My 26 Inspirations

1. My Heavenly Father- grateful for my body and the things I am able to accomplish with it.
2. My husband and his constant support.
3. My 3 kids for inspiring me to be a better mom.
4. Crystal is 4 years older and 4 years wiser than me.
5. My mom- how many kids she has and is an awesome mom to.
6. Joseph Smith- ONe of my most favorite heroes. He endured a lot more pain than I am going to. :-)
7. This is lucky number 7. I dedicate this one to the last 7 years of running, mile 7 of my first marathon and this being my 7th marathon. I am going to think about some of my favorite races.
8. Kirsten- Great loyal running partner. Helped diagnose my ulcer.
9. Molly- For confiding in us and cheering us on.
10.Kristyn- She ran her first half with me on May 10th and reminded me why I love running and what got me hooked.
11. Leslie- Great neighbor and friend. I want to make her proud too.
12. Malcolm- My coach from last year and all his wonderful advice. Not letting me give up on Boston.
13. Sarah- my beloved running partner. This is her birthday. She has been there for me so much!!
14. Heather- my sister. She taught me so much when I was 14. Oh, how I wish I had listened. She is a great mom and goes through so much.
15. Cross country coaches. For teaching me things I still remember. :-)
16. Erik- He gets number 16 because in my mind he is still 16. He is a thoughtful, intelligent young man. I hope I can learn more from him.
17.Marnie- ONe of my longest running partners. Very dedicated to my first marathon.
18. Ashley- I credit her with my first marathon and she is why I am even doing number 7!!
19. Diane Marker. What a fabulous mother in law. She has always taken me in. She sets the example for me.
20. Me. This is my special number. Here is where I will push the last 6 miles. I need the mental strength here.
21. Shelly. This is her lucky number and she has always been a great example to me.
22. Marathon Mommies- double numbers- these women inspire me to be better! I want to make all of them proud- Jill, Chelle, Erin, Amy P., Ang, Team Hanni, Polliwog, Cherl and this is only to name a few.
23. Kristie Smith. We had so much in common. I want to be able to tell her I made it through this mile.
24. Heather Smith. She had her baby on this day. She spent a lot of runs listening to me and being there for me.
25. The Savior- This is Christmas- He makes up for my weaknesses and gives me strength. He is my brother.
26. My dad. He was my greatest cheerleader and I know he is here cheering me on. Whether or not I am finishing a BQ or a tough run, he wants to see me run up this hill.
.2- Weeeeeee. Just have fun going down the hill.

Newport Marathon 2009 Training Update

So, it's the night before the marathon, so I thought I would give a quick update.

1. I had a 6 week period after my March 7th race where every run felt horrible. In mid-April I was diagnosed with an ulcer. That was good and bad news. It was nice to know that it wasn't all in my head, but it meant that I didn't know what to expect from the rest of my training. I asked the doctor if I should stop training and he said I could do whatever my body could withstand. It wouldn't make it worse. So, I kept training.

2. 1st 20 miler- a week after I started medication for the ulcer. I felt much better and had a good run.

3. 2nd 20 miler- I had tried to do a pace run a couple of times before, but couldn't do it. So, my plan for this run was to run the first 10 miles slow and the last 10 miles at BQ pace. The first 10 miles were fantastic. The second 10 miles were miserable. I did the pace for the first 2 miles and then just started feeling sick. My chest was hurting and I felt terrible. One of my friends was running a 10k, so I stopped by to check on her. I then began to cry. I She asked if I wanted her to give me a ride back. I had 8 miles to go. I decided to slow down and keep trying. She offered to follow my route and see if I needed a ride. I thought that was a good plan. After each mile, I would be proud that I finished one more, but kept looking for Kirsten. Long story short- she never came. I ran all 20 miles, including the last one uphill. It was not a very enjoyable run and it was mentally tough, but I am very happy I completed it. It is the one run that makes me wonder if I can do the marathon at Boston pace. I try not to dwell on that, but it keeps me realistic.

