Wineglass Marathon Recap

Here we are and marathon number 2 of the year is complete! I went into this marathon in honestly the best shape I’ve ever been in- I had three 20 mile long runs during my buildup and then, everyone in our household got sick (per usual before Wineglass). My taper for this race also went by so fast- I never got the taper crazies and thankfully only felt a slight sore throat/ headache the two days prior to my race (which ofcourse- why couldn’t that have happened like a week or two before?!? My carb-load went great and travels to the race went so well. I just wish the race result went better (I wanted to put this recap out earlier, but honestly needed some time to decompress). I honestly thought I could PR by several minutes (mid 3:20s was what I was thinking), obtain my BQ for 2025 (FINALLY) and spoiler alert: I ran a 3:41… Let’s go back to the start of my carb-load and I’ll recount it all.

I ended up putting my carbs into ziploc bags so I didn’t have to spend time counting out my pretzels or measuring my cereal while I was on the road (easy 50g carbs to fill-up on while on the road or momming throughout the weekend).

Food/meals that work best for me during my carbload: Pretzels, dry cereal (honey nut cheerios are my fave), bagels, bananas, grapes, premade pasta with chicken (I do a balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing and add in kalmata olives, feta cheese, artichokes, sundried tomatoes) that I’ve portioned out, soft pretzel bites, candy (swedish fish/ gummy worms), Gatorade, juice (orange or apple), and graham crackers.

I started my carb load on Thursday for the Sunday morning race. I spent most of Thursday packing/cooking/ taking care of the kiddos. We had previously spent the last weekend at my mom’s for the Fair (normally it’s held the week after and it’s a celebration post-marathon, but the dates were reversed this year…bummer! I think the extra travel stress just added to my mental load leading to race day), so we had a lot of things still in bags and ready to go for the race. On Friday we left around 8:30 and arrived in Corning by 3pm. The girls did great (no potty accidents and we had lunch pre-packed, so we ate on the go which also really helped)- thank goodness for car DVD players. They binged Paw Patrol and we were so tired of hearing that music by the end of the 6 hours. We checked into our hotel (Stay bridge Suites- HIGHLY recommend), got settled, and then walked over to the Expo. I love how everything is centrally located for this race- we can walk to the Expo and finish line/start line buses from our hotel. Really convenient for families. The weather was looking nice, but the high kept getting a bit higher (which with an 8:15am race start for the marathon- I didn’t love ). We took ample showers over the weekend (the girls love it) and took advantage of the two-bedroom suite (with the girls not coming into our room until the morning).

The next day we ate the hotel breakfast and then I ventured out for my easy 20 minute shakeout run. I ran to the finish line and got super excited. It was going to be warm today and temps were already in the 60s by my 9am shakeout run!

We ventured to a nearby park after I came back from my run and the girls had so much. I love how much green space and family-friendly this community is. It feels like the entire weekend is catered to the runners. After the park, we walked around a bit downtown and then went to Wegman’s for a few supplies for the weekend. Shoutout to one of the downtown stores that was offering free poster-making for runners. The children’s museum was also a highlight for the girls (so glad they were open over the weekend this year)!

We drove the marathon course afterwards (obviously they did not do a car ride nap, lol) and then came back to the hotel in the afternoon. The girls watched Frozen (they’re obsessed), while I took a nap (they were much too captivated by the movie to rest!). We ate an early dinner (thank goodness I had all of our meals all made and we just had to heat them up in the microwave, it was super easy) and then took the girls to the hotel swimming pool- they loved it. I went to bed around 8:30pm and slept fairly well (no wakeups from the girls thankfully)!

I woke-up around 5:30am, which was my normal wakeup time at home. I ate a bagel with PB and honey, got some coffee from the hotel (sadly they didn’t have bananas), and gathered my things to leave the hotel around 6:15am. I walked to the start and didn’t have to wait long to get on a start line bus (first time ever!). I wore my NYC finishers blanket and that was the best decision I’ve made. It was so nice and warm. I got to the start shortly after 7am, immediately used a porta potty and then just watched a lot of the runners arriving for a bit. I did a short jog and some warm-up drills before heading to drop my bag off and head to the start line. I took one maurten gel at 8am (15min before the start).

I started the race around 8 min/mi pace and had the plan to slowly chip away towards 7:40s after the half point. The first half of the race is always so lovely. I felt good in the beginning- really good. I kept my pace easy and tried to hold back. Around mile 10, my right hamstring started to ache (something I’ve never had happen before in either racing or training). I thought it was odd and then when it continued to hurt after each mile marker, I started to get worried. I didn’t necessarily feel like it was something that was getting worse (or else I would’ve stopped), but it wasn’t going away. At this point, I just decided that I needed to ease up and hope it would improve. It finally started to get better, but not until after mile 23 (when my legs started to hurt too). I started walking through water stops around mile 14 or so and used the porta potty once. I’m really proud that I finished and this was honestly one of the worst marathons I’ve had (maybe ever)- finishing in a 3:41 when you fall apart that much feels pretty good.

