Monday, January 26, 2015

Week 7 - A Stroll Through the New Hampshire Hills

As always, I want to thank my awesome donors - Sara B. and a lovely Anonymous friend - who gave to my fundraising page this past week!

LORI RUNS BOSTON MARATHON FUNDRAISER

Don't forget to purchase your tickets to my awesome fundraiser on Sunday, February 8 fro 2-4pm at Slumbrew's American Fresh Taproom in Assembly Square!  Tickets start at $25 and include food, an awesome finish line photo booth and automatic entry for a special door prize!  Please purchase your tickets as soon as advance as possible to ensure that there's enough for food all!  This event is all ages, but you must be 21+ to purchase beer at the bar!

There will be an amazing raffle featuring the following prizes:
Want to enter the raffle, but can't make the event? Make a donation of $20 to my CrowdRise page between now and February 7 and I'll enter an arm's length of raffle tickets into the raffle with your name on them! 

Awesome New Logo!

You've probably noticed my super cool new logo, right?  I have to give huge credit to my super talented friend Marta Melo for designing it for me!  Isn't she the coolest?  She used the Marathon finish line that gets painted on Boylston Street for inspiration and I think it's boss.  I've had some cool tote bags printed up with the logo that will be on sale at my fundraiser!  Thank you, Marta!

It's Really Happening!

I had hoped to get three runs in this week before Sunday and the Boston Prep 16 Miler in Derry, NH but was only able to squeeze in two.  Normally I always take a rest day after a long run - mainly to give my kneed a break - but since my usual rest day fell on MLK Day, I felt like I couldn't really waste a whole day off without taking a spin around the Mystic.

I didn't take any pictures on my short runs this week for a few reasons: 1. I run the Mystic pretty much all the time and there's only so many interesting photos I can take of it and 2. My second run this week was in the dark so there you have it.


Just me and Meb hanging out
What I DID take a picture of this week was me and my official Boston Marathon Invitational Entry Form!  My colleague Shauna gave it to me on Tuesday and I filled it out IMMEDIATELY.  There's no going back now - I am so running the Boston Marathon!

I have to say I got a little emotional when I stopped to put the envelope in the mailbox.  I never in a million years thought I would be doing this.  I used to joke that the only time you'd ever see me run is if someone was chasing me and here I am now about to take part in one of the most iconic races in the world.

I am so honored to be able to participate in this incredible adventure and am truly humbled and grateful to all my friends and family who have donated money, time, and support to help me get here.




On Wednesday, I planned on doing a 6 mile run after work, but had to cut it down to 3.  I had a total case of dead legs.  Usually when I feel this way at the start of a run I can shake it out and loosen up after a mile or mile and a half, but this was not one of those nights.  It was frustrating to not get the mileage I had planned on doing - I am a really stubborn person and HATE not following through - but if I've learned one thing from KneeGate it's that listening to your body is SUPER IMPORTANT.  My legs were telling me to knock it off, so I did.  Also for the record, this was NOT a good night time route. It was early enough in the evening when I went for this run, and I ran streets around the neighborhood that I know well and feel safe on generally, but I was acutely aware of how dimly lit a lot of the streets were.  I was glad I wore bright clothes and used my running gloves with the built in flashlight.  I really can't wait for a few more hours of daylight!!!


Just a Casual Jaunt Through New Hampshire

In case you're wondering, sarcasm is abound in that heading!  My awesome and inspirational friend Dani had let me know about a 16 mile prep race taking place in New Hampshire a few months ago and I was all "Yeah! Let's do it!"  So...we did it.

This was the most nervous I had been going into a race in a really REALLY long time.  Not only had I never run more than 13 miles at one time, but I was going to do it in the presence of other people training for the Boston Marathon and on terrain much different than anything I was used to.  This race started as a training route some folks from New Hampshire started running in preparation for the Heartbreak Hill section of the Boston Marathon.  In case you didn't know (which I didn't until recently) Heartbreak Hill is not just one hill!  It's a 3 mile stretch of rolling hills through Newton and starts at about the 16th mile of the course when your legs have already taken a beating and many people start to feel like they're hitting the proverbial wall.  So, this race is meant as a physical and mental prep run for that...fun, right?

I stole Dani's picture. Thanks, Dani!
Neither Dani or I had ever run this race before, but her friend Paige (another charity runner) had so the three of us embarked on this adventure together.  The race was in Derry, NH and everyone gathered at the high school to pick up bibs and swag (awesome tech shirt!).  Then, we changed from snow boots to running sneakers and got ready to go!

The start line was a short distance from the school and we lined up on the street next to a barn with three really beautiful horses hanging out.  You could really see who was from out of town based on how excited we were to see the horses.  Dani is the queen of the race selfie so we all hopped into a photo and off we went!

Trust me.  It was harder than it looks.
My whole approach to this race was to treat it like any other long run, not as much as a race.  That being said I was really happy with my pace as we went along.  I was averaging just over a 10 minute mile for the first 5 miles or so with some smaller hills and I was thinking, "Hey this isn't so bad."  In fact, I was all smiles until about the 10th mile when OH MY GOD WHAT ARE THESE HILLS.

Honestly, I was in awe of seeing people running up them.  I absolutely had to stop and walk for awhile to get to the top of a few of them because they were so steep and even walk up them burned! I was using muscles I don't think I even knew I had! And so it went for a good 3 miles.  Every time I thought we went over the last one, there was ANOTHER ONE.  By the time we hit mile 13 and the steep hills gave way to flatter (or at least significantly less steep) roads.  Miles 14.5-16 were probably the hardest 1.5 miles I have ever logged in my LIFE.




I finally crossed the finish line in just under 3 hours.  It was tough.  Really tough.  I had finished the BAA Half Marathon in 2:04, meaning the extra 3 miles combined with the hills tacked on FORTY-EIGHT MINUTES.  Ouch.  I came in 320 out of 350 people.

But you know what? I TOTALLY RAN THAT RACE! AND FINISHED! AND I AM SO PSYCHED!

Sometimes it's not about being the fastest or the strongest...it's about digging deep and proving to yourself that you can do what you set out to do even if it's REALLY REALLY HARD. I am really proud of that race and a day later I am still cruising on the emotional high of having done it.

Here are some more pics from the race!

The snow from the day before made everything really pretty!
Tried to snap a pic of the horses but it didn't come out great.

Folks getting ready at the starting line

Me at mile 8 (half way point)while I was still happy and smiling

I just really liked the bear.  






After the race there was water and pizza back at the high school and then we headed back to Boston, where Dani and I headed over to the Slumbrew American Fresh Taproom for a few, very much deserved Porter Square Porters.

I probably won't get to post my Week 8 recap until Wednesday next week because LORI RUNS BOSTON will be RUNNING NEW ORLEANS! 'Til then, friends!


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