Winter Running Tips!

I love running in the winter, but you will never find me in below 10* temperatures! I also love the treadmill, so I use that often as a good training tool. Thankfully I invested in an amazing treadmill for indoor runs at home and I’ve been on it a lot lately thanks to solo-parenting this past week. Hence the blog post on a Sunday rather than Friday (like I wanted)! I have a quality session to do later today and temps are only getting into the teens, so I’ll probably be on the treadmill again. BUT when it does warmup, I will be outside and wanted to share a few tips that have helped me be a consistent outdoor winter runner.

• Dress like it’s 10 degrees warmer out.

• If it’s snow-packed roads, wear trail shoes/kahtoola spikes that go on over your shoes (or something similar)/ shoes specific for running in the winter months (I think I saw some from Saucony)

• Wear layers to dress-up/ shed if you get too warm

Warm your hydration bottles or wrap them in hand warmers if going out for a longer run

Wear knee-high socks if you might be in some snowy areas

Tell someone your route and wear bright colors if there’s a chance it might snow (or is snowing)

Finally- be ok with reduced paces and shift your goals for the run. Maybe you only get out for 2 miles instead of 4- that’s ok! I would sometimes run a very small route near our house on snow days, but I knew I was ‘safe’ and close to home. Think of winter running as trail running- it’s more about time on feet rather than hitting exact paces or mileage (I hit the treadmill if I need to get in speedwork or a specific workout when the weather outside isn’t great).

-What are your winter running tips? What’s a temperature that you definitely do not run outside in?

Training Tuesday: It wasn’t easy, but I did it

One of my goals for the New Year was to start being more scheduled with my blog posts again and it only took me 16 days to get here! My hope is to start posting on Tuesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays will be recaps of my training the week prior and Friday posts will kinda just be a mishmash of my thoughts/life happenings and maybe some coaching items. This past week of training was tough, but I got it done! I worked 4 days (4 x 12 hour shifts), which made it challenging and the weather was wild (many down trees and snow/wind/ice).

What I’m training for:

• Hamptons Half Marathon March 3rd

• Revel White Mountains May 5th

Monday:

Easy 6 miles & hill strides on the treadmill during naptime

Strength training with the girls “helping”

20min of yoga with peloton (mainly stretching)

Tuesday:

Easy 5 mile run outside. Was able to sneak outside during the girls naptime while Alex took a break from work. After being stuck on the treadmill for days because of the weather, it felt sooo nice to feel fresh air!

Wednesday:

Work day & rest day!

Thursday:

Quality session of 9.7 miles outside & 30min of strength . I did the advanced class on Peloton and it was TOUGH!

Friday:

Work day! I was so sleepy this morning, so decided to sleep in. I had originally had an ‘optional’ run on my schedule, but decided to try to do my run on the treadmill after work. I got to 30 minutes feeling good, so decided to go for the 50min easy run since the weather was supposed to be crazy in the morning and I was thinking we might lose power overnight (we didn’t-thankfully!)

Saturday:

Work day! Got up a few minutes before 5 and did a super chill 30 minutes on the treadmill. It felt good to get in a bit of movement before another work day.

Sunday:

Work day! Alarm went off at 4:15 and I had told myself I would get Starbucks as a treat if I got my quality session in before work. So that extra motivation definitely helped! I got in 7.1 miles with 10 x 400m repeats on the treadmill bed work. Felt awesome!

Total Mileage: 35.5 miles with only 2 outdoor runs

Strength sessions: 2!

Stretching sessions: Sadly, only one.

This past week wasn’t perfect, but with only 3 days not working - it wasn’t ideal and I didn’t have a lot of flexibility. Normally I love to get in a few more stretching sessions and at least one day on the bike. This week I only work one(!!) day, so I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to get more extra time to work out (although I’m solo parenting, so we’ll see).

• How was your training last week?

• What are your goal races and how do you modify when the weather is isn’t ideal?

New York City Marathon Recap

I’m trying to be more timely with my race recaps and I’m off to a good start (at least I’m writing this the week after the race, so maybe I can actually publish it within 7 days of the race)?!? This marathon was amazing. I had a five weeks between Wineglass Marathon and NYC- something I’ve never done before! Thankfully I had a coach that guided my training and recovery between the races because I definitely would’ve done the transition differently (and probably gotten injured). I wanted to get to NYC 1. Not injured or burnt-out & 2. Run the race having the most fun.

I’m happy to report that I was successful with both! I’m going to break this recap up a bit, since I think it’s important to note what I did between races and how I approached race weekend.

