The Adult Swim Diaper and You.

If you bathroom more miles than you actually raced...that's gotta be some kind of a record right? There goes my next successful failure on my Happy Gilmore path to fame. hahaha. but you gotta at least stop to laugh at yourself along the way or really; what fun is it?

Naperville Half Marathon; went a widdle something like this.... mile 1, 2, 3, 4- awesome sauce. running negative splits and carefully picking up the pace each mile and settling into a steady rhythm to hold 3rd place. I was working on a 1:20 half and then all of a sudden that fun little place in your stomach turns over, wakes up and was like Surrrrrprise! what you need to do RIGHT NOW is digest your breakfast, last nights food and be really sick about it. Porta potty hopping began there and never stopped. To those who witnessed me drop trow. I'm sorry and I'm working on my invention of the adult sweat - wicking swim type diaper that won't hold slog you down when you want to PR and keep running. After getting violently sick and sprinting 18 times to try and keep some sort of competivite position while losing my racing spankies (aka my "small pants") I finished in 1:31. Way off target but to waste 10 minutes to sickness on the course I was actually impressed with myself because I realized a sub 1:30 half was now easy.

All of the late nights, the early mornings, the lunch time nap runs. All of miles added up and made sense. When you understand your purpose and why you train like there's no sight of tomorrow; you stay committed. You stay focused. Early morning I spin bike; afternoon nap run pushing my son 8-14 miles, or now with the cold weather approaching; I run on the treadmill in my garage after he goes to bed each night to get in double workouts most days to average 95 miles a week.

Do or Don't; there is no try. If I try and fail, I will still be much closer time wise to the trials than a year ago and I can try again in 2020 because why not? I will be very much ready by then if not now. There is no stopping. You must do. I realized this all dragging and dead-lifting my own furniture out to the curb one day because I didn't want to look like a panzie in front of my neighbors watching me. I realized that I couldn't quit and I couldn't do something half way and leave it. I had to just do it.

The Plan and well, the 4 Year Plan

The 2016 U.S. Marathon Trials represent victory and the reality of what dreams can be achieved by constantly challenging yourself and pushing your training beyond what people say you are capable of. It is an example of what courage and hard work can demonstrate and to set an example for my son to aim high for his goals in life and strive hard to earn the success. I deeply admire, and respect elite level distance running and I have been absolutely hooked since freshman year cross-country when I first felt those steps of freedom running provided. The race, the training, the pain it's all a beautiful sport when you pour your heart into it. The Marathon Trials to me, is everything- success, the motivation to show others who struggle as single parents that you can still achieve victories, to inspire my son to never give up on his dreams, and to me- it's just my love and passion I want to share with the world. 

In terms of what I plan to do to make the qualification standard - I'm not afraid of the hard work ahead. I run with Cael (my son) over my lunch break, I use the spin bike after Cael goes to bed and before Cael wakes up I plan to move my treadmill over to my garage and start adding in morning miles. I resistance train and cross train at the gym on afternoons when Cael visits his dad.This is all i want to do besides be the best mom I humanly can. To show him not to give up on his dreams and that the most important goals in life take the hardest work to achieve and they are absolutely worth the struggle. I constantly fight for his rights in court because he is my most precious goal over anything.

the stinky truth

It's what we call a "successful failure". That moment you when you PR without shitting your pants and waste time leaving the course for the nearest Porta Potty. Yes you made a PR but you are left wondering how much bigger of a personal record could you have attained without the potential pants pooping.

Life on the run. A series of mistakes you repeat over and over due to sheer will of logical insanity.  Aka the running addiction.

there is no title to express the heart

Where do you begin if the only person counting is you. Do we measure our week starting with Sunday or Monday? Did we make enough junk miles to cover our addiction that week? It's a process and a passion of slowly losing yourself into a place of numbers and nothingness. Best runs I have ever had was a race against nothing in the warm summer rain. No finishline and no clear path just go and remove the technology from the puzzle. When we lose count we see a much larger, more clear, more beautiful picture because we then actually see where we are going and appreciate the journey instead of the outcome.

Tuesday to Tuesday - 81.7 miles 

Go take off your Garmin and get out there. The journey awaits.

The key here is duct tape, not band-aids

Correction- throw some band-aids on your nipples because you can't win a marathon without a little blood. use duct tape for your feet. didn't think of that huh? 

