Alysia Johnson is the recently crowned IAAF World Indoor 800 meter Bronze Medalist by virtue of her signature front running tactics in Doha, Qatar this March.

I love Boston! The rain, the cold and the chance of snow flurries tonight!! I prefer running in cool weather but really snow?! No matter what the weatherman says I am keeping my hopes high that Monday will be perfect running weather; high 40’s, low 50’s, even a light mist would be ok at the start. The hard part with marathons is that you can make it through months of training but come race day there are so few factors that you can actually control. Weather, wind, water stations, your stomach, and other runners are just some of the many factors that you must deal with on race day but none of which you can really control.

As a perfect example, I am amazed that I can make it through months of training with only minor aches and pains and then my second to last run before race day I am running a few miles of the course and take a spill on a set of train tracks. A few cuts and bruises later I am back up and running and doing ok but it is a strong reminder that the first goal of running a marathon is making it to the starting line. Sometimes I forget that concept and get too focused on my paces and miles logged. No matter what level runner you are, making it the start is the most important part of race. Despite my fight with the railroad tracks today, I am ready and excited for Monday. Honestly, it cannot get here soon enough. I am ready to race and ready to feel the energy of the race! The Boston marathon has an energy that is unlike any other and a crowd that makes heartbreak hill worth the sweat, tears and pain. I look forward to sharing my race story with you next week!

My first memories of the Boston marathon were standing on the sidelines cheering on the thousands of runners and being mesmerized by the whole experience. This year’s Boston marathon will be my third running and each year I have created new, amazing memories and with the help of Focus-N-Fly, run faster and faster times. My goal this year is to qualify for the 2011 Boston marathon, as if I were a guy, running a 3:10. This would be a 5 min PR over my last race in NYC this past fall and the task seems a little daunting.

WARNING: Really Long Post!

The last few days before the race were kinda surreal. I guess most people probably get a bit nervous in those few days before a goal race. Many people also probably feel a little disconcerted because they’ve only run a few miles in the past several days and their legs start getting restless. I experienced these things too, but what struck me most in those days was how strange it felt to actual believe that I was going to make it to the starting line of another marathon… and that it could be one by which I qualify for the Boston Marathon. It was just really hard to believe.