donate | Jenn's Boston Run

Hello friends,

Just back from Florida (my review of the Disney Princess Half Marathon coming soon) and yep, the snow is still here. Shoveled the driveway twice this week already, a few inches of snow on Monday and Wednesday, just enough to be annoying. Training for Boston is going pretty well. I am following a new plan this race from a book, Run Less, Run Faster. It prescribes 3 ‘quality runs’ per week where you focus on a specific pace or goal rather than just getting in mindless miles. This appealed to me because with working and parenting, 3 runs a week sounds awesome. I also wanted to take a step back from over training or the brink of over training, where I have been in the past. The book: http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/run-less-run-faster

I’ve been running since January 1st on the treadmill with 2 exceptions, the 3M Half Marathon in Austin, TX and the Princess Half last month in Orlando, FL. The snow is everywhere and roads are still dangerous– too narrow in spots, no visibility around snowbanks, ice, more snow. I did run my first OUTSIDE run of 2015 on March 1st, and ran a 20 miler out and back down by the beach. I find I have to go out and back, because once I am out there, I have to get back to my car. That second half is where my motivation sometimes waivers.

Some things I’ve learned this training season or observations (so far):

1. The Walking Dead may not be the show to watch while on the treadmill. Too many suspenseful zombie moments. But I am looking for a new series since finishing LOST and Criminal Minds.
2. As a runner, you should rotate your shoes. Last month I got two new pairs to replace the pair that I have been wearing since summer of 2013 and through 3 marathons (Boston, Disney and Marine Corps). Yes I know, I’m a bad runner. I don’t follow some of the usual things one should do. But I’m on the right track!
3. When you see it, buy more body glide. You can never have too many of those travel sized sticks. Not elaborating further for your benefit.
4. My iphone freezes at 8F despite being in an inside pocket. On my 20 miler last weekend it died 3.5 miles in. Ironically during a Morrissey song. GU also semi-freezes.
5. Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses. Or enjoy the sunrise, sunset or beauty of the season. Yes, even in this wintery hell there can be some beauty.
6. Wear my Dana-Farber Marathon Shirt to my next race. I wore it in Texas and Disney and had a few cheers of “Go dana-farber” or people comment how Dana-Farber has helped them or a loved one. Reminds me what the real goal is: a world without cancer. And if I can help reach that goal, I will.
7. This winter must end. Forget Elsa, this winter is the work of the “White Witch’ of Narnia! (currently my girls favorite movie, ironically they weren’t big Frozen fans).

Fundraising update! For my local Seacoast friends, I will be holding a fundraiser at Flatbread in Portsmouth on April 7th! A portion of pizza sales will go to my campaign and I will have prizes for raffle and silent auction. This year you can throw down raffle tickets just for the prizes you want– a separate drawing for each item. And a few items for silent auction so you can secure them right away.

Please mark your calendars for April 7th, from 4-9pm for benefit night. You can join the event on Facebook for more updates on raffle & auction prizes. So far a few items include gift certificates to Loco Coco’s Taco’s, Cycle Fierce spin studio, Blue Mermaid Bar & Grill, Cinemagic movie tickets. Just a preview of some of the awesome prizes! Join the Facebook event click here

Please support my run and support cancer research! Still time to donate at www.bit.ly/dfmcjenn2015 I’ll be updating the fundraising ‘thermometer’ soon. So far I have raised about $1000 of my $10,000 goal. Help me reach my goal!

thanks, run safely out there!
-Jenn

Hard to believe that it has been a little over six months since I finished the Boston Marathon with the Dana-Farber team! I’ve learned many things this past year, one of which is that I am not an avid blogger. But on to the update! It was a crazy and amazing race weekend! First and most importantly, thank you to all who donated to my Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge campaign! I received $1,700 in donations over marathon weekend alone which pushed me to $13,700 raised for cancer research! Thank you! Overall the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team raised $8.2M dollars –our original team goal was $5.3M! This was a record breaking year for DFMC and I am so proud to have been a part of it.

