On the Run for Dana Farber

Run like you can't fail

2010-04-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since the last time I updated this blog and A LOT has happened. We had our fundraising party back on January 30th and raised over $6,000. Thanks to everyone that came, that donated and helped make it such a great success. Overall I have surpassed my fundraising goal and now just shy of $12,000 raised.

On the training front, with the big day just a few days away there is not much left to do but rest and try not to go crazy with excitement and emotions. I completed my last long run, 2o miles, back on March 28th as I participated in the Eastern States 20-miler, a race from Kittery, ME to Hampton, NH. I felt pretty good in general after the race....with the exception of my knee. The IT Band problem I had early in my training flared up again in the last few mile of the run and although I was able to push through to the end of the race I knew it was going to be a problem with just a few weeks to go until the marathon. I have been resting, icing, stretching, getting physical therapy and limiting my workouts to the Arc Trainer. At this point, I have done everything I can possibly do to prepare and I am determined to simply enjoy the experience.

Today I read a post by elite American marathoner Ryan Hall, where he encouraged people to let go and run the race like they couldn't fail. No matter what happens on Monday, sore knee, tired legs, or blisters, I know I can not fail....because thanks to so many generous friends and family members we have raised close to $12,000.....this journey has already been a success.

Another Use for Duct Tape!

2010-01-17T19:12:00.000-08:00

Going back to last Sunday I have logged runs of 9.7 miles, 6 miles, and 10 miles with an Arc Trainer work out mixed in. The 9.7 mile mile run was last Sunday and it was sunny but the temperature was about 15 degrees. Due to the temperature I opted to wear a pair of socks that I don't typically wear running because they are longer and thought they would be warmer. I am not sure if I can attribute it to the socks or the distance but I developed a couple of blisters on my right foot. I pushed through the end of the run with some discomfort but was more concerned about these blisters being an ongoing problem.

My next run was Wednesday when I headed out before dawn to get in six miles before work. I layered up as usual for the winter weather, lubed up the blisters with vaseline and headed out. It was certainly cold, as evidenced by the sweat coming through my running gloves turning to frost on the outside, although I didn't realize until later in the day that it was hovering around zero degrees at the time of my run. The cold didn't affect my run but with about 2 miles to go I was feeling the blisters all over again. Time to find a better solution.

I was scheduled to run 10 miles on Sunday and was nervous about the blisters. I did some research about the best treatment for blisters and unfortunately did not find a magic solution or at least a solution I had a lot of confidence in: band-aids? keep your shoes snug? vaseline? wear 2 pairs of socks?. Then I came across someone who recommended covering blisters with duct tape to eliminate the friction on the blisters. Duct tape...as a guy, that is a solution I can get behind. So before my 10 mile run I wrapped my foot with a couple turns of duct tape and set out. I didn't have any problems with the blisters until about mile 7 and finished strong with only minor discomfort, which was good for this run but probably will probably spell disaster after 26.2 miles....still need a better solution.

Only 2 weeks to go until the fundraising party on January 30th. I look forward to seeing so many family and friends in one place. I will also take advantage of being in Boston to run 12 miles of the actual marathon route which I am also looking forward to. Stay tuned!!

It's Official!

2010-01-12T18:34:00.000-08:00

I received an email last week that my registration had been received by the BAA and I am included on their offical entrants list for the 2010 Boston Marathon. I obvisoulsy I have known I would be doing this but receiving that email and seeing my name on the BAA website really made it official.

Training has been going well. I ran 10 miles on Sunday, my longest so far and felt pretty good. The weather hasn't been too bad with temperatures around 20 degrees for most of my recent runs. I am looking forward to running 12 miles in Boston the day before our fundraiser.

The party planning is going well and we have accumulated some great auction items, here is a partial list:

Yankee Candle basket
Red Sox basket
Bruins basket
Patriots basket
Celtics basket
Sam Adams basket
Framed photo from the Winter Classic at Fenway, one-of-a-kind
A half-day charter fishing trip
A professional potrait session, great for engagment pictures or family potrait
Red Sox Tickets for Marathon Monday
Bruins Tickets
Cigars
Various Sports Memoribilia Items
And More....

If you have something to donate, please let me know. No item too big or too small.

Look forward to seeing everyone.

Keep Your Beer Cold and Cure Cancer!!

2009-12-30T20:56:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been almost a month since my last post. My training is going well. I completed a 7-mile run on Sunday while visiting my sister in Massachusetts. It was misty, wet from lots of snow melt but warm. I felt good, finished strong and felt like I could keep on going.

As for fundraising, I am now just about a quarter of the way to the goal of $10,000. Many thanks to everyone who has donated so far, your donations and support are greatly appreciated.

Getting together with family for Christmas was great and gave me a chance to get together with my all-star fundraising team. We worked out the details for a t-shirt, finalized some details for the party on January 30th and picked up the great koozies that Karen had made....I would refer to them as irreverent yet eloquent. We are selling the koozies for $5 and all proceeds go to Dana Farber and to the fundraising goal. It's a no-brainer....$5 to keep your beer cold and cure cancer!!

The koozie works well for both bottles and cans (I researched this personally). They are available in grey (grey ribbon for lung cancer) and pink (pink ribbon for breast cancer). If you interested in a koozie, send me an email (thenaghen@gmail.com) and we'll figure how to get them to you.

I will try not to go so long until my next post. Happy and safe New Year to all. I hope to see you at the party on January 30th.

Back on Track and Ready to Roll!

