When registration opened the morning of the 18th for the Boston Marathon, I fed into the hype. I sat there coffee in hand and waited for those precious minutes to tick away before registration opened. I started the process the moment the clock turned. All in all it took me about 10 minutes and about 5 failed tries before my registration went through.
At the time it seemed like a great idea and here's why:
I qualified this past March. With an 18 month window for your qualifying time, this meant that I had to run Boston in 2011 or try to re-qualify again if I wanted to run in 2012.
I love marathons. I hope that I am able to run a marathon a year for most years of my life. That being said I don't know how I will continue to fit in the training while the kids are this little. It's a huge sacrifice. The sacrifice is not just my own. My friends and family have been instrumental in helping me train for marathons now that I have kids. Without help from others I would never have been able to train. That being said I wanted to be able to run Boston one more time just in case I never make it back there [fingers crossed I will]
My mom recently moved to Boston[and qualified to run the race as well]. Two of my best.best.best friends live in Boston. They both happen to be twins, though not twins to each other. Between the three of them, I will have a place to stay, someone to run with and people to cheer me on. What more can I ask for?
I really, really, really wanted to run B & A Marathon again this spring. Being that Colton was born on the 9th I didn't and don't have enough time to train for that race. Boston gives me over a month more to train and hopefully get in some sort of shape. Though I am being realistic and am in no way shape or form trying to PR at this race.
Two of my other best friends qualified and will be running Boston as well. They are twins, to each other. This means I won't be running all my long runs alone, in the cold. I am very thankful for this one. I have no problem running 20 miles by.my.self, but would always rather run it with company. I know this will help motivate me, which is something I definately feel that I will need as a mom of a newborn.
It's Boston. I don't think this needs any explanation.
What I didn't think about. Sleepless nights, the cold temperatures and just generally how I was going to train in the winter with a newborn......
This Saturday will mark the 4 month mark till Boston. This weekend will be spent coming up with my training plan.
seeMOMMYrun.com is a free service that help moms find other walking or running moms in their areas. The site helps the 'everyday athlete' in all of us stay motivated, set goals, and reach them.
3 comments:
Your rock, Dorothy, and you can do it. You will probably be a bit slower (if it were 10 months post-partum, I'd say you'd may even be faster--pregnancy can actually increase fitness a year later), but you'll probably be faster than the average. It will be fun--and you will figure out the logisitics of training with a newborn (nurse/pump right before heading out the door for that 20-miler, etc.). Go for it!
Just remember to HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE! Marathon running plus nursing is very draining (literally and figuratively!)
You absolutely can do it. Newborns sleep during the day more than older children. I ran NY 9 months after my 3d child was born and found that training easier than when I had toddlers- really. Hydration is of course crucial to your recovery. I breast fed my son on the finish line to the shock of the folks around me with my space blanket covering him. Worth it. It made me feel really good to something for me with a needy newborn. I'm also from Boston and must get there someday....
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