Running Since Boston

It's been two years since I finished my first marathon and six months since I ran Boston.



Today I went "running" for only the 15th time in the past six months. I use the term "running" lightly because today I actually ran 5 minutes (10:00 min/mi), walked 5, ran 5, walked 5. Nothing stellar, but it was a beautiful fall morning here in Seattle!

Basically, leading up to Boston and directly after, I was very burnt out. I really needed a break from running. So, I've taken a break from running and just been going when I feel like it. I've taken it slow and honestly, it's hard for me to believe I have ever been able to run 8:20 min/mi for 26.2 miles.

While I feel like I went on a great 18-month running kick, I'm really glad to be having a break. I figure at some point later in my life, the bug will hit me again and I'll get back in the habit again. For now though, I'm content with my average of twice a month runs and an average pace of 10:00+ min/mi.

The 2011 Boston Marathon

On Monday, April 18th, I woke up at 4:50am to get ready for a marathon that started at 10:00am. (As a side note, the marathon is on Monday because it is the day Massachusetts observes Patriots' Day.) I had slept pretty well. I think I only woke up once or twice in the night. I also slept in my calf compression sleeves, so my feet were feeling good (miracle!).

I got ready and went to catch the 5:30am hotel shuttle to the "T" (Boston's subway). There were eight other runners with me. When I got to the "T" stop, I ate my oatmeal with dried cherries and chopped walnuts (which I'd eaten every day for weeks) while I waited for Jonelle to come over from her hotel.

After she arrived, we rode the "T" with a bunch of other runners to Boston Common where they bussed us to Athlete's Village (near the start line) in Hopkinton.

It was cold since the wind was blowing pretty hard. We waited in line for our turn to get on the bus. It was pretty crazy to see so many people with bright green bags standing in the cold and waiting to get on a bus.

Our bus left Boston Common right around 6:50am. We arrived at Athlete's Village right around 7:50am. There were a ton of people sitting around. There were also some snacks (bagels, Gatorade, bananas, Powerbars), port-o-potties, and a jumbo-tron. It was quite a sight! I didn't get a picture because I was so cold I didn't want to take my hands out of my gloves. When the sun was shining it wasn't horrible, but the wind was pretty brutal.

We hung out for a while, and then dropped our green bags off on the appropriate bus, went to the bathroom, and then waited for our wave (two) and corral (seven) to be called so we could walk the .7 miles to the actual start line.

Once we made our way to the start line, we entered our assigned corral (which was based on our qualifying time) and then waited for our wave to start. The race started at 9:30am for the elite women, 10:00am for the elite men and wave 1, 10:20am for wave 2, and 10:40am for wave 3.

Running this race was pretty weird. It's probably from my lack of training, but I didn't feel mentally prepared for the race. I'd only run once (on the treadmill at the hotel) during the week before. However, I'd been abstaining from treats (dessert and candy) for the week prior in an attempt to do something else to prepare myself.

Basically, I just woke up that morning and was like, "Okay, I guess I'm going to go run 26.2 miles today." The whole race is kind of a blur because I didn't have every stop mapped out in my mind before I started. I'm normally very much a planner, especially when it comes to races.

Right about the time we were having our picture taken above, my dad and Brian were making their way to mile 10 with balloons in tow so I could easily spot them.

While waiting for me, Brian snapped some interesting characters. This Batman (and Superman, not pictured) passed me up on the course. It looks like he's giving directions even though there's no way anyone could get lost on the course.

An American flag body suit. I have no idea how people run in things like that. I'd feel claustrophobic. And where does one find a suit like that anyway?

Along the route, we ditched our top layers (long pants, hoodie, long sleeved shirt, and gloves for me). There were piles and piles of clothes that get donated to Boys and Girls Club. It ended up being a nice and sunny day that resulted in a sunburn on my arm. I put sunscreen everywhere else, but I was too cold to pull my arms out of my shirt prior to the race.

This picture is from mile 10 when we saw Brian and my dad. It was fun to have a cheering section since I didn't have that at either of my other marathons (Brian ran with me at Chicago and couldn't fly out when I ran National).

One section that stood out to me was Wellesly College. The girls are famous for offering kisses to runners, but I just thought their cheers were awesome. There was constant yelling and cheering for what seemed like a half mile. It's hard to keep a slow, consistent pace with cheers like that! It's a great motivator!


