My Boston Marathon Story
When April comes around it means one thing in my mind. The Boston Marathon. In just 1 weeks time many runners will be lining up at the start line in Hopkinton, MA to strive for a finish on the iconic Boylston St. Best of luck runners, I hope to join you again soon!
I just wanted to open this post up by expressing my utmost respect for the people of Boston. The fans, and supporters touched my heart deeply. They were loving, enthusiastic, and cheered their hearts and souls out for the runners. It brings me literally to tears to think of them all, so for that I am thankful. At points in the race I literally could not catch my breath, I was so overtaken by the love and support on both sides of the course. It was something I will never forget in my whole life, and it was by far a highlight in my 27 years of living so far. Thank you Boston, I truly do love you so much. I want to come back someday soon.. cheers to getting another BQ.
Growing up in a primarily tennis playing family, I would have not foreseen my career after tennis as running marathons and working in the nutrition space. Life has its way of taking you down the path you least expect it to, and I am perfectly okay with that. Playing competitive tennis my entire life my body took a beating and after playing in college/ pro tour for a year my elbow/arm/hand/shoulder were needing a break after roughly 20 years of pounding. I still teach tennis today, and love it very much. I mean how could I not? It was a huge part of my life for over 20 years. With my crazy intense personality, I had to pick up another form of fitness that would push me both physically and mentally that didn't have anything to do with my arms. Marathons did just the trick. Call me crazy, but after running my first one in May of 2013 I was hooked.
I wanted to run the most prestigious marathon in the world, and that became my new goal as of June 2013. The Boston Marathon is a race most people only dream of, and the actual act of qualifying is a tough feat alone. The way the Boston Marathon works is based solely on qualification times, and race capacity. If you get a qualifying time, you are not guaranteed a spot (heart wrenching I know). The race has its limit for number of entrants, and if the field fills up before your day to sign up is called, you are out of luck. They give the fastest qualifiers 10 minutes and faster early sign up on a Monday, 5 minutes or more get to sign up on Wednesday and 5 minutes or less get to sign up on a Friday. I was thankfully in the Wednesday group, which confirmed my entrance in September of 2015.
The Journey...
I did not wake up one morning to try and qualify for Boston, and then have it happen immediately. The road to Boston was a bit bumpy for me, and it had its setbacks. I think that is why running the race was so sweet for me. When I was training for my first marathon, I was not taking care of my body by stretching and rolling out after my long runs. I was so tired, all I wanted to do was lay on my back in the living room of my house and stare at the ceiling. I would lay there for 20-30 minutes sometimes, and not move a muscle. Once I got the stamina to get up, I would head straight for the shower. Big NO NO. Always do a small cool down, re-hydrate, and roll out after a long run no matter how tired you are! Rookie mistake. This behavior led me to an injured IT Band 3 weeks before the race. I rested for 2. By the time the race was there I was not ready both physically and mentally. I struggled my way through my first marathon with a time of 4:13, a big let down to say the least.. I was sore, tired, and hurt as well as upset at myself for being so poorly prepared.
Fast forward 6 months, and I am on the starting line to the Rock N Roll Marathon in Las Vegas November 2014 ready to try and qualify for Boston. I came in rested, and recovered from the first marathon, and ready to PR (Personal Record). I felt okay, but the long hill at mile 18 did a number on my legs. I came in at 3 hours and 38 minutes, and the qualifying time for Boston in my age group was 3 hours 35 minutes. Crushed but I got my PR. I ran hard, and my best that night so I decided on the long drive home it was not worth beating myself up over. If anything the race was fun because my husband ran with me for 13.1 miles, and we had his family doing the 1/2 marathon too. We enjoyed being with family. More determined than ever, I was going to sign up for another race in 5 months to get my qualifying time. Many people thought I was crazy, running that many races back to back, but when I get my mind set on something I work overtime to accomplish it.
