We’ve been completely washed out in Boston for the past few days, punishment for thinking that maybe spring had come early this year. Last week we had three or four straight days of sunshine and weather in the 50’s so the relentless rain has been a bummer, though we’re fortunate that Boston isn’t lost under 6 feet of snow right now instead.
Last week was an incredibly strong and encouraging week of training. Monday night I powered out 8 miles on the treadmill, entertained by a family swimming and a toddler looking at me puzzled as if to say when is she going to STOP?! (my treadmill overlooks the pool at my hotel) Running on the treadmill has got to be the worst way to get through longer mileage, but it wasn’t too painful and I felt strong. Tuesday morning I ran 5 miles recovery, which was tougher since there were less than 12 hours between my workouts. Nonetheless, I biked for a bit on Wednesday and made it over to the team’s casual run on Thursday night, 4 miles around Brookline.
I was supposed to run another Davis Square 5K this Sunday morning, but by Saturday morning it was clear that we weren’t going to experience the break in weather we’ve been blessed with over the past several weeks. At our pep-talk before practice Saturday morning, one of my mentees, Katie, mentioned she might want to run 9 miles Saturday morning in order to bail out on the race Sunday. Getting out of bed early on one cold rainy weekend morning was enough for me. Count me in!
It wasn’t entirely unbearable (just kind of unbearable) and we ran at a pretty decent pace, finishing in just about 75 minutes! The way out was pretty breezy (and wet) but the Boston side of the river was less windy and cold. Mike pointed out that we might just not be noticing how cold our bodies were when he took his glove off to tie his laces and felt like his fingers were freezing… just keep going! We got to the turnaround at North Harvard Bridge and were faced with a mile and a half of driving wind and rain for the entire way to the finish. It couldn’t be easy, could it! Still, it was the most that Katie had ever run at one time, which was exciting, and I was really pleased to feel so strong after finishing. Waking up to nasty weather again on Sunday morning, I didn’t question my decision in the least!
As of this morning I have reached 45% of my fundraising goal and broke the $1,000 barrier, which is very exciting! Just under $1,400 to go and lots of fun fundraising ideas to reach and exceed the minimum. I’m feeling really good at this point in the season and appreciate everyone’s generosity. Each Saturday at practice one team member gets up and makes a dedication for the run and I feel like there are so many people I can run in honor and memory of. Thinking of those who have fought, are fighting, and will fight until we find a cure for cancer, it certainly makes the cold rain feel a bit less daunting.
61 miles down, 439 to go!