Boston .... heartbroken!

For so many people, Boston is the Holy Grail of races.  You have to post some times that make my head spin thinking about ever being that fast, and for 26.2 miles.  Runners train for MONTHS to race in a marathon.

But this year, the Boston Marathon ended in tragedy and heartbreak on so many levels.

• Heartbreak....for those lives lost too soon, and their families left to grieve.
• Heartbreak....for those injured in the blast, and the recovery they face.
• Heartbreak....for our running friends that didn't get to cross the finish line.
• Heartbreak....for the entire running community and their families!!

The only heartbreak that should have been in Boston yesterday should have been "Heartbreak Hill".

I'm at such a loss, sad, and downright angry!!  So I took my anger and sadness to the pavement! 

I ran in silence.  Just the sound of my feet on the pavement.  I ran past our flag at half mast.  I ran for 2.62 miles for Boston.  I ran with the images of a little boy in a white suit that was taken from this world too soon. 

RunJunkees - Virtual Run - Runners United to Remember

RunJunkees quickly put together a virtual run to both honor the victims and display unity in the running community.  The Facebook event can be found here with more details. There is no cost for this virtual race - just print out the race bib (found here) and run or walk, any distance, any amount of time!

 All I can do is continue to pray for everyone affected by this tragedy!!  I love my running family!!

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler - April 7, 2013

Well, after being "off" for months, it's time to get back on the horse (aka road)!!  I signed up for the lottery to this race long before my stress fracture and nagging hip injury!!   So after being good and not running per doctors orders, and completing my physical therapy, I'm cleared to run again.   Most likely my doc and physical therapist are not thinking "Hey, go run a 10 miler right away", but it is what it is!   I've decided to tackle the 10 miles instead of switching to the 5K.  I just like distance running (well, maybe I do)!!  At least I was going with friends, so I wasn't going alone :)

Met up with some RFRC friends at the Expo!

I decided to get a hotel room since this was an early morning DC race!  As an added bonus, Rose came up from NC to run with me, and we were able to go to the RFRC Pre-race dinner meet up!  So much fun meeting up with others that I had only met through the online group, and great seeing those I had met at MCM back in October!
 

RFRC Dinner Meet Up

Race morning was cold, really, really COLD!!  And the wind just made it even worse!  This is a Spring race, right?  The Cherry Blossoms were barely out for the race this year.  Even they were too cold!!  So we hunkered down and waited until it was time to head to the Start Line!

Crystal and Rose shivering!

My goal for this race - just FINISH !   And I did just that!  I actually ran the whole 10 miles after being off for months, and only getting a couple short runs in beforehand.  Crystal stayed with me the whole race, which is probably the only reason I didn't stop.  I finished in 1:43:11 (10:19 pace).  Definitely helped me regain some confidence that I could handle long distance running again!

 

Some of the RFRC Group after the race!

This was a nice race around the DC monuments!  I definitely enjoyed the scenery!  Just hope that if I do this race again, it's a little warmer :)