Hey everyone!!!! Well, the race went wonderfully! But let’s begin at the after you last saw me, shall we. Stacey picked me up at 10:00am (after getting pulled over -that is another story). We drove to the Boston Common where the race starts and finishes. We met up with Roselyn there.

I was so cold this morning, but the weather warmed up to about 55 degrees, thank goodness. We walked around a little and then got ready to run. We went back to Stacy’s car to take off the layers. While changing, I snacked on a berry Green Superfood bar.

It was good, and kept me going all race long .

I decided to line up with the 10 minute mile runners because I wanted to start slow. My last race I started off too fast and paid for it later. Right before lining up I had to go to the bathroom so badly!!!!! With less thank 7 minutes until start time, I stood in line at the Porta-Potty, worried about whether I would miss the start of the race. But, I knew that starting with a full bladder was a recipe for failure. Luckily, I got finished right in time and got to the starting point without a hitch with seconds to spare.

This race is so empowering! It is actually the largest all women’s race in the country. 7,000 women ran this race today. A women in front of me had a shirt that said, “Follow me, After 33 Years, I Know The Way!” She had run the race EVERY year that it existed. There is a group of women that ran it the first year in 1976 and come back every year to run it together. AMAZING!!!! Just listening to all the stories and being there with all these other women committed to a healthy lifestyle is so emotional.

Once I actually got to the start line, which took over 2 minutes, I was feeling inspired and excited! The first mile, I took it slow when I hit the 1 mile mark, I saw “12:09″ I knew that I had waited for a while to get to the start line, so I was right on target. I picked up the speed a little. At the second mile I was “21:12″ and knew that if I wanted to make my time of 57:00 I had to speed it up just a little.

At the 3 mile mark, Beautiful Day by U2 came on my playlist. It made me think about how much I was enjoying the race. It was sunny and beautiful out and I was running with 7,000 other women…wow! Then I thought about how far I have come and how hard I have worked to get here. I realized how much I amaze myself with my dedication to my healthy life style. I took a few minutes to enjoy the moment and patted myself on the back. As my mind was working, I got interrupted by someone yelling my name. I looked over and saw my dad waving!!! I had no idea he was going to be there. Just seeing him there supporting me made my eye fill with tears. I wiped away tears for the next 1/4 of a mile.

The whole race I felt great! I think that starting off slow and being hydrated correctly made all the difference. At mile 4, I saw “39:02″ and I knew I was making good time, I actually yelled out, “Hell yeah!” I was feeling a little tired but knew I could totally make my time! I was moving right along, around mile the 5 mile mark I “48:10″ I thought to myself, “A little more than a mile left, girl!!!!!” I picked up the pace, I was feeling so much better than I could even imagine. Loose Yourself by Eminem came on and I knew that I was right on target. As I saw the finish line approaching I was so excited. I crossed the line with a total of “57:13″. I am so pleased with my time!!!!! I felt so accomplished!

I loved this race and will run it again next year. If you are in the Boston Area, this race is so awesome, you will love it.

Once crossing the finish line, I saw Roselyn and my friend Ashley waiting for me. It was so great to have people to celebrate with. After checking out my exact time to make sure I knew what it was, I inhaled a banana.

I also had a little bit of Dunkin Donuts coffee.

Roselyn and I looked for almost an hour for Stacy. We were so rushed (since I had to pee) at the start that we never said where we would meet up. Look at all the people we had to comb through.

We finally found her and left. In the car I had some sparkling juice I got at the expo.

It was just ok, I am not a huge juice person. When I got home, I went up to thank my daddy for his support (honestly, that was the best surprise ever!) My mom took pictures of me. Sweaty mess!!!

Here is the the back with my Operation Beautiful note. So many people told me how much they loved my note! One women said she was running behind me and loved seeing it! Don’t you love OB?!

After talking to my mom, dad and grandpa, I went home and showered. I was CRAVING a burrito. I had the next best thing in my freezer.

This a new Amy’s meal, it you like Mexican Food…BUY THIS!

I had a handful of grapes after too, because they just looked so good!

and…they really were. Well, I am going to hang out with Oscar and Adam and relax. I had such an amazing day, I am literally on cloud 9!

See you guys later!

***** Edited to say: I can’t believe I forgot to mention this but, a few people came up to me and recognized me from my blog! SO EXCITING, RIGHT?! If you are reading this…Hi, Ladies! I also had Janel recognize me from Twitter! Hi, Janel, it was great meeting you!