Ms. Mulhall's Journey

Genius Hour Reflection #4 Hello everyone and welcome back to my fourth and final GH reflection! I hope you have been enjoying following me on my journey. In this reflection my aim is to focus on the mental component of running. This is often not as talked about as training plans, nutrition, hydration etc., but it is truly so important and something I have had to deal with. Running is as much a physical sport as it is a mental sport. I often get crazy looks when I tell people that one of my favourite hobbies is long distance running. Most people cannot seem to understand why I like to exert my body for hours on end. Running is often dreaded by most as the recall elementary school deep tests, or highschool suicides. So why is it that I willingly wake up every Sunday at 7:30am to run 5, 10, 15, 20 km?  Check out this video of me this past Sunday running 12 km in the snow... Dedication? Running is a Mental Sport I can attest to the fact that is takes true discipline,...

Genius Hour Reflection #3 Hi all! Welcome back to my Genius Hour blog. Recap of last week: Last week I did some research on some potential training plans that equal success for the Boston Marathon qualifying times. The pace recommended to make the qualifying time is 4 minutes and 20 seconds per km. Reminder: The qualifying time for my age and gender is a full marathon (42km) in 3 hours and 35 minutes. Yikes... On Sunday I went out for a 17 km run with my running group. I will add that the weather was not ideal. It was very cold which made my muscles quite tense and it was EXTREMELY slippery. So much so, that I was forced to slow down and walk at points just to get safety through the ice patches. Here are my statistics from the run. It is quite evident that I was no where near the 4:20 pace but rather averaged about a 6:50 pace. As discouraging as this is, I truly want to know what the tips and secrets are to increasing my time and maybe having a chance...

The Boston Marathon What is the Boston Marathon? In the world of Marathon running, the Boston Marathon trumps all. The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest marathon and is held every year on the third Monday in April. The race consists of a 41.1km course with more than 500,000 spectators which makes it one of the most attended races in the country. The male and female winners of the Boston Marathon are gifted $150,000 plus an extra $25,000 if they set a course record. Regardless of the money, just the pride and accomplishment that comes along with saying "I completed Boston" is a win in and of itself.  Other Boston Marathon Facts: A Race of Hope and Resilience- In 2013, two bombs detonated near the finish line killing three people and injuring more than 260 athletes and spectators. Instead of backing down, Boston became # BostonStrong  and continues the race each and every year. Heartbreak Hill- The course's infamous hill that runners dread is located b...

Genius Hour Reflection #2 Hello everyone and welcome back to my Genius Hour Blog! I hope last weeks post was informative and enjoyable. I know that I enjoyed reading and learning more about the Boston Marathon.   Last week after doing all my research I decided to follow the twitter account for the Boston Marathon! Feel free to do the same!  The have a ton of information about the upcoming race on Monday April 15th. They also are constantly posting training plans, tips, nutrition information and more! This week my goal is to: Analyze my running statistics & take note of how much I need to improve my time Research Boston Marathon Training Plans Test out a training plan Who am I as a runner? Rewinding back even more, I became aware of long distance endurance running through Cross Country in grade 4. My elementary school had a cross country team and I joined every year. I loved to run long distance. I can recall such clear memories ...