Kelly's Marathon Challenge

...and one more article!

2010-03-26T15:17:00.000-04:00

Hello all! A little more than three weeks to go until the Boston Marathon - I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. Here's another one of my articles from The Harbus - hope you enjoy it!

Going the Distance

A Rookie's Journey to Run the Boston Marathon

Kelly Carson (OA), Contributing Writer

Erica Guo, Tanya Soluk, Kelly Carson and Abigail Wattley at the Red Party.

This is the third in a series of articles following EC Kelly Carson's quest to run her first marathon through the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge.

The past few weeks have passed by in a blur - run, study, class, eat, hang out with friends, sleep, repeat… and suddenly, there are only six weeks left until the Boston Marathon. While I'm excited, I can't help thinking - how did this happen?! Am I really going to be able to ramp up to 26.2 miles in a month and a half? Here are a few of the things that have filled my past few weeks:

The Red Party
February 11 was a great night for Dana Farber, as HBS students gathered at Redline and raised more than $1,300 for cancer research. A huge thank you to all of you that made it out and contributed to this great event - your generosity helped push me nearly halfway to my fundraising goal. The Red Party's success is also due to the generosity of the many sponsors who donated prizes, including Redline, Dunkin' Donuts, John Harvard's, J. August, Qdoba and Starbucks.

Running in Philly
Oh, the joys of training while traveling. While in Philly visiting my boyfriend, I managed to squeeze in my longest run ever along the Schuykill River. To me, there's no better way of seeing a city up close and personal than by running it. As I run, I like to pause and take pictures of the city from my perspective - like this one about two miles outside of Philly from the river trail. While I have yet to run "Rocky" style up the steps of Philly's art museum, it's definitely on my agenda… Oh, and the fact that my boyfriend ate lunch in public with my sweaty, gimpy, weirdly attired self after my 14-mile run? Definitely makes him a keeper.

Hyannis Half Marathon
As February came to a close, I traveled with many of my fellow Dana Farber Marathon Challenge fundraisers to Cape Cod to run the Hyannis Half Marathon. This beautiful race along the coast was my fourth ever half marathon. Since I left my iPod at home, I had plenty of time to catch up on my thoughts. If you've ever wondered what long distance runners think about during their races, I can promise you it is utterly unimpressive:

Wow, it's really beautiful out here… Man, I'm so hungry. How much longer until the next water stop? It would be so sweet if they had pizza there. Even if I finish all 13.1 miles today, I have to do this twice over on Marathon Monday. Yikes - that's kind of a scary thought. Man, I really like pizza. I can't believe that white-haired old man just passed me. Okay, only 7 more miles to go… Do I seriously have to go home and read cases after this? I bet it would be a lot easier to read those cases if I had some pizza… Mmm, pizza…

Somewhere in the middle of the craziness of this race, I realized something - I may not be fast, or all that fit, or know anything about foam rollers or fartleks (yes, that's a real running term) - but today, as my legs propel me forward without my having to force them into it, I am a runner. In the end this was a great race for me - I cut my personal record time by nearly 15 minutes (I like to credit this to all the Trader Joe's kettle corn I ate in the car on the way out) and got to see fellow ECs Emma Doggett and Stephanie Parker as they finished their first ever half marathons. Congrats, ladies!

Days until Boston: 42 (Yikes!)
Most miles run (as of March 6): 16
Funds raised: $3,394.82

Visit www.runDFMC.org/2010/kellyc to find out more and to donate.

Four weeks from today...

2010-03-22T19:57:00.001-04:00

Four weeks from today, runners from all over the world will be gathering at the start line of the Boston Marathon - one of the most famous marathons in the world. That same day, a six year old little girl who has battled leukemia for the past two years will travel with her mother and sister to mile 25 of the marathon route to cheer on the runners who help make her innovative cancer treatments possible. As her patient partner, I have come to know Chantal as a shy kid with a great sense of humor and a love of all things basketball – especially the Boston Celtics. I even took her on at the basketball court last week – and while she can’t quite throw the ball into the basket yet, she definitely outmaneuvered me on the court! While I get caught up in the fundraising and the training every once in a while, Chantal reminded me of what it’s really all about – coming up with cutting edge new cancer treatments so that someone like Chantal has a fighting chance.

