Category Archives: Marathon Training

IT’S RACE WEEK!!! #itsgoingdownatphx

Posted by hellyontherun in Marathon Training and tagged with

I can’t believe it’s here!! Aaaaand I can’t believe that I’m going to try and Boston Qualify, LOL!!

I’m so excited and crazily enough, not scared. I’ve trained and made it to race week and alls that’s left is for me to go out there and see what happens.

I’m not afraid of “failure” –of not BQing. It took me soooo long to get my sub 4 hour marathon and when I finally did, I was over the moon. To be honest, I still find myself riding that high two sub 3:45 marathons later. NYC Marathon will forever be a special moment for me.

And I have a feeling that regardless of what happens on Saturday, this Phoenix Marathon will be special too. St. George Marathon was supposed to be my first attempt at qualifying for Boston, but that training cycle was marred by life circumstances which forced me to throw in the white flag halfway through. I didn’t talk much about that time in my life on here, and I don’t want to re-live it by writing it out, but I will share that it was a really rough patch (one which included me going back to work only to leave a few weeks later).

Coming out of that darkness, was Phoenix Marathon training and it was what gave me life. I threw myself into my workouts and released my frustrations from the previous months with each run. I’m so thankful to have had this cathartic cycle to help me out of what had been some tough times.

Because of that, I feel so strong going into race day–strong training wise and strong mentally. I finally feel like I’m “over” everything and back in control of my life. This confidence is what has me NOT scared. My coach has also been absolutely amazing at helping to build my confidence with my running and it’s seeped into confidence within myself.

I’m just so excited for Saturday ❤

 

–Thank you all for your support. I know I haven’t been as active on here, but it’s meant a lot to have this small corner of the internet world to come to when I need it. I’ll be sharing “instant” results on Instagram, BQ or no BQ. Can’t wait!

Weeks 12-15: #itsgoingdownatphx

Posted by hellyontherun in Bloggers, Marathon, Marathon Training, Running and tagged with , , , , , , ,

Welp, looks like I’ve gotten a little behind on these recaps, lol!! To catch you up, training has been going really well. Which of course, makes me nervous.

I’ve had some pretty amazing workouts at paces I never thought I could do. So far, I’ve completed an 18 miler, a 20 miler, and an 18 miler, with my last 20 coming up this weekend. The last two long runs were super tough leaving me wondering if I can really do this thing, but let me tell you something, besides running these past few weeks, I’ve been working on my mental game LIKE WHOA.

I’ll do a full recap on the reading I’ve done (and podcasts I’ve listened to <—finally catching up with the times!) after the race, but I do want to say that immersing myself with positivity has been such a help for me this training cycle.

I wouldn’t be able to have hit these paces without believing I could.

Of course I get nervous, will I have had a great training cycle but an abysmal race? But as soon as those thoughts start creeping in, I shut them out.

And if for whatever reason, things go to shit and I don’t BQ, I’m guaranteed a fun time because… my friends are getting married at mile 26!!!!

follow the fun at @rundrunklove

Love them!

the bride-to-be and meeee!

Yessss!!! How awesome is that? So I “met” Scott through his (now defunct) blog and then met him in real life when we both ran Chicago Marathon 2015. That’s when I met Marsha, the girl he’ll be marrying. We hit it off and now we’re the best of friends ❤ They came out last year for Phoenix Marathon when Marsha was trying to BQ (she did) and then came out again to baptize my son.

I ❤ this pic.

Hoping to ring that bad boy again this year!

Regardless of the outcome of the race, I’m so glad these two will be there. I know that they’ll be my tequila drinking buddies if I need to drown my sorrows or celebrate the good times 😀

CAN’T WAIT!!!

–Have you seen a mid-marathon wedding?

 

Rock n Roll Arizona: The Expo and Pre-Race!

Posted by hellyontherun in Half Marathon, Marathon Training, Race and tagged with , , , , ,

 

I’m back for a second year as a Rock ‘n’ Blogger (RnR Ambassador) so I was excited to represent this year and take a closer look at things so I can (always truthfully) relay info back to y’all.

