With all due respect to Forest Gump, life is like a…marathon

I had a lot of time to think today during my run.

18.25 miles over lots of hills in the hot (March — WTF?) sun. In between anticipating the peanut M&Ms at the water stops, I thought a lot about running and life and how there are so many parallels.

Yesterday, someone (a newbie to the 26.2 –  I should have told her to run the other way!) told me that she didn’t expect marathon training to be so emotional. That she was training not just her legs to run but her mind to be OK with shifting goals, changing perspectives and accepting new outcomes. (She had to alter her training due to injury). I replied that over the years, marathoning has related to my life in more ways that I can count. That it has taught me so much and made me realize that if I can run a marathon (0r 9) , I can get through anything.

I told her that when a bellman at a hotel offers to take my bags, I laugh and say “I’m a marathon runner, I can carry my bags, thanks!” How that when I suffered through a 90-minute hot yoga class a few years ago (have you ever taken a class in Cambridge right after Baron has taught, holy patchouli!?!?!?) , I talked myself through it by chanting “I have run 5 marathons, I have run 5 marathons.”  I have clung to my marathons more times than I can remember when the chips have been down and I’ve needed some strength — physical or emotional.

There’s another big similarity between life and the marathon. Both are fickle.

You can train your ass off and do all the right things and eat well and hydrate —  and on race day, the rug is pulled out from under you and you have a terrible run or a DNF or you go to the ER or all of the above.

You can be a top-notch employee and give work your all and go above and beyond the call of duty — and in a round of lay-offs, you can lose your job.

You can give your heart and your care and your body and your mind to someone and do everything you can think of for them because you want to — and out of nowhere, they can shut down and walk away and leave you hurt and wondering.

I’ve had a rough week.

And the idea of 18 miles at the end of it was initially not something that was making me happy.

But, I somehow feel a little better today (and I have a hell of a tan!). I pushed and I dug and at times, I wasn’t sure if  I was tasting my sweat or my tears. I listened to Ben Folds Five and I just ran.

It may take a little while, but I will be OK.

Because hey, if I can run a marathon, I can get through anything.

Twenty-nine days to go….

www.runDFMC.org/2010/judithf

18 miles down, 6 weeks to go and a purpose at last….

It’s been a little while since I’ve blogged and I’m sorry for the lapse.

But, hey, like Melanie Griffith, I’ve been a working gal. Two weeks down and about 30 more years until I retire!

I’m actually super happy with my job as Events and Marketing Partnerships Coordinator for Healthworks Fitness Centers for Women.  (www.healthworksfitness.com) Repeat that six times! I spend my days working on partnerships, figuring out how we can be part of events and benefits and connecting with strategic  products, restaurants, businesses, etc.

I get to work on  swank-eee Newbury Street, a stone’s throw from H&M, 98 million salons and my favorite cornbread. Life is pretty good right now.

So, onto running. I bet you think I am going to write ANOTHER post about how much I hate running, how I am over the marathon, how I am counting the 42 days until April 19 has come and gone, blah blah blah.

Nope. I actually have POSITIVE stuff to say today.

I ran 18 miles yesterday. And I actually liked it!

I will attribute the strength and (relative) speed of my run (way slower than in years past but way faster than the past few training runs of this season) to a few things. During the past week, I’ve gotten a few kicks in the ass from various people and somehow the words are starting to sink in. Mind over matter. I knew I have the muscle memory to run this race but I started to to reset my thinking and make a few mental shifts in how I was approaching Marathon Monday.

Then, on March 2, came the real kick. I got this email from my dear friend and running buddy Gail:

I had a very sad day.  You know Jillana, the young teacher for whom I ran my marathon last year?  She just died today.  I can’t believe it.  She was right around your age, with her whole life ahead of her.  She ran the New York marathon in 2008, just a few weeks before she was diagnosed with brain cancer.  What a tragedy.
 
Do you have somebody in particular that you are running for in Boston?  I would like someone to run for Jillana, with some kind of sign on their singlet or arm.  I would be happy to give you another donation if you could do this, and if you could send a short note to Jillana’s family to say that Bob and I made a contribution to Dana-Farber in her memory, that you will run to honor her memory, and that her name will go with you through all 26.2 miles of the marathon.  Would you be comfortable with that?

