Author: Lauren

Like most people, I spent the last few weeks of 2022 reflecting on the past year and gearing up the year to come. As I always do, I wrote down some of the goals I had for myself in the following areas- financial, career, relationships, personal, physical, home life, and ‘extras.’ I like to have my goals written down, somewhere that I can review them frequently (once a week). While I was going through this exercise, I really thought about what I wanted out of my running this year. While I enjoyed training for two marathons and running a total of 14 races in 2022, I knew I wanted to approach 2023 differently. I love to run, and I want to continue to love it and not feel a pressure to run to train for a race year-round. I also reflected on all the things that went really well, as well as the areas that I needed to improve in.

First, let’s take this long-term. One day I would really like to run an ultra-marathon. An ultra-marathon, for anyone that doesn’t know, is anything longer than the traditional marathon distance of 26.2 miles. Ultra marathons can be 50ks (~31 miles); 50 miles; 100k (~61 miles); 100 miles. This is something on my personal bucket list- not something I’m looking to accomplish in 2023. Another longer-term goal is to BQ (Boston qualify). In the running world, getting a BQ time is the thing every runner wants. Some runners accomplish it when they run their first marathon, others it takes years to qualify. Each age bracket (ex. 35-39) has a different qualifying time and it increases by five minutes . For a 36 year old female, the qualifying time is 3:35:00. That means that I need to take 33 minutes off my time. I will get more specific about when I’d like to accomplish that goal after my next marathon (Chicago 2023) but for now, it’s just on the list.

As far as my 2023 goals, I wanted to commit to running two marathons in 2023 but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to take a break from that type of training. A couple of weeks ago, I decided that my big spring race that I would train for would be a half marathon in May (Long Island Half) and my big fall race would be the Chicago Marathon in October. As always, I plan to run a bunch of 5ks and other races in between, but definitely not 14.

In the beginning of 2022, I was running 2-3 times per week. Let me repeat that: I was training for a marathon on 2-3 days per week! I wasn’t sure that could even be done, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I didn’t have a treadmill at the time and I have young children that I can’t leave at home during a run. As I got closer to the first marathon, I added a 4th day to my running, but when I looked back at all the running I did leading up to Marathon #1, I averaged 3 days per week. I was also strength training during that cycle which I think helped significantly. Fast forward to the end of May 2022, and I moved and now had access to a treadmill. I started running 5-6 days per week and increased my mileage quite a bit. I stopped strength training because my knee was bothering me and my set-up wasn’t conducive to those workouts. So I ran more, strength trained less, and ended up running Marathon #2 five minutes faster (which was good) but feeling 10x worse during the race (not so good). Looking back on this I think I made a handful of mistakes throughout that training cycle: 1) I increased my mileage too much, too fast (10% of weekly mileage per week is the recommended and I was probably doing 20-25% more; 2) I stopped strength training; 3) I didn’t use gels or fuel properly before, during and after my runs, and 4) I was running each effort too fast.

I accomplished a lot of great things during both of my marathon training cycles but in order to take things to the next level, I decided to start working with an endurance coach. We’ve been working together for the past two months and I’ve been following her lead as far as what my training should look like during this “off season” or base-building phase. So far this has been a great learning experience for me. I know I’ve mentioned 80/20 running in the past– running 80% of your runs at easy pace, or no more than 75% of your max heart rate) but I wasn’t really following that during my last training cycle. I was probably doing more like 50/50. Working with my coach has forced me to get closer to 80/20 for sure. In addition, each Wednesday, I have a track workout on my schedule. This looks different each week and focuses on faster paces and reminds me of when I used to run track in high school so I simultaneously love it and hate it at the same time.

