Quotes from my (adorably naive) seventh graders

"Miss Kimball, did you win the marathon?"
"I think if you didn't stop to hug your family, you might have won."
"Did you come in the top 10?"
"It only took you four minutes and eleven seconds?! Wow, you really are fast."
"Did you beat any boys? Boys are faster you know."
"I tried to watch on tv, but I got bored. All I kept seeing was people running."
"I fell asleep trying to look for you."
"Did you sleep for 80 hours after the marathon?"

Wow!

Running Boston was one of the most incredible experiences I can think of. Even though I heard stories about the crowd, nothing could prepare me for Monday. Since I put my name on my shirt, I got a lot of "Run Megs" and "Keep it up Meg." Among the cheers, a few favorites stuck out though...one of the best was "Hey, Meg! Where've you been!" This cute, old man shouted that at me when I passed him at a water stop. That really got me going. The most amazing feeling was when I heard someone shout out a "Thank you" to me for running for Dana-Farber. Each time someone said that, it reminded of why I chose to run this race.

I certainly will hold the memories of Boston very close to my heart for a long time. In the past when I have had too much on my mind to possibly write on this blog, I have resorted to lists. I think this is one of those moments when I need a list. Here are my top memories of the B.M...

10. Standing in the corrals with thousands of other runners waiting for the gun to go off, thinking to myself "what am I doing?!"

9. The sight of David only a half mile into the run, ready to jump in with me to run the entire 26 miles at my pace out of support for me

8. Hearing the Wellesley girls cheering and screaming a full three minutes before we even ran by them

7. Seeing my "Fan club" at the bottom of Heartbreak--Thanks Mom, Dad, Suzanne, Ryan, Steph, Jess and my beautiful nieces Meredith and Hillary!

6. The surprise at seeing our second fan club on Beacon just as I was about to walk...Thanks Kevin, Christine, Phil and Amy!!

5. Running through Kenmore...I can't even explain the amount of noise that followed us for the entire last mile. I suddenly felt a surge of energy

4. Picking up the pace as I approached the finish line, telling myself I had to finish strong

3. Hugging Utta Pippig at the finish line!!!!

2. Holding David's hand as I crossed the finish line and thinking "we did it!"

1. The feeling of awe as I crossed the finish line

I finished!!

Meet my running buddies...

Here's a picture I stole from Anne's blog (from right to left: Anne, Beth, Me, and Deb. I feel like I post a lot about these girls, so they deserve a picture post! Look for us all on Marathon Monday :)

History of the First Marathon

The name "marathon" comes from the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek soldier who, according to legend, was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been miraculously defeated in the Battle of Marathon. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping, but moments after proclaiming his message to the city, he collapsed dead. There is no evidence that any such event took place; according to the Greek historian Herodotus, Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta. The legend that he ran from Marathon to Athens was invented by later writers and appears in Plutarch's On the Glory of Athens in the 1st century AD. The International Olympic Committee estimates the actual distance from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens is about 34.5 km (21.4 miles).

The idea of organizing the race came from Michel Bréal, who wanted to put the event on the program of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. This idea was heavily supported by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, as well as the Greeks. The Greeks staged a selection race for the Olympic marathon, and this first marathon was won by Charilaos Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes. Spiridon "Spiros" Louis, a Greek shepherd, finished fifth in this race but won at the Olympics in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 50 seconds, despite stopping on the way for a glass of wine from his uncle waiting near the village of Chalandri. The women's marathon was introduced at the 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles, USA).

world's oldest continuous and most prestigious footrace....

The Boston Marathon Fact Sheet
A guide to the world's most celebrated road race

by Erin Teare Martin and Mike Morrison
Joseph Chebet


The Boston Marathon, organized by the Boston Athletic Association, is the world's oldest marathon. It takes place on the third Monday in April, also known as Patriot's Day, which is a holiday (in Maine and Massachusetts) that commemorates the famous battles of Lexington and Concord.

