Not Bonking Before Boston

Let's keep things simple.  I am not extremely fast.  I've only run for little more than five and a half years, and raced for less than two.  There's seven half marathon medals hanging from my medal hanger.  I've only completed one marathon; I have another on the way.  I desperately want to qualify for Boston in the next couple of years and it annoys me when people say, "I qualified for Boston without training."  As if the cherished Boston Qualifying time is really no big deal and those of us slow runners are clearly doing something wrong.  I am happy for people that are naturally fast.  But I am not.  So, what does it take for a normal runner like me, going from a 4:25 finish to a make the 3:35 cut off?   I am going to have to work my tail off, and perhaps my addiction to cookies, in order to achieve my biggest dream of running the Boston Marathon.

Here is where I've come from:

I'm 29.  I am a mom of two hilarious and energetic boys.  Colorado has been my home since birth and I can't imagine living anywhere else.  (Although a lower elevation and less hills would definitely have their perks.)    I started running when my oldest son Ethan was born.  Before that, I was a history teacher.  And before that, I was a hiker, mountain biker, skier, student, and gymnast.

Fast forward to March 17, 2012.  I finished my first 5K in 30:30.  My goal was to finish and hopefully not walk too much.  A month later, I finished my first 10K, a trail race, in 62:05.  Only a week before this race, I ran 6 miles for the very first time.

During the summer of 2012, I ran a series of three duathlons in the run/bike/run format.  I won my division twice and placed second in the other.  Racing duathlons taught me it was about running a smart race.  Everyone else took off really fast, while I studied my watch and paced myself based on previous winning times.

Within one summer, I took my 5K pace down to 25:03.

September 2012, my husband joined me to run my first ever half marathon.  We crossed the finish line together and I couldn't have cared less what the clock said.  I ran 13.1 miles.  Booya!  (We finished 2:01:49.)

After my first half marathon, I ran 3 more to finish off the year.  Last year, I set a new half marathon PR of 1:52:06.  I never hit a wall during that race and I felt like I had more in me when I crossed the finish line.

My first full was the 2013 Colfax Marathon where I finished 4:25:17.

Exactly one month before the race, I bought a new house, moved, caught the flu while moving, and found out pleurisy is not a medieval disease, but a very current and sadly blistering side effect from respiratory infections.  One week after being diagnosed, I ran my first and only 20 miler where I puked my guts out in front of a horrified 5 year old boy.  

Here is where I am going:

This year, I turn 30 years old.  I will have known my husband for half my life.  We have been best friends and each other's biggest advocates since 15 years old.  This is important because without his support, I would doubt myself constantly.

My youngest son starts preschool this August, which will allow me the opportunity to train harder.  I currently wake up at 5:50 every morning and run for an hour or more until my boys wake.  While I never regret a sunrise, running later in the day will help vary my running routes.   

The Colfax Marathon is May 18, which leaves me 16 weeks to train for my goal of finishing in 3:58.  This is a huge jump in time, but I am much stronger and faster than I was a year ago.  My average pace jumped from 9:40 down to 8:30 in the last six months.  I follow the Hansen's Marathon Method very closely and believe in the method equally.

If I can finish Colfax in sub-4:00, I will start training for faster half marathon times this summer, I need around a 1:43 to feel confident.  Then I will continue my speed training and tempo runs at a 7:30-8:00 pace and try really hard not to bloody my knees.

Boston is not unattainable.  It is a lot of work.  I wasn't born with quick feet and standing at 5'4", I don't exactly have a long stride on my side.  I'm not an elegant runner, I typically fall flat on my face a few days before every race, so that I toe the line with scabs.  But who says I am not capable of working just as hard as all the other qualifiers?  I visited Boston for a family vacation two and a half years ago and while walking the streets I told my oldest son, Ethan, "Someday, Mommy will be this fast." 

~Roadburner

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