At one point while we were running along, I was chatting at Jonelle and one of the spectators gave us a bad time saying, "You're just going along like it's a walk in the park, just chatting away!" I guess we made it look easy by enjoying ourselves. :)

I definitely enjoyed the first half of the run more than the second half. (I ran the first half at a 9:36 min/mi pace vs. a 11:57 min/mi for the second half.) I started feeling more drained after about the halfway mark so I suggested we listen to music for the last half. I also took an Excedrin and Ibuprofen at some point and that gave me a bit of a boost. I was taking in water at most of the water stops since it was so hot. I also took some gels, but they inevitably gave me a stomach ache about a minute after I took them. I also tried using Lara Bar bites, which didn't seem to bother my stomach, but took more time to chew.

The picture above is from the Newton Hills, which come around mile 16 and ends with "Heartbreak Hill". Everyone talks about how horrible these hills are. We walked them, so it was great for me! But really, those hills have nothing on the hills around Seattle.

We saw Steve and Annabelle around mile 22. Since we were walking anyway, I thought it'd be fun to get a quick picture with Jonelle. Fun!

At some point, I could feel the KT Tape that I had put on at the expo was starting to give me blisters. I had to take a quick stop, take off my shoe and sock and pull the tape off then lace back up and go again. It's moments like that that make me so glad I wasn't racing for a certain time!

When I had about 5k (3.1 miles) left (about mile 23.1), I decided to see how I could do on my own. Jonelle was having a ton of foot and hip pain (not to mention, she has a 13-week-old baby!). Plus, I'd already elbowed her numerous times and tripped her once on the course, so I figured I'd top it off by ditching her.

Brian and my dad were waiting for me around mile 25. After snapping a few pictures, Brian jumped in and ran with me for a minute to see how my foot was doing and then told me they'd see me at the end. I took a couple of walk breaks toward the end because I was getting tired (being on your feet for 4+ hours will do that to you!).

However, as I was coming up on the end, I'd think to myself, "I'm about to finish the Boston Marathon," and I'd start to get emotional. Thinking about finishing each marathon has brought out some strong emotions in me (don't worry, I don't full out cry about it or anything though). I haven't had any other experiences quite like finishing a marathon.

After crossing the finish line, I got my heat sheet, medal, water, a banana, and a bag of replenishing food (chips, bagels, etc). Then I found the bus with my green bag and then walked to the family meeting area to find Brian and my dad. It was so good to have them there!

I put on my compression sleeves, changed my socks, and then we took a few pictures. Then I was ready to get back to the hotel and rest. Later that night we went to eat at Uno Chicago which was right next to our hotel. That's one great thing about running a marathon: no guilt about eating whatever you want when you're done!

All-in-all it was a good experience. It wasn't vastly different from the Chicago Marathon as far as spectator support goes. But there was a constant stream of people handing out orange slices, bananas, gummy bears, licorice, water, Kleenex, baby wipes, etc...

When I think about it, running a marathon is pretty crazy. Basically, I paid over $100 to have some people bus me an hour away and then spent over four hours running back. Insane? Yah, maybe a little. But there is something about the marathon... The day I finish I think, "I'm never doing this again." But the next day...well, that's a different story.

Final Time: 4:46:29 (my watch said 4:46:32)
Pace: 10:56 min/mi (10:47 min/mi on my watch)

Division Place: 4,689 of 5,307

Sex Place: 9,036 of 10,281

Overall Place: 21,818 of 24,338

Total for the Week: 26.2 miles (according to my GPS watch I actually ran 26.55 miles)
Total for the Year: 165.97 miles

2011 Boston Marathon Expo

On Sunday, we went to the Marathon Expo to pick up my bib number and my packet. The expo has a bunch of running related vendors that give demonstrations and/or free samples as well as things for purchase. There were also some speakers and panels. I think the expos are pretty fun, actually. We spent quite a bit of time walking around there and Brian was my personal paparazzo during the event. :) We also were able to meet up with Steve, Jonelle, and their baby, Annabelle at the expo and then again later for a pre-race Italian dinner.

It was a little overwhelming walking into the expo. I had the "I can't believe I'm running the Boston Marathon tomorrow" feeling.

Here I am picking up my bib. ID is required!

Then, onto get my packet which had some samples and my marathon shirt.

2011 Boston Marathon! You can try on your shirt and then switch it out for a different size if you want. It's really great that they have that option.

Brian and my dad talked me into getting the official 2011 Boston Marathon jacket. I'm glad I did or else I would have felt really left out at the airport on Tuesday when all the other runners were wearing theirs!

My dad and I were listening to a lady talk about ionic bands or something like that.

Brian got his picture with Dick Hoyt who pushes his son in a wheelchair during races. There were a lot of running "celebrities" there including the editors of Runner's World Magazine and Danny Dreyer, the founder of Chi Running.