4. 3rd 20 miler- This was my favorite! My sis in law Kristyn flew in for the weekend to run the Hippie Chick Half marathon. We decided to run to the race, which added 10 miles. It was a beautiful country road run. The race was a lot of fun and a very comfortable pace. I felt fantastic except around 19 my knees started getting achy. I think I need new shoes.

5. I did a couple of tempo runs, but decided to stay away from hill repeats. I did a few 800s, but mostly I just ran.

6. I tried a 10 mile pace run one more time. I will admit I was nervous, but it went very well. My heart rate was a little higher than I would like but overall I felt very strong and my stomach did fine.

7. I ran a local 10k 2 weeks ago. According to them, I ran a 47:43 which is a PR for me, but the course was short, so my Garmin said I averaged 7:50's. It was tough and my heart rate got up very quickly. It is basically how I will feel at the end of the marathon, so I hope that gives me confidence for the last 6 miles.

8. Last Saturday I had a 10 mile run and for a few of the miles I ran Boston pace. I felt really good and enjoyed going fast.

9. 2 days ago I ran to the track and did 800's- just 2 of them! I didn't get a chance to do Yasso 800s, but it was fun to do a couple.

10. I have done everything I can. I didn't get in as much speedwork as I did last year, but I feel good.

I am going to take an antacid and I stayed away from dairy today, so hopefully my stomach will be okay. I will listen to my heart and get my body in a comfortably tough pace. I am going to start a little quicker than normal, but if my heart rate gets up too high, I will have to back off. We will see how it goes. Here are my top 3 scenarios:

1. Perfect race: Qualify :-)
2. Satisfied with my race- PR
3. Feel like the ulcer got the best of me- no PR

I know I can do it. I can see myself crossing the finish line. Will this be my BQ? I will know in less than 24 hours.

Go the Distance

Okay, so I have been in a major funk. I had a fantastic race on March 7th, but then something happened. I had a couple of bad runs and was feeling tired and burned out. I finally decided that I had better prepare myself for NOT qualifying, because that is a definite possibility. The problem with me is I am all or nothing. I need to be "Boston or Bust" or I lose my motivation. So, here I am, 9 weeks away and I am recommitting myself.

So, yes I am putting myself out there. I am definitely going to do what I can to reach for Boston. My main focus is on getting enough sleep to be a good mom. :-)

So, I am ready for whatever happens. Wish me luck!

Advice on how or how not to qualify for Boston

I found this on a blog and loved it:

This is my contribution to Take It and Run Thursdays which this week asks the question: What is The Secret of How To Qualify for the Boston Marathon? This is a bittersweet topic for me because God knows how many times I’ve asked myself the same question for an entire year between the heartbreak of the 2006 Hartford Marathon (3:11:33) and the victorious 2007 NYC Marathon (3:08:18), when I finally captured my first B.Q. Now that I’ve done it several times and have even trained others to do the same, I believe I owe it to the running community to dispense some of my trusted B.Q. tips. But instead of telling you all what you should do, which isn’t really my style, I’ll just leave you a list of things to avoid. Hopefully, this can be of some use to you in your training. Good Luck

Ten Things You Can’t Do If You Wanna B.Q.

