20 Weeks Pregnant! How My Training Has Changed
I’ve had quite a few newly pregnant mamas ask me how I changed my training when I found out I was pregnant and what was safe to do or what guidance I received from my doctor. I wanted to start by saying, while I am currently getting a pre/post natal certification at the moment, I am not qualified to provide individual or generic advice on this topic. This blog post will address the changes to my fitness and running routine.
We're having a BABY!
I am still in disbelief that this is happening and I have so much to share. I will try my best not to word vomit and make my thoughts as cohesive as possible. If you read my blog post from April about family planning, you know that I was really struggling with my running and family plans all in the midst of a pandemic.
Running Drills For Beginners
Drills are a great way to establish proper form and movement patterns into our muscle memory as well as a way to improve recruitment of the proper muscles when you start to get fatigued. If you’re new to running or have never done drills before, I’ve compiled some great drills for beginners. These can be done after an easy warm up jog or at the end of a run 2-3 times/week. You’ll want to do each drill for 20-30 seconds, with a slow jog back to the start. If you have time to run through the drills 2-3 times, even better!
How to Stay Motivated During Quarantine
Anyone else struggling with motivation right now? I’m here to let you know you aren’t alone. Races have always been my key motivator. If there’s a date to work towards and a clear timeline, it’s a lot easier to get out there each day. With no races on the calendar in the near future, we need to find other ways to keep our head in the game and stick with our training so we can be ready to race when it becomes available.
Plans are Worthless, but Planning is Essential - Family Planning as a Female Athlete
It’s hard to believe that just over 3 weeks ago I would’ve been finishing my first 50K race. I never made it across the start line to that 50K and while we enter week four of quarantining/self-isolation, life looks and feels very different. Running has been filled with anxiety until this week for me. Since the closing of our beaches and trails, its been tough to feel comfortable on new routes dodging people and feeling a bit angry at those who don’t quite understand what social distancing is and why we must do it.
Zero to 50K on Hold - Race Cancelled
Things have really taken a turn the last couple days. Thousands of races and mass gatherings have been cancelled in the coming weeks and months due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s been a really scary time to navigate, but I thin race cancellations are probably the lest of our worries at the moment. The last few days have been some of the most stressful I’ve ever experienced as a coach and athlete and I can’t remember a time like this.
Zero to 50K - I'm Taking on an Ultra!
Sooooo I signed up for a 50K race! It is my first trail race ever and first ultra. I’ve never run more than 26.2 miles in my life (unless you count the crazy GPS signals from Chicago marathon that told me I ran over 27 miles), so this presents a plethora of new challenges for me. I just bought my first pair of trail shoes, but am pretty clueless on all of this! I am excited, nervous, and a bit conflicted about the decision, but felt it was time to switch things up.
2020 Goals: Dreaming Big for a New Decade!
2019 was a year of so much learning and growth. It was everything I needed after a rough 2018 and I’m more excited than ever to keep the momentum going. I try to set a few goals each year and it is rare that I ever accomplish all of them, but I usually get one or two done. 2019 was the year I accomplished a hell of a lot more than I initially thought, and it was so important for me to look back on it because I struggled so hard to get here. If you want to read about how 2019 went for me, you can check it out here.
2019 in Review: Leveling Up
The end of a year is always a good time to look back at what we did with the last 365 days. I often set a few goals at the end of each year (not so much a resolution gal, but to each their own!), and I check back on them at the end of the year to see what I did or didn’t get to. After CIM it was hard not to feel disappointed with missing my huge personal goal of running a sub-3, but when I took the time to look back at my year, it was clear that I accomplished so much - a lot of which I couldn’t have done on my own!
CIM Race Recap
First, thanks to everyone who tracked me and sent messages of encouragement and congratulations last weekend. You probably already know that I did not run a sub 3 hour marathon. I came SO close though and ran a 3:01:24. 85 seconds away from goal. Crossing the finish line was a huge mix of emotions and tears, but let’s start from the beginning to how I got there.
CIM - Training Cycle Recap + Goals for Race Day
It’s race week! It’s amazing how different I feel going into race week this season than I did in the Spring heading into Grandma’s Marathon. I was so excited in the Spring for the training cycle to and the race to be done that I completely checked out and didn’t even want to race. I wasn’t really present on race day or in the final weeks of training and it honestly, kinda sucked. Right now, I’m excited to put myself out there on Sunday and see what I’ve got. This is a great sign that I didn’t overdo it and am in a good space mentally.
Journey to Sub 3 - Episode 4: Building Confidence
Things have really turned around the last few weeks and I’m finally building up some confidence after this cycle’s rocky start. I raced a 10K a few weeks ago and while it wasn’t my best performance, I was happy with the results on a hillier course and a lack of confidence in my abilities at that point. Since then, I’ve been recovering quickly from workouts and doing workouts that are slightly new and different to me - challenging me in new ways.
InsideTracker Review - Optimizing Biomarkers to Help Reach Your Goals
When I decided to get blood work done last month, I went to the Inside Tracker site to get a list of tests I should consider taking. I was already thinking of using their DIY testing option - you get the tests done through your health insurance or primary doctor and then upload the results to their site after you receive them. They also have options where you don’t have to deal with your doctor at all, order the tests you want, and just head to your nearest Quest Diagnostics site for the blood work and it all gets loaded directly into their system.
Journey to Sub 3 - Episode 3: 5K Race Recap + Blood Work Results
I grabbed a big 5K PR, but then got tough news in my blood work results. I held off on sharing much over the last 3+ weeks because I was navigating what was happening to me and how to take action. My blood work came back and showed I have a severe B12 deficiency, which explains all the symptoms I was experiencing with fatigue, weakness, poor recovery, etc.