Boston Marathon

WHYY 12K Recap

November 12, 2011 by Kristy 10 Comments

Well, today wasn’t my day and that’s OK. Really, it is. I tend to beat myself up over races but this was only a 12K and I’m going to cut myself some slack.

FACT #1: I mentally checked out at the turnaround.
This was an out-and-back course (out-and-back on West River Drive is never fun). My pace was feeling hard and, as I predicted, I was hating life. I went around the turning point and just let my pace slip. I was done.

FACT #2: I lost a bit of speed since my last marathon.
The LVM was 2 months ago and I’m currently toeing the line between maintenance running and maintaining my speed. I have been training non-stop for the past 2 years and this is the most lag time I’ve had between marathons (Boston training doesn’t start until around Christmas). I need to allow myself some down time….some time away from weekly speed work. So it’s only natural that I lost some quickness.

FACT #3: I really need to get my iPod fixed. I generally run without music but there are some races where music is a necessity (like today). My iPod has been broke since the NJ Marathon last May!

FACT #4: I can’t wait to run an ultra! I just need to hang in there with the speed work for another couple of months until after Boston.

FACT #5: I need to reevaluate my goals for the Philly Half next weekend…or maybe I’ll have a better day next Sunday!

Here are the Garmin stats. A 12K is 7.45 miles so I didn’t do too bad running the tangents. Clearly, if I held back more in the beginning I probably would have done better. Mile 6 makes me laugh….yeah, that’s marathon pace!

The best part of today’s race? Hanging out with Sara, Trish, and Ann and having a delicious brunch of french toast with Trish afterwards.

Tomorrow is most certainly a rest day too 🙂

The Waiting Game

October 18, 2011 by Kristy 18 Comments

10/18/11
8 miles / 1:08 / 8:30 avg pace
*progression run

The best things in life come to those who wait…sometimes. Ugh, the waiting game. Not one of my strong suits due to my lack of patience. Lately, I feel like I have been waiting for everything. Big stuff, small stuff, whatever. The B.A.A. tested my patience last month and I waited. I feel like that kicked-off a waiting frenzy.

What exactly am I waiting for? Here’s the list…both big and small.

Work-related news. Which could be good, bad, or just meh. That’s a biggie.
Daylight savings. I’m sure you early morning runners can sympathize. I can’t wait until November 6. A 7:15am sunrise is just way too late.
Knuckle lights…on backorder. Apparently Alyssa mentions them on her blog and starts a knuckle light craze 😉 Thankfully they should come in this week. Just in time for daylight savings.
This fabulous Fall/Spring coat…also on backorder. I decided to live on the edge and not get all black. I hope it doesn’t snow before I wear it.

via

Holidays. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Decorating, cookies, Turkey Trots, and taking Hawk to see Santa (oh yes we do).

What are you waiting for these days…big or small?

I’m Running The Boston Marathon (it's official)!

September 30, 2011 by Kristy 27 Comments

OK, OK…I know…enough of the Boston talk! But I promise this post won’t be whiny.

It has been a long 2 1/2 weeks since this happened…

Thanks Amanda for the video! Pay no attention to my bad form.

But I finally received my acceptance email from the B.A.A. on Thursday (at 2:11pm, not that I was waiting or anything). What did it take?

6: emails to the B.A.A. from me
4: phone calls to the B.A.A.
1: fax to the B.A.A.
1: email from the LVM race director* to the B.A.A.
1: email from the LVM race timer to the B.A.A.
*this email came from Gerry Yasso (yes, Bart’s brother). Bart designed the LVM course. I love Bart Yasso and now his brother is pretty awesome as well.

I cannot believe it’s finally official!

AND, I cannot believe how lucky I am.

After the NJ Marathon (May 2011), I knew I could BQ. I was lucky enough to get another shot at BQing and found a marathon within driving distance the day before Boston 2012 registration opened. Talk about down to the wire.
There was hurricane Irene, then more flooding, and 90% humidity leading up to the race. I was lucky enough to get a cool and overcast day with little to no mud.
Then the unthinkable happened, Boston registration was still open on September 19th and I was lucky enough to register.

Little did I know that I was about to get even luckier…

One second slower (say I had a violent sneeze during Mile 24) and I would not be running the Boston Marathon.

This is a dream come true! There are no words to express how happy I am right now!

Boston will be my 10th marathon. What a way to ring in the double digits!

