I have other, more important, things to discuss this week so, very quickly, here's the training recap for Week 14: (If this bores you, please skip to the next section.)
| EXERCISE | TOTAL MILES | TOTAL CALORIE BURN |
| Running five runs and one simulated run, including a long run of 14 miles, two 6-mile runs (one done partially on the treadmill, when drifting snow forced me inside), two 5-mile recoveries (one on the Arc Trainer), and a 45-minute tempo run that, with warm-up, recovery, and cool-down, totaled 5.5 miles | 41.5 | 3,461 |
| Other one spinning class for 42 minutes | N/A | 416 |
| TOTALS: | 41.5 | 3,877 |
This was a "step-back" week, which means the distances of each run were generally shorter than what they were the week before. As a result, I'm feeling strong and well rested for the week ahead, when I'll run approximately 55 miles, including my third 20-mile long run on Saturday.
Now, moving on to the important stuff ...
The Cause
I know many of my readers have a thorough understanding of why I'm running, but it bears repeating: Cancer is one mean S.O.B., and it's still winning too many battles. The statistics I cited in my February 7 post, bear this out. The five-year relative survival rate for all cancers diagnosed between 1996 and 2004 was 66 percent. That means one in three is still dying from this dreaded disease. That's too many! Sure, 66 percent is better than the 50 percent survival rate from the period of 1975 to 1977, but it took 20 to 25 years for us to realize that improvement. That represents a little over a one percent improvement compounded per year. Not good enough!
Yes, the government, specifically, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spends a boatload of money every year to fund cancer research but, like most government agencies, the NIH is conservative and only dispenses its money to sure-fire projects or to experienced investigators with good track records in their fields. This is not a formula that will likely lead to dramatic improvements in cancer survival rates ... and that's where Dana-Farber's Claudia Adams Barr Program comes in and why your financial support to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) is so vital.
When you donate to the Barr Program via DFMC, those funds get a brilliant young investigator started on their career or provide an accomplished investigator the opportunity to lend their intellect to another field or gain access to an enabling technology. The output of this process is new basic science discoveries that can lead to new cancer treatments. Further, those discoveries give investigators a chance to request NIH funding based on a real track record! Nearly all Barr Investigators have been able to turn their early support into ongoing NIH support. This is tremendous leverage! Barr supporters should always remember that every dollar they give for cancer research will turn into many more dollars for cancer research from NIH or other sources. These funds allow even bigger projects to be performed and the result is an ever shorter time to cancer cures. This is precisely what is needed!
I'm part of a team of roughly 550 runners who believe in and are completely invested in this cause, so much so that we put our bodies through a grueling training program spanning months for the honor of representing it. Many are running their first marathon ... and some are actual cancer survivors. We're battling harsh Winter conditions and fighting injury/illness to don the Dana-Farber singlet on race day to run in memory and/or honor of those whose lives have been impacted by cancer and to make a statement that cancer's days of winning are numbered ... but we can't make that statement merely on the basis of our physical ability; we need fiscal ability, and this is where we need you to step up and join our team. You don't have to run 26.2 miles. In fact, you don't even have to break a sweat.
These are trying financial times for some. Of that, there is absolutely no doubt ... but what price human life? You may think you have little to give, but every single dollar given will get us one step closer to a world without cancer. Don't think you have the money to donate? Let me challenge that. Boston is only nine weeks away. If you were to set aside $2 to $3 per week between now and then, you'd have around $25, give or take. Will you really miss that money? Seriously, I throw away more than that every week on useless junk (e.g., soft drinks, candy, etc.) that I don't need and, frankly, isn't good for me. It's a sacrifice worth making, not only for the greater good (i.e., impacting the lives of millions) but also for your own benefit. Think about it. Do you feel like we (i.e., I and my DFMC teammates) do? If so, please join us by donating.
Fund-raising Update
No new donations were received in the past week, so I'm still stuck on $1,408, a far cry from the $3,250 I'm required to raise and the $5,000 goal I set. Obviously, I'm not pleased with how things are going.
This Week's "Title Track"
 | Do You Feel Like We Do A track by Peter Frampton from the release Frampton Comes Alive (not the version I was hoping for but the only one available) |
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