Some bad news, but thank you for your support!

It is with profound sadness and extreme disappointment that I write to you about my necessary withdrawal from the Boston Marathon. During the 20-mile run last week, I experienced an injury that will prevent me from running on April 20th. After multiple doctor's visits, it has been confirmed that I have a stress fracture in my left shin area.

As many of you know, I have been training for the past five months for this race. The Boston Marathon has been practically the only topic I could talk about as it was constantly on my mind. For those of you that were subjected to this, thank you for listening! I especially want to thank my husband Kishore who bore the brunt of my training and who has been a huge pillar of strength and support during this endeavor.

I am proud of my commitment and dedication to completing this race. I did finish the 20-mile training run that day and am proud to know that I would have been able to complete the marathon had I been able to run.

Most of all, I am so touched with all of your support. From the words of encouragement to the sharing of stories of loved ones, I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by such amazingly generous and compassionate people.

Thank you all for you very generous donations. Even though I will not be running the marathon, your donation will go a long way in finding a cure for cancer. 100% of your donation has already been received by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and will be put to good use. If you have any questions, please let me know.

As you can imagine, this past week has been a very difficult one for me. But it is knowing that I have had your support throughout this training period that will enable me to one day complete this life-long goal of mine.

With best wishes and many, many thanks,
Sucharita

Some disappointing news

This past weekend, I ran 20 miles. I am very proud of myself for having run that distance, as it's the furthest I have ever run in my entire life!

Unfortunately, I hurt my left shin/ankle very badly running these 20 miles. I started feeling the pain in my left leg at about mile 8. As I continued running, there were times it was hurting and other times where it was fine. So I continued. Hindsight is 20/20 and my friends at work were telling me that it was bound to happen soon anyway, but I can't shake the feeling that I should have stopped then. Anyway, as you know by now, I didn't stop and I continued. Going uphill was fine, and my leg was not really hurting. Especially where we hit Commonwealth Avenue and the hills in our run (at about mile 16-17), I felt like I could finish. But it was the downhills that were really hurting. I slowed down my pace considerably and I think people could tell that I was hurting. I chalked it up to minor aches and pains from the grueling route and of course, trying to complete 20 miles.

As I hit the top of Heartbreak Hill and proceeded down the final downhill, my legs really started to throb with pain. With the end in sight, I decided to start walking. Probably too little too late. I limped my way back to the start with the help of a very generous woman, Marcy. I was in pain. I spent the rest of the day drugged up on ibuprofen and icing down my injury. I spent Sunday the same way.

This afternoon, I finally went to the doctor to have an x-ray and to make sure I didn't fracture anything. I didn't fracture anything that she could see (she didn't do a bone scan) but her news was very bleak. She said she would advise me not to run. Words can't explain the amount of disappointment I felt in that one moment. Of course, I started to cry after thinking about how hard I have worked to finish this race, how I've been saying all along that I just want to complete the marathon, how I've been fundraising and trying to meet my goal, and how much I had been looking forward to celebrating this huge accomplishment after it was all said and done. The doctor was extremely sympathetic but of course, this did not change her opinion.

I am seeing an orthopedic doctor on Thursday and am hopeful he will have better news for me. I am praying that ibuprofen, lots of rest and a postive attitude will help me complete this goal of mine.

I sincerely apologize to my supporters that I do not have better news to share. I am hoping that Thursday will be a better day and that I will have hope of completing the Boston Marathon. In the mean time, I am going to post this picture of me, in an awesome t-shirt that one of my best friends, Denise, gave me. This gift arrived on Saturday and I took it as a sign ;)

PS- I know I look exhausted in this picture but that's what 20 miles does to your body!

Introducing my new kicks!

