Moving Forward

Training Recap:

Week 13, featuring the second of five 20+ mile long runs, is now behind me.  My total training mileage is approaching the 550-mile mark, and the only negative consequence I have to show for it is a little nagging knee soreness.  All things considered, I'm in good health and am setting myself up for what should be a strong performance in April.

Here's a quick recap of my cardio activities for the week:

EXERCISE	TOTAL MILES	TOTAL CALORIE BURN
Running five runs and one simulated run, including a long run of 20 miles, two 10-mile runs, two 5-mile recoveries (one split between the elliptical and Arc Trainer and the other on the treadmill), and a 45-minute tempo run that, with warm-up, recovery, and cool-down, totaled 5.5 miles	55.5	4,647
Other one spinning class for 42 minutes	N/A	333
TOTALS:	55.5	4,980

I haven't previously mentioned my goals for Boston, but here they are, in descending order of importance:

1. HAVE FUN!  First and foremost, I plan to enjoy the experience, knowing it was because of my own personal accomplishment (finishing with a qualifying time at Louisville in October) that got me there.  I continually need to remind myself that I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity to run "THE MARATHON".  On top of that, I'm looking forward to meeting many of the DFMC teammates that I've become somewhat acquainted with in the virtual realm and further solidifying those relationships.
2. REMEMBER/HONOR CANCER VICTIMS/SURVIVORS.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to be part of the DFMC team.  The chance to run in memory of cancer victims and in honor of those who are survivors, while at the same time helping raise money to support further advances in cancer treatment, is quite humbling.  I'm honored to be able to extend the goodwill of this experience well beyond the lifetime of memories it will bring for me.
3. SET A NEW MARATHON P.R.  "P.R." is runnerspeak for "personal record".  I'm not setting any goals for my finish time, other than to come in faster than the 3:30:51.50 that I did in my first marathon last October.  Having cranked up the intensity of my training, I feel like I'm well positioned to do that, but I won't be at all disappointed if it doesn't happen.  That's not really what this first Boston experience is all about.

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Fund-raising Update:

Unfortunately, my fund-raising isn't going as well as my training.  No new contributions were received this past week.  I hope it's just a function of people knowing they have a little time yet to get their donations in but, at the same time, I would rather not be obsessing/worrying about whether I'm going to make the minimum fund-raising commitment, which I'm not even halfway to yet, let alone my $5000 goal.  If you're reading this and planning to contribute, please do so as soon as you possibly can, remembering there are few causes as far-reaching and impactful as this one!  http://www.rundfmc.org/2010/tonyb

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This Week's "Title Track":

Moving Forward A track by Hoobastank from the release Every Man For Himself

I wonder if the journey will be,
Short as I hope or much longer than it seems.
But either way, I've made up my mind.
I'm through feeling scared. I'm leaving that behind.

So, now it's time to go.

And I take the first step of a million more.
And I'll make mistakes I've never made before.
But at least I'm moving forward, at least I'm moving forward,
At least I'm moving forward.