I REACHED MY FUNDRAISING GOAL!!!

With my fundraising event over and done with... I have REACHED... and PAST... my fundraising goal of $4,000.... I can not thank everyone ENOUGH. The overwhelming emotion of reaching such a large fundraising goal, through over 100 donations from all walks of my life, really makes me appreciate the friendships I have with all of you. Your support means more to me than any of you will every be able to understand... You are all what keeps me going!

Donations are still welcome though ;)

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/stephanieannwalker/boston-bruins-foundation-2013-marathon-team#.URAKyoMMji4.facebook

Boston Beatdown Cornhole Tournament

Here are a few pictures from my fundraising event to support the Boston Bruins Foundation!

The Winners and Runner Ups!

I want to thank everyone SO much for coming out.... old friends, new friends, and even strangers. You all helped create such a memorable event.

I must also thank Mike, from bostoncornhole.com for reaching out to me on twitter to get this whole event rolling. He did an awesome job, and I will definitely be recommending him to anyone looking for an easy, fun, fundraising event!

Also- The Baseball Tavern were GREAT hosts and helped make the night run smoothly :)

Recap: http://www.bostoncornhole.com/home/funforeveryoneatthebaseballtavern


But don't worry.... I still got a run in, in the morning!

The BIG. LAST. LONG. Training Run.

Earlier this week I received an email from the Bruins Foundation Team inviting us to participate in a trial 21 mile run of the actual course. I was a little hesitant as I didn't know anyone else on the team... wasn't fully confident in my ability of running the 21 miles, and over all just nervous for what I may find out about myself during this type of run.

So Thursday night I attended a fundraising event for our Marathon Team at the North Star, and was able to talk my new friend Andy into joining me (it's always exciting for me when new friends are willing to come out and support.. although, maybe he knew there was the basketball game there and was just looking to beat 104... next time Andy.. next time).

Here I was greeted with open arms by the Boston Bruins Foundation Interns, and was able to meet a couple of the other runners.  One in particular, Brittany, a full of life girl, who has run the marathon before for the Foundation. Her pure excitement in her voice and attitude when she spoke about her first experience, and telling me some of her back story, really finally got me excited for the marathon... I wasn't all nerves now... there was a peep of excitement coming out of me. The Foundation made us, or at the very least me, finally feel like I was actually doing something.  They greeted us with new long sleeve shirts and sweet Bruins baseball caps (in which Andy molded my brim to perfection), and had Blades walking around making us feel like we were the celebrities of the event. I mean, Blades and I did become best friends. He even moved the larger than life picture of Seguin out of my view of the Bruins game on tv.

So Friday night comes along and I make sure to make a heaping portion of pasta, and drink lots and lots of water... and get myself into bed for 9:30pm.. and I must admit, it was not a good night of sleep... the amount of nerves running through my body wasn't normal. I'm not exactly sure what I was nervous about, but I felt it in every bone on my body. When my alarm finally did go off around 5:30am. I jumped right out of bed and started pacing around my apartment. I knew I needed to eat something, but I wasn't hungry. I tried to eat an english muffin with peanut butter, but could only finish half of it. Great, I thought, this isn't going to get me through this entire run... Think like it's marathon day Stephanie... Think like it's marathon day! As much as I tried, I couldn't eat anymore... so I drank some water... took some tylenol and packed my icy hot and got in my car and headed to Spaulding Rehab, where we were meeting up for the bus ride out to Hopkinton.

Upon arrival, I have to say, I was a little intimidated. The Spaulding team all knew each other, each others progress, and how everyone was doing. I haven't trained with anyone at all during this whole process... each run has been just me, against myself. 

After a couple minutes another girl from my team showed up, Katie. She was extremely nice, and it was great to have someone to talk out my nerves with on the bus out to Hopkinton.  Along the way out to the start line, I learned that she's run a couple marathons before, and is a pretty good runner (she will definitely be beating me come marathon day), but she is also extremely humble and down to earth. We were both able to chat with some of the Spaulding team members who had run Boston before, and were giving out friendly advice about different portions of the course. The most helpful was probably learning that the first mile is really all downhill, and to take it a little slower than you would normally think to do it. 

