On Re-Entry..

Whoa! What's this? A blog post? Shut the front door!

I know, it's been awhile.. I absolutely love blogging, but life has been insane, and every time I sit down to write something, I get pulled away into something else. That said, away we go.

After Stonecat, and then Philly a couple weeks later, my body cried mercy. I needed to take a vacation from running. This doesn't mean not running (I mean, that would just be silly), but it meant a break from a rigid training schedule. Stonecat was the first race since my first marathon that I was actually afraid of not being able to finish. My longest long run was 31 miles, and the race 19 miles longer. I trusted the training, but I was a S-L-A-V-E to that training schedule. I wanted to ensure that I did everything I could to be as race ready as possible when I toed that line.

The start of Stonecat.. 

Colleen and I pre-race

After Philly, for most of December, and January, and February, and.... I was logging slow miles. I retired my Garmin boyfriend, and ran with either the Timex, or no watch at all. I watched birds, I picked flowers, I walked when I wanted to walk. Some weekends I ran 20 miles at a time, others I logged 5 for the entire weekend. I had zero desire to race, run fast, or do anything than just be running. Or power-walking. Either way.. 

In February, I ran the Hyannis Marathon with Sara. It was her first marathon post baby, and we wanted to have fun. I thought that might be the fire under my ass that I needed to run faster than pedestrian pace. It rained/sleeted/hailed that day, and the winds howled at 35mph. Yeah, there was no desire to put in a mile any faster than a light jog. However we did help a friend PR at the half marathon distance, and had so much damn fun along the way. Isn't that what this sport is all about?

In April, we ran Boston before Boston. It's a ritual we have, every year we don't qualify. Our "punishment" is  running the entire course, but with none of the glory and fanfare. It's still damn awesome. That was the first day I put on my Garmin. But I never started it, because I was too scared. We had a good day, and I actually "pushed" the last 10K of the course. It felt surprisingly good to move again. 

Re-Entry.... After Boston I reunited with G-Man. I didn't look at my pace for the first few days. I was Captain Huff 'n'Puff, knowing damn well I was still frickin slow. It was a start though, and I needed to start somewhere. 

Over the past few weeks, I've slowly been chipping away at those paces. I've made it a point to finish every run feeling strong, and I'm watching my "easy" pace come down to some semblance of yesteryear. 

This week, when I was struggling to keep a solid pace, I remembered the re-entry from this, about a year ago: 

If I went from being in a cast, where 9+ inches of stitches laid underneath, to a 50 mile ultramarathon 6 months later, I can certainly handle a re-entry into the world of tempo runs, track workouts, and Garmins. It'll take time to get back where I want to be, but it'll be so worth it when I finally get there. 

Happy Running! 

A Little Off-Season Experiment..

And no, it doesn't have to do with how many Christmas cookies I can fit in my mouth at one time, thankyouverymuch.

I am that runner that always talks about strength training, but never does it. I'll go into the weight room, do about 4 bicep curls and a sit-up, and walk out. I just get way too overwhelmed, I don't have any structure, and frankly, I don't enjoy it. I've also talked about doing yoga, because God knows I need to stretch more. Turns out when you go from hitting "stop" on your Garmin to being in the shower in less than 30 seconds, you become VERY inflexible. Having a crazy busy life, I'd rather squeeze in 2 extra miles than stretch or spend that time in a yoga studio.

Insert Jess and Jo, who are are instructors at Barre N9ne, a barre studio local to me. They opened their original studio about 45 minutes from me, and although I went to a class and loved it, it was simply just too far to go regularly. When they opened a studio about 15 minutes from me, I decided to see what all the hype was about. I had read a lot about the studio, their mission, read Jess and Jo's success story, and thought I could really benefit from it. For more about Barre N9ne, click here.


For someone who considers herself in good shape, I got my ass kicked that first class. Yeah, I was the red-faced kid in the back of the class who couldn't complete one set without having to stop and take breaks. I left that class, and my arms were shaking just holding the steering wheel on the drive home. The next day I woke up with that hurt-so-good sore that I hadn't felt in awhile.

Being in the midst of training for my 50, I just didn't have the extra hours to fit in Barre N9ne as regularly as I wanted. I would go to class maybe twice and week, and loved it a little more each time. It was the class right before Stone Cat that I decided I was going to do a little off-season experiment. Keeping my running schedule of 5-6 days a week, but adding in the barre more regularly - committing to 3 classes a week, and seeing if I notice any differences in myself.

