EP63 - Jenn’s Running Her First Boston Marathon! Let’s Talk about It.
Hey Everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Dave, and this is the Trail Talk Podcast. Today, we've got a guest. We've got my special guest, my special wife.
Dave:My special wife? One of my special wives. Anyways, this is gonna be sort of a different kind of episode. We're not gonna talk, fitness tech or anything. Today, we're gonna talk about Jen's 1st Boston marathon.
Dave:So what how many days away are we now?
Jenn:Am I supposed to be looking at you or the camera?
Dave:You look at me. Okay. I have a problem with that too. So
Jenn:Well, you were looking at the camera.
Dave:I know because I'm introing the podcast.
Jenn:Okay. Sorry.
Dave:What was
Jenn:the question?
Dave:Kicking this off to a good start, how many days away from the the Boston Marathon are you?
Jenn:5.
Dave:Today is April 9th. Marathon's on 15th. Right?
Jenn:Yep. It was 1 week from yesterday.
Dave:So 6 days from from right now Yes. You'll be running the Boston Marathon for the first time.
Jenn:Correct.
Dave:Let's talk about that. So let's let's rewind back to how you got into the Boston Marathon, and what your plans were before this race.
Jenn:Okay. So I guess, for anyone who doesn't know how to get into the Boston Marathon, there are several different ways you can get in. 1 is you, qualify, and meet the qualifying time called the BQ if you've ever heard.
Dave:What's this it's absurdly fast. I think women's the women's b q is what? 320? Well 315? I
Jenn:don't know. I know my age group was 3 either 3 30 or 3 35.
Dave:That's That's why we need a podcast producer to look these things up in the background.
Jenn:Jeff, look that up. Right. Anyways, yeah. So you can qualify called the b q if you've heard that term. I I feel like I heard that for years, but I never I I don't know until I started running longer distances.
Jenn:I never really paid attention to how you get into the Boston marathon. The other way is you can apply for a charity fundraising team, and you've you have to obviously get selected for that team, and then you have to fundraise a certain amount. And then I the last way is you're just, I guess, not say lucky, but you can get awarded a bib from certain organizations that receive bibs, I guess. Like, I know run clubs get bibs, and I've you could probably get sponsored.
Dave:Or you could be an influencer and get a bib.
Jenn:You you could. Yeah. Maybe if anyone wants to give you a bib for next year, maybe. Yeah. So I, I did my 2nd road marathon last fall.
Jenn:And, of course, while I was running, I was like, I'm never doing this again. And then I got home and collapsed, and I was like dying on the couch. And my friend Kayla had messaged me a Facebook post that was from the Crystal Campbell Memorial Fund Facebook. And Crystal Campbell was one of the Boston Marathon victims in 2013 for the bombings. And so my friend had kind of known her or went to high school with her and said you should apply for this team.
Jenn:I was literally on the couch just dying. He was like totally destroyed. And I was like, oh, I don't know. Like, I've always wanted to run Boston, but I had this weird I don't know if this is like kind of like a stigma that people have or it was just me, but for years, I guess I always had said, well, I would if I ever run Boston, I would wanna qualify. And, I've just been saying that for years and I still do and I still think I could someday, but at the same time, I just kinda had changed my mindset to like, well, why why not me?
Jenn:All these fundraising people, I would never look at all these people that fundraised and think that they didn't deserve to be there. Yeah. So why was I thinking that way for myself?
Dave:And the truth is the vast majority of people out there when you say you ran the Boston Marathon, they don't really give a shit which way how you got in or, like, what what circumstances there were, like, even if you were in the the top 10% of women who ran and you'd be cute, or if you were on the Crystal Campbell Foundation, like, no one really cares.
Jenn:Right. And
Dave:it's amazing either way.
Jenn:That's kind of another thing I feel like I'll get into. That's kind of a separate separate thing I kinda feel like, you know, it's then all of a sudden I'm running Boston and I'm, like, being treated like royalty, and I almost feel, like, uncomfortable because I guess it's that, like, competitive person in me who's like, well, I didn't qualify, but at the same time, like I said, I just kind of had to change my mindset. I at this point, I've been running for a long time. I've been working really hard. And if I got accepted into a fundraising and I was able to fundraise that amount, that's an accomplishment in itself.
Jenn:And so, you know, I feel like, yeah, why shouldn't I why shouldn't I apply? Why shouldn't I why should I be holding this over my head like I I have to be a qualifier?
Dave:Oh, before we move any further, if you want if this podcast comes out before the Boston Marathon and you wanna donate to Gents Cause, I'll link it in the show notes and in the YouTube description, so you can go over there and donate a couple of bucks. It'll help her out. She's over $4,000 now. Let's get that up to whatever we can if you
Jenn:want to make this fair. Yeah. So, anyways, what happened was I I saw this Facebook post, and I just felt like it was really, like, speaking to me. It was like, did you just go for a long run today? And would you like to run Boston and and in the spring?
Jenn:And I just however it was worded, I was like, that's weird. This is like this is like talking to me. And so I said to my friend, well, I didn't really, like, have any intentions of trying to get in, but I'm just gonna put my name in. I I filled out the application and I really didn't think I would get in. I didn't have, like, a direct connection to Crystal Campbell.
Jenn:And I just felt I don't know. I've just always kinda felt like I don't know. I'm not unworthy. I don't know. I was just I just put my name in and filled out all the questions and kinda just said, well, if it was meant to be, then it will be.
Jenn:And so I ended up the 1st week in December. I think people usually get accepted early, maybe end of November or early December. Usually by Christmas, I think everyone knows people can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's generally I mean, because but after Christmas, you need to start training. So, I think it was, like, the 1st week in December, I got an email saying I wasn't selected, which I feel like kind of surprised me for some reason even though I didn't think I was gonna get picked, but I kind of just had, like, a weird feeling about that post. Like, I felt like it was, like, calling
Dave:to me. To be?
Jenn:Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. I was just for whatever reason, even though I knew probably a ton of people applied to the team, I just felt like surprised or something. Like, I was like, oh, I was like, that's weird.