Upon pulling off the highway, which I have to say, I felt like we were on 90 west for the longest time, if anything, just being on the bus for the ride out was great practice to know what that will be like come April 15th. But anyways... as we got closer to the start, all I could see were buses and runners with excitement written across their faces. This was real. I was in Hopkinton, about to run 21 miles on the course, that in a few weeks I'll be running with even more thousands of people, with a common goal of "finishing Boston" in our minds. 

I didn't really know what to do with myself... I nervously chatted it up with one of the Boston Bruins Foundation interns, which as a side note, were part of what got me through this training run. These girls were fantastic.  College interns, waking up early on a cold Saturday morning to come out and cheer us along a  PRACTICE run. They were so reassuring, and so positive in their "you'll do great" comments. Knowing they would be out along the course, I knew I'd be looking forward to seeing them in the coming hours. 

I met another one of my teammates, and when he asked what my pace was, my response was "slow"... I knew I had a lot more nerves than I thought. I'm a competitive person, and don't like not being good at something... but I also knew I needed to take a good hard swallow and get over that notion... no one here was judging me or my pace... we somehow were all in this together and everyone wasn't going to let you fail.

Once I took a deep breath and calmed myself down, watched a few big groups take the leap and start the run, I decided it was my turn. It was now or never... I put my gloves on, checked my watch, turned on my headphones... and it was go time. 

I heeded the warnings to take the first mile a little slower, and found myself in a good rhythm for the first third of the race. I kept telling myself I wouldn't walk until the next mile... and then I'd get to the next mile, and find that I was still doing okay and would make it to the next mile before walking. This happened almost up until mile 8 or 9 before I finally gave in and let myself walk a little. My shins were on fire. The one training error I made was not doing a lot of training with hills. Although I look at it two ways... 1) I train with hills and have more knee pain or 2) I don't train with hills, have healthier knees, and just deal with it on race day.... I've gone with option 2. 

Finally reaching one of the water stations that had the Bruins Foundation Interns, I can't even tell you the excitement I had seeing them. They were so encouraging and smiling and cheering for us as if it were actually the marathon day.  These girls definitely kept me motivated. 

The coolest thing throughout this whole run was the sheer mass of people out doing the same exact thing I was doing. We were all prepping for what will most definitely be one of the best days of our lives. No matter who passed you, or you passed everyone was in great spirits and giving out encouraging words to keep you going. Having fast runners pass you telling you to "keep it up" may seem like a small thing, but when you're on mile 12, it's a nice thing to hear. 

I'm still in awe over the amount of people, not only running the trial run, but also the amount of volunteers out at the many, many, many waters/food stations along the way. The best sign was at the 11 mile marker where college kids were definitely outside having a party for us, DJ and all, screaming encouragement at us all...

So excited to see the words "Taper"

When I got to mile 17... my legs were jello. I hurt all over, and knew Heartbreak Hill was right around the corner... just waiting to crush my soul. The thing about this part of the race, is not that it's hilly, but that it's mile 17-21... and probably one of the more crowded areas of the course. When I made my right to the first of the 4 hills... I knew it was going to be a struggle. Was I ready for this? It was only another 4 miles until the end of the training run, but did my body have what it would take to finish?

I found myself playing leap frog with a couple different runners... and as much as I was struggling and in pain... I knew I wasn't alone. Even though my training has been no one more than myself, I was finding strength in these complete strangers, who were most definitely sharing the experience of Heartbreak Hill with me. We didn't have to speak to each other... our leap frog game said it all.... I'll run this part... then you catch up... and we'll switch. 

When I finally reached the top of the last hill... I was overcome by emotion. I didn't really know what to do with myself. Because, here's where I had what most people call "a moment of reflection"... I was standing at the end of my longest distance and time of running in my entire life. This was a HUGE moment for me. And I was proud of myself. I couldn't believe I was standing where I was at that very moment. And this was the moment this race truly became real to me, and truly became extremely personal. 

On February 1st when I got the phone call that changed my end of winter/beginning of spring plans; I didn't really know what I was going to find out about myself.  For a girl who has gone through so much, in not only my immediate history, but in the last few years as a whole, I was finally doing something for "me" and just "me". When I told my best friend Shana this, her response was pretty telling in just, "finally".  When I cross that finish line on April 15th, and I WILL cross that finish line, I already know it'll be one of the most meaningful moments in my entire life... and I can not WAIT to feel that. 