I am happy to report that just about a month into this experiment of mine, I slipped into a size 26 (size 2) jeans effortlessly the other day. I have more definition in my arms and abs, and my ass has definitely been whipped into shape. Literally. I don't weigh myself ever, as I have a very dark past with numbers, so I can't use that as a "success marker". I'm not saying the next time you see me, you'll fall over in awe, but to me, I can see the changes.

My genetics don't allow me to "be thin" - my mom was heavy when she was younger, and my dad was a heavy guy when he wasn't working out. I have to work really really hard to keep my weight down. Running has always been great in that sense, because it's such an awesome calorie torcher, and incredibly efficient. Spending time at Barre N9ne has allowed me to tighten everything up, and really "refine" my body. Admittedly, I wasn't someone who was in need of a total body transformation. However, I have realized over this past month that fatiguing, burning, and shaking at the barre is doing amazing things for my body.

I was worried about "giving up" my miles, which is why I decided to do this in the off-season. However, with a little creativity, I've still been able to keep my long runs, and then fit in Barre N9ne into my short run days. And I'm starting to see that it's really no sacrifice to give up those miles; challenging my muscles, strengthening, lengthening, and stretching those muscles is a GOOD thing. I'm buring a ton of calories combining the two disciplines, and I get that high after an hour of burning at the studio that I would after a 6 mile run.

I'm going to keep this experiment up, and see what happens over the next couple of months. And then, as I transition into marathon mode again (I registered for Sugarloaf Marathon - that deserves it's own post!), I want to make a concerted effort to stay at the Barre.

Keep your eye out for a few posts about incorporating the Barre as endurance athletes; I've made some really great observations that I would love to share with all of you.

In the meantime, I hope everyone's enjoying the start of the Christmas Season!

Caitlyn and I put up our tree last weekend!! 

Happy Training friends!!

A Season Closer.. Philadelphia Marathon Race Report..

This is so overdue, and I only apologize a little bit; I've been too busy making cake-pops and drinking wine to write. And if that's wrong, then I don't want to be right.

Ahhhhhhhhhh, Philadelphia.

I took an incredible lackadaisical approach to this race; I felt that after the 50, I could pretty much conquer the world. Pffffffffffttt.. 26.2? I can do that in my sleep. About 48 hours before the race, reality bitch-slapped me. As much as this race wouldn't be a PR kinda race, I also needed to respect the distance. I also had a funky knee thing going on, that had limited by miles after Stone Cat. I needed to put down the wine bottle, pick up the water and Ibuprofen, and stop being a princess.

Sara and I ran a short shake-out around her house on Saturday (no knee pain!), and then headed to good ole Philly. We almost had to set-up a lemonade stand outside the car to pay for the tolls between the GW Bridge and the NJ Turnpike, but we decided scrounging around the car for coins was way more fun.

After we debated the race start time (I thought 8am.. I was *only* an hour off) and devoured the-best-oatmeal-sandwich-cookie-EVER from Whole Foods (I told you, lackadaisical..) we were lights out by 830pm.

Race morning was chilly, but we ended up driving there and parking less than .25 miles from the start. Here's a hint: if you grab a couple runners at your hotel who are the ridiculously long taxi line, they'll pay for your parking, AND you score good race karma. It's a win/win all around!

Okay, moving on to the actual race... 

If I had to make one complaint about this race, it's that the streets at the beginning are too narrow to accommodate the amount of runners. The marathoners and half-marathoners run together for the first 13 miles, and there are some sharp turns that can be dangerous if you're not paying attention. Case-in-point, we saw a girl sitting on a curb with a gash in her forehead and blood running out of her nose. When you have wall to wall people, it's really hard to see where that curb starts. Just a "heads-up" for anyone who would be using this as a "PR' race. BE CAREFUL!

The race for us was so much fun, but H-A-R-D. Way harder than it should have been, given the pace we were running, and our respective PR marathon times. This course is great, in that it's constantly keeps you engaged. The aforementioned turns, a great mix of hills, and a big out-and-back at the end to keep you distracted. Thank God, because we both had to dig for this one. I can't speak for her, but I was tired. I definitely managed to smile, laugh, and have a good time, but there were a few times when I went head down and just listened to the feet hitting the pavement around me.

