Boston

I want Boston so badly. I started running about 6 years ago and started running Marathon's 5 years ago. My first marathon was hardly more than a whim, a challenge. I'm an incredibly competitive person and a VP at my former job practically dared me to run a marathon so I did. I finished, I was hooked. I ate it all up, I wanted to know everything there was to know about running and of course being fiercely competitive I wanted to be a Boston Qualifier. My Husband's grandfather ran Boston sometime in the 1930's and finished 13th . When I tell his family I'm a marathon runner and they ask me why I haven't run Boston I always have to sheepishly reply that I haven't qualified yet.

It's not that I can't. I know I'm fast enough to run Boston, I just can't seem to keep it together. I have issues. I don't sweat like a normal person. TMI? Maybe, but it's true. Until about two years ago I didn't sweat at all. I never had. Now I sweat but not nearly enough to cool myself down so unfortunately I run, I get hot and I throw up. It's the only way my body can make me cool off. It's terrible. I live in Alexandria, VA about 5 miles from Washington, DC. An area built on a swamp. Heat and humidity are part of everyday life. In the summer I never start a long training run after 5am and am always home and showered in the by 7:30am any later and I lose it. Unfortunately races don't often start at 5am and I seem to have a knack for finding marathons in the midst of the heat. Two years ago I signed up for the National Marathon with the hope that if I trained through the winter and ran a race in March it'd be cool and I could make it. I almost did. At mile 22 I was good to go but then, I lost it. The sun was bright there was no shade and it was either throw up or slow down and let my body cool down. I chose the latter, only it didn't work and I had the unfortunate experience of losing it right before the finish line and the announcer laughing at me as we strolled in one at a time. Looking for redemption in another early spring race I ran the Virginia Beach Marathon this past year. I trained all winter through the record breaking snow storms often getting up and squeezing in my 20 miler before going to work on Friday knowing the storm was coming that day and I'd be stuck inside for awhile. Well Virginia Beach came and it turned out to be an 80 degree day with not a cloud in sight and no shade. Mile 9 came and I lost it all over the place. I'm sure the whole course thought I was the person who showed up to the race that day and had never trained a day in my life. Talk about humiliating. And so it has gone with each race. This past year I decided to change up my training schedule, hoping that more miles would make a difference. I trained longer and harder than I ever had before. The morning of MCM came and it was nice and cool out. I knew I had this one in the bag, that is right up until mile 20 when we were running the mall and sun was beating down on me. The 14th street bridge killed me and I lost it once again.

I hover somewhere around a 4 hour marathon (needing 3:40 to qualify roughly an 8:19 mile.) However on training runs in cool weather when my body isn't overheating I easily run a 16 mile training run at a 7:50 pace without even thinking about it. There is no reason for me to not qualify for Boston except that the weather is never on my side. There is nothing worse for someone as competitive as I am to cross the finish line knowing that it's not good enough for Boston. All I want is Boston. I've seen three doctors all of whom were completely unhelpful. The sports medicine doctor I talked to told me to deal with it or stop running. Unfortunately since I've only met one other person in my life who has a problem not sweating it's hard to find someone with a solution and so I do what any highly competitive person would do. I keep training always hopeful that someday the stars will align and my time will reflect what I already know. I can qualify for Boston and I will.