Four weeks from today, I will do my best to honor all of the people I’m running in memory of – from Dr. Beverly Lumumba to Rose Pessemier, from mothers to sons, from aunts to grandparents. Thanks to your generosity, I have currently raised $4,166.82 towards my goal of $7,000 – or 15.6 “miles” towards my finish line of 26.2 miles. As I head into my highest mileage training week yet (I ran 18 miles yesterday, and 20 miles are coming up this Saturday!), I need your support to reach my real goal – supporting Dana Farber’s Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research. 100% of each dollar you donate goes straight to cancer research! To donate, please visit http://rundfmc.org/2010/kellyc or fill out and mail in the attached form. With only a few weeks left until the marathon, your help will make a HUGE difference towards meeting my goal!

To learn more about my training, feel free to read my articles in Harvard Business School’s newspaper, The Harbus: Article #1, Article #2, and Article #3. Thank you all so much for your generous support and encouragement!

Kelly

Another fun Harbus article about my training... :)

2010-03-11T23:12:00.000-05:00

Going the Distance

A Rookie's Journey to Run the Boston Marathon

By: Kelly Carson (OA), Contributing Writer

Posted: 2/16/10

Saturday, 8:03 a.m.: I join a group of about 70 Dana Farber Marathon Challenge runners in a few final stretches before heading out for the weekly group run.

This is my first run with the other Dana Farber runners, and I'm nervous - because A) there are some seriously hardcore runners here and B) it's about 9 degrees out with wind chill. As we take off running, my conversations with fellow runners always seem to trail back to one topic: what made them run for Dana Farber.

In my running group, people have lost siblings, parents, children, grandparents - but just as many have stories about the ones who made it, the ones who beat cancer using the latest innovative treatments. I only plan to run 10 miles, but with such great company, 12 miles speed by before I know it. Soon I make it back to the gym and start to thaw out (when did I lose feeling in my face?). As I head back home, I keep thinking to myself - only 14 more miles to go until I can run a full marathon. I'm not sure if this is exciting or depressing - but I'm feeling good.

Sunday, 10 a.m.: I'm standing at the starting line for my first pre-Boston race - the Super Sunday 10k. Considering I just ran 12 miles the day before, I start this race out at an easy, relaxed pace. As I time my miles along the route, I realize that my "relaxed pace" is on track to be two minutes faster than my last 10k time. This is the first time I realize that the past months of training have been doing me some good - I'm actually getting faster! The last half-mile of the race is tough - my legs are reminding me of how many miles I've run in the last 24 hours, and I'm overjoyed to see a friend waiting to run the last stretch towards the finish line with me. Touched by the fact that she waited out in the cold after finishing her 5k, I pick up my pace and cross the finish line at a full run.

Run of the Week: Along the Charles River downtown. Now, this may seem like an obvious pick (or a masochistic one, considering the cold winds off of the water!), but running along the Charles never fails to get me motivated and remind me just how beautiful a town Boston is…most of the time. I'll admit, Boston and I have developed a love/hate relationship over the past year and a half, and my runs along the Charles really have cemented this. In the summer and fall (or as I've come to think of it, the "honeymoon period"), I get to see the "idyllic" Boston during my runs, all warm and friendly and gussied up with sailboats, swans and warm sea breezes. Most winter days, the Boston I loved is ice cold, blasting me with wind as I run until I'm convinced I'll never feel my face again. Talk about high maintenance…

Days until Boston: 62
Most miles run: 12
Funds raised: $1,987.40

To support Kelly's run for the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge, visit: http://rundfmc.org/2010/kellyc
AUTHOR'S BIOGRAPHY
Kelly Carson is a proud member of Old A from Littleton, Colorado. When not running, you can find her singing with the She-E-O's, walking backwards while leading campus tours for the admissions office or (most likely!) waiting in the sushi line at Spangler.

Going The Distance

2010-03-10T14:09:00.000-05:00

Here's the full text of an article I wrote for HBS' on campus newspaper, the Harbus (click here to access the online version of the article). Enjoy!

A Rookie's Journey to Run the Boston Marathon

By: Kelly Carson (OA), Contributing Writer

This is the first in a series of articles following EC Kelly Carson's quest to run her first marathon through the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge.

Just one more mile… OK, maybe just a few blocks more… well, how about to that stop sign? God, I hate running.