The Truth Behind Training

3/21/15 | 9 miles on stepmill (60 minutes), 5 miles running on treadmill average 6:50 pace, 10 minutes cool down stepmill

3/22/15 | 10 miles pushing the minion in the running stroller

3/23/15 | 60 minutes treadmill (blind run up incline) | 8 miles while minion napped

3/24/15 | 100 minutes stepmill (14.5 miles) & weights with deadlifts, rows, single leg squats, pull ups, dips

3/25/15 | 8 miles pushing minion & 30 minutes on spin bike after he went to bed

3/26/15 | stepmill 75 minutes (11 miles)

3/27/15 | 8 miles pushing minion & 40 minutes on spin bike after he went to bed

3/28/15 | 100 minutes stepmill (14.5 miles) & weights with deadlifts, rows, squats, pull ups, dips

3/29/15 | 60 minutes stepmill (8.5 miles), machine weights & incline bench press, then 35 minutes on stepper in the afternoon during munchkin's nap

3/30/15 | 8 miles running pushing the 2.5 year old (mile 5 @ 6:59 & mile 7 @ 5:57)

Mileage junkie. Mistake #1. its not a matter of running x miles to train for a 13.1 mile race; it's a matter of accumulating minutes in motion. Training your body to feel uncomfortable and be comfortable with that for longer than you plan on racing. Much longer. 

the road is long but you are never alone

To totally "borrow" a quote from I found on  Facebook (yeah right i just jacked it): "that which makes you exceptional is also, inevitably, that which makes you lonely." Completely hit home for me this week. 

The loneliness of a long distance runner is only a state of mind, not a state of being. Though we may run alone we are tied to a deeper level of community (community of crazies lol). The roads may be cold but they are always open. The hospitality and friendship found in absolute strangers at a race epitomizes sportsmanship. Thanks to all those who cheer on the sidelines,  support, organize, volunteer, race, every one there that makes race day so special as to what it is. But there are two sides to this; not just the miles you put in. With any form of talent you have your haters or non-supporters and its something only you alone can do and create and the person you are with or your family/friends may not support or appreciate it or understand it. But in the end, it all comes down to you and your goals and what you are passionate about.

The long is road; but on race day we all lead to the same finish line that reunites and excites us to do this all over again.

To the unknown daughters

To the daughter I saw at the gym this weekend;  I don't remember your name but I remember your decision. You saw me on the stepmill and asked me what sport this helps- cheer leading or cross-country. My answer was both of course; because you will boost your endurance needed for any sport but which sport do you plan to compete in was my question back to her? 

To the unknown developing female athlete; this is my advice.

Choose respect. Choose to love your self and your body. Don't let the images of what a runner or athlete should look like put limits on how truly great you can become. Strong is beautiful. Do what you love. Run. Run free and bow to no one. Let the men bow to you from the infield and take you seriously as you stride past unblinking unwavering. Have your strong legs stand tall and command respect. Never settle for what you think you can accomplish and never let a coach put you in box of amounting to nothing. Newsflash; you are something. You are someone powerful and it's up you how you treat your body and put work into your passion. Be passionate about what you do. The sport is yours, the track is yours. Don't let anyone strip you of your love for it and never let a single soul dictate to you what your limits and your training can not go beyond. The track is a solitary loop but endless. Shoot for endless possibilities for your own greatness. Just never stop doing. Never stop being. You are beautiful and your determination will only grow with you.  A painted face and ribbons will draw attention but, let your art-form pour out and have it speak your voice- command respect.

the definition of insanity - population, YOU

Lets face it- "you're crazy" is the best compliment.  Yup crazy for what we love, crazy for more. Im usually not into making new years resolutions because I believe that a flip of the calendar shouldn't have to push you to new beginnings or higher motivation. If you're that damn crazy it should be in your heart all year all the time a constant beat in your foot steps closer and closer to what you want to accomplish.  This year im just entering a new phase of "crazy" ... crazy like a fox :). The mileage will be higher just like the stakes this year. I love it. I love the pay off and I get excited to do the work. 90 plus miles a week. My epic advice for those getting ready for a half... heres what I told my friend Karen:

with the half its not all about the long runs, i have discovered. its more about time on your feet. and training yourself to be okay with feeling uncomfortable for awhile. its the self talk that yeah there will be bad miles throughout the race but the half is not won in the first 5k. its really crunch time in the final 5k with emphasis on mile 12 to 13. so learning to run negative splits is a huge benefit many runners struggle with. people go out too fast and then when you just continually jack the pace up you just kinda crush their soul as you pass them effortlessly. 

I like to train with what i call negative balances- so say you warm up low impact for a bit on elliptical or step mill just to get the body going for 30 min or so then commit to at least 4-8 miles on the mill. but start at a mildly uncomfortable base pace for example; 6:58 (8.6mph on the mill) and hold that for 1 mile; then bump it up for mile to to something more uncomfortable (6:53/6:49pace for the next mile. Then bounce back and forth each mile rotating a mile at base pace then a mile at push pace but never slow to below base pace as the challenge. Its a great way to teach your body to surge.

Another workout that I like to use is continued negative splits: meaning start at that mildly uncomfortable base pace listed above and each mile go one mph faster: 8.6mph, then 8.7mph, then 8.8mph until you want to cry and then hold that fastest pace for another mile until you actually do cry. I try to get in 7-8 miles in this fashion. 

Only do this like1x a week. the rest is all regular base miles and cross training and lifting as normal.

these are my secrets.
when in doubt stepmill for 2 hours.

a brick i like is 60 min on stepmill in negative splits (pushing to hold around 118-125 steps/min) then run a negative progression on the mill for 4-6 miles immediately following.