Adventures of a female master runner in Metropolitan Washington, DC.
Prologue Back in November, when I created my training plan for the 2022 Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, I wrote about how much I wanted to return to the New York City Marathon and the Boston Marathon. Unfortunately, I found out
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The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler is the premier racing event in Washington, D.C. I was excited about its post-COVID 19 return!
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In November, after a disappointing 2021 Boston Marathon, I planned to do a “speed” cycle with the 2022 Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Half Marathon as my goal event.
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During the first two miles, I ran easy out of respect for the hills. By the second mile, I adopted a strategy of taking the downhills hard and the uphills easy. By Mile 9, I passed all the women I had been going back and forth with during the earlier miles, so I felt my plan had paid off. My time was 1:24:38 (8:28 pace) – about where I thought I would be. After the race, I plugged my time into the McMillan Running Calculator and got a marathon time of 3:57:34 (9:04 pace). I’ll need to get a bit faster if I hope to re-qualify for the 2023 Boston Marathon with a sub-3:55:00 (8:59 pace) in September.
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After the 2021 Boston Marathon, my boyfriend and I spent a day at a spa in the Poconos and then returned to Washington, DC. Physically, I was fine – I hadn’t run the race all out. But mentally, I was sore from not re-qualifying for the 2022 Boston Marathon and maintaining training momentum for two mostly race-less years. But, I only took four days off from running before hitting the roads again.
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A very late year-end review for 2021! It was another year of injury and illness. Last February, I fell, breaking two fingers and skinning my knee! In May, I started training for the 2021 London Marathon (as part of the inaugural Wanda Age Group Championship). But in September, I tested positive for COVID-19! A month after recovering, I ran the 2021 Boston Marathon! Unfortunately, I did not re-qualify for next year’s race. For the rest of the year, I ran relatively low mileage but focused on interval training in an attempt to get my speed back in 2022.
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This week, I only had two workouts – a medium-long run on Sunday and a marathon-pace workout on Thursday. Mostly, I prepared to race and accept that I may not re-qualify for the Boston Marathon. But, one month after having COVID-19 and having to skip the London Marathon, I’m grateful for the opportunity to start. On Friday, my partner and I left Washington, D.C., and made our way to Boston by way of New York City.
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This week, I only had two workouts – a medium-long run on Sunday and a marathon-pace workout on Thursday. Mostly, I prepared to race and accept that I may not re-qualify for the Boston Marathon. But, one month after having COVID-19 and having to skip the London Marathon, I’m grateful for the opportunity to start. On Friday, my partner and I left Washington, D.C., and made our way to Boston by way of New York City.
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On Sunday, I ran a final 20 miler for confidence and then started tapering for the Boston Marathon! Almost every run featured tears as I grappled with the personal struggles from the past two years. Struggling to put my London Marathon trying cycle behind me as that race approached, I finally started my itinerary for the Boston Marathon on Saturday.
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My training was locked in this week. I ran a solid 18 miler on Sunday, a Yasso 800 workout on Tuesday (that suggested I might be able to my 2022 Boston Marathon qualifying time) and a medium-long run on Thursday.
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