Posts tagged boston marathon
Running the California International Marathon
Running the California International Marathon

Back in 2019, while listening to The Morning Shakeout podcast, I first heard about the California International Marathon (CIM). It was advertised as a fast, PR-friendly course with lots of competition and perfect weather. I immediately started making plans to go in 2020 as a vacation destination with a marathon thrown in the middle, which is pretty ideal for me. While I don’t have to tell you that it got canceled last year in the midst of all the craziness, I signed up for the 2021 version the day registration opened in April. I would run it three weeks after the Richmond Half Marathon, a race I signed up for in 2020 with vain hopes of running it in the same year. I crossed my fingers that neither one would get canceled again…

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Maria Grace Photographycalifornia international marathon, cim 2021, cutwater spirits, san diego, california, tacos el gordo, cocina 35, the counter, arrivederci hillcrest, ironsmith coffee roasters, marathon runner, boston marathon
Lessons from the Virtual One City Marathon
Lessons from the Virtual One City Marathon

Almost exactly a year ago, I lined up for the Newport News One City Marathon with the goal of qualifying for Boston. This would require a finish time of 3:30, with an average pace of 8:00/mile. My training up to that point told me this was possible, but anything can happen in 26.2 miles, and I was pretty nervous going into it. I’ll spare all the details (you can read more here), but the end result was a Boston-qualifying marathon in a finishing time well below my goal.

And then, of course, everything got cancelled. I’ll skip over 2020 because nobody wants to re-live that mess again, but it’s only in the last few months that live races have started again. Personally, I’m not quite ready to sign up for a mass in-person event (even though a lot of companies have pulled this off safely!), but when the Virtual One City Marathon opened up, I knew I wanted to test my fitness while supporting a great local business (Flat Out Events).

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PersonalMaria Grace Photographyboston qualifier, boston marathon, one city marathon, running advice, running gear, runner's story, marathon runner
Qualifying for Boston: My Marathon Story
Qualifying for Boston: My Marathon Story

As of today at 10:24am, I officially became a Boston-qualified marathoner. I’ve talked about my journey in running a lot (click here or here for more), so today I’m focusing on exactly what it was like to run the One City Marathon and do it under my goal pace of 3:30. If you want a behind-the-scenes look at running a marathon, I’m breaking it down mile by mile - with all the before and after, too!

The week before the race was taper week, which meant I still ran every day but cut way back on mileage and intensity. All my runs were easy/slow pace, as much as I could hold back. The day before was mostly rest after a 3-mile shakeout run. By the end of the week, I felt completely out of shape, like I had lost all my fitness during this time. I knew this wasn’t true, so I had to fight against it mentally, but for months I’ve been pushing and running hard and increasing mileage, so to cut all that back right before the race was not my favorite feeling. Saturday felt incredibly long, and I just wanted the race to hurry up and start.

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PersonalMaria Grace Photographyone city marathon, boston marathon, boston qualifier, runner's story, marathon runner