$575,000 in prize money was up for grabs in 2008.

In terms of media coverage, the Boston Marathon is the second biggest single-day sporting event in the U.S., just behind the Super Bowl. 500,000 spectators are expected to line the course in 2007.

The 2000 Boston Marathon was the closest in the race's history. Kenya's Elijah Lagat and Ethiopian star Gezahenge Abera sprinted to the finish, with Lagat prevailing. The two actually recorded the same exact time (2:09:47) while Kenyan Moses Tanui followed just three seconds behind.

In 1988, Ibrahim Hussein became the first black male to win at Boston.

Former Massachusetts Governor and presidential candidate Mike Dukakis finished 57th (3:31) as a high school student in 1951.

In 1975, Boston became the first major marathon to include a wheelchair division.

Starting in 2007, the marathon began to implement the wave start, with one group of runners going off at 10:00 A.M. and a second group starting a half an hour later.

This year, the marathon will start wave one at 10 and wave two at 10:30

Number 22238!!

That's my official bib number:)

You can track me on race day using that number...details to follow.

If I can do 20...that must mean I can do 26, right?

This week I've logged about 40 miles, which is on the higher end of what I've been doing. Today, I ran 20 of those 40 miles, and wow...I felt it. I wouldn't say I felt horrible, but to quote one of my running buddies, Beth, I had to give myself some internal pep talks to get to the top of the hills once we reached those last three miles of the run. The hills were short and steep, but I kept telling myself, this is preparing me for Heartbreak...these hills are preparing me for what it might feel like when I reach "The Hills," as I like to call them, after running on flat/downhill for 17 miles. It hurt, but I finished! So that's what I'm hoping for on race day. Pace wise, this was a good run. About 9:18 pace.

This coming week, I am hoping to log less miles, since our long run will only be about 13-14 miles this next weekend. It will feel good to rest. One more twenty miler (actually I think it's 21...but who's counting?) and a half marathon race, and then I'll be ready for the big day!

New shoes, brighter nights, and rude drivers

I decided with the marathon only being a month away, I should probably invest in a new pair of shoes. To all of you non-runners, it is important to note that getting a new pair of shoes before a marathon or big race requires a bit of strategic timing. You wouldn't want to buy new shoes too close to the marathon, but you also want to make sure you haven't covered too many miles in your old shoes. Anyway, I love my new shoes! They didn't give me blisters, and they are way "cuter" than my old shoes. I know I'm not supposed to take that into consideration because it's all about the fit, but I do enjoy the blue and silver.

Tonight Deb and I ran 7 miles from the gym around the Newton area. Our last half of the run we tried doing strides (speeding up for a set amount of time/distance). We did a few of those, and I felt great. I must say, love the fact that the sky was still light when I left the gym after our workout. It just puts me in a better mood. Although, with the fact that it's actually light out, one would think that cars would be able to see us coming. Not so. Deb and I were literally almost hit four times during our run. FOUR TIMES! Each car was taking a right turn out of a parking lot or street and felt no need to look right. I am pretty sure if there were such thing as running rage, I have it. I yelled and cursed a bit...just a bit. Pretty sure I scared people, but I don't feel badly at all. Share the road, people!

Only six weeks...

until the Boston Marathon. It's really almost here!

Today's 18.5 miler

It was supposed to be only 18, but somehow it turned into 18.5. I felt great! I ran with Deb and Beth, and we talked most of the way, which makes the time go by. It took us 2:56, which is 9:30 pace. I like it! Check out the run (it was out and back over the same route). Of course since it was a DFMC run, Jack incorporated Heartbreak Hills!

It's official!

My Dana-Farber singlet came!!! I tried it on, and it fits. Can't wait to wear it on April 20th :)

An inspirational story

Steeling their courage
Ironworkers at Dana-Farber resume a beloved ritual, providing moments of joy for young cancer patients

By Michael Levenson
Globe Staff / February 21, 2009


Eighteen-month-old Kristen Hoenshell has a rare and aggressive form of cancer. What began as a tumor behind her eye has led to surgery and 38 weeks of weekly visits to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she receives powerful doses of chemotherapy that leave her weak and occasionally sick.