Asics GEL-Kayano 15. I have no idea how they are made, what they are made of, and whether they have made the cut by elite runners. All I know is that when I put these puppies on, they feel so comfortable, slick and like I am running on air! I love them. I took them for a test run on Tuesday and my legs and feet felt great. I was worried to switch shoes so close to the marathon from my beloved Brooks to the Asics but Brian from Marathon Sports gave a resounding endorsement for these shoes. He said that because I have very low arches but walk as if I have a high arch (I have no idea what he means by that), that these shoes would be a great fit. He was right! I am going to run 6 miles today and 20 this weekend, so I will keep you updated on how these gliders work out.

4 weeks and counting...

Hello all! I have exactly 4 weeks until the marathon! How exciting is that? I must say that lately, I've been having a harder time sleeping, because I am anxious for the race.

This past weekend, I traveled to Waltham with my fellow DFMC runner Miranda. We drove out to meet the DFMC team to run 15 miles. We started out at the Boston Sports Club. Immediately as we began running, I was not feeling it. It was extremely cold outside (even though weather.com said it was supposed to be 49 degrees outside). The air hit my lungs making breathing very difficult. The first mile and a half were ridiculously hard and I wanted to quit right there.

The run did not seem to get much better. Thank god Miranda was running next to me because there were many times that I just wanted to stop and walk. In addition to the cold, the course was very hilly and my legs, especially my knees, were really starting to feel the strain.

I took the last week off because Kishore and I went to Costa Rica, and was only able to run 5 miles on Wednesday. I suppose my body forgot how to run. I know that sounds crazy but running has a lot to do with muscle memory. Since I am not a natural runner, my body immediately forgot the motion of running that I had been developing since November! Let me tell you, I was freaked out. I was lamenting on how I was going to finish the marathon if I felt that horribly running only 15 miles. I finally finished, running the slowest I have ever run and feeling like an absolute mess. I spent all day on Saturday recuperating with the help of my very loving husband. He nursed be back to life and was extremely understanding with my constant complaints. He's a gem!

Also, thank god for Brian at Marathon Sports. I went there yesterday to purchase a new pair of running shoes. Even though we are very close to race day, I need to get new shoes because my old ones are really run down (no pun intended). As I started recounting my 15 mile run to Brian, he sat there nodding in agreement as if he's gone through my experience before. And then he said the magic words, "You had a shi*** day. It's one day out of 5 months of training. You just have to put it behind you and know that you will have those bad days occasionally. You are doing almost everything that you can to train properly. Chalk it up to a bad day and move on."

Move on is what I am going to do. I have my biggest and longest run coming up this Saturday. My first 20-miler. I am going to do everything this week to prepare mentally and physically. Wish me luck and thanks for providing me with all of this support!

Driving the Boston Marathon took us more than an hour

So how is it that today we have a wintery mix, and on Saturday, I was able to get a pretty weird, iPod tan (I have one of those iPod bands that you put around your arm- which is a huge mistake when it is sunny outside!)? The only answer is that I happen to live in Boston!

On Saturday, I was feeling pretty unmotivated to run. We didn't have a planned DFMC run so I was on my own. After about an hour of procrastinating, I finally decided to head out to Memorial Drive. And boy was I glad that I did! It was fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for better weather! The sun was beating down pretty hard (remember where I live again) as I headed toward Harvard University and the boathouse on Route 2. I usually feel great in the beginning, but this time, I was really having a hard time getting through the first mile. I would constantly check my iPod (with a Nike tracking component) and stare at it in disbelief when it told me I had only reached 1.3 miles. I knew I was going to have a hard time. Reaching 5 miles was a feat for me this time, but after that, I felt much better. I made my way around Memorial Drive onto the side closest to BU. I headed to the Hat Shell and kept on running until I got to the Museum of Science. During this time, I ate my GU which I can say was a huge pick-me-up. At that point, I had reached about 7.3 miles.

I then proceeded to turn around and head back on the route that I had come on. As I got to mile 10, I was feeling pretty good. I had been taking smaller walking breaks throughout my run which I have learned really helps with the pain in my IT band and shins. I have been trying to walk about a minute for every 30 minutes that I run. This seems to be the method that I will following come marathon day. I finally made it back home after about 14.75 miles. I was proud at what I had accomplished but definitely found it much harder than last week!

On Sunday, Kishore and I drove out to see our dear friends Lauren and Brian (and their new baby August!). By shear happenstance, they live in Hopkinton, about a half mile from the start line of the Boston Marathon! We then decided to drive back the route of the Boston Marathon. As the odometer slowly indicated the miles, I started to get really nervous. We seemed to be going a really far distance and through various towns- Hopkinton, Ashland (passing the Hindu temple- I will definitely be praying as I pass the temple come race day!), Framingham, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and finally Boston. There were so many hills that I didn’t expect (obviously I knew about Heartbreak Hill but there are SO many more!). Driving the distance of the Boston Marathon took us over an hour (we did stop at the temple, managed to get lost, hit a lot of traffic signals and were behind some very slow-moving cars), but you can imagine the state I was in when I got home. I am just hoping that I can keep it together come marathon day and think about it in smaller segments than the 26.2 miles that it is. What did I get myself into…

Less than 7 weeks to go...

So I have less than 7 weeks until the marathon. I can't believe that I will be running this race so soon! It seems that this is all I can really think or talk about.

Yesterday, I returned to the treadmill after spending Tuesday on the elliptical machine. My legs were really sore on Tuesday so I decided to change up my training a little bit. Yesterday I managed to complete 7.5 miles on the treadmill. In many ways, I felt like it was much harder than running the 16 miles I completed last Saturday! How weird is that? This morning, I am definitely feeling the impact on my system, and my legs are really sore again.

I am hoping that if I can stretch all day, that I will be in good shape to run a long distance tomorrow. I am still debating on whether to run 16 miles again or to amp it up to 18 miles. Kishore and I are going on a mini-vacation next week to Costa Rica and I won't have an opportunity to really train there. I am sure we will be tired with all of the hiking and activities that we plan to do, which will be good that I will be active, but I have to factor that into my marathon training at this point. I will be missing a group run on the 15th but hope to resume training that next week.

Anyway, I will keep you all updated as to how far I run tomorrow! Have a great weekend.

The most I've ever run- 16 MILES!

This past Saturday, I decided to suck it up and wake up early to run with the DFMC team at 8am from the Mount Auburn Club. If I had known that the group runs were going to be so well organized and well attended, I would have been doing them a lot sooner! The Mount Auburn Club has graciously donated space in their facility for the DFMC runners. We are given a pretty large room in which we can stretch and have our initial meeting. I must say that not having met many people yet (in large part a fault of my own-making), it was quite intimidating to see all of these athletes gathered in one room, discussing their strategy for their respective runs and the times they were aiming for. I had decided that I was not going to do the scheduled 20-mile run but was going to aim for 14-16 miles.

As we began, I met up with another woman who I had met back in December, Lauren. Lauren and I fell into a natural rhythm, though I think the energy of those around us increased our pace and we were running 9-minute miles for the first 5 miles or so (I usually run a 9.5-minute/mile pace). We started in Watertown and headed to Commonwealth Avenue. I honestly don't know how we got there, which is important for my story...

We proceeded to head up a pretty big hill which was great because I had not been training to run the hills. It's hard to find hills when you train on Memorial Drive and I was starting to get worried that I was not incorporating enough hills into my practice routine. I felt like it was forever before we reached the first water station at mile 3. The water stations though are strategically placed and are a great motivation when running. En route to the first water station, Lauren and I met another runner Matt. He told us he was running for a patient in the In-Patient Running program through Dana-Farber. Matt is running for a three and half year old boy who has Leukemia and is going through his last round of chemotherapy this week. At the first water station, we saw this little boy and his very energetic and inspiring mother.

The route between the first water station and the second water station was pretty much all down hill, which had me very worried for my run back. I learned then that I had just run down Heartbreak Hill. We hit the second water station and I was feeling pretty good. I felt like I could really reach my goal of 15 miles. I proceeded to run another mile and a half, bid adieu to my friend Lauren, and then turned around to make the journey up Heartbreak Hill (and all the other hills) by myself. I saw the little boy again with his mother at the water station and I must say it was seeing him and hearing all that he has been going through that provided me with the inspiration to run up the hills without stopping to walk.

I made it to the first water station again and was feeling really good. I then started heading back to the Mount Auburn Club and was pretty confident that I knew my way back. They had done a pretty good job of lining the route with yellow cones. I hit 3 sets of these cones and then got lost. I had NO idea where I was and freaked out a bit. I ended up at a random Days Inn Hotel on Soldier's Field Parkway :( and had to call Kishore to get me some directions back. I had gone an extra mile out of my way, which made my 15-mile goal, an inadvertent 16-mile triumph! At least I like to think of it that way...

I must say that afterwards, I was hurting big time! I made it back home, soaked in the tub which helped my legs, but was definitely hurting. I think my body was reacting poorly to all the stress and even ran a fever for a better part of the afternoon. But after some rest, ibuprofen (which has become my best friend lately), and a lot of stretching, I felt better.

This coming weekend I hope to either mimic this past weekend, or add a couple of more miles, depending on how I am feeling.

Wish me luck!

8 weeks to go

Greetings everybody. I write you with exactly 8 weeks to go. In 8 weeks, I will be getting up at some obscene hour, putting on my Dana Farber singlet (don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds- it's only a shirt and not some type of weird onesie for runners), and heading out to the start line. This morning, as I realized it was only 8 weeks away, I started to get very nervous about the whole thing. I can't believe that I talked myself into trying to complete this crazy race. I think what I am looking forward to the most, once the race is over, is that sense of relief; that feeling that I stood in front of my peers, dear friends and family and said that I would complete the race. So, I am hoping this future mental image of how that sense of relief will feel will help me through the next couple of months!

This past week/weekend I have had to put training on hold while I recover from a pretty bad cold/cough. I ran a nominal distance on Saturday and am hoping that the time I took off will help me going forward. I am excited to get back to training and anticipate that I will have to be very diligent for the next two months.

Stay tuned...

Hitting the pavement on Memorial Drive (literally)

Yesterday I headed out with the intention of completing a half-marathon distance. I decided to try out Jeff Galloway's run/walk method (you run for a certain period of time and then walk for a couple of minutes). On the DFMC discussion board, our trainer encouraged us to try out walking 1-2 minutes after running 30 minutes. This method worked for me and has made a huge difference! For every 30 minutes I ran, I would stop to walk, drink from my fuel belt, and stretch out my legs for about a minute, then I would start up again.

I started out running towards the Museum of Science on Memorial Drive. I then looped around to the other side of the Charles River and ran to the River Street bridge. Then I turned around and did the same loop back. As I passed 10 miles, I felt really good and felt like I could really finish the distance with energy remaining.

Then I tripped at mile 11 and landed on the sidewalk on Memorial Drive! It was extremely disappointing. Thank god I didn't get really hurt, but my right knee started to hurt and was all scraped up. There was a runner who was behind me and I can only imagine what she was thinking. Before falling, I probably already looked rather amusing, wearing my fuel belt around my waist. But then to hit the pavement in such an ungraceful manner, must have been a sight! Ha!

On Kishore's insistence, I had my cell phone on me. I immediately called him and he thankfully came to pick me up. I was really upset though and was terribly disappointed at not reaching my goal. If it were marathon day, I would have picked myself up and continued running. But seeing as how I still have 2 months still to go, I didn't want to run on my right leg especially without first checking whether I had really hurt myself.

So that's how I ended up hitting the pavement on Memorial Drive. Believe it or not, it's not the first time that I have fallen on Mem. Drive! Hopefully that mysterious piece of raised sidewalk that I tripped over doesn't reappear during the Marathon :). Wish me luck!

Another 10-miler- GU Baby!

This past Sunday I tried to complete a longer distance than two weeks prior. The weather on Sunday was great and a huge treat. Though, with all of the snow and ice thawing, the running route on Memorial Drive was less than ideal with huge puddles and the occasional slippery surface. I set out running towards the Museum of Science. All was fine until about mile 4 when the outer portions of my knees starting hurting (I think my IT bands are to blame). I continued to push through and I started feeling much better around mile 6.

It was also during this time that I tried out GU for the first time. For those of you who are not familiar with it, GU Roctane is an energy gel that you take while running. It provides an athlete with quick and sustained energy, electrolytes, and caffeine to "tap more power and diminish pain" (according to the website). Eating this gel definitely helped me and provided me a with a much-needed energy boost!

As I neared the Harvard Boathouse, my legs started to hurt again and I talked myself into completing the remaining two miles back home. I realized that I probably could have gone on, but did not want to push myself unnecessarily. It's been interesting because this concept of the marathon has tempered my expectations. Where I would normally try my best to complete my running goals, I now try and manage my expectations because I still have 2 more months of training to go. Anyhow, I was happy with completing a little over 10 miles and hope that I can really start adding mileage this coming week/weekend.

An important and surprising donation

I wanted to share with you what I believe to be a very important and perhaps the most surprising donation of all. I am still very close to Amara Aunty's family. In addition to the overwhelming support of her children, Yamuna and Vinny, her husband, Adi Uncle has also showered with me much motivation, training advice, and support. Yesterday in the mail, I received a very kind donation from him. As I looked at the check, I started getting goosebumps. On the top left corner were both Adi Uncle's name and Amara Aunty's name! It took me by surprise and overwhelmed me with emotion. I feel like I have her blessing now and her unconditional support. Thank you Adi Uncle for giving me an added inspiration to run and complete the marathon!

Amazing display of sportsmanship

I digress a little bit from running, but sometimes, I often get inspiration from other sports including my favorite sport, tennis. I thought the trophy ceremony at the Australian Open Men's Final yesterday was absolutely amazing. One of the greatest players, Roger Federer, was brought to tears due to his failure to beat his arch rival, and good friend, Raphael Nadal and beat out Pete Sampras' record of 14 Major Grand Slam tournament wins. I thought that Federer's second speech was heartfelt and a wonderful display of sportsmanship towards Nadal. They have unbelievable respect for one another and this is one of the greatest rivalries in history....

A knee "snafu"

So I went for a 4 mile run on Saturday morning and everything was going as planned during my run. I felt great and was definitely hitting a nice stride at the end. However, as soon as I got home, my legs started cramping up and my right knee started to hurt.

I used to play tennis competitively in both high school and college and ran cross-country on my high school varsity team. And in all the years I did sports, I never once had any knee issues. So you can imagine the shock I was in come this past Saturday when my knee gave out on me.

I rested up for the rest of the day and tried not to put pressure on it. Walking down the stairs was very painful and I started to get really worried that I injured my knee really badly. On Sunday, I tried to do my half-marathon distance that I had wanted to complete this weekend. I got all dressed up in my outside gear and headed out the door. With my iPod on, my Nike calibrator set, I started running. I couldn't make it down my block. Almost in tears, I walked back home. I gave it another try but to no avail.

Last night, I went to watch the superbowl with my brother and a bunch of friends. One of our friends is also a runner and in medical school. She told me to start on an ibuprofen treatment, taking 600mg every 8 hours for about 4 days. I started it last night and this morning, my knee feels much better. I can walk properly and apply pressure to my right leg. She said that it was probably inflammation due to overuse. Anyway, I am praying that is what it is and that I can run properly tomorrow...wish me luck!

Fundraising Update- Past the 25% Mark!

Wow, wow, wow! Thank you all so much for all your words of encouragement and for your monetary commitments. I can't believe that I only started fundraising 3 days ago and I have already been blessed with so much support. I am over the 25% mark in meeting my fundraising goal- only $3,315.20 to go! It's quite overwhelming and humbling. Thank you all so much!

For those of you visiting my blog who work at EAPD, the firm has a matching gift program for which the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge qualifies. Yay! The firm will match dollar-for-dollar all donations made by staff, associates, and counsel. Please proceed by making donations online and after I complete the marathon, I will generate a report that will be submitted to the firm. The firm will then cut a check for the matched funds.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

My First 10-Miler!

Yesterday, at 10:50am, I braved the 15-degree weather and ran my first 10-miler of the season! I am so excited to tell you all about my recent success (however small). I ran on Memorial Drive, around the Charles River. This is my usual route when I am running. I started out near the BU Bridge, went to the Museum of Science and then looped around to the boathouse at Harvard. There were times that it was difficult to run because of the ice on the running path and I definitely ran a lot slower than I normally do.

I must say, there were also times during the run that not even Fort Minor's "Remember the Name" could pull me through. It was interesting because I think it's the first time that I realized the value of these sayings that I once thought of as corny: "No pain no gain", "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional", "We cannot learn without pain", etc. When it's 15 degrees outside and the water in your water bottle has frozen, there is intrinsic value in pondering the point of enduring pain.

But last night, as I started really thinking of telling my story of why I was running for Dana-Farber, I realized that despite the pain I went through in the morning, it's nothing compared to what cancer patients must endure. Putting my physical pain in perspective, I believe, will help me in getting through this event.

Anyway, now that 10-miles is behind me, I am hoping to hit a half marathon distance this weekend. Stay tuned...

WELCOME to my blog!

Welcome to my running blog! As I endeavor to complete the Boston Marathon, I invite you to travel with me on this journey through what has already been, and what will continue to be, a challenging, but inspiring, experience.

While I would like to think of myself as a natural athlete, I did not qualify for the Boston Marathon (for a woman of my age to qualify, I would have had to have run a marathon in 3 hours and 40 minutes!). I was fortunate to be accepted onto the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Marathon team. So not only do I get to run the marathon, but I also have the opportunity to advance cancer research and to come one step closer to a cure through my efforts.

My Inspiration AMARA TONANGI: I have been wanting to run the marathon for quite some time. As my friend Derek Kung from law school can attest to, I have been trying to train for the marathon since at least 2005. However, as it often happens, life just got in the way.

I started thinking of running the marathon again last year. As I turn the big 3-0 this year and 3 days before the Boston Marathon, I thought this would be a great way to ring in a new decade (though now I realize that sipping pina coladas on the beach would also have been a great, and more sane, option).

But it was not until I attended the one-year death anniversary celebration of a most beloved Aunty of mine that I became inspired to actually go for it. I am running this marathon in memory of an amazing, wonderfully compassionate, fun-loving, and thoughtful woman: Amara Tonangi. Unfortunately, she lost the battle to breast cancer on November 9, 2007. Losing Amara Aunty was the first time that I lost somebody who was so close to me and it affected and hurt me in a way that I never knew possible. However, attending the celebration of her life last November helped me realize that I wanted to do something productive and beneficial in the fight against cancer. I then found the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge team and applied. It was the memory of Amara Aunty and the pain and suffering she went through that provided the inspiration for me to complete a life-long goal of mine.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute provides cancer patients with the best treatment available today while developing tomorrow's cures through cutting-edge research. The Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team raises money for the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research. The program fosters scientific breakthroughs by advancing the work of gifted researchers in a variety of basic research disciplines, including breast cancer.

It's extremely devastating how cancer has touched the closest people in my life. In addition to Amara Aunty, my husband lost his father (Mr. Surya Narayana Murthy Varanasi) to throat cancer and my sister-in-law lost her father (Professor Nimai Chand Mukhopadhyay) to brain cancer. I run for the memory of all of them and hope that with each step that I take, that I can make a difference in the fight against cancer.

I am excited for this experience and hope you enjoy this run with me!

Keep visiting! I hope to post often!