down on the couch and watch TV than train, I think of the people who want to run but can't, and I run. Yesterday, on mile 10 of a 13-mile training run in the rain, I tripped on a patch of uneven pavement and fell down. Thankfully I had on a long-sleeved shirt with thumb-holes, so my palms were protected from the asphalt (so I can still do surgery tomorrow!) but I landed hard on my right hip and shoulder, and for a moment after I got up I thought about calling it a day. I walked a hundred yards or so, towards the Whole Foods market, where I thought I might ask to borrow a phone to call my husband to pick me up. But as I walked, I decided to tough it out, and jogged (albeit more slowly than usual, and with a few walk breaks up the hills) the remaining few miles home. In my head I was singing one of my old favorite songs, "Minutes to Memories" by John Mellencamp, which contains the lines "So suck it up and tough it out, and be the best you can".

I'm pretty sore today, and my hip and shoulder are bruised, but I'm happy for having finished the run, and managed to get in a couple of miles after work today as well. John Mellencamp has written some wise words; another of my favorites is "Between a Laugh and a Tear": "Just try to live each and every precious moment, Don't be discouraged by the future, forget the past. That's old advice but it'll be good to you; I know there's a balance, I see it when I swing past..."

My 13th 13.1-mile race

We've had very little rain here in Northern California for the past couple of months; normally the rainy season starts in November and is in full-swing by January.  With Tahoe's ski resorts dependent upon the snow for their income and those of us at lower altitude dependent upon the rainfall for agriculture, not to mention drinking water and other household uses, our Governor declared a state of Emergency about 2 weeks ago. However, the 4,300+ runners preparing for the Kaiser Permanent San Francisco Half Marathon must have had a "rain dance" effect, because we woke up to wind and wetness this morning! Edward and I were both supposed to run, but he's been battling a bad cold and bronchitis for a couple of weeks so a few days ago I canceled the babysitter and told him he was staying home! Good thing, because the dreary weather would not have been good for his immune system. Back in February 2009, the Kaiser Half was my first half marathon, and I ran it the weekend before we left for China to adopt our second daughter. I've run 11 other half marathons since then, but had not been back to do the Kaiser, so I really wanted to run it this year, despite the rain.

I woke up at 5:45am after a restless night (you know how you wake up every half hour or so, wondering how much time you have left before the alarm goes off? So frustrating!), had a small bowl of hot Grape Nuts, packed some Gu in my capris, and headed into the city. My Prius (not the most aerodynamic automobile) was getting blown around a bit as I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, but the wind didn't seem as strong once I was at Ocean Beach. I parked there and took one of the school bus shuttles into Golden Gate Park. I was happy to have my sweats and a hooded jacket on, but the sweats check turned out to be about a quarter mile from the starting line, so I ended up freezing anyway. Luckily they did have some plastic bags for people to take, so I wore one of those over my shirt as I walked to the start. A bunch of us huddled under the trees near the start, and I met a couple of girls from Boston, one of whom is running the Marathon for the Alzheimer's Association. Chatting with them helped pass the time, and helped me keep my sense of humor as occasional gusts of wind shook bundles of water from the trees over our heads and set us all shivering.

 














The sky was light by the time the race started, and the park looked beautiful. I wasn't going for a PR, and planned to take it pretty easy (since I got injured after my last half marathon in December!). I enjoyed the verdant surroundings in the park, but it was a shorter jaunt than I had remembered. I guess I forgot that the course went out into the city for quite a while, so that was an interesting change of scenery - the streets were closed for the race, and there weren't many spectators out, but we could see supporters up in windows along Fell Street.

We came back into the park on Stanyan, ran past Kezar Stadium (it's hard to imagine that the 49ers used to play there!), then eventually back onto Kennedy Drive and out to the Great Highway. I'd been running about 9:15-9:20 paces up until then. We had a strong headwind on the way out along Ocean Beach, which made for slow going, but I was happy because I knew that also meant we'd have a nice tailwind for the return! Near mile 7, I saw my friend Peter going in the opposite direction, already past mile 12 - he finished first in his age group with a fabulous 1:22:21. My slowest miles were miles 8 & 9, which I ran at 9:40 and 9:46 (respectively). Shortly after the turnaround near the SF Zoo, as I was enjoying that lovely tailwind, I saw my assistant Bridgit walking her dog Hurley, and this time I got to say "Hey, Bridgit!! Thanks for being out here!" She gave me a big thumbs up, which was a boost to my already happy spirits. I ran the last few miles at about a 9:10 pace, and finished in 2:03:23, with which I was pretty happy considering I was basically treating this like a training run. I saw my colleague again, which was fun, as we waited to get some treats after the finish line. In all it was a good race, a happy 5th anniversary half for me.

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.