Boston Marathon 2006
Monday April 28, 2008 Filed in: Running
Boston Marathon 4/17/06 Saeli-Marrero, Rachel K. (F28) 3217 233 / 192 Fopen 3:16:38 Buffalo, NY, USA
Since this was my last marathon pre-Lizzie, I thought I'd share the video of me actually finishing. I trained harder for this one than I ever had before, and possibly harder than I ever will again. I was up to 75 miles per week of training runs at the peak of my training. It was crazy. My goal was to train and run like I might not run another marathon for awhile...which I haven't, so it worked out. I wanted to run a 3:10, but I was VERY pleased with the 3:16 that I ended up with. I trained and raced my hardest and it paid off. I shaved some more time off of my PR of 3:17, which made me even happier.
It was a great day-- not too hot, not too cold. The marathon started earlier that year, so the gun went off at 10:00 or 10:30-- I don't remember now, but we definitely spent way less time in Athlete's Village. I did all of my long runs during training with Liz, and she and I ran the first 11-ish miles together. We had a slight snafu involving our running watches, and I ended up dropping back for awhile, but we finished within about a minute of each other.
The next time I run Boston, I would love to have an experience like this one. Actually, I would love Buffalo to go as well as this Boston went. I'm down to just under 4 weeks to go, and I'm feeling pretty good. Angela and I did our 20 mile run yesterday, and it went so well. We both felt great the whole time and we ended up running under 8 minute-mile average for the whole thing! Angela's IT Band is bugging her now though, so please join me in hoping she's recovered and ready to go in no time.
My running heroes
Thursday April 24, 2008 Filed in: Running
,Motherhood
One
of my biggest heroes (in the running world anyway) is
Paula Radcliffe.
First of all, she is an AMAZING marathoner-- one of the best in the world. Second, and possibly more important, is that she's a mom AND an amazing runner. Paula and I were pregnant at the same time and her daughter Isla was born about 2 weeks after Lizzie. I would see pictures of her after finishing a 10k when she was 6 months pregnant and marvel at how fit she still looked. I was still running, too, and other people told me that I was still fit, but I didn't FEEL how Paula LOOKED. I cried when she won the New York City Marathon last November and held Isla while she waved to her fans. I guess my whole point is, I just think she's great.
First of all, she is an AMAZING marathoner-- one of the best in the world. Second, and possibly more important, is that she's a mom AND an amazing runner. Paula and I were pregnant at the same time and her daughter Isla was born about 2 weeks after Lizzie. I would see pictures of her after finishing a 10k when she was 6 months pregnant and marvel at how fit she still looked. I was still running, too, and other people told me that I was still fit, but I didn't FEEL how Paula LOOKED. I cried when she won the New York City Marathon last November and held Isla while she waved to her fans. I guess my whole point is, I just think she's great.
Steamtown Marathon 2005
Thursday April 24, 2008 Filed in: Running
Steamtown Marathon 10/9/05 Saeli, Rachel (F28) 3:17:37 190 15 / 5 F25-29 Buffalo, NY, USA
THIS is probably my favorite of all of the marathons I've run. Don't ask me why I look like I'm asleep in the first picture...I clearly was not.
The Steamtown Marathon is in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I didn't know that there was anything at all in Scranton before running this marathon. The only bad thing about the trip was that I booked a "smoking" room in the hotel. Being from "Smoke Free NY", I don't even think about smoking being an option anymore. I didn't even consider the possibility that PA would still allow smoking in hotels and even in RESTAURANTS!! So, yeah, that was extra yucky, but we lived.
I felt absolutely AMAZING the whole 26.2 miles of this race. The course is super scenic and beautiful and the weather was totally perfect. The only bad thing I can think of about the race (as if I'm required to say one bad thing) is that I almost had a heart attack at the start. They start the race by firing a cannon-- like an old civil war-esque honest to goodness cannon. It was a little damp out and the cannon didn't fire. Then it did--about 30 seconds after we started running. It scared the crap out of me. But then I was fine. The first 6 miles of this course are STRAIGHT downhill...we're talking steep hills. Part of the course runs on a woodchip trail. I think I'm actually "off-road" in the 1st picture.