I read the email just before bed and again in the morning before I replied. I thought. Would I be comfortable with that? (As my Grandma would say in her thick Polish accent, Vhhhhat a question!) How could I not do this, for Gail, for Jillana, for me?

I wrote back:

WOW. i am sooo soooo sorry to hear this. it is hard to believe and process that someone so young could be gone. i remember reading her blog last year, that really makes us stop and breathe and put everything in perspective. i am so sorry. how are the kids taking it? did you tell them? when is the funeral? will you go?

it would be my honor and pleasure to run for jillana, god i am starting to cry as i write this. my 10th marathon is not about me in a million ways and now it can have a purpose. no additional donation is necessary and i would be happy to write a note to her family and mail it — please pass on their names and the address and i can do it this weekend.

we can talk about what to put on my singlet or or my arm — or i can attach ribbons for her or whatever you think is best.

again, i am so sorry.

And Gail wrote:

Thank you.  You have made me cry.  But thank you.

And I wrote:

you made me cry. and thank you for giving me some focus for 4/19. i will dig deep on sat for 18-20 miles.

I am a woman of my words. I put everything aside and I ran the 18 miles strong on Saturday for Jillana. For someone who can no longer run. While I am writing life is pretty good right now, a family is mourning the loss of another 33-year-old. How is that fair? I can’t stop thinking about this.

I mailed a note on Friday to Jillana’s family in New York and told them she will be with me on April 19. I don’t expect a response. I just wanted them to know that I am doing this for her, for them. That I’ve taken for granted my ability to run, my legs that work, my lungs that pump.

As I breathed in the almost-spring air and took in the amazing country scenery on Saturday, I put my head down and I ran my heart out.

*** To date, I have raised $5376.27 for Dana-Farber — more than halfway to my goal of $10,000. If you haven’t donated, there’s still plenty of time. Check out my fundraising page at www.runDFMC.org/2010/judithf. Thanks a million times over for your support!

Yesterday’s training update email….

OK, I’m being a little lazy here  but hey, I just started a real J-O-B!

Written 2.21.10……..

Hello!
 
This morning, I ran 17 miles — most of it on the Boston Marathon course. It was long and slow and pretty painful, and the only one I can blame is myself. You see, my training has not been as, how can I say this, focused, as in years past. I am slogging through the runs instead of loving them, and the speed I once had is but a distant memory.
 
Sometimes, life gets in the way of running.
 
But, I am still out there.
 
I’m doing the best I can as I plug forward to my 10th (and yes, final, I promise!) marathon finish line. On April 19, I will line up in Hopkinton with my 500 or so Dana-Farber teammates as we eun 26.2 miles to end cancer. We are the largest charity team and we raise the most money — our collective goal for 2010 is $4.4 million, 100% of which will fund the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research.
 
Because I did not set a time goal for myself this year (other than to finish vertical), I set a lofty fundraising goal. To mark my 10th marathon in 2010, I am aiming to raise $10,000 for the amazing scientists at Dana-Farber. They are doing out-of -the-box research that is not funded by federal grant money, and while my brain does not do well with science, my legs can run. So, I do what I can.
 
So far, I have raised a whopping $4,336.27 — almost half of my goal!  To everyone who has donated, a giant THANK YOU!  Your support — year after year — is overwhelming.
 
There’s still time to donate and you can do so online at:
 
http://www.runDFMC.org/2010/judithf

You can also make out a check to “Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge” and mail it to me at:
 
Judith Forman
44 Park Street
Arlington, MA 02474
 
I will then send it into Dana-Farber.
 
More updates to come as the marathon gets closer. For now, I am putting my head down and my energy into getting myself into slightly better shape before that big Monday in April. I know, that in the end, it is not about me. It is about helping Dana-Farber for the 5th year in a row and being part of a team that is filled with the biggest hearts I know.
 
With many more miles to go….
 
xxxooo
Judith
 
PS As a side note, I will be starting a new job tomorrow at Healthworks, doing events and marketing and partnerships for the all-women’s fitness clubs. My new office will be on Newbury Street so if you’re down in Back Bay, let me know! We can go for a run!

