Yet again, its been far too long between posts. I want to write an update from the Boston Marathon. And hopefully soon you’ll see another post from me with a recap of my recent triathlon at Best in the West in mid-September. I’m starting to feel ready to get back into blogging, so I hope to just jump right back in.

THE BOSTON MARATHON

The last post you saw was right before I ran Boston. I did in fact run the race, but I have to admit it did not go quite as I had planned. I ended up getting a cold right as I arrived in Boston. I tried to rest as much as possible in the days before the race and take some medications to feel good enough to run. The morning of the marathon I was feeling better, but definitely not 100%.

The morning was warm at the start and I tried to hide in the shade in the staging area. It was so thrilling to finally be there. I couldn’t believe how many people were everywhere– running the race, spectating! I was soaking in every moment. I was actually there running the Boston Marathon!! Something I never thought I would get to do!

The first few miles of the race are mostly downhill. I knew from other people that I needed to take these miles incredibly easy so I didn’t burn out later in the race. The miles absolutely flew by. I was cruising along and feeling good for about 8-9 miles. But then things started to turn for the worse. The cold that I had been fighting reared it’s ugly head. I struggled to breathe and the only way I could settle down my breathing was to walk. It was incredibly frustrating because my legs were feeling so good!

I continued to focus on running when I could and walking when I had to in order to breathe. I kept thinking about when I would see my family and friends out to cheer me (totally what kept me going!!). This was the hardest race I had ever run. It felt like all I could do to keep moving forward at times. You know it’s rough when you start counting down the miles remaining at mile 10. I did my best to continue to enjoy being in the moment and taking in the crowds. It is seriously incredible to have such a huge number of supporters for an ENTIRE 26.2 miles. Staying positive and in the moment was critical to getting through those tough steps.

I ran as hard as I could… even when it hurt. I cried tears of pain, joy and relief as I pushed myself through the last half mile. I finally crossed the finish line in 4:40. My slowest marathon to date.

To be completely honest, I was kind of disappointed in how everything went for a while. I know that I was trained for a better race. I was sad that my great post-partum training didn’t culminate in a great race as well.

Now though, I’m proud of my fight…of putting it all out on the course. I’m thankful that I was able to work hard and qualify for Boston, that I was able to go through a healthy pregnancy and delivery, and train for running Boston with my little guy with me along the way, that I was able to finish the Boston Marathon at only seven months post-partum. I’m also thankful for everyone who helped me get there. I think not having this race go as planned has fueled the fire to try to get back to Boston some day. In the end, I think I did do what I set out to do — run for the joy of running, and put everything I had that day out on the streets of Boston.

For now though, it’s time to turn to a different chapter. I’m focusing this year on triathlon training. My next big adventure is training for my first IRONMAN! Ryan and I will be taking on Ironman Canada on July 30, 2017. I hope you’ll follow along as I continue on this journey!