I did have some knee pain, but it was easily contained by Ibuprofen that I scored from some guy and his wife who lived on course (didn't pack 'em..). I was fueled by my trusty Clif Bloks (purchased at expo the night before the race - didn't pack 'em..). There were no salt tablets, because surprise surprise, I forgot to bring those too. I paid a little for that, but luckily the temperatures were low to keep the effect minimal.

This was an emotional finish for us; Sara as her last "hurrah" before the baby, and me as a top-off to the 2012 season. My ultra training and her pregnancy coincided beautifully; we were both running slower than usual this year, and therefore were able to train/race a lot together.  We've had some great adventures this year, and this race capped it off perfectly.

I'm not sure what's next for me, although I do have my eye on a couple different races.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and is enjoying the off-season!

Marathon #12...

Tomorrow I toe the line for Marathon #12..

Oddly enough, my two Philadelphia Marathon finish times are only ONE second apart.  The first time I ran this race, I got hypothermia (finish time: 3:56:22). The second time, I ran on a partially torn quad (finish time: 3:56:21). I've never come to this race, and been able to TRULY enjoy the course and the experience. Tomorrow, however, there will be no worrying about keeping up with pacers, no worrying about elbowing through the crowds, and no worrying about finishing at some point during my third hour of running.

This race is truly a victory lap on my 2012 season. It has been a year that has forced me to redefine my running, to step outside everything I've ever known about "racing", and brought me back to truly enjoying the sport. Every race I've run this year has been a PW (personal worst) when viewed by clock time, yet I've enjoyed being a runner this year more than ever before.

Maybe it's because running was taken away from me; maybe it's because running hasn't been "fun" for the last couple of years, or maybe I'm just getting old and losing my competitive edge. Ha, riiiiiiighhhht. I am so thankful for this year that has brought me back to the basics, forced me to NOT care about who might see I ran a 4:39 marathon when they look at race results, and to learn how to train without getting injured.

For the first time since I can remember, I have no races on the 2013 calendar. By this time of the year, I usually have at least a couple races on the schedule, and am already building training plans. This year, though, my entire goal was to get through the 50-miler. I had no clue how my leg would hold up, how I would recover, whether or not I would enjoy it enough to run another, and so it didn't make sense to waste money on registration fees.

My hope for tomorrow is to finish uninjured, and with a huge smile on my face. From there, I'll run a turkey trot on Thanksgiving, and then hit a giant reset button.

Of course I have races that I'm bouncing around in my head, but I'm not going to pull the trigger on anything for a few weeks. After tomorrow, it's time to heal, reflect, and be thankful for all my body has done for me this year. And THEN I'll start thinking about ways to beat the crap out of it again - ha!

Stone Cat 50-Miler Race Report, Part II

Third Loop

When I picked up Sara for the third loop, I started to melt. I think I held everything together for the first 25 miles because I knew I had no choice - I was out there alone, and there wasn't anyone to whine/cry/complain to. About 2 miles into that third loop, I had my only real "low" moment of the day. I was tired, we had already covered 28 miles, yet I still had 22 miles to go. I started to cry, and Sara just let me be. She talked to distract me, I read the note Caitlyn wrote for me, and I slowly came out of it. I reminded myself of why I was doing this, and that I had come way too far to mess this up now.

We shuffled our way past the 32.5 aid station, and I knew I only had 5 miles until what became known as the "victory lap". I got a little too confident, and took my eyes off the leaf covered "rooty" trails for a hot second. And then it happened  THUD.  I felt HARD on my left hip, and knocked the wind out of myself. I did the 10 point check to make sure I wasn't injured, and although I was fine, I was rattled. Sara encouraged me to get up and start walking, so I didn't seize up. She gave me the motivation I needed to immediately take a deep breath, and just move past it. I was now running to see my "crew" again, and head out for that final victory lap!!

Jess and Jo re-filled my Camelbak, I grabbed more Healthy Bites, and Jess also threw some gummy bears at me. In all the commotion, I forgot to grab my last pack of Clif-Bloks.

Still Smiling... 

