I was apprehensive leading up to Boston. I know just how insidiously an injury can happen but this time I felt strong and ready. I had two good legs. The weather was tricky, 100% chance of rain with winds at 45-55 km/ hr from the East. So, a head wind all the way back to Boston. I think I got the layers right but the rain weighed me down in the wool socks and warmer long pants. Despite this, my leg muscles never warmed up. I had to fuel more often as my body was working hard at keeping me warm and at feeding my muscles. I started off the downhill at a pace of 5:00-5:15 then tried to stay under 5:20 for as long as I could but the wind was a force to contend with. The footing was slippery at times and after a while I didn’t even bother avoiding the puddles. Glide applied to my feet minimized friction and prevented blisters. Every time I felt like I was slowing down I checked in with technique and my speed improved. We were running side by side with people and through cheering crowds all the way. I enjoyed every minute of it but crossing that finish line made me feel elated. I finally finished what I set out to do 2 years ago. Run the Boston Marathon.

MINDFUL RACING
Congratulations to Linda on not only qualifying for Boston but also completing a tough race!! The line that really sticks out for me in this report is something we have been talking about in the past couple of weeks: the concept of racing mindfully. If we race thinking about the future and what could go wrong, or the past thinking about how you may have felt a minute ago we don't stay in the moment and focus on what we are doing.

When things got tough in Boston, Linda came back to thinking about her form and what happened next is she actually sped up! Thinking about form, counting swim strokes, breaths, strides, pedal strokes or simply looking around in gratitude at the scenery or at all of the amazing people you are racing with keeps you in the moment and takes away some of the over anxious feelings and keeps you in a positive mindset. Racing can be a blast if we can dance and sing in the rain.

We have a great Ted Talk on the Team Triumph Facebook page about mindful racing. You will need to scroll down a bit. Take a moment to have a look at the video - How endurance athletes are using the power of the now | Ned Phillips |

https://www.facebook.com/teamtriumphottawa/