CURRENTLY: Sorry In Advance, Making THIS, All Things BOSTON, I'm Determined.

I’m sorry in advance to my co-workers on Monday because I WILL be streaming the Boston Marathon and will 100% be cheering the entire 2+ hours.

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I think I only get excited for Mondays when it’s Marathon Monday. The weather is looking similar to last years, but definitely warmer. There’s nothing worse to run in (I think) than cold, windy rain!

I rounded-up some of my favorite articles surrounding the Boston Marathon:

• This one by Erin Strout (LOVE her!) regarding equality at the Boston Marathon. It’s time that the men were moved to the same standards that the women have been at for years. It’s a step-forward for gender equality and a win (I think!) for women! I also think that it’s good that they’ve opened up the earlier professional starts to anyone who has obtained an OTQ (Olympic Trails Qualifier).

• This one by Emily Abbate sharing her mental tips to conquer the Boston Marathon (or really any marathon/ race). Mental strength is something that I’ve continued to work and am convinced it helped me get a break-through half marathon PR last month, when I had little actual ‘speed’ under my legs. Also- make sure to check out Ali On The Run’s Podcast Episode with Emily. It was SO good.

• This one by Sarah Lorge Butler sharing Jordan Hasay’s journey to the Boston Marathon this year.

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• This one by Daphne Matalene about a runner’s 9 year journey to qualifying for the Boston Marathon. If you only have enough time to read one article, let it be this one. Daphne’s story is so incredibly inspiring, I want to read it everyday. It gets me excited to see where the running years ahead of me will lead.

• This one by Cindy Kuzma aout Roberta Groner’s amazing sub 2:30 marathon. I’ve been a huge fan of Roberta’s for a while (thanks to Lindsey Hein’s amazing podcast episode with her)- she’s a single mom, full-time working nurse, and unsponsored runner in her early 40s. Another incredibly inspiring story.

I will also definitely be making this recipe that Amanda shared on Instagram! Also make sure to give her a follow because she is SO inspiring as well (and Boston-based)! YUM

I updated my lock screen on my phone- I’M DETERMINED. It will be a lot of hard work and won’t happen in one or two or three training cycles, but I will get there.

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-Anyone running Boston? Good luck!!

-Marathon Monday- better than Christmas? Possibly…

-Favorite recipe to carbo-load??

Running Community, DENIED, & They Have Returned

FRIDAY EVE!!!! Well. These have returned.

We got some snow yesterday. Nothing like the 4-8” they were predicting, but still. It’s APRIL 10th!

I also tried to switch-up my schedule yesterday morning and read at the kitchen table. I don’t think Brady approved.

Disclaimer: I received an annual Strava Summit subscription and Strava merchandise as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

I’m also NEW ON STRAVA! Yes, I know. It’s been around for a million years and HOW did it take me so long. Well, I suppose I can put it into perspective and I never even got a Facebook Account until I was graduating High School (does this make me seem young or old? I’m not sure.) in 2008! You can find me here. So far, I’m finding it super motivating to find other runners on there!

As the super competitive person that I am, I also love how you can see your stats (hello, I’m also a data-nerd) and compete with other members in the clubs that you join!

You can also join RACE GROUP clubs like the NEDD Mt. Washington Road Race. How cool is that be able to follow along on others journeys as you train for the same race?

It’s super easy to either start the recording for your activity (running, biking, walking, hiking, canoeing, OR e-bike riding) OR manually put in your information after your workout (like I did yesterday afternoon after my tempo treadmill miles)! You can also give others kudos, which how cool is that?!? It’s basically like having a ‘virtual cheerleader’ with you pushing you along on your activity! I think it will be fun to track my data over time and to be able to see all the stats that the app provides (charts, elevation, maps, etc.).

ALSO can you PLEASE help me on what I should get for my birthday gift?!? I have about a million items in my shopping cart !

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-Are you on Strava? Let’s be friends!

-What should I order as my ‘birthday bird’ item?!?

-What’s the weather where you are?

-Fan of the Bean Boots?

Eugene/ 50 Miler Training RUNdown Week 15: 4/1-4/7

HIGHEST MILEAGE WEEK EVER! (Unless you count MS Run The US…which in that case I’ll probably never get that high again ; ) …). I’m so proud of how my body handled the higher mileage and honestly, when I finished my long run on Saturday I didn’t feel like ‘drop dead exhausted’ - which tells me that the 50 miler is within my capacity! It has definitely been challenging trying to shoot for a goal marathon time AND a 50 miler, but I wouldn’t have decided to train for both if I didn’t think that shooting for a moderate marathon time wasn’t fairly within my reach. Some of my marathon effort workouts (especially in these last few high mileage weeks) haven’t gone week, but that’s kinda to be expected and I trust that when I make the switch back over to marathon-specific tapering (tomorrow!), I’ll be able to conjure up those goal speeds.

Monday, 4/1: 8 mi Hills 10:01 1, 201’ up & lotsa stretching.

Tuesday, 4/2: 5 mi EZ 659’ up 11:01 iN THE SNOW?!? & strength

Wednesday, 4/3: Rest Day/ Yoga!

