Below are the Athlete Alert text messages that were sent to my aunt Francesca during the marathon.

Mon, April 20, 2009
At 10:57 AM: 10km Athlete Alert. Michele Ricci. Time 0:49:19, Pace 7:56
At 11:54 AM: Half-Marathon Athlete Alert. Michele Ricci. Time 1:45:39, Pace 8:03
At 12:42 PM: 30km Athlete Alert. Michele Ricci. Time 2:33:59, Pace: 8:15
At 01:53 PM: Finish Athlete Alert. Michele Ricci. Time 3:45:24, Pace 8:35

What a great experience. I was honored to be a part of the Dana-Farber team. Overall, I raised over $4000 for cancer research.

Principal runs Boston Marathon

Boy was I surprised when the staff gathered on Friday afternoon to say good bye and good luck. They told me our administrative assistant, Lisa, had put the following up on our sign. The sign sits out in front of our school on VT Route 107. I stopped by this morning to get a quick photo.

The spaghetti dinner was not in honor of the marathon, it was a pre-planned fundraiser for our 5th/6th grade class trip to an environmental education camp this spring. I had another event to attend at Vermont Law School, so I didn't get to do any carbo loading!

One week to go!

Next Monday is Marathon Day! I'm ready to go and excited to run as part of the Dana-Farber Team. There are about 550 of us on the team and I'm amazed at the kind of money that is raised as a part of this team and the number of people across the country and around the world that are supporting this team!

Today I ran a make-up long run of 10 miles. It was on the schedule for yesterday, Easter Sunday but I didn't find time to fit it in between a blueberry pancake breakfast with sister-in-law Jessica and a yummy ham dinner and carrot cake dessert with the rest of the family at sister-in-law Justine's. So, I've started out my last week with a longer run and am looking forward to some 4 milers this week. My focus for the next 6 days is to get plenty of rest, drink a lot of water, stretch, and eat well.

I am so thankful to the many people who have supported me emotionally and financially through this Marathon Challenge. At this point, I've raised just over $3600 and am so amazed by all the generosity out there, especially in this economic climate. And to think.. every penny will go towards Innovative Cancer Research at the Claudia Adams Barr Research program at Dana-Farber. FANTASTIC!

So now, just send your positive vibes my way next Monday and I'll let you know how it goes.

Taper time

The last few weeks before the marathon is a really wonderful time. The hardest work is done, the longest runs are run, and the final countdown begins. This last two weeks I'll put in fewer miles and worry more about marathon day. I worry about being able to finish and worry about running a time I can be proud of and worry about being healthy. At my core I know it will be what it will be and I'll find the things to be proud of and the things I wished I'd done differently. The biggest difference between this marathon and others I've run is the community that is running with me. I've managed to raise over $3200 (THANK-YOU) and know that everyone who I've contacted about the DFMC is with me in spririt. I feel a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment having raised the minimum amount required and am really looking forward to spending marathon week-end with the other 500 DFMC team members.

Today I went out for a 7.5 mile run on a nearby trail. It felt great to be out in the woods again and running on dirt and over fallen logs. There were parts of the trail still covered and a lot of muddy sections, but it was fabulous. I'm excited to be able to get off the roads and back out onto the trails.

Sunday Shuffle

Well, I can say that I am happy to be done, but that was not fun. I just finished my last long run before the marathon, 22 miles. It took me longer than I expected and that is disappointing. I ran about 10 minute miles. ugh! It makes me question my ability to run the Boston in a time that I can be proud of. I know I will be happy to finish the marathon, but I will wonder why I didn't run just a little more and train just a little harder.

Anyway, we woke up to rain this morning and I knew what I was in for. The run reminded me of a Juneau run, it was raining the entire time with temperatures in the mid-30's and overcast skies. I started off slow and just got slower. I was literally shuffling along many miles and if I wasn't three weeks away from the Boston, I'd have turned around and headed home. I completed my 22 miles on dirt roads with some hills and mud. I got home and rewarded myself with a nice long bath and a yummy chocolate milk recovery drink. Now, I'm feeling great and as always, happy to be done with that run!

$3005

Looks like we made it! Thanks to the generous support of family and friends (and family friends) I have reaced the minumum fundraising goal. Last October it seemed a pretty daunting task and I had my doubts. My mom was integral to making it happen as she shared my newsletter with colleagues, friends, associates, and acquaintances. She also passed along the names of family friends to whom I sent fundraising letters. With her support and determinaton, I've reached my goal. Thanks mom!

Thank-you to everyone who has donated and to those who are with me in spirit. Now, all I need to do is keep running for 24 more days and finish the marathon strong!

What goes up must come down!