The weeks between Wineglass and NYC looked like:

• Lots of foam rolling

• Recovery shoes- oofos and I were best friends

• Epsom salt baths - especially after long runs.

• Three long runs- 12, 15, 17. My coach gave me a range for each week and I chose what felt good on the day. I didn’t care about paces, used candy instead of gels (that made it fun!), and chose hilly routes to get me prepared for the hills in New York.

• Recovery smoothies and eating enough calories to help me recover well.

• I also pushed my fundraising for Every Mother Counts in the weeks leading-up and hit my fundraising goal the week before the race.

The days before NYC :

• I did the 3-day carb load from Featherstone Nutrition. This time around it felt easier to get in all the carbs than Wineglass. I think the cooler weather helped, not having to chase around the girls quite so much, and taking in more water with all the extra carbs.

• We took a bus to the city and it was super nice. 5 hour trip that felt like luxury compared to having to drive somewhere.

• We stayed at the Hilton Midtown (host hotel) and I booked it through the NYC MARATHON travel agency- which was a great location. It was also pretty cool to see Steph Bruce and Keira D’mato in the lobby! It was close to the race morning bus pickup and within 0.7 miles of the finish line.

• I traveled there with my Mom and we knew this would be a trip of a lifetime, so we definitely approached it as that.

• On Friday (day we arrived), we checked into our room at 3 and then got a Lyft to the Ali on the Run live show. We got there right at the start time, but got to still see the show while standing!

• We walked over to the expo from the live show and wow, was it BIG! It wasn’t crazy-busy at 5pm (thankfully) and I never felt overwhelmed (except when we were shopping in the official gear- that was pretty busy). The checkout lines flowed nicely and bib pickup was a breeze!

• I got a few pieces of gear that I had been looking at online, but would honestly recommend just getting things that you really want in the online store. That way you know you’ll get the color/size you’re looking for.

• We booked reservations for Friday night dinner at Tavola on 9th Avenue. It was less than a half mile walk from the expo and easy (kinda) to navigate there. I think I took us on a few wrong turns, so we walked a bit more! I had the Cacio è Pepe and it was probably one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had since traveling abroad to Italy. Highly recommend if you’re going to be in NYC for the marathon!

• We took an Uber back to the hotel after dinner and got into bed by 10pm.

Saturday

• We had the Every Mother Counts shakeout run on Saturday morning at 9:30 and then they were doing a brunch. I brought a bag of Dave’s Killer Plain bagels with me along with bananas and Justin’s to-go honey peanut butter, so I had that as my ‘first breakfast’ before the run. I also had one Gatorade that morning and sipped on water throughout the day (I knew it was going to be warmer on raceday, so wanted to increase my electrolytes). We took an Uber to the shakeout run after I tried to navigate us to the subway and failed because the Dash to the Finish 5k apparently happens right in front of our hotel! I wish I would’ve known because I definitely would’ve cheered!

• I had some coffee and banana with PB & honey after the 25 minute shakeout run. We ran around Chelsea Pier and ran around an 11:40min/mi pace- it was perfect. It was also so cool to see the Verazzano Bridge in the distance and know that we’ll be running over that the next day!

• I loved meeting other fellow runners and those who had similar interests as me! I think this was a highlight of the trip- especially since we were all passionate about women’s health.

• We took an Uber back to the hotel and quickly got changed, had another bagel with butter for lunch, bag of pretzels, and headed out to see Hamilton. It was close enough so we walked .

• Hamilton was incredible (my first Broadway show!) and you better believe that I brought snacks and extra water with me to consume during intermission.

• We did a pickup order at Serafina on Broadway and headed back to the room to relax for the evening. I had the same dish as the night before and it was good!

• I got all of my things ready to go for the morning and scheduled an Uber to pick me up from the hotel at 6am to bring me to the 6:45 ferry. Thankfully the weather looked warm enough where I wouldn’t really need many layers! I was in bed by 9pm for a 5:15am wake-up (thank you for the extra hour of sleep daylight savings!).

Raceday!

• I wanted the whole NYC marathon experience so I opted for the ferry (logistically the buses would’ve been easier, but I wanted to see it all!). I luckily got the last time slot for my wave to take the ferry 9:45 start time and 6:45am was the latest ferry). It was a bit nerve wracking when I saw all the traffic trying to drop people off at the ferry (probably should’ve left the hotel at 5:45), but I got onto my ferry on-time and secured a seat. I maybe waited 5 minutes before being able to load for the next ferry. The sunrise and view was incredible.

