Qualified for Boston!!

Hot Diggity Dog!!

I qualified for the Boston Marathon on December 7th at the 2014 California International Marathon with a time of 3:35:43. This was a new PR (personal record) for me in the 26.2 mile distance.

It was an incredible experience. I felt so strong, both physically and mentally the entire race. The result of both a lot of running preparation and a solid race day plan (the later being something totally new for me). 

This was my 5th full marathon, and my 2nd true attempt at qualifying for Boston. This was also my second full marathon this year--separate post to come regarding the San Francisco Marathon 2014. 

I hadn't planned to run two full marathons in 2014. But, when I didn't qualify at San Francisco in July, I couldn't put to rest the fact I should have qualified. And, I was arguably in the best running condition I have ever been in. Not trying again felt like I was tossing out all of the hard work.  I had to prove to myself it was achievable. And, it was a dream.

The race start time was 7am. I had my alarm set for 4am so I could eat eggs, toast, and drink a few espressos approx 2 hours before the start. The alarm sounded WAY too early because I think I last looked at the clock at 1:13am. I maybe slept for 2-3 hrs--clearly too much nervous energy. It's normal to not sleep well on race nights - but this was the worst I've experienced to date. Definitely need to learn how to manage that better! 

In addition to not sleeping, there was one other issue. We had planned for Dan to drop me off near the start line. We got the kids up and piled into the car at 6:20am. It was chilly (low 50's - but perfect running weather)--so I wasn't looking forward to the drop-off. Well, on our way to the start line area... the police had a blockade up. I saw other runners hopping out of cars. Wait...what?! We must have been over a mile from the start line?? CRAP! So, I yelled out my window and asked the cop if he could let us through to get to the start line. Nope. Nobody was allowed through. He said it was 2 miles from the start and it was the closest we were going to get. Sweet freaking Moses!! I looked at my Garmin--it read 6:38am. The race was starting in 22 mins. I jumped out of the car so fast, didn't even think about the chill in the air... and started my unplanned, nice and easy run to the starting line in the dark. Dang! For someone who normally doesn't do a race warmup, I sure got mine! 

I arrived at the starting line area just as they were finishing the National Anthem and the gun sounded. I wasn't able to start the race with my pace group. This could have been a mental barrier - but it wasn't. I felt confident and strong and knew I trained well. So, oddly enough... no sleep, arriving late... nothing was going to phase me. 

My main goal for the race was to finish in 3:40. If I wanted to qualify for Boston 2016 (Boston 2015 was already filled), I had to finish in 3:45, or a 8:28 minute per mile pace. 

My other goals for this race were to not start too fast, and be super conscious of how I "felt". I wanted to run strong, feel good, and not get tired early. I have a tendency to start too fast, pacing 7:30/mile (6:40-7:30 in half marathons). I'm simply not good enough to sustain that speed for 26.2 miles. So I had to control the adrenaline.

In stealing an occasional glance at my Garmin, I realized I was clipping out a steady stream of 7:35-7:55 per mile pace for the first 4-6 miles. So, I tried to turn down the adrenaline a bit and keep it in the upper 7's or low 8's. I didn't want to go over 8:05. I wanted to have some room (time) if I needed wiggle room at the end of the race. See... this is what I'm talking about with a "plan". I had never had a true race plan before. This time, I had it strategized in my head the night before. (Likely the cause of only 2-3 hrs sleep!)

I knew at 13.1 miles I was going to finish in 3:45 or less. I mean, unless something majorly wrong happened. I felt amazing. I wasn't tired at all; rather, holding back a bit to keep an energy reserve. I had even caught up with the 3:35 pacing group back at mile 4 or 5'sh  I knew at this point finishing in 3:35 was a very real possibility. Shocking as it seemed. And, I also knew I could slow to a pace in the high 8's for the remainder of the race and still qualify for Boston. Mentally, I think this also gave me an edge/adrenaline. I felt very "in charge" of the race I wanted to run.

I didn't listen music at all the entire race. I normally DO listen to music during full marathons once i'm a good 8-10 miles in--just to distract the brain. But, this race was different. I felt like I was kept busy calculating and strategizing and enjoying the crowd. I have to say... it was awesome to not rely on music for a mental distraction! 

