Weekly Update #3

For all those of you who have been eagerly awaiting the next post in my award-winning "Weekly Update" (I hope SNL doesn't sue me for trademark infringement) series, I apologize for the delay, but worry not, I am back and better than before. Maybe. Probably not. Most likely the same, but back nevertheless.

"What's happened in the past 3 weeks?" you ask. "Well," I begin my reply, "I'm glad you ask."

This past week was perhaps my most successful running week to date. It started with a run on Tuesday from my apartment through the North End, into Cambridge then Somerville, and finishing back at home. It was pretty cold and some of the sidewalks were not cleared very well so some of the run was spent like Rocky in Rocky IV where he runs in the snow and then ends the Cold War. Worse than running in the snow, however, was the wonderful mixture of ice and water that graced the area between sidewalks. At one point my feet became immersed in 4 inches of a slush puddle, but thankfully (yes, there's always a silver lining) I was only a mile away from finishing my run so my feet didn't have enough time to freeze completely. That was run 1.

On Thursday I went to Crossroads like I usually do and decided to run "the hills" for the first time. For those unfamiliar with this run, this is where you take the T to the Woodland stop and then run the marathon course from there back to the bar. It's a little less than 9 miles and includes Heartbreak Hill. It was actually quite nice out and fortunately not windy so the run was pleasant. The hills didn't seem that bad but then again I'm sure it's much different when you've done 17 miles before even reaching the area. And due to my magnificent sense of direction I did deviate from the route for about a half a mile. Instead of going right onto Beacon after the reservoir, I went left onto Commonwealth. But I had my phone, and was able to look at the map and find a way back to Beacon, making my run just a bit longer and according to mapmyrun.com, about 9.02 miles, making it my longest run yet.

The third and final run of the week came yesterday in Newton. Instead of running today the reasons being the weather - extremely cold - and the fact that my roommates had an afterparty last night where people didn't leave until 4 am making the early start sort of an impossibility, I met up with a few runners to run a route organized by Shifter who is one of the veterans of the DFMC team and just an overall great guy. I got to the starting spot at around 9:30 and then we ran from Newton to Commonwealth where we ran part of the course again. I was initially a little sore due to the previous run but after a few miles my muscles started feeling better. Shifter had also dropped some water and gatorade off at strategic points because some of the runners were doing longer runs. The toughest part about this is that when I would stop my muscles would become tight very quickly so getting going again was somewhat tough but I made it through unscathed and finished the full 7 miles I had set out to do.

I know I'm not at the mileage I should be at now but I take comfort in the fact that my body is bouncing back from these runs rather well and that I've been able to finish every run that I've started. Depending on the weather, I will be doing "the hills" again this week before heading back to Arizona for the FBR Open, the Super Bowl, and the Sedona Half-Marathon on Feb. 7. I hope to get an one longer one before the race, preferabbly in the double-digits. I'm excited to run a half and am looking forward to running in some nice weather and not worrying whether or not the next step I take is going to cause my feet to freeze.

On the fundraising front, my efforts are continuing and with some checks to be deposited, am around the $1,800 mark. Thanks to everyone who has contributed thus far, and I am looking forward to raising even more money!