Yesterday, when she showed up for another round of treatment, she was greeted by something special. As her cousin Megan Souza pointed out the window of a third-floor walkway, ironworkers perched on the sixth floor of a partially constructed building nearby hoisted a massive I-beam into place. It was emblazoned, in bright pink spray paint, with Kristen's name.

"Look out the window," Souza said, as she held Kristen in her arms. "There's your name up there. There's your name, Kristen." The girl, bald from her treatments, smiled shyly.

It has become a beloved ritual at Dana-Farber: Every day, children who come to the clinic write their names on sheets of paper and tape them to the windows of the walkway for ironworkers to see. And, every day, the ironworkers paint the names onto I-beams and hoist them into place as they add floors to the new 14-story Yawkey Center for Cancer Care.

The building's steel skeleton is now a brightly colored, seven-story monument to scores of children receiving treatment at the clinic - Lia, Alex, and Sam; Taylor, Izzy, and Danny. For the young cancer patients, who press their noses to the glass to watch new names added every day, the steel and spray-paint tribute has given them a few moments of joy and a towering symbol of hope.

"It's fabulous," said Kristen's mother, Elizabeth, as she held her daughter and marveled at the rainbow of names. "It's just a simple little act that means so much."

Most days, the walkway fills up like the passageway of an aquarium, packed with children gazing through the glass. When a new name goes up on the building, the children cheer and clap. Yesterday, Juclaubern Palmer Osias, a 16-year-old from Holbrook who was diagnosed with cancer last year, saw his name immortalized in green paint on a beam on the seventh floor.

"It's your name," he said. "It makes you feel important."

It's given a sense of satisfaction to the ironworkers, too.

"Everybody saw the kids smiling," said Mike Walsh, the foreman for the ironworkers, from Local 7, whose wife, Sheila, is a nurse at Dana-Farber. "And that's what you want to do, is keep them smiling, especially if they're going for treatment in there."

The ironworkers made a similar tribute in 1996, when they painted the names of young cancer patients on beams they used to build the Smith Research Laboratories at Dana-Farber. For a time, a short film about the project was shown in movie theaters to raise money for the Jimmy Fund.

This time, the ironworkers knew they wanted to honor the children again. Over the last month, they have painted more than 100 names on the building and emblazoned part of their crane with a likeness of SpongeBob SquarePants. They have also painted a few special messages on the steel, like "Hi Hanna Get Well ASAP :)"

Yesterday, crawling on their stomachs in the bitter cold and whipping winds, the ironworkers looked down at the latest batch of names posted in the walkway window. Looking up at them were Kristen and her sisters, Cathryn, 5, and Hannah, 3, who have been accompanying her to chemotherapy. They pointed as the ironworkers painted the girls' names onto the side of a 4-ton I-beam and hoisted it on to the seventh floor.

"She'll always be a piece of this building, which is a good feeling to have," Elizabeth Hoenshell said, holding Kristen. "They don't have to do this, the guys. They could just do their job and do a good job at it and give us a building that we can get treatment at, but they go the extra step and that's huge."

One day, years from now, Hoenshell said, she hopes to take Kristen back to the clinic, and show her where her name is inscribed. "I'm going to stand her right here at this pedestal and say, 'Look right up,' and 'That was you,' " she said. "Maybe I'll take her over there for a little walk. She can step on her name," she said, laughing.

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1185071465http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=16988910

My first track workout

Yesterday I went to my first track workout, and it was actually quite fun! I thought for sure I would be the slowest person there, and that I would hold people up...but I didn't. I hung in there the whole time and felt pretty good. After Jack told us the workout, we all just lined up on the track and took off. Well some people took off; I just kind of did my thing. Our workout totaled 4 miles, but with the warm up and warm down, I did closer to 6 miles in total. Thanks to Jack, I definitely did my workout faster than I would have on my own. I think I'm heading back for more next Tuesday!!