16 miles and a happily sore knee…

I think I am the only person who is stoked to have a sore knee.

It’s not really that sore, just enough to remind me that I ran yesterday. Yep, you read that right. I RAN 16 MILES YESTERDAY.

Once upon a time (in the good ole’ days), that wouldn’t have been such a big deal. But these days, it is. I have not run 16 miles since Labor Day when I tackled the Cape Ann 25K (OK, that was 15.6 but close enough) and then proceeded to puke all afternoon in the parking lot of the race site and at various spots along Route 128.

But, lately,  as I’ve been writing, my relationship with running has changed and it’s become a little strained.

Yesterday morning, I met up with BFF and the Dana-Farber team at Boston Sports Club in Waltham for what I knew was a tough course.  It’s rolling and windy and hilly (and quite lovely) running through Waltham and Lincoln.  I had to get the miles in, though. Marathon Monday is coming up quickly. I told BFF that I had to run 16 miles or I was really super f*&$ed.

I was less than thrilled at the start (and many people commented on my Facebook and blog messages about being burnt out this year) and I think I said out loud least 10 times that I “hate running.”  But, then we were off,  dressed in many layers and with iPods cranked.

BFF stayed with me for about 5 miles (at one brief point, I was even in front of him, and he had the first chance to look at my butt all season!) but sure enough, his training  mojo kicked in and he took off. I am so proud that he has been putting in the time and the effort week after week. He logs most of his miles on the treadmill at the gym, and for that — he is a far better human being than I could ever be. Ha!

I ran the rest of the miles myself, hitting the team water stops to bribe myself  to keep going with Peanut M&Ms. I prayed to the running gods and thought about Marathon Monday and my new job and how my life is going to change because I will actually have to get dressed and go to work. I heard my new favorite song by Train and smiled. I wondered what it would be like to volunteer with DFMC next year instead of running. I tried to calculate how much money I have spent on race entries and sneakers since I started distance running in 2001.

I ran slow. Way way slow. But I don’t mind. I did it. BFF cranked out 18 fast miles and yesterday afternoon/evening for us included a bunch of Lime Tostito chips (and some today, hey, it’s SuperBowl Sunday after all!), a half-assed nap, a lot of drinks, fries and banana cream pie — among other things.

Today, my knee is sore and my calves are screaming and my hamstrings hurt. Injuries are bad — and I have many friends who are down for the count at the moment from overtraining — so I am not trying to gloat that I feel a little beat up. I’m just being reminded what it feels like to run a lot, something I haven’t done much of lately.

I’m not running from running.

I’m just running toward something else.

On a fundraising note — I am edging toward the $4,000 mark! Thank you all for your generous support. If you have not yet donated,  please visit http://www.runDFMC.org/2010/judithf and give what you can to this crucial cause. Thanks again!

It’s our party…

and we raised $1,028!!

A quick thank you to everyone who attended and supported my Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge fundraiser with BFF. Last night, we had a great turnout at the Rattlesnake.

It was a cold and windy night — but with good food, good peeps, good drinks and a super cause — the room was swathed in warmth.

Special shout-outs to:

 Beth Kitzis and Word of Mouth Cupcakes

 Emily Shartin

 Brookie Horowitz

Jack Fultz

 Ellen + Stanley Forman

 Brian Poe and the staff of the Rattlesnake

 My BFF, Steve, for being a kick-ass training buddy.

Last night, we partied.

Today, we rest.

Tomorrow, we run.

More soon! xx J

Can less really be more? (I feel like Carrie Bradshaw)

As my BFF, Steve, so kindly pointed out this afternoon, the Boston Marathon is in 93 days.

Gulp. Swallow. Gasp. Breathe.

OK. I will be OK.

The good news: I ran 14 miles today! Hooray! At 8 am, I met up with my Dana-Farber teammates at the Greater Boston Running Company in Lexington. There were lots of familiar faces and some new ones and it felt good (and motivating) to be around my running peeps. After the usual announcements (many by me about my upcoming fundraisers, see below) we headed out toward A-town on the sketchily-icy bike path.