What I didn’t do while I was physically hurting, was give up on my nutrition (which is why I think that I still finished in a strong time!). I took my gels every 25 minutes (alternated between maurten and gu caffeine gels) and only skipped the last one (since I was past mile 24 at that point). I think staying strong on my nutrition also helped me recover better post-marathon (I also had a Core power immediately after I finished- I had that in my drop bag).

Am I disappointed? Yes- of course! It’s been over 2 weeks and I’m still disappointed. I put in so much work this past training cycle and it sucks when you have no race result to show for it, BUT I also know that all my training is not “lost” just because I didn’t get the result I wanted. I learned so much during this race and it absolutely makes me hungrier to get back out there again.

My hamstring (what I believe is tendonpathy ) was definitely tender after the race, but it went away within a day or two. The pain only came back during my recent half that I did a few days ago, so I think that it needs a rest and I’ve got to start to add back in some strength.

I’m also proud- I put in so much work this past year and I CRUSHED IT. I got Covid for the first time in July and bounced back to have a really strong 10 mile (hilly) race in the middle of August. I rocked my nutrition. All of this fitness that I’ve built isn’t gone and I’m even more excited to have a great 2025. I’ve been brainstorming my races that I want to do and I know that it’s going to be a great year.

My love for Wineglass continues and I will definitely be back next year (but maybe for the half)!

Loco Marathon Training RECAP!

I cannot believe that 12 weeks went by SO fast?!?This was my first ‘training just for the marathon’ marathon cycle in 2 years (I’ve ran 2 marathons since then, PR’d both of the marathons, and trained for ultras during those times). I finally kicked my Plantar Fasciitis this past summer and have not had any aches or niggles since then! This was my first-time creating my own marathon plan and I really think that I found the sweet-spot for training for me. It never felt stale, overwhelming, or boring.

Total Mileage Ran: 486.8 miles

Longest Weekly Mileage: 55 miles

Longest Cross-Training BIke Ride: 10 miles

Average Number of Strength Training Sessions Per Week: 3

Longest Run: 20.2 miles

Races Ran: 1 half marathon at the end of running 7 easy miles (20.2 miles for the day)

Favorite Speed Workout: .75 warm-up, 2 x 2 mile repeats (7:49/ 7:41) with .5 recovery, 800 (7:42), .75 cool down

Proudest Run: Those 3 x 20 milers that I had in my training plan and all of which I negative-split!

Favorite Pump-Up Jam: Downtown by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Race day plan?: You better believe that I have one, but am I going to share it? Nah, probably not ; )

One thing that I grew from the most: Realizing how important sleep and nutrition are and making those a priority for this training cycle

Endure Strong Training Review

I had the opportunity to be a part of the Endure Strong Training group as being a Bib Rave Pro and decided to utilize the summer to get some speed under my legs for the Beach 2 Beacon 10k (find my race recap HERE!). I knew that I've always wanted to have a running coach (because sometimes I have no idea what I’m doing when I’m training for races!) and what better group to train with than one run by Jared Ward?!? Within the first week of being part of the team, I was blown away with how involved in the entire training and coaching process he was. We had several group training phone calls with Jared throughout the Summer and they covered topics like Nutrition, Recovery, and Injury Prevention (along with a way for you to submit questions to them!).

I had A LOT going on during my B2B training-moving to Maine from Colorado, beginning Nursing School, planning a wedding, commuting 2 hours a day to school and back (4 days a week), and lots of family visiting on the weekends. I knew that training would be a challenge, but that is one of the main foundations for the Endure Strong team- we are all busy, but we also want to help you achieve your goals (Jared is the perfect example of someone who is crazy busy, but still manages to crush his running goals)!

I had wanted to PR in the 10k (my previous PR was 55:00), but also knew that after training for my 50 miler getting speed back was going to be an issue. With the training program, you get 2 runs emailed to you each morning (one for that day and one for the upcoming day). I had one day a week as my rest day and averaged around 30-35 miles. I will honestly say that I did NOT follow the training plan to a “T” because I was still recovering from my 50 miler/had a million life stresses and wanted to take that as a priority, so I was not 100% sure that hitting a sub-50 minute 10k would even be in my wheel house.

I did, however, feel prepared and excited for race day thanks to the Endure Strong training plan and supportive atmosphere of the team! You can read more about how big a PR my Beach to Beacon race was here, but I know I wouldn’t have been able to quickly bounce-back post-50 unless I had the Endure Strong team behind me.

Cheers to new PRs and hoping that I get another awesome opportunity to be a part of the Endure Strong training team again really soon! You can check out some of my apparel and race discounts from being a Bib Rave Pro HERE

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Ever train with a running team before? How were your experiences?!?

