Several months ago Pat, Nick and I sat down with members of the tribe to have a pow wow (NP backyard summit was the #official name) about NP BAL in an attempt to get some fresh perspectives of November Project Baltimore. One speedy and race experienced member of the tribe (Victoria Ballestero: pictured below crushing the Boston marathon 2017 in HOT conditions) gave us an idea for what might bring some people coming back to November Project more consistently– she suggested having NP training partners or groups. She was reminiscing about her experience training for The Baltimore Marathon 2015 when the tribe was a bit smaller and there was a large group of runners training for the marathon together. We did long runs and tempo runs together which made it all more fun plus accountability is important, you know, #verbal means something. I put this in a spot for safe keeping in my brain until I figured out how I thought it could work.
In the interest of personal experience, I will share my training experiences and why I think having a training buddy is beneficial and will make THE difference during a long training cycle….I have run 4.8015 marathons in the past 4 years and multiple half marathons. Two I trained for entirely by myself (PRE-NP_BAL), 1.8015 I trained mostly with others (after I found NP_BAL training friends) and the last one was a combo of the two mostly due to friends being injured during the course of training. Before I go any further the 0.8015 was a 21 miler that I ran because the marathon was a lottery I didn’t win (insert eye roll here) but when you and 5 friends are planning this trip largely surrounding the races you don’t let 0.1986% of a marathon get in the way of a lot of fun experiences. #lifelessons
Not all races were created equal, race courses (elevation & maps) ARE important to look at if you’re shooting for a time goal. In my personal experiences: Baltimore, Boston, Big Sur (I guess there is a B theme) were challenging, read: hilly. Virginia Beach and Marine Corps were mostly flat, challenging in their own ways but flat courses are good for trying to run your “personal record” AKA PR. Hence, PR day. All race experiences are generally good for something, learning something about yourself in challenging situations, what you like/don’t like, how to fuel/hydrate accordingly etc. Don’t get me wrong, getting a “PR” is not always the goal in a race. Getting across the finish line can be equally as lofty a goal – especially in the face of a new challenge for yourself and your body. Goals are personal and meant to push the individual to accomplish something.
Playing competitive sports through college, I needed something to put my energy towards when I graduated so I started running. I ran a few 10K races and then started with half marathons. After a few years, I moved back to Boston (where I grew up) and started thinking more seriously about signing up for a marathon. At the time a marathon was on my “bucket list,” just one to complete and then get on with my life…or so I thought! One of my smart (don’t tell them I said that) younger brothers told me, “If you’re only going to run one marathon, you have to run The Boston Marathon.” Although I usually don’t think he’s right, he was right in this instance. My goal was to cross the finish line of one marathon, yes I would love to do Boston where my family and the majority of my friends were living at the time. So I got a bib for the Boston Marathon in 2013 by raising money for the local Charlestown Boys and Girls Club. I loved the whole experience: the mid-winter training through the snow of Nemo, the race from Hopkinton to Boston, the unforgettable crowds the entire way and of course Heartbreak HillS. I finished comfortably under my plan A goal (sub 4 hours) after getting across the finish line (plan B goal J).
In 2014, I ran the Marine Corps after training allllll summer in the sweltering Baltimore heat (I was a newb back then) and ran slower than my time in Boston despite the course being “easier”. In 2015 I trained for the Baltimore Marathon with what seemed like a million new NP BAL friends, started running at the track, was following a Runner’s World training plan to “Run your Fastest Marathon” and proceeded to start wayyy too fast and by mile 16 had to stop to walk, generally just feeling pretty miserable until I found the NP cheer station at mile 22 was rejuvenated with their energy and finished the Marathon with my fastest mile of the whole dang thing. It was a PR but definitely did not feel good and knew I could do better. Because the marathon was a semi-rough experience, I gave myself some time off from racing after October 2015 but continued to run each week to remember why I love to run and how empowering it is, racing or not.
