Get Up & Run?

Getting up early is HARD. When I first started working out in the morning, my alarm went off around 6am and I thought that was ridiculous. Actually, I started working out early because I was training for my first marathon and had no other time in the day to get my strength and runs in, so early on my way to work was my option. I would shower afterwards and head to the office. It was during this time when I came to appreciate getting sweaty in the early morning hours and feeling like I accomplished a million things before the rest of the world would get up. I would also only do this three times a week to start (M/W/F) and then find time to workout on the other days (my “sleeping in” days).

I have come to love the early morning hours. If I could go to bed earlier, I definitely would and get up even earlier. Currently, I’m awake most of the time between 5-5:30am and it’s been a more challenging adjust to get back to my routine after having the girls. Sleep feels most important and I’m sure that aging also plays a part in that. When I was still pumping, it actually seemed easier to get up early because I kinda had a time-sensitive thing to do! And since that chapter has closed, getting up early has become harder. When I have trouble getting up, I remind myself how much better I feel after I’ve worked out and that having this time to myself before the craziness begins is super important to me.

Some things that have helped me create and STICK to a morning routine:

• Consistent alarms. Both at night and in the morning. I try to go upstairs to start my bedtime routine around 9pm, knowing that I plan to wake-up by 5:30am.

• Have a nighttime routine. I used to be really good at stretching and journaling at night, but stretching has been neglected the last couple of weeks. I DO, however, use my yoga toes, journal, and read on my Kindle every night. Currently reading this.

• Lay-out your workout clothes the night before. I lay out all of my clothes for most of the week on my ‘off’ day, so I don’t have to think about what I’m going to wear in the morning.

• Have a plan. When I first started, I knew that I was going to run on the treadmill or outside for ‘x’ minutes and then do my strength routine. I think I even had the workouts written down on note cards (LOL).

• Prepping things make it easier. I have my coffee ready for the morning (1 cup before I workout), graham crackers (2) ready to eat before running/working out, and have my breakfast/lunch/snacks all ready too.

What has helped you stick with a routine? I definitely stray from my routine sometimes too and that’s OK! I think it’s important to give yourself grace and if sometimes you want to workout later in the day, then do it. I used to be very rigid in my running and workout schedule, but having kiddos has totally changed my perspective. I listen to my body more and get more sleep when it’s been a rough night of wakeups.

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)!

Training Tuesday: Tips For Training For Your Next Half Marathon

Sorry for the late post! I've been having issues with my server most of the morning. I think (& hope) it's working for good this time!

It's finally cooling off here. It was in the 70s yesterday afternoon during my run and in the low 50s (with some humidity ahhhh so refreshing!) for my 6.81 miles this morning. I always used to lvoe ending my runs on the .5 or .0 marker, but I've relaxed a bit over the years ; )

Since I decided to make a half marathon my training goal for this Fall I figured it would be helpful to share some of the things that I've learned to help you train smart for your next half (whether it be your first or 50th)! I love running the half distance because training is never crazy-intense and you can still do other fun activities while training for one! I think it's taken me several marathon training cycles to realize that half training isn't as intense as I *once* thought it was!!

• Know your course & train for it. If your course will be hilly, make sure to throw in atleast one hilly run a week. If it's going to be downhill, maybe do a few longer runs on the treadmill on the decline option. 

• Map out your prior commitments and know how you'll still fit in your training that week/day. This is something I DIDN'T do during my first half training cycle and ended up missing a few long runs towards the end of my training cycle. If you know you'll be out of town on the weekend, maybe plan to get your long run (or harder run) in before you leave. 

• Have a target pace range for what you want to run the race in and then know what your "easy" pace will be. I didn't start to vary my training paces until the last few years and WOW did it make a difference! My easy paces are typically 2:00-2:30 minutes slower per mile than my target half marathon pace range (7:40-8:00 min/mile). 
• Try out various gels and chews during your longer runs. Long runs are a great opportunity to test out various gels/ chews/ water/ nutrition before the run and how often you need a gel. I would only typically take a gel after 6 miles, but found that I actually needed one every 4.5 miles to keep me from potentially bonking. 

• Wear your race day outfit at least once on a longer run before the race. Maybe your perfect race day outfit works great for a three mile run, but it starts chafing at 8 miles. Knowing that your outfit is still comfortable in those later miles will make all the difference come the big day. 

• Train in the climate that your race will be at. Will your race day typically be hot or rainy or at night? Try to get in a few runs to help acclimate and simulate race day temperatures. I know for running Las Vegas Marathon last year (it starts at 4:30pm), I would do one marathon-paced run a week starting anywhere between 3 & 5pm after work. It wasn't the ideal start time for me, but I learned to make it work and practice my nutrition leading up to the start time. 

• Don't give up if you have a bad training run (or two). When I was training for my first half marathon I remember getting really frustrated with how many times I had to stop and walk during those 8 miles. I didn't take into account how little sleep I had, how hot (and humid) it was outside, what my nutrition leading up to the run was like, etc. Accept it and move on. Bad runs happen to everyone- don't dwell on it. 
• Adjust your goals if training isn't going the way you'd like it to. Not able to get in all the mileage on your training plan or something came up that made you miss an entire week of training? Regardless of your circumstances not every training cycle will go perfectly and know (and accept) when maybe this training cycle isn't meant for you to chase down a PR, but have fun or wear a crazy costume or focus on nailing a negative-split. There's a season for everything. 

