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

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.