Spring Bake Sale

Marathon Monday is a month away, which means I'm certainly starting to think about what it will feel like to make the right on Hereford, left on Boylston... If the memory of my first marathon is an indicator, I'm guessing I'll feel tired and not much else until after crossing the finish.

Preparing for this race has been quite a bit more difficult than training for Philly in 2011. These past few weeks, I've been tired, sick, super-busy at work, dealing with condo-related nonsense, stepping in and out of slushy snow-melt puddles, running up and down hills over and over again for 20 miles with the DFMC team two Saturdays ago, and squeezing out an 18-mile run this past Saturday morning after being out until 1am at a social engagement.

But, the snow has melted and will hopefully stay away (knock on wood). I went running in shorts for the first time of 2013 today-- the difference it makes is incredible. This weekend I'll be running the New Bedford Half Marathon, next weekend I'll do a 22-mile run, and after that, I'm tapering (which means I start scaling back my training and cutting out my longer long runs in order to let my muscles heal and strengthen up before the big day). Nearing the home stretch...

I'm also thrilled to have raised over $6200 for the Claudia Adams Barr Program, but my goal is $8000 so if you haven't made a donation yet but would like to contribute, you can do so here or send me a check made out to Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge.

And what better way to kick-start a spring fundraising drive than to the finish than another sale of amazing treats?!  Below is the list of offerings, some of which were actually requested by those lucky enough to try a sample... That said, if you want something else entirely, please ask and we'll see what we can do to accommodate your request.

Item	Description	Donation
Candy Bar Package	A collection of candy bars! We're offering a box of homemade classics: Snickers Peanut Butter Cup Almond Joys Milky Way	$50.00
Spring Easter Basket	A delicious basket of treats including: Almond cranberry granola Buttermilk chocolate chip pancake mix Loaf of brioche with french toast recipe	$50.00

Pick-up dates: Anytime before the morning of Saturday, March 30th

Order deadline: Friday, March 22nd

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.

Finally, I wanted to share some more memories of my grandfather, which is something I said I'd do when I started this blog. Dave Cook had an amazing repertoire of quotes that I remember well, so I figured I'd share a few...

• "It's a jungle out there"
• "You can tell 'em, but you can't tell 'em much."
• "If you have to go, you might as well go first class"
• "Is the Pope Catholic?"  (very apropos, given today's news of white smoke from the Vatican)
• "Never send a boy to do a man's job"

He also used to place his hand on my head, and say "Heal!" My aunt Steph recently sent me this picture-- my grandfather holding me when I was a baby.

I loved him, I miss him.

My goal in running for DFMC is to make even the smallest difference in someone else's family by helping extend or save the life of a loved one.

Please make a donation: http://www.rundfmc.org/2013/jeffl