• The ferry took about 30 minutes, then we got off and walked about 5 minutes to the buses. I loved meeting fellow runners on this trip! I had some great conversations. The bus lines were long, but I think we only had to wait maybe 10 minutes until we got on one. Then the bus ride to the starting village was another 30 minutes. The walk and going through security took another 10-15minutes. So it took just about 90 minutes from getting on the ferry to getting to the start village. I found a portapotty right away (with no line!) and was able to FaceTime the girls (who we’re watching the race on TV).

• Thinking of getting to the start village again gives me chills! It was so exciting. I couldn’t believe I was actually there. I did my first breakfast at 5:45am (bagel, PB, banana & Gatorade) and then 4 graham crackers at 7:45am while on the bus (and sipped on more Gatorade).

• I secured my Dunkin hat and tucked it into my handheld water bottle pocket.

• I hung out in the pink village for a while- stretching, people watching, and drinking some coffee. I then thought I had to shed my layers m, so I dropped them in a bag - this was too early. I could’ve waited until I got to just before my blue corral. Thankfully it was warm enough that I didn’t need them. I just had my throw away mittens that I kept. I hopped into another porta potty (no lines AGAIN!) and snapped a photo of the police with their horses. This was so cool!

• All of the volunteers were super helpful! I had trouble finding the blue village initially, but I found it eventually and started making my way to my corral at 9am (corral opened at 9:05). I was one of the first people into our corral and hopped into one more porta potty (again- no lines!). I think it helped to get in there before the masses.

• I took a Maurten gel at 9:30 and soon enough it was time to start making our way to the start! The volunteers along each corral that we passed were cheering and it almost made me cry- I was so excited!

• The line before the start moved at a pretty good pace, but I was also in the last corral so I think this played into me feeling like I had no room to move from mile 8 onward. The first few miles were surreal. I loved coming off the bridge and seeing a sign that said ‘welcome to Brooklyn’. It was like an immediate party!

• I had no pace goals in mind, but knew that probably sub 4 was doable. I also knew that I wanted to have so much fun and take in my nutrition (Maurten gels) every 3 miles- I was successful with both!

• The first 4 miles were awesome, then the other corral joins with the blue and it got more crowded. I definitely felt like there was less space to move, but it wasn’t too bad.

• Around mile 8, the course comes together and this is really where I felt stuck in a pace. I couldn’t go faster if I tried (unless I really wanted to weave around people, which I honestly didn’t feel like it was worth the energy and I thought that it would eventually spread out- it never really did). I just decided that whatever people around me was running was fine for the moment and to just soak in the crowds.

• The crowds from miles 8-13 (except the small section through the Jewish community) were just wild. My ears hurt from how incredibly loud everyone was. I think the nice weather had people out cheering even more. We hit the second bridge around mile 13 (it felt like a small bump compared to the hills that I run on at home) and then I knew the Queensboro bridge was going to be tough at miles 15-16. This is one of the few times I felt that I could run the pace that felt the most comfortable (8:30ish). I also didn’t think it was as bad as everyone says- it went by fast for me!

• Coming into the Bronx was like a huge party. I loved seeing how these communities showcased their individuality along the course. I made sure to dump water on me at the later aid stations m, since it started to get warmer. First Avenue was wild with how far into the distance we could see. It was also just the slightest incline most of the time- nothing terrible if you’re in a good mood!

• Fifth Avenue was so exciting and also congested. I never felt like I could get into a good rhythm from this point until the end, but honestly I was just really happy to be there and I didn’t want to stop running! I definitely could’ve tried to juggle around others at this point, but it was challenging. I definitely didn’t expect to be in this tight of runners basically the entire race.

• Most epic race ever. My mom got a grandstand ticket (she would recommend doing that!), so she got a good video of me coming into the finishers shoot. It was surreal to be coming into the parade of flags that I saw on TV every year. The walk from the finish line to get out was pretty rough. My legs had to keep moving or else they tried to seize up and there was just so many people that it was hard to not go at a hobbling pace.

• The most challenging part was reuniting with my mom after the finish. We were going to meet at the family reunion section, but she was basically stuck at Columbus Circle. I ended up meeting her there, but it was challenging. I changed out of my sneakers into my oofos and drank my CorePower that she had with her. We did the 0.7 mile walk back to the hotel.

• I was feeling pretty good after the race, so we walked to Rockefeller Center to get dinner at Bill’s Burgers (the best food post-marathon I’ve ever had) - highly recommend their s’mores milkshake and cheese fries! Then, we decided to see Chicago. It was close enough to walk to and I still felt good (I did also apparently walk almost 37 miles that day, so thank you raceday adrenaline!)

