Category: Race Reports

2019 Firecracker 5K for the Troops

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July.  The one month in the year when I’m not training for anything! After finishing the 2019 Cleveland Marathon in early May, I took a few days off and then started running regularly again.  I ran the 2019 Maryland Half Marathon in early June and then steadily increased my running mileage the next week and the week after. Two days before the race, I returned to Washington, D.C. after spending the weekend in California for my high school reunion.  I ran close to 13 miles on Tuesday morning, followed by 6 easy miles on Wednesday.

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2019 Maryland Half Marathon

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I woke up thinking I was running the Lawyers Have Heart 10K but decided to take on a half marathon just three weeks after the 2019 Cleveland Marathon! The early miles were slow because the course was hilly. But, I finally allowed myself to run hard after about eight miles. My time was 1:45:56 (8:06 pace) – 6th woman overall and 1st in my age group!

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2019 Boston Marathon - Banner

2019 Cleveland Marathon

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This race was pretty high on my list of tough marathons.  If the race was a week or two earlier, I think it could be a destination event.  It was well organized and there’s just enough to do around downtown for a three-day weekend.

I finished the 2019 Boston Marathon in mid-April and did a “reverse taper” before training again.

Based on the warm weather forecast, I adjusted my expectations considerably and just wanted to finish.  The spectators were fantastic – spraying runners with hoses and giving out water.  In the final miles, the temperature was 84 degrees!  My time was 3:57:09 (9:02 pace) – my second slowest marathon.

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2019 Boston Marathon - Banner

2019 Boston Marathon

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The afternoon heat made it a tough day but the cheering crowds made the race bearable.

I went into the race with a lot of confidence after running the 2019 Rock n Roll DC Half Marathon in 1:38:36 (7:32 pace) – my fastest half marathon in three years!  My goal was sub-3:28:00 (7:57 pace).  But, in the days before the race, my knees were killing me.

A few miles into the race, I was already sweating.  By the time I reached Newton, running 7:59 pace, the temperature was probably just under 70 degrees!    I left that town down to 8:08 pace but rallied in Brookline.

My time was 3:34:40 (8:12 pace).  My goal marathon for this spring was actually the 2019 Cleveland Marathon so, I plan to take a few days off and then start training again.

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2018 New York City Marathon - Banner

2018 New York City Marathon

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Scroll all the way down to the end for the tl;dr version. Prologue I started training for the New York City Marathon in July using an 18-week training plan from Advanced Marathoning, Second Edition by Pete Pfitzinger. At the time,

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