A few weeks ago as I saw the beginning of Boston Marathon training approaching, I began to get nervous. I was excited, but something was still holding me back from really feeling ready to begin this next training cycle.
I have dreamed for years about being able to train and run the Boston Marathon. When my dream came true in December of 2014 I was beyond excited. I couldn’t wait to get to that start line. I still cannot wait to step foot on that start line on April 18th, but something in me just feels different this time around.
After Chicago, I really felt burn out. I had taken every last piece of what I had left and put it into that race. Mentally and physically I had given it everything that I had left. It took a while after that for me to be in a place where I was ready to really push hard again.
I want this place to be somewhere I can share honestly how I am feeling. The truth, I am not really sure what is going to happen on April 18th.
There is a part of me that wants to push myself to new limits and hit some great new goals. Then there is a part of me that just wants to enjoy the moment and just have fun! Racing can be fun and it is fun, but when I set a big goal I often feel pressure to perform.
Regardless of what I decide or what happens on April 18th, there are a few things I am going to focus on this time around throughout my marathon training.
Quit Stressing
There were moments during my Chicago training where I would stress or worry about a workout a week in advance. Why!? Looking back I realize how stupid it was but it began to take over my life and my mind.
Regardless on the ultimate goal I set for myself in Boston, I am determined to not let it take over my life. I can’t lose the joy. I’m not naïve, I know that sometimes when training it gets stressful and not all runs are fun, but when every day become stressful it makes it really hard to improve.
Take Care of Myself
Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t reverted back to old habits or anything like that but during my last training session I wasn’t paying attention to the signs my body was giving me.
I knew that I was heading for a burn out but for some reason I just kept pushing forward and ignoring all those warning signs. It was stupid. I won’t do that to my body again. There is no race or training cycle that is worth it.
Trust and Believe in ME
I’m sure you’ve heard it said many times that you know your body the best. You know what it is and isn’t capable of. Just like I sometimes forget to listen to my body I often forget to really believe in what I can do.
My husband reminds me often that I talk down my accomplishments. He has to put into perspective just how far I’ve come and how far I could go. My focus during this training cycle is to believe in myself even when the paces, runs, or distances may seem terrifying.
These may seem like simple tasks, but if I had just followed these last time around then I believe I would have had much greater success. Going into Boston I know I have a coach in my corner and a wonderful support system behind me. I also know though that there are some sacrifices I am not willing to make this time around.
I know this isn’t the most absolute “this is my goal for Boston” type post but it’s the truth about where I am right now. I’d love to hit my stretch goal of a sub-3:20 in Boston, but I also know that for me right now it’s not worth running myself into the ground. I’ve had an amazing 2 years of PR’s, but that has also meant 2 years of running hard.
That being said, I look forward to sharing this journey with you! I’m going to go out there and give it everything I’ve got, and see where that takes me. I’m going to have fun this training cycle! I’ve got so many years ahead and have really big goals I want to accomplish. Sometimes accomplishing those goals also requires knowing when not to push yourself beyond your limits.
That being said, I am ready for another crazy journey! I’ve dreamed of running Boston for years and I can promise you I will enjoy every single minute.
Here we go! Hang on and enjoy the ride!
Have you ever had trouble determining your goals?
How do you focus on keeping yourself physically and mentally healthy?
Hi Sara, i know exactly what you mean. Running is all about having fun and my coach always said the moment you stop having fun you need to step back and re evaluate and find your focus! I m in a bit of a runt myself these days feeling always tired and out of energy. Eating healthy and taking my multivitamins is what keeps me from physically healthy. As for my mental health, sometimes i just go out for a “mental health” run, no pace, no times, no phones. Just me and my music and the road. Also sometimes i just press pause and give myself a few minutes to reflect and see all that i have good in my life! I am sure you ‘ll rock your Boston marathon, this is such a great accomplishment. Congrats!!! I can’t wait to see where the journey takes you, and just remember running is FUN and we do it cause we love it and makes us happy!