I'd been having problems with my right foot for a while, including while walking around the two days prior to - and during - the expo. Luckily, while I was at the expo I found a miracle cure. Seriously. I had the KT Tape guys tape my foot which helped (but ended up causing some blisters). But the real winner was the calf compression sleeves I tried. I tried three brands while at the expo and the 110% Play Harder brand was amazing. After only trying it for, literally, seven minutes, my foot didn't hurt anymore. I was sold! It was such a blessing, too, because I was pretty stressed about how I was going to make it through the race with my foot pain.

After we got home, I set out all of my things so I'd be ready to get out the door by 5:30am the next morning!

Boston Marathon Training - Weeks 13 and 14

This picture is from the 2nd time I saw a pair of ducks on one of my runs. I just keep wishing I'd see a goose standing next to them. Wouldn't that be great?

Well, the race is coming up and I'm definitely not as well prepared as I have been in the past. I leave on Thursday morning and I'm kind of in panic mode since I have a kid's birthday party on Monday, a bridal shower on Tuesday, and Wes' birthday party on Wednesday. Not to mention I have to run, pack myself and the kids for the time I'm going to be gone, and figure out what to pack to run in so I'm not freezing while I wait for 4 hours for the race to start and blah, blah, blah.

Somehow this race sneaked up on me even though I've been planning on it for over a year now! Honestly, I'm looking forward to coming home next week and having this race behind me. Finishing it has been in the back of my mind for SO LONG (basically since before I ran my first marathon). However, I am looking forward to it. There's nothing (that I know of) quite like the feeling of seeing - and then crossing - a marathon finish line. For me, it's been sort of emotional since I put so much effort into the training process. Granted, this time my training's been different (lacking), but I've had to get over some major mental hurdles for this one.

I'm glad for my other marathons that I was fully trained and prepared for. I have some really good memories and feelings to draw from when I run (walk?) this one. This has been a rough training road, and I've been dealing with some injuries/pains, but I will never regret doing it. I'm so grateful I don't have to worry about a time this go around. I just get to enjoy everything the Boston Marathon has to offer. And I've heard it's pretty awesome.

Wish me luck! (Just that I can finish and have fun.)

Monday, March 28th: 9 miles at 10:48 min/mi
Thursday, March 31st: 3 miles at 10:00 min/mi (focused on HILLS!)
Saturday, April 2nd: 2 miles at 11:01 min/mi (focused on hills again)

Monday, April 4th: 11.76 miles at 9:46 min/mi
Saturday, April 9th: 2.67 miles at 11:56 min/mi (more hills again)

Total for Two Weeks: 28.43 miles
Total for the Year: 139.42 miles

Boston Marathon Training - Weeks 11 and 12

The last couple of weeks have been interesting with running. On the 14th I just did not feel like getting out and running. I think it was because Brian flew out for an overnight trip that morning and I just wanted to take him to the airport to spend time with him instead of going running. Whatever it was, I had a really random - let's say, reflective - run that Monday. I wasn't mentally committed to my long run that day (which was supposed to be 18 miles) so when it was raining a little bit hard, I called it quits.

By Wednesday, I was having some shin splint issues much like I did when I was training for the National Marathon. I guess it's not surprising since I am technically over-training. However, I didn't worry too much about it until I did 30 Day Shred the next day. I could only get through about half of it without seriously feeling the pain in my left leg. I decided it was a good excuse to take a couple of days off.

On Monday, I wasn't overly optimistic about what was supposed to be my 20-mile long-run. I went out and was having a lot of shin split pain again, but found when I would Chi Run (essentially falling on my forefoot instead of my heel) it took the pressure of my leg and felt much better. However, I didn't feel strong enough to sustain that for very long. Again, I decided taking the week off would be in order. I'd rather finish the marathon than not be able to run at all because of an injury.

On Saturday, I went out and planned on going 5 miles, but I miscalculated my distance (again!) and ended up going 7.5 miles. I'm glad I did though, because it took me the first half of the run to get warmed up, but I really enjoyed the second half and felt like I could have kept going. I definitely feel more "me" and "in the zone" during those times. I wish I could harness post warm-up runs like that from the moment I step out the door.

Also, I got my registration card yesterday so I can pick up my packet in Boston. It's coming up! I have no fears about finishing the race, I just don't know how long it will take. It's hard to believe that just over a year ago I ran 8:20 min/mi for 26.2 miles.

Monday, March 14th: 4 miles at 10:17 min/mi
Tuesday, March 15th: 30 Day Shred
Wednesday, March 16th: 5 miles at 9:53 min/mi
Thursday, March 17th: 30 Day Shred

Monday, March 21st: 6 miles at 9:42 min/mi
Saturday, March 26th: 7.5 miles at 10:16 min/mi

Total for Two Weeks: 22.5 miles
Total for the Year: 110.99
(I should have gone .01 more miles this week!)

