Week 1 Wrap-Up!

Before we get rolling into today's post I am very excited to announce the LORI RUNS BOSTON MARATHON FUNDRAISER!

Join me on Sunday, February 8 from 2-4pm at Slumbrew's American Fresh Taproom in Somerville's Assembly Row for some great food, a fantastic raffle, finish line photo booth and Slumbrew's awesome craft beer (cash bar).  Tickets start at $25 and are on sale NOW!

Remember that all proceeds from this event will go toward my Boston Marathon fundraising efforts for Victory Programs!

If you're not able to make it, but still want to help, click here to give directly to my fundraising page.  Remember, all donations are tax deductible so make those gifts before January 1!

1 Week Down!

This has been the most intensive week of training I've had since completing the BAA Half Marathon in October.  Sidelined by my knee injury (more on that later) and purchasing and moving into my first home, I did next to no running the second half of October and most of November.  I got out a few times in preparation for my Thanksgiving run, but certainly didn't challenge myself or my body.

Bad weather and a hectic schedule made for a lot of treadmill time this week (booooo!), but I logged 24 miles in total, including an 8 mile long run on Saturday and the Cambridge Yulefesk 5k on Sunday.

I am really hoping to do all of my runs over 4 miles outside this winter (we'll see how that goes once snow and ice come into play) so on Wednesday evening when it appeared as though the rain had begun to dissipate, I tossed on my brand new Nike Shield running tights and took them for a 6 mile spin.  Yeah...the rain hadn't stopped.

A lot of people ask me if I run with my glasses on.  I do.  I hardly ever wear contact lenses because they dry out my eyes and I have one pair of glasses that don't jiggle around when I run so I wear them every time.  They usually don't bother me and are really comfortable, but every once and awhile being a nerdy runner girl causes complications.  This was one evening where I could have used those cartoon windshield wipers on my glasses!

The good news is my new running tights were awesome and my legs were warm and dry the entire time.

Long Run Fun

Long runs are actually my favorite part of training.  I don't know if I'll feel that way once I get into 18/20 mile territory, but at the moment it rings true.  My training plan called for an 8 mile run this weekend and I was pretty nervous.  This was my longest run since October and I wasn't sure how my knee or lungs were going to handle it.

I am happy to report that it felt GREAT! It was a cool morning with a few light snow flakes dancing around and the air felt so good.  I was meeting friends for brunch in Boston so I decided to take a long route from my house to the restaurant and reward my long run with a greasy, delicious breakfast!

Through the first four miles I was taking a nice, easy pace and enjoyed taking my old half marathon training route down Broadway and the bike path through Davis Square before turning left on to Mass. Ave. toward Porter Square.  Just before hitting Porter I noticed to my dismay and elderly woman who had fallen on the sidewalk and clearly needed some help.  Another woman, a man and I helped the woman to her feet and realized quickly she had hurt her hip and wasn't able to walk.  I called 911 and we all waited together for the paramedics to arrive. Once they were there (they came very quickly), I went back on my way.  I really hope she was OK!  This turn of events explains my photo here.  I didn't stop to pause my watch for several minutes while we helped the woman on to her feet and after I did stop it, my watch automatically saved the run and I had to restart it once I was ready to go again. Here are my first (slightly skewed) and second half times.

Knowing that once I got to my destination I would cool down quickly and my wet, sweaty clothes would be an icky burden, I had to plan ahead.  I tied a long sleeve t-shirt and fleece around my waist.  In one pocket of the fleece, I zipped up a dry bra and in the other I zipped up a small tote bag.  When I got to the restaurant, I went to the bathroom and put my wet clothes in the tote bag and changed into my dry clothes.  It worked brilliantly and wasn't as bulk and annoying to run with as I thought (though I probably looked pretty silly to some people).

Last Race of the Year!

On Sunday, I ran in my final race of 2014 the Cambridge 5k Yulefest! If you haven't run in any of the Cambridge 5k races before, I highly recommend it. Boy, do they know how to throw a great race and after party!  I am going to sign up for the enter race series for next year.  I was also really thrilled to run this race with my amazing friend Sarah (aren't we adorable!).  This was our first time running together, but hopefully not the last.

I love themed races.  People really go all out with costumes and fun outfits. I get so hot when I run, so I don't know that I'll ever sport the full Grinch costume, but I will give props to other folks who do it all day long.  I did manage to score these cute reindeer socks and snowflake leggings from TJ Maxx, so I was sufficiently into the holiday spirit!

I ran this race much faster than I had planned, given that I had done my 8 miles the day before.  When I hit the first mile marker and saw I had done it in 9:01, I couldn't believe it!  I tried to slow down my pace, but did the 2nd and 3rd miles in under 9 minutes.  So much for that!

As we were getting closer to the finish line I noticed that Sarah was right next to me and I was so happy to be finishing alongside my friend, but as we got a little closer, she took off like a shot leaving my butt in the dust!  Total rock star!  I had nothing left in the tank and kept pace until I hopped over the finish line at a total time of 27:45.

That's me in the yellow circle.  What? You couldn't tell?  Oh well...next time I'll mug for the cameras :)

Knee Update

I am beyond thrilled to share the news that my MRI results showed that I DO NOT have a torn meniscus after all!  I do still have an injury that needs to be taken care of, but it does not require surgery and is well on its way to being healed.  My doctor did strongly recommend that I replace a few runs a week with cycling and urged me to be very in tune with my body.  Any twinge in the ol' knee means STOP IMMEDIATELY! I am totally relived to not have to go through surgery, but I will be very careful about how much strain I put on my body.  I don't want to make it worse closer to the Marathon.

DONATE HERE