For once, I will have a meaningful memory not tied to anything that's not permanent in my life. Even just thinking about this moment that's coming up so soon, emotion rushes through my entire body. 

After I got home, I was on a different level of happy... even if my legs were in pain and needed ice. I was happy... and my smile only grew when I opened the mail and found my runner's passport. 

Boston Marathon 2013... I can't wait to meet you.

Bootsie helping me ice...

This was like heaven for my legs..

St. Paddy's Day Weekend...

Talk about a busy little weekend. Last night I met up with some of my friends for a little happy hour that ended up having me out a little later than I initially intended, but it was a good time and some great conversations.

When my alarm went off though, I knew I had no choice but to wake up and get going. I had a Bruins game later in the afternoon, a brunch to make beforehand, and then my preparations for St. Paddy's day.

Definitely an early morning...

The run itself actually felt really good.. and because I was in a time crunch to make sure I got it in, I didn't take any pictures throughout the run.  Although there would have been plenty of great opportunities to.  I chose to run along the Charles River today out to Cambridge, and the marathon was becoming even more real to me. 

Running along the Charles is always a relaxing yet inspiring run for me, and a lot of emotions constantly go through my mind along this route. I use to bike this path every day to go to and from work when I first moved to Boston, and it's always so crazy to think just how far I have come in so many different aspects of my life, and it just seems every time I find myself along the Charles, a million and one memories come back to life. 

SOOOO many people were out along the river, all in full training running gear, and so many different groups of people.  I knew from passing and getting passed by others that there were a lot of people out, but it really was put BAM in my face at one of the only intersections I went through today. As I waited for the crosswalk to change, more and more people started lining up waiting for the walk sign.  It's an added motivation to see so many others in the city up early for a long run. 

I do have to thank the stranger who ended up being my pace setter for a couple miles without even realizing.  They ended up being some of my faster miles... it's encouraging that I still have moments of improvement and not plateau. 

I really can't believe I'm up to 18 miles... next weekend is the LAST long run before I start tapering... I can not believe I'm almost to that point in the training... when I first started my training program I was so scared for these long runs, and here I am doing them... and almost being done them... It leaves me speechless. 

Now I can continue this crazy weekend of Southie fun... knowing I got 18 miles done. :)

I really didn't want to...

I did NOT want to get out of bed this morning... I really didn't. I was comfortable, it was chilly outside, and I've just gotten to the point where I am over the cold and snow. But I did it. I got up and set out along the Harborwalk towards Harborpoint.

It wasn't the best run, or the most motivating run for me... but let's have the pictures speak for themselves... because this view is exactly what makes the early mornings worth it.

The sun is on its way...

Absolutely gorgeous..

Up... BRIGHT and early..

When waking up this morning... I knew it would be a decent run... it didn't matter if my legs were going to feel good or not, the sun was shining bright, and the temperature reading on my phone didn't match what I was feeling in the sunshine.

Today's mileage was 17 miles... and I didn't quite know where I wanted to go, so I ventured out towards the Garden and past MGH. I was out on the road much earlier than normal, but I was hoping to get a text during my run from my friend Matt letting me know that one of his tickets opened up for the Bruins v. Flyers game... but I didn't have such luck... but anyways. One of the things I love about early Saturday morning runs is that I know every other runner I see out there, is most likely training for some sort of long distance race of their own.. if not the Boston Marathon just like me... The views coming over the bridge back into the city from making my way out to Somerville and back were just so refreshing... 

I can't wait for the snow to be OFF the sidewalks and melted into the rivers/oceans

Overall the run felt pretty good.. as with all my distance runs so far I have moments of feeling really good and other moments where I question if my body is going to make it... but... I'm getting there... the miles just keep on adding up, and somehow I am able to finish each one I set out to do.

As I'm adding on more miles, I'm working on what I do throughout the week to figure out what will feel best on my knees for the long run on the weekend, but without over/under doing it.

Deck of Cards Workout

So there's this little workout group in the area called "The November Project" which is a group of people who meet throughout the week early in the morning to do a variety of workouts (all for free). They range from runs, to doing the stairs at Harvard Stadium, to the Deck of Cards workout. I haven't joined the group [yet]; or been to any of the group workout sessions [yet]. But I did want to take a crack at one of the workouts I knew I'd be able to do in my apartment.