Two years ago, this was the dialogue that ran through my head whenever I tried to run. Although I was in good shape, I could only run about half a mile before doubling over in pain, and I usually ended up curled on the floor with debilitating cramps when I got home. I was convinced that running was for masochists, and I laughed at my friends when they tried to convince me to sign up for races with them. Running is terrible - I would tell them. Who would ever do a marathon on purpose?

Today, as I train for my first marathon, I couldn't feel more differently. As I found out two years ago, I had a medical condition that made distance running next to impossible for me. A few months later, after a painful surgery and recovery, I decided to give running one more chance. That day, I jogged three amazing miles through the Colorado foothills and ran up the steps to my house overjoyed, humming the Rocky theme and pumping my hands above my head. While I wasn't exactly marathon material, I felt free - and so excited about my newfound ability to run.

When I entered HBS, I reluctantly agreed when two wonderful and motivated friends convinced me to train for my first half-marathon. After that, I was hooked, running two more half-marathons in the next seven months. For me, running was a release, a privilege, a testament to the power of quality medical care. Suddenly, I was that crazy runner girl that I used to make fun of - the one who tries to convince people to sign up for races and actually wears one of those nerdy hydration belts in public!

When I found out about the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge through a case study in my "Leading and Governing High Performing Nonprofits" class, I was instantly determined to join the team. After seeing the devastating impact that cancer had on my life and that of my family and friends, I knew it was the perfect way to combine my newfound love of running with a great cause - raising funds for cutting-edge cancer research.

Over the coming months, I invite you to follow me through my ups and downs, my triumphs and my frustrations, as I work to raise $7,000 for the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge - and as I prepare for 26.2 miles of excitement, joy and, well, pain on Marathon Monday. With your help, we can move closer to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute's ultimate finish line: a world without cancer.

Visit www.rundfmc.org/2010/kellyc to find out more and to donate.

AUTHOR'S BIOGRAPHY
Kelly Carson is a proud member of Old A from Littleton, Colorado. When not running, you can find her singing with the She-E-O's, walking backwards while leading campus tours for the admissions office, or (most likely!) waiting in the sushi line at Spangler.

The Red Party!

2010-01-29T14:30:00.000-05:00

Hey all!

So it's been a while, but I've got some amazing updates:

For those of you at HBS, check out the article about my fundraising and training in Monday's Harbus! The HBS newspaper (especially Kay Fukunaga) has been so supportive and will be doing a regular feature on my preparations for the Boston Marathon.
For those of you who live in Boston, don't miss the Red Party! On Thursday, February 11, Redline Cambridge will be hosting this fabulous event to raise funds for cancer research. The night will feature a DJ, free appetizers, a prize drawing, and lots of good-looking, generous people dressed up in their finest red attire! Click here to find out more and to buy tickets: http://sellyourevents.com/TheRedParty.aspx Tickets are going to sell FAST, so don't wait!
On that note, I am seriously humbled by the incredible, generous businesses we have in Harvard Square. After a few hours of walking around today (SO cold, but so worth it!), I'm proud to announce the following new items for the Red Party prize drawings:

A $50 gift certificate to Redline Cambridge
A taco bar for 20 PEOPLE! from Qdoba Mexican Grill
4 pounds of gourmet coffee beans from Starbucks
A $30 gift certificate to John Harvard'
An ultra-nice Champion Harvard Business School sweatshirt from J. August
Lots of other great prizes coming soon!

Aside from that, training has been so amazing these past few weeks. The chance to train at altitude in Denver while I was home really stepped up my game, and my runs back here at HBS have felt great! I haven't missed a workout yet since getting here, and I've never felt more postive and energetic (or hey, chock full of endorphines!). If this week was any proof, it's going to be a crazy semester of training, studying, fundraising, singing with the She-E-O's, job hunting, working, and having a great time with my HBS friends while I'm still lucky enough to have them all in one place.

In summary: bring it on. ;)

See you all at the Red Party!
kel

I heart Colorado

2010-01-11T20:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, so admittedly, last week's weather sucked. Cold, snow, ice, wind - I ran in just about everything Old Man Winter had to throw at me. Of course, the rapidly changing weather in Colorado can be a great thing too - it's supposed to be 60 degrees tomorrow (and warm the rest of the week!), and I literally cannot wait to strap on my shoes and hit the pavement.