Jenn:I kinda felt disappointed, because I just felt like I was gonna be on that team. Yeah. So anyways, I signed up. I think even before that, I signed up for the cheap marathon, which is in Derry, New Hampshire, and that's a week before rail trail.
Dave:Like a low key small field or anything
Jenn:like that. On a rail trail. I don't know how many people do it, but everyone says, oh, you gotta do it because it's super flat and you can, you know, PR. So I had the last fall, I was trying to do a sub 4 marathon. I fell short.
Jenn:So now in my head, I'm like, I really wanna do a sub 4. I really wanna get it. So this is a good opportunity to do it. So I signed up for that marathon, and I signed up to volunteer in Boston because I just wanted to be in the experience. Although, I kind of was nervous that I would be, like, a little jealous.
Jenn:Because I went at that point, I was, like, kind of hoping to run it, and I'm like, I'm like, alright. I need to just put that aside, and I'll I'll be 1 week out of my marathon. I'll probably be feeling good that I just ran a marathon. I'll probably be feeling bad for these people because I don't have to do it. You know, I just did it.
Jenn:So, anyways yeah. Then I went about my business. I started training in, December. And I did say to the team, I did respond to that email and say I'm available as an alternate because I'll be training for a marathon anyway, if anything happens. So it was a couple days before the Super Bowl in February.
Jenn:I got a call saying somebody had to rescind their bib for the team and did I wanna join the team. And I just couldn't believe it. I almost I was, like, so excited. You remember that day? I was, like Yeah.
Jenn:My heart was, like, racing.
Dave:I was, like, oh, my god. I remember the text being, like, or you've called me and you're, like, do I do this? And I was like, you have to do it. Yeah. You can't you can't not do it.
Jenn:Yeah. I was a little nervous just because, mostly because of the fundraising. So this particular team, this is so this organization is, made up of some friends of Crystal Campbell, and they have, you know, a memorial fund in her name that, they do, you know, different things, with that money. So it was only $5,000, which I say only $5,000 and it's it's a huge amount. But a lot of the Boston Marathon teams, as I was looking up, are like 8 to $10,000 to fundraise.
Dave:Yeah.
Jenn:So that's a huge amount of money because that's, you know, that's not just hitting up friends and family. Yeah. That's Broadcasting. Multiple events.
Dave:Being a podcast guest.
Jenn:Fun yeah. Well, I'm just mean, like, not everyone has a husband who has podcast, but just doing fundraising events and just a lot it's a lot of stuff. And already in our lives, we're just so we have 4 young kids where we both work full time. We're just totally maxed out.
Dave:Let me just, pat Jen on the back publicly with the amount of hustle she put in to raise this money. She made custom t shirts and sold them to friends and family.
Jenn:That was yeah. Made Saint Patrick's Day t shirts.
Dave:Oh, you did Super Bowl squares?
Jenn:Honestly, I have to credit my friend, Kayla, did that. So I had just me and my 11 year old son signed up to run a race at Fenway Park, supporting the home base program, which is, a program that provides mental health to veterans and we did it last year. And we're so excited. We wanted to sign up again. We signed up pretty early.
Jenn:It's not till July. So I had just done Super Bowl squares to fundraise for that. We only raised $500. So I just asked everybody for money for Super Bowl squares, and then I get this call. So now I'm like, oh my god.
Jenn:I can't ask to Super Bowl squares again. And it was only a couple days to the Super Bowl, which I was kinda panicking, and my friend said, I'll take care of it. And she's like, you think I hustle? Like, she had those squares sold in, like, 24 hours for me. Yeah.
Jenn:And that was huge. So I really appreciate that because that was a good chunk of money. I would say, yeah, like Super Bowl squares or, March Madness brackets or, like, kinda easy ways to get money.
Dave:It's good timing too that it was like the Super Bowl is coming up and you
Jenn:just found out about it. Just in time, but I almost thought it was too late. I was kinda nervous, but she took care of that for me. But, yeah, still, it was yeah. So I did the t shirts and then, you know, got donations from friends and family.
Jenn:But I feel like a a lot of people have to do fundraising events and raffle baskets and
Dave:It's hard.
Jenn:Yeah. Multiple different things that's
Dave:And you think you know a lot of people that would donate, but when it comes down to brass a lot of money. Yeah. It's like, you know, I mean, just And Was it yesterday we had the solar eclipse and Jen had extra solar glasses and she posted on Facebook that if anybody donates today, they'll get some free I got a couple
Jenn:last minute donations from Solar Eclipse glasses. I should have done. Had I known that, I should have collected them, like, weeks ago and done that. Solar Eclipse
Dave:I need to show the people what I'm looking at right now because next to you is Conan in the background, our dog. And if I zoom in on him, that's I just need to show everybody. That's it. So, that's the logistics of how you got into the Boston marathon. That's The the good news for you was that you were already training for the cheap air fry.
Dave:Right.
Jenn:I only had to adjust it by 10 days.
Dave:Similar time frame. Now, I want to talk about your training leading up to this because you shifted things up. On our last the last time you're on the podcast, we talked about the Run With How app Mhmm. Which you're using to train for that marathon, but then you ran into some snags with Run With Howl where you couldn't adjust to like blackout days and you had issues with it Yeah. And you wanted more customization so you ended up hiring a coach.
Jenn:Yeah. So I was going with that, but, you know, I just totally the second I found out I was in Boston, just panic set in. I did yeah. I had a little trouble with the app trying to adjust. I couldn't just change a marathon date.
Jenn:It made me redo a plan. Mhmm. I had just run a simulation half that week, and it wanted me to do it again the next week, which I thought was kinda weird. I end up calling, a run coach from the running club I joined about a year ago, and she was funny. She was like, I'm not really taking anyone new, but you just sound so desperate.
Jenn:And I'm like because I really was like, help. Oh my god. I'm gonna immediately I started having phantom pain injury pains, you know, just thinking I'm gonna get an overuse injury. I don't know what I'm doing. I I totally panicked.
Jenn:And then she ended up saying, you know, don't run another simulation half. And I just that validated like, I just felt like, alright. I I really need to run coaching. Not that I I, you know, not that I don't think the Hal app is great. I think it's a great idea if but, obviously, it doesn't substitute a running coach.