I ended up staying at work a little later than I had planned, and with my knee/muscle finally starting to feel better/normal. I decided icing and one last day of resting it would be a good thing. BUT I wanted to get a workout in of some sort... even if it was just a TON of push-ups and sit-ups.

So here's what it is:

"The “Deck Of Cards” workout will be done as a group by flipping over one card at a time from a shuffled 52. Each card has a value. All black cards are pushups and all red cards are situps. Simple. 2, 3, 4, to 10 are pretty easy to figure out. Jack 11, Queen 12, King 13, Ace 14. Super simple. Pretty hard work as the deck goes on. Intense for core, arms, and general toughness."

It doesn't sound like it would be that bad... until you flip over four black cards in a row and they are all above the number 7.

This is my 'my body is jello right now' face and I just did 14 push-ups and just flipped over my fourth high number in a row... can I pick a 2 or 3 for once?!

So many high cards in a row...

But I got it done... and am already feeling it [it's been a little while since I've done push-ups and sit-ups in that amount... in a row.]

And of course I still finish with a smile... obviously... my last card was a red 2.... 2 sit-ups.. noooo problem

Tomorrow's Distance: 5 miles and a Bruins Game :)

Friday's Distance: Rest

Saturday's Distance: 17 miles.

Extra Rest Day

Due to the continuing pain in my knee and muscle... I'm taking an extra day to ice, ice, and repeat.

First Feel of Sunshine...

After an extremely fun day/evening of a Bruins win, reconnecting with old friends, meeting new friends, and great times... I woke up with the mindset that I needed to get my distance run in. It's really come down to a state of mind for me. I can't say I ever pictured myself waking up on a weekend and thinking to myself... okay I need 3 hours to get my run in... not once would I have ever thought that. [not to mention this training has become much more of a time commitment than I ever thought it would be, but I know it will be worth it].  But I come to look forward to my long runs.  People always comment about my long runs stating they think they would get bored or simply couldn't do it.  I think they'd actually surprise themselves. I find I'm able to go into the depths of my mind... analyze everything that is going on in my life... and return to the scenery around me without much more than a few blinks of my eyes.

Heading out for my run, I wasn't sure how my body was going to handle it... but I knew it HAD to be done... there wasn't really much of a question, just more so a curiousness to how it would go, but the sun was shining and it felt nice to not be super bundled up.

I tried to tell myself to slow my pace down to be able to withstand the running parts longer... but of course I ended up running some of my faster splits for longer runs... my first three miles were all under 10 minutes... my third mile even being 9:14.... alright SLOW down Stephanie.. you have 13 more miles to go.

I headed down my normal route towards Summer Street and down to Atlantic Avenue... from there I decided that today I would run along the Charles until I hit my half way point and then I would turn around.

I did love seeing the sailboats out along the river...

Even though it doesn't look it the sun was shining..

After the first few miles I could definitely feel my knee start to bug me a little, but I did as everyone keeps telling me and let my mind take over my body... I'm telling you... it's ALL a state of mind [remind me that on Marathon day please spectators] This is when I escape into my mind and think about everything BUT my knees hurting.  This works most of the time, but there are times I had to stop and stretch out my legs in hopes to try and alleviate the pain.

Throughout the run, I didn't think it was going as well as my prior weekends 16 miler... and I was even more parched than I thought I would be... I felt like survivor trying to ration out my two little water bottles throughout the whole run. 

[hello Boston Parks & Recreation... we're all out here running, can we turn on the water fountains along the river now please?]

When I finally was counting down my last couple miles, I was happy to see that I had actually cut my time down by 2 minutes... but boy... did my knees hurt by the time I got out of the shower and sat down on the couch. Definitely going to take a rest day tomorrow.

Tomorrow's Distance: Rest Day

Tuesday's Distance: [in question due to knee pain, and the feeling of some muscle in my left knee feeling on the verge of being strained or pulled]

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words...

Beautiful Sunrise at 6:45am Saturday Morning

Due to needing to get into work early to get some additional work done... and then an all day Boston Bruins Game Experience.... but mostly because my knee is still extremely sore, I took today off and plan to run my 16 miles tomorrow morning. As I said I'm working to stay away from any serious injury.