Favorite male and female pro runner?!

Ever really ‘raced’ a 10k? How’d it go?

It's TIME. 50 Miler Training Recap

The time is here! I can’t believe I’m going to be running 50 miles on Sunday?!? I’m really excited and no nerves (yet). My training honestly felt really strong and I’m mentally prepared thanks to my MS Run The US relay last year at this time. It’s supposed to be in the mid 70’s (so a bit warm) and possible thunderstorms later in the day (hopefully I’ll be finished before they start).

Flashback to many, many snowy runs!

I gained so much elevation, continued with strength training three times a week, and somehow ended up with a half marathon PR.

I also snagged a marathon PR

I ran outside as much as possible and climbed as much elevation/ hilly routes as I could possibly find (since there was limited trail access during most of my training).

I had some really mentally tough runs, including some double-digit runs where I was honestly so exhausted. BUT I pushed through them and find more strength within me than I knew I had.

I got to run along the pacific ocean during my training!

I also got to explore some trails before moving back to Maine and beginning the taper!

I ran 858.50 miles this training cycle and gained 42, 579’ in elevation over 25 weeks. I feel strong, prepared, and ready.

I’ve got all of my food ready for my crew. I know I’ve overpacked and they’ll have a lot of stuff that I may want, but I also don’t want to leave anything to chance! I’ve got a few pairs of socks to change and various shoes (I hope to change them each of my three loops since it will be pretty muddy out there). My plan is to also eat something every 30-35 minutes (whether a gel or real food, but I want to try to stick to as much real food as I can).

I picked up my bib today and saw the start/ finish line! So incredibly beautiful out there!

Ready for a day of challenges, running, exploring, meeting new runners, and celebrating all of my training!

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Plans for the long weekend?!?

Anyone else racing this weekend? GOOD LUCK!

760.22 miles. 36, 821' up. Eugene Marathon Training Recap

I am off to Eugene TODAY!!! I cannot believe it. I started training for this race 22 weeks ago. I logged 760.22 miles (as of yesterday when I wrote this) and gained 36, 821’.

When I put my training plan together, I decided that I wanted to blend this plan with Hanson’s Marathon Method. I knew it would be challenging to try to train for both a marathon PR AND my first 50-miler within 5 weeks of each other. I normally would not recommend it, but I knew that the marathon PR that I had in mind could be done through just maintenance speed rather than gaining more speed (because I’ve ran at that pace - not considered ‘pushing it’ - during the last 3 half marathons I’ve done AND trained specifically for that marathon time goal last Spring as well).

So, I combined the two programs. I hit more weekly mileage to be in-line with my 50-miler training, kept in my marathon-paced medium distance runs (Hanson’s) to maintain speed for my marathon training, kept up with 3 solid strength training sessions a week, yoga one time a week to stretch it all out, and kept my easy runs real easy (I don’t think any were faster than 10:00 pace and many were in the 11:00 pace). When I had long, long runs I left pace leave my mind and focused on nutrition and running form. When I had speed, I focused on turnover, running form, and pushing through it. I power hiked and added in a whole lotta HILLS.

I ran through so many snowstorms, I’d like to forget them all. I also ran on ice and indoors so many times. I didn’t always hit my goal speed paces, but still worked through them mentally to achieve my ‘something is better than nothing’ goal. I gave myself grace when things weren’t working out AND I didn’t get sick. ONCE.

I took a rest day early or switched around my schedule if I wasn’t feeling a workout or run that day and stretched/foam rolled A LOT. It’s also a nice thing when your garmin watch tells you that your goals aren’t really that crazy.

I read a lot of running-related and mental-toughness books and implemented those into my runs. I PR’d the half marathon by 4 minutes during a workout run (I ran 7 miles easy before the half and had the goal of just maintaining marathon effort - which turned out to be about :20 faster per mile thanks to the lower elevation & downhill nature of the course).

Overall, it was NOT a PERFECT training cycle. I took real big down weeks to help my body adjust to the higher mileage of ultra training. BUT I persevered through some really tough runs when I wasn’t in it mentally. When things get tough during the race I will remind myself of everything I’ve gone through to get to this POINT. I’ve been envisioning the race and myself conquering those tough times the last few months and I’m really excited to challenge myself. Especially mentally. I love how Meb puts it in his book, 26 marathons.

I always set a bunch of goals for races and ultimately, the biggest one that I always want to accomplish is to have FUN. I love to run, challenge myself during training, and see where my potential lies come race day. SO, here are a few of my goals for the race on Sunday:

-A. Sub 3:40 marathon

-B. Negative-split

-C. PR

-D. Have a TON of FUN.

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-Favorite mantras come race day?

-Do you have a favorite race outfit? If so, what is it?