Boston Marathon Training - Week 10

It's official. I'm going to cross this finish line. I have a plane ticket (leaving a month from tomorrow!) and lodging and my dad and Brian are even coming for fun and moral support! I'm starting to get excited again.

This past training week was pretty amazing. I went running four times, including a 15-mile run and it felt really good. I think the reason this week I was able to just get out and do it is because I finally had a set time to go and someone to watch my kids. My new ward at church does this great babysitting co-op where you watch up to five kids at one time for three hours twice a month. You get tickets for the kids you watch and you can cash those in for your own free time. It sounds a little confusing, but it's been the greatest solution for my issue of when to run.

It's been a really great getting out and running again and having a purpose. It feels more "me" and it feels good. On Monday I did my long run - in beautiful, partly sunny weather - to free up my family Saturdays. It also works out great since the race is on a Monday.

On Wednesday, my 3-miler turned into a speed workout as I sped through the rain because of my concern that I'd soak my iPhone. On Thursday, I threw in a Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred workout because I figured I could use some cross-training to avoid injury since I jumped right back into long runs and a speed workout.

On Friday I miscalculated my distance and ended up running over my planned five miles. On Saturday, I was going to do four, but cut it back since I'd overrun the previous day.

Have I mentioned I love running here? The current temps are ideal for running. I don't get nearly as worn out as I did when I was running in Charlotte over the summer. Plus, I'm loving the flat Burke-Gilman trail. Of course, sometimes there are giant hills to go up and down to get to and from the trail. But that's good for me since there are some decent hills on the Boston Marathon course. I'm excited to cross that finish line!

Monday, March 7th: 15 miles at 10:07 min/mi
Wednesday, March 9th: 3 miles at 7:49 min/mi
Thursday, March 10th: 30 Day Shred
Friday, March 11th: 5.86 miles at 9:16 min/mi
Saturday, March 12th: 2.75 miles at 9:16 min/mi

Total for the Week: 26.61 miles
Total for the Year: 88.49 miles

Boston Marathon Training - Week 9

When I moved to Utah for college, I missed the water the most. I am loving where we live. A short 1.3 mile walk, jog, or run from my house is Lake Washington with a great running/biking path that extends for 27 miles. If I run just over 3 miles in a different direction, I hit Green Lake with a paved running path that's about a 2.8 mile loop.

I love water: seeing it and drinking it. And yep, even the rain!

Wednesday, March 2nd: 20 minute biking at gym
Saturday, March 5th: 7 miles at 10:34 min/mi

Total for the Week: 7 miles
Total for the Year: 61.88 miles

Boston Marathon Training - Weeks 6, 7, and 8

This picture is my new excuse. Moving and unpacking has been my life for the last couple of weeks. I figured it counted as "cross-training" since I went up and down the stairs a hundred or more times, often carrying boxes, bookcases, dressers...whatever. So I figured I was working my leg muscles.

I did get to the gym twice (since our YMCA pass isn't expired yet), but I get so bored running on the treadmill, I ended up just walking and watching the 2nd half of a show on The Food Network. (But again, I was moving my legs!)

I also planned on going running on President's Day because Brian had the day off, but he was up puking the whole night before and seriously needed some sleep. I got a lot of work done on the blankets I'm making for the kids' beds though! (See? I'm full of excuses.)

On Saturday though, I got out and really ran. We all got out the door by 7:40am to go to Brian's basketball game at the church. Then, I had him drop me off at Greenlake so I could meet up and with two ladies from my new ward. I had him drop me off so I'd have no way to get home (just over 3 miles) except by using my own two feet. I ran 2 laps around Greenlake (SO nice to have people to run with!) and then I ran (and walked) home. They ran a few more laps, but my legs were pretty tired given the serious lack of running I've been doing. Not to mention the pace was in the 8:25 range for those two laps, which is a lot faster than what I've been doing. (It was SO cold, by the way...I had flashbacks of running in Ann Arbor.)

Monday, February 7th: 5 miles at 9:33 min/mi

Thursday, February 17th: on the treadmill (hardly counts)

Thursday, February 24th: on the treadmill (again, shouldn't really count)
Saturday, February 26th: 9.29 miles at 9:45 min/mi

Total for Three Weeks: 14.29 miles
Total for the Year: 54.88 miles

Boston Marathon Training - Weeks 3, 4, and 5

When running, I'm usually concerned that a dog is going to jump out and get me. However, last week when I was running, I came across the two deer pictured above. I started walking, took some pictures with my cell phone, and then watched them cross the street in front of me and head into a more forested area. Kind of a fun sighting on my run!

