2011 Boston Marathon Journey: What is a Winner?

Ultimate Bootcamp Trainer Meghan candidly re-caps her first Boston Marathon experience.

The Boston Marathon is the oldest and most well known marathon throughout the world. Being from the Boston area, I had to run it. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

I ran my first marathon with the goal of qualifying for Boston in 2011.  I did so by the skin of my teeth - crossing the finish line with 30 seconds to spare. I woke up extra early the next morning, unable to sleep; it was registration day for the Boston Marathon. I dragged my sore body downstairs and logged online. Again, I got lucky and got a number for the 2011 Boston Marathon.

Fast-forward to April 18, 2011, I woke up with my goal time set in mind, 3 hours and 30 minutes, laced up my sneakers and began the journey to Hopkinton. I was focused, ready to compete with my mind, my body, and the clock.

I began running at my goal pace, and kept it up for the first 9 miles. Then, I started to slip. My legs suddenly felt as if weights had been tied to my ankles. My goal of running Boston faster than my first marathon quickly faded as a crossed the halfway mark. This is when a surprising thing happened.

Though I logged countless miles training in the cold weather, strengthened my legs to prepare for the hills to achieve my goal and even had to jump into a snow bank to avoid being hit by a car during a training run, I was not disappointed with my performance. I looked up and was surrounded by people. Runners, just like me, trying to do their best, pulling one leg in front of another tirelessly. I looked left and right, the streets lined with children, parents, and college students, screaming their lungs off like it was Super Bowl Sunday.

It was the most chaotic scene I have ever experienced, but I was at peace. There is something inspiring and magical about 30,000 people who all have the same goal at the same time- reach Boylston Street and cross that finish line. The spectators never lulled and made each runner feel like they were the winner of the marathon. I realized, despite missing my goal, I was a winner.

It takes courage and determination to reach your goals, but it also takes a little bit of luck. April 18^th was not the day I would run a 3:30 marathon. I did not even come close, but I was a winner. I had the courage to start, to make that goal, to tell everyone I knew about that goal, and admit I had failed. However, the next thing I tell people is that I have not given up, I will reach that goal, there is always next time.

Whatever your goal may be, embrace it. You may fail once, twice, a dozen times, but if you never give yourself the chance to fail, you will never succeed.

---

Having always enjoyed fitness, sports, and injury prevention Meghan McClorey studied Sports Medicine at Merrimack College. She has since graduated and is a ACSM certified personal trainer.

How to Train for a 5k Race

It's easy with the Boston Marathon this weekend to think you’ll never run a marathon! Well, everyone has to start somewhere, and where better than a 5k?

It’s a fun distance, it’s easily trained for, and you don’t have to give up a lot to do it! One great thing about a 5k is that, like fitness programs such as Ultimate Bootcamp, they can be for all abilities. It can be your goal to finish it, maybe finish it without stopping, maybe even finish it in the fastest time you’ve ever done! Regardless of your competitive nature – or level – running a road race is a very rewarding way to take your fitness out to the streets!

To get started, the first thing to do is commit. By committing, you’ll give yourself the best chance to participate in it. The best way to commit? Sign up! Start by picking a race in your area so you can get there easily. Pick a date at least 5 or 6 weeks out, giving yourself the time to train. Websites like active.com and coolrunning.com have full race listings.

Once you’ve signed up, tell people! By telling others, you’ll find it much harder to back out! Plus – who knows – you might even get a friend to sign up with you, giving you a training partner!

So how do you train?
It might seem a bit overwhelming, but it really doesn’t need to be. Plan on running three to four times a week. If you’re newer to running, focus on time, not mileage. If you set out to run a particular distance, and you can’t, it can be discouraging. Instead, run for as long as you can without stopping.

For the next 2 or 3 runs, run the same amount of time, with the plan of increasing that time a little every other run or so. Remember – your goal is to reach the finish line, not to get there in record time! If you’re so exhilarated when you do cross the line that you can’t wait for the next one, then that’s when to start thinking about how fast you’re running it!

To get a sense for where you are in terms of your ability to finish, see how long you can run for. Then measure that distance on an online measuring site like mapmyrun.com - their IPhone and Android fitness apps make it easy. That way you’ll know what’s ahead of you. It will also give you a sense for how long the total 5k race (3.1 miles) will take you, and that in turn will help your training.

If you absolutely have to insist on being a clock-watcher, to increase your 5k pace add an interval run once a week to your 5k training program. Try running three separate one-mile intervals, rather than a single three-mile interval. Run for one mile at a pace that’s faster than your regular runs. Rest, and repeat three times. That will help you to improve your 5k speed much more quickly than some of the other interval training methods. Sites like runnersworld.com offer pace-measuring tools that help you to track your progress and understand what your pace is.

Remember the most important thing – have fun! Taking your fitness out of it’s regular surroundings and applying it to a road race should be a rewarding and enjoyable experience! You’ve got your whole life ahead of you to take it more seriously if you wish. Who knows – maybe this time next year you’ll be training for a slightly different race…the 2012 Boston Marathon…?

---

This article was written by Ultimate Bootcamp Co-Founder Peter Lavelle. In addition to many race types and distances, Peter has completed three Boston Marathons, most recently in under 3.5 hours. His wide variety of sport-specialist training has included many running athletes and running clubs alike.