Winter's warming up

My last post was two weeks ago, and at the time I was doing my best to stay positive in light of the various issues I was dealing with, so let's start this off on the right foot with another update on how I'm doing:

1. I've surpassed my minimum fundraising requirement-- thank you to everyone who has made that possible!  However, I'm still $2400 below my goal of $6500 and even further away from the team's per-runner goal of $8400. Please click here to donate.
2. My hip/glute injury is close to 100% healed. I took a break from running and focused on strengthening the area with cross-training and PT, and feel like I've finally returned to my running form.
3. I'm over my cold. And no, Mom, I still haven't gotten a flu shot, nor do I plan to (sorry).
4. My face is skin cancer-free, after a 4-hour multi-attempt procedure that temporarily left me looking a bit like Frankenstein, but my stitches have since been removed and looks like in another week or so you won't even be able to see where they excised the tumor.

As for training, I've finally gotten back out there after my short hiatus...

Thursday morning weather report

The first question you might be asking yourself: "isn't it supposed to be freezing cold in Boston right now?" To put things in perspective, my phone's weather app reported a brisk -16 degree "feels like" temperature at 6:00am on Thursday when I stepped out for a morning run. I thought the better of it, and went at lunchtime instead, at which point it was a balmy 17 degrees, plus a windchill.

Your second question might be, "are you nuts?" You might think so if I were the only one out there, but every day I pass a number of others enjoying a run in this weather.  I saw one guy yesterday who was wearing shorts.  There's a saying that "there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing" (apparently he didn't get the message). If you suit up with the right layers, the cold is for the most part hardly noticeable. And it's better than being hot, for sure.

Plus, it's an opportunity for me to take a break out of the daily grind to recognize the beautiful place in which I live and have the opportunity to run. I took these pictures on my run yesterday around the Charles River:

I made a 10-mile loop, then realized that my car key fell through a hole in the pocket (of a relatively new jacket I was wearing) somewhere along the route. Thanks, Saucony. I had no choice but to run the additional 2 miles home... so, a 12-mile run was longer than I had planned, but I felt great. So, I guess I'm finally ready to ramp up my mileage a bit.

If you're still reading this and haven't been convinced to support my run, then I guess I'll have to attempt to bribe you with some quality goods that Kristen and I are offering just in time for Valentine's Day.

Everything below will be homemade, of course, from the chocolate fillings to the english muffins:

Item	Description	Donation
Assorted Chocolates	A collection of Valentine's Day chocolates	$50.00
Winter Warmer Breakfast Basket	A delicious basket of treats including: Pecan and cherry granola Hot chocolate mix with marshmallows Cinnamon coffee cake bread or 12 whole wheat english muffins	$50.00

Pick-up dates: Anytime before Thursday, February 14th

Order deadline: Wednesday, February 6th

To place an order: Send an email to jeffruns4dfmc@gmail.com with details about what you'd like to purchase and when you'll need it. Payment can be made upon pick-up, with a check made out to Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge.

A reminder that all proceeds from sales of these items, as well as any other contribution made towards my run with DFMC, go to to the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and will be considered by the IRS to be a tax-free donation for the 2013 tax year.