After the first water stop, I said to Steve, F*&$ this S#$* — let’s run on Mass Ave. So, trading the ice for the traffic, we climbed the stairs behind Trader Joe’s and ran on the street. I heart running that way on Mass Ave — it’s downhill and we were clicking off sub-9 miles. In the center of town, we picked up the bike path again and ran toward Alewife, adding a little more on to make 6.5 miles before we turned back.

Mass Ave the other way is a bitch. Hello, gradual 4-mile incline!

Dodging ice, snow and cars, we made it back to the Trader Joe’s water stop where lovely Apple was still waiting for us with snacks and Gatorade. Here, we picked up a newbie named Genevieve and I ran back with her (while BFF, in his svelte shape, ran ahead). Genevieve told me about losing her father to kidney cancer at age 53 back in 2002 and how they had talked about one day running the marathon together.

Eight years later, here she is — alone.

This is why we run.

Back at the store, we got gratis Adidas beanies and kudos from Amy Jo and then headed off to shower and then to the Rattlesnake to consume eggs, grilled cornbread (swoon!), potatoes and a drink (or two).

As I told a teammate this morning, 2010 is about the less is more training routine. Since Nov. 15, I’ve run about 10 times. A few have been short runs and the long runs have gone: 7, 10.25, 12 and 14. Next weekend is the big Kahuna of the winter racing season, the Derry Boston Prep. It is 16 miles of hills and hell.

I’ve run Derry three times before — 2007, ’08 and ’09. Each year, I’ve run faster and faster, a testament to my growing endurance and tolerance as a runner.

This year, I am actually having some doubts about Derry. My friendly neighbor and B-list celeb, Jeff Larson, is strong in his opinion that I shouldn’t run it — that I am not ready and that the less is more training plan could backfire on me with injury. My friend Angie wants me to run it with her. BFF thinks I should do what feels right. (Why is he so smart? Oh yah, because he was born when JFK was alive…)

I’m pretty much in — unless this week totally sucks running-wise. I have mapped out my times to run/hit the gym and if all goes well, then, I’m headed to N’Hampshah on Sunday. At least there’s Domino’s pizza at the end of the race. (In case you haven’t noticed, I’m taking a slight hiatus from my extreme dieting — for a few reasons — but mostly to keep myself sane during the training).

I ran strong today — not crazy fast — but with good form and a mind at ease. (And I only dry heaved three time post-run!) That seemed to be good enough for me.

In past years, I would have focused on a negative split or making sure I crossed off the mileage in all four of my training logs or making sure I had exactly 1.7 packets of Gu. This year, that’s all out the window. This year, it’s about finishing and going to Shifter’s post-marathon party It’s about raising $10,000 and making a difference to the researchers at Dana-Farber.

This year, it’s for all the Genevieves out there — running alone.

For that, less can be more.

FUNDRAISER INFO:

It’s hard to believe that my fundraisers are coming up so soon!

Numero Uno — Friday Jan 29 at The Rattlesnake, 384 Boylston Street, Boston. Join me and BFF from 530-9p for great food, cool drinks and dee-licious cake all in the name of Dana-Farber. $10 at the door, cash bar. We’ll be there all night so come when you can!

Numero Dos — Tues Feb 9 at MiniLuxe (Newton, Lexington, Newbury Street). The awesome peeps at MiniLuxe are donating 10 percent of all their sales from all three locations to my Dana-Farber fundraising! WOO HOO! So, book your manis and pedis STAT at www.miniluxe.com or call one of the stores. You know you want to get all pretty before Valentine’s Day!

To date, I’ve raised $1,050. Only $8, 950 to go! Donate online at www.rundfmc.org — click on Support a Runner and Enter my Name.

With big xoxoxos….

Judith

I do not know you. But I still like you….

Happy New Year!

It is day #3 of 2010, and I decided today would be the day I start training for Boston. I ran 5 miles the other day (that was so last year, ha!) and the goal today was to get up and get out for a slightly longer run with the L Street running club and my neighbor/famed traffic guy Jeff.

