I often forget to recap the week of my marathon because I'm too caught up in the actual marathon. But reading how the last week went is just as helpful as the rest of the training recaps, right? Here's my weekly recap of THE WEEK of the Big Cottonwood Marathon. Monday: Labor Day. 1 mile warm-up, 3x1 mile at goal marathon pace (8:12) with 2 minute recovery in between each mile, 1 mile cool Continue Reading
Friday Five Favorites: My Five Favorite Marathons…so far!
Every marathon is special in its own way. I have fond memories of all of them, from the tiny Marathon-to-Marathon in Iowa to the world-renowned Berlin Marathon! As corny as it is, each marathon was an important part of my running journey. I could write a post about what I loved about each and every one, even the ones that were really hot or where I had a disappointing personal performance. With Continue Reading
What to Wear on Race Day!
Are you training for a fall marathon? Maybe you're doing the Twin Cities Marathon (one of my favorites!) Portland? Milwaukee? Chicago? Berlin? Richmond? Steam town? There are so many great fall marathons to choose from. Maybe you're joining me at Big Cottonwood this Saturday (if so, please comment here so we can connect in Utah!) If you are running a fall race, you might be starting to Continue Reading
Bring on the Taper for the Big Cottonwood Marathon!
The Big Cottonwood marathon is two weeks away! It’s TAPER TIME! What does that mean? After several months of hard work, the taper is the weeks before a key race where you cut back your mileage and let your muscles repair. Your body recovers from all the hard work you have been putting it through during training. You focus on replenishing all your glycogen stores in preparation for race day. Continue Reading
Weekly Recap: A Hot Mess…
This past week was a bit of a bust...Every training cycle has its highs and lows. I'd classify this past week as a "low." I didn't have any runs where I felt strong and my paces were so far off of where they should be. I know that it was the heat and humidity; of course it was...But it was still hard. I still love running...I just am feeling a little disheartened with my runs this Continue Reading
Weekly Recap: Training for the Big Cottonwood Marathon!
Yes, it's official! I registered for the Big Cottonwood Marathon on September 10th. Boston registration opens on September 12, so this will be my 'last chance marathon.' It starts at altitude, but it has a LOT of downhill. My coach said I'll need to do some hard training on the downhill to prepare my quads. But look at those stats- 25% of runners qualify for Boston at Big Cottonwood. I like Continue Reading
Friday Five: Five Reasons to Love Grandma’s Marathon
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