April 2015 we are back in Idaho, and ready to go on the starting line around Lake Lowell. I was just hoping and praying my body felt good that day, because I knew deep down that I trained the correct way. If I couldn't qualify here, then I was going to be disappointed in myself. The nice thing about this smaller marathon, was the fact that my family could drive their car alongside me, and let me know my splits. I was on track to getting my BQ (Boston Qualifier) time and I was not going to let anything get in my way. I was running on clouds by the time my body passed the finish line that Saturday afternoon. Immediately I hit the pavement in extreme exhaustion. I anxiously awaited the final times to come in.......... my mom scraped me up off the pavement and took me to the timing booth. We looked at the screen: Lauren Nicole Jones- Official Time: 3:27. I jumped up and down, and high fived my mom. We ran back to my other family members and told them. I finally qualified for Boston. Now for the fun part... my body had gone through so much trauma racing this marathon I was violently sick for 2 days after that. All of the throwing up was well worth it though, I would go through it all again!
The Summer
The waiting period was upon me, and I anxiously awaited September (Boston sign up). In May of 2015 terrible news broke that my strength coach and long time mentor Jared Aurich was battling stage 4 colon cancer, and was fighting for his life. He was 36. He was my biggest inspiration in some of the peak moments in my tennis career, and pushed me to greatness day in and day out in the weight room. He changed my life, my mentality about hard work, and gave me a passion for fitness and nutrition. He changed my life in so many positive ways. I remember taking a run after I heard the news and eventually just dropping to my knees sobbing in disbelief hoping to wake up from the nightmare of the news. I knew I needed to run this race for him and his family. He passed in June, and I was more determined than ever to dedicate my 2016 Boston race to everything he taught me in life about setting goals, chasing dreams, and working hard. Worst summer of my life.
September
Just like that, I was typing in my information and signing up for the Boston Marathon. I was pretty confident I was going to get in, but I was still needing that confirmation e-mail with my acceptance letter. Sure enough, a couple weeks later it came. I was IN. When I got that e-mail I was so relieved, and emotionally drained all at the same time. Who knew this marathon stuff could be so emotional?! :) I couldn't wait to start training, and it took everything to not start the day I found out.
A few months later it was time to start training, and my runs were energized and strong. I was given a contact number by a good family friend for a girl that was also training for Boston who was around my age that lived in Boise. I called her (not expecting much) as it is really hard to find people to run and train with. Usually your paces are different, and running with someone for hours on end you have to mesh with their personality. We met up, and went for a 19 mile run together in February. We ran the same pace, lived 5 minutes from each other, and our personalities were a match made in heaven. This was a little gift from heaven, and I am so happy Liz and I found each other. The rest was history, long runs at 4 am, 6 am, and even at night battling the cold weather together. We were ready for Boston. We had become really good friends in such a short amount of time. I love that running can bring people together like that.
One month before the race I was given news that my Aunt had been diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer. They lived overseas in Nepal at the time, and went in for their yearly doctor appointments in Bangkok when they found it. They flew home to their house on Vashon Island, and she has been at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance ever since. It was heartbreaking once again, and it fueled my last few long runs with even more determination. I ran that race with my aunt's tough mentality, and my coach's spirit.
I made a short highlight film for my experience of Boston. I don't think I could ever write up the amount of emotions that went through me that day. Flying into Boston, and getting to the EXPO for check in was an amazing experience just by itself. I was able to meet and talk to Olympian Marathoner Shalane Flanagan, and check out her new cookbook "Run Fast Eat Slow" which is amazing by the way. As well as soak up being a participant of the 2016 Boston Marathon, while enjoying Massachusetts in its prime.
Running down Boylston Street on Patriots Day had me completely choked up. I earned it, and I was ready to enjoy my time finishing the most iconic marathon in history. I was so thankful to have had the opportunity to run in such an amazing race, for an amazing family, with such amazing people by my side... Love ya long time Boston.
So what is next? Well I decided I want to try and run all of the Marathon Majors. Running has become somewhat of a passion for me, so why not! It might take my whole life, but it is a goal that will keep me busy :)
Marathon Majors
1. Boston Marathon- DONE
2. Berlin Marathon
3. New York City Marathon
4. Tokyo Marathon
5. Chicago Marathon
6. London Marathon
Aurich Strong. Boston Strong.
xoxo Lauren Nicole