Jenn:So she has helped me a lot, and I feel like I learned a lot just working with her in the last 6 to 8 weeks. Yeah. That
Dave:yeah. Say it's been like I I mean, I I don't know if your coach will listen to this, but oh, yeah. Will you say would you say it's like a huge advantage compared to the app you're using that it's been a game changer for you in terms of, like, training to have a human being on the other side?
Jenn:Yeah. It's definitely a lot better. I mean, especially I mean, the plans are a little different. I think she pushed me a little harder. And then I was wondering, like, last fall when I was using the app, was it pushing me hard enough?
Jenn:I don't know. I she I she definitely pushed me a little harder than the app would have, but I also had the option to, you know, tell her if I didn't sleep at all or I was recovering from sick or some stuff like that, the personalization Yeah. Where I could be like, you know, I really my schedule is crazy. I can't run Sunday. She could tell me, okay, do this on Friday.
Jenn:Do this on, you know so that was really valuable, I would say.
Dave:Let's talk about the anxiety you've had over over analyzing every little aspect of this earth because I you know, I get to witness it every day and watch her.
Jenn:And you've been lovely about it. Really supportive, but I can tell that you're waiting for it to be over because I've I've been kind of really obsessing over every detail and sometimes I have to stop and I'm like, what am I doing? She's been
Dave:to make sure she Okay. Can hold her gels.
Jenn:There's a lot that I didn't know and I still probably don't know, but a lot I didn't know about the Boston Marathon. So I feel like any of that information I can share, maybe I can. But about, I don't know, a month ago, my friend who runs the Boston Marathon every year, she is, just a really great athlete. And, she, out of nowhere, just messaged me and said, hey, you know you can't wear your hydration vest to the Boston Marathon. Right?
Jenn:And I was like, what? I was like, no. I was like, I didn't know this. Nobody I don't know. I didn't I wasn't looking at the prohibited items on the web, like, I I don't know.
Jenn:I've never rent. Like, I've watched it before on TV. I like, I watch it every year. I've never noticed. I guess, it was a thing like after 2013.
Jenn:They got rid of Hydration Vests, which really make like a ton of sense because the bomber
Dave:was You probably eliminated the vest in the crowd and not the people running. But I don't know. I get it.
Jenn:But I guess it's just a little extra step they took. But anyways, I didn't know this, and I've panicked. I've always run with that hard hydration vest. So right away, I had to change up. You know, I started using the handheld, which I will admit you were right.
Jenn:For the last however many years, they've been like, just try my handheld. Try my hand. I'm like, no way. I would hate it. I'll hate it so much.
Dave:If it makes you feel any better, I said the exact same thing when I was running ultras. Everyone said, wear well, run with a handheld because they you don't have to wear a vest blah blah blah. And then I bought I was like, no, that's stupid because you have to hold something. But then I realized, it's
Jenn:you don't even think about it. I just I remember the days where we went from corded headphones to wireless headphones and the like, just these little all of a sudden, my hands were freed up the day I got rid of the armband with my phone and, you know, got a flip belt or whatever. Like, I just felt so free, and I just felt like a a handheld water bottle just feels like moving backwards putting something in my hand. But I really I did it for a long run, and I I didn't mind it. I got, like, the smallest ones.
Dave:Do you know where the huge payoff will be with that too is is if it's hot at the Boston Marathon? You don't have to have an extra layer on top Yeah. That'll overheat you.
Jenn:It's true. Yeah. That is the next it is the best.
Dave:It's an
Jenn:extra layer. So it's it works out. But I guess I needed that little push to try that.
Dave:For the longest time, Jen has been a hardcore Solomon advanced skin 5. She stole mine.
Jenn:You gave it to me.
Dave:Yep. She stole mine. It was a Solomon advanced skin 5 set. The black one I used to wear, she she proclaimed. And she wore it for every single run, so she was devastated.
Dave:It was like a real point of anxiety.
Jenn:So it was a it's my comfort zone. Don't take something away.
Dave:It was kind of humorous for me to watch because you, like, legit had a it was like a whole day of a panic attack over realizing you can't wear your vest to the Boston Marathon. I know that. And and then she's, like, buying actually, did you that day, we were talking about getting handhelds for your long long run, and you drove to Walmart that day to go buy one so you could do it
Jenn:at your leisure level. My friend gave me, like, one of the Nathan ones. Yeah. But just the timing didn't work out because, you know, I was doing a a 20 mile run and I was, like, I can't test this on a 20 mile run because that's gonna be miserable. I hate it.
Jenn:So I ended up trusting the handheld, because I figured I could toss it somewhere, come back. I don't know. I ended up not minding it. So that's what I'm going with.
Dave:So that's hydration, and then she's been freaking out about clothing.
Jenn:Well, because I don't have the vest, I would just carry everything.
Dave:Right. Right.
Jenn:So now I've got this little water bottle. Where am I keeping all my gels? I wear a flip belt anyway because I wear it for use of for my phone. I just like how handy it is. Yeah.
Jenn:So I'm just gonna be, I guess, stocking up my flip belt with gels. I've gotten a lot of other advice, ideas from other people. Yeah. I bought the sports bra that has, like, the phone in it, but I don't know if my shoulder pockets, but now it looks like it's gonna be kinda warm. So I think I'm gonna be wearing shorts.
Jenn:Yeah. The running shorts I wear all the time that I love, don't have pockets, the extra one. So it's just
Dave:Have you looked at the have you looked at the forecast, like, extended forecast?
Jenn:I keep looking. It still looks really good. It's a little, like, sixties, but I don't wanna I'll
Dave:take it.
Jenn:I mean, it's still kinda early. Oh. It's still early.
Dave:So I'm I'm scared. So I don't wanna jump too far ahead, but yeah. We'll we'll hold off on that. I wanna talk about, like, the day of and what what the plan is. But before we get there, let's talk about your goals because I'm a little foggy on this still and I live with you.
Dave:Let's lay this out for everybody out there listening. Jen is running the Boston marathon on April 15th and then 2 days later, we board an airplane to go to freaking Disney World with our family.
