My Boston Marathon

Just a few days ago, I finished the Boston Marathon. To be totally honest, I can't quite believe it. But then I feel how sore my legs are, and I realize that I did, in fact, run from Hopkinton to Boston. And I've got the picture to prove it :)

Ok, so for those of you who want the abbreviated version, here it is. I completed the Boston Marathon in 5:13, a time that I was really happy about. At the halfway point and at mile 20, I thought I had a chance to finish in under 5 hours, but it sadly it didn't quite happen. But I ran up all the Newton hills, and crossed the finish line with a smile on my face. So I can't complain one bit! And I had wonderful friends and family to cheer me on the whole way.

Alright, so there's the short version. If you'd like the more complete version, read on--warning it's LONG!.

My Marathon Day began at around 5am...yes, 5am. I got myself together, and headed off to meet up with my friend Beth and two of her friends who were also running. After "getting our swag on" (long story, don't ask), we took a few pictures and headed to Boston Common to get the BAA buses to Hopkinton. There, we met up with my running buddy Sarah and joined a looooong line of people snaking towards yellow school buses hailing from school districts all over Massachusetts. Eventually we got on the bus and began the 45 minute drive out to Hopkinton.

When we arrived in the Athletes Village it was probably about 8:30am. We spent the next little while hanging out on the grass, writing our names on our arms and shirts, applying sunscreen, eating last minute snacks, stretching, and just generally trying to stay loose. Eventually, we heard the announcement that it was time to go. So we checked our bags and began the 3/4 mile walk to the start line. There we joined the thousands of other people waiting to begin the marathon. We inched our way towards the starting line and then....we were off!! I started a bit before 11am, so almost 6 hours after I woke up! People cheered loudly as we began our trek to Boston.

The first few miles passed quickly. Sarah and I quickly realized we ran the first mile waaay too fast (the first mile is very much downhill) so we slowed down and got into a good pace. We made our way through Hopkington and Ashland, before heading into Framingham, where I knew I had friends and family waiting. I was so happy to see them! After passing through Framingham, we headed through Natick where Sarah saw some of her friends. Then we reached mile 9, where there was a HUGE contingent of Tufts people. It was quite a rush to hear them all cheering!

After Natick, we headed into Wellesley. True to form, we heard the Wellesley girls a good 1/2 mile before we saw them. They were as loud as advertised! Right after the campus, we passed the halfway mark. We were 13.1 miles in! After seeing my family again, we continued to Newton. Oh Newton, home of the dreaded hills. Sarah and I had talked before and said that we really wanted to run up the 3 big Newton hills. After having some Goo at the base of the first, we headed off.

The first hill was hard, but we made it through without any real problems. We made the turn onto Commonwealth Ave and attacked the second hill. Again, no real problem. The crowds were great in Newton! There was one woman and her daughter who were yelling "You can do it! Yes you can!" That became my mantra for the rest of the hills--so thanks, random woman :) Next up was Heartbreak Hill. It was hard, not gonna lie. When I reached the top, my whole body felt like jelly. I had to walk for a few minutes just to feel my legs again. But we picked it back up into a jog for the last little hill to BC.

So now we were at mile 21. And I won't lie to you, I don't remember much from miles 21-25. At some point, Sarah started going a bit faster than me. I motioned to her to go ahead and set out to finish the race on my own. I just went into a zone and remember pretty much nothing of Brookline. I saw one friend there, but apparently there were a bunch of other people cheering for me that I didn't even notice or acknowledge. So if you were one of those people, sorry!

I got to mile 25, which is easy to recognize because you pass the giant Citgo sign heading into Boston. I knew then that I could do it. Through Kenmore Square and then under Mass Ave (which was probably the worst tiny hill of the whole course). Then the famous "right on Hereford, left on Boylston" and I could see the finish line! I heard my family and gave them a quick wave and then pushed my last bit of energy into propelling me across the finish line. It was an incredible feeling! I got a hug from the Tufts President and the coach of the Tufts team and then got my shiny blanket, water, Gatorade, and finally, my medal. And let me tell you, I was pretty darn proud of that medal.

And so that, my friends in a (long) nutshell is my Boston Marathon story. But I certainly can't say that I accomplished this alone. It was so wonderful to have my friends and family there to support me on Marathon Day. And the text messages, e-mails, Facebook messages and phone calls that I got from all of you were so wonderful both as motivation before the race and congratulatory after. And of course my running buddies Sarah and Beth were constant sources of motivation. So thank you to everyone who has supported me in this crazy journey! Now, the soreness of my legs has started to disappear, and I can't wait to get out there running again!

Below are some pictures of me and my good friends running--courtesy of Henri.



