Double Black Diamond

I stood at the top of a vertical drop off on the Tolt pipeline in Woodinville, Washington, feeling a little bit like a beginner skier who accidently took a lift up to the top of a double black diamond slope. The difference, however, was that I knew I could get down, but I was not so sure how I would make it back up.

I was trying to do a 10 mile out and back run, and I still had almost 2 miles to go till my “turn around” point. As I stood at the top of this hill, I could see the Burke-Gilman Trail snaking through the valley below, shielded by tall poplar trees. I wanted to be down there, running along the creek between the poplar trees.

So I took the plunge and ran down this hill. And it was steep, and it was fast, and the next thing I knew I really was running in the poplars, pretending to be a Burke-Gilman “regular”. Of course, less then an hour later I was walking up the “steep” and “fast” double black diamond “cliff”, but it was worth every tilted second of it.

8 on the 8th Challenge

Actually for me the run was a little over 9 miles, but I think it still counts towards the challenge. Yesterday was a beautiful day—sunny and warm (above freezing!). I ran to the Esplanade and headed for the Science Museum bridge.

Many people were strolling along the Charles, enjoying the day. The Cambridge size of the river was even more crowded. The Canadian geese were showing in greater then usual numbers amongst the white geese by the BU bridge. And the parking lot was full of shoppers by the Trader Joe’s.

Back over on the Boston side I bravely ignored the “Sidewalk Closed” sign after crossing the River Street, and quickly found myself running in a trench. The pavement was gone, and evenly cut mud on the sides made me think of Honduras and digging up the grass for a new sidewalk at the Amarateca Technical Institute. Snow, puddles and mudd continued all the way to the BU bridge. I would like to avoid trench running next time, but I also will not deny the sense of adventure that it added to my run.

Who Won the Tickets to the Nutcracker?

Thank you so much to all of you making donations to Dana-Farber supporting my Boston marathon run! The winner of the opportunity drawing for the 2 tickets to the Boston Ballet performance of the Nutcracker at the Opera House has been selected.

The winning ticket number is:

6857015

If you have the winning ticket, please contact me as soon as possible, so that I can present you with the ballet tickets.

Back to Hill Workouts

My first hill workout in over 2 months--very exciting! My weekday morning runs usually include several hills, but the special hill workout challenges me a bit more. Its only downside is that I have to do it on a treadmill.

The idea is to run in 10 minute sets such that the incline is never 0. After a 5 minute warm up run, I run for 2 minutes at the incline level of 2, then 2 minutes at level 4, and so on, such that I run the last 2 minutes of the set at the incline level of 10. Today I ran 4 sets, but hopefully in a couple of weeks I can work it up to 6 sets. Going back to level 2 after running on the incline level 10 feels simply amazing. I definitely recommend it!

Enter to Win Tickets to the Boston Ballet Nutcracker

It is still not too late to enter the opportunity drawing for 2 tickets to the Boston Ballet performance of the Nutcracker at the Opera House on Saturday, December 15. The drawing will continue through December 1. Please see the original post for more details.

Other Athletes' Advice

Over Thanksgiving I have received some excellent advice on proper nutrition and training from fellow athletes I have met here in Texas.

Miss Lillian Beans is a long distance veteran who is now retired. Despite her respectful age, she still takes brisk walks around the neighborhood twice a day. Miss Beans says that to stay in shape one absolutely must take long midday naps. She attributes her success to always allowing herself to indulge in regular meals of boiled chicken.



Mr. Deacon is a promising young sprinter. He is particularly sensitive to rainy weather, and he finds that mud has a detrimental effect on his feet. When he cannot run outside due to inclement weather, Mr. D keeps himself busy by doing high jumps indoors. He attributes his slim yet muscular figure to regular consumption of rawhide treats. Mr. D also likes to exercise his brain by memorizing the location of all edible objects in the house.


Miss Singe is a gymnast sharing the house with Miss Beans and Mr. D. Unfortunately Miss Singe is a bit secretive and not willing to disclose her training routines. I did notice that Miss Singe likes to provide a melodic meow'ing background to everything she does. Perhaps that is her secret to success.

Thanksgiving Run in Sunny Texas

We are spending Thanksgiving in Texas this year. Great, I thought, it would be a nice break from the cold windy Boston weather. Yet with our arrival on Wednesday night, the sunny 80's changed to gloomy 40's. But I am in Texas, and it is supposed to be warm! Ignoring reality, I donned my little shorts, skipped the warm up, and went out for a 4.5 mile run. Then the wind hit! I felt the blood vessels in my held starting to constrict. Without any knowledge of the surrounding area, I kept running back and forth along the small grid of the few neighborhood streets. It took more then 20 minutes for me to break a sweat. I would have dressed warmer in the same weather in Boston, but clearly I could not bring myself to do it when surrounded by banana trees and cacti.

Run Helen Run Merchandise

Run Helen Run merchandise is now available for purchase at my Run Helen Run Online Store, and certainly all proceeds will be donated to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge. I mainly created the store because I just discovered the CafePress website and thought it would be so much fun to create my own products. Non-Helen specific items are also available at the Have More Cake Online Store.

When announcing my stores, I really do not want to mislead you. I have created the stores purely for the entertainment factor. Most of the money you would have to spend to buy any one item would go to CafePress, and just a fraction will go to me, and hence to DFMC.