Alas, Mutha Nature had other plans and dumped a bunch of snow on us overnight. The run was canceled and Jeff ditched me (in the nicest way possible) to run with some fast dudes in Quincy.

So, I did what any runner flush with New Year’s determination would do. I spent 30 minutes shoveling my car out and drove to the gym. Yep, pigs are flying because I did my first run ** of 2010 on the treadmill!

** In full disclosure, I broke the run up into three segments interspersed with two 5-minute intervals on the arc trainer.  But, as Coach Nate told me last year, it doesn’t matter how you get the miles in, as long as you get the miles in. All total, I did 7.09 miles in 65 minutes.

Feeling all virtuous and ready to blog that I actually ran instead of complaining about not running, I came home and shoveled a little more and then opened the package my landlady had dropped at my door. 

Sometimes the running and blogging stars align.

The package was a bunch of letters from my friend Steve’s school in Derry, NH. I agreed (like a million years ago) to be a marathon running penpal to kids in his school. Here are some excerpts from the letters:

“Dear Ms. Forman (yikes, that makes me feel old; please, call me Judes), I do not know you. But I still like you Ms. Forman. Do you like to run? I like to run too.”

“Dear Ms. Forman, Do you have any pets in your home? Are you married? How fast can you run in one hour?”

“Dear Mrs. Forman, I wonder who is going to win the marithon (sic). I bet you will be good at the marithon.”

“Dear Mrs. Forman, I play video games a lot. Are you really fast at running? Can you jump high? Can you climb good?”

And the kicker….”Hello Ms. Forman. I can’t run that much because I have really bad bad asthma. Sometimes I have to go to the hospital. (Hey, me too!) Good thing you don’t have asthma. Trust me asthma isn’t fun.I like the colors red and blue. I am 4’8″.”

If those don’t motivate me to run, then, hell, I don’t know what will. **

** OK, Magners does, too.

So, it’s a new year and a new start for me. I have a new pair of Sauconys ready to go and a new resolve to get back into this training thing. The 16-mile Boston Prep is in 21 days, and I know I can do it. Er, I hope I can do it.

The first Dana-Farber team run is next Sunday and I will be there with bells on, ready to crank out some miles with BFF. (He is in amazing shape, has lost nearly 20 lbs and doing silly things like running half marathon distances in sub-2 hours on the treadmill regularly. Ew. Kidding, of course. I love him and his maniacal ways.)

On the fundraising front, I have raised just over $1,000 so far for Dana-Farber. Thank you all! Keep those donations rolling in! You can donate online at www.runDFMC.org/2010/judithf.

And I am so excited to have added a second fundraiser to my game plan this year. The first, as you may recall, will be a kick-ass party  at the Rattlesnake on Jan 29 featuring mighty delicious food. And on Feb. 9, the peeps at MiniLuxe, a very cool nail and beauty spa, will donate TEN PERCENT of their sales from their THREE locations to Dana-Farber. So, go get your hands and feet all pretty on Newbury Street, in Newton Centre or in Lexington. (You can book appointments online at www.miniluxe.com)

HOORAY!

So, I have 3 months and 15 days and 21 hours and a bunch of minutes until I line up in Hopkinton. I’m feeling a lot better about this 10th marathon in 2010 thing today.

It’s going to be a good year. It has to be. The Bachelor returns to TV tomorrow (I am so lame, I know), a bunch of third graders who don’t know me like me and the resolve that has been in me since my first mile in 1995 is bubbling to the surface once again.

It’s Dec 13, and my training has…

….not yet begun.

Um, the Boston Marathon is in 4 months and 5 days (the Dana-Farber team web site so kindly provides me with a countdown each time I log in) and I have not started to train. My teammates following an 18-week plan have started. (As I’ve read in their blogs!)

 Bad, bad me. 

This is quite unlike me. In past years, I’ve started at Thanksgiving. Or  Dec 1. Worst case has been Dec 15. Definitely no later than Dec 15. I’ve obsessively crossed off each run with a pink highlighter and then logged each in my special training planner that I bought just to record my runs.

There’s no planner this year. No pink highlighter.

