One of the challenges about training for the Boston Marathon is that you have to train through the winter. And in Boston, that means snow, ice, slush, wind and coldness. Now my mother likes to tell me that since I was born in northern Maine, I should love the cold. However, in reality, I'm not a huge fan. Today I woke up with the thought that I would try and get in 5-6 miles. And then I looked at the weather....11 with a wind chill of -9. Hmmm....well that changes things. I thought about not running but then decided to give it a try. So I bundled up as much as I could and headed out. When I first got outside I thought "this isn't so bad"...and then the wind hit.....and my dream of 5 miles quickly evaporated. I got through about 3 miles and then called it a day. This is all a very long winded way of saying that in Boston at least, training in the winter means you have to be flexible with training plans.
In childhood obesity-related news, the Surgeon General just released a report about obesity which has a number of statistics about childhood obesity as well as some general recommendations about how to address this problem. I haven't had a chance to read the entire report yet, but look forward to doing so and will share my thoughts here soon.
At the same time as this report, I was very excited to see that the First Lady is beginning a national campaign to address the problem of childhood obesity. I was happy that this issue was mentioned in the State of the Union the other night and am excited to see how the campaign unfolds. Whatever your political leanings, I think we can all agree that it is a good thing that our national leaders are talking about and addressing this important issue.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
What's a Marathon Exactly?
First, a quick running update. I had a very good, but cold, run this morning at Tufts--running 11 miles including a pretty substantial hill. I am a bit nervous about the hills on the Boston Marathon course, so it's been good to get some practice running some hills. That brings my total mileage for this week up to 24 miles...not too shabby. I'm trying to gradually up my mileage each week as I increase the distance of my long runs.
So far in my training, I've been pretty much injury free (knock on wood). Certainly I have some aches and pains, but nothing that's keeping me from running. I've actually been feelings pretty good on all my runs--hopefully my good luck will keep up as the mileage increases!
When I say that I'm running a marathon, I often get a ton of questions...so here are some answers to the questions I most commonly here.
How long exactly is a marathon?
26.2 miles. And yes, the 0.2 is important, it is a VERY long 0.2 miles at the end of the run. Interestingly, the name of the race is supposedly to commemorate a Greek soldier named Pheidippides who ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated. The route that he ran is approximately 26 miles, so there you go. Of course, then he died. Hmmmm....
Wow, that's a lot of miles, how long does it take you to do that?
I'm guessing (and hoping) that it will take me about 5.5 hours to run the Boston Marathon, maybe a little more, maybe (hopefully) a little less.
Don't you get bored running for that long?
Well, sort of. I really enjoy running (obviously). I find it soothing to run, even by myself, and just enjoy being outside. But when running for extremely long distances, I like to run with people, which is why training with a team is so fun. And during the race itself, looking at the crowd and scenery will hopefully keep me distracted.
I thought you had to qualify to run the Boston Marathon?
Yes, you do. Unless you run for a charity. And since the chances of me ever qualifying are slim to none, running for a charity was the best option. I'm running as part of the Tufts Marathon Challenge, which raises money to fund research in an effort to prevent childhood and adolescent obesity. I'm excited to be part of this program because it not only supports a cause that I care very much about, but it allows me to reconnect with my alma mater (Go Jumbos!)
This all sounds great, what can I do to help you?
Well, if you live in the Boston area, or want to take a vacation, come watch me run on April 19th! Or just bring me cookies when my legs are sore and hurting after running. And if you want to be REALLY nice, you can support my fundraising efforts! You can donate online or contact me about how to mail a contribution.
So far in my training, I've been pretty much injury free (knock on wood). Certainly I have some aches and pains, but nothing that's keeping me from running. I've actually been feelings pretty good on all my runs--hopefully my good luck will keep up as the mileage increases!
When I say that I'm running a marathon, I often get a ton of questions...so here are some answers to the questions I most commonly here.
How long exactly is a marathon?
26.2 miles. And yes, the 0.2 is important, it is a VERY long 0.2 miles at the end of the run. Interestingly, the name of the race is supposedly to commemorate a Greek soldier named Pheidippides who ran from the Battle of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated. The route that he ran is approximately 26 miles, so there you go. Of course, then he died. Hmmmm....
Wow, that's a lot of miles, how long does it take you to do that?
I'm guessing (and hoping) that it will take me about 5.5 hours to run the Boston Marathon, maybe a little more, maybe (hopefully) a little less.
Don't you get bored running for that long?
Well, sort of. I really enjoy running (obviously). I find it soothing to run, even by myself, and just enjoy being outside. But when running for extremely long distances, I like to run with people, which is why training with a team is so fun. And during the race itself, looking at the crowd and scenery will hopefully keep me distracted.
I thought you had to qualify to run the Boston Marathon?
Yes, you do. Unless you run for a charity. And since the chances of me ever qualifying are slim to none, running for a charity was the best option. I'm running as part of the Tufts Marathon Challenge, which raises money to fund research in an effort to prevent childhood and adolescent obesity. I'm excited to be part of this program because it not only supports a cause that I care very much about, but it allows me to reconnect with my alma mater (Go Jumbos!)
This all sounds great, what can I do to help you?
Well, if you live in the Boston area, or want to take a vacation, come watch me run on April 19th! Or just bring me cookies when my legs are sore and hurting after running. And if you want to be REALLY nice, you can support my fundraising efforts! You can donate online or contact me about how to mail a contribution.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
I'm Back...Marathon Style
So it turns out I wasn't so good at blogging, I clearly got distracted too easily. But I'm here to give it a second shot...only a year later. And I have a good excuse for starting up again--I'm going to use this space to chronicle my training for the Boston Marathon! Yes, that's right, I am officially running the Boston Marathon on April 19, 2010. It's less than 100 days away--yikes!
You may be wondering, how is it possible that I, not known for being a particularly fast runner, qualified for the Boston Marathon? Well, the answer is, I am running for a very important cause from a very important institution--The Tufts President's Marathon Challenge! As a proud Jumbo, I am very excited to be a part of this program. For those who don't know, the Tufts President's Marathon Challenge is a program at Tufts University where students, staff, parents, friends, and yes, alumni train to run the Boston Marathon and raise money to support the The Friedman School of Nutrition's research and efforts to fight childhood and adolescent obesity. As a public health student, this cause is near and dear to my heart, and I am excited to be a part of it. If you want to know more about the program, visit: http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/
So in the next 88 days, I will (hopefully) be posting here regularly, talking about my training runs, sharing some facts about childhood obesity, letting you know how much my appetite has increased, and just sharing random facts about my life. I hope you'll enjoy it!
And please, if you can, support me in my efforts--you can donate online at: http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst.
You may be wondering, how is it possible that I, not known for being a particularly fast runner, qualified for the Boston Marathon? Well, the answer is, I am running for a very important cause from a very important institution--The Tufts President's Marathon Challenge! As a proud Jumbo, I am very excited to be a part of this program. For those who don't know, the Tufts President's Marathon Challenge is a program at Tufts University where students, staff, parents, friends, and yes, alumni train to run the Boston Marathon and raise money to support the The Friedman School of Nutrition's research and efforts to fight childhood and adolescent obesity. As a public health student, this cause is near and dear to my heart, and I am excited to be a part of it. If you want to know more about the program, visit: http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/
So in the next 88 days, I will (hopefully) be posting here regularly, talking about my training runs, sharing some facts about childhood obesity, letting you know how much my appetite has increased, and just sharing random facts about my life. I hope you'll enjoy it!
And please, if you can, support me in my efforts--you can donate online at: http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst.
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