HALFWAY THERE...

“When you have completed 95 percent of your journey, you are only HALFWAY there.” –T. Roosevelt

Motivation printed right on the atrium

in Faneuil Hall on my walk to work

everyday!

To be honest, I really have been slacking on this whole blog idea!  Along with lacking extra time in my busy schedule, I am having a hard time keeping these posts creative and entertaining...even if no one reads them 

I attempted an entry 2 or 3 times this week, and again tonight—after a 3-minute stare at the blank Word Doc in front of me I gave up again!  Little did I know, my motivation was waiting for me in my GMAIL inbox:

Dear Elizabeth Nuzzo,

This is to notify you that your entry into the 115th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 18, 2011 has been accepted, provided that the information you submitted is accurate.

SWEET!!  Now onto my babble blog…

I believe it was back in the October, early November time that I made the commitment to run Boston again?  While you may disagree with me, I hope     the next 12 weeks pass a bit SLOWER than the last 12 have!

For the most part, I have stuck with my training plan and hope it prepares me   for the big day!  This past Saturday was a big test of my commitment…

Perfect Sunrise over the city on Saturday morning!

Before going to bed on Friday night, I checked the weather and couldn’t help but CRINGE!  “Bone-chilling” lows across New England will hit early on Saturday morning and will continue through the week.  With that spectacular news, I sent out a text and Facebook message to a fellow MEEI runner, Shawn, “No backing out tomorrow!” and hit the pillow.

Paisley is not a fan of early mornings
either!

NO STOPPING ME!

5:45AM on Saturday came much too quickly!  Shawn and I went back and forth on texts messages trying to make excuses of why we shouldn’t go, but then mutually agreed to get it “done and over with!  We met up at 1 Beacon with75 others for our long run at 7:45AM!  

Through all 15 miles, I never once felt COLD-- I dressed just right with tights, second skin top, tech fleece mock turtleneck, my windbreaker, gloves (two pairs), an ear band, and my Asics!  Back at the gym, Shawn and I exchanged smiles, a high-five, and a “see you next week!”

Two lessons learned on this run that I want to share with you:

Though I thought the cold might not have been a factor for me, I was wrong.  I met Bobby from Team Project Hope around mile 6 by the reservoir at Boston College.  After pacing together for close to an hour, he remembered me from the previous week.  We met each other at the same spot by the reservoir just after a plow truck drove by releasing salt and hit us both in the legs.  Last time it was “ARE YOU OKAY?!?!” and this time it was “Hey!  I know you!  How are you feeling?”—I felt GREAT!!!  No, I had lied.  Everything but my hands felt great—actually I could not feel my hands!  As we were running along to mile 7, Bobby asked me to remove my gloves for a second and I was thankful that he did!!  The tips of my fingers were white-almost clear-He suggested that I take his hand warmers at the next water stop and continue the run keeping my hands unclenched with my fingers out straight.  My hands (and the rest) felt GREAT for mile 7 to 15.  Thanks BOBBY!!!   

 Second, we learned after the run that another runner was hit on his way back around mile 13.  We were and are always safe to follow the rules of running when outside.  Unfortunately, the driver of a car decided to take a right on red before making a complete stop.  She hit the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge Runner in our group as he was legally crossing the intersection.  This is a lesson for all of us that drive—be aware of pedestrians (especially at night or during inclement weather)!! And for fellow runners, use extra caution when in the road and always assume the car isn’t going to stop.  

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog!  I am open to suggestions on what YOU want to hear—anything to keep you coming back!  I know some have mentioned they have been leaving “comments”, and for some reason I can’t get to them—so feel free to email me at elizabeth.p.nuzzo@gmail.com

I have an amazing group of people supporting me and wanted to extend a BIG SPECIAL THANKS to:

Tom Nunn	Jon Kuj and Julie Rob.	Emilie Fouche	Meredith Rowden
Courtney Williams	Angela Fagin	Cynthia Popoli	Ali Bergan and Gabe Russo
The Selmonts	Jess Nuzzo	Kristin Onofrio	Ravi Dengi
Ann Potito	Sree Chakrapani	Sue Demirkaya	The Luzzis
Shikha Dalal	Mom and Dad Nuzzo	Steve Palmer	Auntie Sue
Michelle Santoro	Dave Domenicone	The Martins	Nick Sosnicki
Jeff and Beth	The Blechers

Forecast: 26.2 miles with a chance of SNOW

Rigors of Winter Running

Talking about the weather is an easy conversation starter because it affects us all, and when the National Weather Service posts any type of alert for a Warning or Watch…then that is all anyone talks about---especially those in line at Stop and Shop with a shopping cart (but probably two) full of water and candles!  Last week, most of us saw something like this printed to the front-page of a metro paper or flash across the television (ALL DAY LONG!):

Blizzard Warning:  when winds that are at least 35 mph or greater, blowing snow that will frequently reduce visibility to a quarter-mile or less for at least three hours, and dangerous wind chills are expected in the warning area.

