"It feels like zero degrees"

Finally back out on the road to the Boston Marathon. My training for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge resumed this week, after a week and a half of no running (but lots of exercise bike workouts) only to be greeted by a stomach bug and sub-zero wind chills. When my weather app on my phone told me that it "feels like 0 degrees," I thought, "Oh, that's not bad. Let's go." That's just not right.

Top ten thoughts from the road this week.

10.  If you think you're running too fast, you are  running too fast. I couldn't figure why my 5 miler seemed so tough until I realized I was running at a pace that was 30 seconds faster than I typically run.

9.  I think running is an addiction. When I'm in full training mode, I can't wait to get back out there (usually) and if two days go by, I'm missing it. . .  bad. But in the nearly two weeks that I didn't run at all, I missed it terribly at first but then found it tough to get back out there, as if I'd forgotten how much I loved the running/ Now I'm addicted again. Looking forward to 6 am on the Charles tomorrow.

8.  Then again, there are a lot worse things to be addicted to.

7.  I was going to use this week's blog post to just run through an injury checklist; I think I could take up all ten items on the list. But then, that would be as much fun as when people start telling all the gory details of their latest visit to the doctor. So let's leave it at this: my toes, feet, knees? Just fine, thank you.

6.  Anybody have any ideas of how to keep water in your fuel belt from freezing? 

5.  There's a huge difference between running a marathon and being a marathon runner, at least in my mind. For the record, I'm running a marathon and not a marathon runner.

4.  I caved. There, I admit it. Friday morning, six miles on the schedule, temperature in the low, low teens. Wind whipping at about 20-25 mph. Treadmill.

3. 20 miles, my last long run in February seemed almost insurmountable until I thought, I ran 14. I know I can do that, and so I know I can do 16. And if I know I can do 16, I'm sure I can do two more miles. So 18 is doable. And if 18 is doable, I'll somehow make it through 20.

2. Don't talk to me about the other 6.2 miles quite yet.

1. It's amazing, people's generosity. Even as people were opening up their hearts and wallets to help devastated Haiti, they still donated to my run. Thank you everyone.

Happy Running.