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.