Tedy's Team Group Run - 10 Miles

Sometimes you run the miles and sometimes the miles run you.

This will be the theme of today's run.

I woke up from an uneasy night of sleep feeling off. I had spent too much time eating pizza last night to lay out my clothes and get my stuff ready for today's run. So I woke up late (6:45am) and spent the first 30 minutes of my day running around the apartment locating my necessary cold-weather gear for the run.

I also still stuffed from the night before (darn you yummy Pizzeria Regina pizza - I had 3 slices - oops!) so I didn't want my normal pre-run food. I settled for 2 slices of toast with Better'n Peanut Butter on top. I chugged down 24oz of water and my toast in time for my ride (Meg and Joshua) to arrive at my house.

As we drove to Kenmore Square, I thought I would be happy if I could knock out the 10 miles in 1:30. We arrived to Joint Ventures in plenty of time to get in some extra stretching and foam rolling before we all headed to the T.

There was a woman there that turned to me and said: "I'm just going to show up each week to see what socks you are wearing!"

I'll take that as a compliment. :)

Now, you may be wondering why were we heading to the T. Because today we had a Riverside run. Which means what you may be asking.

We take the T to the Riverside stop and run the 10 miles along the marathon course to take us back to Kenmore Square. The only tough part is the T ride out there, which plays on the legs a little since they are all warm from the stretching.

I hadn't tackled this run before since I was out of town in Disney when the first one took place a couple of weeks ago. We unloaded off the T, hit up the bathroom (which was huge) and headed on to the course.

It only took about a mile or so to be back on the official Marathon Course. I hadn't been to that park since April 15, 2013 and I quickly realized I would be doing this run alone. I needed to use the surroundings as inspiration. So I thought back to the energy and excitement I was feeling on that day.

Mile 1: 9:02 Mile 2: 9:19 Mile 3: 9:16 Mile 4: 8:45

We were supposed to have a water stop around Mile 3.5, but I never saw it. I was nervous that I had somehow missed it, but I hadn't It instead was at Mile 4.4. Phew! I needed a hit of Gatorade and water. Plus, it is a joy seeing Margaret's smiling face each week. Especially as I told her I didn't want to do this anymore and she reminded me that next week I would be running in New Orleans. Yes ma'am I will be. It was the pick me up I needed as I turned to my left and realized we still had a good portion of the rolling hills of Newton - aka Heartbreak Hill - left to go.

I bid Margaret adieu and turned up the tunes. Thank goodness I put my iPod shuffle in my jacket pocket pre-run. It is still loaded with awesome Disney songs from Dopey Challenge. :)

Mile 5: 9:23 Mile 6: 9:29

Here is where we can tell I tackled the biggest of the Heartbreak Hill hills. I just kept repeating to myself "You are stronger than you think you are" and "Finish what you f#%*in' started." And it worked. I put one foot in front of the other and knew once I got to the top of the final hill, it was all down hill (no pun intended) after that!

Mile 7: 8:59

And Mile 7 returned to flat. :P We hit our second water stop at Mile 7.9 and again it came as a nice break. I had a little chat with our coach John about how I was feeling, which was needed and helpful.

Now he thought our run would be closer to 9.2 instead of 10, but we figured out his previous calculations were a little off. The run as you will see was 10-ish.

As soon as I ran off from John I caught one of my favorite magazine covers in the Marathon Sports window.

Mile 8: 9:03

After the Garmin buzzed for Mile 8, I knew I was approaching the homestretch. Once again it came to a mental game. I always have the psych myself up for the final couple miles. But, I knew my legs were ready to let loose a little bit...

Mile 9: 8:49 Mile 10: 8:41

... and it showed. I love taking the final couple miles through Brookline, down Beacon St and towards the iconic Citgo sign.

It really makes me appreciate the chance to run through such an amazing city like Boston.

I hit the 10-mile mark just before Kenmore Square and decided to walk the last 1/4 a mile or so to Joint Ventures.

I enjoyed the cool down walk and was ready for some stretching. It is great having the resources we do at Joint Venture to stretch and foam roll before and after the run.

And if you remember I wanted to complete the 10 mile run in 1:30 or less and came pretty darn close to it. I hit up some stretching before catching my ride home. :)

Overall, I was happy to have completed the run and know that the tough runs are the ones that make me a stronger person and athlete. Did I just call myself an athlete? I think I did.

I will NOT be at the Tedy's Team Group Run next week as I will be in New Orleans taking part in the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon! :)

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Week 6 Workouts:

Sunday, January 19: Zumba class and walk/coffee date with a friend

Monday, January 20: 56 min Spin class

Tuesday, January 21: REST DAY

Wednesday, January 22: REST DAY

Thursday, January 23: REST DAY

Friday, January 24: REST DAY

Saturday, January 25: 10 mile group run

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Looking To Donate

Are you interested in helping to fight Stroke? Please feel free to click on the link HERE to share a donation. Wondering how much? How about $10 in honor of the 10 miles I ran Saturday with Tedy's Team?