I shall leave you with what may have been the funniest moment of the day. As we were running along at the beginning I heard someone say (into his cell phone) "Um, I'm running the Boston Marathon right now, can I call you back later?" It was simply hilarious--why are you even picking up your phone????

Tapering...

We've now reached what is arguably the most important part of marathon training--the taper. The tapering period is basically where you drastically reduce your mileage and spend a lot of time resting. Now Miriam, you might say, that seems crazy! How is it possible that resting is the most important? Isn't running lots of miles more important? Well, while building a base by running lots of miles is important, so is tapering. During the taper period, all those little aches and pains that have cropped up during the training start to go away. You really get a sense of just how fit you are. And when marathon day arrives, you are well rested and ready to go!

Of course, like any aspect of running, tapering isn't all fun and games. I feel extremely antsy--to go from running 25-30 miles a week to running about 10-12 is hard. It gives me a lot of extra energy. The reduction in running also means that I no longer need to eat quite as much as I have been---another (sad) change. But mostly, with tapering comes the anticipation, and then knowledge that Marathon Day is getting closer and closer. Things start to creep into my mind like what will I wear, what will the weather be like and will I hit the dreaded wall? One of the biggest challenges for me is not letting the doubts creep into my mind.

Despite all that bad stuff, I do feel good. I feel incredibly fit and ready to take whatever the Boston Marathon course will throw at me. And it is due in no small part to all of you and your wonderful support! Several of you have asked how you can follow me during the Boston Marathon to track my progress. I'm looking into this and will report back with options early next week.

Lastly, even though the hard training is over, the fundraising is not. It's not too late to donate and support me in my quest to run the Boston Marathon! You can donate at: http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst. As I've mentioned before many times, your donation of even $10 will be very much appreciated!

And What Did YOU Do With Your Sunday??

Well I'll tell you--I ran 20 miles! Yes that's right, today was our longest training run. We met at Boston College and donned stylish neon green safety vests (pictures hopefully to come soon) and headed west on the marathon course. We went as far as the far west side of the Wellesley College campus before turning around and heading back to BC.

I was a bit nervous upon starting this run as previously I had only done 14 miles. A six mile jump seemed pretty big and I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle it. But it actually went alright. Well, let me rephrase, it went alright until about mile 18 when I no longer wanted to run up the hills anymore. Then it was less than alright. Bascially, the course that we did ended with Heartbreak Hill. Remember when I said earlier that running Heartbreak Hill isn't that bad? Well it turns out after running 18 miles, it's a lot worse. Those Newton hills will certainly be a challenge on Marathon Day!!

One of the things (well really the only thing) that got me through that tough part was my wonderful running partner Sarah. At one point between the first and second hills we took a quick walk/stretch break. When we started up again, I told her I didn't want to walk again and she shouldn't let me. She agreed to do this....and so a few minutes later as we were running up the second hill the following conversation ensued:

Me: I can't do this (PS, this is like the absolute worst thing you can say as a runner. We ALWAYS can do it)
Sarah: Yes you can. And you know what, you have no choice, you have to.
Me: Maybe I need to walk for a few minutes
Sarah: No, you're not allowed to. You have to keep running, you have no choice. C'mon, lets go.
Me: You know, I don't like you very much right now. You're mean.

Yes, I know she was doing exactly what I had asked, but at that moment, I didn't care :) I ended up walking for maybe 100 feet, enough time to take a few drinks of water, before pushing through it to the end of the run.We finished the 20 miles in just about four hours, which puts us in great position for a good run on Marathon Day!!

One of the fun things about today is that there were so many people out there running on the marathon course. This weekend is the traditional last long run of training so lots of people were out doing various permutations of 20 or so miles. It was nice to be surrounded with so many other runners!

So after today, I feel much more confident heading into Marathon Day--just 3 weeks away! Getting through this 20 mile hurdle was huge and also helped me solidify a few things for race day. Things like what to eat before (peanut butter and jelly sandwhich), what to eat/drink during the run (water/Gatorade mix mostly with maybe 1 or 2 GUs--have we discussed GU yet?) and what parts of the course are my most/least favorite. And now begins the taper period. Basically we don't do any more long runs. Just shorter runs (of no more than 8-10 miles) until Marathon Day!

Remember, it's not too late to sponsor me for the Boston Marathon--go to: http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst to donate online! Your gift of even just $10 will go a long way to helping me acheive my goal!

Finally, to my fellow Jews--Happy Passover! Enjoy your matzo!

So What's the Deal with High Fructose Corn Syrup??

