Boston Marathon 2019

It looks like this chapter of my running story has come to an end. I finally ran the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2019. It was the best experience of my life and I hope to return to Boston again in the future. 

The Boston Marathon is like no other. I can't even begin to explain the hype behind it. Everything from the City of Boston, the people in Boston and the marathon course support is unbelievable! 

If the Boston Marathon is not on your bucket list you need to add it. It is worth all of the hard work to get there!

THANK YOU BOSTON FOR MAKING MY DREAMS A REALITY!

Qualifying for the Boston Marathon

Well I finally qualified for the Boston Marathon! I qualified at the Revel Mt. Charleston Marathon on April 28, 2018 with a time of 3:39:52. This puts me in a pretty good spot to get into Boston 2019 since I have a buffer of 15 minutes and 8 seconds.

This was my 12th marathon and although it was not the perfect race, it was definitely a good day. Never in a million years did I think I would run under 3:40. This time around I really worked on believing in myself and staying positive which made such a huge difference.

Registration for the 2019 Boston Marathon is on September 12, 2018 for me. I can hardly wait to experience my very first Boston Marathon which I will run for the experience. I will not set any goals related to my finish time. I just want to take it all in and enjoy my dream marathon without any pressure. This Brunette is finally Boston Bound!

BOSTON 2019 HERE I COME! 

The Rejection Email

Well here is the official rejection email. I am so glad the wait is over! The official cutoff time was 2:09. I missed it by almost a minute (57 seconds to be exact) so I wasn't even close. I think I would have felt worse if I would have missed it by a few seconds. I am sure there are some people in that situation.

I had my doubts about this from the beginning but I had to give it a try since all of the predictions for the 2017 cutoff were looking at under a minute. The fire has definitely been lit but I am not sure what I am going to do at this point. The good news is that the qualifying standards for 2018 will remain the same and I know I have it in me to run a marathon in under 3:55. I have done it plenty of times. I just have to want it a little bit more.

Congratulations to everyone who was accepted into the 2017 Boston Marathon. I respect every one of you and wish you the best! You earned it!

BOSTON  MARATHON 2018...I AM COMING FOR YOU!

My Thoughts on the 2017 Boston Marathon

Today I submitted my application for the 2017 Boston Marathon with a cushion of only 1:12.  I wasn't a bit nervous about getting accepted until I received this email. I was actually on the fence about even submitting an application because I felt (and still do) that the chances of being accepted may not be in my favor.

An acceptance email would be a dream come true but if not I will always be proud to say that I ran a Boston Qualifying time. I want to thank everyone for their support, encouragement and friendship for the past 6 years that I have been running. I have met some pretty amazing people to say the very least. Without these people believing in me, I am not sure if this opportunity would even be here today.

I am also so thankful to Chiara who did an amazing job of compiling data, number crunching and race analysis on Name That Boston Marathon Cutoff. She kept us all hopeful and even encouraged me to submit this application in spite of being in the (super) squeaker pack.

Until then, I will keep my fingers crossed and remain as positive as I possibly can! Good Luck to everyone who has been accepted and those who are applying in the next week! 

Let the Waiting Game Begin!! 

I Hired a Running Coach

I haven't done a race recap on Mountains 2 Beach Marathon because it was such a bad experience that I am trying to forget about it for now. I know that finishing a marathon is a huge accomplishment but I just feel like I threw away what could have been a good race for all of the wrong reasons.

Those last six miles of my last marathon included a lot of walking and a lot of thinking too. Most of those thoughts were not very positive. I was in a lot of pain and I allowed myself to fall apart mentally on a very high level. I gave up and that should not have happened. I should have been able to hold it together better than I did. After running six marathons, I should have handled it differently. I walked away from that marathon feeling pretty defeated. I don't think I have ever felt that low after a marathon and that changed me. Pain changes you.

