2020 Boston Marathoner

How else should I start off this blog post besides: John and I are 2020 Boston Marathoners!

26.2 miles completed! It was the toughest thing either of us have ever done.

I started running four years ago in April 2016, and couldn’t run one mile without stopping. Growing up in Boston, Patriot’s Day is Boston Marathon Day. The weekend leading up to the race is Marathon Weekend. I remember watching the 2016 Boston Marathon and saying, “My dream is to run the marathon.” At the time, that dream felt so far away. I was only running 5K’s.

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Tifosi Sunglasses

Ever since I started wearing contacts two years ago, I became big into sunglasses! I wore glasses for 19 years. I was never able to wear sunglasses because I wouldn’t have been able to see with out my prescription. And I was not spending a crazy amount of money on prescription sunglasses.

My dresser draw has 12 pairs of sunglasses. I have a few pairs of aviators, color changing frames, pink frames, purple frames, so many options to choose from! What I really wanted was a pair of running sunglasses. Ever since I started wearing contacts, I can now feel the wind in my eyes and debris. The first time I ran I said, “Something feels weird!” After that, I was on the search for a good pair of running sunglasses.

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24-Hour Ultra Marathon

Some runners have a training plan that they go by when training for a race or a goal. For me, I want to accomplish a goal even if I have little training leading up to it.

I have been wanting to do the 24-Hour Ultra Marathon Challenge since I heard about it in April. I waited until July for so many reasons. I live in the city, and I will not run outside at 1AM due to the coyotes or raccoons that are walking around. I thought of running back and forth on my block, but that too would not have been a good idea. It had to be on a day I had off (not including a weekend), and my husband had to be home in case something happened to me while running. The gym had to re-open or I had to get a treadmill. Once I got a treadmill, my first thought was, “I can run the ultra marathon!” 🙂

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Black Bean Burgers

Who doesn’t like veggie burgers? They are packed with different types of veggies and nutrition in one patty. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of turkey burgers. I don’t mind a beef patty every once in a while. But I will have a veggie burger over the other two any day!

One day over a year ago I was craving a black bean burger for dinner. I remember the last veggie burger I had at a restaurant and I looked in my pantry to see if I had the ingredients. My pantry is also filled, so of course I did!

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Boston Marathon Training UPDATE

It has been almost two months since I have accepted the bib to run the 2020 Boston Marathon. Wow, time has flown by! I feel like it was just yesterday I received the email.

My training is going very well! I am pacing myself because being healthy for a marathon is much more important to me than how fast I am going to run. There is no set pace or finish time I am aiming for. My goal is to finish the race, and finish healthy!

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I am running in the 2020 BOSTON MARATHON

I am excited to announce that I will running in the 2020 BOSTON MARATHON!

This has been a dream and goal of mine for three years. The first time I went to the Boston Marathon Expo was in April 2017. I walked down Boylston Street and through the finish line with my husband (then fiance), and got chills. I turned to him and said, “I want to run the marathon. I want to cross that finish line.” At the time, I have been running for a year. I was an average runner. I searched to see how I can apply for a charity bib. I got engaged and the following year (2018), I was planning my wedding. I didn’t have time to train for a marathon. Then September of 2018, I missed the deadline to apply for a charity bib.

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Thanks-oween-mas Challenge

The Virtual Run Challenge has some fun and exciting new challenges!

Thanks-oween-mas Challenge is still under way. The first race was for Halloween, the second was the Thanksgiving race, and the final race of the challenge is for Christmas. I completed two out of the three so far, and will do the third closer to Christmas. Check out the medals below. They spin!

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LiveStrong Half Marathon Relay Race

My husband, John and I ran our first relay race! We have never ran a relay race before, so we decided to sign up to try it out. It was called the LiveStrong Half Marathon & Two-Person Relay Race. You could run the half marathon (13.1 miles), or the relay race (6.55 miles). There were only 20 relay teams who participated.

The first runner had to run the first half of the race, and the second runner had to wait at the halfway point for the bib pass off. I decided to run the first half because I didn’t want to wait in the cold to start the second half 🙂 Also, there were a lot of hills in the first half. There was a board that told you how steep the hills were. There were no hills in the second half. John’s ankle was hurting him, so I decided to run the hills. Who doesn’t like a challenge? I love to challenge myself, so I wanted to push myself.

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Suffolk 5K Race

It has been a while since I have posted. I went on a two week vacation to celebrate my first wedding anniversary 🙂 We went to Florida for a few days, then took a seven day cruise to the Caribbean. The weather was beautiful! After my vacation, I felt like a needed a another week off to recover from all the fun and late nights.

Instead, I jumped right back into weightlifting and running. John and I ran the Suffolk University family/alumni weekend 5K. We ran this race two years ago, and decided to run it again this year. I am an alumni, so it is always great to participate in family weekend and give back to the school.

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MR8K Race

On September 2nd (Labor Day), my husband and I ran the MR8K race for the Martin Richard Foundation. Martin was the youngest person to be killed in the Boston Marathon bombings six years ago. This was the second annual race for the foundation.

The race was five miles. It started at the Boston Bruins practice facility, the Warrior Ice Arena. It went around Brighton, up some steep hills, and finished at the arena. The weather was perfect running weather: in the high 60’s with sun and clouds.

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