My runs have been less than stellar as of late. I have been SO unmotivated. That's the reason I'm combining three weeks into one; because I didn't do that much running over the last three weeks. I really should be doing at least a 14-mile long-run, but it's been taking all of my motivation to eek out 30 minutes of running (not even 3 miles). It doesn't help that there are hills all over the place, that my life has been up in the air with many trips to Seattle, Bellevue, and Issaquah to look for housing, I was sick for a week and a half (so what else is new?), and I don't feel like I have any goals with this race. But those are all excuses I'm using to justify my lack of training.

This past Saturday, I forced myself to run 10 miles even though I'd been running nothing near that lately (or in months, for that matter). Maybe not the smartest, but I took it really easy by walking a lot. I went on a flat trail and I definitely didn't have the fastest 10-mile time in my life. It was a major mental game for the first half. I kept thinking, "Maybe I'll just go out 3 and do 6 miles total," then, "How about 4? That'd be 8 miles," then, "Okay, I'll turn around at 4.5...9 miles is still really good." But eventually, eventually I made it to the 5-mile mark and turned around. I was actually really proud of myself for sticking it out to the 5-mile mark because all I had to do was get back. That was much easier, but still not easy. I still did a lot of walking and mental pep-talking.

So, if anyone has any words of advice or encouragement, I'm all ears! (Or, would it be "eyes" when it's posted on a blog?)

Monday, January 17th: 3.36 miles at 9:55 min/mi

Tuesday, January 25th: 2.57 miles at 11:42 min/mi
Saturday, January 29th: 3.25 miles at 12:19 min/mi

Monday, January 31st: 2.74 miles at 10:58 min/mi
Thursday, February 3rd: 2.64 miles at 12:05 min/mi
Saturday, February 5th: 10 miles at 10:24 min/mi

Total for Three Weeks: 24.56 miles
Total for the Year: 40.59 miles

Highlight: Accomplishing the goal of running 10 miles on Saturday.
Tough Spot: Not feeling motivated to train, book travel for, or run the Boston Marathon.

Boston Marathon Training - Week 2

During week two of training, I realized one thing that I love about running (or exercising, for that matter) is eating afterward. I definitely don't binge or anything (although I kind of used races as an excuse to eat the first couple of times), but food is just more satisfying after a workout. On Monday, for example, we went to the gym after Brian got home from work. I don't like eating a lot before working out, so I make dinner, feed the kids, hit the gym with Brian, and then come home and eat. And since I've made a good dinner, I really look forward to eating it and I really enjoy it!

Similarly, when I workout in the mornings, I eat something small, hit the gym, then eat something when I get home. On Friday, I made myself the meal pictured above and realized it was a nearly perfect (in my opinion) post-run meal. (It's egg salad on whole wheat toast with a side of blueberries and water, if you can't tell.) I had my protein, my whole-grain carbs, my fruit with antioxidants, and it was low fat. Granted, I don't eat like this all of the time (although I generally crave healthier foods more often than unhealthy ones), but I really liked this meal (hence, the picture). Another favorite is oatmeal. It's super easy to make in the microwave and I can put a ton of different things in it. I opt not to put sugar in mine, but instead I use dried fruit and nuts, diced apples and cinnamon, a tablespoon of low sugar strawberry jam, or something similar. I'll usually add some milk for some extra protein.

The point is, I like food. However, I love eating a really good healthy and well-balanced meal after a good workout! It's so satisfying.

On Saturday, I went to a Chi Running workshop (ran there; love it). You may or may not have heard of Chi Running, but I'm a believer. (I tend toward the natural though: childbirth, barefoot running...if people have been doing it for thousands of years, why can't we?) If you look at the picture above of US Olympic Marathoner Kara Goucher at the Boston Marathon in 2009, you can see a clear difference between her body posture and the Kenyan Salina Kosegi and Ethopian Dire Tune in front of her. While the front two women aren't technically Chi Running, they look a lot closer than Goucher does. You can totally see it in the body positioning.

The clinic was really enlightening to me about how I run. I looked at some past race pictures and saw how horrible my form is and how my right foot turns out (which explains the pain I've had on that leg). What's amazing is that I can really feel a difference when I attempt to Chi Run. I am no expert at Chi Running since I just started, but when I work at it, I feel better than when I run the "old" way. It's really quite fascinating.

Here's a video of Danny Dreyer, the founder of Chi Running, explaining how to avoid a heel strike. I thought it was a really interesting video.