This race was also different for me in that I only sipped small amounts of water at each of the water stations (5 or 6?) until the 13.1 mile mark. And, as for GU, I downed a quarter GU at the half (13.1 miles), and then again at miles 15, 17 , 19 and 21. It past full marathons - I've consumed 3-4 entire GU shots. I didn't want to overdue it based on my awful intestinal experience in San Francisco. Oy! So, this worked perfectly for me. And, in training I never take GU shots. Just water. Even on the 20 mile runs.

So, it's true what the say--don't try anything new on race day. Do what you train your body to do. 

I held my mile past stats between 7:45 - 8:08 until mile 18. I continued to feel really strong until mile 21. Then, I started feeling a little fatigue in the legs. I knew I was lacking salt and calories, but I didn't want to deal with any intestinal issues. So, I sipped a bit of NUUN before I'd sip a bit of water at the remaining water stations. 

Mile 20 = 8:06
Mile 21 = 8:11
Mile 22 = 8:30

Mile 22 is usually my mental tough spot in full marathons. When I physically crossed the 22 mile mark, I noted it mentally. But, I wasn't crashing mentally at all. 

Mile 23 = 8:21
Mile 24 = 8:40

My legs got real tired at mile 24. I could feel the burn and some fatigue setting in. Only two miles left though. I sent Dan a text letting him know. And, I sent him another at mile 25. 

Mile 25 = 8:45
Mile 26 = 9:00

Then, I saw Dan and the kids right as I rounded the corner to the finish. I tried to pick it up to the finish line and just give it whatever ounce of energy I had left. 

I could not believe I finished in 3:35:43!  WOOT! I had 9+ minutes to spare in qualifying for Boston. 

I finished in the top 14% of ladies age 35-39, and in top 12% of all female runners. And, I finished in the top 25% of all runners (male and female). Not so shabby for a 39 year old!

Hard work DOES pay off. Never give up on your dreams!

This was a super fun race! Fast course. Perfect running weather--54* at the start and 59/60*'ish when I finished.  Awesome crowds! I earned a few new blisters. Finished off another pair of running shoes. The legs were stiff walking to the car and definitely sore the next day. 

Oh... and check out the lady in the finishing photo with me at the top--I did! She is 53 and her official finish time was maybe 1 second behind me. Ummm... can we all say A-MAZING?!? Dang! I want to be her in 13 years - that is just unreal to me! I mean... this was NOT a walk in the park for me... I can't imagine being 13 years older and finishing in this same time range. What an inspiration!

3rd place in my age division @ S.outh L.ake T.ahoe H.alf M.arathon! WOOT!

In August, I decided to sign-up for the South L.ake T.ahoe half m.arathon.

I didn't have the opportunity to do any formal training--mainly because I decided to sign up ~ 6 weeks before the race. And, secondly... I wasn't 100% sure I would actually get to run it because we would potentially be moving into our new home that same weekend. I did however make sure to get a 10 and a 12 mile run in, in the 3 weeks prior to the race. And, I was doing a lot of 3-5.5 mile runs pushing Giuliana and Marco in the jogger.

As luck would have it... we weren't able to move into the new house until October 3rd. So, we made a weekend trip of it and spent a night in the S.outh L.ake area. The kids loved hiking the trails around the lake and we even took them on a gondola ride up H.eavenly so they could see some beautiful views of the lake.

The race was Sunday morning and I did not wake up happy. Thank goodness for the late start time... but even with that buffer... I must have only logged about 5 hours of sleep. Marco had a bit of a cold and was teething... so the poor little guy kept waking up throughout the night crying. Combine that with the fact I forgot to bring my noise machine (I have to sleep to crickets or a fan at night), and well... I did not get a good nights sleep.

So, I told Dan I didn't even want to run. Somehow he cajoled me into getting dressed to race and we went out for breakfast. I was still only half convinced I would run. By the time I got to the starting line... the running bug got the best of me and my mind was getting in the game. I told myself I was just going to go out and enjoy it. Granted a tiny part of me still had the competitive spirit.

Running at 6,800 feet is a challenge. Breathing is a lot harder. My goal for the day was to finish in just under 2:00 (because for my PR time of 1:47, they tell you to add 12-13 minutes to your finish time at this altitude).

I actually felt really great right off the bat (granted, I did have a 24 hour headache from the altitude). I was going to just enjoy the run. And, I did! I even snapped pictures along the way... I think I took a total of 5 photos from my phone, stopping just twice to snap them. I don't normally take pictures during races... but the views of E.merald Bay were too stunning to not snap a few. Dan and the kids were cheering me on from various locations. They would drive up ahead and wait for me to reach them, and then drive off ahead again. I LOVE that! My family IS my motivation!

