My Marathon Journey in Numbers

Here is the behind-the-scenes of my build up to my 9th place finish at the Boston Marathon.

Training:

It was so different than anything I have done before… which is good, considering I have never run a marathon before. But, it also was challenging at times because paces I used to hit for 400s, 800s, and miles were not at all possible, while I was nailing tempos, and long runs, and having amazing strength workouts feeling good with 90-100 miles per week. I am very proud of myself and feel that honestly I was more emotionally fatigued than physically worn out at the end of the day. See my last 8 weeks of of training:

Shoes:

• 3 pairs of Adizero Boston
• 3 pairs Adidas Glide Boost
• 4 pairs Adidas Energy Boost

Nutrition:

• 2 tubs or Osmo Active mango
• 3 boxes of Honey Stinger Waffles
• 1 box Honey Stinger gel
• 12 lbs of coffee beans (decaf on non workout days)

Health:

Taking care of my body to allow me to do the training necessary has been key. I managed to get through travel for both RnR New Orleans and NYC United Half without any illnesses, and that was critical for me to get right back into training. I adjusted my sleep schedule, starting to bed at 8pm with lights out by 9pm. I woke up before 6am every morning, and typically ran between 7:30-8:30am. Having a routine really helps me stay focused and take the best care of myself.

Supplemental:

• 3 bottles of Dr Ron’s Flora Probiotics
• 3 tubs of Osmo Recovery protein
• 2 liters per week of Upstart Kombucha
• 6 batches of bone broth (turned into soups)

Medical:

I rely on diligent daily work to keep my body in one piece. Each week for the past 4 months, I have driven 2 hours each way to see my amazing therapist Heather at the Olympic Training Center. We do soft tissue work, rigorous exercises, and she finds and adjusts imbalances to ensure that my body is ready for another week of hard training. I also check in with Brandon, my lifting coach, who designed three strength routines for me throughout my marathon build up. I see Jeff, my massage guy in Boulder, who always has me marked on his calendar for Tuesday and Saturday. Every time I leave, I feel like my muscles have been ironed out smooth. I had an unfortunate situation occur where I had tape that rubbed the bottom of my arch during a long run resulting in a horrific blister (I’m still cringing from the memory of the pain). I had to see a wound specialist, and though I never missed a day of training, there were two weeks that were very difficult to get through.

Dry Needling

• Sofsole gel inserts
• 50$ worth of bandaids
• 3 tubes of neosporin
• 4 containers of Jason’s sport ointment
• 5 rolls of KT or Rock tape
• 5 bags of Epsom salts

Support:

Whew. I would not have made it through without my loving (read: very on my case about every little thing but in a good way) husband, Dillon. Coach Steve Magness who talked me through some frustrating training weeks. My dad who provided experienced wisdom. My mom who would remind me of perspective. Friends running and biking along to get me through long training runs. My athletes for their continued encouragement (if they could do it, so could I, right?!). A great group of Sunday afternoon aqua jogger ladies to help cross training be tolerable. Adidas for a limitless supply of shoes, gear, and funding to make it all possible. David Bracetty for the amazing photo shoot and gallery of pictures so I could be present on social media.

HUGE thanks to Runner’s World and Competitor Magazine for boosting my confidence with these amazing cover shots.

Everyone has a story, and I am so honored that they decided to share mine.

The Process

Post Philly Celebration holding up my first ever earned American Flag

In the running scene, my race at the Philly RnR Half Marathon is arguably my best performance on the roads to date. It puts me as one of 11 American women to ever break the 70min barrier. While I am thrilled with the outcome, I want to back track to the behind the scenes work that come with such feats. The things that have brought me to where I am today, a newly sponsored Adidas Running athlete. And I am not just talking about this season… no, I am talking about the 13 years of running and learning and growing as an athlete and person that allowed me to arrive at this earned level.

One of the most common things I get asked… “What do you think about while running?” I have so many thoughts, no, I don’t get bored while racing. I am hyper focused, at least I strive to be. In HS I learned how to count my strides in tune with my breathing pattern. At first, I had to practice while walking around during the day, then focus 100% while running easy, but years of practice and I now will count almost the entire way during a race. This keeps me gauging effort, focused, and allows me to tune out distraction. The term “in flow” is what it’s called in Sports Psychology, and when I nail a race, it is often because my flow was really strong.

My first 5K at age 9

Earning PA HS Hall of Fame Honors with the support of my dad

When I think about my preparation, obviously, training smart is key. My dad really held me back in HS, doing max weeks of 50miles as a senior, taking a day off each week, and having a balance of life and running so I developed as a human being. In college it was a steady progression but even then I never ran a 10k until I was a pro. The focus was always long term. But when does the focus switch to giving it all? Well, for me, not yet. As a coach and as an athlete, training where I am at, not where I want to be, allows me to stay healthy, motivated, and run well when I have the opportunity to race. Then we adjust as fitness improves to meet the previous race result effort. 

Recovery, the word that is illusive to many type A personality people. I run slower now than I ever did in college. I let my body recover, and as a result, the hard workouts sink in, and I get faster and feel better, and can show up for workout days ready to go. This is one of the biggest things I have learned as a pro and I stress this to my athletes all the time. It is so easy to get caught up in the flow and think you have to hammer every day to see progress but I have yet to see this actually pay off for anyone.

Celebrating in Philly with friends and family. PA Proud!

Our little Get Running Elite training group Silvia, Myself, and Kristin. Having our cake and eating it too!!!

