Snow Snow and More Snow – Kristina

I wish there was more to report but unfortunately due to the weather; this week brought all treadmill workouts along with plenty of shoveling. The good news is I received my Yaktracks, the bad news is I haven’t been able to try them out yet. I have high hopes that once things are a little more cleared from the blizzard that maybe Wednesday or Thursday might be a good day to try out the new gear on the Bedford trail! I am keeping a positive attitude and know that living in New England ‘it is what it is’.

Life-sized Snow Globe – Gabe

I like the snow.  I like the winter. There, I said it. The chilly nights allow for better sleeping. The crisp mornings get your blood flowing when you take those first few breaths when you open the door. Right now, statements like this can have serious repercussions among the Greater Boston population. While the copious amounts of the white stuff has allowed for some fun times around the house, taking my son to daycare in his sled, skiing, playing with the dog in the yard, it has also thrown a wrench into the training.

You’ll see packs of runners, along Washington Street and Commonwealth Ave around the Hospital, plugging away at the miles every week. Doing their part. I, on the other hand have taken to the dreaded treadmill. Running solo in the dark in the early morning, on the quasi-plowed roads, I’ve decided is not the safest move. So for the last few weeks I’ve moved my training to Shipley. Now, I used to loathe the idea of running on the treadmill, checking off miles without really going anywhere. But I have since found some advantages to the human hamster wheel. Firstly, sprint days have been more enjoyable. I can time my splits more consistently, and it’s nice to track the distances, as I get closer to my daily goals. On my tempo days, keeping a quicker pace has been easier. The problem really comes on my long runs.  Two plus hours of running in place, looking at a glass wall, legs just pumping away tends to be daunting. It’s funny, I can watch junky TV for hours at home while I lay on the sofa, but I can’t find anything to watch while I’m on the treadmill. I pass the time listening to CMEs, or my “Marathon Mix” on the iPod. Of course at times, it’s tough to keep moving, and I look for excuses to get off the machine. Maybe adjust my sock a bit, or stop to stretch a bit more. But I try push these thoughts out of my mind, my end goals are much greater than what little relief I can get from giving myself a 30 second rest.

My last long run was 15 miles. I was happy with my pace and satisfied as it was the farthest I have ever run.  Then I got home and it hit me, on race day I will still have another 11.2 miles to go! But I try to stay positive, there’s 70+ days until the race.   This week the long run increases to 17 miles. I hope I can keep the same pace that I was able to do on my 15 mile run. My goals are to decrease my splits while the mileage increases. I look forward to the challenges that the Saturday morning distance runs bring, and with the challenges come success and failures. Sometimes, I won’t be able to keep the pace that I had set out for the day. But I need to always look forward, and until that Monday in April, there will always be another day to train and the opportunity to drop that split just a little bit. 

Gotta Love New England – Kristina

January had brought high hopes and great motivation. I started my workout plan/calendar, which consisted of longer runs on the weekends and although cold, still running outside. And then the snow hit, and along with the first big snowstorm came three days of being sick and unable to move, never mind even think of working out. After being sick and taking five whole days off from working out (which was killing me, but I couldn’t breath) I slowly got back into the swing of things. Unfortunately with two feet of snow, there is nowhere safe to run. The roads aren’t wide enough and I am a complete klutz in anything slippery. I have been informed of Carriage Road, which I will be checking out next weekend and I went and checked out the Bedford trails, which were covered in compacted snow, so I have purchased a pair of Yaktrax to try on this safe running trail.

This brings me to the ill dreaded treadmill. The treadmill and I have a love hate relationship. It loves to watch me struggle and I hate to run in one place and struggle through slow miserable miles. I apologize of being negative, but I just truly enjoy running outside no matter how cold or hot it is. I struggle on the treadmill, it takes me forever to run a whole mile compared to outside and after about four miles I am a sweaty mess and completely exhausted. I’ve been trying to switch it up a little and do half mile/mile intervals then walk at a steep incline, but still the most miles I have been able to complete on the treadmill is about six miles due to time restraint and exhaustion from working two plus jobs and more than 56 overnight hours a week. I do lift two times a week after a shorter run, which is something I love and had to reduce to add more running into my routine, but I am happy to say that I do enjoy adding more miles to my routine. Along with watching what I have been eating and adding more miles in I enjoy my running body more and more.  I am happy to say that I am down nine lbs and hope to get another 11 off by race day. I am not a big person, but carrying an extra 20 lbs through 26.2 miles makes a huge difference on the joints and back.

I am looking forward to this upcoming week, which looks like it’s bringing more snow to try to run through, hopefully my Yaktrax and a group run on Sunday morning get me through! 

