I ran 18 marathons before I finally gave Grandma's Marathon a shot. Dustin had run it twice, once before I knew him, and once when we were dating, but both times it was very hot and sunny. His experiences weren't great, so I was never tempted to run it. But then my running club friends would run it each year, and they would have awesome races there. They would tell me what a fun weekend it is in Continue Reading
Weekly Recap: 13 Days Until Grandma’s Marathon 2016!
Taper time! This week was a noticeable cutback in mileage and intensity. Time to let my legs rebuild and recover in time for Grandma's Marathon 2016. (For tips on the taper, check out this post.) *Also...look at that terrible form above. That picture is from the Lebanon 10k. When I start to work hard, my arms cross all over my body! Monday: The Brian Kraft 5k! With 2 miles to warm-up, 3.1 of Continue Reading
Weekly Recap: Three Weeks Until Grandma’s Marathon 2016
Grandma's Marathon 2016 is 3 weeks away. Can you believe that June 18th is creeping up on us so quickly? Can't wait! Here's how my training went last week: Monday: 7 easy morning miles with two friends. 1 hour barre class at The Barre in the evening. Tuesday: 2 mile warm up, 5 x 1k repeats with 2 minute recovery, 2 mile cool down. My goal pace for the 1k repeats was 5k race pace, or Continue Reading
Weekly Recap: A Big Week of Training for Grandma’s Marathon 2016!
It's time for my weekly recap of training for Grandma's Marathon 2016! It was a big week in mileage, but still lots of fun. Here's how it all went down: Monday: Easy 5.5 miles with my new running partner Nordica. She had run 22 miles the day before, so she only wanted to do 5.5. After we split, I grabbed Matilda and we did another 2 miles for 7.5 miles total. I had a double run on the schedule, Continue Reading
I’m Running Grandma’s Marathon 2016!
I am running another marathon in 6 weeks! In 2015, I ran three marathons- the Tokyo Marathon, Grandma’s Marathon, and the Richmond Marathon, in 3:54, 3:42, and 3:40 respectively. After coming very close to qualifying for Boston at Richmond, I ramped back up and raced the Phoenix Marathon at the end of February, where I DID qualify for Boston. But, as many of you know, 34 seconds under the Continue Reading
Fitting Remarks: A Reflection on 2015.
As 2015 comes to its close, I decided to take some time and reflect on the year. I started 2015 on a three month work assignment to Singapore. I remember someone commenting then that it would be my "longest year ever" since I entered 2015 thirteen hours "earlier" than Minneapolis did, so I will get thirteen more hours this year, ha! I wouldn't say it ended up being a Continue Reading
Fits do Race Reviews: Grandma’s Marathon 2015
Marathon #19- complete! I obtained my "Grandma's" experience, an experience that I said every good Minnesota runner needs to have. My Grandma's experience included a torrential downpour, a broken toe, AND a big PR! Let's start at the beginning. We drove up to Duluth on Friday, which is about a 2.5 hour drive from Minneapolis. We stopped along the way in the town of Hinckley, MN for Continue Reading