Adventures of a female master runner in Metropolitan Washington, DC.
Prologue My last marathon was the 2021 Boston Marathon. Unfortunately, I ran a disappointing 4:12:00, which didn’t re-qualify me for next year’s race! After running eight consecutive Boston Marathons, I left the finish line area wondering if I’d ever run
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Prologue A few days after finishing last year’s race, I tested positive for COVID-19. The illness led me to drop out of the 2021 London Marathon due to travel restrictions to the U.K.. It meant I lost my chance to participate in
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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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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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Prologue My last in-person race was the 2020 Reston 10 Miler. Shortly thereafter, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and the 2020 Boston Marathon., the race that I was training for, was canceled. I held out hope that the 2020 London Marathon and inaugural Wanda
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This time last year, I hadn’t been cleared to run after recently being diagnosed with high blood pressure (and a Vitamin D deficiency) after finishing the 2019 New York City Marathon.
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I was having a rough training cycle, so when both the Boston Marathon and London Marathon were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was disappointed but also slightly relieved that I wouldn’t have two struggle-fests this spring. But, I knew I would “run anyway” as I did after the 2012 New York City Marathon was canceled.
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Back in December when I put this race on my schedule, I had high hopes for this training cycle and wanted to be in 1:16:40 (7:40 pace) shape by now. Unfortunately, over the past few months, it’s been clear that my speed was lacking. In the weeks before the race, I changed my expectations to 1:26:00 (8:35 pace) but moreover, changed my goal determining my goal marathon pace for the Boston Marathon.
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