What else would you add to the list of tips?

Rainy (but slightly humid runs)- love 'em or hate 'em?

Favorite temperature (and time of day) to run in? --> probably 50s/ low 60s cloudy 8am. 

I Didn't Do My Long Run And Why I'm OK With It

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend! Ours was filled mainly with chores, but we were able to get out to see the new Mission Impossible movie and it was SO good. It was really long, so be prepared (I think it's 2.5 hours long) and our theater was busy (even with a Saturday matinee!). Has anyone else seen this movie? What did you think? Tom Cruise also did ALL the stunts in the movie, which honestly was mind-boggling to me throughout the entire thing. He must have been in such good shape! 

So let's chat about my long run on Saturday. I had 12 miles at a moderate pace (8:12-8:53) on the schedule. I'm not really sure why I didn't do a cut-back week between last week and this week (I normally never have 2 back-to-back long runs), so I knew going into it that this typically wouldn't happen. I also noticed on my watch that I had 100 days until Vegas (yay)! So, with knowing that I crushed my long run last week and had still quite a bit of time before my race (along with just not feeling "into it"), I wasn't overly stressed. 

I got to 3 miles and had to stop. My breathing was fine, my plantar fasciitis wasn't bothering, but something just felt "off". 

I decided to take a break for a minute, give myself a little bit of a pep talk, and told myself that I could do this. I just crushed every other run this week, so this should be considered 'easy'. I unpaused my garmin and took off again along the dirt path down by the lake. 

5 miles in, I just wasn't feeling it. I couldn't get "into" the zone. 

I started to feel a bit disappointed, but then I felt silly. Why was I putting so much pressure on myself to keep doing this when it just wasn't fun or relaxing today? I still had more than enough time and honestly never felt like I was breathing heavily, so my fitness clearly still is really great. 

I decided to give myself some grace- I stopped my watch at 6 miles and walked it home. 

I'm not disappointed that I didn't get my mileage in. I'm actually pretty proud that I noticed how I was feeling and rather than continue to push through a run that wasn't enjoyable (not because it was 'hard'), I decided that there are other things in my life that I can give my energy to on this day. 

It's just one run. It's not going to make or break my attempt at PR in November. It definitely could have pushed me to an injury or burn-out, which is why I decided to throw in the towel. 

I'll have another opportunity at a long run in 2 weeks, but until then I've mainly got easy miles and a few tempo/speedwork sessions to get in. 

How do you know when to call it quits on a run?

Would you have kept going or thrown in the towel?

Tom Cruise: yay or nay?

PRs or Personal Records

I have been SO busy lately and it feels like forever since I've last updated. Life's been pretty crazy lately full of running, working, sleeping, cooking, and eating and that's about all I've been up to! I feel like I've totally fallen off the blogging bandwagon since my vacation, but I promise I will get back to regular posts once life settles into a groove again!

I'm currently trying to enter to win a Sparkle Athletic Skirt through Instagram, so I've been posting photos everyday based off of their prompts. Today's prompt, PR, really got me thinking (well and also my track workout that wasn't exactly at the paces I had on my training plan). Why are we, society, so driven by numbers? Numbers drive PRs, scales, age, work experience, diet, etc. 

What if instead of focusing on the particular number we do (or do not) want to see, we focus on how we feel.

How did that race make you feel? Were you excited/ectastic/devastated/ nauseaous etc.? Rather than focusing on the number of crunches you did or years you've had the same job or how many fruits/veggies you ate, how did that particular number make you feel? We are SO focused on the amount of income we make (numbers again, ha), but why are we not more focused on HOW our job makes us feel and what does it give us? 

My track run this morning had 4 x 1200 meter (.75 miles) repeats (with 400 meter, .25 mile, recoveries between sets) in 5:27 minutes. This was the FIRST time that the track was not busy when I've had speedwork to do, so I was really excited/ kinda nervous! It's somehow much easier when you're on the treadmill and just have to 'hang on' for the certain amount of time, rather than produce that speed for a certain time period. Each of my splits were done in 5:33 (6 seconds slower than my goal time)- I was consistent, however, and hit 5:33 on the button each time (silver lining?). Rather than feel really disappointed in myself, I chose to feel pretty proud! Doing 3/4 mile repeats on the track, by yourself, is pretty dang tough! I kept secretly wishing that someone else would come out and join me just so I wouldn't have to go it alone (it would have been even better if that person was a running coach and had a stopwatch..ha), but no one ever appeared!

Sure, I was off my goal time, but that just leaves room for improvement next week and also I think it's a starting point when you go from doing speedwork on the treadmill to outdoors (even more so on the track). It's difficult and challenging, but that's also why it's so effective. You (probably) won't have your coach run beside you during your goal race pushing you and timing you (and if you do, can I please join?!?) or be chained to a treadmill moving along at the same speed, so it's really good mental practice. 

What are your thoughts on PRs? Love them or meh, not so much into them?

Numbers- use them to your advantage or not so much?