I’m also taking two full rest days every week. I would love to run every single day, but I know my body needs rest. I also know that as I continue to get stronger, adding a sixth day is possible, but not necessary for my goals. I’m also trying to recover in other ways– by laying on the couch on Saturday afternoons if that’s what my body needs or sleeping a little later on my rest days. I made a big mistake after my second marathon by not letting myself sleep in. That led to a month long cold that I couldn’t shake. I truly believe that if I had taken the week after that marathon to sleep until 6:30 rather than wake up at 4:30 or 5:00, it would’ve made a huge difference leading into the last couple months of the year. Instead, I was tired and burnt out for at least 4-5 weeks.

Next week, I begin a 15-week training cycle for the Long Island Half Marathon which takes place on May 7th. I enjoy this course a lot and I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do. The training for this race is going to look different than the training for a marathon- instead of my goal pace being 8:50-9:00 (marathon) it’s going to be around 8:05-8:15. That may not seem like a huge difference but it’ll definitely be a challenge for me.

I’ll be back in a few weeks to share how things are going so far. Until then, ✌🏻and 🏃🏽‍♀️

On Sunday, October 23rd I’ll be running my second marathon. I’m excited, but also super duper nervous. I guess that’s pretty normal considering I’ve spent the better part of of 17 weeks planning and training for one day.

When I ran my first marathon in May my main goal was to finish the race. I remember thinking at mile 20 that I knew I could finish– I knew I had another 10k in me. Icing on the cake was that I ran in it 4 hours 13 minutes. I went into this training cycle with a different game plan. Now know I can finish a marathon. And I know that I can run it in 4 hours and 13 minutes but this time I’m looking to run it under 4 hours. Having a goal in your head is a lot less scary than announcing it for everyone to hear. And I’ve been saying it since I started this training cycle. I want to run this race in 3:59:59 or UNDER.

My hope for this training cycle was to increase the amount of days I ran from 3ish to a solid 5, which I did. I also wanted to gauge my recovery from long runs and I have to say that I think that improved significantly from marathon training cycle #1 to #2. Last time around 18 miles would’ve put me out for the entire day, now I just need an hour or two to recover (shower, eat, lay down) and then I’m good as new. I also ran slower this time around. Some of that was intentional.. some of it was not. Because I was running more days and more miles there were times I felt tired and running 9:30 min/miles felt tough. Other days it felt easy. I also ran with my hydration backpack any time I ran 8 miles or more. I did this to practice running with it because I intend on running with it at during the actual marathon. It’s more comfortable than holding chews and my phone in my pockets.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get in as many long runs as I would’ve liked. My training plan called for two 20-mile runs but I was only able to squeeze in one. I also didn’t do as much strength training as I did during my previous training cycle. It wasn’t a perfect training cycle by any means.

With all that being said, I’m feeling pretty good about the progress I made from earlier this year:

• I increased from 3 to 5 days of running;
• I increased my totally weekly mileage;
• I felt my recovery time go down;
• I started running with a Garmin watch;
• I got more comfortable running with my hydration pack;
• I dove deep into running podcasts and following social media accounts of people that motivate me;
• I’ve made some headway with my body image and relationship with food (more on that in another post);

While there’s still a lot that I want to tweak in my next training cycle, I’d say that I accomplished a lot in the last 17 weeks. And now it’s time to focus on RACE DAY!

So from now until the Sunday I plan to: eat strictly gluten free (because I have celiac’s, not because it’s the cool thing to do); drink Gatorade and carb load Thursday-Saturday, but not to the point of feeling full/bloated; make sure I have ripe bananas; visualize myself at the start line, at mile 5, and 15 and 20 and 25 and crossing the finish line at 3:59:59 (or under). And most importantly, trust my training.

Until next time…

Ten weeks of training down, seven to go until marathon number two!

