Completing The Marine Corp Marathon and two marathons in 6 months

Last Sunday I completed my second marathon in a 6 month span. I ran Boston in April and decided I wanted to try another one. I started blogging about my training but was unable to keep up with it due to other projects I had going on while training. I was able to train for this one the way I wanted to and the way my trainer Jennifer Ceolinski wished we could have for the Boston Marathon. I will touch on this a little later in this entry.

In addition to training I ran three races as training for this Marathon, Run For the Fallen was first. I ran this race at about 300 pounds last year and it took me 50 plus minutes. This year I finished in around 33 minutes. Run for Fallen is a 5K that gives remembrance to gold star families who have lost a loved one fighting the war on terror.

The next race I ran was Bernie's run. Traditionally a race I've never done well in mostly due to my weight. The previous 4 times I ran times of almost 50 minutes and this year I ran it in under 30 minutes. Something I saw as unattainable, but Jenn always thought I could accomplish. It was an amazing day and has been an amazing year.

The next race was the biggest surprise. The first race Jenn trained me for was the 2015 BAA Half Marathon. I signed up for a group training she was running out of Lifetime Fitness in Westwood. We only got to work together 5 weeks but her approach worked for me and she was able to reach me in a way other coaches and trainers I had never really could. I was still heavy and it was slow but 3 hours 35 minutes later I crossed that finish line. I actually got into the Chicago Marathon this year and that would've been an amazing opportunity but I wanted another shot at the BAA Half. I wanted to come back and do better. The track training Jenn had me doing coupled with the long runs helped immensely. I completed it in on an awfully rainy day during Columbus Day weekend in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Onto the Marine Corp Marathon. This was on of the best experiences of my life. I'd never been to DC and it was an amazing time. I got to see many of the sites and the race itself is amazing. It goes through Virginia and Maryland and starts near the Pentagon and ends between Arlington National Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Monument. Since I wasn't running for a charity I decided it would have meaning. I chose a group of folks who could never run a marathon and I had a tshirt made and it included my nephews, their school The Perkins School For the Blind, my trainers father who became ill when I was training for Boston and a few others who's zest for life and there heart to keep on going and keep on fighting inspired me. I carried them with me 26.2 miles on an unseasonably hot 85 degree day in our nations capital. I had an illness before the race that prevented me from doing any training 12 days up to the race but was able to finish not quite the time I wanted but I did finish in 6 hours 45 minutes. 45 minutes better then Boston so I'm very proud.

I also wanted to mention my Boston Marathon experience. When my training began 12/11/15 I weighed 291 pounds. Race day I weighed 228. When Jenn agreed to train me for this we needed to get weight off very quickly and this also only gave me a small window of long runs. She monitored my diet and we cut a lot of things out and used a lot of trial and error types of things that I responded to and we had great success with. During my training her dad became very ill and was in an ICU for a while and a rehab and nobody was sure if he would make it. This happened not long after we visited Perkins as I was fundraising for them. This made Jenn unavailable for our one on one training's and the remainder of my group training sessions right through to marathon day. If she had to completely step away and not help me the rest of the way I would've understood. She stayed in contact with me and continued to care and support me where many folks in her situation probably couldn't have. That spoke volumes to me about her character and about the kind of friend she is. She also was there for me at mile 15 on race day and stayed in contact with me right to the very end. She's is just an amazing person. God put us on each others path and it has really been great. She has since left Lifetime, but stayed on my path and my journey and I can't wait to see what happens next. I would never have gotten here without her. 2016 has been such a special year for me and I can't thank Jenn enough for her friendship and help and for keeping me grounded and focused. She is the Cross Country and Track Coach at Stoughton High and those kids are so fortunate to have her as are those like myself who she has trained and lives she has touched.

I applied through Perkins to run the Boston Marathon again. I pray I get one more chance. I know I have the best trainer around in my corner so if I get in I know I will do better this time around. fingers crossed.