In other news, today the actual Boston Marathon Invitational Entry form arrived in the mail. I could hardly believe my own eyes and my good fortune. Several minutes have passed as I stood in the hallway completely mesmirized still in my coat and wearing my backpack. Suddenly the cell phone rang and brought me out of my stupor--my friend, also a DFMC teammate, called to share her reaction to receiving the form.

Am I Running Again?

Some people have been asking me if I am running already. The answer is yes. I did not run at all for 5 weeks after completing the Adirondack Marathon in September, and now I am slowly building up my mileage again. I will start following my "official" training schedule sometime in early December though.

It's great to be running again. I have been running outside as much as possible to catch the last warm sunny days before the temperatures drop for good. Then running outdoors might become all about wearing the right layers, and not so much about enjoying the scenery.

You can actually see how much I have been running by looking at "My Latest Workouts" section in the sidebar on the left. This section shows my three latest runs. Every run is a link to my running log where you can see all my completed runs. Hint: those of you who are considering to participate in the "Bet on Helen's Training Miles and Race Time" fundraiser might find this information rather useful.

Dana-Farber in the News

Check out this Boston Globe article published on Monday about lung cancer research. Dr. Matthew Meyerson, one of the leaders of this project, is a scientist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is also a former Claudia Adams Barr Program Investigator whose early research efforts in this area were funded by Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge.

Win Tickets to the Nutcracker

Enter to win 2 orchestra seat tickets to the Boston Ballet Nutcracker performance at the Opera House for Saturday, December 15th, 7:30pm.

Instructions:

1. Make a donation. Suggested donation is $20 per entry. Yes, you can have multiple entries.
2. Please use the Contact Helen form to let me know that you would like to enter this opportunity drawing.

Hurry, the drawing will close on December 1st.

Current Fundraising Activities and Events

Ongoing:

• Participate in betting on how many miles total Helen will run during training, and how long it will take her to complete the race

Now through December 1st:

• Enter the drawing to win 2 tickets to the Boston Ballet Nutcracker at the Opera House.

Race Times and Training Miles

The following table shows bets made so far on how many miles I will run while training between December 1st and April 21st, not counting the race itself, as well as the guesstimate of my race time.

	Name	Training Miles	Marathon Time
1.	Julie N.	420	4:37:11
2.	G. A.	?	4:04:44
3.	May Jiang	150	4:06:00
4.	May Jiang	410	4:00:00
5.	Marcia & Jim Gordon	600	3:56:20
6.	Dorothy & Josh Kern	102	5:20:04
7.	Laura & Jomar Ochoco	605	3:55:00
8.	Dr. Robert Rosenthal	250	4:25:09

If you have not placed your bet, there is still time!

About Dana-Farber and the Claudia Adams Barr Program

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is one of the world's preeminent cancer treatment and research facilities. It provides expert, compassionate care to cancer patient of all ages, and advances the development of future cures through research. The Institute is affiliated with Harvard Medical School and provides training for physicians and scientists.

The Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) allows people running in the Boston Marathon to raise money for the benefit of the Claudia Adams Barr Program in innovative basic cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The DFMC team consists of over 500 runners of all ages and backgrounds. This year DFMC aims to raise $4.5 million, 100% of which will be directed to the Barr Program.

Bet on Miles and Race Time

Accurately guess Helen's nettime for the Boston Marathon and the number of miles Helen will run between December 1st 2007 and April 21st 2008 not counting the race, and receive a magnificent prize!

Two winners will be announced after the race is complete—one for the most accurate number of training miles run, and one for the most accurate marathon time. Each winner will recieve a $25 Amazon gift certificate as well as a surprise gift.

Instructions:

1. Make a donation. Suggested donation per one pair of numbers (time & miles) is currently $5. You can enter as many times as you would like.
2. Submit your bet by filling out this form.

Check out what other people have been guessing here.

Check back often, as my training runs and times will be posted. You can change your bets or make additional bets anytime via new donations. Make your bets early, as the suggested donation amount will go up as my training progress. (The theory is that you can guess more accurately as you follow my training pattern weekly and watch the times of my long runs).

While nothing prevents you from filling out the bet form without making a donation, only donors can be declared prize winners.

How Can You Help

• Support me by making a donation to Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge
• Participate in one or many of my fundraising activities
• Donate a service
• Help spread the word
• Share my story with your friends, family, collegues
• Link your website/facebook, friendster, or MySpace profile to this blog
• Put up a flyer in your workplace or school--I will be happy to send you one
• Share your fundraising ideas
• Volunteer to host a garage sale--you provide the garage/front yard, and I will come up with things to sell
• Tell me what you think about anything and everything

Why I Run

I run in honor of my grandparents, Anna and Iakov Goriatchy, both of whom died of cancer. My grandmother struggled with the cancer of esophagus for over 3 years, while my grandfather was overpowered by lung cancer in a matter of days. While I was growing up, my grandparents lived next door, and my grandmother and I spent a lot of time together. She passed away while I was still a teenager. My grandfather outlived my grandmother by 10 years, and I feel lucky to have known him as an adult.

I run in their memory, but not for them. They are gone. I run for the living--for the parents and grandparents, for the friends and their parents, for the children. Today everyone is affected by cancer. By running and raising money to benefit cancer research I hope to bring us closer to the day when cancer has been eradicated--the ultimate finish line is the "world without cancer."

Contact Helen

Please use the following form to contact me: