sirens in the hills

I didn't remember Greg. I thought he was an extra friendly DFMC volunteer, until he told me we'd stood at the peak of the same hill on Comm Ave across from BC when I gave him directions. That joggged my memory. I remembered the energy I'd felt on the day of the annual 20 mile charity run when all of the teams turn out. I remembered Mark and Mike and a lot of talk about injuries, golf, and New Hampshire. I also remember talking about my INSEAD MBA aspirations. It was one of those days when I was overcome by emotion and yearned to be running to end cancer with the team. It was that sort of motivation, and encouraging words from Mike, that convinced me to jump in bandit style in 2010. That is still my favorite run of all time. Flash forward almost two years, and Mike is on the team again this year. Greg is thinking of jumping in, and I am determined to persuade him to do it. He says running has been his therapy since his wife gave birth to their second daughter 65 days prematurely after a rocky pregnancy. The baby has been at Children's ever since, and is going to be fitted for hearing aides this week. Heather, a 15 time DFMC vet, helped us man the water stop and got Jack to share some fascinating stories of the early days and how the team came into being. Leslie Barron was there too, with a friend visiting from Sweden. It was interesting that she should consider the water stop one of the highlights of her trip, but rightfully so. My training didn't begin as scheduled yesterday. I woke up with a nasty cold and spent the holiday working. I felt awful again today and called out sick. I've read time and time again that easy workouts can help speed recovery. I'd been avoiding the hills for almost a year. Today, they were calling my name. So, I took a slow 6 mile jog over them, and now I feel immensely proud. Two years ago, I wasn't ready to move abroad alone. Now, I am aching for that experience without a doubt in my mind. My goal is to submit my application by 11th March. (I can't believe it's been two years). Before I go, I want to get back to enjoying running great Boston races and using exercise as motivation that strengthens my immune system and combats stress.