I think I realized at about 8 miles in that I was having a great run... and might actually make the podium. I saw Dan & the kids up ahead and I called out to him "I think I might actually make the podium, babe!" and Dan said "I know - you're kicking butt!". So, that got me kind of fired up... and I think I suddenly went from *enjoying the race* to *I have to place*.

I was tired in the last 2 miles. Tired as in I started asking myself *why the heck I sign myself up for self torture like this* kind of tired. I was so dead set on making the podium at this point though... so I couldn't slow down.

As I approached the finish line, I saw Dan & the kids. I finished hard. Right away they gave me my medal and a "Top 25 Finisher" jacket, so I was hopeful I made the podium. I found Dan and the kids... and we made our way over to the results board.

I was SO EXCITED to see that I placed 3rd in my age division and 38th overall! I obviously didn't PR (because of the 6,800 ft elevation), but 1:55:25 was respectable for the elevation. They estimate my time would have been in the 1:42-1:43 range at sea level.

So this was the second race within 2 months where I made the podium! Woot! And, this time... I actually got to stand on a podium when receiving my 3rd place award. It was such an awesome, fun and unexpected experience. I was so proud of myself and happy (and shocked!!). It made me want to set an actual goal and do some actual training for a future half marathon.

Dan and Gabby were actually really excited about it and proud of me too... which I obviously loved! Rocco and Giuliana and Marco were more excited about being able to play on the sandy beach while waiting for the award ceremony. Ha!!

Don't Hate the Treadmill

Running friends: don't hate the treadmill! Mentally, I am not a treadmill runner. But I have to sing it's praises! It does have benefits if you use it right. It can also improve your endurance and your speed.

I am an outdoor runner at heart. Never been a huge fan of the treadmill, but I use it when I can’t deal with the elements outside, or if my opportunity to run comes when it’s dark outside, as I never feel safe running in the dark. 

Since early January, 90% of my running has been on a treadmill (mainly because I end up running at 9pm). Weather also factors in on occasion, as does the fact we no longer have an au pair and Dan travels frequently. I don’t love  it - but at least the treadmill allows me to get my runs in, get my happy on, and catch up on guilty pleasure TV shows. 

There’s never an ideal time when you’ve got 4 kids and no childcare help. I’m finding I try to sneak it in when Marco naps or after I get the kids tucked in bed and the kitchen cleaned up. Of course, this also happens to be when I am completely exhausted from the day. When I run on the treadmill during Marco’s naps, I’ll feel bad that I’m not spending quality time with Giuls. But, I’ll give her some books and play dough and a comfy chair next to me, and that usually occupies her while I get the endorphins flowing. After all, I know I’ll do a much better job being their mommy if I feel healthy and good about myself.

To keep the treadmill exciting, I've focused on speedwork with small inclines. I’ve been playing with increasing my speed for one minute intervals. And, then the last mile, I'll increase speed in .1mpm pace increments, every tenth of a mile.

Now that it’s warming up a bit, and daylight is extending, I’ve been getting out on the trails again and I’ve been surprised at my mile splits. I’m hitting 8mpm and sometimes under, while on my 6 mile trail. I think the last time I was doing that, it was the summer of 2011, before I was pregnant with Marco. 

It was such a fun, pleasant surprise to be able to do this… because I’ve felt really slow since trying to get back into shape after having Marco. I think the treadmill actually helped me get over a speed bump.

So, why am I sharing this? I just want to encourage anyone and everyone to do what you need to do to stay healthy and fit. It’s so important to strive for at least 30 minutes of exercise daily. I wish I was taught the importance of exercise and eating right while growing up. It just wasn’t something that was emphasized at the time. Nor was there as much research showing the importance and the benefits, as there is now. 

I don’t exercise daily, but I try to get out there as often as I can. Whether it’s a run, a brisk walk or just playing around actively with my kids inside or out. Trust me when I say I understand how hard it is to find the time or make the time, especially when you’ve got small children depending on you for every request. But, just try! You can do it too!

Dan's first half marathon

After supporting me in running the San Francisco full marathon... Dan decided he would like to try doing a half marathon. I was of course VERY supportive of this... and found him a race to run within 10 minutes of his declaration! I also had a training plan whipped up for him 10 minutes later. :))

I can't speak for Dan, of course, but I think there were several reasons he wanted to sign up for a half marathon. First, he wanted a reason to HAVE to run/workout every day. He had been SO busy with work over the summer that he just wasn't taking time to exercise and he didn't like that. Second, he wanted to get back in shape. And, lastly, I think he wanted the challenge of having to run farther than he'd ever run before. And, seeing people of all ages run and finish the half and full marathon in San Francisco was inspiration.