PS – My running twin, Cindi, is going to kick ass at the Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday. Stop by and wish her the race of a lifetime!

Boston Update: Thursday Edition

September 29, 2011 by Kristy 13 Comments

If you want to hit “mark all as read” in your Google Reader because you are sick of hearing about Boston, I don’t blame you. I’m pretty damn sick of it myself.

The update is that I still don’t know. I make daily calls to the B.A.A. (I swear there is an audible groan when they hear my voice). I send emails and faxes. Has it helped speed up the process? Nope.

Yesterday I was told there were 300 runners in my situation (most of them ran international races) and they hope to get through them yesterday and today and let us know on Friday. I was told they are not giving away my spot; just checking that my finish time was not falsified. They have 2 emails (which I also faxed to them) from the LVM stating that my finish time is 3:43:46. What the hell more do you need?

Maybe I’ll hear today? I’m not holding my breath. Take your damn time, B.A.A.

In the meantime, I’m trying to focus on other things. Like the fact that I’m running a 5K this weekend with my niece, Sarah (her second 5K!).

A Quick Update On Boston…

September 27, 2011 by Kristy 21 Comments

The update is that I still don’t know and may not know if I’m officially in for some time (officially is the key word here). Most runners found out yesterday if they were accepted or not. I have yet to receive an email. All I know is the cut-off time for my age and gender is 3:43:46 which is exactly my finish time at the Lehigh Valley Marathon.

See the time for the 35-39 age group? Through and including 3:43:46? So technically, I’m in (by the skin of my teeth)! How incredibly lucky is that?

There appears to be an issue verifying my finish time. I have spoken and emailed the B.A.A. twice today. They cannot use the posted times on the LVM website for verification (I asked). The LVM does not give out finishers’ certificates (which the B.A.A. would accept for verification). I also emailed the race director of the LVM to see if he/she can help in anyway.

The second time I spoke with the B.A.A. she said it may take up to 4 weeks to verify my time. I burst into tears (thankfully, I’m working from home). It has been a stressful 2 days and that was the last thing I wanted to hear.

I know my finish time meets the requirements but I cannot celebrate and be happy about it until I receive an acceptance email from the B.A.A.

I feel like I am doing everything in my power to help out and move things along. I guess I just have to wait some more 🙁

Rant n' Rave

September 26, 2011 by Kristy 16 Comments

9/26/11
4 miles easy

BOSTON UPDATE: I should know by today or tomorrow if I’m in (or out, but I’m trying to think positive, so let’s just focus on the “in”). My stomach is in knots and I’m terrified. My BlackBerry will not leave my side today or tomorrow and every time it blinks, I’m going to say a little prayer that it’s the B.A.A. giving me good news. Fingers crossed…

RANT
Back in July, me and my friend Sara decided to sign up for the Great Urban Race – Philly. Think Amazing Race but on a much smaller scale. We both have wanted to do this type of race for awhile and were excited. We even came up with a great team name – Rally Girls, after Friday Night Lights (we are huge fans). Loooong story short, the Great Urban Race sucks. I successfully registered but Sara could not (it kept charging her for 2 participants). Sara called and emailed the GUR staff numerous times and, essentially, they could not fix their registration issue. Sara even asked if they could do something manually if she provided her credit card numbers. Nope. GUR’s solution? Come down on race day and we can register you for $60 (the late registration fee, because it was our fault we weren’t registered on time). Hell no.

Since I was the only Rally Girl registered and the rules are you need 2 team members to race, I asked for a refund. They refused. So, for what it’s worth, I’m blasting them on my blog. Consider yourself warned if you sign up for a Great Urban Race event.

RAVE
Back in June, Molly and Al from races2remember sent me a pace band for the Lehigh Valley Marathon. I love myself a pace band and fully intended to use a 3:45 band for the LVM. These aren’t ordinary pace bands though. Split times are based on the elevation profile of the marathon you are running. Races2remember staffers run marathons all across the country to “test out” the course (by the way, this would be my dream job). So you get a pace band with realistic split times based on downhills and uphills. Their list of marathons (and half marathons) is extremely comprehensive. The LVM is a very small race, and it was listed.

You can get a set of 3 pace bands for $7.50, so you can mix and match finish times. I would highly recommend them if you are into using pace bands.

Got any rant or raves to share on this Monday?

*I was sent a pace band at no cost in exchange for my review; however, my opinions are my own.