This was the perfect read for me this morning. I’m training for my first Boston as well (yay!), fought burnout after qualifying, and am now trying to make smarter choices. Let the April 18th countdown begin!
The mental side of running is so so so tough for me! I’ve also struggled with stressing about tough workouts and raced ahead of time, to the point that it affected my ability to do them. I’ve been better lately about letting go and running because I love it. And guess what…I’m still setting PRs and hitting some great workouts! I think as I let go of the stress, my body is more free to just run. It’s so much easier said that done though!
Hi Sara,
At the end of last year and the beginning of this year I had started to form the ideas around what my goals for 2016 were going to be!
I knew that the main goal would be based around my first marathon in Berlin in September, the aim there is to be under or as close to a 4hr find she time as I can possibly get to! Now I am not naive enough to believe that I will be able to just turn up on the day and run that sort of time. I know that there will be a lot of hard work and hard miles to get close to that goal and the added disadvantage of it being my first marathon will only make it harder. But that is the goal I am aiming for and all thing willing I’ll be able to accomplish it.
Now the start of this I knew that my short distance speed needed to quicken to even be able to get close to such a goal and therefore I set myself the goal of reaching a sub 25 min 5k time and a sub 50 min 10k time. I knew that I was reasonably close to my 5k goal as I had a track PB of 25:13, but the psychological effect of running on a track is different to that of road running. But in a small boost on New Year’s Day I took part in two Parkruns (not sure how aware of these you are, but they are a free weekly timed 5k run based around the principle of inclusion for all abilities,ages, etc you can find out more here http://www.parkrun.us ) the first one (my local one) I took very easy as the course is very muddy at the moment so fast times aren’t going to be reached! But the second Parkruns was on a course that is known as being quicker, so I made the decision to test myself here and go for a Parkrun PB and even with a couple of small walk breaks I managed to clock a sub 26 min time.
This allowed me to believe in hat my short distance goal were reachable. The we get to 16th January and my first race of the year a 10k race on a flat Tarmac surface. I arrived and pushed myself to see just how close I really was to my goals. The outcome I broke both of them in one go. The 10k race time was 49:57 and this included a 24:37 5k time. So this has left me in a position that I have to rethink two of my yearly goals already!
So here’s to the setting and achievement of yours and everyone else’s goal for this year. The real hard part is setting goals that will really test and benefit you in the long run, but still be achievable!
Keep up the good work with you training, believe in yourself you are doing so well already there is no need to doubt yourself even for a second!
I look forward to reading about the rest of your journey to Boston and beyond!
Alex
Hi Sara, I’ve never commented before, but I ran Boston last year for the first time, and I wanted to share my perspective in hopes it would help! I went into Boston training with my main goal being to enjoy and appreciate the experience. I kind of had a time range I was training for (I think you have to at least have some range for training purposes), but I did NOT put a specific time in my head, because I knew that if I missed it, I would be disappointed. And the last thing I wanted to feel as I was crossing the finish line at the Boston Marathon was even a tiny bit of disappointment. It ended up being the best decision for me — I trained in Western New York during possibly the worst winter EVER, marathon day weather was cold and rainy with a terrible (I thought) headwind, and I didn’t finish in a time I was probably physically capable of running in better conditions. Despite all of that, I had the time of my life running Boston. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life, and I’m sure it will be for you too. Good luck and have fun!
I have run Boston a few times and the best advice I can give you is to be flexible! You just never know what race day might throw at you and Boston is incredible, you want to enjoy it! It sounds like you are being smart with your training and are going to get there prepared and ready to have a great day.
Just have fun, take it all in and enjoy the fact that you earned a spot on that starting line! (And training is half the fun so enjoy that too!)
I had big plans for a PR in Boston 2014. I killed myself in training and ended up with a stress fracture 3 weeks before the race. I still (probably a stupid idea) ran/walked the race and made the most of it, but looking back, I wish I would have just trained to have fun and finish instead of having to struggle through the entire race.