Let's start at the beginning, shall we?
Right before we left for Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend, an offer was presented before my by my employer. A local company, Citgo, was the fuel and gas sponsor for the Boston Marathon in 2022 and planned to bring a team of healthcare providers, first responders, and teachers to join their associates along with them to run the Boston Marathon. So, I received the application, quickly googled to make sure I would finish the race in a timely manner, and hit submit. We went to Disney World and I waited...and waited...and didn't hear anything. With only six weeks until Boston, I assumed I didn't get in, and I was ok with it. (A little disappointed, but still ok with it.)
Much to my surprise, I received an email the following week, welcoming me to Team Citgo to run the Boston Marathon!! My heart wanted to explode and I might have screamed out loud right there in the hallway of our department! (Sorry, coworkers!)
Now, with only 5 weeks until the big day, I knew I had to get my training amped up! I'd already run three half marathons since December, so I had up to that distance under my belt. Ultimately, I decided to add a 16 miler and a 20 miler to my list and a few longer runs in between.
My training plan each week was to keep at least two shorter runs on weekdays and one longer run on weekends. This worked incredibly well until my 20 miler. I didn't feel it at the time of running, but after the soreness wore off, my right hip began to bother me. It wasn't an intense pain, but I definitely knew it was there. So, I iced, heated, ibuprofen'd, biofreezed, and did everything I could to help it chill out. With only 2 weeks to go until race day, I knew I should probably not run on it any longer, so I did only one very easy 2 miler in the week leading up to Boston. With that, I hoped my efforts would be enough!
I am so very thankful that Citgo chose me for this incredible opportunity! It is truly one I will never forget!
Stay tuned for more from our travel day, time at the Expo, sightseeing around Boston, and the race itself!
I'm still in serious disbelief...I just ran Boston, y'all!!
Check out all the Boston recaps here:
- Part 1 - On The Road To Boston
- Part 2 - Traveling to Boston and the Boston Marathon Expo
- Part 3 - Touring Boston & A Pasta Dinner
- Part 4 - The 1st Half of the Boston Marathon
- Part 5 - The 2nd Half of the Boston Marathon
- Part 6 - Post-Race Party & Final Thoughts
So so so so proud of you!!!!!
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