The final week

Hey sportsfans,

We have entered the final week of training (yes i mean WE!)...the marathon is on Sunday and frankly there is nothing I can do at this point but do a little training to stay nimble and Eat Eat Eat!

Training update: Last week despite a hectic work schedule (think leaving the office past 11pm/midnight...every night...) I was able to get in a few good runs. The best was my last long-ish run on Sunday--11 miles to heartbreak hill and back with my coworker GF. It was a beautiful day and with someone to talk to, the run went much faster than the last time!

Friends on the trail: I mentioned in a previous post that I try to say hello to everyone and make "friends on the trail"...the people in JoBurg were certainly nicer than those here in Boston...but the runners in Boston are 10x more intense! These days on AM runs I see so many Boston marathoners (w/unicorn shirts/hats) in action--they fly right by me, it is amazing the level of athletic ability out there!

Dartmouth: I was able to visit Dartmouth over the weekend-great to see good friends and have a little fun. Thanks RM for being a great host and a BIG shout out to Carly Scott for travelling 8 hours for some quality time at the D! Was also great to see DW, JL, AJ, JM, JP, DW, BD, and all of my other faves! Finally, a shout out to AS and DH for a fun alternative Saturday pm--yay for sober october!

I want to consolidate my thoughts/findings on the last week of training into one post...so check out the next post for "week before" thoughts/tips!

thats all for now!

-mvq

Heartbreak hill

Hey sportsfans,

I know it has been a while since I last posted, so today I am going to do a doubleheader. Post #1= the post I owe yall from last week (written of course as if I wrote it last week), post #2 is from this week.

Okay, so today is erm..Sunday...of last week, Oct. 18th.

On weekends I try to get in a longer run as through the week im only able to average 5-8mi's in the AM. Yesterday rather than run the typical Charles River Run I changed things up a bit and decided to go see what all this hoopla was about heartbreak hill. I ended up running the last ~7-8 miles of the Boston marathon, from my apt to the base of heartbreak hill in Newton/Brighton then back up the hill and in to Boston. I wasn't sure if i would be able to recognize heartbreak hill when i got there but believe me...i knew if when i saw it! To be honest its not the most difficult hill I've encountered the world (that honor belongs to the drakensburg mountains in SA...oh such painful memories), but it is LONG---the hill is about 1.5 miles, the end of the hill is the steepest part and when runners encounter it, they wil have run ~20 miles already....talk about brutal!

On a related note, while running I think a lot about random things. One thing that popped up recently which I was chatting about with a friend (KT) is this idea that it is so much easier to let your self down than it is to let others down. Honestly, if there weren't so many stakeholders in this marathon beyond myself...I likely would have taken the training down a notch by now. This thinking is true with so many things--work, school, home responsibilities etc. I wish that i could say that I have the personal fortitude to balance out that thinking but being honest with myself, for me that statement holds true.

As for other other things...

• thinking about heading to Dartmouth this weekend for homecoming


• went to the Patriots game today...it was snowing....the P's slaughtered the Titans 59-0, luckily I was able to go through my Audax teams and didn't have to weather the elements in outdoor seats at the game! (yes that pic is of a football field...not a hockey rink!)
  

• busy week ahead of me at work--but I'm enjoying what I'm learning here, the things this company accomplishes are amazing!


• got to enjoy the company of one Fadzi Makanda this weekend-was awesome to see her now that she is finished with the stress of the last few weeks!

until next time....

-mvq

and as always...

Please support the cause friends!
http://www.africanleadershipfoundation.org/marathondonate_maryanna.asp

Hello reality

Hey sports fans,

Today I got smacked in the face by reality:

1. Eating lasagna at 1:00am then going for a run at 6:00am is a BAD IDEA. That doesn't give you nearly enough time to allow the lasagna to digest properly. urgerlers.

2. So, I thought I was a decent runner...until I encountered the Harvard or MIT women's cross country team on my run this morning. Talk about a humbling experience. I was doing a moderately fast run this morning along the Charles when these girls blew right by me at warp speed while laughing and talking as if it was easy and fun. All I could do was silently give them a mental high five--they were doing the dern thing!

And that is today's reality check :)
-mvq

The best thing about marathon training...

Hey sports fans,

Question....what is the best thing about marathon training? What have I enjoyed most?

In the true spirit of Cara S. Yang and Pallen Chiu I must say its...EATING!!! I get to eat anything I want to eat anytime I want to eat it. For example, it is 12:50am and I just finished eating a plate of lasagna and am in the process of eating vanilla, almond, granola cereal. And even my friends get to join in on the fun (see left....yes she is eating chicken and waffles ;)

Okay but seriously though...




Running update:

• Rain running: This week has been an "okay week"--I ran in the pouring rain twice this past week. I find rain running so refreshing and after-wards I feel uber hard core, I encourage all of you to try it out! (cue the scene from "Something New" with Sanaa Lathan...."My Hair!!")
• Friend support: I have done most of my training alone--AM runs before work, long weekend runs etc. But the power of having someone encourage you to run or better yet run with you cannot be understated. This AM, I had decided to just take it easy, I mean it is "the day of rest". But, Danielle Hamilton called and woke me out of my slumber to run ...despite my protests and delay tactics we ended up doing a great 8 miler. Gracias!
• Bostonians: I wrote a while back about the importance of making friends/fans on the road. I must admit...people in Johannesburg are so much nicer overall and receptive to cheers/encouragement! I get some salty looks sometimes from other runners here in Boston, but I'll keep working on it and saying hello/good morning etc. while running. Will let you know when the "frost chills"!
  
