The goal was a BQ. The result… not so much.

It has been some time since the last post went up! To say we have been busy would be both an understatement and a lacking excuse. The summer was a crazy busy time between getting the brand going a bit more, racing, training, and of course the general shenanigans we love to be a part of. The big update since early August is that I (Jason) had a planned attempt at going for a BQ. The attempt was to be on September 11th at the VIA Marathon in the Lehigh Valley. Well, needless to say the attempt never really had a chance! The summer heat was oppressive and my motivation was severely lacking (“see: “How do you stay motivated?“). To make a long story short, I decided to still do the race even though my training was not where it should have been to make a run at a BQ time. I ran the race (which ended up being my slowest marathon of the five I have done) and can say I truly enjoyed it. It was hard. It was grueling. It was beautiful. It was everything I hadn’t experienced in the last three marathons I had done. I noticed the trees, the other runners, the volunteers, and the actual course. I had never really paid attention to what I was running in previous marathons, only that I was running. The decision to still run the race was to keep my training up(ish) for the Rough Trail Ultra we are competing in come November. It worked splendidly in that I learned a new level of suffering during this race. One where I was able to push through levels of fatigue and exhaustion that I had previously only experienced once; and that singular occurrence years ago ultimately resulted in my ending up in a medical tent for well over and hour. Side Note: I do not recommend the medical tent at a marathon to anyone. Ever.

So, to sum things up, the race was a success. I learned more about my body and abilities, which will only help as we continue on!