Tedy's Team Group Run - 10 Miles

20 degrees with Real Feel 9 degrees. Checking out the weather last night I wasn't allll too excited to be running in the freezing temps. BUT after missing the group run last week since I was in New Orleans, I was happy to be running humidity-free. ;)

My Tedy's Team running partner Meg usually gives me a ride to the run, but she was sick this morning. Her husband, Joshua, who usually runs with us as well still came to give me a ride. I felt so bad. It wasn't necessary, but he had to get Meg coffee anyway. :P

I got dropped off about 7:40am which gave me plenty of time to stretch before we left to take the train at 8am. It was great to see all the familiar faces after missing the 16-miler the week before.

It was a rainbow sock kind of day & yes I still have my RnR Timer thing on :)

Today was what we call a “Riverside” run which means we took the T from Kenmore Square to the Riverside stop and then we run the 10 miles back to Boston., including Heartbreak Hill.

While on the train there was a little incident with a stranger who seemed to be pretty homophobic. You can read about it here.

We arrived at Riverside, hit up the much-appreciated bathroom and hit the course. I was going to try and take it easy today since I knew the sidewalks could be covered in black ice with the recent snow/rain.

It was great to be back with the group. Plus catching up on two weeks of life really helps to pass the time. I did come prepared today with headphones in case I ended up by myself again.

I was relishing in the weather. It was cold, but it was really the wind that was painful. There wasn't humidity though so I was happy.

Mile 1: 9:07 Mile 2: 8:50 Mile 3: 8:46

I felt like I was working harder than my pace was showing. I wasn't sure why, but made sure to continuously check in with my body since Heartbreak Hill was coming.

Mile 4: 8:51

Around 4ish we hit the water stop, which meant I got to see the always smiling Margaret. She is one kickass lady, who is out every week manning a water stop and encouraging all of the runners. She is part of Team Casey, which is a big big part of Tedy's Team.

Oh and she was rocking the Boston Marathon colors in Gatorade.

After a quick regroup, we headed back on to the course to Finish our date with Heartbreak Hill. Again for anyone that doesn't know, Heartbreak Hill isn't one hill it is a series of rolling hills.

Mile 5: 9:17 Mile 6: 9:05

I turned to Sara and Cristina as we approached the final hill of Heartbreak and said: "Okay ladies let's make this our b&#ch!"

And that is exactly what we did. :)

Once we dominated Heartbreak, the run was all "down hill" from there. I usually say it is down hill from here once you hit the half way mark of a run, but not when we do the Riverside run.

Mile 7: 8:42 Mile 8: 8:47

We had our second and final water stop at Mile 7.9. It is great being able to run water belt free and having the opportunity to chat with our Coach mid-run.

I think I got a little extra pep in my step as I knew we had just two miles left. My legs started really waking up and were ready for a little speed to finish it out. Plus, I popped in my headphones and started rocking out to some sweet Disney tunes.

Mile 9: 8:27

At Mile 9.5 I saw the amazing folks of Blue Trailer were out at their usual post. I hadn't seen them in a couple weeks since I was out of town. It is always fun seeing familiar faces. I met Molly (owner) and her crew at one of the first Boston Marathon long runs.

She has a nice water stop, snacks and a fun sign.

Since they were out of tequila, I opted for a munchkin. :)

It was just the little extra I needed to finish out the run.

Mile 10: 8:31 Final 0.25: 2:00

The weather warmed up as we ran, which made the time out there more enjoyable. As a whole the run felt great. It did make me realize I need to get back to hill repeats and cross training. I have gotten lazy since the Dopey Challenge and this lit the fire under my booty to buckle back down.

Now it is time to plan out the rest of the week's activities and prepare for next week's 16-18 miler!

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Week 9 Workouts:

Sunday, February 2: Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Half Marathon

Monday, February 3: Walking Around New Orleans/Being A Tourist :)

Tuesday, February 4: REST DAY

Wednesday, February 5: REST DAY

Thursday, February 6: REST DAY

Friday, February 7: 5k run

Saturday, February 8: 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?