Miles Ran: 437.60 Dollars Raised: $2,524 (Thank you to everyone who participated in the 50/50 raffle last night! We'll find out how much Uno's raised overall in the next 2 days or so!)
When I got home from Uno's last night I was just wayyy too exhausted to type out a blog post, so now I'm laying in bed, letting my body recover, and trying to put all of my inner thoughts into words.
I woke up at 6 AM yesterday morning, and even though I had everything laid out and basically just had to put on clothes and eat breakfast, I was still scrambling until I had to leave at 6:45 to pick up Katharine. As soon as I put my hands on the steering wheel I was kicking myself for not bringing my gloves. It was freeeezing out compared to what I had been running in lately! Luckily Katharine was having all of the same jitters that I was, so it was great to be able to talk with her about it on the bus ride out on the MASS PIKE to get there. We kept looking at each other saying, "shouldn't we be getting off the Pike now??? Is it just me or is this realllyyyy far..."
When we were dropped off in Hopkinton, to my delight Saucony was handing out free, heavy-duty running gloves that I appreciated SO much! Throughout the run there were definitely times where I was thankful to have them. When we were in the shade, or when there was a breeze, it was just frigid.
Just seeing the actual starting line painted on the road was motivating. Katharine and I ended up walking the first mile, because we were only supposed to be running 20 and the course was 21. We did that in about 14 minutes or so, but I forgot to restart my watch once we hit mile 1, so that's why the above timing is approximate.
I was so happy to have her with me, especially through that first half of the course. Running through Framingham and Ashland is just NOT pretty or interesting in the least. Something that keeps me entertained on long runs is just visual stimulation, and running by warehouses and plants just..wasn't. My foot was feeling pretty good for the most part. It's funny how now the part that's most sore is on the outer edge, rather than where I strained the muscle.
Katharine and I were keeping up a conservative 9:30 or so pace for most of the run. We were just really trying not to push ourselves too hard. At this point in training we're so close to our goal that we're afraid of anything that could mess us up or injure us.
I would say one of the points I felt the most pain was when we were doing a very long downhill in--I think--Wellesley. All of a sudden my feet were really sore and my hamstring felt very tight. But after we completed it, I felt pretty good. We both got to points where we knew that if we stopped at a water stop or stopped to walk, our legs would just go into shock mode and wouldn't be able to start again. So we really did run for 99% of it.
There were still lots of people cheering us on along the way, which was amazing. It makes me so excited for the race and how many people come out to support you. Heartbreak Hill was definitely a challenge... the first few hills weren't that bad, but that last, steep hill was a killer. I hope to train on it a couple more times before the race. I said to Katharine, "I think I might need to slow my pace down a little bit" and she said, "I can't, my hips won't be able to do it, I've got to keep going." Well, that was enough motivation for me, so I put my head down and just looked at the pavement ahead of me. Neither of us spoke to each other and all you could hear was the patter of our feet and our rhythmic deep breaths. It was incredible.
When we reached the top we only had about a quarter mile to go, which we breezed through, were awarded with some leis, and given a plethora of food, Gatorade, etc. We were so ecstatic because this means the marathon itself is SO attainable! We're so close! It's only a few weeks away! And we know we can do it!
(I look like a dead person, but that's ok!)
After the run we stretched and wobbled our way back to my car, and went home to shower, relax, and head over to Uno's for my fundraiser. I got there around 2:30 and stayed until midnight with all of the fabulous friends that came in waves throughout the day. I hope we made a good chunk of money, but we shall see. Uno's was like a marathon in itself because I had to pace my eating and drinking throughout the course of the day. But overall, it was very fun, and there were a few surprise guests I wasn't expecting!
I feel very ready for Marathon Monday :)
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