Happy Tuesday! Currently writing this post the night before catching up on DIY’s Maine Cabin Masters. I’ve been writing my posts the morning of, but I wanted to get up early to get my run in (it’s only going to be 14* as the low tonight, so that’s runn-able in the morning with lots of layers!) and strength (and then cook a fantastic breakfast) so here we are! PS I love DIY channel- anyone else?!?

Got my errands in yesterday (ran to drop this off at the Post Office and pick something up at Walgreens) while also getting my runch 5 miles in (actually 5.25 miles because I got carried away)!

Beautiful view for my run yesterday afternoon- 19* felt so warm (compared to the -10* that it was that morning)!

Got my favorite candles in (they were my ONE Christmas shopping splurge for myself).

Best Afternoon snack. Obsessed with Natural Grocer’s freshly ground Peanut Butter.

Holiday cards are ready to pop in the mail! I love doing ‘year in review’ letters- it always reminds me of some things we accomplished this year that I had previously forgotten about!

OK. Here it is. I wanted to share with you 10 things that helped me go under 4 hours in the marathon!

I actually tried to go sub 4 hours at the Revel Rockies in June 2017 and came so close (I ended up with a 9 minute PR and came in at 4:03 and was so disappointed), but it honestly just gave me more fuel in the fire to get a bigger PR at my next marathon. I ended up switching up my training plan for the next marathon and went under 4 hours in 3:55 in Vegas in November 2017!

• Try out different training plans. Maybe one will work better for you, your schedule, and YOUR body. Everyone is unique and what works best for one person may not work best for someone else! I used Hanson’s to get my sub 4, but previously tried out Runner’s World, Hal Higdon, and Jeff Galloway's plans.

• Find a race that fits your strengths. Are you a better hill runner, flat course runner, downhill? Try them out and you’ll figure out your strength.

• Find what SIZE race you love. City? Big? Rural? Small? Trial and error will help with this, but when the race gets tough (and it WILL), you want to be in something where you know you’ll thrive.

• Add in speedwork. This was the number one thing that helped me finally break 2 hours in the half marathon. I previously had never heard of speedwork and had no idea that everyday runners did it. It helped IMMENSELY!

• Add in tempo runs. Training at my ideal ‘race pace’ in longer runs gave me a huge mental (and physical) boost. I had never tried this prior to breaking 4 hours and I think it really helped me break that barrier.

• Find your nutrition and train with it. Try out a few things and figure out what works best for you. Do you need gels every 3, 4, 5, 7, or 10 miles? Do you need a big breakfast beforehand? How much water do you need?

• Switch up your shoes. This will help keep injury at bay. Try to train in at least two different pairs (or more). Plus this will help you find a great raceday pair!

• Train on hills (even if your race is downhill or flat)- I didn’t start adding in any hill work until I got my sub 4 race and it made me such a better runner. I not only felt stronger on the flatter courses, but found that going downhill after you climbed uphill was pretty fun as well!

• Work on your mental game. What will you do when things get hard? What mantras work best for you? What’s your purpose? Channel your ‘why’ on training runs and imagine yourself crossing that finish line under your time goal. This will help propel you forward during tough sections.

• Strength train. I give immense credit to Pilates for helping me find my body awareness. I have no idea how I even ran before I started pilates/ barre/ jumpboard reformer classes. My butt feels kicked every time I leave a class and I walk away with a stronger sense of connection to my body that I thought was possible.

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Do you do any Holiday cards or ‘year in review’ letters?

Peanut Butter or Almond Butter- what’s your preference? —> PB all the way. I love AB, but there’s nothing like the original to me.

Runch miles- are you a fan?