So I'm sure you've all seen those commercials on TV about high fructose corn syrup. You know what I'm talking about, where someone advocates that high fructose corn syrup is the same as sugar and fine in moderation. I've seen them a lot and have often thought about high fructose corn syrup and whether it is really the same as sugar or whether it is a large contributing factor to obesity.

I am totally not a chemist, but from what I can understand, high fructose corn syrup is created when regular corn syrup goes through some kind of chemical process to change it's molecular structure from glucose to fructose. Then it's mixed with more regular corn syrup (which is made of fructose) to make a sweet syrup. Please don't ask me how corn syrup gets made from corn....I have no idea.

So anyways, there's been a ton of debate about whether or not high fructose corn syrup is worse for you from than regular sugar, which is typically in the sucrose form. In fact, if you do any sort of scholarly search you'll find a myriad of articles either saying that it's totally fine or that it's the worst thing ever invented. So who to believe? Well it's hard to say.

A few years ago, the American Medical Association released a report saying that they did not feel strongly that high fructose corn syrup contributed to obesity more than sucrose. Even a very publicized 2004 study showed that while there did seem to be an association between high fructose corn syrup and obesity, it was unclear if it was a direct cause. And just the other day, a study from Princeton was released that showed that rats who ate high fructose corn syrup had a greater weight gain than rats who ate table sugar, even if they consumed the same overall calories. (see below for a funny aside about rats)

So with all this conflicting information, what's a girl (or guy) to do? Well, as always, I'm no expert, but I'd say that avoiding high fructose corn syrup is probably a good thing to do. But that's easier said than done--it's in EVERYTHING. Seriously, soda, juice drinks, candy, salad dressing, and bread...really bread. So for me personally, I try not to buy or consume too many things with high fructose corn syrup, but I don't stress too much about the occasional soda or food that slips by.

But obviously, this points to the fact that we need more research about that factors that contribute to obesity. The Tufts President's Marathon Challenge, which I am so honored to be a part of, is raising money that will fund this important research so that we will not only better understand how things like high fructose corn syrup contribute to obesity, but how we can intervene to curb obesity in this country. You can help me out by sponsoring me at: http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst

So what do you all think about high fructose corn syrup? Is it something you work to avoid, or something you don't think much about? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

And for a parting note, one of my most favorite TV shows, The West Wing has a hillarious scene about doing medical research in white rats. Here you go:

Margaret (one of the White House aides talking to the Surgeon General): Red meat has been found to cause cancer in white rats. Maraschino cherries have been found to cause cancer in white rats. Cellular phones have been found to cause cancer in white rats. Has anyone examined the possibility that cancer might be hereditary in white rats?
The Surgeon General: Let me tell you something, I'm not a hundred percent sure we've ruled that out.

Just a little something to brighten your day :)

My dear blog readers: Why I need your help

So it is now a little more than a month before the Boston Marathon. I'm getting more and more excited, and a bit nervous, each day. Amazingly enough, I only have two more long runs left before the taper period begins.

While my training is going well, I can't say the same about my fundraising. I've set out to raise $2,500 as part of the Tufts President's Marathon Challenge, which raises money to fund important research to fight childhood and adolescent obesity. I know this is a lofty goal, but I do believe with your help, I can achieve it.

For those of you who have already contributed a HUGE thank you! You are really helping me make this experience extra special. For those of you who haven't quite gotten to it yet, I hope you will contribute even just $10 to help me achieve my goal.

If you're still wavering about contributing, here are a few reasons to give:

• It's incredibly motivating for me to have all of your support. It may sound cheesy, but when I am struggling with training it's so helpful for me to know that there are people out there who are supporting me. I know that the marathon itself will be an even bigger challenge, but your support will help me through the tough parts.
• Your donations are fully tax deductible and go to an incredibly important cause--fighting childhood and adolescent obesity. The Tufts School of Nutrition has been at the forefront of the fight against obesity, both on a national and local level. They do amazing work and your contribution will help them do more.
• And if none of these serious reasons convince you, think of your contribution as a small price to pay for the hours (or probably minutes) of enjoyment you've received from reading this blog :)

We'll return to our regularly schedule talks about running and fighting obesity soon, but I wanted to interrupt with this important message and request for help. If all of you reading this gave just $10 (or even better, $26-one for each mile!) it will go a long way to helping me achieve my goal.

You can donate online at: http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst. If you'd prefer not to donate online, just let me know and I'm happy to give you the address to mail a check. Thank you all so much for your support!

Running in the Rain (Or why I am a hardcore runner)

So I woke up this morning at 6:45 (after successfully changing my clocks before going to sleep!) and peeked outside to see that it was pouring....and windy....and the kind of day that makes you want to just stay in bed. I checked the computer to see the forecast, and pretty much just saw this icon...for the whole day.