Jenn:Not the best timing. But
Dave:So we're gonna be marching around. I do you remember last time we're at Disney World? Yeah. It's like 30,000 steps a day in the heat. Oh,
Jenn:I'm hoping it keeps my legs moving. Yeah. I mean
Dave:This is the guy that will need to wrestle 4 children through Disney World if you can't walk. So
Jenn:Yeah. I need to
Dave:be a
Jenn:little I know that was kinda. Yeah. So my mom was booking the flight. It's a family vacation. My mom was booking the flight, and she was going to book it on Monday.
Jenn:And that was when I had put my name in. I said, mom, like, just so you know, I'm probably not getting the most marathon, but I did put my name in. And if I get picked, it's like, I'm running it. So she booked it for Wednesday, and then so I didn't get picked. I'm like, alright.
Jenn:This is for the better. I'll have a little bit of recovery time and before we get on the plane, whatever. But then I did get picked. So, obviously, I'm I'm running the Boston Marathon if I have the chance to.
Dave:Yeah.
Jenn:So, yeah, the timing's not great, but, hopefully, I don't kill myself. So, yeah, that brings, I guess, to my next point. You mentioned what are my
Dave:Yeah. What's the goal?
Jenn:Goals. So originally, I had said on, you know, in the fall, I tried to get that sub 4 and I didn't. I think I could. If I was running the, the cheat marathon, which actually just got it was supposed to be last Saturday. It got canceled because it got snow up here in New England, and they rescheduled it for a while.
Jenn:We're in Disney, so I was like, oh, thank god I would have been so upset. I think I could have got this up before, but the Boston Marathon, everyone keeps saying that course is a beast. And I really didn't know, like, what they were talking about until I act I only did the one training run so far. There's so many people that have run a 1000000 times. They've been telling me, like, the downhills, the this, the that.
Jenn:You gotta do this. Go out slow. Just everyone's had so much advice. But my one experience was just that one course training run, and, it was really hard.
Dave:Yeah.
Jenn:The elevation didn't seem like that much. The first I did the first 20 or 21 miles, and I didn't even get to Heartbreak Hill, I don't think, because I think that's a 21.
Dave:That's right near the end.
Jenn:But there was I was kinda going uphill at the end, but but I don't know. Anyways, my quads killed, and I think it was from the downhill. And I just kinda got this guy. I felt really destroyed after that training run. I got a little discouraged and started kinda thinking.
Dave:So for the people, the training run, she she ran the course with a bunch of her friends. You did Miles Yeah.
Jenn:With my running club, we ran.
Dave:Did you start at Hopkins?
Jenn:We started at the at the start, 20. I think I did 20a half and then ran back a little. But it was really it was a lot harder than I thought.
Dave:I mean, we live It's
Jenn:probably everyone's probably rolling their eyes if you run Boston before, but I was like,
Dave:Well, we live in a pretty flat town. Yeah. And we train typically near our house because we have kids. So
Jenn:Yeah. I immediately panicked that I didn't have been training on enough elevation.
Dave:That last run that you did with me though, we got We
Jenn:got some good
Dave:elevation. Like, 6 or 700 feet of elevation gain.
Jenn:But,
Dave:Actually, we got 900 feet of gain on that run.
Jenn:Yeah. So anyways Yeah. I don't know. I don't think I wanna go for sub 4 just because I don't wanna kill myself. I don't wanna blow my family's coming to watch.
Jenn:I don't wanna blow by them. Like, I mean, I I probably won't suffer too long because I but I I think
Dave:it's gonna be a game days decision. Like, if you feel if you feel great, you're gonna hit
Jenn:the glass. If I'm feeling really, really good, I probably will, but that's hard. I don't wanna ruin the experience and I don't wanna bonk. That was, like, the worst at the last marathon. Yeah.
Jenn:I think a lot had to do with my being dehydrated. I don't know. But I don't wanna crawl past the finish line. I mean, I'm sure most people are kinda crawling, but you want a little bit of, like, a wind to, like I don't know. I don't wanna bonk.
Jenn:I don't wanna be destroyed after. I don't wanna feel sick after. I probably will.
Dave:Mhmm. And
Jenn:I wanna be able to walk at Disney. So I don't know. I'm keep going flip flopping. I keep keep going back and forth. Should I just kinda relax and not worry about the time and just enjoy it?
Jenn:Should I go hit the gas a little bit so I get a decent time but not go crazy? But then will I be annoyed if I get just over 4? I don't
Dave:know what to do. So the question is sub 4 or not. But then the other question is, what's your PR for a marathon? Was that the last of the loco one?
Jenn:Yeah. Well, the only 2 row marathons. I did the very first one. I did 4 and a half hours.
Dave:So you could consider it
Jenn:Loco was.
Dave:It could it could be a win win if you look at it like you could PR or you could go sub 4, and those could be your a b goals. You know?
Jenn:I guess.
Dave:Like, if you did 4 10, 420, or something like that.
Jenn:I don't know. I just wanna enjoy it. Yeah. But, also, am I gonna be kicking myself after if my time is not great and be like, oh, I just had my one chance to run the marathon. I could have done better, but I chose not to.
Jenn:Like, I don't I I'm assuming a lot of runners can resonate with that Yeah. Like, competitiveness with themselves.
Dave:The Disney thing really does throw a wrench in the spokes because it's like knowing that's kind of looming over you. And I can even imagine I don't even wanna put this in your head. But, like, mid race you're running. And if you're, like, dying and you're trying to hit that pace to go sub 4, are you in your back of your mind gonna, like, start thinking, how am I gonna get the kids here or how am I gonna board an airplane? I just wonder, like, that hits me sometimes, like, mid ultra.
Dave:I'll be like, oh, man. I I have planes this weekend or, like, I have to help when I get home or in the case the the 50 k I ran in California, I was like, I get through the airport and get back into my car and, like, those things are things you have to think about.
Jenn:I'm already going fast halfway through, oh my god. I'll be like, I just don't wanna have regrets either way. I could go slow and have regrets that I didn't put more into it and get a better time, or I could go fast and kill myself and then have regrets that I didn't enjoy the experience enough because I was pushed just having my watch drive me the whole time, and I didn't even look up. You know?