1. You can’t B.Q. if you don’t have a plan. This is rather obvious for anyone who’s ever been “in training” for something. In training for a big goal, there are always a series of smaller goals that once completed makes the overall goal a little bit easier and a bit more fathomable to accomplish. To design a series of smaller goals that lead you to your destination involves planning. A better plan leads to better training which ultimately leads to a better race. Everything starts with the plan.
2. You can’t B.Q. if you don’t train long and fast. Speedwork and the long run are key workouts for a B.Q. marathon runner. If you’re not willing/able to do either, maybe Boston just isn’t for you.
3. You can’t B.Q. if you don’t have patience and diligence. I've spoken about this in a previous post, but recognize there will be some setbacks and failures in training. During those times, it is essential that you don’t become overly frustrated but remain patient with yourselves. Keep the faith and remain focus on the goal. Chances are you have made tremendous strides in the running, but for one reason or another, the results just haven’t reflected that—yet!
4. You can’t B.Q. if you don’t train smart. Always know what workout you are doing and for what specific purpose. This will help you determine the appropriate pace/parameters for each particular run.
5. You can’t B.Q. if you don’t eat and sleep right. We all know that eating the right foods can boost training, but it’s a little known fact that most of muscle recovery/regeneration occurs during shut-eye time. If you’re not catching enough Z’s at night, the running will suffer during the day.
6. You can’t B.Q. if you’re afraid of the pain. Like Kara and Benard said in their Q&A…Running is hard. Its hard to push yourself when you’re in pain. But that’s what separates the winner and the losers. It’s the ability to harness the pain and make it work for you instead of against you. I love that quote because it’s so true. Part of B.Q. marathon training is learning to embrace the pain instead of fearing it. Making that psychological transition is one of the toughest parts of the training.
7. You can’t B.Q. if you can’t see yourself doing it. This is in my opinion the least talked about but most important lesson to learn when training to run a B.Q. No matter how fast you run in your training or in your races leading up to your goal marathon, if you can’t see yourself running your B.Q. time for whatever reason, it is highly unlikely that you will suddenly find that confidence to run well at mile 20.
8. You can’t B.Q. if you don’t got “ammo”. “Ammo” is what I call the things that you will use to fight off the marathon demons that inevitably will make an appearance sometime during the race, particularly in the last 6.2 miles. They could be mantras, inspirational quotes, names of people, reasons to run, riddles and/or brain teasers. The more you have, the better chance you have of winning the battles. That’s why I call them “ammo”.
9. You can’t B.Q. if the race gods don’t want you to. Sometimes you can train perfectly, prepare adequately, run a good race and still fall short of your goal because of inclement weather, wind, or other distractions. The key is to recognize that there are always going to be external forces beyond your control that will make or break your marathon, and that one single race does not define you as a runner unless you allow it to be.
10. You can’t B.Q. if you’re standing on the sideline when the race starts. In order words, you can’t run if you’re injured no matter how fast or long you were running prior to the injury. So make plans, but always listen to your body first.

Have fun in your training, and I’ll see you in Boston!

Training Update

Well, hello there self! I am not very good at keeping track of my training! So, here is an update. I have been in training mode since January. Officially, training started 2 weeks ago. I followed Hal Higdon's Advanced II schedule for the first 2 weeks, minus the easy days. I rested or did the runs but I didn't follow exactly. I felt good the first week, but the second week was tougher for me. I just didn't feel how I wanted to feel. I think I am taking my long runs too fast and not taking my recovery days to enjoy. So, we will see what I decide to do.

The good news is that I had a fantastic run today!! The Runner's World FIRST program starts today so I decided to do their first workout and see how it goes. This is the same one that I tried about 6 weeks ago. It is the mile repeats at 7:02 pace. Well, I bombed the first try. My heart rate went up way too fast and I couldn't keep the pace up. I thought maybe it was because I was on the treadmill. So, I was looking forward to running outside today and trying again. Well, it was icy so we decided to run inside. I took a deep breath and decided I was going to do it! I put the fan right on me and just went for it. It was really tough but I did it!!! Woo hoo!! I can run 7 minute miles, I didn't know that. I did take longer rests in between but I felt like that was more for my heart. So, I am on my way. Boston, here I come!

Treadmill Tempo Run

Well, I didn't wake up this morning so I ran tonight. I defnitely feel sluggish in the evening. Hopefully I will think about that next time I don't want to wake up! I did a 30 minute tempo run. I started with a short walk and then warmed up for 8 minutes at 6.o mph. My heart rate stayed under 160. Then every minute I increased the speed by 2mph. When I hit 7.6 mph, I stayed there for the rest of the tempo run, which stopped at 24 minutes. My heart rate didn't get into the 180's until 7.0 mph. That's a good sign. I am hoping to stay in the 170s for the first half of Newport. I am hoping that will be at a good pace. Overall, it was a tough run, but it felt great to push it!!