2009-12-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

Well, after a week on the Arc Trainer and plenty of stretching, my knee is feeling good and in the last week I have logged runs 4, 4.25 and 4.5 miles with no problems. My actual marathon training program doesn't start until December 14th when I will start ramping up my long run by about a mile each week but I have a pretty good base to start from and I am feeling confident and excited.

I have some fundraising letters ready to send out and recently sent out my first fundraising email and the donations are starting to come in, thanks to Jim L., Matt M., Matt C., Nancy G. and Terri S., I appreciate your generous support.

Slow and Steady...Very Slow

2009-11-21T21:04:00.000-08:00

Nothing too exciting to report these days. I have been working to slowly increase my running base as I get ready to officially start my training program in mid December, when I will really ramp up the miles. Unfortunately, following an early morning run this week, when it was 2o degrees, my knee started bothering me again. It looks like I will have to spend more time on the elliptical over the next couple weeks and work on more stretching and strengthening. My self diagnosis is illiotibial band syndrome.

Good news is that I have a previously scheduled appointment on December 1st with an orthapedic/sports medicine doctor....hopefully that will help get me, and my knee, on the right track. Otherwise, I will have a lot of this in my future:

On the fundraising front, I have spent some time getting my first round of letters and emails ready to go out, thank the lord for "mail merge". The plans for the party on January 30th are coming along well and we already have quite a few great auction items (red sox tix, bruins tix, a charter fishing trip, paintings, great themed gift baskets and more) and are always looking for more.

Good luck to all the turkey trotters out there this week!

SAVE THE DATE!!

2009-11-07T18:38:00.000-08:00

I got my training started this week after a couple very light weeks, thanks to some knee trouble. I have self-diagnosed it as a sore IT Band...thanks to the power of the internet. I have an appointment scheduled with an orthapedic/sports medicine doctor on December 1st which will hopefully provide a good stretching/strengthening program to keep me healthy through all the training miles but after a couple weeks rest I am feeling good and ready to get things going. I am going to try doing about half of my runs on a treadmill or ArcTrainer to limit the miles I have to do on the pavement, hopefully keeping me healthy for the long haul. I ran a total of 10 miles this week with an 11 mile bike ride (albeit a stationary bike) thrown in....the knee feels great and I am feeling confident.

On the fundraising side. I need to get going on a letter/email campaign but happy to announce that there is a fundraising event (i.e. PARTY!!) scheduled for January 30th. It will be at the VFW in Abington and we already have a band booked. Many thanks to my sister Karen for all her efforts to pull this event together. Keep the date open and tell your friends, all are welcome. Last but not least, still looking for any donations to include in the silent auction for the party.

Stay tuned for more details on the event and training updates.

FUNdraising Ideas...Help!

2009-10-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

So just about 6 months until Marathon Monday and lots of training and fundraising to do between now and then. The many training miles I will need to do on my own, but the fundraising...for that I will need some help.

I am trying to come up with creative fundraising methods beyond just asking people for donations, although I will need to do that as well. If you have had success with other fundraising methods or have attended fun charity events I would love to hear about them. Here are some of the things I plan on doing to reach my fundraising goal of $9,000.

Super Bowl Squares and NCAA Tourney Brackets: I will run the typical pools for these two popular events but 50% of the proceeds will be given to the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, with the other 50% going to the winner(s). If anyone is interested in running a pool within their office or among their friends and neighbors it would be greatly apprectiated.

Fundraising Party: There will be a fundraising party, somewhere on the South Shore, likely sometime in January. This will undoubtably be made possible due to the superb efforts of my sister, Karen. We are still working out the details on food, entertainment, venue etc, but have lots of good ideas. As part of the party we are hoping to have a silent auction, which will be a key fundraising component. Any donations for the silent auction will be greatly appreciated, no donation is too small....or too big. Items like restaurant gift certificates, wine, sporting event tickets, gift baskets, golf gear, sports memorabilia or gift certificates for other services....just about anything anyone might be interested in.

Stay tuned for more details and if you have any suggestions on other good fundraising ideas, I would greatly appreciate it.

The Inaugural Post

2009-10-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

I recently found out that I was selected to be a member of the 2010 Dana Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) Team. On April 19, 2010 I will run the Boston Marathon as part of the DFMC Team and I need your support.

I was motivated to apply for a spot on the team and to take on the marathon as a tribute to my mother who lost her battle with cancer this past June and my father who we also lost to cancer in 2003. That is my story, however I think it is safe to say that there is not a single person who hasn’t been touched by cancer in some way.

I am training and fundraising for critical cancer research and care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. 100% of all contributions directly benefit the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber. Dana Farber is one of the top 5 cancer hospitals in the United States. It is internationally recognized for excellence in research and the treatment of cancer in children and adults.

The DFMC is a cause in which I strongly believe and through which I hope to help make a difference. I hope you will support Dana-Farber by making a gift to my run and, in doing so, make a difference along with me. I encourage you to make a donation in honor of someone close to your heart, as I will be wearing those names on my shirt on Marathon Day and dedicating each of the 26.2 miles to your honorees.

To make a donation, please go to: http://www.runDFMC.org/2010/tomh. You can make a donation online, or print out a donation form to fill out and send to me along with a check made out to "Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge."

If there are others who you think would support this cause, please forward this on. And don't forget to check with your office as many employers, even in this financial climate, are generously continuing the tradition of matching donations.

Stayed tuned for future updates on training and fundraising.