Beyond Boston: Tabatha Dickey

My friend and occasional training partner Elise directed me to Tabatha, who is also a Missourian.  Tabatha started training for Boston 2020 (the April edition) at 6 weeks postpartum, which as you can imagine was extremely challenging.  She loves taking her kids running and they love it too!  She makes a very good point with, "Embrace every race and every run, you don’t know when it will be taken from you, even if temporarily."

Introduce yourself (who you are, where you're from, what you do, etc.)

My name is Tabatha Dickey, I’m 29 years old, wife, mother of 2 (6 months old and 3 years old), and a physical therapist and athletic trainer. I’m from Fayette, MO.

What are you thoughts on Boston 2020 being cancelled? How did you handle the initial postponement and eventual cancellation, mentally and physically?
My situation is pretty unique, I was actually relieved that Boston was postponed then eventually cancelled. I had a baby in December, so my original training plan was set to start 6 weeks postpartum. I started my training plan on time, trying to build up my mileage without getting injured. I wasn’t too concerned about my speed at that point. About a month into training I sprained my SI joint, causing me to miss a few days of running. In those few days Boston was postponed, therefore I was grateful for another 6 months of training. Between that time and the cancellation, I struggled to train due to returning to work full time and caring for my kids. The most difficult part was not ever getting a good nights rest. I usually get my running done in the mornings while my husband is home and the kids are sleeping (hopefully), so I was pushing my body to the limit to get up early and run on empty day after day. Once Boston was cancelled my training came to a screeching halt, and I was mentally and physically relieved that I didn’t have to train in order to finish the marathon this year.

Do you plan to run Boston 2020 virtually? Why or why not?
I am still undecided. As of now I run 3-5 times a week depending on how much sleep I’m able to get, as my now 6 month old still is not a great sleeper. If I’m able to increase my mileage soon then I would like to do the virtual race.

Do you plan to run Boston 2021? Why or why not?
I am still undecided on this as well. Especially not knowing what the world will look like next year as far as the pandemic, plus my kids still being so young. I may wait and try to qualify again in the fall next year. Third times a charm, right? (See my story below)
                                                     
How did you get started in running? Tell us a little about your early running career through present, and how it led to your BQ and plans to run Boston 2020.
I started running in middle school, mostly to be with my friends. The coach suggested I try distance running, and I thought she was crazy. I gave it a shot and turns out I was decent, and I enjoyed it. I ran competitively through out high school and college for cross country and track. I was All-State all 4 years in high school cross country, qualified and raced at the NAIA national championship cross country meet my junior and senior year of college (2011 and 2012). 

My senior year during track season I ran my first half marathon which qualified me to run the marathon at the national meet (editors note: I love that NAIA nationals has the marathon option!). That was my first marathon (2013). I just ran the race my coach laid out for me and ended up with a Boston qualifying time, which wasn’t the goal. My goal was set based on time. I trained to run a 3:15, but I ran it in 3:24. 

After that marathon I fell in love with the marathon. That fall I started PT school and that September decided to register for the Boston marathon. I got accepted, but when it came time to tell my professors I would be missing 2 days of classes, I was guilt tripped in to cancelling my plans because to a couple of the professors that would be detrimental to my school work and career, so I cancelled. 

After PT school, my husband and I were ready to have a baby so I didn’t train for any races during that time. We had our beautiful daughter in 2017. I then set my sights on Boston again. When my daughter turned 1, I started training. I ran the Kansas City marathon in October 2018 in 3:24 (somehow the same time as my first road marathon 5 years earlier). My plan was then to try for another baby and ideally have the baby before Boston 2020. We did just that. 

I got accepted for Boston 2020 (was so excited to experience that marathon as it is on my bucket list of marathons to run), had my son December 2019, and was excited to get back to running just in time for April, but we know how that turned out now.

What did you learn from this journey - from BQ to postponement to cancellation?

Be flexible with your training.

Listen to your body.

Don’t skip out on strength training (that what I contribute to being fairly injury free throughout my running career so far).

Embrace every race and every run, you don’t know when it will be taken from you, even if temporarily.