Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Jitters...followed by a nice run.

Dear Readers,
If you'll indulge me, I'd like to take a little time to go a little off-topic.......wait a minute, this is MY blog, so I can pretty much do whatever I want, right?  Yeah......so here goes!  :>)

I had a jittery moment earlier today, brought on by a tiny opportunity to do a little public speaking.  During our monthly faculty meeting at my school, I had asked for and was granted a minute to mention my charity running efforts to my fellow faculty members.  When it became obvious that I was about to be asked to briefly address my colleagues, I suddenly felt my pulse start to jump and my stomach get a little tight.  At the same time, I also started to laugh at the absurdity of my nervousness.  After all, I'm a teacher.......I spend the better part of each and every working day speaking in front of people.  Granted, those people are teenagers, but it's still a form of public speaking.  When I'm running a lesson, I know what I'm doing and I'm in control, but any time I get up in front of other teachers, I get a little nervous.

My colleagues were great.....they actually applauded when I mentioned that I'm running the Boston Marathon.  As much as I tend to downplay the effort, I think many people are awed by the idea of running a marathon, so I was pleasantly surprised by their response.  As I've been making my way through the fundraising, I've been sensitive to avoid pestering my co-workers.....I mean, I've asked them to contribute, but haven't really hit them over the head with it.  I've tried to go through our school email system, messages on Facebook, but what really worked (as it did with everyone else, as well), was a personal email.  I was surprised to find this out, as I figured that everyone who's on Facebook is actually ON Facebook, but I think some of us have more of an active online presence than others.  Once I sent personal emails, the donations really started to flow.

Which brings me to my faculty meeting today........once I made my little appeal for support, I sat back down and was immediately approached by a 6th-grade teacher who wrote out a check on the spot........another walked up and pressed a $20 bill into my hand......and yet another contributed online before the meeting was over.  Still another made an online donation this evening......all in all, my co-workers are just KILLIN' IT.......and I can't thank them enough.  Whatever nervousness I was feeling and had to work through to get the message out to everyone was clearly worth it.  By the end of this week, I will likely have met my minimum fundraising commitment!

And now, a brief detour back into running commentary........

This past weekend, I was scheduled to do a 15-mile long run on Saturday, but due to the way my week had worked out, the run was now going to take place on Sunday.......that being SUPER BOWL Sunday.....and my beloved New England Patriots were taking on the hated New York Giants.  So I figured a good long run would get my mind off the game and help me relax.  Sunday dawned beautiful but a little chilly.....by the time I got out around 11am, it was around 25 degrees.  I felt that I had my layering right, so I felt pretty comfortable once I got going.  My initial idea was to do 2 laps around one of my favorite routes here......plenty of hills.  Once on the backside of the route, it became clear to me that a second lap was going to be beyond my ability that day......so instead of forcing it, I changed my plan to have the second lap be my normal daily running route......roughly 5 miles that feature gentle, rolling hills.  So what might have been 15-16 miles became 13.2 instead.  To which I respond "oh well".....I could have pushed it and regretted it later, but instead chose to truncate my mileage to "live and fight another day".

I don't mind running in the cold, but I don't like running in the dark.......ok, I don't run in the dark because I don't have all the necessary equipment for that kind of running, so if I get out of school too late, I'm off to the gym to hit the "dreadmill"...over the last few weeks, I've truly come to despise treadmill running......I used to be able to keep my brain occupied with a variety of things, but now I just get so bored so quickly that it makes every run seem like an eternity.  Ordinarily, I'd break up every treadmill run with short walk-breaks......run 9:30, walk 30 seconds.......and repeat.  Today, for grins and giggles, I thought I'd try to find a reasonable pace and just run........and I made it the full 40 minutes.  I impressed myself.......

My team is going to be out on the Boston Marathon course again this Saturday morning.....this time going from Natick to Kenmore Square.....roughly 15-16 miles.  Yet another chance to get familiar with the course, this time going through Wellesley (minus the Wellesley College girls!), into Newton, up and over the Newton Hills, past Boston College, and into Boston itself..........it's going to be cold, but it's going to be fun to run on the course again.  I'm sure I'll have lots to blog about next time.....cya!