The race I chose and he agreed to do was in 6 weeks. Yikes! Most people that have never run more than 4.5 miles would choose a race 12 weeks out... so they could get proper training in. But, we wanted to choose something in September when the weather would still hopefully be nice. And, I figured with the shorter training... he might not get bored with "running" before the race and stick to the plan.

The longest Dan had ever run before this training plan was 4.5 miles. And, he used to hate running. But, Dan finally got a taste of the runner's high... and after building up to a 10 mile run the week prior to the race, he declared he LOVED running and and his long runs on the weekends. I think I shed a little tear! Ha! Not only did he start to love running... but he also lost weight and got quite slim. Now, I usually get much leaner when training... but I also typically gain about 5 pounds. Granted, my clothes all become a little loose... I guess it's true that "muscle weighs more than fat". But, he got both lean AND lost weight. Men have it so easy - I swear!

Anway... race day arrived. We all woke up at 6:30am and left the house by 7am. His race started at 9:30am (what a great start time! I'm used to the awful 5:30-7am start times!), and we needed to arrive by 9am so he could pick up his race packet. Now, if it would have been me running the race, I would have noted the address where I was supposed to pick-up my race packet... but in typical Dan fashion, we arrived... and after spending 20 minutes of driving around trying to figure out where the starting line, etc. was, we found it. I was seriously nervous he was going to miss it. But, he pulled through! Whew!

We cheered Dan on from 100 meters after he crossed the starting line and about 50 meters before the finish line. Had we arrived earlier and gotten more acquainted with the course/town, I think we would have been able to cheer him on from a few more locations, but it all worked out and was fine. Also, it's not exactly easy to take 3 little kids with you on a race chase in a town you are not familiar with at all, by yourself! But, the kids REALLY LOVED seeing their daddy running a race and so did I!!

Dan did fantastic! Especially for this being his very first race, the longest he'd ever run, only six weeks of training and constant 25-45mph winds. Outside of the crazy winds... the weather couldn't have been more perfect for a half marathon... low 60's at the start. mid/high 60's at finish and cloudy.

Dan finished 13.1 miles in 2:06:09, which equaled a pace of 9:52 minutes per mile. I was SO PROUD of him! And, now he's looking for his next half marathon... and working on building his speed! YAY, DAN!!

San Francisco Marathon 2011

I ran the San Francisco Marathon with one of my very best friends on July 31, 2011. We trained separately for the 18 weeks prior… only she got to train in better weather conditions!

We have a history of running together. She’s my California running pal. We’ve run hundreds of miles together and have now run two marathons (San Francisco Marathon – July 2011, and the Nike Women’s San Francisco Marathon – October 2008) and two half marathons together (Los Gatos Jungle Run Half Marathon – July 2008, and the Santa Cruz Half Marathon - April 2009).

My training went really well, and qualifying for Boston was a serious goal of mine/ours. We need a time of 3:45 to qualify and it was definitely in the realm of possibilities with the training times I/we had been logging during our weekend long runs. Kathleen had actually qualified for Boston on the same course two years prior. I was pregnant at the time or I would have trained & run that with her. Unfortunately, it also happened to be 3 weeks after Matteo died. So, the timing would have been awful.

Unfortunately, Giuliana came down with an ear infection the weekend before the marathon. And, as luck would have it, two days later she came down with a virus that make her spike fevers of 103-104+ in the late afternoon and evening hours.

For all the obvious reasons, I have a really difficult time sleeping when my kids are sick. But, if anything brings out my PTSD, it’s having a child under the age of two fighting a fever that spikes above 104 every few hours throughout the night. It would be impossible to explain all the emotion, stress and worry that results and weighs on me in a situation like this. My adrenaline gets going and I find it incredibly difficult to sleep at night and I get very easily agitated during the day… because I can’t stop worrying/stressing about my sick baby with an unexplainable fever. Subsequently, it also exhausts me like nothing else.

Anyway, so for the 4 nights prior to the race I did not get more than two hours of sleep at a time. In addition to that, I still had to pack for 4 people, and finalize a lot of the details for our very first Matteo’s Dream Fund fund raiser and silent auction that we were planning to host in the Bay Area the following weekend.

