Lessons Learned: Fourth Marathon

2017 was a crazy year for me. I ran THREE marathons after going from a marathon a year. I guess you could definitely say that I caught the marathon bug after Disney. When I look back, 1. it’s crazy to me that this was just two years ago?!? 2. this was a really pivotal year for me on so many levels. I got a new job, I tested out two different training plans for my races (or three if you also count Disney), we moved out to a more residential neighborhood where I could run hills!, re-vamped my diet and found a real love for cooking whole foods, and began this BLOG! So, here are some lessons I learned from my fourth marathon:

Never underestimate the power of good wholesome foods and cooking your own meals. I started doing a bunch of meal-prep, re-introduced carbs, and found that beets and molasses really don’t taste so terrible.

Adding in speed-work and pilates is a MUST when marathon training. I began working with the local Pilates studio and learned so much body-awareness. I miss those gals so much. They were the best.

I learned the power of stepping-back from training so crazily and learned the power of resting. Between Disney and Revel Rockies, I was hospitalized with a Kidney Infection (where I first truly discovered the power of having a great nurse!) and also found out that I was severely anemic! I think this helped with my 10+ minute PR as well.

The treadmill and speedwork became my best friend.

Having a time-goal is GREAT, but having fun should be your “A” goal (always)! I went into this race with the big goal of a sub 4 hour marathon and when I didn’t achieve that, I came across that finish line really disappointed. It didn’t matter that I had a big PR- to me, I had failed.

Wearing shorts when you race should ALWAYS happen. To me, they make me feel powerful and strong.

Don’t be so hard on yourself. It took me 26.2 miles to learn this, but it was the best lesson that came out of this race!

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Anyone else struggle with being too ‘stuck’ on a time goal?

How did you feel when you made a big jump from PR times on a race? Happy? Elated? Disappointed?

Lessons Learned: Third Marathon

My third marathon came in January 2017 at the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend. I had planned to do this marathon as part of the Goofy Challenge (half marathon on Saturday morning & full marathon on Sunday morning). This race had been on my bucketlist for a really long time, so needless to say I was really excited when the race came! Although, the half was ‘officially’ cancelled due to some really scary thunderstorms, I still managed to get in my 13.1 miles late Friday evening (I think I ended my run around 11:30pm?!?) and was really prepared to run a potential PR Sunday morning….Spoiler alert: it definitely did not turn out that way at all!

I learned that not all races will be PRs. This was a tough pill to swallow in the moment, but I do remember being really dang proud of running through the entire race!

Finding a training plan that works well for you will make a huge difference. I followed the Run Disney training plan and it honestly just didn’t suite me as a runner. I think there’s a plan for everyone out there and this one wasn’t the best fit for ME.

This will be the first marathon that you actually ENJOY. You’ll stop to take character photos and wish at the end that you had stopped to take more!

This marathon was THE ONE. The one that ‘hooked’ you at the 26.2 distance, the one where you pushed through the pain, the where you pushed through the frigid weather, the one where you’ll cross that finish line and experience all the happy tears.

This race was the one that gave you confidence that maybe, just maybe, you can actually break 4 hours in the marathon and 2 hours in the half marathon (spoiler alert: it will take a while before this actually happens!).

You will train your butt off for this race and while not being able to ‘officially’ complete both of the distances, it will spur you on to sign-up for some other really really crazy distance challenges in the future!

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Anyone else experience the magic that RunDisney races provide?

Anyone else have Dopey Challenge or other ‘big crazy distance races’ on the bucket list like me?!?

Lessons Learned: Second Marathon

I wish I could say that I learned a lot from my first marathon, but I still had a lot more to learn (and still do!). It took me two years after my first to gain the courage to sign up for my second 26.2. To be honest, I really missed the training aspect of the marathon (and it’s still one of my favorite parts of the race)! I loved going out for Saturday or Sunday morning long runs and mid-week miles and having a ‘training plan’. I also dealt with an Achilles injury between my first and second marathons, which is why my approach to my second one wasn’t too different from my first (because I didn’t want to risk being injured again)!

I learned, once again, do not go out too fast! *Sigh* I won’t have actually learned this lesson for many marathons to come! Yeah, remember that time I come through the halfway point in 1:50 something? Not too smart…

Downhill races are great, but they can also completely trash your legs. I, once again, hit the wall early- this time at mile 18ish.

Fuel is real important. That means you probably shouldn’t skip a few fueling points along the race.

Sometimes having no expectations is the best. I shaved over 30 minutes off my first marathon time, trained less, focused on my nutrition during training a bit more, and honestly went into the race with no time goals other than to finish feeling better than I did after my first one.

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What important lessons did you learn from your first to second marathon?

Anyone else come away with a big PR between your first and second race distances?

Lessons Learned: First Marathon

I thought it would be fun to look back on my past 7 marathons as I’m prepping for my 8th one next month! I don’t always love when others compare their lives to their ‘past lives’ because changing, maturing, moving, growing is a part of life, but I love to reflect on the lessons that we have learned along our journey!