Let me start by sharing some of the challenges I’ve been facing with this training cycle:

1. The heat and humidity: I prefer the spring/summer over winter any day of the week; however, running in the heat and humidity is not ideal. My Garmin watch tracks my heart rate zones- zone 1 basically being a walk at the park (literally) and zone 5 being high intensity. I’ve noticed that my outdoor runs get me into zone 4 a lot. My indoor runs, with sometimes faster pacing are actually in zone 3. Even though I do most of my runs early (like 6 AM early), it’s still warm enough and humid enough to affect the runs.
2. The chafing: Things might be going over the TMI line here, but something tells me you’re going to keep reading. I am a sweater– I sweat. A lot. More than the average female in general, but especially when I work out. I know, I know, I’m painting a very beautiful picture of myself right now, but it’s the truth so deal with it. And with lots of heat and humidity, comes a lot of sweating and ultimately a lot of chafing. You know “thigh gap”? Yeah, I’m not familiar with her either, therefore I chafe and because I’m me, not just in the typical places- like my whole body. There’s been runs that when I’m finished, I am in more pain from the chafing than I am from the miles on my legs. And yes, I’ve learned to lather my entire body with vaseline before I go running, but once in a while I forget, and it stings and hurts really bad.
3. It’s summer! And that means more events, more long weekends away, more stuff that requires me to rearrange my running schedule. When I trained for the marathon in January, February, March and April, I had almost nothing going on during those months, so weekends were pretty open to getting my runs in. This time around… not so much. I spent 4 days in NJ/upstate NY in August, and I have a bachelorette party on the weekend where I’m supposed to do one of the two 20-mile runs on my schedule. My kids are starting all their fall activities this week and some of those things fall on Saturday mornings. The Type A in me is freaking out because I can’t do the training plan exactly as it is laid out, but I’ll make it work one way or another.

As for things that are working quite well this time:

1. My confidence in growing! Instead of getting a little anxious and nervous the night before my long run, I’m actually kind of excited. Every time I clock a long run (which I define as anything over 15 miles), I feel like a badass. I don’t dread it as much, my body recovers a lot quicker, and I feel pretty amazing overall.
2. Running 5 days/week > 3-4 days/week. The ability to run 5 days/week has been game changing for me, as well. It allows me to get my mileage up without having to do 2 excruciatingly long runs over the weekend. I can spread out the mileage and not kill my legs. Plus, I’m able to build up my total mileage over time. I just came off the largest mileage week of the program- 44 miles, but I am going to up that mileage the next time around. My goal is to get to 40-60 miles/week comfortably the next time I train for a marathon.
3. My gear game is on point. Thanks to Nick, I have all the gear I need and it’s all working really well- he got me a new backpack that not only holds water, but has tons of pockets which are great for the rest of my stuff- Blok Chews, phone, keys, GoGuarded handheld with pepper spray, etc. Plus, my RoadID bracelet. Basically, I look like a professional out there. (And don’t mess with me, because you will get sprayed in the face).
4. I’m learning everything I can. I’m absorbing everything I can about running, training for marathons, types of training plans, etc. I’ve become a student of the sport. Anything I can read, listen to, or accounts I can follow, I’m in. I’m learning about running seasons, taking time off to recover, how to introduce speed training into my plan. You name it, I’m here for it. And spoiler alert: my training won’t stop at marathons… I see an ultramarathon in my future.

Welp, that’s all I’ve got today. I’ll probably do another check in as I begin my tapering in the beginning of October. That part of training is always tough. There’s a part of me that wants to keep up with the long runs because I’m afriad I’ll lose it as quickly as I’ve gained it, but I also know that my body needs to rest and save up for race day.

Until next time…

When I’m not doing the ol’ mom thing, or working, or cleaning up the house, or doing laundry or running, you can find me trying to learn and grow and become a better version of myself than I was yesterday. I do a lot of reading and listening to podcasts. I found that utilizing my treadmill running time as my podcast listening time works well.

So today I wanted to share what I’m listening to lately. This list is always changing but these 3 podcasts are the ones that I’ve been drawn to the last few months.

