Tag Archives: Marathon

My BQ Quest

Leave a reply

bos_a_starting_line_d1_576I started this post called “My BQ Quest” back in March of 2011 and did nothing other than enter the title in my drafts folder. Now, September 2013, I’m finally filling in the story.

In March 2011 I ran my third and fastest marathon finishing in 3:45. Weeks after that race I watched the Boston Marathon and started to think about training for a BQ race. I was 10 minutes off from the 30-34 age group qualifying time and the goosebumps I’ve always gotten watching the Boston Marathon started to sync up with an obsession that one day perhaps I could run the race. But I never told anyone that’s what I wanted to do. I hadn’t made the obsession real because I hadn’t said it out loud. And I hadn’t said it out loud because I lacked the confidence that I could actually run a qualifying time. Continue reading →

The Race is the Reward | Charles Street 12 Success

Leave a reply

Race morning in Baltimore

I’ve had this thought in my head for some time now: the race is the reward. I’m not sure too many people would argue this. While I genuinely do love training, the race is the payoff. I love everything about a race from the general camaraderie of runners to the contagious enthusiasm at the start line to the post-race satisfaction of having finished. But my recent results from the inaugural Charles Street 12-Miler in Baltimore have me on such a high that this post is now very timely. Continue reading →

Too Hot for 20

Leave a reply

Today I was supposed to run 20 miles. When I looked at the hourly weather report last night, it was to be 81 degrees at 6 a.m. and up to 90+ a heat index of over 100 by 9 a.m. I hoped to be home by then. I left the house at 5:52 and within my first steps I felt dehydrated. By the first half mile my four frozen water bottles were thawing out. And within the first three miles I had decided I would reevaluate my run at a certain point in my route at which I could return home early or stick it out for 20 miles. Continue reading →

The Week Before the Rehoboth Beach Marathon

Leave a reply

The week before race day is many ways the most critical part of training. It is the final opportunity to stay healthy, make smart diet choices, get plenty of rest, follow the last days of tapering in the training plan, mentally prepare for running 26.2, and depending on where the race is, to handle getting race day gear prepped in advance. The things that happen on the week leading up to race day can certainly affect race performance. Continue reading →

2011 Marine Corps Marathon: Pregnant 26.2 Miles

Leave a reply

About a year ago this time I made the realization that there would never be a “right time” to start a family and told my husband I was ready to try. This was significant because in March of 2011 I had run a PR marathon and was mentally and physically preparing to try for a BQ (Boston Qualifying time) at the Marine Corps Marathon in October. I was pretty sure that if we got pregnant before that marathon I would have to change my goals and expectations. And that is exactly what happened. Continue reading →

What is it about 26.2?

2 Replies

My husband and I were arguing one night about the reality of my being able to train for a 26.2 once we had our baby. The issue is not so much whether I am capable of training to run the marathon distance but whether or not we can figure out the family balance. I would like to be able to train with the support of my husband and ensure the new baby is not neglected. Details and marital differences aside, his opinion was that 13.1 is a perfectly reasonable distance to manage as a family and he ultimately asked, “what is it about 26.2?”

Continue reading →

Has Anyone Seen My Speed?

3 Replies

I swear I was fast. At least, for me, in my age group, for my distances. I spent a good chunk of time and effort working on speed and got to a very comfortable place this year where my ‘slow, easy’ run was at 8:40, my 5k pace was near 7 minutes and my other mid-distances paces hovered somewhere between 8:00-8:15/mile. But alas, I seem to have regressed back to a 9 minute pace and just logged a long run averaging 9:15/mile. This rut, if that is what it is, is both frustrating and enlightening.

Continue reading →

Race Recap: 5k & Marathon Weekend–LPRM

4 Replies

When I found the Lower Potomac River Marathon online the first thing I did was email the race director to make sure there was still room in the field. She wrote me back almost immediately confirming they still had space and I was quickly hitting ‘submit’ on Active.com. This event was featured in the March issue of Runner’s World and in the part where they write ‘why run it’ the answer is “for the simple things.” And they are spot on with that reason. Continue reading →

Race Recap: 5k & Marathon Weekend–St. Patrick’s 5k

Leave a reply

A sure sign that spring is here is when weekends start filling up with races. In my case, it just so happened that I had back-to-back races in one weekend. I have had weekends where each weekend I’m racing but never before I had done one event on Saturday immediately followed by an event on Sunday. Though this was not my original intention, I’ll start off by saying that it resulted in two PRs so I’m not complaining! How did this happen and what were the races you wonder? Continue reading →

On the Other Side of the Cup

Leave a reply

In any race I always make a point of saying ‘thank you’ to the volunteers. Volunteers are critical for making a race successful and for making the runner’s experience positive. They provide everything from security to safety to organization, signage and the all-important water stop. A couple years ago I volunteered for the Zooma Half Marathon in Annapolis and worked the gear check station which was a great orientation to the ‘behind-the-scenes’ component of an event. Now I can say I have been on the other side of the cup having completed my first water stop volunteer experience.

Continue reading →