Marathon Monday:

• I was up early and starving, so we walked to breakfast at a cute little diner (can’t remember the name!). Then, we headed to the Peloton Studios for our class with Christine! This was so much fun and it’s amazing that my mom and I both got into the live class (she was originally on the waitlist). We were logged in 30 minutes prior to the 12pm new class drop (4 weeks out I think). It wasn’t ideal that this was the day after the race, but I took it easy and I also think it helped me flush out my legs!

• We also visited Levain bakery in the afternoon, tried to get a few things at the finish line expo (it was honestly too crazy in there), thought about getting my medal engraved (the line would’ve taken us hours!), and then we had lunch at The Tavern on the Green. We also visited the 9/11 memorial.

• I will be dreaming about these cookies for awhile!!

• On Tuesday we grabbed some bagels and did a little shopping before taking our bus back on the afternoon.

• This was a once in a lifetime opportunity! I loved every second and missed my girls like crazy.

Wineglass Marathon Race Recap

Here to say that I think Wineglass is my favorite race and hopefully will be able to do it every year. It’s not too far away for us to drive to and the convenience of where we stay is perfect for our season of having littles. I knew after having my PR race last year that I really wanted to try to come back again. I think I signed up for the race in February and booked our hotel then as well. This race must be lucky for me because I earned another PR this year!

Charlotte was all about the veggies before we left on Friday, while I stuck with my traditional 500g carbs-per-day load (using Featherstone Nutrition’s carb guide). It’s around a five & a half hour drive to Corning, so we got to the hotel around 4pm. The girls were great on the drive- we stopped once to have lunch/diaper changes and thankfully had special toys for them to play with when they started to get cranky. Alex’s parents caravan’d (spelling?) down with us too (they stayed 20min away in Watkins Glen). We ate dinner at the hotel (stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Corning)- the veggie cavatappi is my go-to without the Alfredo. Then we went to the Expo before it ended at 7pm. I didn’t get any extra swag this year because I’m saving for NYC next month, but they had some awesome sweatshirts and running jackets. I also honestly love the quarter zip we get with signing up for the race. We all were in bed by 7pm and thankfully slept well the first night.

On Saturday I did a quick 20-minute shakeout run and checked out the finish line. I met Alex & the girls at Wegmans to pickup some more Gatorade, bananas , and milk for the girls. I love how close the grocery store is too- almost directly across the street from our hotel.

We had brought some cold cuts with us, so I made a bagel sandwich for lunch with a side of pretzels after visiting the Glass Museum that morning. We stayed there for an hour or so, while Alex’s parents continued to explore while we went back to the hotel so the girls (& we) could nap.

We played around the hotel lobby/ sat outside under the shaded area until dinner. I did the pasta buffet (pasta with butter), which always works well for me. I knew it would be hot the next day, so I had two gatorades on Saturday for my carb-load, as well as scratch the night before. Charlotte woke-up that night at 11:30, so I brought her into our bed and was finally able to fall back asleep around 1:30. She woke-up around 5:30, so I didn’t get the best sleep before the race (which is something I expect). Both girls were awake by 6 - a little early for them, but I did get to say goodbye before I left to walk to catch the buses around 6:20.

There were plenty of people walking to the start buses, so it wasn’t so scary (last year I remember it being quieter ) and took me maybe 15 minutes. I got to the start with an hour to spare. I did some strides, stretching, two porta stops, and took one Maurten 15-minutes before the start.

I knew it was going to be warmer that day, so I tried to do a conservative start with my first 10k splits of: 8:19, 8:03, 8:00, 7:59, 8:02. But this was definitely too fast for the day. Ha. I still felt good for those miles! This course is pretty flat & fast with a very small amount of uphills, but it’s also not really shaded. I knew it would eventually start to feel warm, so I did also kinda expect to positive-split on the day. The next 10k splits were: 8:08, 7:59, 8:01, 7:58, 8:03, 7:58, 8:06. I still felt pretty good, but the sun was starting to feel warm and there was no shade at all really.

The only really significant hill is slightly after mile 14 (the half marathon start), which I also remembered from last year. From miles 15-25, I definitely started to feel the heat from the sun (I think it was in the 70’s at this point) and unfortunately this course didn’t have hardly any shade cover and the sun was facing directly on us for the most part. During these miles we pass through the town of Erwin (which I love because it’s my Dad’s name and makes me think of him every time I do this race) and then into the towns of Painted Post and then Corning.

My splits for the second half of the race: 8:02, 7:50, 8:17, 8:09, 8:18, 8:24, 8:21, 8:46, 8:33, 8:13, 8:46, 9:15, 8:19. Then 7:16 for the final 0.2 ha.