Running shout-out of the week - Ross can be a sketchtastic store, but it has some of the best fitness gear - sweats, shirts, sports bras - you name it! They've got great brands like Nike, Reebok, Jansport, Columbia, etc. for like, 5 or 10 bucks. I think I'm going to have to ship a box of running gear back what with all the comfy cold weather running clothes I've acquired from Ross and "Santa"! It's a great problem to have. :)

Second shout-out of the week? The Biggest Loser. That stinkin' show makes me tear up about 8 times an episode, and this season has been especially inspiring to me. I mean, come on, can I really not work up the energy to run for 45 minutes when a 513 pound man just biked for 26.2 miles and lost 30 pounds in one week? Jillian Michaels is a big-time favorite of mine - her "Banish Fat and Boost Metabolism" workout video literally kicks my butt. Like, so much that it took me three tries before I was even able to finish the video! Every time I do, I feel like I should get a medal or something. This whole Biggest Loser franchise is apparently working for me. ;)

One final thing - I get to "meet my match" on January 30! I am so excited to meet Chantal, a six year old little girl who has been struggling with cancer for quite a while now. I am so humbled by the fact that I get to "run for her" - it is a truly amazing part of the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge experience.

Have a great week!
kel
http://rundfmc.org/2010/kellyc

Live and Learn...

2010-01-06T13:16:00.000-05:00

A few things I've learned in the last few days:

1. I am so, so lucky - in more ways than I can cover in a blog post. I came to this realization when I had the honor of being assigned a DFMC "patient partner" - meaning, a child who is currently struggling with cancer who is being treated at Dana Farber. Finding out about a six year old little girl who is dealing with cancer instead of enjoying the fun of being a kid is incredibly humbling - and I feel honored that I get to meet her and share a bit of her life.

2. On a much less inspiring note, Jack Fultz isn't kidding when he talks about layering during the winter months - I ran my 4.3 miles today in sub-20 degree, humid weather and wore only running tights on the bottom, and my legs (quite literally!) froze and are still in the process of returning to normalhuman temperatures. This tells me that either A.) Nike running tights are inferior, which wouldn't shock me or B) I should have worn some fleece on top or thermals underneath - any suggestions? It's definitely not going to get any warmer when I go back to Boston!

3. I thought that becoming a serious runner would pretty much guarantee that I look like a big dork - I mean, the running tights, the hydration belt, the hat with the ponytail hole, the crazy looking sweaty person running around Cheesman Park in the cold with a frozen butt... but actually, when I pile on all my cold weather gear, I feel pretty cool. It's funny how a simple thing like running can make you feel like a part of something.

I hope the start of the New Year is treating you all well!

Kelly
http://rundfmc.org/2010/kellyc

Update time... ;)

2010-01-04T20:09:00.000-05:00

I've been admittedly bad at updating my blog over the holidays - so here's a New Years-inspired fresh start!

Best New Years Surprise... EVER!
I am so excited to share that my generous and wonderful boss from LifeBound, Carol Carter, has decided to sponsor my run for Dana Farber with a $1,000 donation!

New Races to Run
As part of my training, I've signed up for the St. Patrick's Day 5K in Davis Square on March 14, the Hyannis Half Marathon on Febrary 28, and am considering the Super Sunday 10K on February 7 - anyone want to join me? :)

Miles to run this week: 20
Funds raised so far: $1,776.20

Here's wishing all of you a wonderful and successful 2010 - thank you all so much for your support!

Kelly

http://rundfmc.org/2010/kellyc

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T21:54:00.000-05:00

Hey all!

I have finally emerged from my Thanksgiving food coma to write my next blog post - hooray! Did my first few runs in Denver over the long Thanksgiving weekend - the altitude is KILLER, but six weeks of winter break training at 5,280 feet should get me more than ready to come back and run in the chilly Boston weather! Speaking of cold weather, I had an awesome Black Friday experience - my mom and I waited in the cold outside Sports Authority at 4 in the morning because they were giving away gift cards to the first 80 customers - and I won $110! I am SO ready to rock the winter running with my sparkly new running tights, fleece gloves, hydration belt, heart rate monitor, etc. - bring on the cold weather runs!