I questioned myself on so many levels and decided that I really needed to get myself together and start working towards a goal and running smarter. My biggest goals by far are to qualify for the Boston Marathon and stay injury free so I can eventually get there in one piece. I don't think I have ever trained at a level that was going to get me there. I have been enjoying running and in the back of my mind I always wondered if the thrill of running goes away once you get that BQ. 

I decided that it was time to start preparing myself and working towards my goals. I have worked with a running coach in the past and I have always been my own coach. I write my own training plans by piecing together different parts of cookie cutter plans. They have worked for me and I make them fit into my busy little schedule but I just knew that something was missing. I also told myself that when I made the decision to get serious I would consider hiring a running coach. I wasn't looking for a coach to babysit me because it is my job to keep myself accountable to my goals. I hired a coach because I wanted someone to: help me improve my running performance, evaluate my running history and design a proper training plan that minimizes my risk of injury and for the support, advice and motivation needed to help me achieve my goals.  

I shopped around and asked all of the relevant questions that a runner should ask when hiring a running coach and finally found one that I feel comfortable with. My coach is out of state so our interaction will be via email, phone and Training Peaks where all of my training is uploaded and reported. My coach has given me my training paces, goal race times and my first two weeks of workouts which start today. We will be doing a lot of things differently so I am excited and nervous all at the same time. Coach knows all about the hip issues I have been dealing with and we are going to work on building me up through strength training which I haven't taken too seriously.

With these changes and challenges ahead, I am hoping to get back to blogging and sharing more information and updates on how my training is going.

Do you have a running coach or have you ever worked with one?

What have you found to be the most beneficial part of hiring a coach?

Please share your experiences both negative and positive.

So What Is Next For Me and My Goals for June?

Now that I have unexpectedly come closer to that BQ, it is almost a given that I must continue to chase it down! I have had some time to digest my last marathon and start thinking about what I want to do moving forward. I am a little over four minutes away from a BQ time of 3:45 but in my mind that is a huge amount of time to shave off of a marathon time. Yes, the doubts are trying to settle back in. Was it the course? Did I just have a good day? Is that the best that I can possibly do? Will it ever happen again? It's almost like I need to sign up for another marathon right away while it is still fresh in my mind. In all honesty, I am looking towards Boston, 2015. I don't think it's going to happen for me in 2014. I am sure it is going to be a lot harder to get into Boston, 2014 even with a qualifying time based on what I have been reading.

After thinking it through, there are still lots of things that I need to improve on before I attempt another step towards that elusive BQ. I need to train even harder and I would not say that I have completely owned those last 6.2 miles quite yet. I still struggle in the end but I have improved a heck of a lot since my past two marathons. I think the last 10K of my third marathon is what I am most happy about. I was comparing my pace during the last 6 miles of the three marathons that I have completed and it was kind of embarrassing how I completely died in the first two. I gotta work on that!

I have some other marathons in mind but have not signed up for any as of yet. There are so many marathons that I want to run but I have to find the right one. I usually go race crazy on National Running Day with all of the discounts that are offered so hopefully I don't pull the trigger too soon! I really want to try some out of state races but I am hoping to get one more local marathon in by the end of the year to keep me familiar with the distance.

 

So what are my goals for June?

1.  Get back into running and stay in "marathon ready shape."

2. Continue to run 25-30+ miles per week. Starting next week since this week is a easy, get back into it week.

3. Train a little bit harder and make every mile count towards my goal!

What are your goals for June?

Do you have plans to run a marathon this year? Which one?

I am looking for an easy course to get closer to that BQ! Does an easy course even exist?? Probably not!

A Run For Boston...

Last night I dedicated the first 4.09 miles of my run to those who feel victim to the horrible acts in Boston. Please continue to pray for those who were injured, lost their lives and for those who are broken over such a terrible and senseless act of violence.

 

Pray for Boston Marathon

I am heartbroken and so deeply saddened by tragic events that took place at the Boston Marathon today. Please stop whatever you are doing and say a PRAYER! I am keeping all of those and their families who were affected in my prayers.

What is this world coming to?