Jody and I connected on twitter and she was kind enough to take the time to fill this out. Thanks Jody!

Name: Jody S www.crossmyheartfitness.com
 www.facebook.com/crossmyheartfitness
@xmyheartfitness
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Sex: Female

Age (at the time of first BQ): 42

Height: 5’5″

Weight (at the time of first BQ):123

At which marathon did you get your first BQ?

Huntington Beach Surf City Marathon What was your finishing time?3:46 Tell us a little about the race. I kept watching my Garmin to make sure I stayed on pace and wouldn’t allow myself to slow down below my required pace.

How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ?

1 year

Did you run in college or high school?

No

What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ?

No idea

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ?

My guess 1,000

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?

4 full marathons

Did you follow a canned program? If so, which one? If not, can you give us an idea of what your training philosophy was?

Run Less Run Faster by Runner’s Worlds run 3 days a week cross train 3 days

Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach?

I am my own coach

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how?

Helped me get faster, worked my muscles in deferent ways so I didn’t get any over use injuries. Swim, Spin class, Row Machine and 3 specific training runs: Speed work, Tempo and Long Slow Distance.

Did speed work play a role or specific workouts play a role in your training? If so, how?

Yes, each run was designed with a specific goal.

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ?

Get a Garmin or the like so you can keep track of your pace at all times. Don’t over train and end up injured. After my first BQ I ended up with a stress fracture, surgery and 3 screws in my femoral head. It took me 1 year to BQ again and finally made it to Boston in 2013, the year of the bombing. I qualified again and ran in 2014 and will run it again in 2015!