Category Archives: marathon training

The Thrill of the Boston Marathon

On Monday, I ran my first Boston marathon. This hometown race has been a lifelong goal of mine, and as I toed the line on the warm mid-morning day, I felt nothing but grateful for being there at that moment.

An announcer called over the loud speaker, “This is not the start of a long run in the middle of February. This is what you’ve been training for, your prize!” I quickly reflected on the Sunday when I ran 16 miles inside on a track because it was -9 degrees without wind-chill in Boston. I also visualized the months of training that were now behind me, predominantly focused on training for my goal race of Phoenix in February. I smiled at the experience of training for these races, and acknowledged that regardless of Boston’s outcome, the last few months had surprisingly been fun. I also developed an acceptance of being uncomfortable, which is an essential element of marathon training. Over time, I even started to treasure the discomfort; it continued to inspire and push me through each workout and this adaptability carried over in other areas of life.

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Boston Marathon Weekend is HERE!!!

Happy Friday! What a week it’s been back home, seeing friends and family, starting to think about wedding plans and the marathon of course! Life is so unpredictable, full of highs and lows- and I am just going to ride this high for as long as I can. I am so thankful for the loved ones in my life and for the opportunity to run this Monday. It will be a humbling experience to be running alongside so many incredible runners. Thank you again Clif Bar for making Boston a reality for me!! You can read about the #NoHeartbreakHere contest and about the other winners here.

Photo source: @ohiammartFullSizeRender

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Heading from Boston to Paris

Hope your week is going well so far. Mark and I are eager to finish off our work days before flying to Paris tonight!

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t put on some Sex and the City Season 6: “An American Girl in Paris” as I packed last night. While the Paris scenes got me very excited for our trip overseas, I decided to leave my Carrie Bradshaw outfits out of the suitcase. :)

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Training to Recover and Recovering to Train

What a difference a day makes! We were met with sunny, spring-like weather over the weekend which quickly turned to wintry rainy weather yesterday. At least it wasn’t the reverse!

IMG_0018Sign of spring in Boston: Duck Boats are back on the streets!IMG_0017

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Making Peace on a Friday

Happy Friday to all! Hope you’ve had a great week and are staying positive, as the weekend is near! It’s darkest before dawn, so hope you are gearing up for a mix of fun plans/workouts/runs/family time/friend time/alone time over the next couple of days.

This week commenced with sadness in the wake of the terrorist attack in Brussels. My heart breaks for those touched by this tragedy. In my seemingly powerless little corner in Boston, something I can control is the persistent feeling of empathy for those around me, and a promotion of kindness. Spreading peace and compassion to neighbors won’t curb violent attacks around the world, but helping others on an individual level might be the right amount of influence to deter those considering violence.

A photo I took when I visited Brussels a few years ago:IMG_2966

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Hill Drills & Weekend Recap

Good morning! As we are in New England, we woke up to a blanket of snow this morning following a couple of weeks of warm spring-like weather. As they say, if you don’t like the weather in New England, wait five minutes, so hopefully that means the snow will melt soon!

The weekend started off with some happy hour drinks after a long week including a nice Friday morning run (I’ve cut back on alcohol and sweets over the last 6 months or so, but am a true believer in moderation and enjoying life as well!).

Photos from Friday morning run:IMG_2952IMG_2932

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Happy St. Patty’s Day & Boston Marathon Advice

Happy St. Patrick’s Day friends!! Hope you’re having a great week so far. Are you doing anything to celebrate the holiday? I’m going to hold off until the weekend to observe the splendor of my heritage. :)

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Speaking of celebrations, I am so excited that Boston marathon is just over one month away (one month and one day to be exact!). On that Patriot’s Day weekend, Boston will be swarming with excited and eager runners and their patient family members and friends. It’s always such a special time to be in the city, bustle and all! Stay tuned for an upcoming post on must-see’s and do’s in Boston over marathon weekend (or any other time!).

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How Races Can Benefit Your Training

Good morning and Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend.

On Saturday, I ran the Black Cat Road Race in Salem, MA as a Boston Marathon training run. 

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Five Updates from this Week!

Happy Friday! Hope you all have had a great week! 

This first full week of March has been a great one! It’s felt like spring over here in Boston, a huge contrast to last winter where we had about five feet of snow still blanketing our city at this time. I will take it!

Five highlights from this week:

1.I signed up for my next race, which is tomorrow morning! It’s called the Black Cat 10 and 20 mile road race and is located in Salem, MA, about 20 minutes north of Boston. The race is held during the Boston marathon training cycle for those training for that race, but is for all levels of runners. Mark and I are signed up for the 20 mile race, although I am going to run about 15 because I am still recovering from Phoenix. My sister is running the 10 miler as well. It will be so great to run together again! I ran this race a few years ago and felt that it was very well supported and had great scenery. There is no better way to run 10-20 miles than with others! Race recap to come.

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Post-Race Week & Switching Gears to Boston!

This last week following Phoenix marathon has been very active, but not because of running. It has been so nice to switch gears and focus on family and friends after the long marathon build-up!

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Phoenix Marathon Review

Thank you so much for all of your Phoenix Marathon love in my last post! I promised you a full review, so here you go!

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First off, while I am so thrilled to have run a personal best and BQ, I am always looking to improve, and think that I can potentially meet my “A” goal, which is a finish time somewhere in the 3:20’s.

