Mountains to the Beach Marathon 2018

Short version: I ran 3:38:47 and qualified for Boston. Garmin data can be found here.

Long version:

I pulled my calf back in February of 2017 and it took me out for the whole year. I missed my chance to run Boston and I was pretty bummed.  You can go back through my blog to read about the injury and my recovery if you want (please do!). But I had decided that once I qualified for Boston again, #beccasreturntorunning would be complete.

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A post shared by Rebecca Ann Neumeier (@beccasbigsmile)

Mission accomplished!!! Here is how the race went down.

After a terrible night of sleep (my dog had an anxiety attack at 12:45) and then I accidentally went to the half-marathon start, I was finally lined up with one of my athletes with the 3:40 pacer. We were both shooting for the exact some time so we decided to start with the pacer and see how things shook out.

Found my Coeur Sports teammate Christine for our twin pic!

Our pacers were AMAZING!!!! Seriously, they paced us for the best marathon I have ever run! They took it easy on the uphill in the beginning, pushed the pace on the downhill in the middle, and dragged us along on the final uphill near the end. They told us stories and jokes and honestly the miles just clicked off! I wrote more about how I used my watch in the race here so check that out.

My husband and kid followed us down the hill all the way from Ojai to Ventura. Stuart met me specifically at miles 9 and 17 with a bottle of Red Bull (you can see why it is served in a can!) and an extra gel. Other than that I managed with a few Cliff Gels and the hydration on course (Fluid). Keep it simple people!

 

 

They were everywhere! The race was going great and it wasn’t until mile 23 that I was finally getting a bit tired.

Smiling on the outside but not on the inside!

After this we had a couple of hard miles up a long hill but my athlete, Sara, and I were just in a new gear. We powered up the hill and finally left the pacers by around mile 24. Once we got to the final mile Sara took off and cruised into the finish. I was about 30 seconds behind her. Now we are BOTH #BostonBound!

The next day I was laying in be reflecting on the race and wrote a quick post for my Coeur Sports Team.  I think this sums up my day the best.

GO for it people!!! Really really go for it! That is the only way to make it happen!

 

 

 

 

 

All smiles!

Oy, this is getting tough!

Ugly cry I think

When will I stop biting my lip!?!

Not pee, I promise!

Still not pee…

Shameless plug for myself… I coached two women for this race. Each had PRs here and one qualified for Boston. Please let me know if you are interested in coaching. I am excited to help you get a PR! Check out my coaching site, Head Down, Do Work Coaching.

Successful Build Up

Well I did it! I qualified for Boston again! I will write a race report once I get the free pics from the race (best thing ever!). I just wanted to share what my build looked like over the last year. Thanks SportTracks for giving me and easy way to look at this data. And thanks Coach Jen for designing a plan that got me to the finish line successfully!

Race Week – Work That!

Race week is here!!! I am happy to report I am running pain free (except for the normal running aches and pain). No calf pain. No knee pain. No neck pain. NADA! I have done my training. I have run more leading up to this race than any other races in the last 4 years I think!

I know I am capable of the goal of a 3:40 marathon. Unfortunately, I am not totally sure I have the speed in my legs right now. I am not trying to make an excuse for a possible goal failure on Sunday. I am just being honest that this is going to be really hard.

So  this week I am doing everything I know will help me on race day.

• Stating my goal and intentions very publicly. I find that when I say it out loud, it makes it much harder to hide from your goal. So my goals are:
  • “A” Goal – sub 3:40 marathon – pretty much a guaranteed qualification for Boston
  • “B” Goal – 3:40-3:41:59 marathon – still a really good chance at getting into Boston, but not as guaranteed.
  • “C” Goal – 3:42-3:45 marathon – qualifying time but might not make the cut off.
  • “D” Goal – finishing the marathon
• Using positive self talk and reminding myself of my past success. I have done this before. I can do it again. Click here to see my results last time I ran this race.
• Eating well and making sure I get good sleep! Ice cream can wait for Sunday night!
• Reviewing all the race details to make sure I know all the important information.
• Making a killer play list! The song below is giving some extra motivation. The lyric, “Work what you got!” It really speaking to me right now! That is all I can do!

 

and if all else fails…