Fourth Loop

I was giddy heading back into the woods - incredibly tired, but so damn happy. Once I was back on that trail, I KNEW I would finish. Realizing I was out of Clif-Bloks at mile 40, I was going to have to switch to gummy bears and coke to carry me through. It worked like a charm; thanks Haribou! It was SO MUCH FUN to say "this is the last time I'll run up this hill", "this is the last time I'll trip over this damn root!", etc. We had so much fun these last miles. I got a silly smile on my face about 28 different times when I thought "oh my God, I'm ACTUALLY doing this!". All of that hard work, so many miles, so much sacrifice, and I was DOING it!! My hips were tight, left shin angry from all of my tripping, and hand throbbing from the fall, but I was so ecstatic. Watching the miles count up through the 40's was simply surreal; something that's just so hard to put into words. With 5 miles to go, we ran into Scott and Lisa, and all worked together for those last miles. It honestly couldn't have been more perfect.

10 hours, and 38 minutes after the dark start of a GO GO GO, I crossed the finish line of my first 50 mile race. I smiled, I cried, and I wanted to just collapse. I was exhausted and sore, but it is a moment that I will not soon forget.

Final Steps.. 

Nothing beats finishing with good friends...

my new finisher shirt! 

And a special thanks to these girls (and their men!), who were instrumental in keeping me positive all day long. They also kept everyone updated on twitter and Facebook. These girls stood out in the cold, all afternoon, and said all of the right words at the most perfect times. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you guys!

Somehow I never got a picture with Sara, but I don't think the role she played on Saturday needs any explanation. Without her, I know I wouldn't have had as strong of a race. It takes a damn special person to go out and run 25 miles, at almost 7 months pregnant, just to help a first time ultra-runner cross that finish line. Thank you Sara, for everything. I'm so lucky.

The night before the LA Marathon - those are Census headbands that came in our race packets. 

Yep, that picture is an accurate description of us; no shortage of good times when we're together.

So there it is, my tale of 50 miles. It was hard. It was amazing. It was so much more than I thought it would be. As I sit here 4 days later, I'm still deliriously happy. I'm so proud of myself for committing to this race, especially when everyone said "you just had surgery, there's no way you can do that!".

The take home message is this: If you put in hard work, and a whole lot of heart, the sky is the limit. If I can run 50 miles, I promise that each of you reading this can achieve anything you want. Dream big my friends.

And finally, I couldn't write this report without including the reason for everything I do, and by far my biggest fan!

Thank you to everyone for all of the calls, texts, tweets, messages. I am incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people.

Now onto the next adventure - Sara and I are tackling the Philadelphia Marathon next weekend, as her final hurrah before the baby comes! 10 days to go!

The Day I Became An Ultramarathoner (Stone Cat 50-Miler Race Report, Part I)

Yikes, this has been hard to write. I want to capture the day *just right*, and be able to describe in print just what an amazing day yesterday happened to be.

This race was a long time in the making; I spent many months putting in a ridiculous amount of sweat, blood, and tears to ensure I finished this 50-miler upright and in good spirits. As they say, it takes an army. I have an incredible support system who motivates me every single day to get out there and be my best. Those people are the ones who were instrumental in getting me to that starting line.

I'm going to break this into pieces, instead of a 60,000 word essay which would bore you all to tears.

The Morning

I was woken up by my 3 alarms (yes, I'm OCD with alarms; I have an irrational fear of over-sleeping for important events).

Grabbed alllllllllllllll of my stuff (and there was a lot of it), and headed to Ipswich

I was a disaster; stomach in knots and complete butterflies everywhere. I had done a 30+ mile training run, but there was about a 19 mile gap from my longest training run, and the 50 mile race distance. That is a long freaking way of "unknown".

It was awesome to show up at the gym and see familiar faces; it helped distract me from my brain, which was on total overdrive. It was pitch black outside, and I knew we were running with headlamps until the sun rose. It was something I haven't done a lot of, and the trails are hard enough for a clutz like me to navigate in the broad daylight, nevermind the dark.

Headlamps are so sexy.. 

As we shuffled out to the start line, I felt for the notes that I had friends write; I knew I would need those during my low points in the race for the extra motivation to fight for the finish..

Moments before the gun went off (more like the person yelling GO GO GO, but either way..), I turned to Sara for some words of encouragement  I knew all I had to do was get through those first 2 loops solo, and then I would have her by my side for the final 25 miles. With 2 100 mile races, and many many 50 mile races under her belt, I knew she was the best person to be taking me home for my first 50 miler.