My goal is to become a more efficient runner and thus, be faster with less pain and pressure on my body. I'm still figuring out cadence, leg turnover, and how to strengthen my core, but I think with a lot of practice I'll get better. If you're interested, there is a Chi Running book that you could probably get from your library. I got it, but only read the first couple of chapters because I'd just rather have the hands-on experience of a class. However, there is also a DVD available.

Monday, January 3rd: 2.75 miles at 9:01 min/mi
Wednesday, January 5th: 4 miles at 9:12 min/mi
Friday, January 7th: 3.86 miles at 9:36 min/mi
Saturday, January 8th: 1.12 miles at 9:01 min/mi (plus Chi Running clinic)

Total for the Week: 11.73 miles
Total for the Year: 16.03 miles

Highlight: Learning to Chi Run with a group of like-minded runners (of all ages).
Tough Spot: I've been super tired since I started running again. I don't think I buy into the whole "exercise gives you energy" idea.

Boston Marathon Training - Week 1

And here the journey starts again! After taking 2 months and 2 days off from running (with a few trips to the gym, however), I'm back into the swing of training again! I have to say that my first Saturday run was fabulous. I ran along a beautiful beach (see above) in Outer Banks and it was great. That is, until a dog ran out of someone's beach house and scared me so bad I had to walk until my heart rate normalized. I was an amazing day though, and as I ran, I honestly had the thought: "I love my life." Great husband, great kids, great health, and great adventures! It's pretty awesome.

By the way, to really set this marathon apart for me, I've decided to run for a charity. I'm raising money for the Children's Hospital in Boston. I've had so much awesome support over the years (the two that I've been running), I thought I'd make this race extra special for everyone. If you want to help me give back and help the kids at the Children's Hospital, you can donate on my donation website (don't you love the internet?) or contact me with questions.

Monday, December 26th: 3 miles at 9:34 min/mi
Tuesday, December 28th: 4.5 miles at 9:23 min/mi
Thursday, December 30th: 3 miles at 9:03 min/mi
Saturday, January 1st: 4.3 miles at 10:16 min/mi

Total for the Week: 14.3 miles

Highlight: Running along the beach on a perfect New Year’s Day.
Tough Spot: Feeling sore after a short 3-mile run. It’s been a long time since that’s happened! I guess that's bound to happen after taking two months off. Lesson learned? Eh, it was a nice break.

Boston Bound

I'm officially signed up for the Boston Marathon! Thank goodness! Registration opened at 9am eastern time yesterday and there was a glitch in the system until almost 10am, which is when I signed up. The 25,000 spots (give or take, apparently the BAA doesn't want to say because that number is speculative) were gone just after 5pm. Last year, registration closed in 2 months, which was fast. I'm just glad I registered early!

For those wondering, Jonelle is also registered. She's pregnant and her 2nd baby (a girl!) is due in the middle of January. She'll have 12 weeks from then to train for the Boston Marathon on April 18th. And, no, she can't defer her entry to next year for any reason. We just gotta do it! I'm glad we'll be there together...mostly so I can make sure she doesn't kill herself.

Also, for those with a desire to run the Boston Marathon (maybe not this year), but who haven't qualified (which will probably get harder, at least for women, in the next couple of years): did you know you can run as a charity runner without meeting the qualifying standard? True story. You have to be accepted by a charity that's sponsored by the marathon and you have to raise $3,250, but it can be done! I thought that was cool.

180 days until the marathon and 68 days still training starts!

The National Marathon

Here's the story from my weekend in D.C. and the running of the National Marathon. Jonelle and I flew out on Thursday and stayed the night with one of her friends. On Friday, we went to breakfast, picked up our packets, and then took a trolley tour around D.C., had a pasta dinner, and then back to our hotel. Saturday was race day! Sunday, we went to church, sat in the sun, and then headed to the airport. It was a fun girls' weekend!

Before I left, my amazing husband gave me some beautiful pre-race support. Since 3 hours, 35 minutes was my goal time, Brian surprised me throughout the day with roses - 1, 3, 3, and 5 - and notes with each.

This is actually after the race, but here's a picture of the big sign out front.




Here's a sign Jonelle and I walked by on Friday and ran by twice on Saturday.

At the expo on Friday, they had some contestants from The Biggest Loser.




This is a picture of Jonelle and Washington Monument from sightseeing on Friday.




Here's a picture of the Capitol Building which we passed multiple times during our run on Saturday.





The weather was amazing and flowers were in bloom! I love daffodils...they remind me of home.

And now for race day...