I am taking a break, letting my body heal from the race and a solid season of 4th at Falmouth, 4th at the 20k USA Champs, 2nd at the 10mi USA Champs, and 2nd at the Philly RnR Half. Lots to celebrate. The mental break involves late nights, a little hard cider, lots of sugary things, and no running/core/lifting. Letting the system reset and then the next training segment begins in my preparation for the Olympic Trials Marathon, and you can bet I will be utilizing everything I have learned to give myself the best shot at a debut I can be proud of.

Officially signing my Adidas contract! Excited to have their support on The Road to Rio and beyond

The Continuing Journey

Starting is the hardest part. This applies to more than just blog writing. It’s applicable to running, going to the gym, beginning of the week, getting in the pool, waking up and starting the day… but a few minutes in to the activity, we forget why we were dragging our feet and the flow takes over.

My host family in Falmouth

Helping to paint the finish line at Falmouth the day before the race!

Here’s my flow: Summer is gone (say what???) and with it comes new goals for the next season. Fall. For me, this is the road-racing dream. Crisp morning races, pounding the pavement with beautiful foliage and clear blue skies… I love fall. And I love road races. And this year, I am thrilled to have begun the season with a successful first race at the Falmouth 7 Miler. I finished 4th over all, 2nd American female, and enjoyed a long weekend in Cape Cod with a wonderful host family, who, I’m so happy to now call friends. This fall I am trying a new series of races, the longer stuff! My schedule is balanced, and allows for quality training to prepare for each event, and time to recover afterwards. Sept 7, the 20k US Champs, Oct 4, the 10mi US Champs, and Oct 31, the Philly Rock ‘N Roll half marathon.

Living and loving life in Colorado. Great people, coffee shops, trails (the safe kind with smooth crushed gravel), community support, and a house with my husband I am so thankful to call home. We introduced a new member to the family, Strider is our 4month old Vizsla puppy. It has been a fun and busy time with her constant training needs and endless energy. I can’t wait until she is old enough to do runs with me and wear out her need to exercise! I also found a creature that pees more often than I do!

The next few weeks will be focused on training. My personal training, puppy training, and my coaching business. I couldn’t ask for more in this continuing journey towards my goals.

5 Steps Forward, 2 Steps Back

Inspired by Stephanie Rothstein Bruce, I share with you my journey of ups and downs the past few weeks..

Five solid months of training, with really no glitches or bumps, is actually rather miraculous coming back from injury. Having the steady upswing of improvement had me feeling strong, fast, and ready for competition. So what the heck went wrong at the CVS 5k? If only I had an answer… In my entire racing career (since 8th grade) I have really only tanked two races before, so I guess I should be counting my blessings, but we all know how difficult that can be when we just want things to please finally go right. I hit 2miles and needed the race to be over soon, the last 600 wasn’t pretty, but what was way more concerning was an ugly bruise on the top of my foot. Set back #1. I spent the two days post race with my Ship U teammates Lara Crofford and Katie Spratford who train with the New England Distance Project in Rhode Island. It was a blast catching up with these ladies, meeting their friends, going to their middle school XC practice, and reminiscing about our college days. The runs were decent, but the top of my foot was still swollen and sore.

Right tendon is swollen

Hi from the starting line

Lara, Katie, and I

I traveled to Houston from there to spend a week with my husband in his new location, and after a fantastic 15mile long run, I opted to see a professional. Not that it was hurting terribly, but with it not improving after three days, I have a rule that I stop and heal. Disaster struck, the doc (a very nice and knowledgeable woman) put me in a boot with crutches, ordered x-rays, blood work, and an MRI immediately. I was absolutely panicked. Trying to remain composed while my emotions were screaming, The 24hr wait was a killer, but everything came back clean. Just an irritated and bruised tendon. Whew. HUGE sigh of relief. Two days off and I felt fine, ready to move ahead and forget it all.

My new BFF’s and adopted family Dillon lives with in Houston

I miss XC

A little monkey biz at the zoo

Nailed a great workout, 6miles alternating 600 hard, 1,000 moderate for an average of 5:30-5:40 per mile. It was exactly the workout I needed to remind myself that I am fit. I had the privilege of joining the U of Houston XC teams during this workout and really appreciated their support and presence as it helped me stay focused and on pace. They have a great group of athletes and coaches who hold an obvious respect for each other and the sport, thus creating a very positive environment for success. Post workout, set back #2 happened. The bottom of my foot started cramping. It felt locked and uncomfortable as I walked around that afternoon. I had felt nothing during the workout. I ran a few days, but again, my three day limit passed and I had to shut down. Darn foot. This time, I had a knot the size of a quarter on the inside of my arch. Perhaps a result of knotted muscles from dehydration after the workout? We may never know. Acupuncture and Osteopuncture by my go-to-guy did the trick, and two days of rest was all it took. I feel very blessed to have the support of my teammates, coaches, medical folks, and family during these not-so-fun times. They all checked up on me, and encouraged me by reconfirming my decisions to be conservative. I am back to running, yet giving myself another day before I do a workout.

Yay for running!

Destroying that knot like a boss

I guess I will try to smile a little more often 🙂

So five months of steps in the right direction, and two-two day hiccups.. OK, perspective is a very important thing. Also, keeping the vision alive and on fire within during these moments of obstacle is something that can only be controlled by the keeper… Cheers to steps, strides, and miles of happy feet!