The Boston Marathon 2015: Race Recap

Two months ago I put a giant checkmark over a running career goal to finish the Boston Marathon. It was a long time coming; with years of fitness gaining, making mistakes, learning hard lessons, and bouncing down trails, up hills, and through new adventures with running friends. When I set out to qualify for Boston, I could feel it in my bones. I didn't know if I would succeed, and that was the most satisfying, stomach churning part about it.

Boston is special for many reasons, but for me, this year, this race, was the cherry on top of the sundae. There are a million reasons to run and keep running, but as someone who loves to compete and train at the edge of my ability, Boston made tangible the feeling that I'd made myself into a real competitive marathon racer. Running is a super power, a gift, a curse, an addiction. Boston is Christmas and your birthday all rolled into one. I didn't have the race or trip of my dreams, but I learned much more than I'd bargained for and loved every piece of the experience. It's true what they say: There's only one Boston.

Boston On The Horizon

Hi friends!

I've been exceptionally bad at updating my blog this training cycle, mostly because I've been having so much fun and pushing my comfort levels so hard – it's difficult to take a step back and really look at the life and the body and the fitness I've been building.

I wanted to share some of the lessons I've learned and my general plan to put a little more structure into this magical abyss I often just call "training". To start, I've included a loose recap of the weekly running schedule:

2015 - Coming In Hot!

Holy smokes, February is almost over! These past two months have flown by with training, trips, and transitions. I'm going to do a quick overview of my Q1 thus far and move into a bit of the nitty gritty details of the here and now.

JANUARY

To kick off my initial training for the Boston Marathon and tear away the cobwebs of reduced training from the end of 2014, I self-imposed a 30-day running challenge where I would log at least 2 miles every day of the month. It's amazing what you can learn about your body in just four weeks -- even in the midst of training for my 4th marathon. The aches and pains that traditionally have rest days to dissolve became mindful focus spots in working toward a more edgy pain threshold.

2014 - A Year In Review

The BHM & Cool Runnings

The Berkeley Half Marathon RR

On November 9th I ran The Berkeley Half Marathon after some off and on illness and it was a total blast! My time was not exceptionally special (1:44:30), but I did have an amazing time seeing old running friends, jamming through my old digs in Berkeley (some of my very favorite runs of all-time), and hitting the pavement for a half-marathon distance. I hadn’t run a half marathon race since junior year of college, so I was thrilled that afterward I could still function properly (not the case with marathons).

The Curious Incident of the Runner in Transition

TL;DR
This will read more like a stream-of-consciousness essay than a running update. But if you've been curious, the cathartic writing is here to explain:

The Big BQ: Mountains 2 Beach Marathon Race Recap

This post has been in the works since sophomore year of high school; it has taken me a year and a half to gain base fitness, 11 months to plan, and 14 weeks to train. All this amounted to one very nervous me standing on a start line at 6 AM yesterday morning. This was the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon, but the battle had been fought on the long runs and sore muscles and trial-and-errors and self-doubt and self-reliance of the past 3+ months. The only thing left to do yesterday, I tried to convince myself, was hold on for the ride.

My spectacular family had driven all the way down to Ventura (an hour south of Santa Barbara) with me for this race. My sneaky sister had previously told me she couldn’t make it to this mini-milestone, but, of course, was waiting for me when I walked out of my apartment on Saturday morning to begin our adventure. What a lovely, unexpected surprise! With my parents, my best friend, and my sister all in toe, we made our way down the coast. All the while their high spirits were both hugely comforting and mildly stressful, as I knew I’d share either a great triumph or a relatively crushing disappointment with them in the next 36 hours.

After a six-hour car ride, 2 huge meals, and a whole lot of ‘together’ time, I was at last crawling into a lumpy hotel bed hoping for some restful z’s before my 4 AM wake up. And, naturally, none were to be had.  So after maybe 3 hours of sleep, my gracious mom and I were climbing into the car and heading to the start line. This wonderful lady drove me 35 minutes into the mountains on windy backroads so I could avoid the 3 AM wake up required to catch my allotted shuttle time. How great is my mom? Really though, that’s love.