I ran the route below today at lunchtime. It looks easy, but my office (the starting location) is at the top of a really large hill. So the last ~3/4 of a mile is straight uphill. It was pretty tough, actually. I guess I should be getting used to running up hills though…
Anyway, it took me a little under 22 minutes, which was a pretty slow pace (8:52). I think I went out too quickly on the first half and was practically crawling at the end. In comparison, I ran 3.4 miles on Saturday at an 8:18 pace, which is decent. I’d actually like to be able to average under 9 minute miles when I run the marathon, so I’ve definitely got my work cut out for me.
Today, I ran a 5k on the treadmill and it actually didn’t suck - until I put it in perspective. 8 of those and you’ve got a marathon. Almost. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I’ve quite digested what I’m doing yet. I suppose when I’m running 14 miles through a blizzard on some miserable February morning, I’ll have a better understanding. No sense in rushing things.
What’s amazing to me is that I’ve already raised $750 dollars towards my goal of $10,000 for the Claudia Adams Barr program in Basic Cancer Research at Dana Farber. I can’t thank my contributors enough, but I’ll continue to try. Everybody has been touched by this disease, and we all have a story to tell. I’ll tell a little more of my story soon, and I would encourage you to do the same via the comments tab or email. I look forward to hearing from you all. Please also take a few minutes to check out the blogs of my Dana Farber Marathon Challenge teammates which I’ve linked to in the column to the left.
Since launch, I’ve had 95 pageviews and 58 unique visitors. To those that have visited - thanks for stopping by! Three people have been generous enough to donate already, despite the fact that I’ve only been training for a week. Very cool, and very much appreciated. I’ve also had a few comments that the donations link wasn’t obvious enough, so I’ve increased the font size of the link to see if that makes a difference (TOP LEFT!!).
For those paying any attention, you’ll notice that I’ve added some “donation notes” in the far-right column. Please be sure to read that section. Your company may have a program to match your donation, so don’t pass up the opportunity for some free money from the man.
I’ve also posted my training log on Google Docs (in “Training Log” section of right column). There are two tabs - one tab represents my targets, and the other is what I’ve actually done. To toggle between the two tabs, use the “actual” and “target” links at the bottom of the window when you open the spreadsheet.
Finally, we’re still in the open solicitation period for the blog title. I’ve had a few suggestions, but need a couple more before I put it out for the vote. Until next time…
This is a blog about running, written by a dude who doesn’t particularly enjoy the activity. Why write about it? Relentless self promotion, of course. I plan to raise a hell of a lot of money, and if I engage you in the process you’re more likely to donate. Transparency is key.
In all seriousness, I’ve been given the incredible opportunity to run the Boston Marathon in support of cancer research at Dana Farber. Here’s an excerpt from my acceptance email:
———————————————————————————————————————-Greetings, Mark -
It’s truly a pleasure to welcome you to the DFMC team in the 114th Boston Marathon on April 19, 2010, with an invitational entry from Dana-Farber. Your enthusiastic commitment to DFMC, the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are vital to the DFMC team’s efforts.
We applaud your personal fundraising goal of $10,000 for the Barr Program in honor of your mother. This year, we aim to continue to “Raise the Barr” by achieving an average of $8,000 per team member and providing $4.4 million for the Barr Investigators. With your dedicated participation and the generous support of your extensive professional and personal communities, we know the team can do it!
———————————————————————————————————————-
So there you have it. On the exact one year anniversary of my Mom’s passing, I’ll be running the marathon in her memory. And I’ll be running it to raise money for the world’s leaders in innovative and revolutionary cancer research. Quite an honor.
Much more to come in the next few weeks, including a more detailed explanation of the DFMC and other thoughts on this adventure. One request - help me name this blog. Please email suggestions (email link above right) and I’ll pick a few to be voted on. Power to the people.
So I’ve started this blog, and I realize that I’m late to the game. Fact is, I don’t particularly like extensive communication in non-verbal form. I suppose it’s because I never considered myself to be much of a writer. However, now that I think of it, I’m not much of a talker either. So that’s settled.
There is a point to this, and it’s not because I think the rest of the world needs to know what goes on in my head. But I can’t delve into the details quite yet. So despite the fact that I’m talking to nobody right now, you (nobody) will have to wait a couple weeks before my intentions are revealed.
