I did it!!!!!!!!!

Today was the big day.  15K.  9 Miles.  I was really anxious when I woke up this morning.  Looking back, it all seems ridiculous now, but at the time I was worried about so many different things. I was afraid I wasn't ready, that I wouldn't be able to make it all 9 miles, that I would be dead last, that my knee would be killing me the whole time, that I would end up puking in the middle of the run, and lots of other silly fears.  When I got there in checked in, I was still pretty nervous.  After all, most of the people that were there looked like pretty serious runners.  I'm talking Boston Marathon jackets galore, people running laps PRIOR to the race....you know, all that stuff that I don't do.  

The race started from Briarcliff and looped up around 128.  That means nothing to you if you don't know the area, but I'm putting it in anyways.  (Don't worry, there'll be a map picture at the end.)  Funny thing though.  Once I actually started running, I forgot what I was worried about.  Suddenly, I was just running and it was lovely.  I was even surprised when I passed the 1 mile mark because it seemed like such a short distance.  Everything was going well though I had a small hiccup in the 2nd mile where my Google Music shut down.  I almost lost it then because I was afraid I was going to have to run the rest of the race with no music.  Luckily, if there's one thing I've learned from Hitchhiker's Guide it's DON'T PANIC!  I managed to pull my phone out and force stop the app and then restart it.  Once I did that, the music worked fine the rest of the run.  Let me tell you though, it is NOT easy to try to shut down an app on a touch screen while running.  But, you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.  I'm so glad it worked though, because I'm pretty sure the music was the reason I got through miles 8 and 9.  Specifically, Jay-Z with Linkin Park, Johnny Cash, and Queen go me through those last miles.  You know, in case you were wondering.

Somewhere around the 3rd mile there was a water stop, which really helped revive me.  Plus, someone gave us a tip about eating Skittles or jelly beans as a fast metabolizing form of energy halfway through the run.  When I got to the 3rd mile I popped 2 Skittles, and then again at the 5th.  I'm fairly confident these are what kept me going the rest of the race. They definitely powered me up and over the 3 hills that we had to hit before the turnaround point.  

After the turnaround I really started feeling better actually.  I lost Cynthia on a hill; that is, she ended up about a half minute in front of me for the rest of the race, but by that point, I didn't mind.  At the beginning I was afraid of being left behind, but after the 5th mile, I knew I could make it on my own. I suppose that's the power of mind over matter.  I told myself that I had less to run than I had already run so I could obviously finish.  I don't want to say that the last 4 miles were a breeze, but they were a lot easier than I expected them to be, especially the 9th.  The weather wasn't fantastic, it was somewhere around 30 with a lightly falling snow, but I actually enjoyed it.  Well, except when the snow was hitting me in the eyes and I couldn't see. 

You may be wondering how my knee held up for all of this as well.  I decided to go the Aleve and KT route again, since it seemed to work well for me last time.  I was totally fine until the 3rd mile (which is pretty general), and then it started to hurt.  I wish I could convey the hurt that I'm talking about, but I don't really have words.  The best I can do is tell you that it feels like someone is sticking a red-hot very large needle into the area on the side of my knee.  Repeatedly.  Since I was only in the 3rd mile, there wasn't much I could do about it except tell myself to suck it up and keep going.  It hurt for a few miles, but after the 6th mile, I stopped feeling it.  It may be that I just didn't focus on it anymore, but it may be that I just outran it.  Who knows.  Either way, it didn't stop me which is what's important.  

At the finish, Ryan was waiting, which made me 100x happier that I had made it.  I'm not a crier, but if there was ever a time when I was going to be, it would've been that.  Seeing Ryan at the finish made me happier than running the entire 9 miles.  The final result was, if I might say so, awesome.  I came in at 1:34. The total length of the course was 9.3 miles. And, in case you're wondering, no I didn't come in dead last, there were some people behind me.  Looks like my next race might just be a half-marathon.  We'll see.  In the meantime, here are some awesome pictures.  Enjoy!

Race course courtesy of Charity Miles.  ASPCA got my miles, which makes me happy because  Nala and Stella were both rescues.

Pre-race: I don't know what I was looking at.  Obviously not the camera.

Action Shot!

Finished! We all came in seconds apart, all at 1:34.  Notice the bulge in the pockets. That's why I wear that jacket.

Ryan met me at the finish.  Thanks love!

Playoffs Round Two!

Last Sunday the Pats played the Texans and, of course, won.  Was there ever any doubt really?  So this weekend, in fact, today, we are playing the Ravens. I expect to win again, but you never know.  A small part of me hopes that we don't because the growing trend with the Patriots seems to be, win all the games up to the Superbowl, and then lose the big one.  Twice in recent years they went to the Superbowl and lost to the Giants, so if they end up there again, they really need to break that streak.  Seriously, who else goes 18-0 and THEN loses? But, it's more than I could ever do, so I suppose I can't be to hard in my criticisms. The Bruins also had their home opener last night, so it's been a nice sports weekend all around.
This morning, as it is Sunday, I went for my regular 8:30 a.m. group run in Wakefield.  We have been slowly increasing the mileage each week, so today we did 5 miles. The time wasn't too bad either, just under 60 minutes.  I always feel like I'm running wicked slow, but then I check the time at the end, and it's pretty much on point with every other time I've run.  I don't know what it is about the lake that makes it feel so slow.   There is also a lot of wind today, which doesn't help.  The weather itself if fairly nice, mid-40s and sunny, but the wind is so fierce that it makes it much colder than it really is.  I do enjoy the lack of snow, but I also hate that it seems like it's not January.  When there's snow on the ground and it's 20 degrees, you know that it's the middle of winter and that Spring is coming.  When the weather pretends it's already Spring, it throws everything off.  I want to see baseball games and go out in short-sleeves, but then I remember that it's only January and there's still two months until baseball even starts again!
But anyways, back to the running.  A few posts ago I mentioned the Great Stew Chase,  the 15K in Lynn.  Some of us had discussed signing up and when we were going to do it.  We had settled on waiting until the day off and seeing what the weather was before committing to anything, because really, who wants to run in the snow?  However, it seems that one person forgot about this and ended up registering the other day. Then I felt bad so I registered for it too. I didn't want to leave one person alone to run the whole race. Even though she's much faster than I am and will probably end up far ahead of me anyways.  So, that's it.  I am officially registered for a 15K.  That's 4 miles more than I've run so far.  And probably at least 3 more than I'll be able to get in before the race.  Because the race is in 2 weeks.  Actually, it's on Superbowl Sunday. Which brings us back to the beginning of the post, which is, the Patriots better make it to the Superbowl.  If they can make it that far in their season, I can make it through a 15K.  Plus, after 6 miles, what's an extra 3 really?  I'm sure it will all be fine.  I'll let you know if it actually is though.