Michele's Boston Marathon Training Blog

Here it is folks!  Your 2018 ALF Boston Marathon Team!  Look at all of those beautiful faces. Oh, you're wondering where I am.  I, unfortunately, though not unexpectedly, I was down the street breaking into an "out of order" bathroom at CVS :/  Kim tried to warn us all: However, my enthusiasm for proper pre-run hydration got the better of me. Luckily, we got to embarrass someone else later that morning. Here's Will, right after we sang Happy Birthday right on the side of the course: All in all, it was a great run, with some amazing people.  Even better, we followed it up with food and drink at the social at The Social. Coach suggested that we each think of 1 to 3 things that we did well and 1 to 3 things that we could improve on.  I love this idea. Overall, I had a good run, so I wouldn't change much.  But: -I will plan my bathroom breaks before the start better ;) -Except for the water stop at mile 4 (gotta see my people) and the cheeri...

I really wish that I was better about taking photos.  I totally embrace the "live in the moment, don't photograph it," motto.  However, it can be great to look at a photo and relive the great memories.  Also, when you are reading someone's blog, it is usually more appealing with a couple of photos to break it up a bit.  Oh well.  Let's just all use our imaginations... Lots has happened since my last post.  I was joined by 20 other wonderful yogis for my super successful yoga fundraiser.  Dave Lind, my first yoga teacher, led us through a beautiful series of poses.  Afterwards, we had tea and snacks.  It was lovely, and we raised $725 for the American Liver Foundation! Next, I met the amazing, inspiring Emily Mitchel for dinner.  For folks who missed my last post, Emily and I were matched up through the ALF's patient runner connection.  We had delicious pad thai and I got to know Emily a little better.  Emily is a wonderful ...

Heartbreak Hill, you've heard of it, right?  It is not the monster that most folks imagine it to be.  The toughest things about Heartbreak Hill are that it comes towards the end of the race, when folks have been running for hours, and that it goes on for a while- it is actually made up of several smaller hills.  One of the many awesome things about our group runs is that we get to conquer this legend several times before the big day. Nancy and I wore our Love Your Liver finest while we overcame the Heartbreak Hill.  We got lots of cheers and compliments and brought smiles to other runners' faces.  It was a great run, even if it ended up being closer to 18 miles than the 17 we had planned.  The delicious brunch at Merchant made it all worthwhile. Sunday was our Patient Runner Connection event at King's bowling, where I got to meet my beautiful, bright, and inspiring patient connection, Emily. Even in the brief, busy meeting we had, I was impressed wi...

I run 4 Mattie! I am a proud, card carrying member of Mattie's pack.  I met Mattie and his family through I Run for Michael, a Facebook group that connects folks with special needs with folks that have a passion for running.  Mattie and I were brought together by chance, but I think that we are a perfect pair.  We both love Muppets. We both love Han Solo. And we both love to smile! How great is that smile?  I see so much love and joy in that smile.  Like all of us, life presents certain challenges for Mattie, but he works hard, and faces those challenges.  And he keeps smiling, bringing so much love and joy to his family and friends- including one all the way in Massachusetts.  That is the kind of person I want to be, on the race course, and off.  Mattie inspires me to be a better person, and to bring my all to what I do, with love and a smile.  You never know how much it means to someone, even someone far away, to ha...

Have you seen the Willow Polar tower?  The Willow team has been crushing cans of Polar every Thursday to create this majestic structure.  Sadly, we will be moving out of our office soon.  We discussed what to do with the cans once the masterpiece has been taken down.  The team decided to donate the money to the ALF on behalf of my fundraising efforts, because they rock. I cannot say enough how much I appreciate the support I have gotten from all of my friends and family.  I have reconnected with folks I haven't spoken to for some time.  I have gotten to enjoy hanging out with my friends and family at my fundraisers.  And last, but not least, I have loved running with my team.  Distance runs are much easier to swallow when you have good company! Some future fundraisers coming up include poker at Jamie's house on the 27th (message me if you play and are interested), yoga on 3/10 (with the amazing David Lind), and, of course Superbowl Squares!

Merry Christmas everyone!  Training continues.  I was so bummed to miss out on the team Costume run on Saturday. I stole a great costume idea from a teammate who is in Brazil for the holidays.  It was all set to go, and then I woke up with a sore throat.  Next time.  I was able to get in 5 miles on Saturday on the dreadmill, and then I did the 7-mile long run on Monday.  This weekend things get real.  12 miles baby! So let's talk treadmill running for a minute.  There have been many times that I have had to do long training runs on a treadmill.  People generally hate treadmill running.  I don't mind it too much normally but it can get tedious from time to time.   Here are some things that help me get through it: If you have access to one, a Kindle or iPad can really help the time go by.  There are so many great shows out there that no one has time for.  Use your treadmill run as time to catch up. If you can, ...