Where have I been?

First off, the past few weeks have been quite busy. Not only have I been training for a marathon, fundraising for Dana Farber, working two jobs, and trying to keep up something of a social life, but I have also been planning for our July wedding. Am I making up excuses for why I haven't blogged? Perhaps I am. But it's all true!

Here's my (long overdue)running update: I'm up to a 14 mile long run, and I am continuing to run around 9:15 pace (give or take), which I am happy with. I'm especially happy with that pace considering all of my long runs include the infamous heartbreak hills. Last weekend I skipped the group run and opted to run on Saturday, the warmer day of the weekend instead. Thankfully a teammate, Shifter, set up an organized run for 7 or 8 of us. He was nice enough to put out water stops and provide us with maps of the course. It was definitely nice to get the run over with, and not freeze to death like our unfortunate teammates who ran in single digits on Sunday. Thanks Shifter!

Today we had a group run; the best group run so far, I think. I ran with Beth, a teammate from Marblehead, who ironically enough attended the middle school I teach at years ago and even had some of my colleagues as teachers! So we certainly had a lot to talk about. Deb and Anne were running with us for most of the way too. All of us kept each other going the whole way, and even talked about potentially running together later this week. It's definitely nice to have a group to talk with, that's for sure.
*********

I'll try to keep up with my blogging on a more regular basis. I swear I have "blog worthy" material daily, but getting to the computer and actually typing it in never seems to happen.

I think I need Yak tracks

Saturday's long run consisted of 12 miles of running, sliding, walking, and nearly falling. The ice was pretty intense in some areas which meant we had to run on the roads for much of our run or in more dangerous areas where the shoulder was not big enough for us to run on, we had to brave the ice. It took us a good half hour longer or so to do our run because of the conditions, which leads me to my conclusion that I need yak tracks.

I've read a lot of my teammates' blogs praising them...and I'm sold. They are only a 30 dollar investment, and they sound like they will be worth it especially for those long, icy runs.

Working towards 34 miles this week...

So far this week, I've logged 22 miles and am hoping to add 12 on Saturday to make it 34 miles. I did 10 on Sunday, 6.5 on Tuesday and 5.5 today. I'm pretty happy with my mileage; although, I could be happier with my pace. I'll get there.

Today was about 33 degrees and icy. Deb and I ran around 5:30, so it was dark and hard to navigate through the poorly lit and poorly shoveled route we took. It wasn't bad, although our run was REALLY slow considering all our obstacles. I plan to rest tomorrow or do something light on the elliptical at the gym to get my legs moving without the heavy pounding. Hopefully that will leave me nice and rested for my long run on Saturday! Wish me luck :)

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a restful holiday like mine! I was in Key West soaking up the sun and lounging by the pool. It was a very unorthodox Christmas...but SO great. I highly recommend trying it one year :) So there is a lot to say about my vacation, so here are the highlights:

1. I discovered my love for key lime pie...mmmm...just thinking about it makes my mouth water. (apparently I am hungry since that is my #1)
2. I snorkeled with a shark.
3. I got a new book!!!! I'm 300 pages into it; it's a Margaret George book about Henry the VIII.
4. I drank margaritas.
5. I ate delicious, fresh fish almost every night...all cooked by David of course
6. I relaxed by the pool every day.
7. I got engaged!!!! (this is really my ultimate highlight...I just put it down here to make sure you kept reading!)
8. I saw Ernest Hemingway's house.
9. I got tan.
10. I watched the sunrise on the beach one morning with David.

Those are my top 10 highlights~

I gotta run...literally. I am off to do a short 5 miles or so with Deb. Cross your fingers that my blisters don't get worse. Oh I forgot to update about my insane blisters. Stay tuned!!!