• Cars: "Dear cars, Please don't run over me or my friends. I have had 3 close calls and this morning DH was hit by a car!! (not injured don't worry)
  

Also I bought my ticket to NY today, M-Day is drawing upon us! (gulp!)

Please support if you haven't already....or if you have!
http://www.africanleadershipfoundation.org/marathondonate_maryanna.asp

The list

Hey sportsfans,

This is a new part of the blog that I call "The Ongoing List". I want to thank all of my supporters thus far and as we approach the "finish line" encourage anyone who hasn't donated (or who wants to extend their support!) to please contribute to African Leadership Academy on my behalf via this link: http://www.africanleadershipfoundation.org/marathondonate_maryanna.asp.

A special "shout out" to a partial list of my supporters thus far...

Nena Sanderson

Christine Quigless
Yves Noel
Dominic Schrader
Sunil Kapadia

Boris Rauls

Mona Moazzaz

Karlyn Adams Barneson

Anita LeVeaux

Danielle Anderson

Chudi Amu

Andrea Mitchell

Alison Little

As we approach D-Day on November 1st check back to see when your name will appear!

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ALA note:

One of my projects at ALA was to help develop the Pardee Library for the Future of Africa. Thanks to the hard work of the new library manager Divine Kangame and others (Gavin, Fred, Library Board, Ryan, Ettie etc.) the library is open and they celebrated with an opening ceremony. This is a huge milestone--hopefully when you all visit ALA you can check it out! Until then a few pics and a video courtesy of ALA founder Fred Swaniker...

https://rcpt.yousendit.com/749658341/560f60095cc0da31e7cf45c1b12fbbad

Back in action!

Hey sports fans,

Great news, I got the results of my MRI back and have no tears in my Achilles....which means... IM BACK IN ACTION! The week before last I got back into my 8mi a day routine. My mom convinced me that I had to do a long run ASAP as the run is getting close so last Saturday I did my longest run..ever.

I ran 23 miles around Boston, in about 3hrs and 15 minutes. Throughout the run I was motivated to keep going by the thoughts of the amazing students and my amazing friends/supporters who have contributed through donations and encouragement to this effort. Not wanting to let you all down has motivated me beyond expectations and I am so appreciative for all of you.

The 23 miler actually didn't feel that awful. Did I enjoy it? ermm no. Am I glad I did it? yes--because now I am convinced that I can do the marathon--I may not get a great time but my goal is just to keep running...if I can do that, that will be success!

This weekend I tapered and did a 14 miler in NY, admittedly this felt more difficult than the longer run the weekend before. I think a reason for this was that 1. I didn't eat right the day before (think nachos, tacos, pizza yum) 2. I hadn't gotten much sleep in the week due to work 3. I didn't hydrate appropriately 4. NY is much much more hilly than Boston--i cursed my way up all of those hills!!

On the health front, I now have a knee issue in addition to an ankle issue, and I get foot cramps all the time--its okay though--3 more weeks and then I can chillax/recuperate!

Running insights:

• Watch out when doing the "run on your toes technique", I know I advised yall to do this in an earlier post for speed, but I think making that switch from running with my entire foot to running on the balls of my feet is what caused my ankle and knee issues--so moderate running on your toes until you have the strength built up in your ankles to support that--I don't yet have this strength but one day hopefully I will--I learned this lesson the hard way :(


• Powerade/Gatorade are your friends: I am officially addicted to these overly sugared cold drinks post run they do an amazing job of re hydrating and energizing you. I recommend this to everyone--these drinks save me so much pain and agony post run!


• A race is not a race...its a run: While running don't try to "beat" those running around you. The temptation is there, you always think "I can go a little bit faster and pass that person", but in reality that can trip you up and cause you to over exert yourself. Run your own race, ignore people around you, congratulate those who pass you, encourage those you pass and you will have a good run--that's the philosophy I try to abide by for a good run and that's what I'll be thinking during the marathon (in addition to thinking about why I'm doing the race: ALA/supporters)

I am working hard to meet my goal to raise $3,000 for African Leadership Academy, as we enter the last 4 months before the run, please contribute if you are able!

http://www.africanleadershipfoundation.org/marathondonate_maryanna.asp

Inspirational quotes/ moment of zen:

It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.
- Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

If we could just get everyone to close their eyes and visualize world peace for an hour, imagine how serene and quiet it would be until the looting started. - Anon

Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.
- Peter Ustinov

The tooth fairy teaches children that they can sell body parts for money. - David Richerby

Check out the website of ALA student William Kamkwamba who just published his book about his life, very inspirational! http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/

(PS: Pic above from box seats at the Patriots/ Falcons game with my Audax analyst class--such a fun game!)