I'll be honest, I almost went back to sleep, I was pretty close. And then I remembered that the Boston Marathon is only a little over a month away and that training days are precious. So I dragged myself out of bed and headed over to Tufts for the weekly long run.

When I got there, I was impressed, about 30 other people had also managed to drag themselves to the run. The rain had mostly stopped and so off we went. For about 10 minutes, I thought it might be ok. And then...it began to pour again. Very quickly I was soaked....likely dripping wet, squishy shoes soaked. But there was nothing to do but continue on. And so, thanks to the support of my running buddy Ann, we finished our 14 mile run, battling the rain, the wind, the puddles of questionably clean water and drivers which seemed to think it was really fun to splash the poor runners.

As we sloshed our way through the rainy streets, Ann and I decided that having showed up this morning for the run made us hardcore runners. After all, a lot of people would decide to stay inside on a day like today, or cut the run short, but not us. And I'll say, while it wasn't the most fun run ever, it gave me a pretty good sense of accomplishment, that I could battle the elements as well as the usual sore muscles and tiredness. While I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed that Marathon Day weather is not like today, at least I'll have experience running in the cold rain if it comes to that!

And remember, if you want to support your favorite hardcore marathon runner, you can do so at http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst. All money goes to a great cause-research to fight childhood and adolescent obesity. Even if you can only give $10, every little bit helps!

Heartbreak, You (Didn't) Get the Best of Me

Ok, yes, I butchered a classic song, but it's been stuck in my head all day. But today was a big day--I had my first taste of the infamous Heartbreak Hill. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Boston Marathon course, it overall is a net downhill. But starting at mile 16, there are a series of hills, culminating in what is known as Heartbreak Hill just after mile 20 before the course begins to go back downhill towards Boston.

I'd been curious about this hill since I started training for the Boston Marathon and have definitely wanted to check it out before the actual race day. The Tufts group had a long run on the Boston Marathon course this past weekend, but I couldn't attend. But since I'm currently on spring break, and didn't have class today, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to give the hills a try. So off I went.

After a somewhat torturous T ride out to Newton, only increasing my hatred of the Green Line, I arrived at Riverside station and found my way to Commonwealth Ave and headed back in the direction of Boston. I went up one smallish hill, then another. Then a bit later, I went up a slightly longer hill, but still nothing too bad. I was still waiting for this Heartbreak Hill. Then, all of a sudden, I was at Boston College heading downhill. I realized that that last hill was in fact, Hearbreak Hill. And it wasn't that bad. Now, we'll see how it is after running 20 miles, but at least I know I can do it!

I had hoped to do 16 miles today, but it wasn't in the cards. I've had a slight cold the past few days and once the cold meds started to wear off, running became more difficult. I pushed through it a bit, but then bailed out. When I got home, I mapped it out and found out that I had done 13.5 miles. Not the best, but not too shabby.

Perhaps most excitingly, I got to wear shorts to run today! Maybe possibly spring is coming!

Thanks again to all of you who have contributed to my marathon running effort! I still have a ways to go though, so I would appreciate any help that you can give. You can visit http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst to contribute.

More Thoughts on Obesity

Sorry for the lack of posting recently, this crazy thing called grad school got in the way. But I did want to follow up on last week's post about how best to address the problem of childhood obesity. Before we get to that though, a few things. First, I am not, nor do I pretend to be an expert on any issues, least of all obesity. I'm just a wee public health student sharing my thoughts. Second, I do love that my last post about soda taxes prompted so much discussion, I think it's great that you all are not only reading, but sharing your thoughts. So please continue to do so!

Ok, on to the main attraction. Last week, I talked about how I wasn't a huge fan of a soda tax as a way to fight childhood obesity. So lets talk about what I am a fan of. I should start by saying, I don't think any one thing will be successful, it will take a comprehensive plan. But here are some key elements:

• Better health education about nutrition. We have to help parents and children understand what proper nutrition is and what it means to be appropriately physically active. I think this is one area in which public health has been a bit behind in the times. It's easy for people to be swayed by food advertising, the public health community has to do a better job getting the message out there. And it's got to be more than just about counting calories--portion sizes, healthy choices, healthier cooking methods, being active--all these things can be part of a comprehensive, culturally appropriate, health education campaign. This means it can't be a one-PSA across the whole country sort of thing, it needs to be tailored to particular audiences.
• Provide incentives for grocery stores to open in what are currently food deserts (areas that lack access to affordable, quality and nutritious food). Too often these food deserts coincide with low-income areas, which means that not only is there limited access to healthy options, these options are prohibitively expensive. As has been pointed out by many, obesity disproportionately affects low income people. If we're really going to solve this obesity problem, we have to give everyone an equal opportunity to access healthy nutritious food.
• Re-think the way we currently subsidize food. The way we currently subsidize food has made food cheaper, which is good, but it has tended to make unhealthy food the cheapest, which is bad. We should revisit these subsidies and figure out a way to subsidize fresh fruits and vegetables and drive the cost of these, and other healthy options, down. Again, that gives people a better opportunity to make healthy choices with a limited budget.
• Change how we build and maintain our communities. Why can't we make sure that we build more sidewalks so that people can walk safely in their neighborhood? And we need to ensure that our children have safe places to play and be active. There's a group here in Boston that has had some really good success in working within communities to empower youth to help clean up parks and make them safe places to be. Working within the community to make changes will be an important part of being successful.

There are of course more components, but at the risk of putting you all to sleep, I think I'll stop here. Just as a note, a lot of these things are also a part of First Lady Michelle Obama's new Let's Move campaign--hopefully it will be successful. Also, if you're interested in a really neat map tool that clearly illustrates some of the disparities that we face in area of nutrition, I'd encourage you to check out the FDA's Food Environment Atlas (thanks to Rachel for the link!).

Finally, because I don't want to be accused of hiding information, a study came out recently which showed that taxing unhealthy food was more effective than subsidizing healthy food. I haven't had a chance to read the whole study, but it is interesting and certainly seems to support what some of you all were saying about a soda tax. However, I still think that if you don't have access to healthy food, then taxing unhealthy food only makes it all cost more. I'd rather go the method of improving access and empowering individuals to make healthy choices.

As always, please share your thoughts! And remember, as part of my marathon training, I'm raising money to support research to fight childhood obesity and solve these important problems. I'd appreciate your support, you can make a contribution at: http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst.

Marathon Training--Bode Miller style

So after all the soda tax conversation here, I thought I'd give a little running update. The short version--training is going well. The slightly longer version is as follows.

I've had a pretty good week running-wise. On Sunday, I did 14 miles with the Tufts crew, and felt pretty good. This was followed by a really good 7 miler Tuesday. Tuesday was the kind of day where I set out to just do 5ish, and ended up feeling so good that I did more.

But back to Sunday, for the past several weeks, my runs at Tufts have included "the Hill." Here's a little bit about "the Hill." While I didn't run it for the first month or so I was running at Tufts, I kept hearing people talking about "running up and over the hill" but I didn't really know what they were talking about. I saw this hill as I was running, but it was super steep and I kept thinking to myself "there's no way that's the hill they are talking about, it's crazy to make people run that!"

And then, one day in January, I realized that yes, that hill I had been seeing all along was in fact "the Hill." It's about 2 miles long, super steep at first before becoming a bit less steep and more rolling as you get towards the top. The first time I ran it, I thought I was going to cry....it just kept going. But then, as I kept running it each week, it started getting easier and easier. And this past week, I actually started to enjoy it. Weird, I know.

It helps that when you get to the top, our wonderful Tufts coach is there, taking a ridiculous number of pictures and providing water, Gatorade, mini cookies and jelly beans to fuel us up for the rest of the run. To the right is a picture of me and my running buddy Ann making our way up the last part of "the Hill"--determination at its finest.


For those of you wondering about the title of this blog post, Thursday is usually a running day for me. But today, instead of running, my wonderful mother and I went skiing at Cannon Mt in New Hampshire, which just happens to be Bode Miller's "home" ski mountain. Despite the questionable weather--it was a great day. I don't know if skiing all day is entirely the same as a run, but my legs sure are tired!

PS: Thank you very much to everyone who has supported me in my fund raising efforts for the Boston Marathon--I really appreciate all your generosity! I still have more to go--so please visit http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst and help me make each and every mile count!

How Not to Solve the Obesity Problem (Or Why I Am Against a Soda Tax)

For several years now, people have been searching for ways to fight the obesity problem in the US. An idea that seems to be gaining support is a soda tax. This is usually described as a tax on what are known as "sugar-sweetened beverages," namely soda (it's unclear to me if other sweetened beverages, such as juice drinks, would also be included). Mark Bittman wrote an article in the New York Times last week about this issue entitled "Is Soda the New Tobacco?" where he addressed this issue. It's an interesting read, and I'd encourage you to read it if you get the chance.

In my humble opinion, a soda tax is a terrible idea. I could go on for quite some time on this issue, but I'll try and keep my points succint. So here are my main reasons for opposing this idea:

• Soda isn't tobacco. A lot of people have tried to make that link, that soda companies are doing the same thing as tobacco companies were doing 50 years ago. But I just don't think that's true. Cigarettes and tobacco products are a pretty specific thing that has been definitely linked to cancer and other diseases in even moderate quantities. With soda, the link isn't so clear. While certainly drinking too much soda can lead to obesity, drinking an occasional soda probably isn't harmful. If people were to unconditionally stop drinking soda, I don't know that the obesity problem in this country will go away. And my fear is, if we can tax soda which can potentially lead to obesity, what else will we tax? Eating too much meat can lead to obesity, as can too many cookies, too much chocolate, too much cheese....the list goes on. It's too much of a slippery slope to me.
• Diet soda isn't all that great. A lot of these soda tax proposals don't include diet sodas. Indeed, companies are often proud to claim that they've removed full calorie soft drinks from schools and other places, while leaving diet sodas in their place. Now, I hate diet soda because it tends to give me a horrible headache, but more importantly, there's some evidence that diet soda isn't all that great for us either. I think it would be a bad idea for us to focus on "regular soda" as a public health issue and ignore the possible perils of diet soda.
• Finally, and perhaps most importantly in my opinion, a soda tax is a regressive tax--it hurts the poor more than anyone else. Go to a low-income area and chances are there aren't a ton of full-service grocery stores. But there probably are a lot of small convenience stores. If you go into these, you'll notice that there isn't a whole lot of options for drinks and by far the cheapest options tend to be soda. You won't find single servings of milk, or 100% juice or other healthier options. So what this tax will do is force poor people to pay more for soda, but they still might not have the ability to choose healthier options. It's essentially a poor tax.

Now I know the spirit of a soda tax is a good idea--by taxing soda you can raise money to pay for more anti-obesity programs. But I think there has got to be a better way to raise this money than by levying a tax. And I say this as a concerned public health person, not just someone who enjoys an occasional soda....

So there's my opinion in a nutshell, I'd be happen to expand more if anyone wants to hear more. What do you all think about taxing soda? Do you think it would be an effective anti-obesity program? I would love to hear your thoughts. And as a reminder (and a shameless plug) I'm running the Boston Marathon to raise money to find innovative solutions to these problems, Your support would be very much appreciated, visit: http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst to help me make every mile of the marathon count.

A preview for upcoming blog posts: a running update is coming in a few days followed by my brilliant thoughts about obesity and what I think would work waaaay better than a soda tax.

I Believe I Can Fly

More good news on the running front--I ran 11 miles on Sunday with no pain in my shin! Hooray!! My new plan involves taking Advil before running and continuing with my icing/yoga routine. Hopefully this will be the last you hear of shin splints attacking me. With just about two months left until the marathon, I am beginning to up my mileage--I think I will shoot for 14 this coming weekend. I also have two more scheduled runs on the marathon course itself--I'm looking forward to these as a way to prepare myself for what marathon day will bring. And finally, I believe I will be ready to run 26.2 miles on April 19...this training program is making me feel very confident in my abilities!

A friend recently asked me how I can possibly run in the winter when it's so cold. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I actually prefer running in the cold. When I trained for the Marine Corps Marathon a few years ago I trained all summer and that was HOT. Very very hot, like walk outside and start sweating at 6am hot. I prefer winter, you can always just put more layers on. For example, on a recent very cold run, I wore running tights with another pair of workout pants on my legs. On my upper body, I wore a long sleeve running shirt, a lightweight fleece and a windbreaker. And I finished it all off with a hat and two (yes two) pairs of gloves. I actually stayed quite cozy, except for my nose. If anyone knows how to keep my nose warm while running, I'd appreciate that knowledge.

A preview for the next blog post--I'll be talking about why I am vehemently against a soda tax as a way to combat obesity...look for that in a few days. If you have any subjects you want me to write about in my semi-intelligent way--preferably running or obesity/public health related, just let me know. I'm happy to take requests. And since my mother managed to post a comment (thanks Mom!!!) I know you all can too. It'll make me happy to know you actually make it to the end of these blog posts.

(Oh yeah, and if you want to make me really happy, please help me make every mile count and support me in my quest to run the Boston Marathon--visit: http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst. Your support will be very much appreciated!)

Little Victories

Yesterday I ran 4 miles. Now ordinarily that wouldn't be much of an accomplishment, since I had been routinely doing closer to 8 on most of my weekday runs. But after my week off, I was happy to get through 4. The good news is that my leg seems to be doing much better. It hurt a bit towards the end, but nowhere near the "you must stop running right this instant" pain that I felt last week. So that is a very good sign. I will keep up with the icing and the Advil taking and with luck I'll be back to my regular running schedule soon.

