Valentine's Day Run

Well, I was up at 5 am again yesterday to head out to Tufts. I'm getting pretty good at catching the T and then taking the bus out to Medford. I didn't get lost for once, and made it out there by 7:15. At 8 am, runners gathered outside the Cousen gymnasium to begin our long run. The course was 11 miles and then there was an additional 3 mile route we could add on to make 14 miles. This would be the most I had ran yet, and I was determined to complete those 14 miles. I was surprised to find that every three miles the coach had parked his car and had water, gaterade, bananas, jellybeans, or whatever else runners might need along the route. I had never run this hill that started around mile 4, but it was honestly bigger than the one from the Stew Road Race last week. It went straight up at a steep incline, and then a gradual incline for a a good mile or so...at least you can always look forward to running down the hill. I stopped for a quick cup of gaterade after that one.

I didn't know the course, and at one point I saw no one in front of me. I came to a fork in the road and looked behind me to motion to the a girl which way I should head. I followed her instructions and headed down a hill. A few minutes later she caught up with me and said that she had pointed in the wrong direction. She was also new to the course. So we trucked back up the hill together..I guess at that point you can only laugh it off. My body wasn't hurting yet and I soon learned we had only three miles left of the 11 mile route. I talked to this girl as we ran and it went pretty quickly. She is an undergrad at Tufts and this was also her first marathon. Because of her shin splints, she decided not to run the extra three miles after we completed the 11. Fortunately, there was a girl ahead of me with a GPS in her watch so we would know how much more we needed to hit 14 miles.

I got new Mizuno gloves this past week which are supposed to send heat to your hands...ha this is a far cry from the truth. My hands were so frozen I couldn't even put my iPod ears back in when they fell out. This caused further complications when my shoe came untied. When I stopped to tie my shoe, I couldn't do it, so just kept running to keep up with the two other girls. Then, I realized this probably wasn't the best idea and I really should tie my shoe. I told them to go ahead and I would catch up. Well, what should have been a simply hand movement took a good couple of minutes. It was so frustrating! Loop, swoop, pull..it should be this difficult! By the time I got it, I lost site of the other two girls. I didn't know where I was, but I knew the general direction I needed to go to get back. I also knew we had only one mile left when I stopped. I ran around a neighborhood for a while, until I saw someone walking their dog who pointed me in the right direction of Tufts. Eventually, I made it back to the main road that led to the gym. I am really good at getting lost EVERY time I come here. It would have been okay, but when I got frustrated and wasn't sure where I was, I slacked on my form and the outside of my knee was in a lot of pain. I should have stopped running, but I was determined to complete the 14 miles. Eventually, I saw the gym and made it back to our starting point where the coach was there with other runners. On a positive note he had heart shaped candy and gave me bananas to take home so they wouldn't go to waste. I was extremely happy to have completed my goal...but in a lot of pain. I iced my knee yesterday and today, but it is going to take a good couple days to recover from this one. I am still walking pretty stiff-legged.

I wanted to run more this weekend because I will not be running in the long run next week. Next Sunday, I am competing in a Miss Massachusetts local, Miss Boston. Some of my family and friends are coming in town for the show..including my mom and grandmother! My roommates and a few of my friends from Boston are also coming to watch. While I didn't anticipate competing this year, I soon realized that I missed performing, could use the scholarship money, and loved the MAO too much to take a year off. I auditioned in January with a five minute interview and my talent and was one of the 19 contestants chosen to compete. Because of limited time and space, I think they felt that 19 contestants would be easier to work with than the original 28. Now, I just need to catch up on my school work and recover my knee from yesterday so I will be ready to go by this weekend...heels and all.