We left for CA on a Friday afternoon. The drive started out really slow as we left later than we had hoped and battled awful rush hour traffic getting through WA. Then, around 1am, Giuliana spiked a 104.5 fever on the drive (1.5 hours after giving her acetaminophen). After paging our peds office and talking to a nurse, we ended up having to stop at the ER in Medford. We were hoping her ear infection was not responding to the meds. But, as it turns out, her body was just battling a virus and needed to keep fighting. Grrrrr…. This momma likes getting a diagnosis.

So, Dan & I basically drove through the night with one very sick baby. We arrived in San Francisco around 10:30am, went to get my race packet and then to the hotel. I was exhausted, but able to catch a one hour catnap at the hotel while Giuliana napped. Dan and the au pair took the kids over to Pier 29.

At this point, I knew I wasn’t going into this race as rested as I should have been or wanted to be. But, I still wanted to run it and was going to just try and do my very best, have fun with it… and qualifying for Boston was certainly still in the back of my mind.

Giuliana’s fever seemed to go away again that afternoon. She didn’t have a fever at all that night (thank God!). So, I got approx 6 hours of sleep the night of the race. It felt SO GOOD… it was more sleep than I had in days.

I woke up at 4:30 to prep for the race. I met Kathleen at 5:15 and the race officially started at 5:30am.

I am NOT a morning person. So, early morning races are really not my thing. But, since this race takes you over the Golden Gate Bridge, there is also a very early start time.

Surprisingly, I felt pretty good that morning. However, mentally, I clearly wasn’t where I usually am or should have been. I didn’t have the nerves that I normally get the night before the race. And, I definitely didn’t have the nerves or adrenaline rush that I normally get the morning of the race, especially when you arrive at the event and see all the other runners.

One thing that I was looking very forward to though, was seeing my cheer crew - the best cheer crew on the planet – at mile 1.5, 12.5, 17.5 and at the finish line. My cheer crew consisted of Dan, Gabby, Rocco, Giuliana, and our au pair Maria. They got up at 5am just to cheer us on … AND, they made special signs. LOVE them! My extended cheer crew consisted of Kathleen’s family, of course… Michael, Livi & Maddy. Seriously the best cheer crew on the planet!

We started out strong, getting splits of 8:15 and 8:20 for the first 4-5 miles. And, then the hills started hitting… and I started getting tired. I think we got a mile split of 7:45 when running back over the GG Bridge. And, I kept feeling more tired. Mentally, my mind wanted to stop running, find a spot alongside the road and go to sleep. Amazingly, I stayed on pace to qualify for Boston until approx. 14 miles into the race. But, at mile 11.5, I sort of waved goodbye to my running pal and encouraged her to keep going strong. I was TIRED. It took me about two miles to change my mental game from being a Boston qualifying time goal, to being a “just have fun and finish this race” goal.

Long story short (ok… this wasn’t so short!), I didn’t hit my goal time of 3:45. Nor did I get a new personal best for my marathon finishing time, which I WAS bummed about because I should have easily accomplished that! But, I finished with a pretty solid time, finishing in the top 18% of women in my age category. That’s not so bad.

Mentally – it was a good challenge for me to face. I trained hard, by myself and I really felt qualifying for Boston was within reach. So, when you work that hard and push yourself for 18 weeks… to give up on one goal and have to find another to pull you through to the finish is a bit of a set-back. A good life lesson... a lesson I feel like I learned and live with every day since Matteo died. You can plan how you want your life to be... but life is what it is, and so much of it ends up being how you respond to the unexpected changes in your plans.

However, it’s also definitely a sign that you could have, and probably should have, pushed yourself harder when your legs aren’t sore anymore 3 days post-race. Oh well. It was fun and I'm glad I did it.

I’m 99.9% sure that will be my last full marathon ever. Training for a marathon is SO time consuming! From now on, this lady will only be doing half-marathons only or less! I think I’ll have a lot more fun with that training, those fitness goals, and working on building more speed and the constant goal to hit new personal best times in the half. And, it will also allow me to spend time doing other things like pilates and yoga as well.

My overall race stats:

Overall: 1885 out of 5920
Women: 376 out of 1976
Females aged 35-39: 58 out of 279

SPLITS:
7.4 Miles: 1:03:11 - Pace: 8:33
Half (13.1 Miles): 1:53:31 - Pace: 8:40
20 Miles: 3:02:40 - Pace: 9:08

Official Finishing Result = 26.2 Miles in 4:04:23 (Pace = 9:20)