I ran another personal best (by 10 whole minutes!!), but more exciting than that was how my friends did. Well, Carrie in particular. Carrie had run a bunch of marathons before this one. She's such a hard worker and really dedicated to running, but she hadn't qualified for Boston yet. She had a very disappointing near-miss in Chicago in 2004, when she ran a 3:41 and change, just missing a qualifier. Everything came together for her in Scranton that morning, though, and she ran a 3:35!!! I was so much more excited for her than I was for my own PR.
Ok, only one more marathon to go--Boston 2006!!
Buffalo Marathon 2005
Sunday April 20, 2008 Filed in: Running
Buffalo Marathon 5/29/05 Saeli, Rachel K. (F) 3:38:11 107 11 / 3 F25-29 3:37:57 Buffalo, NY, USA
The Buffalo Marathon is generally 6 weeks after the Boston Marathon. I decided to run Buffalo to redeem myself after the disappointing experience I had in Boston. I didn't particularly want to run fast. All I wanted to do was remind myself that I was capable of running a marathon well. Notice I switched back to the red outfit for this race-- I think I had too many bad memories associated with the pink one...I still don't wear it much to this day.
The Buffalo Marathon is b-o-r-i-n-g. At least it was that year. I think they've changed the course since then, so we'll see in a couple of weeks. Again, I don't remember much about the actual running of the race. I know I felt pretty good and I very distinctly remember almost getting hit by a bus at mile 24. Other than that, it's a big blur. BUT it did renew my confidence in myself. I realized that one bad race did not make me a bad marathoner. This race was more about the mental aspect of running than the physical.
Next is the Steamtown Marathon--one of my all time favorites!!!
Boston Marathon 2005
Saturday April 19, 2008 Filed in: Running
Boston Marathon 4/18/05 Saeli, Rachel K. (F27) 4:01:58 8524 2175 / 1638 F0-39 3:55:45 Buffalo, NY, USA
I didn't think I had any pictures from this marathon, but I managed to find one. Other than it being my first Boston, which gave me a sense of accomplishment like no other marathon has, there isn't much I really care to remember about this particular marathon.
The Boston Marathon is a point-to-point course, which is different from a lot of others. Most marathons start and end in relatively the same place. Boston, on the other hand, starts in Hopkinton, Massachusetts and ends in Boston, exactly 26.2 miles away. So, because the course is a straight shot, all of the runners have to take a bus to the start. The race used to start at noon, but the buses left the Boston Commons at 7 am-ish. This meant that you were hanging out in the "Athletes' Village" for about 4 hours.
The day of this particular Boston, the temperature ended up being somewhere in the mid-70's. It wasn't quite so warm when I arrived in the Athletes' Village, though. One thing you should know about me to help you understand this story--I am always cold (unless I am running a marathon). Always. I hardly ever wear shorts--even in the hottest part of the summer. So, predictably, I was cold when I got off the bus that morning. I sat in the sun, because what else would you do if you were cold, right? This was a bad move, I would later find out. Oh, and keep in mind throughout this story that I was not in great marathon shape coming into Boston. I'd been injured off and on all winter and hadn't trained as hard as I should have.
So, with all of the necessary background information, fast-forward to the start. The actual start of the race itself went off just fine. The first probably 5 miles are a pretty good downhill. It's also very easy in a marathon to get swept up in the crowd at the start and run faster than you should. Between the downhill and the crowd, my legs were practically dead by the time we hit the five mile mark. This obviously posed a problem, since I still had 21 miles to go. I kept plugging along though.
Around mile 10 though, I had a very scary realization. I realized that I wasn't sweating. Not at all. It quickly registered that sitting in the sun had dehydrated me in a dangerous way. I didn't know what to do...do I go to a medical tent? They would definitely make me drop out--there was no way I was dropping out of the Boston Marathon...not even for this. So I did the only thing I could think to do. I walked. Through every water stop for the next 14 miles. I walked and drank. Drank and walked. I started to sweat again. I realized I was sunburned. VERY sunburned. I ran the last 2 miles, mostly because I couldn't swallow my pride and have Enrique see me walking and I didn't know where he would be waiting for me. Most importantly, though, I finished. yeah, I was probably in a very dangerous place physically. But I dealt with it (I think) safely and I was ok.
I learned a lot from this marathon. Don't sit in the sun. Wear sunblock. It's ok to walk sometimes. Most importantly, though, I was reminded to respect the marathon.