Dave:It is kinda funny that I don't know what you worse. You're such a planner. Like, you need things that even this podcast is just like, we're starting at 1:30.
Jenn:And you wouldn't tell me anything about what we were talking about.
Dave:Because my notes are empty. Although, he knows how I haven't looked at my phone yet. But the the the fact that you're such a planner, I feel like before you even step foot across the starting line, you're gonna want to know what you're doing that day.
Jenn:I don't know and I don't. So we'll see. I mean, I I I have a general idea of how I'm gonna run but.
Dave:Are you gonna try to hang with friends, like, people you know with
Jenn:the run club? I don't really know. Well, I a lot of the run club are, really fast athletes that qualified. And then, I know just the handful that I met that I ran with my training run, it seems like I might be, faster than some, a little bit faster than some. I don't think I'm gonna try and hit.
Jenn:I don't think there's anyone I know that's close enough to my pace Yeah. And in my wave or corral, whatever, that I would try and stick with. If they were if they're a little, like, faster than me, I may be like, oh, maybe that'll help. But I don't know. I'm not gonna run with that.
Jenn:Maybe I'll find a strain maybe I'll find I'm thinking I might find a stranger that might be going for a 4 hour marathon
Dave:Yeah.
Jenn:That I could run with.
Dave:And they have they have Pacers there. Right? Like, with the signs.
Jenn:Alright. Yeah. I would assume so. I've never, if you can believe have you ever, gone there? No.
Dave:I it's I feel like
Jenn:I feel embarrassed to say that because I watched it every year since I was a kid. Yeah. I've watched it on TV. It's a huge day.
Dave:Yeah.
Jenn:I've never gone in.
Dave:We live, like, I don't know, 30 minutes from there.
Jenn:It's just not huge crowds. It's it's stressful. And this is so this is like a big step out of my comfort zone to be doing this. So that I think that's what's been contributing some of my anxiety is not just the race anxiety, but the fact that it's a huge event, and I don't leave our town.
Dave:Yeah. I think last was it last year we went and did the VO 2 max test in Boston? Yeah. So that was the closest I've ever been to the event. Yeah.
Dave:And it was really cool because they already had the,
Jenn:It was the expo weekend.
Dave:Yeah. So they had, like, the starting line set up or the finish line set up. They had, like, a bunch of tents and stuff and, like, events happening. Yeah.
Jenn:We went, like, the Saturday before, I think, just to do yeah. That it was just coincidence, and it happened to me right there.
Dave:So I
Jenn:feel like that kinda drove my energy or my desire to run a little more because I was like, this energy is so great and why I wanted to volunteer if I wasn't gonna get in anyway just because I just wanted to be there.
Dave:I feel like this is gonna be not to flip it to me, but I feel like I'm gonna be chasing her around that day trying to find her at various spots. Yeah.
Jenn:You've got a plan.
Dave:But I feel like that energy being there is gonna give me the bug of wanting to do Boston. Like just like Western States, I always said I never wanted to run it. It's too big. It's too hard to get into, and I felt the same way about Boston. Like there were just such big things like I'd rather do grassroots small things.
Dave:But then I saw Western States and I went there and I now I really want to do that. It's still really pretty much impossible for me to do but I want to do it now. Boston, I feel like it's gonna be the same thing. It's just that like such a huge thing. Thousands of people everyone rooting for
Jenn:What is your qualifying time for men your age in Boston?
Dave:You know? 310, 305. It's like insane.
Jenn:You think you run a marathon in?
Dave:3a half maybe if I killed myself, if I really killed myself. Maybe with some training. I bet you could do that. Can somebody help me?
Jenn:I bet you couldn't Yeah. Train for
Dave:I don't know.
Jenn:The problem is and I I realized this again when I started the last couple of years. I started thinking, like, oh, I kinda wanna run Boston. You have to have a qualifying time before September, whatever, 1st or whatever it is. So That's the hard part. Even, like, if I, you know, were to do a marathon this fall, it would not qualify me for 2025.
Jenn:Yeah. So I don't know. I still have it in my head. I will get faster and qualify. And I only I think I only have, like, one more year, and then I go to the next time, the next age bracket.
Dave:Oh, right. Yeah.
Jenn:So I got a few minutes. I don't know. But it's it's hard. Marathon training is really hard.
Dave:I I watch people, you know, through, like, Strava. I I watch people training for Boston, and it just seems like such an unattainable goal. Like friends of mine, Brent, you know, the guy used to climb with. He he trained for it and and then he he lost it for some reason. He didn't get in.
Dave:Oh, he missed the qualifier by, like, 10 seconds or something.
Jenn:Like, did he get a a b q? So if you're, listening and you're not familiar, you there's the Boston qualifier time, and that means you qualify, but doesn't mean you get in because at the every, you know, every fall or whatever it is when people apply, they see how many people applied. And if too many people apply, the qualifying time drops. So this year, I think it dropped by, like, 5 minutes or something. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
Jenn:But it was a huge it was huge. Wow. I think there was 1 year even it was 7. I think the max was, like, 7. It was a huge drop.
Jenn:So all these people let, you know, train for years years, finally got their BQ, and then did not get into Boston.
Dave:Wow. I would be oh, I remember seeing those anger posts last year.
Jenn:Yeah. It was.
Dave:Part of the people that were, like, right on me.
Jenn:Fall that I think that happens pretty often because, I mean, when you get to that, like you said, when you get to that kind of level, it's very hard to just shave off a couple minutes.
Dave:Yeah. It
Jenn:takes a lot of training.
Dave:I mean, seconds. At that level, it's hard, you know. People say, oh, just PR by, you know, 15 seconds or something. And it sounds like such a small sliver, but to gain 15 seconds on your PR is like 6 months of training or something. Yeah.
Dave:So I
Jenn:think people get pretty disappointed and I think that's where, I know you're telling me that people are mad about influencers getting bibs. And I'm like, I can see that, but at the same time, it's it's nothing that's nothing new. Media has always got, you know, bibs. I don't How
Dave:do you feel about that? I mean Like, if your bib got taken away and given to some, you know
Jenn:Well, it didn't. It didn't get taken away and given to an influencer. They were gonna get it at the me this whatever amounts that media that people are gonna get. It's not like they stripped bibs from people or could have given people more bibs. I think there's a certain number set aside, I would assume.