On other topics, I just downloaded the training calendar for the Boston Marathon from Dana Farber, and it's... well, it's flippin' intimidating. 3-4 days of running a week, plus cross training and strength work... Do I really have the discipline to work out every day? What about class and homework? And rehearsal for the She-E-O's? And watching Glee/Biggest Loser/Modern Family? (Thank God for online episodes, eh?)

Guess I need to get better at setting aside dedicated time every day for working out - I have a history of "spurts" of dedicated workouts followed by similar spurts of couch-potato-dom. Time to psych myself up for the next 5 months... Oh, and make it through final papers, exams, and prepare for the She-E-O's/Heard on the Street a cappella concert on December 9th (come see us sing if you're in Boston!).

I hope everyone had a relaxing, fun Thanksgiving weekend. Less than a month until Christmas!

kel

Wow...

2009-11-14T13:17:00.000-05:00

I just put my entry form in the mail - I'm officially running the 114th annual Boston Marathon! I can't tell you how crazy, exciting and intimidating this is to me - guess I'd better get running!

I also just got back from an awesome First-Time Runners' meeting at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. It was so inspiring to hear stories from other runners about why they decided to participate in the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge. I'm getting excited for our first "offical" group run in mid-December - guess I'd better ask for some warm running clothes for Christmas! ;)

Finally, here's a, um, "semi-official" picture from last weekend's Maine Coast Half Marathon - I just hope I can have that same expression on my face when I cross the finish line on April 19...

It's on...

2009-11-12T10:46:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, I completed my third ever half marathon - the Maine Coast Half Marathon. To me, this race felt like the official "launch" of my training and fundraising for the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge - and completing those 13.2 miles made me realize just how much better running is when you're doing it for a great cause.

Some valuable lessons from the weekend:
1. Skimping on your training schedule comes back to bite you.
I came into this race pretty nervous - I had missed a lot of my midweek workouts and two of my long runs, so I knew that this was going to be a slower race than my past two. That definitely turned out to be the case - I averaged out more than 11 minute miles, and was walking/running by the end. Now, I'm not a speed demon and have no wish to be - but I do want to finish my next half in at least the 10 minute mile zone. Time to bring on the speed work...

2. Heated seats = Happy Kelly
Hertz was awesome enough to upgrade me to a Jetta with the most amazing heated seats - so my entire drive back to Boston was the most incredible, relaxing experience, and I had very little soreness the next day! Too bad there's no "driving in a Jetta" component to my Boston experience... ;)

3. Two for one
Now, I don't know if this is true, but one of my fellow runners told me that for every hour you exercise, you add the equivalent of two hours to your life span. This statistic startled me and was an even more compelling reason to incorporate exercise into my daily life. It's like one of my professors at HBS told me this morning - when he asked a busy politician how he found time to run everyday, the man looked at him and said, "Well, do you brush your teeth every day?". If only I could make exercise that basic - I'm trying to develop that sort of discipline, but it's tough! Four days straight of exercise - and counting... Let's see if I can make it to ten!

As I jump into my fundraising and full-blown marathon training, I'd greatly appreciate your support. I'm running miles one and two in honor of Beverly Lumumba and Rose Pessemier - I'd be honored to add your loved ones' names to the list!

Donate here:
http://www.run DFMC.org/2010/kellyc

Away We Go!

2009-10-28T23:26:00.001-04:00

Hello all! Thanks for joining me as I begin what promises to be an amazing journey - raising $7,000 for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute's Claudia Adams Barr Program for Innovative Basic Cancer Research (try saying THAT five times fast!). Oh yeah, and running the Boston Marathon! I think my feelings on that were best summed up by my mom when I told her that I was participating in the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge - "Wait, how long is a marathon? 26.2 miles?! Seriously? That's a LONG way! 26.2 miles?!".

It's hard to believe that less than two months ago I had never even heard of the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge... and, as a half-marathon lover, I kept promising myself I would never run a marathon. See, I made the mistake of watching mile 23 of the Boston Marathon last year, and man, it looked ROUGH. Half marathons were plenty enough for me, thank you very much. Marathons just look so - hard! Of course, all my marathoner friends just smiled knowingly and told me I'd be on to marathons before I knew it.

So off I go. I just got back from my first runner's meeting, and I'm officially excited to kick off my fundraising! Thanks to my first two fabulous donors for getting me started - $120 down, $6880 to go. Hoo boy... ;)

Anyone else care to help me kick off this challenge? Just visit my personal fundraising website!