A Concert and a Run

Saturday night I went to the House of Blues to see Phantogram with a few friends. I have never seen them before and was pretty excited to see them. They were amazing. I'm glad I got to go and hang out with some friends outside of work.

On Sunday morning I was back in Boston for the B.A.A. 10k. Heading into the run I had the plan of doing better than the 10k 2 weeks ago. Little did I know things would change. As soon as I got in the parking garage I knew I was going to be sick. I tried to find a bathroom, but I couldn't. Then it was too late. I sent a text to my friend Kevin saying I didn't think I was going to be running that day. I knew that if I could just clean up that I could run, but I didn't think that was going to be an option. I wasn't upset that I was going to have my first Did Not Start (DNS), but more that I was missing my second of three races with the B.A.A. I actually found a bathroom and cleaned up. I walked back to my car disappointed, but ended up finding something else that I could wear in my trunk. (Guess it's good that I haven't donated those clothes still.) I changed and ended up at the starting line. At the 5k mark I saw a proposal. (Why at the 5k? You knew that photographer was there?) It was warm. There were plenty of water stops along the way so that helped. All the volunteers along the course were awesome. Then I was at the finish. After I finished Kevin came up to me, made fun of my outfit, and walked with me to get my shirt. 

This may have been quite the morning for me, but I finished. In October I will go on to run the half and requirements for the Distance Medley. I also did PR for my 10k. I didn't do it by much or got the time I went in planning on, but I finished. Sometimes you have to change your goals. For me sometimes I need to remember that I just want to finish.

Lazy Lobster Race

Today I ran in the Lazy Lobster 10-Mile race in Wareham. I had this weekend off from work, so I was searching on Active for something to do this weekend. I mean who wouldn't sign up for something called the Lazy Lobster. There were 2 options, 5-mile or 10-mile. I said I'd do the 5-mile after running all of last weekend and having the B.A.A. 10k next week. Then I saw the medal for the 10-mile and suddenly I was signed up for the 10-mile.

Like I had a choice. ©Lazy Lobster Race

Yesterday I went down to Wareham to get my bib. After a quick and easy pick up I met up with my friend Mary for dinner and movie. (What a lovely date night!) We saw The Fault in Our Stars. I just finished the book recently, so I knew what to expect during the movie. I also knew it was going to be sad and there may or may not be tears. I can't say there weren't tears, but there was not complete breakdown crying like a teenager had behind us. (But really, what?) You should go see the movie. Or read the book. Or both!

Anyways, back to the run! I arrived almost at the start time. (I should have gotten water last night, but I always put things off until last minute.) We ran throughout Wareham and a little bit through Marion. (I never knew where Marion was until today!) I saw horses and dogs and cranberry bogs. More cranberry bogs than anything else. On the 10-mile course there were 4 water stops. The last 2 stops also had Gatorade which I gladly sipped on. I felt like the course went by pretty quickly. I finished in 1:51:25 (by Nike+. I'm still waiting for the official times to be posted). I got my medal (and a shot glass), grabbed a snack and some Cran-Grape juice (thanks Ocean Spray!).

This is Louie the Lazy Lobster.
I think he's scary.

I would do this run again. They also have a virtual option so if you're not in the area you can still participate and get a medal!

Runner's World Heartbreak HIll Half & Festival

This past weekend I participated in the Heartbreak Hill Half & Festival as a Hat Trick participant. This meant that I was running a 5k and a 10k on Saturday then a half on Sunday. I was worried about how I would hold up doing back to back races, but I knew I could only do my best. This weekend was hot too.

On Friday I went to pick up my bib for the weekend. It was not super crowded which made for a quick and easy pickup process. While I was there I also signed up for the Zooma Half in Cape Cod. I've been going back and forth with it for a little while so I decided why not sign up now! It will be good training for my marathons too so it works.

On Saturday my friend Carrick picked me up and off we went into Boston. He's amazing for getting up super early on his day off to hang out in the heat while I run. We met up with my friend Kevin there, wished each other luck, then we were off. I knew I didn't want to push the 5k and was on track for a PR. By mile 2 I was feeling the heat. I pushed through and finished. I got back to my friends, ate a little bit, and was back in the corral for the 10k pretty quickly.

Kev & I before heading to the 10k.

The 10k went down Heartbreak Hill, then back up it. I can't imagine doing that at mile 20! I did get to see Shalane Flanagan on the opposite side of the street. She was shouting how good we were all doing and smiles the entire time. My knee started hurting about half way through. (This is seeming more common and more irritating every time.) I knew I needed ice at the finish. I saw Carrick right outside of BC before the finish. I sprinted to the finish. My friend Kevin couldn't believe that was me. My justification was I needed ice and that made it go by faster.










After the 10k Carrick and I hung around to watch people gather for the dog run then I went to a seminar. It was good to hear from different women about running.

After the seminar I went back to the Expo to meet Shalane Flanagan. She was autographing cards or whatever you brought with you. It was nice to just be able to say hi and be in the company of greatness.

Dream!

We left BC and grabbed some lunch. Next thing I knew I was in bed and resting for the next morning. The alarm went off too early the next morning. I got up gathered my stuff and left for BC for the half. My lovely boyfriend got up super early and drove after working late the night before. It was more crowded than the the previous day. I got really nervous before running. Sometimes I'm not nervous at all (i.e. Saturday) and other times I want to be sick over my nerves (i.e. Sunday). Luckily the nerves wore off quickly. I wasn't sure how my knee would be, but luckily it didn't. I got to see Shalane again running on the second half of the course (while I was still on the first half). She was shouting over to us again. The heat was rough and I was really feeling it by the end. There was a guy spraying us with his hose which we all loved. Actually one runner told him she loved him for it. We all needed that. All the volunteers were awesome along the course. I somehow missed the mile 11 marker (this happens a lot to me. I'm not sure why.) I knew mile 12 was Heartbreak Hill. If you look at my splits you can tell I just crumbled from the heat. I was getting texts of encouragement and I knew I needed to pick up the pace. I got over the finish line with Bart Yasso yelling my name. 

