Marathon Mom

Stillwater half was my final pre-marathon race. The weather was a mess, hot humid and gross! I ran with the 1:40 pacer to keep a nice pace and actually held myself back the first haf but yikes then we turned to the road and no shade and it all faded! I struggled to keep the "easy" pace as did everyone around me. I was happy to finish just 45 secs behind the pacer 1:40:45 and not too far off my goal of 1:38. That heat was brutal... Photo credit Stillwater Gazette Grandmas Marathon  For those who don't follow me on IG  @marathonmom28  here is the short version... I started great, on pace to PR then I became hypothermic (yes in June) and once the rain started it was painful (thank you Raynaud's). I finally walked off the course between mile 19-20 where Matt met me with dry clothes and a warm car. Grandmas this is strike 3, I think I am done!  I spent the car ride home thinking of next races and wondering if I could jump back in, (dumb I know). As we drove...

It would be an understatement to say that April was a crazy month and not fun at times... The month started with my diagnosis of anemia  but at least I now know the reason for the lack of great running! A little update now that I am 1 month into iron supplement. The good news it is working but the bad news is  not as fast as it could if I was on a higher dose. Ferritin is now up to 19 from 5, yay! Still a ways to go but hoping to feel more normal before Grandmas in 6 weeks Other not so fun running news was missing my half marathon 2 weeks ago. I'm sure you have all seen the massive veggie recall going around, well guess who's salad lunches weren't a great idea 😠 . The only good news of this was finally realizing the cause since we were thinking it was related to the high doses of iron supplement. And now the non-running craziness... We are building a new house! It all happened super fast, within 4 days of deciding to not remodel our current home and build instead ...

This winter I have been struggling to hit paces that I easily hit months ago, my body hasn't been recovering great (which I related to getting older), my breathing is off (which I related to asthma) and energy isn't there. I kept thinking this was all the long winter getting to me and long work days, dark mornings, more training, etc, etc. Excuses and frustration! I was due for thyroid labs so I thought maybe this, but I decided to request additional labs to look at anemia. I got some push back since 1 year ago my hemoglobin was fine so she insisted it couldn't be anemia... Source Fast forward a few days to lab results... TSH is great it is amazing how my thyroid has regulated itself after my celiac diagnosis (still on meds but no more constant increase). Hemoglobin at the low end of normal but no red flag here again Ferritin of 5! While normal is 12-150 most endurance athletes need 100-120 at least to feel good and perform well! Iron of 30! Again normal 35...

Now that I have gotten you up dated on 2017 races here is one more running related post.... After a tough start to racing in 2017 with races being derailed due to weather, both too hot and too cold, and illness I think (hope) I am not starting 2018 off the same. I hate to even put it out in writing but I am injury free for the longest time in years. There has been a few short weird aches and pains but nothing that has caused me to miss any training (except 2 days with a pulled back muscle). 2018 has started to be a great year for running (most of the time)... The Good Speed is coming back strong Hit 60+ miles in a week (highest in years) Increasing days running and remaining injury free Yoga once a week at minimum Strength training 3-4 days per week (was 5-6 initially but with work and increased mileage dialing back a little)  PR'd my 1st race of 2018! 8K in 35:44 and 1:27 PR!  I just signed up for marathon #35! Marine Corps Marathon here we come!! The Bad ...

Where to begin? Sorry about the silence over the past months but so much has been happening both in running and life so I will make this multi-part and start with the run part (since this is a running blog!). I guess I should start with a quick wrap up of my last races that I never talked about... The Halfs of August I think I left off with my 5K in August but then I went back to higher distance... Mora  I raced this hilly course a few years ago, missing a top 3 finish by a couple minutes and it has been my goal to get a clock. The top 3 overall finishers get handmade replicas of the big city clock, how cool is that? The weather was good, not too hot but still a little humid. We lined up and I took off behind a couple women and managed to hang in 2nd for about 10 miles but then I was passed by a smart runner who kept her speed. I ran with the goal of overtaking her but never got the chance and ended up in 3rd OA 2nd AG and got my clock! 1:38:30 (not my best but I'll take it...

One of my goals for 2018 is to eat healthier with focus on less processed junk plus no more mindless eating. This is one thing that I wasn't as good on last year and a final piece that I think will add to my run training. As someone with celiac I am always excited when an opportunity comes to try new (to me) GF products, especially one's that are also dairy free and healthy. the GFB offers gluten free, dairy free, non GMO products that taste good and are actually good for you. Check out their site for more info, plus you can order sample packs to try them out! The other day I needed a quick mid afternoon snack while I worked, perfect timing for the Cranberry Toasted Almond GFB. While I am typically not a big fan of cranberry this wasn't too bad. The cranberries were real dried fruit and not overpowering. The bar was filling and got me through the afternoon slump! I can't wait to try the other flavors.   The Power Breakfast was a great quick pre workout...