I started to walk through the water stations around mile 23 because I was feeling warm and then I just really wanted to be done with it in that last bit. I finished in 3:36:19. An 8-minute PR!

I’m obviously excited to finally be under 3:40 in the marathon, but I’m definitely also a bit disappointed in myself. I trained and really thought that I could be close to a 3:25-3:27 on a good day. I did do a great job of taking in my gels every 30min until mile 23- I should’ve taken one more, but I started feeling pretty dehydrated by then. I think I did a great job with carb loading, but certainly taking care of littles and getting less sleep isn’t ideal.

A small part of me is wondering what I might be able to do in NYC next month. I haven’t had many aches or pains after the race and am excited to get running again (2 more rest days). I honestly think I will just see how these next few weeks go, what the weather on the day looks like, and maybe look more closely into the elevation profile.

This is all to say that I love Wineglass and everything they do with this race is amazing. I highly recommend it! I’ve gotten two massive PRs on this course.

New 10k PR & Updates!

I’m officially a sub 46-minute 10k runner- wait, what?! It’s wild to think that I somehow managed to run 7:22 pace for over 6 miles on a fairly humid August day. I certainly wasn’t training for a 10k PR , but I knew I had some fitness going into the race.

After driving to my moms house the night before (after a 12-hour shift) and getting there at 10pm, that 4:45am alarm didn’t feel too great (but I expected that). We drove down together to get to the start area around 7am (since spectators have to get to the finish line area by 7:30). I ate a bagel & PB on the drive there with some liquid IV (açaí is my favorite). I felt super tired from my work shift/late commute, but I also had some adrenaline since it’s one of my favorite races. I had a drop bag with my sandals for afterwards and decided to carry my gels/water bottle with scratch in it. I did a 3-mile warmup out the road where most runners are parking at the start (which turned out to be better than running along the course- like I did last year). The views were stunning too.

I took a Maurten gel 15 minutes before the start and seeded myself in the 7:30ish pace range (goal pace was 7:19). I didn’t have much time to stretch before hopping into the corral, so I did that then.

I decided that I would just ‘go for it’ from the start since it was expected to be cloudy and one of the cooler Beach 2 Beacons that I can remember. I’ve also never just gone for a race from the start, so I was curious what would happen (would I fly and die or would I fly and soar?)- only trying it out would tell me what would happen!

The first mile was my fastest (way too hot- pace wise!) at 7:03. I then tried to settle-in, but honestly I never felt great . I felt slightly nauseous and like I might puke at any moment (which I’ve come to find out that’s what I feel like when I push a hard pace for an extended period of time)! I just kept reminding myself to push as much as I can and that it will be over soon. The first mile is slightly downhill, then there’s some rolling hills for the next few miles until mile 5. The next three miles were 7:18, 7:22, 7:20. Around mile 4, is when you pass through the town of Cape Elizabeth and turn right onto the final road (until you head into Portland Headlight). I love the crowds and sprinklers through this section. Mile 5 was 7:14 and then the hills came.

The other girl in my photo above was totally matching my outfit! I love this part of the course because you get the best ocean views. I kinda petered-out at the final mile (so many uphills and wow, did I feel exhausted)! My final split was 7:52 and then once you get up the steep hill into the park, I hit mile 6 and decided to let it fly- 6:20 pace for that final part!

I couldn’t believe that I ran so fast, but also slightly disappointed that I didn’t hit the sub 45 minute that my v.dot had predicted (it’s normally been very accurate). I was also in a taper-mode for my half Ironman the week before (which I sadly had to DNS due to our girls getting hand, foot, & mouth that week), so I think just stress added up. I’m still super proud that I never gave up (I really wanted to walk on those final few hills!) and still ran a really strong race.

I never could have imagined running this fast even just a few years ago (especially after having twins 19 months prior!). I know having my oophorectomy & ovarian cyst surgery has helped make me feel so much better and I also have less mental pressure that I put on myself about running (it’s much less important than my two babies now). I think those two things, along with hiring an amazing running coach (Coach Cara from Lift. Run.Perform) has helped me snag four PRs this year (one in the 5k, two in the half, and this one in the 10k). I wish I could have done my first 70.3, but I also really want to be able to do it when my whole family can be there at the finish line- so it might be a few years before I decide to jump back into serious triathlon training. I will still keep doing the Tri For A Cure though because I love that race and the great fundraiser it is.

My summer training is now finally complete and I’m onto marathon training! Next up, I have Wineglass Marathon (goal race) at the beginning of October and then the NYC Marathon (fundraising for Every Mother Counts) in November (fun run).