(Warning: It's a long story...I think it might be longer than my birth stories.) :)

On Saturday, I woke up at 4:45am, just before our (four) alarms were set to go off at 5:00am. We got ready and I ate some bread and yogurt and had some water and two Ibuprofen. We headed out just after 5:30am to catch the Metro with a bunch of other runners. It was chilly so I wore pants I was planning on getting rid of anyway, my throw-away jacket, and gloves over my my regular running clothes.

We warmed up a little, stretched, used the porta-potties, I ate a banana, and just tried to keep warm! Around 6:50am, I ditched my pants and listened to the National Anthem. Around 6:55am, the pacers finally showed up so we moved our way through the crowd to the 3:35 pacer. I tried not to get emotional as I realized this was the culminating moment of my 16+ weeks of training. I had the next 3 hours and 40 minutes to achieve my goal.

When we started running, it was pretty crowded. There were 2,322 marathoners and 6,249 half-marathoners that finished, so more than that were there at the beginning. The 3:35 pacer was doing around 9:30 min/mi for the first mile because of the crowds and this concerned Jonelle and me since we needed to keep a consistent pace of sub-8:27 to qualify for Boston. We didn't want to have to sprint later to make up so much time, so we tried to move around people to get a more steady pace. So much for our trusty pacer!

Between mile two and three, Jonelle was ahead of me and going faster than I wanted to go, so I hung back and tried for the next couple of miles to keep an even 8:13 min/mi pace to achieve the 3 hour, 35 minute goal time. At mile 3, I ditched my gloves, downed a GU and some water.

Shortly after mile 4, there was a turn-around, so I was able see where Jonelle was and give her a wave. At mile 5, I took a drink of Powerade as I jogged through the water stop. I wanted to try and conserve some energy early on, but it's so hard to walk during a race!

Sometime after mile 5, I ditched my jacket. At mile 7, I walk/jogged through the water stop again as I took another GU and drank some more water. I think just as I started running again - it's kind of a blur - the 3:35 pace group caught up to me. This was a good sign, because I definitely didn't want to be going too fast. I ran with them for a while, but I wasn't fully committed to running with them since they were trying to make up for lost time by going faster than an 8:13.

At mile 9, I walk/jogged and drank some more Powerade. Since the pacers don't walk, they got a little ahead of me. I considered trying to catch up, but I figured I would save my energy for the end and I'd catch up - and pass them (or so I thought). After all, I was only a third of the way to the finish line!

At mile 11, I drank some water and took another GU. My stomach was starting to hurt - I'm not used to consuming so much sugar on a run - so I decided to nix the Powerade and focus on water, but keep consuming GUs every 4 miles.

One of very few times I spoke (besides saying, "Thank you," at every water/GU/Powerade pick up) since I split off from Jonelle, was around mile 13. As the half marathoners split off to go in to their finish line, I said, "Great job half-marathoners!" And someone said, "Great job marathoners!" back to me. I thought to myself, "Yep! Here we go! Halfway there!"

At mile 13.1, I walked, grabbed a GU to stash for mile 15, took some Ibuprofen and Tylenol (whatever came out of my bag, since I was in a hurry), drank some water, pulled out my iPod, and thought to myself, "Okay, this is all about me now." At this point I was super pumped. The crowd of runners had thinned, I was rockin' out to my music, and I felt completely confident that I was going achieve my goal with flying colors.

The next little bit is a blur, but I'm sure I drank some water and took my GU at mile 15. A couple of times I remember thinking about crossing the finish line, calling Brian and telling him, "I did it!" and every time made me get emotional, so I had to stop thinking about that. Sometime around there, I remember coming down a hill, seeing the Capitol Building in front of me, listening to my music, feeling on top of the world and thinking, "This ROCKS!" It was a great feeling. I was having the time of my life!

Well, I'm sure you can guess what happened next... I started to doubt. It may have been the heat I wasn't used to (it was 62 degrees when we finished) or it may have been the distance my legs have only run a handful of times. My legs were getting tired and I was feeling thirsty and I was starting to wonder if I could sustain my pace - and this was before I even hit the 20-mile marker! I kept telling myself, "It's mine to lose." I was more than halfway there, I was in a good position time-wise and all I had to do was keep on keeping-on.

At mile 17, I had grabbed a GU to carry and had some water, so I took a little walk through at mile 19 to consume that GU and drink some more water. The 3:35 pace group kept getting a little further ahead, but I knew if they were in my sights and the 3:40 pace group didn't catch up to me, I was okay.

