Runner Spotlight: Sarah Dowd

Over the past two years, Sarah Dowd has quietly become one of the area's fastest women runners. In the 2011 Women's Fitness 5k her respectable 23:47 earned her a 6th place finish in her age group. Since then, her dedication to consistent training has led to remarkable improvement in her race results. Most recently, she was 1st overall at the 2013 Women's Fitness 5k, finishing in 19:27. In August she ran a PR of 1:30 at the 2013 Mahomet Half Marathon. 

These accomplishments are minuscule compared to her recent marathon result. Sarah went sub 3:30 to qualify for Boston this year. Sarah has provided us some insight into how she has made such incredible gains in her running in her Q and A below. Be sure to check it out!

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20 Questions on How I Qualified for Boston?

1.What made you decide on trying to run Boston in 2014?

The goal to run Boston in 2014 was on my mind long before the events that took place at the 2013 edition. I grew up about half an hour north of the city and my high school track/xc coach ran the marathon every year. I remember thinking he was crazy at the time. However, once I made the decision to start running marathons myself, Boston seemed like a logical goal. There are a lot of reasons why it had to be next year and why I could not wait another year. Sure, a later fall marathon would have given more training time and better weather, but I want to be there to celebrate my city in April 2014.

2.What is your history with running?

I started running in high school on the indoor and outdoor track teams and then added cross country my senior year. During college, I ran with the University of North Carolina club cross country team. The club team competed with other colleges, but we also participated in road races across the state. I did my first half marathon with the team in 2008 in Pinehurst, NC. I took some time off at the beginning of graduate school. When I turned 24, I signed up for training for the Illinois marathon in 2012 because at some point, I think it was high school, I decided I would run a marathon before the age of 25 (it must have sounded old at the time). Training for that marathon was a kick start for me to get back to the sport and really get involved in the local running community.

3.What marathon did you decide to pick as your qualifying marathon, and what made you decide on that one?

My qualifying marathon was the Hall of Fame City Challenge in Canton, OH on September 8, 2013. My reason for picking this particular race was motivated purely by the date. I wanted to make sure my time would be good to register for the 2014 marathon and not have to wait until 2015.

4.How far out did you start your training?

I started looking for another marathon almost immediately after Illinois. My best guess as to when training started is 3 months, but I was not all that serious until July. There was too much fun stuff happening in June to train hard core.

5.Did you design your own training?

Yes and no. Jeff Kelly came up with plans for a lot of the weeks toward the end, but it took us awhile to get on the same page, so a good chunk was on my own.

6.Did your training include any extra tasks, plyometrics, weight/strength training, etc?

I think most of these happened at some point, but not with any real consistency. I did stretch after most runs and I worked on strengthening my core throughout my marathon preparations.

7.Did your training include any forms of alternate aerobic exercises, swimming, biking, elliptical, etc?

Not really. I found it hard enough to find time to run that going to the gym for anything else sounded miserable. I also used my rest days to work late in the lab.

8.Did your training include fartleks/intervals/tempo/hills/sprints?

All of the above. Trying to find hills around here is a challenge. I usually worked in two of these types of workouts a week.

9.Did you have some races along the way that were test races to see how your training was going?

Yes and the results were rather surprising. I ran the 4^th of July 5K not expecting to do well since it was the middle of training and I was getting over a cold. Somehow, I managed to break 20 minutes for the first time. I also ran the Mahomet half marathon about 3 weeks out from my marathon. Before the race, I told Jeff I aiming for 1 hour and 35 minutes and he told me to shoot for 1:32. I thought he was crazy and then I exceeded both of our expectations by finishing at 1:30:08.

10.Were you using any type of log system to record your training, sleeping, eating, habits, etc?

I have an app on my phone that I use to log my miles, pace, shoes, location, and occasionally, weather. I also wrote my daily mileage on a calendar to remind myself of how training was progressing. It came in handy during the taper period when the doubts started creeping in.

11.How many pairs of shoes did you use, and how did you use them?

I think it was two. Looking through my training log, the early runs were in the blue Asics Kayano 18, which have been retired after ~435 miles. The later runs (and the marathon) were in Pink Asics Kayano 19’s and those are nearing retirement now. I like to wear one pair until about 300 miles and then start to work in the next until I am forced to put the first pair aside.

12.How did you hydrate yourself on long runs?

I carried a handheld water bottle for most of my runs this summer. If it was a hot day or a very long run, I would plan my route to include a couple of parks where I could refill the bottle if necessary.

13.Did you change your diet at all when training for a marathon?

I made an effort to include more fruit and vegetables in my diet this summer. I ate a lot of spinach.

14.What race day preparations do you go through?

My routine is pretty generic in terms of getting ready. I will have my clothes laid out and I usually decide what to do with my hair that morning. I suppose my one quirk is that I cannot wear a watch during a race. I wish I had a good explanation for why, but it’s really just a superstition that started in high school and persists to this day.

15.Was your only goal just to qualify for Boston or did you want to run a certain time under the qualifying time?

I anyone asked, I said just to qualify, but I told myself I needed a 3:30 marathon (5 minutes under the qualifying time) to be comfortable in my chances of getting in to Boston. I expected there to be a large demand for 2014 and I wanted to be sure I was accepted. Plus, 3:30 is a much more even number.

16.How did the marathon progress for you on that day?

Oh boy, this could be a long narrative. Let me start by saying, Canton is not flat. And despite running in the dark for the first hour, September 8^th was not very cool. That all adds up to a challenging day with the first half being especially challenging with the hills. At the halfway point, I realized I was soaked from the humidity. I knew I had to adjust my pacing for the second half if I was going to finish the event. I took my time going through the remaining water stations and took it easy on the remaining hills. Luckily, the second half was flatter than the first. At mile 24, my left calf decided it wanted to cramp. I had flashbacks to my dramatic finish at Illinois and vowed that would not happen again. I stretched and massaged it, but it meant slow going for the final miles. I actually thought I was not going to make it under my goal time and was making a plan for what I would do if the 3:35 pace group passed me. Then, I was making my way up the road to the McKinley monument towards the finish line and saw the clock. I could not believe I was still under 3:30! My mom made the trip out to Ohio for the race and I must have asked her a dozen times if I had seen the clock correctly. After that, I collapsed on the grass for a good twenty minutes wrapped in a space blanket.

17.How did your recovery go for you, do you do any particular thing to help with recovery?

My recovery went well. I made it a point to keep moving the rest of the day after the race and actually went swimming in the hotel pool. Unfortunately, everything in downtown Canton is closed on Sundays, so there was not much to do in the city. The next day, I wore my second pair of compression socks for the short flight to Chicago and the drive back to Urbana. That week was really hot so I was happy to take a few days off from running. I tried to ease back in with a sort of reverse taper and slowly ramp my mileage up.

18.What was the first race you did after your marathon and how long was it after the marathon?

Against my better judgment, I signed up for the Savoy Orchard Days 5K, which was two weeks after my marathon. I missed a lot of the local races this summer due to training and I was eager to run with friends again. It was not my fastest 5K, but I did manage to be the first female finisher.

19.When are you starting your training for Boston?

I will start training probably sometime in December. I’ll be heading back to Massachusetts for the holidays and I am hoping to get some good hill work in then.

20.What is your goal at Boston?

I anticipate a very emotional time and my major goal is to not get overwhelmed. Beyond that, I want to run strong and really enjoy the experience.