In other news, today I received my official registration card from the Boston Marathon! That's right, there's no going back now, I am an official entrant--in 67 days I will be at the start line in Hopkinton headed to Boston. Yes, I know I could just drive, but doesn't running 26.2 miles seem like more fun? What that means for you, my dear readers, is that you have 67 days to motivate me and help me make every mile count--go to http://www.tuftsmarathonchallenge.com/runners/miriamst to support me--anything you can give will be very much appreciated.

To all my DC friends, I hope you are digging out after the "snowpocolypse" (that's what you all are calling it, right?). And hey, if you want less snow, just move to Boston :)

Where has all the running gone?

So all you astute readers may have noticed that there hasn't been a running update here recently. Well, that's because there sadly isn't much of one. About a week ago, I developed a shin split in my left leg. It got pretty painful and was even hurting when I wasn't running. I decided the best course of action was just to stop running for a week. Let me tell you that wasn't a fun decision.....

So for the past six days, I've been resting. I've spent a lot of time icing my leg and taking Advil and doing a lot of yoga and pilates to try and keep my muscles well stretched. It seems as though it's getting better. And now, a week later, I'm getting antsy for running. So tomorrow I'm going to give it a shot--just a few miles and hopefully all will be well and I can get back to my regularly scheduled training.

If any of you have any experience dealing with shin splints (this is my first time with this problem) I'd love to hear your advice. Or if you just have any motivational or inspirational words, I'll take those too. As a hint, if you want to really motivate me, you can make a contribution to my running cause here (remember--all money goes to research to fight childhood and adolescent obesity--yay!)

My Thoughts on the Surgeon General's Report

First of all, did you know that the plural of Surgeon General is Surgeons General? I really like sharing that fun fact with people, so there you go.

Ok, on to bigger and better things. I mentioned a few days ago that the US Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, released a report that was her "Vision for Healthy and Fit Nation." This evening, while watching Tuesday night's Biggest Loser, I thought I'd take the time to read through it and share with you a few thoughts. If you're interested in reading the full report (just a warning, it's about 20 pages long), you can find it here. Overall I was impressed by the report, here are some key points:

• I REALLY liked that Dr. Benjamin didn't call for sweeping government regulations. She didn't argue for a soda tax (which I am very much against), didn't call for the government to ban unhealthy food or even to enforce stricter menu labeling. Instead, she argues that a combination of factors--personal decisions, schools, the environment and the medical community--can work together to fight obesity.
• My absolute favorite line in the report: "Interventions to prevent obesity should focus not only on personal behaviors and biological traits, but also on characteristics of the social and physical environments that offer or limit opportunities for positive health outcomes." This is just great--and very connected to a lot of what we discuss in my courses at BU--that it's not just about personal decisions. Where we live and the opportunities we are given have a lot to do with our health status. And only by improving the physical and social environments (making communities safer, ensuring that everyone has access to grocery stores, cleaning up parks and allowing kids to play outside) can we really improve our obesity rates.
• Throughout the whole report, there was quite a bit of emphasis placed on breastfeeding as a way to combat obesity. While I do agree with it, I was surprised to see it emphasized so much.
• If I had one criticism of the report, I'd say that I wish it focused a bit more on the food industry, particularly in how it relates to school lunches. While Dr. Benjamin encourages schools to provide nutritious food, it would have been great for her to also pressure those corporations that provide this food to ensure that the food supplied to schools is truly healthy and full of the nutrients that children need. I know that fighting big food companies is a politically difficult thing to do, but that would have been nice to see.

So as I said, I really did like this report. While I wish there had been a tad more fanfare to the release of this report, I do love that this administration is taking a stand against obesity and is trying to come up with new solutions to this growing problem.  As most of you know, I'm running as a part of the Tufts Marathon Challenge, which is raising money to fund new innovative research to fight childhood and adolescent obesity. With your help, we can hopefully find new ways to implement some of Dr. Benjamin's suggestions. Any amount you can contribute would be so so helpful. You can donate online here.

Ok, now that I've rambled for way too long, it's your turn. I know that some of your are at least somewhat interested in public health issues--so what do you think is the best way to fight obesity?

Running...It's Not All Sunshine and Flowers

So I'll start by saying that I really like running. I mean, I must really like running if I want to train for and run marathons. But that doesn't mean that every run is great. Some runs...well they're more of a struggle. And yesterday's run was definitely in that category. I went out with the Tufts group to run the first half of the Boston Marathon--13 miles from Hopkinton to Wellesley. I started out the morning excited to see what the course was like. My excitement died quickly. It was another cold cold morning and my legs just wouldn't loosen up. And it turns out, the first half of the marathon, which everyone describes as "all downhill" is really not. It's downhill at the beginning sure...and then it's lots of rolling hills--really just not what I was expecting. At several points, I really wasn't sure I could make it through. So all in all, it wasn't the greatest of mornings.