The First Two Loops

God that start was tough. It was so dark, and there were so many headlamps bobbing around a small trail. It was absolutely surreal..

As we were heading into the woods

My goal INSTANTLY turned to staying upright; it was slippery, the first part was narrow, and it was going to be a long day. There was no need for me to gain a few minutes, only to fall on my face and ruin momentum early in the game.

I found a veteran ultrarunnner within the first 5 minutes, and stayed on her hip. She carried me for the first 30ish minutes, and then we said our good-byes. She was shooting for a 12.5 hour finish, and while I would have been happy with ANY finish, I knew I had trained to be faster than that.

After I left her, it got really lonely; this was a HUGE deviation from road races that I wasn't expecting. I'm used to spectators along the course, and being surrounded by people throughout the miles. With only a couple hundred runners between the marathon and 50-miler, combined with being in the trails, I spent a LOT of time alone with my thoughts.

Plodding along through the first aid station (they were at miles 4.2 and 7.5ish), I realized I needed to come up with a solid plan, and implement it immediately. I was just kinda floating along, walking when I saw people walking, running when others were doing the same. No real game plan, and I knew I was setting myself up for a complete implosion if I continued this way. I needed direction.

During training, I've read no less than 48 different ways to execute a 50-miler; they all have some variation of a walk/run plan. I decided on a 4 minute run/2 minute walk plan, and would stick to it until I picked up Sara at mile 25. While I knew this might slow me down a bit, I need to preserve my emotional stability for as long as possible. Control what I could control.

I was using my little Timex to do the run/walk, and resetting it to zero after each hour. It made the time and miles seem so much more manageable than when I was just shuffling around the woods with no plan. My Garmin 405 was constantly running, but the numbers on that watch were way more scary, so I focused on each 6 minute "set" on my Timex. Before I knew it, I was coming up to the school to check-in, and to start loop 2.

why yes, I was using my headlamp as a tourniquet..

I pulled in, grabbed more nutrition, had some words with Sara, and headed back out to the woods.

This loop was much like the first; I stuck to my 4/2 plan, but this time would open up to 5-6 minutes of running if I happened to be on a flat/rolling area. I walked every steep hill, no matter whether or not the watch said to run or walk. My time running was definitely faster than the first loop, and I did a very fast walk for the 2-minute "walk breaks".


After I went through the 7.5 mile aid station, I knew these were the last miles of the entire day I would have to run alone. I also knew that Jo, Jess, Scott, and Miguel would be there, cheering their faces off. This, in and of itself, powered me to get to that check-in station with a huge smile on my face. I saw Scott and Lisa on their way back out, shouted encouragement, and went to grab my running partner!!!


I found a groove this loop, ran happy, and my time was considerably faster than the first loop. I felt strong, and had growing confidence that I would ACTUALLY finish this race well under the time limit!

I've gotten a lot of questions about aid stations and nutrition, so here is what worked REALLY well for me.  I spent very little time at any aid stations, treating them like any other marathon aid station. I grabbed coke/water, drank it, and left. I never came to a complete stop, and not once during the entire race did I "stop" completely unless I was changing a shirt, re-filling my pack, etc. I also stuck to Clif Bloks and Healthy Bites ONLY. One block/bite every other mile, for the entire 50 miles (although I did have to switch to gummy bears the last 10 miles; more on that later). I took a salt tab on the hour, and also took 1 Ibuprofen every 8-10 miles. I drank Gatorade from my pack during every walk break, therefore never going more than 4 minutes without taking fluid. 

.... to be continued

One Last Weekend..

This weekend is the very last one before I lace 'em up and toe the line for the Stone Cat 50. My Healthy Bites arrived in plenty of time, and are waiting patiently to be placed in my drop bag.

I did my last double digit run with Lisa yesterday; it was a gorgeous day of awesome fall trail running in New England. Great way to close out Stone Cat training!

So lucky to have these trails less than 4 miles from my house! 

Today Caitlyn asked to go for a run, so we hit the trails, just the two of us. I was smart enough to grab my camera, and document this awesome time with her.. 

Now all that stands between me and that starting line is Hurricane Sandy.. Good news is she'll be long gone by Saturday, and we should have beautiful weather for the race! 

6 days to go!!!! 

Happy Training!