Oh and let’s not forget to mention--close to two feet in accumulations of snow? 

Faneuil Hall 1/12/2011

Unlike most of my Facebook Friend population, I DO NOT get “snow days” –not just from work, but from training for the marathon.  The Boston Marathon is a “rain or shine (or snow)” event, and we have to prepare for whatever the conditions may be.  Do you know of place (outside) where you can confidently predict a temperature of 65 degrees with winds coming from the East at 1mph on April 18, 2011?  A place where maybe you have an arrow button to increase or decrease (perfectly) the elevation of the roads throughout a 26.2 mile course?  I can confidently predict your answer was “NO”!  This is my number one argument to why it is not realistic (AND SAFE) to prepare for Boston on just treadmill training. 

I hear we are in for more powder this week, but that won’t stop me.  Just going to put on extra layer of something made of Lycra, Luon, “CoolMax”, etc., hope that the wind is at my back, and head out to my usual well-lit training route with one foot in front of the other!  Whether I wake up that Monday in April and the sun is expected to peak throughout the day keeping temperatures comfortably in the 50’s with no rain in site OR the sun never comes out and I don’t make it past Ashland dry because of the wet clouds hovering over Hopkinton---I will be prepared.  This TOOL helps me decide what to wear when I am really unsure! 

The next time a person mentions another “bad storm coming our way”, just know that Liz Nuzzo is out training for whatever condition Mother Nature has in store for us on April 18^th, 2011…the show must go on!

Please pass on my fundraising LINK to anyone that can help!  Would love to see MORE donations than we see SNOW!

WHY?

Why again?

“Why NOT?”—here are the top reasons (though I am always thinking of more) WHY I am doing this all over again:

1. Elizabeth Poole may be on the record for completing a Boston Marathon, but Elizabeth Nuzzo is not (yet!)
2. Raising money in support of Auntie JoJo
3. Living in the #1 CARBOHYDRATE producing neighborhood of Boston (The North End)-  there is no excuse for a shortage of glycogen!
4. Sunrises and Sunsets in the Fall and Winter are breathtaking—especially when looking through a city skyline!
5. Raising money in support of Norman Hyperbaric Medical Center
6. Long Runs may not be my first priority early on Saturdays, but massages and yoga compliment well for Sundays.
7. My Garmin—now that I have this site up and I am going to start wearing the HR monitor such an amazing tool! 
8. I was unsure going into this alone, but I reminded myself that I didn’t know anyone last time and ended up meeting some of my best friends—Hi Michelle and Nicole (checking to see if you read this ;) )!
9. Along with crazy year in the “Life of Liz”, slight thryroid issues have affected my weight—Training has already increased my appetite and with the help of pasta, pizza, protein shakes, trail mix and so much more (check out the photo link at the top left of my blog page for more)I should have no probably gaining much needed extra weight!

8. Adding to my Lululemon collection
9. Looking forward to MONDAYS (my rest day!)
10. An ice cold beer after a 10 mile (or more) runs an unexplainable feeling—especially when it is all you can think about after mile 5!
11. An excuse to sit on a Core Ball at work?
12. Compression pants
13. It is only appropriate to use a foam roller after logging some serious miles??
14. CROSSROADS FAMILY!!!
15. Savasana Sundays
16. Right on Hereford, Left on Boylston 
17. Heartbreak Hill 
18. To experience another Runners High-no other feeling like it!
19. Since the race takes place on a Monday (Thank You, Paul Revere!) --- it's an excuse to take the day off from work?
20. The Winter goes by so much faster when you are training for a marathon!

Belive me
 there was a long period before making the commitment when I was uncertain myself.  The reasons above come from a list of Pros and Cons that I put together back in October before making the commitment. 

Training update:  Ran 10 after New Year's, first night of hill repeats was last Tuesday, did some spinning and then got 12 miles in with the training team on Saturday BEFORE the weather was at its worst!  More to come...