Making it Official: The Quest for Boston 2015 – Dave

I've done some pretty silly races in the last few years. Just two years ago I ran my first half in Disney World. In the 24 months since, I've run some 40 races, including across the state of Kentucky in the Bourbon Chase with 11 other crazy people, across Cape Cod with 11 other crazy people, my first marathon in New York in 2013 and, just a month ago, a return to Disney to not only run the half again, but a full marathon, 5k and 10k all in the same Dopey weekend.I started running because being back in Boston as an adult (years removed from a college along the Marathon route), you realize you need to push to keep in shape, but also because there is a culture about it. I've loved the people I've met learning to run and train for all these races.

I'm running Boston because it's been a part of who I am since I was a kid. Whether it was that spring break when we'd watch as the race began, my years in college cheering on runners from Heartbreak Hill and down Comm Ave or the years since when it has become such an important part of our city. I ran New York in 2013 for Boston - my own response to what happened earlier that year - and I did it for a charity dedicated to research in men's health and cancer.

It is an honor to take on Boston for such an enormous cause again, and I'm truly proud to represent Newton-Wellesley Hospital and the Vernon Cancer.

A Spring of Firsts – Gabe

This is my first blog post, ever, about anything…now I bring this up, because it goes along with my theme for the Boston Marathon.  This is going to be a spring of firsts.  I have never run a marathon before.  I have not trained for a race in the past.  I have never had to purchase running accoutrement in my life. So, when my training started on January 6^th, I was ready for some welcomed surprises and challenges.

Since moving to the Boston area in 2006, I have been enamored by how the greater Boston area rallies around one day in April, to welcome spring and the thousands of people who choose to take on the course.  While never being a true runner, since becoming a resident of Massachusetts I have wanted to be a part of the hype.  When the opportunity arose this year, I jumped at the chance.

I am not a runner. I grew up playing hockey. I played through college, and I can’t recall too many of my teammates who really enjoyed running. Getting out on the road or the track was always some sort of punishment, or mandatory conditioning.  After college, of course I’d run here and there to stay in shape, but these were very few and way far between. Three and a half years ago while in PA school I began to do Crossfit.  I like to think of this time in my life where my competitive juices started flowing again. I began training, 4-5 times a week, lifting weights, rowing, gymnastics movements, and for some reason I began to run a bit on the side. This is when my wife and I were living in Beacon Hill, and running along the Charles, or an early morning jaunt along the Harbor Walk made getting out easy. I typically didn’t run more than once or twice a week, more as a way to stretch out the legs from lifting than conditioning itself. I entered a few 5K races with friends, more so for the beers at the end then to race. On a whim, I decided to run a half marathon on Lake Winnipesaukee at one point, which I trained for by running 8 miles the week before to ensure I’d have the legs. My focus was Crossfit, and I always figured that it kept me in shape well enough to get through the challenge of a half marathon, and it did.  It hurt to walk for a week, but I finished. 

As I mentioned, my first training run was on January 6^th.  I am on a three day a week plan. Tuesdays are sprint days, Thursdays are tempo days and Saturdays are my long days. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I am still doing Crossfit. The training so far has not had too much of an impact on my daily life. I have moved from doing Crossfit six days a week, and replaced three of the days with running.  Working in the ED, rarely do my days start too early, so frequently I can get my runs in the late morning or even afternoon, except for Saturdays.  We have a baby in the house, so I try to make sure I am not running when there can be valuable time spent with him and my wife. That means Saturdays typically start early for my long runs, 14 miles is my longest programmed run to date.  The weather has thrown a wrench into my running on a few occasions now. I don’t mind running in the snow, but I do feel a bit uneasy with running in blizzard conditions. So I’ve been using the treadmill to put on the miles. 

I have come to enjoy longer runs. They provide me with alone time, allowing me to listen to music, or maybe catch up on some CMEs. I live near the course, so as I trot down Commonwealth Ave I envision race day, friends and family out cheering me on as I take on this challenge. While, I take time to think forward, the quiet of the run often allows me to reflect on my past week.  Patients from work, all the great new things the baby has been up to and recent life events.

Obviously, finishing the marathon is a challenge in itself, but getting there is going to provide plenty of fodder for hiccups along the way.  Some of these cold January days for example, makes it pretty tough to get out of bed, let alone bundle up to spend a few hours trudging along the streets. While, I liked the change of pace, and the repetition of running, the pounding on the pavement, has made for a few days of sore knees and legs. Stock tip folks, invest in Advil before the race. I am sure that come late February, early March, training is going to become tough. Now, it’s new to me, it’s still novel. Shoes are being broken in, and clothes still feel fresh. As the miles build up, and the training becomes more and more tedious, I am sure it will start to feel stale. But when that happens, I will just envision that day in April, when the streets from Hopkinton to Back Bay are packed, and I can be part of one of Boston’s greatest traditions.

