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! 

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.

My Plans for that BQ!

 

Over the past month or so it is so motivating and exciting to read all of the blog posts from those who has been accepted into the 2014 Boston Marathon. Just seeing all of these posts really gets me motivated and thinking about my dream to someday run the Boston Marathon. I don't talk about this subject enough because to be honest, it scares me to death! The whole purpose of this blog is to document my journey to qualify for the Boston Marathon so I should probably talk about this topic more often than I do.

I did mention that my goal race for my attempt at a BQ will be the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon on May 25, 2014. I chose this race because I really like the course and race day weather was perfect when I ran it earlier this year. I also like that it is a smaller race with about 1500 other runners. Big races are a little overwhelming for me. I prefer a smaller crowd since the whole experience seems to be a little less chaotic. I like that the crowds are thinner at the expo, getting to and from the start is much easier, and securing a hotel room is also easier even if you do it at the last minute.

I started training for the LA marathon a couple of weeks ago so training for my goal race will kind of overlap. I want to allow myself 20 weeks to train for this race just in case life happens and I have to skips some long runs. I will use the LA Marathon as a training run to keep myself familiar with the distance and to gauge where I am at. The fear of the distance also seems to settle in when I don't run 26.2 miles a while. I never feel like it gets easier so I feel like I have to stay with it yet be careful not to push myself into an injury.

I am not sure what training plan I will follow but I know that I want to get back to doing speedwork. I am currently about 4 minutes away from my qualifying time of 3:45 but I know that my qualifying time will not be enough to get me there.  I pretty much need to run about 15 seconds faster per mile based on my current PR. Running 26.2 miles at an 8:30 pace is easier said than done but I am going to give it my best shot.

I don’t have a back up plan as of now should I fail to BQ in May. I guess I am trying to stay positive for now but I am sure that as the time gets closer I will start to formulate a back up plan which may include hiring a running coach. More than anything, I don't want to put too much pressure on myself. I love running and I want it to stay that way :) I just have to believe that one day it will happen for me!

Any suggestions on training plans?

Any suggestions on a good running coach in the Southern California area? 

What about an on-line coach?

Call Me Crazy!

I have always wanted to run some type of race on my birthday but it never seems to work out that way. My birthday is in September and I usually run the Disneyland Half Marathon every year. It has never fallen on my birthday and this year the race will be held on August 31st. The tradition of running the Disneyland Half Marathon since 2010 will most likely be broken this year because I found a local race that will be held on my birthday!

The Ventura Marathon will be held on September 7th, 2014. The race director thinks I am kind of crazy but so do a lot of other people! Registration opens on October 28th so I think I am going to ahead and sign up for the full marathon. The full is $70.00 and the half is $50.00. I might decide to drop down to the half marathon depending on how my year goes. I think it safer to sign up for the full since lots of runners registered for this race at the last minute this year as a final attempt at a BQ for Boston, 2014.

I am also thinking that this race might be my last and final attempt at a BQ for Boston, 2015. I am hoping that I meet my goal of running a BQ in May, 2014 but you never know how a race is going to pan out no matter how hard you train. Wouldn't it be the best birthday ever if I actually gave myself a BQ for my birthday?

Have you ever ran a race on your birthday?

Weekly Recap (7/8/13-7/14/13) and My Plan for Selecting a Marathon

This week we caught a small break from the heat and even got a little bit of rain. It was still humid out there so my runs were confined to the indoors again but my long run was done outdoors of course. This week I pushed myself a little bit on my shorter runs to get myself ready to push the pace in my upcoming 5k on July 27th. I definitely forgot what a 7:30 pace feels like..yikes! My quads are definitely getting a run for their money on my cross training days. I can really feel it but I like it!

Monday: Cross Trained at the Hotel Fitness Center: 30 minutes on bike

Tuesday: 7.2 Mile Tempo on TM@8:21 pace

Wednesday: Push ups (3 sets of 10) and a crappy plank (1:10). I need some work in both of these areas! It has been a while!

Thursday: 7.5 Miles on TM@8:29 pace

Friday: REST DAY

Saturday: 20 Miles@8:28 pace. This was a tough run for me! I kept the first 7 miles easy and then I pushed myself the last 13 miles. I avoid obsessively looking at my Garmin and just try to run by effort. I know that I will never make it to Boston if I don't step out of my comfort zone to see what I am capable of. Boy was I was feeling it after this run. I was wiped out for the rest of the day and my legs were feeling it too. They were fine the next morning with no soreness or pain. Next week I will take it down to 15 miles and slow the pace way down.