But I slogged through it, thanks to some encouraging words from my fellow runners. I finished the run on legs that felt like Jello and promptly rewarded myself with a mini bagel and 2 (or maybe 4) mini chocolate chip cookies. And then I went home and sat on the couch and iced my aching muscles.

While it wasn't the greatest run in the world, I can take several positive things from it. First, it's bound to warmer on Marathon Day! And that will make running much better. Second, I'm now much more prepared for the "downhill" aka "rolling hills" and know that I can get through them, and more. So maybe it wasn't all bad. And now that I've rested my muscles for a day, tomorrow will be another run....

Cold....

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.

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.

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.

Restaurant Review: Casa Oaxaca

I have been on a quest since I moved to DC a few years ago to try out as many different restaurants in the city as I possibly can. Last night, a friend and I chose to have dinner at Casa Oaxaca, in Adams Morgan. The restaurant bills itself as "authentic Mexican cuisine," and the menu reflects it. There are not fajitas, or chimichangas, or any of the staples of Tex-Mex restaurants. Instead, a whole section of the menu was focused on mole. I'm not even going to pretend to understand what mole really is, so you can check out wikipedia if you're curious. Regardless, we were intrigued as to all the different types of mole the restaurant had to offer, so we asked the waiter for help. He very nicely brought out a plate of all the different mole sauces with some corn tortillas to dip. We sampled them all and quickly picked a few favorites. This was very helpful in deciphering the menu.

I chose the Mole Coloradito, which was beef served with a red mole sauce. It was really very good. The meat was cooked perfectly and sliced very thinly, and the sauce was really amazing. My friend chose to eat the mole poblano, which was a mole sauce served over chicken breast. It was very tasty, the chicken was not at all dry and the sauce was just the right amount of spiciness. Both meals were served with rice and black beans--making them a very good plate all around.

Overall we really enjoyed our dinner. The food was great and the service was equally good. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful and at one point, a man who seemed to be the manager stopped by to ask us how the meal was. We chatted with him for a few minutes about the restaurant and Mexican food. It was interesting to find out that they tweak their menu often, and will soon be re-adding grasshoppers to the menu. My dining companion was excited to return to try the grasshoppers, while I remain a bit unconvinced.

So, if you are looking for a different type of Mexican food, a change from the usual Tex-Mex stuff, I highly recommend Casa Oaxaca. It's a great place to go for a reasonably priced, very good dinner.

Will Universal Health Care Make Americans Healthy?

One of the great things about living in DC is you have the opportunity to go to talks on a random Monday afternoon about whatever subject you happen to be interested in. A friend of mine often sends me e-mails about events hosted by the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Today, they were hosting a talk about health care, with featured speaker Congressman John Dingell. Being interested in health care issues, I decided to attend to hear with the Congressman had to say.

The title of the presentation was "Long Time Coming: A Historical Look at Health Reform and Priorities for 2009." Congressman Dingell, who has been in Congress for over 50 years (which is a whole other issue, but that's for another day) has a long history with trying to reform the health care system while in Congress so I figured he would have some interesting things to say.

I had mixed reactions to the Congressman's talk. On one hand, I thought he did a good job summarizing how our health care system has come to be what it is today. I also thought that he did a good job explaining how a revised health care system could actually benefit the economy. He argues that American corporations will be able to compete better in the global economy if they do not have to factor in health care costs into the cost of their product. I thought that was a newer way of thinking about the benefits of changing our current health care system.

While listening to the Congressman talk was very interesting, I did leave the discussion a bit disappointed. I wish that he had talked more about what he feels the best way is to reform the system. He spoke of the two schools of thought (government health care versus single payer), but didn't really talk about what he felt would be the best system.

My other issue with the remarks is that too often we think of universal health care as the magic bullet to make people healthy. Congressman Dingell seemed to buy into this as well, as he did not mention any other initiatives he would support to improve the health of the American population. The reasoning is, if people have health insurance, they can get everything they need to be healthy. Sadly, this is not the case. Just because people have health insurance does not mean they will go to the doctor and get the care they need. We still need better education so that people know what they need to do to be healthy--paying special care to ensure that we are reaching the under-served, undereducated population that might not hear the general messages. There needs to be changes in urban planning so that we invest in communities so that they are healthy--building parks, tearing down unhealthy buildings, making sure there are grocery stores that sell healthy foods. We need to make sure that we control our food supply to make sure that it is safe and healthy. These, and more, are also factors in a healthy population. I can only hope that when universal health care comes into reality (as I hope it will), that we do not forget to do more to improve the health of the entire population.