Weight Off My Shoulders

Dark ... Cold ... Raining ... Windy ... Overcast. All of those were building up against me and the training run this morning.

My alarm went off at 6am this morning and as I heard the rain outside, I thought to myself - "Just skip it. You can run 8 miles later today or tomorrow."

Then a picture of my grandparents appeared in my head and out of bed I jumped.

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I am running The Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013 with Tedy's Team IN HONOR OF my stroke heroes - my grandparents.

Both of my grandparents have suffered strokes and Tedy's Team is here to raise money for the American Stroke Association, while also teaching the masses about Strokes, especially the warning signs.

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Thankfully I lay all of my clothes out the night before so getting ready this morning was quick and out the door I went.

The 15 minute walk to the train served as a time to acclimate myself to the rain/cold/wind ... yay?? :P

After a short train ride, I was at FitCorp waiting for the rest of the group to join me.

What I love about the group runs besides having people to run with :P is seeing so may dedicated people putting their time and resources into raising money for a good cause. There are about 5-6 charities that take part in this group run so it is a great way to meet people in your own charity group, but others as well.

Plus we can all suffer through the conditions (snow last week and rain this week) together!

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We headed out at about 8am for either a 6, 8 or 10 mile run depending on where you are in your training. Since I did 6 last week, I decided on 8 for this week.

I ended up being the last person to hit the course since I was waiting for my Garmin to acquire satellites. Darn buildings! :P

John (our coach) and Zack (our awesome Tedy's Team Leader) were at the 3 mile mark with water, Gatorade and encouraging words to keep going. Thanks guys!

It was basically the same course as last week (up Beacon St and back), which allowed me to better pace myself since I KNEW there was a nice BIG hill waiting for us at the end (near the State House).

I felt good during the whole run besides some slight twinges of pain in my right hip and knee. I'm really hoping with some stretching and foam rolling that will go away.

But, it was great seeing so many runners along the course and chatting with a couple different people alone the way. Since this was Week Two, we are starting to recognize each other, which is great!

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My Garmin was slightly off at the beginning of the run, but worked itself out (somehow) by the time I made it back to FitCorp.

I was worried with the hill at the end again, but I every time I face a hill I am thankful for the leg strength from Spinning, Body Pump and Pure Barre that helps propel me up. Each hill I encounter now gets a little more doable/manageable (I refuse to say easier because no hill is easy to me).

I'm pleased with a 8:35 min/mile pace, but I need to work on slowing my long runs down to closer to 9 min/mile (aka marathon pace).

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I'm so thankful for this team experience thus far and honored to be a member of Tedy's Team.

If you are interested in making a donation, please feel free to do so here.

I appreciate all the support! :)