Jenn:Yeah. And that's that's that. It's not like I
Dave:think people forget too, like, this has been going on forever. Before influencers were around, it was ABC News or ESPN people would get a bib to run and write about their race. It wouldn't I mean it would be like a media outlet would still get that bib. It's just now media is social media. So
Jenn:Right. People don't take that as sir like a serious job if you're, like, a YouTuber Yeah. Or if you're on Fox News. Serious job, people. I mean, you're both, you know, media outlet, but Yeah.
Jenn:I don't know. Anyways
Dave:So mentally now, we are we said 6 days out. Right? Yep. How are you feeling? Are you are you prepared?
Dave:Are you ready to tow the ladder?
Jenn:Yeah. I feel really good. I'm really excited. My only, like, nervousness business now is, like, waking up with, like, the flu on Monday or something. And, it's funny because I had like, my running club did, like, a little, like, breakfast event.
Jenn:A lot of the runners were wearing masks. And I know, like, my one of my friends goes into a full on bubble for 2 weeks, doesn't I know, which I totally understand that's so much work to have it, like, get thrown away because you're sick. Unfortunately, I don't really have that luxury having 4 kids. It's not that it's not that it's a luxury. It's just like I'm getting exposed to everything.
Dave:She she went to an event the other day that was with her run club, and she was talking about how how everybody was wearing masks and maybe she should wear a mask
Jenn:and A few
Dave:people. A couple people.
Jenn:But I understood.
Dave:I had to remind her that, we have 4 kids in 4 or 3 different schools. And
Jenn:they're daycare. Yeah.
Dave:Yeah. Different schools. So we have daycare. We've got 2 2 in the same school Oh, right. And the oldest and then the oldest one in a different school.
Dave:So you can imagine the circle of people that we are exposed to.
Jenn:I know. And honestly, I keep saying this and, like, knocking on wood. Like, I just have to have faith that, like, the my one time a year where I get sick, I really don't get sick often, is not gonna be on Monday. And if it is, hopefully, it's not something too bad that I can't push through until at least do, you know, do the race. But I think that's my only fear right now.
Jenn:I feel, like, I feel pretty prepared and I'm not nervous. And I've I've gotten enough information about the logistics that I'm feeling more confident because that was making me nervous at first. So just getting in and just everyone keeps telling me the same thing. All these people that have run Boston year after year just I I keep hearing the words, it's a well oiled machine. It's a well oiled machine.
Jenn:Like, I they know everyone knows what they're doing. You're not gonna get lost. You're not gonna miss your, you know, start and whatever. So that's made me more confident.
Dave:Now will I get lost?
Jenn:I don't know, but you're on your own. You are on your own. And I had yeah. I had the the kind of the luxury of joining this run club in the last year, and I had no idea I got accepted into Boston. And again, my friend from The Run Company was like, you know, just so you know, they get a bus there and they get a hotel after, and you can take a shower at the hotel after.
Jenn:And then and I was like, what?
Dave:It's amazing.
Jenn:Oh, my god. I was like, I'm so happy I'm in this room. I didn't know. But, yeah. So I, you know, kinda signed up for that.
Jenn:And just everyone's just been kinda prepping me with what to do, what to expect, how to prepare, you know, the throwaway clothes to basically get on this bus. Well, there's the bus we're taking is from our our hometown, but I I guess there's buses that go from, like, Frog Pond in Boston to the start. So you would get on, you know, a bus to head to the start, and, people wear tons of throwaway clothes to stay warm, and you throw I don't know. If you've never run a marathon, you basically just start racing and just stripping down clothes and throwing them on the street, and then the volunteers go and collect them and donate them to Goodwill or Big
Dave:Brother or something. So if you see a Chase to Summit hoodie laying near the starting line, you know where it
Jenn:came from. Literally going to throw a Chase. That's what I'm gonna wear. So Dave has been ordering. Represent.
Jenn:He's been ordering a lot of different merch trying to see what he likes and some of the stuff has not been, acceptable quality. So I there's some sweatshirts that you did not choose because the quality was not up to your standards, and I will be taking them and just layering myself with with them and throwing them on the streets. It's gonna
Dave:be like a giveaway. You're gonna have to kiss somebody give away giveaway.
Jenn:I usually get warm, like, I would say 3 quarters of a mountain. So if you wanna go, you know, 3 quarters mountain, you might find some cases on March.
Dave:But it
Jenn:won't be the best quality march.
Dave:No. It'll be bad the bad quality. So, in terms of after the race, do you have like a plan for recovery? What is the, what is the strategy with your coach? Do you have like a a plan for, you know, when you start running again?
Dave:Do you wanna train for another marathon? What's post race?
Jenn:I really don't know. I mean, I did kind of I think I took a couple weeks off. My last marathon will be in Disney, and then, yeah, I'll take it easy for a while and just see how I feel. It's tough because I feel like after big races, you start you know, after a week or two, you start feeling like you can go run again, but that doesn't mean you're recovered just cause you kinda feel like it it takes a while for, you know, a big race like that. So, yeah, I don't know.
Jenn:I'll say I don't know if I'll do another marathon. I mean, I I know I will, but I don't know when.
Dave:We may need a rental, wheelchair for the Airbnb we're staying in in Florida.
Jenn:My friend my friend was like, can you just use your medal as, like, you know, like, a pass to, like, get a wheelchair? I'm like, I don't think so. But but I definitely I'm nervous because after the last marathon, I was so destroyed. It was 3 days later, I walked to the bus stop to get the kids off, and my leg just buckled. Like, I don't know where it felt like someone kicks the back of my knee.
Jenn:Like, you know how sometimes, like Yeah. Just walking. I literally tripped and I was like, oh my god. Thank god no one saw. Like, I don't even know what just happened.
Jenn:My leg just gave out. And so now I'm just envisioning walking through Disney and having that happen.