16 comments:

  1. Ok, so this might sound weird, but I just got this feeling in my GUT when reading that last paragraph... I kept a blog when I trained for Boston last year and the feelings are SO similar!! I am with ya Bill - in support, in camaraderie, in running the dreadmill... (although listening to Backstreet Boys seems to distract me these days - will that work for you?? ha!!)

    I have a donation coming your way - both in memory of Dan (I LOVE knowing that someone is running Boston for him two years in a row ;-) and in honor of my sister, who had melanoma when she was 23 - perfectly healthy today, with a beauty scar to remind us all...

    Run Happy, my friend :)

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    1. thanks Dyan!!! I just started following your blog and read your recounting of your Boston Marathon experience aloud (from my phone!) last night to Barb before we shut out the lights...wow! Thanks for the donation....you know that you're the ONLY person who went with that amount? Guess it takes a real runner to do that! :>) So glad to hear that your sister is healthy now and that you're still out there running (didn't you just do the Mickey???).

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  2. What a wonderful story, and so wise listening to your body...13.2 miles is AMAZING...glad you have so much support!

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    1. Hi Michelle......if I've learned ANYTHING from running, it's that there are some days when you just can't go as far/fast as you think you're "supposed" to....and that those are always offset by those days when you're UNSTOPPABLE. My sole purpose in my training for Boston is to simply not get hurt....everything beyond that is gravy!

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  3. Hi Bill! Really enjoyed your post. I'm a teacher too -- grade 1 -- and I totally understand your nervousness about speaking in staff meetings. I'm the same way.
    Best of luck with your Boston training. That's so exciting!

    Barbara
    My Running Shortz

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    1. thanks, Barbara......always nice to meet another running teacher! I've also started following your blog, so I look forward to reading it when I get the chance!

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  4. Good luck on hitting your goal. Sounds like you will nail it!

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    1. Thanks.....it was actually met last night! Now it's a matter of my goals for the marathon itself, but it's wonderful to have so many people behind me.

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  5. Absolutely! And thanks, I haven't blogged in a long time, but just went and reread my post - WoW! Does it come rushing back! My first 26.2 in Disney was my baby, but Boston is meaningful in SO many other ways - I truly meant it when I said enjoy every moment of training and the race weekend itself - it is INCREDIBLE - getting goosebumps as I type :)

    And yes, just did the Disney marathon relay with a friend! So fun!! And have Hyannis half in a couple weeks... Sometimes I stop and wonder how the hell I got here!! But I am not looking back :)

    A friend posted a quote this am:
    ‎"I ain't as good as I'm gonna get, but I'm better than I used to be" Hollah! ;-)

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  6. Great decision on cutting that run short to ensure you didn't over-do the other day...very wise. I'm coming to believe that listening to our bodies and doing what is right, whether that is slowing down, cutting one short, or taking an unplanned rest day, is the hallmark of a healthy runner. It doesn't sound quite as macho, and doesn't match a lot of those motivational posters, but it is often the quickest path to ultimate success !

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    1. well, at least that's what I think.......I've never seen a motivational poster that can fix a hinky achilles tendon! Macho might work at 20 or 30, but at my advanced age, I have nothing to prove to anyone other than myself. Every time I show up for a race, I do so with the knowledge that I'm going to be "beaten" by little old ladies, little old men, and kids. It's a wonderful ego check, but the fact is, I keep putting myself out there to compete AGAINST MYSELF! And I can't compete if I get hurt in training....

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  7. Bill, this may be a stupid question but where do I donate?
    Is there a link here on your blog I'm missing?

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    1. it's not a stupid question at all, Lisa.......I put the link up way back in the beginning when I started back in November, but here it is again:

      http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/billfine/RunningforCover_Boston_2012

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  8. Great move not pushing your run last Sunday. Have you recovered from the Pats' lost? I still can't stomach pictures of the Giants holding the trophy!

    Hope your run Saturday goes well!

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    1. I "recovered" almost immediately. I was disappointed, but felt that they were a little lucky to get there in the first place (real easy path through the playoffs) and they were, as they say, "playing with house money". And they still nearly won the stupid thing!

      I've been a life-long Pats fan, so after watching them go from being a 1-15 laughingstock to winning 3 titles in 4 years, they could never win the thing again and I'd still be a happy fan!

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  9. That is one heck of a story about the donations man. Awesome. Way to go on the 40 minutes on the treadmill. have fun on the long run up there. Take care.

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