My Journey – Kristina

I was never a small kid but I was always an active kid and a tri-sport athlete in high school. Then college came and along with it an extra 65 lbs. I worked in a restaurant for three years while in college and shortly after, with that I became very unhealthy always eating out and exercise was not even thought of.  I finally left the restaurant and pursued my career in nursing starting as an aide. Due to the tough workload and always being on my feet my lower back was a constant ache, so I decided to see a doctor in March 2011 about an elective surgery (and not gastric bypass). The doctor told me that my insurance would not pay for the surgery unless I lost 20 lbs. The nurse suggested I look into Weight Watchers and so I did. In March 2011, I joined Weight Watchers and started walking. The first 20 lbs came off like a snap of the fingers. I had my follow-up appointment with the doctor and I said to him “I am not done losing weight, I know I can lose more” so his advice was to wait until I was done losing all the weight I wanted.

I continued with Weight Watchers and walking and the weight continued to come off, some weeks better than others, but nothing in life comes easy. By mid summer 2011 I got to the point it was taking me too long to walk the distances I wanted to achieve, so I decided to start running. I truly can’t remember what it felt like to start running or how long I was able to go for my first run, but on October 23, 2011 I ran my first 5k and only walked the hill portion, which was only a small portion. I was now down 40 lbs at that point and looking forward to so much more. I ran one more 5k that year and continued running on my own and loved it! Around November, I hit a plateau with my weight loss and I was stuck around the 50 lb loss mark. At that point my sister really pushed me to add weight training into my workouts. She has a background in exercise science and developed my workout plans. I started with minimal weights, but this took me to the next level. Due to her advice and guidance I was able to shed another 30-40 lbs over the next few months. Now I can’t picture a week that I don’t get to the gym to lift.

2012 brought one of the best years for me! I am not one for New Year’s resolutions, but I made one that year. My goal in 2012 was to run at least one race a month for the whole year. I ended up running a total of 17 races that year. I am very proud to say that in May 2012 I ran my first half marathon! This was one of my biggest accomplishments, never before did I think I could ever run a whole 13.1miles. That May my friend also convinced me to run Tough Mudder with her and her friends. This was a last minute decision, but it was also another great accomplishment! 13.1 miles of obstacle courses through the mud and mountains of Vermont! These two races only began the epic year I had. That year my crazy friends convinced me to run the Spartan sprint and Spartan Beast! Some friends I have... just kidding, they are the best friends to have. Spartan beast was one of the most mentally and physically challenging things I had ever completed up till this point in my life. It was 13+miles of obstacles (with a 30 burpee penalty for each obstacle failed) through the steep hills of Vermont. It took me 6.5 hours to complete, but I did it!! I was so happy; never did I think I could accomplish such a great task. That year I also ran my first triathlon and my second half marathon! It was the best year of my life. After that year I made a running bucket list. My running bucket list consisted of one day running the Boston Marathon and running the Las Vegas, Disney and Tennessee half marathons.

The following 16months was a lot quieter race wise due to being in school full time in an accelerated nursing program. My racing and working out had to take a back seat to studying and clinicals. Never once did I fully give up on running or working out I just wasn’t able to go as often as I liked, but I still made it at least three times a week. I ran another Spartan sprint and one half marathon with a few 5ks in between, but due to the crazy schedule and lack of time unfortunately a few of those pounds (20 to be exact) found their way back. This was very tough for me, but I had to look at it in a positive note. I am still 100% healthier than I had been back in 2011 and I am still skinnier than high school, I mean how many girls can say that? And no I never went back to see that doctor.

I am happy to say that I graduated nursing school in May and have since slowly started to get back into a regular routines. Unfortunately with working two jobs, 56 hours a week and overnights, it’s not always easy, but I am happy to say I have shed six lbs of that 20 and I am determined to lose the rest. I figured eh I will just throw my name in the raffle for the Boston Marathon and “just see” what happens. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would be chosen to run on behalf of the NWH team. I have been working for the Hospital for the past three years and have submitted my number every year and finally I was chosen! Both great excitement and fear came over me at the same time! I am so excited to have one of my running bucket lists be able to come true, yet I am petrified at the same time. A million thoughts ran through my mind (well actually they run through my mind every day) of how am I ever going to run 26.2 miles, how will I train in this lovely New England weather, better get back on my diet, oh how I have a love hate relationship with the treadmill, and so many more, but I am looking forward to every step of the journey. That overweight girl of 2011 has nothing over me. I will never be her again and I love the new person I have become that has brought me to the point of running the Boston Marathon!