The deal with Boston

April 20th, 2009 by anjasmith

Runner or not, you know about the Boston Marathon.  It is the world’s oldest annual race and is considered the holy grail for most runners.  This is due to a qualifying system that keeps the race known for it’s elitism.  I don’t think there is a marathon runner in the world who does not have the secret goal of qualifying.

There are many,  many runners like myself who, realistically, will never qualify.  According to Runner’s World only ten percent of runners will.  We can’t all be in the top ten percent but we can always hope to be.  Boston is a reason to push a little further, to run a little faster.  It may not be a realistic goal (for instance, I would have to half my marathon time to qualify).  But hey, there is always hope … distant as it may be.

Qualifier or not, there is no reason to shy into a corner when asked if you have ever qualified.  A very gracious, “I’m still working on it” and the quick flash of a smile should do the trick. (Besides, anyone who asks you is either A. not a runner or B. has qualified themselves and really just wants to brag.)  If you feel a competitive need (competitive?  runners?  no … ) to best that person anyway keep reading, I have compiled a list of Boston facts that will set you apart as a smarty pants … even if you can’t be a fast one.

My list of ten Boston Marathon Facts that will make you a smarty pants*.

1. The host of the Boston marathon, the B.A.A (Boston Athletic Association) was established in 1887.

2.  The first race was actually 24.5 miles and was won in 2:55:10 by John J. McDermott

3. This years winnings purse totals $806,000.

4.  This year (2009) is the 113th Boston Marathon.

5.  The centennial marathon in 1996 holds the record for the largest marathon with 38,708 entrants. (35,868 finished)

6. Four Olympic champions have won Boston.

7. John A. Kelley holds the record for the most Boston Marathons.  He started 61 and finished 58.  His last finish was in 1992 at the age of 84.

8. The Boston Marathon was the first major race to include a wheelchair division.

9. The marathon is second, only to the Super Bowl in terms of media coverage for a one day sporting event.

10. Approximately 500,000 spectators line the route of the marathon each year.

* All facts courtesy of the Boston Athletic Association.  (http://www.bostonmarathon.org/BostonMarathon/RaceFacts.asp)

From Runnersworld.com:  The winners … Deriba Merga of Ethiopia and Salina Kosgei of Kenya have won the 113th Boston Marathon. Americans Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher each finished in third place.

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Give me an M!

April 16th, 2009 by anjasmith

M is for Motivation!  At some point or another every athlete struggles with this.  I wish that there were a magical quote that could inspire everyone and make us all push ourselves consistently.  But, everyone runs for a different reason and has different motivational tools.  In my opinion reason and motivation are two different things.  In my book, REASON is the logic and MOTIVATION is the emotional.  Beating the physical odds, triumphing over willpower, and staying in shape to do the things you enjoy are all great reasons to run.  But no matter what the reason, everyone has to find that motivation to get out there … even when it is raining, cold, hot or really early in the day.  My personal reason for running is to avoid some of the health problems that plague my family history and my motivation is “emotional weakness”.

Like I said, there is no magical potion for motivation.  I hope that by sharing my thoughts on motivation it will help you find yours, the things that will get you to push yourself even when you absolutely DON’T want to.

I made a decision once (I have this whole theory about how “wanting” to do something doesn’t work.  You have to make decisions about your life and then you have no choice but to follow through.) that I wasn’t going to let my emotions cloud my logic when it came to my fitness.  That may sound like a reason, rather than motivation, so let me explain. It means constantly pushing myself to work harder and be the best.  Emotional weakness is best characterized by the words, “I don’t care”.  I am only in competition with myself.  But it is that competition that keeps me going.

I can’t stand the thought of being a slave to my emotions.  When I feel like delving into self-sabotaging behavior (we all do it sometimes, that is why Tequila was invented) I do a reality check with my brain.  I strive to have the presence of mind to realize that I am being a slave to my emotions.  Self control is a wonderful thing.  Once I have taken stock into why I WANT something, for instance … did I not get enough sleep last night?  Is that why I feel like eating chocolate cake instead of going for a run?  Once I am self aware, I can readjust my thinking and take control of my emotions.  For me personally, allowing myself to choose the cake would be emotional weakness and that is something I have decided I won’t allow for myself.  Of course, it doesn’t always work but it can be as simple as thinking before taking action.  I really love chocolate cake, but I try to let it be a reward for good behavior rather than an indulgence that I feel guilty for later.

I do not for a second think that this should work for anyone but myself.  What I suggest is that everyone should take some time for themselves (and by that I mean spend some time alone, in a quiet place) and take stock in what is personally important.  Write down  goals and the emotional drive behind them.  Figure out your reasons and your motivations.  Being able to remind yourself why you are torturing your body can be really helpful when you are trying to get out of bed at 5:30 in the morning!

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Why we run.

April 14th, 2009 by anjasmith

When people ask me why I run, I tell them because it comes naturally.  Before you roll your eyes, hear me out.  Running allowed me to lose 35 lbs. in 12 weeks.  And another 30 after that (all of this coupled with a strict diet and other exercise).  Our bodies respond to running very quickly.  You can up your mileage as much as a mile a week if you are training properly.   It is hard at first, yes.  And if you are an athlete you always push yourself to the point that it is hard, but, unlike biking or swimming or any other sport, running is a natural extension of walking and requires no extra equipment.  Walking upright is something that humans have been doing since the earliest of histories and I am willing to bet that running came pretty quickly after.

One of my least favorite excuses from people who don’t run is that they “don’t like to run unless someone is chasing them”.  I think we have evolved beyond that.  After all, we have Land Rovers now.  Because of these things called automobiles, we had to invent a thing called exercise.  Think of running as going back to your roots.  And if it helps, think of yourself as being chased by the lazier, fatter version of yourself.  That may make you run faster.

My goal for this blog is to provide inspiration, anecdotes and maybe a little bit of advice.  I am not an expert by any definition of the word, but, all runner’s have advice.  I have a marathon and two half marathons (well, two at the end of the month) under my belt so I have done the training and have been down the road of embarrassing running incidents (more on that later).  If you want to be a runner or currently are a runner,  hopefully I can be of some help.

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