FAST FORWARD again to November 2016 when Lizzie Harkins (AKA #coachharkies) proposed to all the regular Track Tuesday attendees a spring marathon. I obliged to run the Virginia Beach marathon with a whole crew of NPBAL friends. Virginia Beach is a flat place and the course had literally one measly hill so I thought COOL after a year of running for fun it would be good to train for another marathon and push myself. #coachharkies sent us a badass training plan tailored to each pace and I planned to follow one to “Boston Qualify” or “BQ”. Still 70% unsure if I could actually do it after the hellish experience in Baltimore, I (with the help of #coachharkies) set my times for pacing of the marathon, interval runs, track workouts, easy runs etc. I followed this plan to the best of my ability. In the final week , Lizzie (amazing human and friend that she is) made sure to offer me advise on a daily basis and encouraged me to believe that I can run sub 3:35 or a “BQ”. The marathon day came (photo above) and we woke up to extremely shitty weather. I pretty much wrote off the BQ/PR because with the addition of wind/rain I wasn’t sure it could pan out like I had hoped/trained for. BUT THEN I remembered all the times I woke up at zero dark thirty o’clock in negative degree weather to get outside and run with November Project and thought, this is just one more #weatherproof challenge. While there are uncontrollable things on any given day, having that #weatherproof chip on your shoulder is a vote of confidence in the face of such. 3:32 minutes later I finished the Virginia Beach marathon in my goal time. Was it easy, NO. Did I feel prepared, YES. Did I want to puke for some of those minutes, YES. Did I cry at the end, NO but I was very very close.
FAST FORWARD AGAIN to the NP Unsweaty Hugs Happy Hour at Handlebar a few weeks ago when I got chatting with Sweet Leenie who told me she had never run a race before she #justshowedup to November Project a few months prior and had since completed her first 5K! Basically, now (100% paraphrasing here because #beer and #badmemory) she is hooked and wants to train for something longer. HOW COOL. Someone felt like they could run a 5K after coming to NP for just a few months. Actually another #funfact about Kathleen (center in photo below) is that she ran her first SUNRISE6K at Montebello this March AFTER she first went to Rash Field (at 630AM) where she learned NP was on a field trip, then got all the way up to Montebello and literally crushed the 6K. Seriously, WHAT A TROOPER!
What do I think made the difference: a healthy combination of actually following a training plan and having people believe in me/believing in myself with a supportive community there to see me through it. And so my friends, this whole blog comes to an end because I reflected on why I think the marathon went well and I think you can all chose your own race distance and make that happen in the next 4-5-6 months! My objective is that if I can have that experience so can all of you. Your goal definitely does not have to be the same as mine…start with a 5K and work your way up!
My goal through all of this is to inspire whoever in the tribe wants to sign up for a fall race to have a race training plan and a buddy who will hold you accountable and support you through the training and, if schedules allow, do some training runs together. In a few weeks I will send them out with rough training plans after re-consulting #coachharkies.
QUESTIONS?!!? REACH OUT!! novemberprojectbmore@gmail.com
BECAUSE THIS WAS LONG, the important notes are here:
Victoria’s idea + my marathon experience + Kathleen’s running of a 5K = NP training buddies
WHAT: a race & a training buddy or two and a rough training plan from us to you. Any race, really. You want to do a 5K, 10K, ½ marathon, marathon, 50K? NOW is your time.
WHO: you! Literally anyone can fill in these sheets. Experience doesn’t matter whatsoever! Been to NP one time, been coming for years? This is for all of you!
WHEN: I will leave the google form open until 11:59PM on May 13th So you have 1.5 weeks to decide whether you want to shoot for a race in the coming months.
WHY: Because training for a race is an awesome way to challenge yourself and see what you’re capable of. Doing it alone is fun and rewarding but doing it with friends going through the same thing is WAY BETTER. Also accountability makes things easier.
WHERE: THIS IS A GOOD QUESTION. Clearly the Baltimore Marathon is a good reason and is local and fun. But in the end it doesn’t necessarily matter which race you decide, there are many many races in the fall and that’s what this plan will be geared for.
HOW: This is important: I am hoping that this will work out swimmingly and I will be able to group everyone who is interested with someone of similar pace with the same race intention. This may not work out perfectly. I will troubleshoot this appropriately when I have all the submissions!
QUESTIONS?!!? REACH OUT!! novemberprojectbmore@gmail.com
ALSO we are teaming up with Lululemon Harbor East and True Sport Physical Therapy to offer two classes on May 21: “Endurance and Mobility: Staying healthy when the miles add up” and May 28th “Endurance and Strength: Building strength to take you farther.” STAY TUNED on the details…!
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