1. The Meaningful Mess Podcast – This podcast is hosted by Katie Rollins. Katie has been in the mindset coaching space, as well as network marketing, for many years. But before you roll your eyes, please know this: she does not at all mention her network marketing business on her podcast episodes. Her podcast is meant to inspire people to let go of their self-limiting beliefs and go after what they want so they can live their best life. She gives you tactical advice on how to go from where you are today to where you want to be. She’s thoughtful, she’s funny, and she’s real. Her episodes are anywhere from 10-40 minutes and she puts out new content each week. I’ve been drawn to Katie over the years for many reasons– she makes me laugh and she embraces what she calls her “messiness.” As someone that struggles with perfectionism, I aspire to be someone that is perfectly OK with all the messiness that is life. Also, check out her IG account because she makes me laugh – @katierollins.insta
2. The Rachel Hollis Podcast– This podcast has been around for years. I only started listening to it the last couple- sometimes her content is very interesting and relevant to me, other times it’s not. Like a lot of things, I’ll go through phases of listening to every episode and then not listening for months. One of the things I like about podcasts are that they are typically very timely. Reading a book is great, but the research and thoughts and ideas of the author may be vastly different a year and a half later. With podcasts, you get to see their growth and ideologies change in real time. Rachel is a great example of someone that has actively discussed how she’s changed from 10 years ago, to 5 to 2 or last month. I am drawn to her for many reasons-she’s a mom; she’s a single mom; she’s a working mom; she has a rock solid morning routine; and she’s always learning and growing. She has great guests on her shows– a lot of times it’s an author that recently came out with a new book- usually about personal growth, business or health. I end up buying a lot of the books she recommends.
3. The Marathon Running Podcast– You knew I wasn’t going to get through a list of podcasts without mentioning that I listen to one about running, right? A few months ago I was searching “running” in my Spotify. This was one of the first podcasts that came up. It’s hosted by Letty and Ryan. Letty is the main host and she does most of the interview with their guests. The first episode I listened to was “Marathon Training Plans and Which One is Best for You.” This was very timely because I had just started my training cycle for my second marathon and was using one of the training plans they were discussing (Hal Higdon). Over the last couple of months I’ve been tuning into their episodes if I’m interested in the topic. I don’t listen to every single one but I use it when I need some indirect coaching in an area of running.

Some other podcasts I dabble in are Food Psych Podcast (Christy Harrison), Marathon Training Academy (Angie & Trevor), Impact Theory (Tom Bilyeu), Kwik Brain (Jim Kwik).

There are podcasts out there for everyone. I highly recommend utilizing time like treadmill running, long commutes, or a walk around the neighborhood as time to dive into a topic you’re interested in through a podcast. Also, please feel to share your favorites as I’m always looking to add more to my rotation.

-LC

A few weeks ago, I signed up for my second marathon. Nick and I will be running the Suffolk County Marathon on Sunday, October 23rd. I’m excited and nervous but not as much as the first time. Today I start week 7 of my seventeen week training cycle. This time around I’m following a plan by Hal Higdon. Hal has a number of different plans and I decided to go with the Intermediate 1 plan. I don’t consider myself a novice runner, although I may be considered novice as far as marathon training goes. But after looking at the training plan, I thought I could do the Intermediate 1 plan no problem.

I learned a lot during my first training cycle so I’m doing some things different this time around:

1. As mentioned above, I’m following a plan from a marathon runner, trainer, and writer. While what I did the first time was good enough to give me a 4:13:16 finish, I wanted to follow a tried and true plan to see how different it would be.

2. I will be running 5 days a week rather than 3-4 days. Now that I have access to a treadmill in my home, I can get more running in during the week.

3. I bought a second pair of sneakers- one that I’ll use for my indoor training on the treadmill and one that I’ll use for my outdoor training. That way, I don’t kill one pair of sneakers and fear they won’t hold up until the big day.