Dave:What are you gonna do, the days leading up? Do you have like a pre I mean, I know people that have, like, a structured meal that they eat the day before. What what is your plan the day before?
Jenn:I don't really have too much of plan except eating bland. Nothing that's gonna upset my stomach. I did do the calculations for carbs, you know, how many carbs you're supposed to be eating for the 3 days prior. So I'm gonna try and hit that. I I never really paid too much attention to that, but I did.
Jenn:I've been tracking my food the last couple weeks, and I did notice I really don't eat a lot of carbs for how much I run. So, that was a lot of gels?
Dave:Do you put those in? You don't track those too.
Jenn:Yeah. I put those in when
Dave:I do carbs. Yeah.
Jenn:When I do long runs. But I mean, like, the days, like, leading up to long runs where I, you know, need to get a certain amount of carbs. I feel like we don't really eat a lot of carbs. I I think when we first started getting in shape or dropping weight, like, a long time ago, our we cut carbs a lot. We started using, like, the thin, you know, flax rot, which is a good thing.
Jenn:Yeah. But but now, I feel like when you run a lot, I mean, don't eat a lot of carbs to support it.
Dave:But What are you gonna what are you gonna use for fueling at the race? Just gels, or do you have
Jenn:other stuff? Just going with the goose that I've been the, you know, the GU brand that I've been using. I would like to try other things, but I just I I'm too nervous to change anything. So do you do that? I'm not gonna change anything now.
Dave:You're gonna do the Goo gels and then the blocks too?
Jenn:Yeah. So I have the Clif blocks, which, I sometimes just substitute only because those, like, kinda taste like candy to me. I like chewing things, and sometimes I just can't I'm gonna try really hard to get those goos down. But I know, like, towards the end, it's real hard. So I have those just kinda as a backup if I can't do the goos.
Jenn:And then,
Dave:you know,
Jenn:I have hydration powders,
Dave:and,
Jenn:I have some salt tabs. That's about
Dave:it. That's If if things go south, you'll be on the salt tabs?
Jenn:Yeah. I'll probably take one of those at some point, maybe halfway towards the end. It's just
Dave:So, gents, historically, I think every time you've run a marathon, you have, like, this mile 20 to 21 moment of your ankle hurting or bonking or something like that. So I think your criteria for this should be to get past that mile 21 point, and then you could start, like, maybe pace accordingly to get past that.
Jenn:And then I think that's when I think the hills really start is like, Heartbreak Hill, I think, is 21 miles or something around there. So which is yeah. It's gonna be it's gonna be tough.
Dave:Yeah. Yeah. If you've never seen the, Boston Marathon elevation profile, it's sort of a gradual uphill. Right? There's not, like, a lot of rolling
Jenn:to do. Beginning is a lot of downhill, I think. And then I you know, I don't know. Rinseless Heartbreak Hill is at 21 miles, but I at, like, 17, it started going uphill when I was doing on the course. I don't know.
Jenn:Well, I don't really wanna know. I didn't even wanna do the training when everyone's like, you have to get on the course, and I didn't understand why. I said, I don't wanna know what it it looks like. I don't wanna know. You know, I I don't I didn't wanna be discouraged, and I kind of was.
Jenn:But at the same time, it was like in a good way. I felt and I feel like now I'm prepared because I've seen it at least once.
Dave:It's gonna look a lot different on race day, especially with the crowds and people cheering and adrenaline levels.
Jenn:But, I mean, like, as far as the elevation, like, it was it's kinda deceiving.
Dave:Well, I think you've got it. Doubt. I think you've got it, Jennifer.
Jenn:Hoping yeah. Maybe one day we'll look back on this and laugh at how stupid we were. We didn't really know a lot about the Boston Marathon.
Dave:Well, maybe we need to do, like, a a debrief podcast after after you do the the right race, and we can talk about how it went.
Jenn:Yeah. Definitely. I
Dave:So you heard it here first. She's going sub 4. I don't know. I'm just kidding. So the a b goal is either sub 4 or PR or just finish.
Dave:That's a b c. Right? Yeah.
Jenn:I mean, I know I'll finish.
Dave:Yeah. I like that confidence. Well, I'm really excited. I'll be I'll be chasing Jennifer along the way. I don't know why I call you Jennifer on a podcast.
Dave:It's very formal. I'll be chasing her along the way. I I really don't know how I'm gonna spot you. I'm like kind of freaked out about like, I know I'm I'm a be live tracking her. Hopefully, we can get something on the phone so I can
Jenn:track that.
Dave:And then I need to
Jenn:We'll have some spots figured out because I gotta have
Dave:bright outfit so I can
Jenn:I really don't know what the finish is like, how hard it is to get to the finish?
Dave:It's gonna be hard, I think.
Jenn:Yeah. I think
Dave:I need to get in there, like, super early or something, and I don't know. But I'll that's a that's a me problem. I'll figure that out.
Jenn:Yeah. I have faith. Yeah. I have faith that I'll see you at least once and as long as you pick me up at the end.
Dave:Yeah. And if you're at the, Boston Marathon, marathon, keep an eye out for us and say hi if you're there. We'd love to say hi to you.
Jenn:Yeah.
Dave:Alright. Well, we've been talking for 45 minutes. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of your training.
Jenn:Thanks. It's been
Dave:fun to be sort of in the passenger seat to this whole situation and watch you train on the weekends and wake up at 4 in the morning?
Jenn:It was definitely a lot harder, I think, training for a spring spring marathon sounds so great when, like, you watch them. And I always watch Boston, but, like, you see all these people crossing in this nice weather. Well, usually nice weather except for a few years. But you don't really you don't think about how those people were running in the winter and, like, just crap conditions all winter long.
Dave:Yeah.
Jenn:I've only ever trained now for, like, fall marathon. So this has been a little bit different. Luckily, we had a mild winter, so it wasn't too bad. But I definitely have a whole new respect for people who train for this Boston marathon every year. It's crazy.
Jenn:It's awesome. It's a great accomplishment.
Dave:Yeah. So shout out to all those qualifiers and and people running this year. It's gonna be a crazy day. I'm I'm very excited. I'm nervous and excited and hopefully everything goes well.