When I look back on my first marathon the first thing that comes to mind is hard. It was so unbelievably challenging covering that distance. I was totally unprepared for how much it was actually going to hurt those later miles of the race. I remember getting to mile 14 and honestly wondering how am I going to cover 12 more miles when my legs already feel completely spent?!? In all honesty- I also went out way too fast the first half. We’re talking sub 10 minute miles (it was downhill!), when I should have been going more like 11 minute miles. No wonder my legs felt like lead.

I also remember thinking how beautiful the course was. I signed up for this race because I needed a goal to work towards when I first moved to Steamboat. I had no friends there at the time and wanted motivation to get out the door. I saw the ad in the paper for the local marathon (and a discount code) in December and just signed up on a whim. I had no idea what I was doing or how I would train through the winter, but that didn’t stop me!

TBT to my first hike when I arrived in Colorado in November! Yes, there was already snow…

I also remember how challenging it was training through the winter months. I had never run longer than 14 miles, so having to get in 16,18, 20 mile runs with the insane amount of snow we got that winter was pretty challenging. I remember walking A LOT during my training runs and wondering how people got in this training when working full-time, having families, having any sort of life. My life basically revolved around marathon training and working part-time at the ice arena.

Carbo-loading become the center of my life. I ate way too many carbs and thought that before every long run, I needed to have a lavish (very heavy) pasta meal. Ha. Oh, how far we’ve come!

The biggest takeaway that I took from my first marathon was how surprised I was when I crossed that finish line. I really did not think I would get there come mile 14, so to cross that finish line in 4 hours and 45 minutes was really special. I also was really surprised with how much it hurt walking down stairs post-race. Living in a three-story condo= I really planned out my trips to go upstairs to use the kitchen or laundry because I did NOT want to go back down those stairs more than once.

There’s nothing like your first marathon.

What lessons did you learn from your first race?

Anyone else consume way too many carbs during training/ before your race?

Do you remember what you had as a post-race meal? I’m pretty sure I had macaroni and cheese because I was way too exhausted to do anything besides lie on the couch and watch TV. Ha.

Taming The Taper Crazies

Friday-eve! This week has kinda flown by, which is to be expected since we are now officially in the TAPER (…for the marathon at least ; ) ….)! I cannot believe that I’ll be running my 7th marathon in my 12th state in 11 DAYS!?!? I am so lucky to have maintained my fitness and health through some crazy winter stress-filled months and will be celebrating the last 12 months of fitness during race day. I can’t WAIT!

Flashback to yesterday’s run in PERFECT weather. Mid 40’s partly cloudy, damp trails.

I ran to the library with my vest to pick up my new book that I reserved there WEEKS ago! Can’t wait to dive into it.

I also then went to the gym to get in some strength work (since my membership is ending there at the end of April I want to use it as much as possible! I don’t use the gym as often in the summer months & do most things at home!) and then picked up the mail for my work (and there was A LOT of it so I got in some extra training for my ultra with all that extra weight). Also saw what I believe was an Osprey on my run back to work?

Oh the joys of mud season. Your car is dirty, but do you gamble the dice and wash it (and hope that it doesn’t rain for a while) or do you leave it dirty for the season? Well.. I took the former and it snowed/rained, so at least it was nice and shiny for a whole 4 hours right?!?

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Since we are officially in the taper, I thought it would be fun to share some of the things that I normally do in the taper! I’d also love to hear what you do, so make sure to comment below!

• DO NOT question your fitness

• Look back over those crazy-hard runs/workouts that you conquered

• Prepare for the race mentally. How will you feel at mile 1? Mile 10? Mile 20? Crossing that finish line?

• Have some of your favorite mantras and practice them over and over again. Having just one may work for you, but I find having a few help (especially when I’m in a rut)!

• Visualize yourself on the race course the best you can. I see myself driving my elbows back, my knees up - staying strong and steady

• Know your nutrition plan and DO NOT alter or adjust it no matter how crappy you feel on race day. Know what works for you and DO IT!

• Believe in yourself and be proud that you’ve made it this far. No matter what lies ahead of you on race, be proud of your accomplishments and OWN them! Don’t let anyone dull your shine.

• Have a time goal? Repeat to yourself that you are a ‘x’ marathoner/ half-marathoner / 10k-er. I haven’t actually tried this in a race, BUT I have been taking every opportunity to repeat to myself that I am a sub- 3:40 marathoner. If you don’t believe it, then how can you expect it to come out on race day?

• Read all the inspiring books you can leading up to the race.

  • Some of my favorites:

    • Finish First- Scott Hamilton

    • Let Your Mind Run- Deena Kastor

    • North - Scott Jurek & Jenny Jurek

    • How Bad Do You Want It - Matt Fitzgerald

• Treat yourself before and after the race! I love to get my nails done, some like to get their hair done before…whatever works for you and then have something lined up to do AFTER the race. I love to pick out some sightseeing destination (if I’m not running at/near home) or some amazingly delicious restaurant reserved

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-Favorite taper recommendations?

-Are you superstitious? Do you do anything special before a big race?

-Car wash in mud season? Yay or Nay?