Sunday: Cross Training Day: 30 minutes on the bike trainer

TOTAL MILES: 34.7

Now about that marathon...This week I will try to decide on my next marathon or whether or not I will even run one this year. I am not looking to BQ this year since I cannot run a time that will guarantee me a spot for Boston, 2014. I am really looking to run some courses that I think are optimal for qualifying for Boston in 2015. I would rather run the course to familiarize myself and then decide which one is best to attempt a BQ. I am kind of nervous to just show up and blindly attempt it. I am weird like that. I want to know what I am getting myself into and I think I will be more confident if I am familiar with the course. I am almost 100% sure that I will run the Mountains 2 Beach marathon again in May, 2014. I think I have a good chance to BQ there if I train properly. I like the course and I know what to expect.

How was your week?

 How many miles was your longest run?

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!

Mid Year Check on My 2012 Goals

Most of us have Running Goals that we are constantly striving to meet but there are a few that stay on our running radars.  As for me, I haven't met any of my goals this year due to my injury. There are seven months remaining in 2012 so I am trying to remain positive/optimistic that at least one of my goals will be met. Me, positive? I know.  Positiveness is something that I have been lacking the last four months or so.  I am definitely trying to move away from that attitude and I am sure that it will fade away as my running improves.

The main goals that I want to remain focused on in 2012 are as follows, but in no particular order:

Goal One:  Run 1200 miles.  Right now I am at 239 and I should be at 500.  Not so good, right? I am hoping to put in at least 100 miles a month from this point forward so this year may be more like 950-1000.


Goal Two: The BIG ONE....Qualifying for Boston. This one is probably not going to happen this year since I have no marathons lined up to get me there! CIM is still weighing heavily on my mind but I am 90% sure that I won't attempt it this year. I have a few other marathons in mind but no solid decisions as of today. Boston is going to have to wait for me a little while longer.


Goal Three: Run a Sub-Four Marathon.  I think I need to accomplish this one before I accomplish Goal Two, right? I think there is a chance that this could happen later this year if I am feeling marathon ready. If not, it will definitely happen in 2013!


Goal Four: Run a Half Marathon in under 1:47. I feel most confident about this goal.  My half marathon PR is 1:47:43 so I am about 44 seconds away from accomplishing this goal. The only problem is that I need to work my way up to an 8:09 pace at this distance. Right now I am no where close.

Goal Five: STAY INJURY FREE! I blew this one big time! I think this injury has taught me: a) how to be a smarter runner b) to listen to my body and c) to take a few days off when things don't seem 100%. I get it now. Believe me, I do!!

How are your 2012 goals coming along? How do you hold yourself accountable to the running/fitness goals that you set for yourself?

One of the most important things for me is to set goals that are realistic and achievable. Blogging and logging all of my workouts are great ways of holding myself accountable for my goals. I log all of my workouts in Daily Mile, whether they are crappy or great. You can follow me HERE!  Checking my progress keeps me on track and puts me in check when I am falling behind or losing focus.

Beating the BQ!

I guess it is kind of obvious by the title of my blog that my ultimate goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon and actually get accepted to run it.  I was looking at an article on http://www.baa.org/ which announced the 2012 Boston Marathon Qualifier Acceptances.  I was interested in the stats and the qualified times that were accepted for 2012 and here's what I found:

Source

After reading this, it really woke me up and made me realize that a BQ is simply not good enough!  I need to exceed the qualifying time in my age group in order to even be considered!  Only those who had a qualifying performance of one minute and 14 seconds or better in their age group made the cut! WOW! I guess there are lots of disappointed people who did not get accepted this time around.

What did I get out of reading this article? Well, I now know that I have lots of work hardcore training to do and must rethink my whole plan on how to get to Boston in my lifetime! The BAA has raised the bar on the qualifying times for 2013 by five minutes which is going to make it tougher than ever. I guess the only positive  on my side is that I am kind of on the older side so I get a little more time than most of you!!

I know that many of us have our eyes set on Boston for 2013 or sometime in the near future. So tell me...

1. What is your plan for getting your BQ or should I say beating your qualifying time?

2. What do you think is a safe time cushion needed to get accepted to run the much coveted Boston Marathon?

3.  If you have already ran the Boston Marathon, how close was your actual BQ time to the actual qualifying time required in your age group?