Dave:Yeah. Alright. Well, that's it for this podcast, everybody. Thanks for tuning in. Everyone give Jen a big good luck in the comments down below.
Dave:By the way, if you're listening to this on audio only, make sure to go over to the YouTube version because because we've got a video of this. I didn't do all my stuff at the beginning when I talk about, you know, I
Jenn:didn't wanna talk about your commercial and new stuff coming up?
Dave:Yeah. I get to talk about that. But but first, we need some some final words from you. What do you give us one sentence on how you feel about the Boston Marathon right now.
Jenn:I just feel super honored and Oh. You know, like I mentioned before, I almost feel uncomfortable because nobody cared. I ran other marathons. I mean, not that no one cared, but like this has just been very different. And I almost feel like uncomfortable that people are like holding me on this pedestal, you know, now that I'm running Boston.
Jenn:I'm like, well, I I was gonna run another marathon, but Yeah. No one cares. Everyone care cares about Boston. But I just feel very grateful that everyone's been so supportive, and I I'm really excited. I can't wait to feel the energy and just be there.
Jenn:So
Dave:I love it.
Jenn:And I think you should do it next year.
Dave:Yeah. We'll see. We'll see. It's on my bucket list. I mean, I feel like just living around here and being a runner, you have to Yeah.
Dave:I think once
Jenn:you're I think once you're there on Monday, then you'll I I felt that, like, when we were like, we said when we were there last year, just around the area. I was like Yeah. I wanna be here. So yeah. Anyways, thanks for everyone who's donated to my fundraiser.
Dave:Go donate. If you haven't done it yet, check out the link.
Jenn:And and thank you to the Crystal Campbell Memorial Fund team for selecting me. I really feel so appreciative, that was made up of, a couple of her friends. And, they've just been so nice and just super cool, and I just feel, like, so honored that they picked me and honored that I'm running, you know, in her name and with her name on my shirt. So I'm really really excited about that. And, also, I wanna say thanks to my run club, the Soul Sisters, because they've been, like, so supportive of this journey too.
Jenn:And I don't know what I would do without them. And then all my other, you know, no excuse mom runners that have been running with me and supporting. And I actually was supposed to run that other race with some of them, so I I totally abandoned some immediately when I got into Boston, but they understood. So yeah. Thanks to all those people.
Jenn:And thank you for not hating me, for leaving every weekend and watching the kids and getting up with them every morning while I run.
Dave:That's what I do. My dad.
Jenn:Oh, I appreciate it because it's not easy. I have a, you know, just a huge respect for people who do this stuff all the time with kids and working and Yeah. It's hard.
Dave:It's crazy. Shout out to all the parents out there running marathons. Alright, friends. That's the end, of this conversation. I do have a couple of things Jen just mentioned alluded to.
Dave:Check out the new website and merch store over at chasesummit.com. I'm actually wearing a prototype piece of merch that's not available yet, but, there's gonna be a whole bunch coming soon. Jen knows how's absolutely obsessed I've been about the new merch and I've You've
Jenn:been very you've been more obsessed with the merch than I've been obsessed with Boston Marathon.
Dave:I've had samples. I've been on phone calls with textile mills.
Jenn:You have some good stuff coming in. Yes. You have you have a new item that I'm really excited about. I don't know if I can say anything, but
Dave:No. Top secret.
Jenn:Really want one.
Dave:Maybe if you're a p you know what? If you're a Patreon member
Jenn:Yeah. Yeah.
Dave:Go over to Patreon. I've shared some sample shots of the new merch coming, and it's only for Patreon members right now. And they'll also get early access to buy before everybody else. So I'm very excited about it. There's gonna be, like, multiple new hat designs, t shirts, and a lot more.
Dave:So stay tuned.
Jenn:And he spent a ridiculous amount of time getting the best, best quality.
Dave:That's right.
Jenn:It won't be garbage.
Dave:And, on top of that, the Sunrise Trucker Hat, is back in stock. I received that the other day, actually yesterday, sent out the preorders, and now it's back in the store. So if you wanted one of those and you haven't gotten it yet, go check out that. And one more thing at the merch store, I've got new shipping. This is a huge deal for me.
Dave:The international shipping in the past has been a huge headache getting hats to like, you know, Germany and and Poland and stuff, and I love that people around the world wanna wear the stuff, but unfortunately getting the stuff there was very expensive. I was spending like $30 to get a hat to the other side of the world. The good news is I've got new flat rate worldwide shipping. I can get a single hat anywhere in the world for about $12, US dollars. And so if you were interested and you're kind of scared away by that high shipping price, go try it again because the prices have gotten a lot more affordable.
Dave:On top of that, check out the Patreon. Join Patreon. I'm got a whole bunch of things coming to the Patreon, very soon. Check out the website, check out the Instagram, check out Jen's Instagram that I'll link in the show notes, and, make sure to
Jenn:be one of my 200 followers. Yes.
Dave:And then donate to her cause because, it'd be cool to see her her fundraiser go over 5
Jenn:And if you're there, please look for me.
Dave:Yes.
Jenn:And yell my name.
Dave:You know what? If you donate if you donate to Jen's Cause, I will ship you some free Chase to Summit swag. So Oh, okay. Just make sure when you donate to to write something about it and I'll find a way to get it to you. We'll we'll make that work.
Jenn:I mean I don't have like people's addresses
Dave:when they donate. We'll make it work. I'll find them, then I'll message them on Instagram. I don't know. Message me on Instagram if you do donate.
Jenn:Yeah. Let's see if now that you donated to me.
Dave:Yeah. We'll figure it out. Anyways, the outro has become very long.
Jenn:We've said goodbye now for 10 minutes.
Dave:We've gotta get to the bus stop, and our daughter just woke up for a nap. So onward to the next one. Thanks for tuning in and, Thanks
Jenn:for having me.
Dave:Thanks for being my guest today.
Jenn:Thanks. Like, yeah. Now we Come back anytime.
Dave:Just go back to being husband and wife again after that. Just all over again. Alright, friends. Thanks for tuning in. Bye.
Dave:I don't know. Do I wave to you or do I have to the camera? Okay. It's the end of the end of the show.
