The bumper sticker!

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His shirt was on right this year

but his face was painted red!!!

Pre-Marathon Pasta Party

Liam gets a medal


Dr. Friedmann

Two days to go

Excited, nervous, excited, nervous…. Regardless, I’m going to have fun and enjoy Monday!

Winding down the training in Myrtle Beach

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Liam, Jack, Owen & Troy

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It’s all good

It’s been a while since my last post; things are getting busier as we head into the last couple of weeks before the marathon, here are a few quick updates

- Felt good running the New Bedford half marathon two weekends ago, as well as in last weekend’s Loooong run. Thanks to Cate and Bridgett for pulling and pushing me through that!

- This weekend I officially hit my fundraising goal of $5,000 (Yeah!!) but with 19 days to go, there still time to raise more, so up to $7,500 it goes.

- Got my MGH uniform and official marathon number this week
You can look me up – bib 25892

-Should be wrapping up my list of 101 reasons soon!

Some more reasons to run

I’d been feeling a bit down this week; between the rain, and a new clicking sound in my knee, the training was taking its toll… then as the week was coming to an end, I got some reminders of why I’m doing this.

For Declan. A patient of my cousin’s who within the last week, was just diagnosed with cancer. As I read the updates from his parents, I get sad, angry, and more determined to do more ...

And for Tom, who continues to do more… In addition setting up another blood drive, Tom has been one of our family’s greatest supporters. Mark your calendars for June 11th for a blood Drive in honor of Liam in Kingston, MA.
 
Sunday, I'll be running a half marathon, and have lots to think about along the way, the least of which should be the clicking sound in my knee.

For the DePaolo Middle School students

This Week, panic attack; just 37 days until the marathon.

Based on the last few weekends of running, it seems like I start to fall apart shortly after reaching 12 miles. Last week, I was afraid to take my sneakers off; the pain from the blisters was so bad, I figured my feet, socks and sneakers had all welded together. I typically like to run alone, and have always stayed away from having others train with me, but from here on, I know I need someone by my side. Otherwise there’s a good chance I’ll just breakdown on the side of the road crying. So the game plan for tomorrow is this… on the road running by 7am (to beat the REALLY Bad weather), head west towards Easton, and meet up with Cate and/or Jackie around mile 10, then run another six through Borderland State Park.

for the music therapy program

Liam ~ Sept 2007

needed the gloves today

I've been running without gloves lately, earlier this week, I even went running with just a baseball hat (vs. the winter hat) but I needed both back on today! Also got a great spreadsheet today from our MGH Marathon coordinator, I can calculate where I'll be at points into the marathon, although its a bit overwhelming to think about.. as we get closer to April 19th I'll probably post my predictions, for now I'm thinking I'll be happy with anything under six hours.

Finding 14 miles of open road, away from the busier main streets, is not hard to do using mapmyrun.com. However, since my mind gets mushy not long into these runs, I have taken to jotting down some key landmarks and taping them to the back of my ipod in case I need a reminder as to where’ I’m going. This doesn’t always prevent me from getting lost (its happened twice), but it does help me estmate how I’m doing in terms of my pace… The challenge of today.. measuring things in “sevenths”.. just didn’t feel right trying to motivate my self by saying “yes.. You’re two sevenths of the way there!”… a good reason to hurry up and get to 16 miles.

Passing time while I run

Getting a lock of flack for the “picture taking” during my runs.. Let me tell you though, these aren’t eight minute miles I’m running, so when you’re out there for well over two hours, you need something to help pass the time! AND... its not like I'm stopping waiting for just the right moment.. believe it not, these are action shots! :)

Much better run today

My "do over" of last weekend's run went much better. It was slightly warmer and I got started earlier as well, I think that helped. I also took my phone along with me today to take a few pictures of the route. It was as quiet as it looks. I crossed paths with just two other runners and a few walkers along the way.

Less than two months to go now. Time to get some fund raising letters out to boost the donations! Also need to increase the weekday miles some more !

Oak Street

Still on Oak Street

Williams Street

North Worcester wind tunnel

wind and junk

The two challenges I’ve faced this week have been “junk” in my legs (as coach Oates calls it), and the wind. The junk this week…. Shin splints and numb feet. She also made some comment about my body getting used to being in shock, but I’ve buried that away in the back of my mind for now.

The wind too is making things tougher for me. Miles 6-9 of last Sunday’s 12 mile route were spent running into the wind up North Worcester Street… By the time I was into the last three miles, I was cold, hurting and hungry. I’m thinking of repeating the same route this weekend just because I need to conquer it before I move on to 14 miles. This morning's five miler was the best I’ve felt all week, but still... wind and junk, wind and junk… going to stretch and ice some more now.

Planning out tomorrow's long run

because his shirt was on backwards