I've run a lot. I need water!

I did a lot better than I thought I would do. My body felt a lot better than I thought. I felt good the next day even! 

Hat Trick Finisher.

I can't imagine ending my 26th year any other way. I would definitely put myself through this again. Hopefully I will next year!

I May Have BIG News!

I last left off on my train ride to DC. A little has happened since then.

I participated in the Nike Women's Half Marathon DC for the second year in a row. It was a rough run. Nike did a fantastic job again. My stomach on the other hand did not. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary that morning, but I was sick during the run. If you look at my splits you would understand. I had to walk most of it. It wasn't my worst half, but it wasn't my best. I did finish though!

After my trip to DC I drove to Redding, CT for the Redding Road Race. I did the 7 mile route. This was a very hilly run! I loved every second of it though. It was so well put together it was worth leaving my house at 3 am! If you live in the Northeast you should check it out next year!

One of my favorite medals!

After a little trip to Disney World for a week, I came home to remembering that I had a half marathon! Boston's Run to Remember has been going on for 10 years now. My friend Christopher ran with me. I'm so thankful he did because my knee wasn't happy. It started hurting almost immediately. It was awful. It was really humid which was hitting me by the end of the run. I was really impressed with the police along the course. They were all happy to be there and cheered for all of the runners. Maybe it's just me, but usually they just stare past you. I finished the run a little longer than I wanted to, but I'm still pretty happy with the time considering I was hurting.

In bigger news, I'm running the New York City Marathon! I got chosen to run with Boston Children's Hospital. This hospital saved my nephew's life and my family will be forever grateful for that. I'm really excited to participate in the marathon! 

Race Season Has Begun!

On Saturday I ran in the BAA 5k. This is the first race of the Distance Medley that I signed up for back in February. The next race will be in June for the BAA 10k. This will be my first official 10k. I've done a 5 mile run (last Thanksgiving) and I'll be doing a 7 mile run next weekend (I'm running for the cows!), but never an official 10k. So be on the lookout for all of that!

Monday was the Boston Marathon. I got to see my friend finish finally! The weather was beautiful…unless you were running. My friend was telling me how hot it was. I decided to let him know about my experience in Disney and what hot really was! I'm a freak, I love the heat. The hotter, the better. It was very fitting that an American won the Marathon too. I was really routing for Shalane Flanagan to win for the woman. Even though she didn't, she sure kicked some ass.

On Easter I got to go with my friend Tony to see Christina Perri. (I may or may not have checked out the Boston Marathon Expo on my way over to the House of Blues.) Birdie opened for CP and was amazing. I have a song or two of hers on my iPod, but haven't really listened to her. I actually think she sounds better live than on her record. CP came on and she was amazing. There was a proposal and dancing and tears. She's super cute and I love her even more now. If you aren't familiar with her, go get familiar with her here!

I'm currently on a train to DC for the Nike Women's Half Marathon. Instead of going home to pack and get my life situated I decided to go see Iggy Azalea right from work last night. Once again I was at the House of Blues seeing a show. Iggy is a rapper/model from Australia. She is great. I'm glad I finally got to see her!

If you creeped on my Races page you may have noticed I updated it with 2015. I have officially lost my mind and signed up for the Dopey Challenge during the Disney World Marathon Weekend. The Dopey Challenge consists of a 5k on Thursday, a 10k on Friday, the half marathon on Saturday, ending with the marathon on Sunday. This weekend also will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Goofy Challenge (the half and the full marathon only). I will earn 6 medals over these 4 days (one for each race, one for the Goofy Challenge, and one for the Dopey Challenge). I say will because I don't care if I need to crawl over those finish lines, I'm going to finish.

48.6 miles. 4 days. Jesus take the wheel.

Hello There

I've been a little out of the loop lately. Seems to happen a lot.

First things first,

The B.A.A. 5k is on Saturday! This will be my first time doing this race and I'm really excited. I have a couple of friends who are also running this. One of whom is running the Marathon on Monday!

Yesterday was a year since last year's Marathon and the awful events that happened. I ran the last stage of the One Run for Boston 2 on Sunday to show support for everyone who was effected by those events and the city of Boston as a whole. I did get a little teary eyed during the run, but I'm happy I was part of such a great relay.

Next Monday I will be at the Marathon to cheer on everyone who is running. I've been asked if I'm nervous to go in or told they don't understand why I'm going in, but I will go support my friends and fellow runners. I can't wait to see my friend cross the finish line!

 Some of my TNT teammates are holding a virtual 5k to help them raise money for LLS. They are running the Marathon and set up this run up to help show support to LLS as well as the city of Boston. If you want to sign up you can do so here. It's $26.20 that is well worth it.

Next week I'll also head to DC to participate in the Nike Women's Half Marathon. I was able to participate in the inaugural run last year as a part of TNT. I had a wonderful time and I can't wait to go back and see more of DC.





I also signed up for the Boston's Run to Remember Half Marathon during Memorial Day weekend. This half is to remember fallen law enforcement. I've always heard good things about this run.

Winter Blues

It's so cold.

I don't feel like dying running on the street. I'd rather die than run another mile on the treadmill.

I wanted to put my all into training for DC, but I've barely ran at all. 

I feel sad. And anxious. And pissed off. I want to feel like a human being again. 

Can it get warm sometime soon?