Marathon Mom Article

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Beth

I was shocked to see this picture of my family on the front page of the Albuquerque Journal Sunday morning:

(courtesy of Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)

A writer from the Journal contacted me last week saying she had heard about me being at the Boston Marathon last month and then found out that I was diagnosed last year with MS. She thought my story would make an inspirational Mother’s Day article for the newspaper. I was honored for this opportunity and was surprised when I saw the article on the front page of the paper. Here is a link to the story.

Since the bombings in Boston, I have been interviewed by a few different news organizations, including some international media the day after the marathon when I was still in Boston. I was not close to where the bombs went off (I was in the finisher’s chute a few hundred yards away), nor did I do anything worthy of being interviewed, I just happened to be there, like so many other people that experienced the horror on that day. Talking about myself and having the focus be on me is definitely out of my comfort zone, but for whatever reason these opportunities have come my way, so I am doing the best I can to embrace them. I do believe that God can bring good out of a bad situation, and I pray that perhaps something good can come from me talking about being at the Boston Marathon and sharing my story of living with MS. I’m not sure what that is, so I’ll just have to leave that up to God for now.

Have you been out of your comfort zone at all lately?

Ever been interviewed for something?

Any examples of how God has brought something good out of a bad situation in your life?

Happy Mother’s Day

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Beth

I want to wish all the moms a happy Mother’s Day this weekend. What an honor it is to be a mom and be blessed with the responsibility of raising a child. Although, we all know that along with that blessing comes a lot of hard work, tears, challenges, and tough times. Sure the rewards are many and the simplest “I love you, Mom” after a rough day makes it all worth it, but in reality, it is the toughest job in the world!

Often I get caught up in the day to day hustle of life with a job, husband, dog and all the kids’ activities, and it can feel overwhelming. This seems to be going on quite a bit lately, so I’m hoping to take this Mother’s Day Weekend to slow down a little and reflect on what is truly important in my life. God, family, friends. I know I only have a brief time with my children under the roof of my home (my daughter turns 13 the day after Mother’s Day!), so I need to decide how I want to spend these next few precious years. I need to remain focused on the job I have been given to raise Godly children.

Unfortunately my mom passed away 14 years ago, which makes Mother’s Day bittersweet for me. I am sad when I think of all she missed out on by never getting to experience having grandchildren or seeing me become a mother. This serves as one more reminder in my life to not take a single day for granted.

beingtakenforgrantedquotes

What plans do you have to celebrate Mother’s Day?

Marathon Mondays Return

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Beth

It’s hard to believe it has been 3 weeks since I ran the Boston Marathon. Even before arriving in Boston to run this infamous marathon for my first time, I knew that I wanted to be back there to run in 2014. The race next year is on my birthday and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate than doing what I love to do at one of the greatest venues in the world. Not to mention I feel the “need” to return to Boston next year as a show of support to the city and the families that have been impacted. The evil that was done cannot be allowed to spoil the greatness of Boston and its marathon. Good (and God) will always prevail.

You may recall that I was tempted to run the Tucson Marathon back in December because it’s a great course, my dad lives there, and I wanted to get a 2014 Boston Qualifying time. However, I was having some minor health issues and was not feeling my best, so I decided not to run it. I had my doubts going into the Boston race that I could run a qualifying time there. It’s a difficult course (for me) and I had some bumps in the road with an injury during my training. I did not hit my qualifying time in Boston for 2014, so I’m still working away to make this happen.

In 3 weeks I will be running the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon in California with my friend Sherri. We have big dreams of qualifying together for Boston at this race. Hence, the return of Marathon Mondays to my blog.

3 weeks post marathon and I am feeling really good. I took the first week after the race very easy to allow my legs some good recovery time. The challenge of running back to back marathons with only 6 weeks in between is to get enough recovery time, but not too much, because you have to jump back in and maintain your fitness level and then get ready for another taper. Whew, that’s a lot to think about! I’m loosely following a 6 week between marathon plan from this book. This past weekend Sherri and I did a 20 mile run together, and while we were not breaking any speed records, it was good to get the time on my feet and I’m happy that my legs are feeling decent. My challenge the next few weeks is to get to the marathon without injury, while still getting some worthwhile training runs in. So far so good!

Have you ever run back to back races? How did you train for it?

Do you like the “Keep Calm” sayings, or are you tired of seeing them everywhere?

ABQ 4 Boston 5K

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Beth

On Sunday a great event was put on to benefit Boston here in Albuquerque. I was honored to be a part of it. My BRF Sherri, who I am running the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon with the end of May, helped to put this event on. Here is a picture from Saturday’s registration for the 5K. I am standing with Brian Colon, who came up with the idea for this race after what happened in Boston 2 weeks ago.

I have never been a part of putting on a race, so I can only imagine how much work goes into everything from marketing to finding the venue to getting signs and shirts made and much more. I simply cannot believe that Brian and his team were able to pull this off in just 10 days.

At the beginning of the race the crowd parted ways and made a long tunnel for those of us that had run the Boston Marathon to run through to start the race off. There were 8-10 other people there that had run the marathon. It was nice to meet some of them and swap stories of their experiences in Boston. Amy, who I met in Boston and spent the hours before the race with, was also there with her husband. It was fun to see them back home in Albuquerque after meeting them in Boston.

I ran the race with one of my friends and we had a great time together. Here we are with our hubbies and Sherri.

There were over 700 runners and people that donated, and so far $30,000 has been raised for Boston. We are hoping to be able to send $47,000 to Boston to represent New Mexico as the 47th state. If you would still like to donate please go to www.abq4boston.com. There are race shirts available for purchase too if you would like one.A huge thank you to Brian Colon, Sherri, Jane (another friend of mine that helped out a TON to make the race happen), all the volunteers, and all the runners and people that donated and came out to support this event. Way to go New Mexico!

Have there been any events for Boston in your community?

Have you ever helped put on a race?

Boston Strong – How to Help

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Beth

Now that it’s been a week since I got home from Boston, I am settling back into the reality of life and am busy with the usual family and work obligations. Plus, after some recovery time, I am starting my running back up to get ready for the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon the end of May. However, the events that took place in Boston are still close in my mind and heart, so let’s talk about just a few of the many options to help the grieving families and those that suffered injuries.

First and most notably is The One Fund – Boston which has already raised over 20 million dollars. Click here for a link if you would like to donate.

Next, this wonderful blogger, MissZippy1, posted about a fund set up to help Erika Brannock, a 29 year old preschool teacher, who was in Boston to cheer her mom on in the marathon. Erika lost her leg and her husband and sister were also injured in the explosions. By using a free app called RunBSX, if you run a total of 26.2 miles between now and May 17th, the RunBSX people will donate $10 to the Erika Brannock Fund. I have already started using this app (it is similar to the Nike Running App). It was simple to download and took me less than a minute to set it up and get running, super easy!

For anyone in Albuquerque, there is a 5K walk/run this weekend to benefit Boston’s First Responders Fund. The goal of the ABQ 4 Boston 5K is to raise $47,000 to donate to represent the support of New Mexico, the 47th state in our nation. I will be there with my family and friends to support this great event.

These are just a few of the ways to help that have hit home for me, but there are many other wonderful charities and events that are taking place all over the country (and the world) that you can participate in. I even heard of a friend of my sister’s who lives in Hungary who ran a race to benefit Boston. So, find what is meaningful to you and please pitch in and support the victims of this tragedy.