Boston Marathon Weekend is Almost Here

For years I have watched the Boston Marathon streaming on my computer each year on Patriots Day. Last year I was there in person for the first time as a spectator cheering for my husband as he ran his first Boston. The energy in the city on Boston Marathon weekend and race day is magnetic. Boston people LOVE their marathon and so do the thousands of runners who come from all over the world to lineup in Hopkinton on "Marathon Monday" as the running community affectionately refers to the race. In four short days I get to lineup in Hopkinton for my chance to run the best marathon in the country and probably the world!

What makes Boston so special is that you have to qualify to be there, running with some of the best marathoners in the world. You can also run Boston for charity if you raise $5000+ for one of their charity partners but as a competitive runner I wanted to earn my spot there. My qualifying time as a woman in the 35-39 age group is 3:40. After four tries last season (Toledo 3:46), (Cleveland 3:52), (Charlevoix 3:42) and Erie (3:35) I finally got the job done. Prior to last year I had run the Cleveland Marathon three other times including the previous year. 

I am both excited and nervous with the race being just a mere four days away! I have had a pretty good running season so far and I am hopeful that my Boston experience will be a good one. I am tapering and my body feels pretty good this week...for a taper anyways! I have been warned to take it easy for the first half of the race, which is largely downhill and to save some energy for the Newton Hills and of the course for the final miles. If you're interested in tracking me Monday I am in wave 3, which starts at 10:50 am and I am bib #19350. I want to enjoy the race and not put too much pressure on myself so goal for the race is to run between a 3:35-3:45 depending on the course and weather (right now forecast looks to be on the warm side at 72). 

If I don't BQ in Boston that is okay. I will have more chances to BQ again for 2017 at the Cleveland Marathon on May 15 and then again this fall at one or two more races. My big marathon goal for the year is to run a 3:25 or close this fall in Erie. I still have some work to do for that but I don't mind hard work! 

Special thank you to the folks that have helped me this season including Pearl Izumi, Freeplay Magazine, Nuun, Honeystinger and of course to my teammates and sponsors on Snakebite Racing! It takes a village to achieve big goals!

Cleveland Marathon Contest Winner

It sounds like I'm not the only one that's excited to run the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon this year! There were 31 people who entered the contest for the free entry. There were so many heartfelt stories and all around terrific reasons to want to race with me this May in Cleveland. I wish I could give everyone an entry!

To be fair I wanted to randomly select the winner so I used Random-ize. The winner is one of my fellow Northeast Running Club (NERC) members. Congratulations Annemarie Cvijanovic! You won yourself an entry to the Cleveland Marathon race of your choice. If you already registered you can pass it on to a friend or loved one so they can join you. I will be in touch soon with the registration code.

Reasons Why I Love the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & Giveaway

It has been an honor to be able to represent the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon as an ambassador for the past two years. The marathon staff are wonderful and my fellow ambassadors are some of my favorite friends. This week I am the featured ambassador, which means that I will be having a contest to give away a free entry to the Cleveland Marathon race of your choice. To enter simply read my post and leave a comment stating which race you would like to run and why. The winner will be randomly selected this Friday.

There are many reasons why The Cleveland Marathon is one of my favorite races:

First and foremost, it is our hometown marathon. I am proud that Cleveland has an awesome marathon that people from all over the world come to run! Some cities do not have the luxury of having their own marathon but we do. The marathon is good for the city because it brings in tourism.

Second, Cleveland was my first marathon in 2010. That race sparked a love affair that I hope lasts a lifetime. The marathon is my favorite distance running race because it is challenging and fun. You have to train hard to meet your goals and the race experiences are so amazing.

I also love the Cleveland Marathon because I love the course. It takes you through some of my favorite areas of Cleveland including Tremont, Lakewood and Rocky River as well as downtown. Probably the coolest part is running on the shoreway for the last few miles. It gives you a view of the city you don't normally get to experience while running.

Cleveland fans are awesome! There are many Clevelanders out volunteering and cheering during the race, which creates a fun, party-like atmosphere. At the finish there is also a post-race party with beer and music.

Cleveland is a great beer town so after the race you have a number of terrific options for post race lunch and brews!

I could go on and on but you get my drift. The Cleveland Marathon is awesome! So, which race would you like to do for free this year? The full? The half? The 10K? Leave me a comment below and you might be selected this Friday! Goodluck!

2016 Cleveland Marathon News & Quick Race Report

It was an interesting week for me. Some ups and downs. So let's start with the good news shall we?

I am officially back as a Cleveland Marathon ambassador again for 2016! This is great news as I love this race and the friends that I made last year that were also ambassadors. The race, which takes place on 5/15/16 is a month after the Boston Marathon so I figured why not run the full again. New this year for the adventurous folks there is a new Challenge Series where you can run multiple races such as the 8K and full marathon or 8K and half marathon, etc. I thought about doing this but with running Boston and prepping for a half ironman race in June I decided to stick with the solo 26.2. Watch my blog and social media posts throughout the season for updates on the race, meet ups and a chance to win a free race entry to the distance of your choice!

Hard earned AG Turkey Trophy

Now the not so good news. Since Beach 2 Battleship I have struggled to get my running mojo back due to "dead leg" syndrome. Finally this week I had a couple of decent paced runs and my husband and I signed up to run a local race called the Twinsburg Turkey Trot 5 miler. It's a fun little race that combines some road and trail running into one tough little race. The last time I ran it in 2013 I had a good day and won the female race in 36 and change. This time was not as fortuitous for me.

My respiratory allergies had flared up last week and I struggled with my breathing. I knew this going into the race Saturday but decided to take my albuterol inhaler and chance it anyways. Things started out pretty well for the first couple of miles then around the 2-2.5 mile mark I had a tough time getting in oxygen and had to stop and walk to get my breathe back. This happened a few times during the race so I quickly went from 2nd place down and ended up finishing in 6th with a time of 39:31 (7:54 pace). So, it's not the day I wanted to have but I am glad I hung in there and finished the race and managed to place 2nd in my AG. Steve ended up having a great race and took 3rd male with his time of 33 mins. I was happy that at least one of us had a great day!

I'm hoping my allergies clear up and my Turkey Day 5K race goes a little smoother! I am now at the point where seeing an allergist has become necessary because it's interfering with my training, racing and general enjoyment of life at times. Not cool, right?! So, I will be doing a cleanse following Thanksgiving and then experimenting with a vegan diet to see if that helps. I will also be seeing an allergist and may even try some accupuncture at the suggestion of a friend. Stay tuned for more on the healing journey in future blog posts!