I remember the day after my first 26.2 in October of 2013, I went to my college’s nurse’s office and met Sherri whom placed top ten in the 2012 Boston Marathon. She always told me ‘you never know! ‘where you’ll place or what time you’ll run in the marathon, as well as you know the time you’ll finish a marathon on the starting line. She made me think about trying to qualify for Olympic Trials in the marathon event, so I have been trying for a very very long time. This is my third round of four year cycles trying to qualify for Olympic Trials for the marathon. Everybody wants to make the A list in marathon running. Being 11 years into running over 20 miles at once, I feel like these next two years should be fulfilling, though I’m not sure what exactly to expect. I’m hoping to be in competitive shape for my marathon next month, run some fast miles and marathons this year. Maybe if I finish well in my marathon, someone will make up a 4x4 for marathon runners so I may see how I would race a shorter distance after a marathon. I have tried a 5k after a marathon weekend, sometimes I will go hiking in the wilderness a weekend after. Maybe a mile event after a marathon would be cool to be a part of. Being so many years in, I have saved my biggest training for this next month leading up to my race of 26.2. Maybe I’ll surprise myself, run fast with negative splits, or fall back on enjoying the journey. I will be posting daily the next month!

Long runs on weekends, 10 miles during the week, something with speed work. Stretching everyday, so I stay flexible even though I’m running high mileage.

I feel like I need to trust the process, keep my breathing calm, listen to my foot steps whilst running and become apart of the trails that are so much bigger than I am. Marathon training is usually a rewarding experience.