Thursday, 4/4: 13.1 miles with 10 at goal marathon effort (8:54 today) 302’ up/ strength

Friday, 4/5: 6.18 mi 1, 036’ up AM / 7.02 mi PM EZ

Saturday, 4/6: 28 miles 10:21 931’ up / lotsa stretching & foam rolling

Sunday, 4/7: 4.11 mi EZ 12:14 449’ up to complete my MS Virtual Run! & some strength.

TOTAL MILEAGE: 72.41 miles

TOTAL ELEVATION: 4, 675’ up



Training Tuesday: AfterShokz Trekz Air PRODUCT REVIEW & Must Listen.

"Disclaimer: I received an Trekz Air Titanium Wireless Headphones to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"

Happy Tuesday! WOW. Am I TIRED. Ha. It’s finally starting to catch-up to me, so I’m upping my fluid-intact, sleep, stretching/foam rolling 2x a day, and eating super healthy. I’ve got some stressful weeks ahead of me before the marathon, so I’m trying to everything I can to minimize the stress. Come Wednesday, I’ll have all of my “long long" runs behind me so I’ll begin to taper, which I think should relieve some of that stress (but honestly the taper is sometimes a bit stressful to me too).

Before we get into my AfterShokz product review, I NEED to share with you a podcast episode that I listened to on my long run Saturday. THIS podcast episode was mind-blowing and honestly it gets me even more excited to read her book (I just picked it up from the library). Super informative and I think that I’d like to build my next training cycle around my hormones if I can somehow figure them out??

On a side note, you probably know by now that I’ve been testing out my AfterShokz Trekz Air headphones for a few weeks now- including on my 28 mile long run last week! Side note: I must have been slightly delirious by my last 7-mile segment because I definitely put my vest on the wrong way…Whoops.

I’m happy to report that they lasted the entire 4 and something hours I was out there. So that is definitely a bonus. But first, let’s back-track to the beautiful packaging they come in. Stella is also very interested.

So sleek and they come in this great case that my cat, Brady also equally loves (he actually picks it out of wherever I hide it and carry it about the house). I wish I had a photo to share, but he normally drops it by my feet before I can snag one!

I got the slate color and they came with also a charging cord and a 2-year warranty. I love that they have a 6-hour battery. They will get me through an entire marathon and a good majority of my 50 miler (which is perfect because I normally like to save music/podcasts as a ‘treat’ in the later miles of a race). I also really like that you can take calls from them (or ahem…ignore them…I’m looking at you telemarketers!) and they are sweat resistant.

Can ya tell I like to wear this visor a lot? Ha. I should probably wash it…

One of the biggest pet-peeves that I find with ANYTHING wired is how absolutely disgusting that wire feels when you get sweaty. You know what I’m talking about… it gets coated and slimy and ugh. it’s like those really humid days where even wearing a shirt is pointless because it just gets drenched two seconds into your run. I also wondered about the bone-conduction technology. I thought it was SO COOL, but also kinda weird? Like, would I feel it in my jaw (I’ve got TMJ)? Would it move all about and prevent me from catching up on my latest podcast?

I can 100% say for certain that it didn’t feel weird and they never moved on me ONCE! I never felt them and really love how mindful I am now on the run. I don’t tune everything out and come back from my run feeling more rejuvenated and at-ease with myself as opposed to tuning out the birds chirping, cars driving by, the quietness of a morning run. They are so much safer on the roads and I can’t wait to try them on the trails this summer. I know that I’ll be able to hear wildlife approaching, mountain bikers zooming down the trail, and fellow runners coming up behind me (all of my biggest fears when on the trails alone).

Aftershokz also has an amazing video about the headphones, which I’ll share below incase you’re interested! They are so light as well. Don’t forget to get yourself a discount code if you want to try a pair out for yourself.

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Ever done a training cycled that has followed your hormones?

Favorite part about running outside?

Last favorite podcast episode you listened to?

7 THINGS: That Was Fun, Not Very Comfortable?, & I Did A Thing

Well I did it. 28 miles on Saturday. It was amazing, fun, not as challenging as I expected, and really confidence-boosting. I used my car as an “aid station” and broke each segment up into 7 miles. I had 4 different 7 mile out-and-backs that I used (all different directions to keep it fun) and would take a gel when I turned around, change my shoes when I got back to my car, and force myself to eat & drink something before heading back out for the next 7 mile segment. I did 2 pit-stops to pee, but otherwise didn’t stop. It was still relatively flat, but I had gained over 3,000’ the previous 4 days from my runs, so didn’t necessarily want to go crazy with the hills for my run. I’m excited to be almost at the taper! Just a few more high-mileage days left. 20 days until Eugene!

Post- 28 miler deliciousness. Jerk TurkeyLT from Meat & Seafood Company for the win.

Maple did not look very comfortable bird-watching this weekend…or maybe she was? I never know what goes on through our cats minds…

Picked up 2 new books at the library! Super excited for ROAR.

The best dinner after my long run. Sirloin Steak (Meat & Seafood Comp. was having their Anniversary sale and we snagged this baby for $12!), sweet potatoes, and edamame.

Sunday runday in almost SIXTY DEGREE WEATHER?!?

I did a thing too. MS Virtual Run for the start of the 2019 Relay! The medal was SO CUTE too!

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-Ever split up a long run into smaller segments to make it seem more manageable?

-Favorite post-long run dinner?

-Weirdest place/position your cat have ever bird watched?