This time around, I am going with the old “I’ll start after Jan. 1 ” training method. 2010 sounds like a good year for running. So, I’ll wait until then to lace up my Sauconys…

Since my 7-in-7 series ended with a bang on Nov. 15, I have been doing most of my sweating at the gym. I crank the elliptical up to level 25 hills, put my ipod on and lose myself in the pages of US Weekly and People (thank you to Arlington Health & Fitness for having a stellar magazine selection). Often times I end my workout with a spin on the arc trainer, again slow and hilly. I look at the people on the treadmill and then I look away.

I don’t want to run.

But, I have to. And to make sure I run,  BFF and I have registered for the Derry Boston Prep 16-miler on Jan 24.  This will be my 4th time running Derry. It’s a bitch of a race, with its hills and usually freezing temperatures and oh yeah, in 2008, they had to delay the start because of snow.

Good times up there in N’Hamshah.

Speaking of BFF, he is one skinny dude. He has lost more than 12 lbs so far on our 15-lb challenge. I am not far behind with 8.8 lbs gone. (I am so loving that I now need a belt to hold up my new skinny jeans!) Together, we have shed 21.7 lbs since mid-October with about 14 more to go between us. He has been a good boy and kept up with his running.

Again, bad, bad me.

But, I don’t have a super crazy goal for Boston. Not trying for a PR or a sub-4 or a BQ or anything really. There are two things I want to accomplish on April 19: I want to have fun. And I want to make it to Shifter’s p0st-marathon party for the first time. 

So, what’s my plan then? Well, I am going  to aim for 8 miles this weekend at the first DFMC group run. Cross your fingers! If I make it, then I’ll try to run more the following week. If I don’t, um, I’ll cross that bridge…

In all seriousness, I do need to figure out a way to bring running back into my life, into my new lower calorie life. Every time I train, I tend to gain weight. Some of it from muscle. Some of it from real hunger that comes with the high mileage. Some of it from the “I just ran 15 miles so I can eat a house” thinking. It takes a few hours to run 15 miles but I can eat those calories back in about 20 minutes (think: burger, fries, wings and 3 Magners).

I am not gaining this weight back. Period. I promised myself this would be the last time. I’m getting off this rollercoaster. Leaving the amusement park for good.

I know it’s about balance and moderation. I am not so good at either of those things.

BFF keeps reminding me that in 4 months (and 5 days) this will all be over. Then, I can live my happy life on the elliptical and arc trainer reading about Tiger Woods’ 917th affair.

He’s right. It will be over soon enough. In the meantime, I need to start.

PS Plans are underway for our “Beyond the Finish Line Marathon Bash” on Jan. 29 at the Rattlesnake. The party will start at 530p and there will be a $10 door cover to support Dana-Farber. Save the date!

‘Tucky Runnin’

I’ve learned some new things so far during my short time in Kentucky.

When you’re from around here, you’re real “tucky” (that’s like the south of Boston equivalent of “townie”). Places and people that are on the Kentucky/Indiana border are known as “Kentuckiana.”  There are actually a bunch of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants down here in Louisville. (And a big Whole Foods —  who knew?)

At the start of a local Thanksgiving road race, they play the Kentucky state song.

OMG.

After listening to words I’ve never heard before (and then probably the most butchered version of the National Anthem ever), we were off….and up and up and up and up and up in Iroquois State Park. This race could have been renamed “How to Run The Biggest Negative Split of Your Life.”

Basically we ran straight up for 2.5 miles and then ran straight down back to the start.

 Having essentiallly stopped training in the name of dieting, the 2.5 miles up were pretty hard. But the down was as sweet as punkin pie.  In the end, I banged out 5.10 miles (I am going by my Garmin, as this race did not have clocks….or enough T-shirts or Gatorade or well, much of anything) in 44:54. My splits were 9:24, 9:16, 8:42, 8:44 8:05 and 7:20.

I love it!

After the race, I found Tamara in her car waiting for me — drinking coffee, reading deep philosophy and smoking butts. I am thankful to have such a good friend who drove me to a race (I could not have imagined Thanksgiving without one) and thankful to have continued the day with a nap, some alcohol and more calories than I have consumed in the past six weeks combined.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

PS My thoughts are now turning to actual Boston Marathon training (Gasp! And yes, the raison d’etre of this blog!)….Stay tuned for the link to my Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge web site and SAVE THE DATE of Friday January 29 for a blowout fundraiser at the Rattlesnake on Boylston Street. BFF and I hope you will come out for some drinks and chow — all in the name of an amazing cause. The race is on to raise $10K in 2010 for marathon #10!