This year, there was a 1 miler race on Friday and a 5k race on Saturday morning. I had friends do both and who said both were fun. One said the band playing after the 1 miler was legit–a Tom Petty cover band! I was already having FOMO and that just intensified it.

@runlaurarun28

There were some changes made this year (new company!) and I noticed it as soon as we walked in to the expo on Saturday. There were computers available at the entrance of the expo building where you could search your bib number and fill out your waiver–away from the crowds and totally convenient (because I forgot to print mine out, lol!)

Easy walk through to get my bib and shirt but when we entered the actual expo, there were these cool computer screens wishing us luck… by name!! I’m thinking they “got” the info from our bibs?? but either way, I thought that was a nice, new touch 🙂

The expo seemed small, but I don’t mind small expos. I did a loop and half, snagged some Honey Stinger waffles then took a quick ProCompression pic and I was done!

I like that the expo is in downtown Phoenix (where the marathon starts) since we rarely make it down there, and it’s a good excuse to take our time (that, and parking costed $12 so I was going to milk it!). If you’re coming from out of town and doing the half marathon (which starts and ends in Tempe, not downtown Phoenix), you can easily take the light rail to the expo.

We ate a new-to-us restaurant and enjoyed the beautiful 75 degree weather day 😀

RACE DAY

As I mentioned, the half marathon starts and ends in Tempe, Arizona (but goes through Scottsdale and a tiny little section of Phoenix). People complain that it’s not “scenic” but you’re in the city, and I’m not sure how scenic it could be. I think if people are coming to Arizona because they want desert, they need to hit the trails. RnR Arizona does what it can in providing a visually appealing course–it’s start in Tempe’s Mill Ave district and ends at Tempe Town Lake. The middle portions are city streets which is unavoidable–you’re in the city. There’s a nice section (where the big hill is at at mile 9) that takes you around the Desert Botanical Gardens area and is a bit more desert-y. I like that it ends at Tempe Town Lake because it’s a huge area where you can hang out with friends/family afterward (with plenty of food options walking distance). Plus, the band is literally right there. Super convenient. By the way, this year Everclear performed and I totally relived my 90s youth.

Anyway, my husband and I are pros at this race as we’ve done it the past….oh 5 years?? We drive to a park-n-ride off the freeway (in Mesa) and take the light rail to the start line in Tempe–which happens to be at my alma mater, Arizona State University. Big reason why I love doing this race. I love coming back to my old campus stomping grounds 😀 Go Devils!

We arrived suuuuper early, because that’s how I roll, and because I also had to squeeze in 2 warm up miles and attend 2 group pictures, LOL!!

Moms Run This Town AZ

Pro Compression Ambassadors

Rockin’ the Arizona PC sock!!! ❤ #keepittight

It was while I was handing things over to my husband for gear check that I realized I LEFT MY SPIBELT WITH GU INSIDE IN THE CAR!!!! And remember, my car was back IN MESA!

I could feel my anxiety rising and tried hard not to panic. “It’s only a half, I will survive,” I told myself. But because I was shooting for a PR, I really wanted everything to be perfect. This was not perfect.

One of my MRTT girlfriends said she had an extra Huma gel she could give me and even though I hadn’t tried Huma gels before, I figured something was better than nothing. I mean, it’s not like they say to not try anything new on race day or anything.

Sigh……

I tried to get back in the zone. Like I said, I’ve done this race many times. I know this course. I know exactly what’s coming.

Race deets: Always on MLK weekend, always at ASU.

I knew that from the beginning, it’s a slight uphill that at parts you can see/feel and at parts not. I also knew there’s a “big” hill around mile 9 but that after that, you’ve got a fast finish 5k. I told myself to work it to the hill.

Get. to. the. hill.

Actual Race Re-cap tomorrow ❤

 

Save Save Save Save