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Still Feeling that Post-Race High

Hello friends! Thank you all SO MUCH for all of your incredible pre-race inspiration! I had all of your mantras and motivating words running through my head throughout the Phoenix marathon on Saturday, and they helped me all the way to the finish! I’m so happy to report that I ran a PR with a time of 3:31, and qualified for Boston for 2017 (hoping that the cutoff will be no more than 4 minutes next year!). I have a lot more to say about the race in the next post, but for now I’ll share some photo highlights of our trip to Arizona!

IMG_2772Finish line photo with our half and full marathon medals! I am so grateful to have such a wonderful, supportive running buddy :)

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Race Day Countdown and Running Mantras

Hope your week is going well so far! I am getting super excited to RACE on Saturday! There has been so much build-up over the past few months, I am excited to finally get my prize: to run this marathon. Regardless of the race outcome, I know that I will reflect on the entire experience and smile. I am so thankful for my coaches, family, friends, and all of my amazing blog followers for their endless enthusiasm, support, and motivation throughout this winter training cycle. While running is only a hobby of mine, I have learned that goal setting is only half the battle: surrounding yourself with unwaveringly supportive people can significantly bolster your goal reaching capabilities and overall happiness. After this race, it will be my turn to encourage you all! 

There are many ways to mentally (and physically) prepare for a race, or any big event. I have previously posted about the benefits of visualization, an exercise which I have been doing a lot of lately. Another powerful method for race preparation is positive thinking about the race and your ability to perform well. Here are other strategies I use to get ready for race day:

  1. Review your training log and reflect on all of the work you’ve put in. On race day, trust your training and fitness, and have no doubts about your race plan. It also helps to reflect on the specific races or good workouts you’ve run during your training, and feel inspired by their results.
  2. Visualize a positive race outcome, whether it be meeting your “A” goal (which I have for Phoenix, but won’t share until I meet it! :)), feeling strong at the finish line, and/or the joy you’ll feel after accomplishing a marathon.
  3. As I mentioned above, remember that running is just a hobby (of mine at least)! While this race is important, keep in mind that there are so many others in the future. Try to relax! It’s important to stay focused on the prize of finally being able to run that race that you’ve been working towards for months! 
  4. Mentally prepare for the pain that is to come during the race (especially miles 23-26.2). But also keeping in mind that this pain won’t last forever:

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Outdoor Escape & RACE WEEK!

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend full of adventure, relaxation, and everything in between! Our winter weekend escape started on Friday with a five + hour drive northwest of Boston to the Adirondacks (Tupper Lake, NY to be exact!). For the majority of the country, this might be a typical weekend drive- but for us New Englanders, it felt like we were on an cross-continental expedition. :)

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See-Saw week!

Hi friends! Hope you’ve had a great week so far! Over here in Boston, we have seen some real highs and lows in terms of weather. See-sawing from from sub-zero temperatures last weekend to balmy 40 and 50 degree days and monsoon rains; now we are back to normal winter temperatures in the 30s. These are weather “problems” you can only get in New England! I enjoy mother nature keeping us on our toes.

After taking my runs inside for over a week, it was nice to get outside yesterday morning for my last speed workout on the calendar. I wasn’t in the great outdoors, yet it felt very peaceful being out there on my urban run.

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15 Day Countdown and Happy Friday!

Happy Friday! Hope your week has been a great one. Mine has been fairly low key with the exception of a few intense workouts and dinner with friends last night. Definitely a different kind of lifestyle compared to even a year ago! I am enjoying the process of becoming marathon-ready, but am looking forward to a break starting February 28th, the day after my marathon!

FullSizeRender (5)Where I will be racing in 15 days! Photo credit: @visit_arizona

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Dreaming of Austin

Welcome to the second week of February!

I was looking at marathonguide.com (as I do most days—just kidding, kind of) and noticed that the Austin marathon is this weekend. I want to run the race as soon as I can, because I really love that Texas city!

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Winter is Back in Boston

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope the first half of your weekend has been great! Congratulations to reader KELLY who was randomly selected to receive a SPIbelt!! Thank you all for your entries, I loved reading your comments- you guys are so inspiring to me! Stay tuned for future giveaways and thanks again for stopping by my blog!

It’s been a busy weekend over here in Boston, in the wake of a decent snow storm that visited on Friday. My good friend was lucky to give birth to a precious baby boy yesterday just as the snow stopped falling! So Happy for Rachel and Kevin :)

The city only saw about 6 inches, but it was enough to cover the trees and make it seem like Christmas. I almost felt like belting out some carols while out and about last night!

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Spring in February and A GIVEAWAY!

Hi, friends! It seems like it has been awhile. I would love to blog more frequently but I’m finding it difficult to fit everything in! I’m now at peak marathon training, so that’s time consuming. My work has also taken up some extra time and mental energy because I’ve just been assigned to a new project. I know many of you readers live incredibly busy lives yourselves, and I applaud you for balancing your family and personal lives, work lives, and running/marathon training/fitness goals.

At least my week hasn’t only been filled with work! I’ve fit in a few good runs, both before and after work. Boston has seen some incredible “winter” weather lately, and it’s been in the 40’s-50s for much of the week. No complaints here!

IMG_2455IMG_2443Evening & dawn running pics!

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