At mile 21, I grabbed another GU to carry and drank some more water as I walk/jogged. Anytime I tried to walk though, my legs were feeling so tired, it was pretty much harder to walk than run. It was almost like they were numb when running but started feeling weak when I would walk. At some point, I also took a corner and felt a pop/tear/something where I always get a blister on my right foot. It was hurting, but what choice did I have but to keep on going? The 3:35 pace group got a little bit further away from me, but I could still barely see them.

Around mile 23, I took my last GU and drank some more water. Shortly after, there was another turn around and I saw Jonelle again. The 3:35 pace group had caught up to her and she was running with them. I thought that was a good sign. I had totally planned on pushing on faster when I had 5k left (aka: mile 23), but it was all I could do to keep on pace so I was really doubting I could catch up to the 3:35 group. I knew I just couldn't lose more than a couple minutes over the last 3 miles or all would be lost.

Somewhere between mile 24 and 25 I caught up to Jonelle, which I hadn't expected to, so it actually perked me up to see my friend! However, Jonelle was having a really hard time feeling like she was going to pass out. I ran with her for a little bit and tried to keep her motivated which helped motivate myself. There were a ton of hills at the end (note to marathon course creators: don't put hills at the end of a 26.2 mile journey!) and we were both feeling lied to about the so-called "fastest looped course in the country." We had agreed before the race, that we were both basically on our own for this one so when she told me to go if I had something left, I did. As I ran forward, I said, "You better make it!" I so wished there was a way to make her run with me, but a marathon is a personal beast.

As I got closer to the finish, and up another hill (grrrr...), with people shouting, "You're going to make it!" I thought to myself, "I know I am! And I never, ever have to run a marathon again!" (And I kept thinking, "C'mon Jonelle, c'mon Jonelle...") I tried to speed up, but what felt like "speed" was merely maintaining. Finally, I saw the finish line - it still seemed so far away - and I sprinted as much as I could. I crossed the finish line at 3:38:07 (chip time; 3:41:06, gun time). Mission accomplished: I had qualified for the Boston Marathon! I only had 2 minutes, 52 seconds to spare, so I kept hoping Jonelle was right behind me. She came across at 3:39:39 with 1 minute, 20 seconds to spare. So we cut it kind of close, but our goal was to qualify and we did!

After that, we got our medals, heat sheets, water, food, and then started consuming. Jonelle was not doing well so she sat down while I called Brian. After a little bit, I looked back and Jonelle was lying on the pavement, so I got off the phone with Brian and walked her to the medical tent. After resting, getting some water, eating a bit, and getting a pill for nausea, she was doing better.

At some point I noticed blood had soaked through my sock and shoe (which are red, at least) where a blister had apparently popped. I'd never had that happen before! I was also sore from chaffing under my arms...another first.

We waited around for a while for the results to be posted so we could verify we had indeed qualified for Boston, but it was taking too long so we just went back to the hotel. That was tricky actually, because somewhere along the course, my SmarTrip card for the Metro fell out of my SpiBelt (although I didn't lose anything else). Luckily, another runner took pity on me and gave me $1.65 to get to the hotel.

When we got back, we both got super stomach sick (other runners probably know what I'm talking about) so we spent the next five hours trying to recover in our hotel room. Finally, around 5:00pm we got some veggie pizza and bread sticks delivered (we weren't feeling up to going out). A while later, after our stomachs had settled down, we went in the hotel hot tub to relax for a bit. After watching some TV, and not being able to find the BYU game, we finally went to bed.

Here are my unofficial stats (although they shouldn't change much once official results are posted):

Division Place: 19 of 219

Sex Place: 81 of 809

Overall Place: 510 of 2,322

Again, my time was 3:38:07, making my overall pace 8:20 min/mi (which actually dropped from about 8:13 min/mi at the 20 mile split). The Boston Marathon is Monday, April 18, 2011 so we'll see where in life we are at that point! I know I said I never, ever have to run another marathon, but now that I'm thinking clearly, I realize I can run one more, but this time I don't have to worry about my time. But, then again, I'm sort of competitive, so we'll see... :)

After I got home on Sunday, Wes modeled my medal. He was a fan. :) One of the highlights of my trip was talking to the kids on the phone. It's so fun to have actual conversations with my kids - even Sydney! Plus, it's always nice to hear you're missed!

A HUGE thank you goes out to everyone who gave me words of support and encouragement as well as congratulations via text, Facebook, blog comments, calls, cards, etc! It means SO MUCH to me! Thanks for believing in me!!!

She Did It!

Great news for all of you out there following Natalie's marathon journey - She qualified for Boston today! I believe the official time was a somewhere around 3 hrs 38 min.

She snapped a before and after picture with her iPhone and I'm sure will have the full story when she gets back to Michigan!