4. I’m trying for 80/20. My goal for this race is 3:59:59, which is 9:09 mile pace. That’s 31 seconds faster than my first marathon. To do that I’m attempting to run 80% of my runs at 30-90 seconds SLOWER than my marathon pace and only one run at race pace. This is a challenge for me. I like to do interval runs and sometimes it’s difficult to run slow. Trust me on that because I’m definitely struggling with this method. My body naturally falls into a 8:45-9 min pace when I run outside. Lately, because of the heat and humidity I’ve been going slower but it’s been harder than it usually feels.

5. I bought a Garmin watch! I hadn’t planned to switch from my Apple Watch to Garmin, but my Apple Watch broke a couple of days into June. I did some research, asked other runners for their opinions and it became super clear- get a Garmin! So I did. And I haven’t looked back. I love how the Garmin shows you 5 different heart rate zones. My goal is to stay in zones 2 and 3 for most of my runs. Zone 4 is for outdoor, long runs and of course, intervals. Zone 5 is where I hang during shorter races. I don’t watch my heart rate while I’m running but it’s good data to look at after the run is over.

A few other differences- I won’t be documenting every week of my training. More than likely I’ll be sharing every few weeks. I’m also trying some new things as far as my nutrition is concerned and will share more of that as I dig further into it.

Things I’m doing the same as last cycle- Using cliffs block chews as my energy of choice during long runs. I’m also running in my favorite brand of running sneakers- ASICS. And lastly, most of my long runs I’ll have my PIC by my side, which always makes the long runs slightly less excruciating.

Lastly, this blog will go back to a little bit of everything since running and training, while a big part of my life, is not the only thing I’m passionate about. Stay tuned for more of the good stuff including what I’m listening to, what I’m reading, what I’m doing this summer and more.

My very first marathon is in the books! It took me a whole week to get on here and share this because life has gotten a little hectic. Unfortunately, all the craziness has kinda sorta put a damper on this big achievement but I owe it to myself, and the handful of you that are invested in my journey, to share how it all went down.

The day started a little before 5 am. Nick and I woke up and quickly got ourselves ready and out the door by 5:25. We wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to get a decent parking spot, go to the bathroom and find our way to the starting line.

We got there with enough time to hop on line for the bathrooms. Ahhh, the joy of the pre-run nervous shits. I think this is a thing. At least it is for me. Lol. Meanwhile, Nick had to take off his compression leggings and turn them right side in. We were off to a good start. 🤪

After we were all situated we made our way to the start line. I had to say goodbye to my sweatshirt at this time because there was no way I was going to run with it on. (RIP Island Vibes camo sweatshirt). At 7:30 on the dot, we were off!

We planned to run together for as long as we could. We started off a little faster than our usual pace- just under 9 minute mile pace and continued to run between 8:50-9:15 min miles for the first 16 miles. Miles 17 and 18, we started to slow down. And we were separated between miles 19-20.

At mile 20, I had the thought “I can do this. I’m going to do this.” I knew it wouldn’t be pretty. But I knew I could push out another 6.2 miles. Between miles 20-24 I walked and ran on and off. I tried to run for 2 minutes, walk for 1. I was in pain but nothing specific, it was more just being tired and thirsty AF. The water and Gatorade at the water stops was not cutting it. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a bottle of water.

At 24.2 miles I started to jog and said to myself I can push through and finish this race running the rest of the way. And I did! I finished the race in 4:13:16. It was a 9:40/ mile pace and it was incredible to not only crush my goal of finishing the race but also the goal of finishing in under 4:30:00 AND under 10/mile pace. At the risk of sounding like a weenie, I freaking crushed it!!!

Running a marathon isn’t easy. It took a whole lot of dedication- there was a lot of time and energy put into planning my training. I learned a lot about myself and about what works for me and what doesn’t. I was extremely fortunate to have such an amazing support system to help make this happen. And I can’t wait to do it again in the future.

Until then, 🏃🏽‍♀️💨✌🏻