Week 9 - From NOLA to Heartbreak Hill

 WE DID IT!

Before I get started on my week 9 recap today, I need to make a very exciting announcement.  Yesterday, I held my Lori Runs Boston fundraiser at Slumbrew's American Fresh Taproom, where I was joined by my incredible friends and family in the middle of a snowy Boston Sunday.  The event was not only incredibly fun, but also brought in a net total of $920, which brought my total fundraising efforts to $5,053!!!!  

Thanks to YOU, I have surpassed my fundraising goal for Victory Programs!!!!! 

I cannot thank everyone who donated to my Crowdrise page and came to my event enough for your amazing generosity.  This experience has been a truly humbling experience and your support and I can hardly put into words how much your faith in me means.  I am so touched and thankful.

Although I have reached my goal, I am still more than happy to accept donations at my Crowdrise page. Every penny donated does directly to Victory Programs so there's no such thing as being finished!

I'd also like to share that last week, while most of the city was shoveling snow or at the Patriot's Super Bowl victory parade, Victory Programs expanded its Chamblet Family Home to 6 additional families. YOUR donations helped make this happen!  Good job, guys and gals!!!

Note: Please note that my Crowdrise page does not reflect the total $5,053 as I have to wait for all of the funds from my event to be processed and manually entered into Crowdrise, but I promise you, we did it!

Lori Runs New Orleans

Last I left you, friends, I was in New Orleans celebrating a Patriot's Super Bowl victory! I was careful to keep the celebrating in check because I wanted to get up early on Monday and get my long run in. My boyfriend, who went to college at Tulane, gave me directions on a nice route that would allow me to get my 13 miles in.  Unfortunately, my sense of direction was WAY off and I got a little lost.  I wasn't sure what to do when I caught sight of a pair of runners and I thought, "hey, let's just follow the locals!"  I ended up on a nice riverfront stretch along the Mississippi River.  The sun was out and it was really lovely.  Unfortunately, I didn't want to get lost again so I just ran the river walk back and forth several time, which was less than exciting after the 3rd time or so.

I did a little bit more of the run around the French Quarter, which was really great.  I think New Orleans might be the most magical place I've ever seen.  The architecture was so beautiful and everyone I passed smiled or waved or wished me a good morning and I loved it.  All of the houses and businesses were also decorated for Mardi Gras, which was totally awesome.  I couldn't help but stop and take this photo of a house totally done up for the holiday.

Later in the day, Mike and I went for a drive around the city and he showed me where I went wrong on my run - I took a left instead of a right and threw myself off course.  Oh well, I'll know better when we go back in June.

Home Sweet Home? 

 

Tuesday was a busy day in New Orleans, as Mike and I tried to pack a lot of fun things in before going back to the airport to go back to Boston so I didn't run.  We came home to a LOT of snow on the ground.  An additional foot or so of snow landed while we were away and I immediately wished we had stayed in NOLA for a little longer!

I didn't let the snow stop me on Wednesday, though.  The temperatures were reasonable on Wednesday (above 32!) so I threw on my running YakTrax and gave it a go.

::START RANT:: If you don't shovel your sidewalk you are evil.  I know there's a lot of snow on the ground and it's tough to keep up, but if you don't even at least TRY to make it safe for people to walk/run down the sidewalk you are a jerk. Not only is it dangerous for pedestrians and runners like myself, but it's wildly hazardous for the elderly and virtually impossible for a person with a disability. Not taking care of your property forces people to walk in the streets, which adds additional potential for accidents and it's no bueno!!!  As Bill Belichick would say, "Do your job!" ::END RANT::

I logged 5 slow miles, dogging ice and snowbanks, cars and slush puddles.  It was TOUGH, but I'm glad I got out there.  Can't let the snow slow me down...I'd never run again if I did that! Just a note, I mentioned the other week that when I used my YakTrax for the first time that I was hitting my right leg with my left foot and got a bruise.  Well, it happened again this time and I actually took a photo of it.  The YakTrax are 100% worth it, but beware that if your form is a little wonky like mine, this might happen.

Cross Training 

 

At my last appointment on 1/26 my orthopedic doctor suggested that I do some more work to strengthen the muscles in my legs to avoid another muscle tear. Honestly, I know nothing about using weight machines or free weights or any of that stuff so on Thursday, I brought my boyfriend to the gym with me.  He does a lot of weight training and was able to teach me how to use a bunch of the machines and some good free weight exercises.  I want to start incorporating these into my training because another muscle tear is NOT an option during marathon training!

Facing Heartbreak Hill

 

Training for the marathon alone is HARD so I am lucky to have a friend that is looking out for me! By now, you've heard me talk about my friend Dani who is running with Tedy's Team.  She's been so awesome by inviting me to different runs and giving me really useful advice.  I was so psyched when she invited me to join Tedy's Team for their 10 mile run on Saturday that included Heartbreak Hill since I had never run it before.

In case you didn't know, Heartbreak Hill is actually a 3 mile stretch of rolling hills - not just one hill - and taken on their own are actually not so bad.  Heartbreak, however, falls at a critical point on the Marathon route (around mile 16) when runners are really starting to hit a wall so the hills feel 10 times worse then they normally would.

We all met in Kenmore Square and took the Green Line to Riverside and off we went!  It took about 2

miles to get from the station to Heartbreak so I was nice and warmed up but not tired by the time we got there.  I couldn't believe how many people were running the carriage road along the hill!  Individuals and charity teams alike were everywhere! It was so inspiring to see all of these people out in the morning working toward the same goal.  I was so caught up in the moment and the excitement of being around all of these other runners, I didn't even think to take out my phone and snap a photo.  Fortunately, Dani snapped a pic at Riverside before we began, so I am at least share that one!

We ran Commonwealth Ave to Beacon Street and back into Kenmore Square, where Dani's wife picked us up and spared us a long train ride back into Somerville.  Thanks, Tori!

Now that I feel like I have a  handle on how to get to get to Heartbreak, I want to try getting out there on my own and incorporating it into my long runs so I can really be ready for it on April 20!

An Amazing Time at American Fresh

 

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I held my Lori Runs Boston fundraiser on Sunday at Slumbrew's American Fresh Taproom.  I was so surprised that everyone who bought a ticket still came even though a steady snow fell for most of the day!

The raffle was a great success, and even strangers who were just at the Taproom for a beer bought tickets!  Everyone was impressed at how great the prizes were, so I owe a lot of thanks to the businesses that gave so freely to my cause.


Mike set up a Finish Line photo booth and people had a great time posing for photos.  You can check them out here.  I am particularly partial to this one of me and my mom.  She's the best!

I was also selling my Lori Runs Boston tote bags at the event and only have 8 left for sale!  They're $20 each and I'll cover shipping if you want one mailed to you!  If you're interested in purchasing, please email me!

I want to again thank everyone who came on Sunday and a special thanks to Slumbrew and the staff at American Fresh!  I highly recommend connecting with them if you'd like to hold a fundraising event. They were friendly, helpful and very easy to work with.  My guests had a great time and so did I!