Marathon Monday was a chilly morning but I can’t say enough about the DFMC Team indoor retreat near the starting line. We gathered at a local church and were able to wait indoors for the morning until our 11:30am start time. Boston is the first marathon that I have run that didn’t start before dawn, but you still get up in the wee hours to travel to the starting line and wait for several more hours. I was up by 4am for the journey out to Hopkinton to “hurry up and wait” as they say. At the Retreat, we got to socialize with the team, take photos, apply our running “flair”, eat, stretch, eat more, stretch more and start all of our pre-race rituals. At the Starting Line, there was so much excitement in the air. I had packed my phone and some GUs in my Spibelt. I planned for 5 GUs over the course of the race and decided to toss the 6th one at the starting line. For some crazy reason I thought to take only what I need and ‘travel light’. Of course when I went to grab my first GU, it fell to the ground and was gone in a sea of legs and sneakers. Lesson learned–bring one extra GU above what you think you need. 😉

At the starting line, ready to run.

The first 10-15 miles went well, i consciously tried to keep a slower pace and not ‘burn out’ in the first ten miles. Then came Heartbreak Hill. It does in fact suck as most Boston runners will tell you! Despite my training runs on the hill, it was like I had never run it before. I forgot where the “top” was and all my plans went out the window. Does that house or cross street look familiar? I think the top was by that house under construction? I struggled to get up Heartbreak and down shifted to a run/walk. I did catch up to my teammate Kerrie on the Hill and we ran together for a while and then leap frogged a bit with Kerrie running a head, then I caught up and ran ahead, etc.. At one point Kerrie caught up and pinched my bum which made me laugh out loud and did give me a boost! The crowds were amazing from about mile 15 onwards, there was a wall of people all the way to the finish. With my name on the front of my shirt, I was glad for some “Go Jenn”s going up Heartbreak hill. Finally we found the real ‘top’ of Heartbreak and had a nice downhill bit near Boston College. My goal was to get over Heartbreak Hill and the rest would be “gravy”, but I still struggled from mile 21 to the end. This is where my cheering section and the crowds helped me finish. I stopped to chat with my parent around mile 22, this was the first time they came to watch me run a marathon. My husband was at the “1 Mile to go” sign. The crowds were 20 people deep behind the barriers. He got everyone around him to yell my name which was great because I was stressed that I might have miss him. Then there was still 1 mile to go. Then there was just 1 kilometer to go!

I ran the last mile and when I turned on Boylston, I felt so many emotions but mainly pride and relief. I’m not a big crier but I had to hold the back tears, it was very emotional. I was so proud to have finished and represented all of you who supported my run and supported the Dana-Farber mission. And the post-race support by the DFMC was amazing. I met up with a volunteer who walked me back to Dana-Farber headquarters at the Marriott Copley. She held my water bottle and was fine with not talking for a stretch while I regained my composure. Back at the Marriott, the runner’s reception area had food, drinks, support folks ready to help. I have never been one to get a post-race sports massage but it was so worth it!!! I forgot that my husband was at the family reception area waiting for me. After a shower, I had the best victory dinner at Abe & Louie’s on Boylston, runners were still finishing and trickling across the finish line right out front of the restaurant. We could still hear occasional cheers of runners coming into the finish line and then the street sweepers started. This was my 5th marathon but by far my best marathon experience!

What happened since the marathon? Subject for my next blog but in short, I ran some races over summer and took a bit of a hiatus from running. But now I am back! With some distance, rest and reflection since the marathon, I’ve decided to run again with Dana-Farber in 2015! There is still cancer research to be done, the mission continues. While I am able, I plan to do what I can to support DFMC and the vital work that we fund. Many of my DFMC teammates run every year and we have one team member who has run 25 marathons in a row, since the team was founded. Wow. I’m proud to have been picked for the 2015 team for my second season and I am so inspired by those who have come before me!

Please subscribe to my blog & facebook page and tune in for my next update.

Please consider supporting my run and making a donation to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. You can donate Here via my fundraising page. Email me if you would prefer to send a check by mail.

Thank you and see you out there,

-Jenn

Jenn's Boston Run

est. 2013 | Running the 2022 Boston Marathon

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Running Again in 2015!