Three weeks ago today I got the email I knew was coming. Subject: “129th Boston Marathon — Notice of Non-Acceptance.” I didn’t make the cutoff, which ballooned to 6:51 faster than qualifying time. I had 4:56, so I missed by two minutes and five seconds. The Boston Marathon cutoff can cut deep. My Boston Marathon […]
Cascade Express marathon — wrapping up a painful and transformative Boston Beard 2024
This is one of the toughest race reports I’ve written. I ran the Cascade Express marathon on September 7, a race capping 12 solid weeks of training. The temperature at the starting line was far too warm. I struggle in races and general training in hot weather, so I struggled for most of the 26.2 […]
Boston Beard 2024 week 10 — consistency matters most
I scrolled back in my Strava training log trying to find a time I’ve had a streak of running consistency similar to this summer’s marathon buildup. I couldn’t find one. My goal has been to run three workouts a week. A shorter interval effort, a longer interval/tempo workout, and a long run. That has been […]
Boston Beard 2024 week 9 — finding running inspiration where I can
Summer is my least favorite season for marathon training. Or running in general. The heat and humidity zaps all energy and forces paces to slow to the point where I question every goal I have set. So I’m only grinding out the summer miles for one reason: one last shot at hitting a 2025 Boston […]
Boston Beard 2024 week 8 — when challenges come, how will I choose to show up?
Marathon training is never perfect. It is never linear progress, and there are always difficult moments and bad weeks. For me, week eight of my buildup to September’s Boston qualifier attempt could have defeated me. The downward spiral started when I woke up Monday night coughing. So I didn’t make my track workout Tuesday morning. […]
Boston Beard 2024 week 7 — practicing training-plan flexibility
The success or failure of a training buildup can swing on small decisions. Knowing when to back off pace a bit. The right time to force a workout, and when to ditch it. When to dig deep and reach a breakthrough, and when to avoid injury and be able to run well on future days. […]
Boston Beard 2024 week 6 — halfway to race day
My alarm sounded at 3:20 a.m. last Thursday, and immediately I decided I wasn’t going to go out for my scheduled long run. I did need to go to the bathroom so I did that. Then I got back in bed. And I couldn’t go back to sleep. I kept thinking about race day barely […]
Boston Beard 2024 week 5 — rage against the algorithm
If Garmin had a metric for how attached a user is to data, I would be categorized as unhealthy. I pay too much attention to every statistic for each run. And almost never in a positive way. My pace, heart rate, training effect, etc. all swirl around in my head. I look at the overall […]
Boston Beard 2024 week 4 — looking up … and down
Hiking with my daughter is so much fun. She’s old enough to enjoy being outside and the freedom of adventure on the trail. But it’s also stressful. She’s almost 5, a mix of confident and not always respectful of danger. So, while on the trails with her, my jobs are guardrail and occasional pack mule. […]
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