262 miles later…

Saturday Nov 14, 2009, 10:06 pm

Naples, FL. New Bedford (x2). Boston-BAA. Providence. Hartford (x2). Atlanta. San Francisco. Hollis, NH. Frederick, MD. Nashville. Boston-Run to Remember (x2). Washington, DC. Lowell. Hampton, NH. Manchester, NH (x2) And tomorrow….Newton will make half marathon #20. The moral of the story: Believe in yourself. I started with one lap around a track in ’95, and here I am, a million incredible roads later….

OK, so I am plagarizing from my own Facebook page. But I like seeing my 20 half marathons lined up like that.

Another way to look at it: 262 miles of half marathons run, a crapload of money spent registering for them, getting to/from them, buying kicks to run in them, and springing for assorted drinks/dinners/brunches to celebrate them.

I’ll admit I was sort of kidding this summer when I said I was going to get to 20 half marathons by the end of 2009.

The joke was on me, I guess.

Yesterday’s Chilly Half Marathon was a kick-ass day. Not only did it mark my 7th race in seven weeks, but I actually felt GOOD running it. Borderline GREAT… even though it was raining pretty steadily (and some water got INSIDE the screen of my Garmin, Idon’twanttotalkaboutit) and I hadn’t slept much the night before (due to my addiction to Dr. Drew’s Celebrity Sex Addict Rehab).

BFF and I met at Newton South High School (my Dad’s alma mater) at 0630 am.  This was a last-minute plan. BFF was running in the stead of my other trusted race partner who had been sick all week with the swine.  I asked him to run on Saturday afternoon. He is such a good friend that he agreed —  even though he was planning to use Sunday to rest. We got our numbers, hung out in our cars for a bit and then lined up with the small crowd. There was no song and dance at the start. I think someone said go — because we were off….

The course took us through Newton — up and over Route 9,  into the Highlands, over to West Newton, down Comm. Ave, through Newton Centre and then back to the school. BFF and I stayed together for 8-ish miles and then he took off, after I snagged some gummy bears from his fanny pack. (I make him do all the heavy lifting).

I glided along, feeling strong, lean (in my own reality) and like I am getting back to business with this running stuff.

I never felt like puking. I passed a bunch of people during the final mile. They had little brownies at the finish.

I am not complaining.

It turns out that BFF finally bested 2 hours in the half marathon this fall, after trying three previous times. I didn’t even attempt that and was happy with a solid 2:03 and change. After the race, I broke down and broke my diet and enjoyed a big huge bottle of Magners…. and two Mimosas and….

This weekend, I got a lot of really nice comments and messages on Facebook. Angie wrote that I am a machine. Heather posted on my wall that I am her hero. (Yikes.) Someone I don’t know well sent me this: “I’ll be cheering for you each day, because it takes a strong person with determination and discipline to do what you do.”

Shit, Kristina  (aka http://marathonmama.competitor.com/) even called today from the supermarket asking ME for advice on which boullion cubes to buy.

I am not a machine or a hero or a sodium expert. As I wrote in my first blog entry, I am  just a girl, who in 1995 decided she was tired of being fat, and was ready to be a runner.  

I am going to get all sappy for a second (and I am allowed to because it’s my blog!): Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Don’t wait for your ship to come in….swim out it.

If you always do what you did, you’ll get what you got.

Thank you to everyone for your support and kind words throughout my 7-in-7 adventure. It’s only the beginning of this blog, though. It’s called TEN FINISH LINES because I’m preparing for my 10th marathon finish line on April 19, 2010.

I have one more race this fall (a Turkey Day 5-miler down in Lousiville, thanks Tamara!) and more weight to lose and then the big show to start training for….

I’ll be back after my adventure in Kentucky. **

** And no, to my friend who asked, we are not planning to eat KFC on Thanksgiving.