I discovered a few new roads to run on near the house, trouble is they are all hilly. I decided to try out a new loop last night and ran up Lilliesville road then up Whittier Road until the end (about 4 miles with some pretty steep sections). My plan was to turn around and come down Whitcomb Hill Road, which looked doable on the map. It turns out the road is closed in the winter. So, I retraced my steps to the car. Ending up with a 9.5 mile run going up and down Whittier Road.

A friend of ours showed Stefan an online running tool at runningahead.com. It allows you to plot your course and get the mileage and elevation and to keep track of workouts. I know it will be a great tool to use to be more accurate in my workouts. I just plotted this course to get the mileage and learned I gained 1260 ft in elevation throughout the run. Phew!

Snowy surprise

Today's seventeen miles started out innocently enough. There were snow flurries predicted but by the time I left the house, we'd had just a few flakes fall from the sky. I left the house around 10:45 and ran across the bridge to the River Road near our house. It's a dirt road that stretches out about 6 miles and has 2 roads that connect to it that lead to a whole slew of dirt roads up in the hills. I ran out and back on River road (10 miles) and then up Lilliesville road for 2.5 and back down to add 5 and then back home, to make a total of 17. At mile 9 I got some wind and snow flurries, it was mild enough. When I got to mile 11-12, the snow started coming down heavy with wind (did I mention I was running uphill at this point?). I almost turned around but persevered for another mile or so and then turned around.

I was glad I stayed with it, I finished the 17 in 2 hours and 31 minutes. I'm sure I won't be breaking any speed records this year but I'm confident that I can finish.

My bib number

I logged on to the Boston Marathon site yesterday and got my bib number - it's 13090. Last year I was somewhere around 14125. The First Wave of runners (bib numbers 0-13,999 start at 10:00) and Second Wave runners (bib numbers 14,000-20,000+) start at 10:30. So, I'm happy to be starting in the first wave and at the back of that wave. That way, I'll be motivated to stay with the faster runners for a while. I will likely cross the starting line 10-15 minutes after the 10:00 start (due to the sheer volume of people starting at that time). Then I can stay motivated to stay in front of the Second Wave runners for as long as possible. Should be fun.

You can follow my progress on race day (Monday, April 20) by logging on to the Boston Marathon website and searching for me by name or bib number. They will be posting every 5K split (3.2 miles) which should mean every 25-33 minutes for me.

One more month!

I can't believe there is only one more month! It's often at this point that I start to wish I had trained just a little bit harder. Now that I can imagine myself running the marathon, I'd like to see myself running it at a personal best. While this year's Boston might not prove to be my fastest, it will certainly be the most meaningful marathon to date. I have been fundraising since November and am almost there. By almost, I would say as of this moment I am at 2375, just 625 shy of my goal. I am hopeful! Many of the folks I first contacted in November said they'd support me when the time came. Well, time's up. I'm sending out a big e-mail reminder later today to everyone I've been in contact with to this point to let them know where I'm at.

I just finished a 7 mile run and feel pretty good. Tomorrow's long run will be around 18 and I just hope it is warm enough in the morning to run before 10. We woke up this morning to 10 degrees and I just didn't want to deal with the cold. It's amazing how spoiled you get once you run in 40-50 degree weather, it's hard to go back. The last two weeks we've seen pretty warm temperatures and it is so nice - no hat or gloves!

The downside to the melting snow (and running on dirt roads) is the mud. It's hard anytime and especially hard on tired legs. The trick is to time the run so that it's warm enough to leave the hat behind but not so warm that the roads are mush. Keep your fingers crossed.

Over the river and through the woods

I'm stalling.. I'm planning to run a 22 miler today and I'm waiting for it to warm up a bit. It's 15 degrees and I'd like it a little closer to 20. I'm planning to get dressed in a few minutes and then load up my gatorade and gu in my waist pack and hit the road. It will probably take me about 3 hours and 20 minutes. I'm running pretty slow on longer runs and think I might throw in a few hills. I'm heading over the river and through the woods.. literally. We have a series of dirt roads right across the river from our house and while I'm getting pretty tired of running on the same roads, I am very glad they are so convenient.

Meet Brandon...

Brandon is two years old and has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lympoma (NHL). He is receiving treatment at Dana-Farber's Jimmy Fund Clinic. I got to meet Brandon on Saturday (1/24/09) during the "Meet your Match" party as part of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Partner Program. Brandon is my Patient Partner and he's given me a million more reasons to train hard and fundraise even harder.

Brandon and I got to spend all morning getting to know each other at the Boston Children's Museum with many other patients and their runners. The room was full of smiles, laughter, and hope as we played a series of Dr. Suess themed activities. I'm looking forward to spending more time with Brandon (and his family) over the coming months. Hopefully, they'll be able to join the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge cheering section at mile 25 on Marathon Day. I know I'll need a great smile like his to keep me going to the end!