Spring Race Recap: Reflections on Endurance Training and How It Shapes My Life

Dedicating this post to the amazing friends who’ve supported me on my journey of falling in love with training and running races; and who’ve witnessed to me with their own lives the power of this process in creating motivated, goal oriented phases that benefit and shape lives in so many ways. Specifically: Samantha, Mary, Claire and Annie, who’s also editing this for me. Truly, deeply grateful. And thanks to all of you who checked in on me and made sure I was excited and motivated and felt good–it was so touching, and I know I needed it!

Yesterday, I completed another half marathon!! The sight of the finish line has truly never been sweeter, and I was even more grateful this time to be able to run and take on this challenge, seeing another training cycle to completion.

Today, I’m going to try to touch on the overview/prep I did for this race and give a little race day recap. But before I do that, I need to share my musings on why I feel strongly about setting fitness goals as a part of creating a happy, successful and productive life–moving us towards the goals that matter to us–in all aspects, not just in fitness.

I get asked all the time–but WHY do you like running half marathons? And the answer really lies in something that I’ve discovered and continued to uncover along the way. Namely, I become a better version of myself through testing my mental and physical limits in these ways (within reason, of course, and with a strong support team making sure I stay injury free and enjoying it all).

Brendon Burchard, in his book High Performance Habits, says: “If the demands of your job or life require you to learn fast, deal with stress, be alert, pay attention, remember important things, and keep a positive mood, then you must take exercise more seriously. If you care about your contributions to the world, you’re care for yourself.”

Sounds like most of our lives! And what a straightforward solution, right?

And deep down, many of us know this to be true. Now, I am a huge fan of in home workouts, regular routines, gym classes that you can fit around your schedule, etc, but it’s also powerful to test oneself and one’s limits, both physically and mentally. That’s what endurance sports and events represent to me. After all, isn’t that what life often demands of us, whether we’ve trained or not? And with energy and positivity, what can’t we focus on and handle?

For me, as I came to half marathon training after becoming a mother (my first one was done when my eldest daughter was 2), it was also about witnessing to myself and to my family just how strong I could be, for myself and for them. And in the process of facing the challenges, the ups and downs, highs and lows of a race training cycle, I would face and conquer hidden fears, learn about myself, and be prepared to face other parts of life with more discipline, focus, gratitude (for strength), and an understanding of how to make progress towards those bigger life goals we have.

Now, for some people, swimming might be a smarter, low impact sport, my dad is an endurance cyclist and I’ve always admired folks who were into that as well. For me, running as been my passion, and not without challenges to continue—since in the past 5 years I’ve run 4 halfs and had 2 babies–I used to just say if I can run a half after/between each kid I’ll be happy with that–and so far that’s proven to be a good focal point for my overall fitness habits, postpartum recovery etc–more on that in an entirely seperate post. I’ve been able to run up to 34/35 weeks pregnant with my 2 most recent babies (shorter distances) and that has helped so much with regaining strength and motivation for recovery afterward.

Distance running is a form of meditation and mindfulness. Sure, I like to track my stats and set goals, negative splits and all of that, but it’s important to be able to just run for the sheer joy of moving, of celebrating life, humanity, an act of gratitude and prayer. I find that I can come back to my kids and my life my grounded and grateful after a long run–especially in nature. When the going gets tough, I’ll often turn to forms of prayer–rosary, etc–for perspective and pacing.

Training for a half is like any stretch goal in any area of life. It can seem super daunting on paper, and we need to show up with our base level of fitness/functioning…but then break down the goal into bite sized chunks, weekly mileage goals and a training plan with incremental increases/growth, and all of a sudden, it becomes simple as can be.

Often, once we’ve broken down the goal to manageable chunks, it really becomes a mental game. Can we talk ourselves into or out of our goal, the process, the enjoyment of it, the testing of ourselves with grace. This year, I was facing sub zero temps when I needed to be training, and a month before the race, I ran a 9 miler in mid 30’s weather. That was tough, but it reminded me of just how often we find reasons why the goal doesn’t matter, or can’t be met.

And sometimes we just have to let our commitment to the goal, and to ourselves, be stronger than any of that.

As I think about it: so much of life is about playing for a long game and an end goal that is not close by. Mothering for example–talk about a marathon, not a sprint! Like an 18 year marathon 🙂 And with owning a small business, I often have to look at my growth and focus on the future in large/stretch goal terms, and then break down those big goals into bite size pieces to figure out how we will get there (and you all have been AMAZING as we’ve built this biz and brand).

I’m sure you can all give great examples from your own lives, of how these skills of patience, perseverance, mindful goal setting and more can come in handy. I get a huge rush out of completing the goal that I’ve worked towards, and even more so when I can model it for my kids and remind them that with proper planning and hard work, amazing things are possible.

Racing with Kids:

Tying into all that I shared above, I have found that the past few years, its been wonderful to include the girls in doing their own kids event on race weekend. The races we’ve done down on the Jersey shore with friends, and this local one–wisely– have a kids fun run tied into the weekend activities, and it really works on several levels.

First, it helps us all to be excited and counting down: we talk about what I’m working toward with my race, and we do some mini running sessions with them beforehand (nothing major) to build confidence and get them excited. Secondly, we can all inspire each other. Their enthusiasm and stick-with-it ness when they are racing inspires me in my running, and they get to stand at the start line (and finish line) and see their mom facing her fears and going for something that matters to her, and it makes all of us enjoy it more!

It SO helps to have a very supportive spouse–my husband does enjoy running shorter distances, but often sacrifices in terms of managing the kids on race day so we can all be together–for that I’m so grateful, and this year having it be a local race just down the road, helped so much! But destination races are fun too! The organizers who run the race events are getting smarter about making it a very family friendly experience.

I want my girls to enjoy challenging themselves, setting goals, moving with joy, and caring more about what their bodies can do than about what they look like. We’re exposing them to a lot of different sports right now–swimming, running, tennis, soccer–you know—things they can do their whole lives–as well as gymnastics and more. I just want them to be able to always come back to the deep level confidence that being healthy and competing against yourself and the clock can bring!

Training Backstory:

I LOVE the discipline and focus of a good training cycle, I’ve been doing that pattern now for 4 years: 3 halfs and 1 5-miler when I was 17 weeks pregnant with Ambrose ;). Spring races on the calendar  help motivate me in those early days of the year. In this case, I was waitlisted for this race because it’s small and very popular, and I had almost given up on the idea, but then I emailed the guy and made a last ditch, eloquent explanation of us as new to the town, and excited about the race–unaware of the crazy fast sell out on Jan 1, etc. He wrote back right away and said yes, of course, he always saves a few spots for newbies to town (the race attracts mostly from outside/even other states)…and just like that I was in…and facing the decision and opportunity on March 23rd for doing a race exactly 6 weeks later!

My baseline had been 5 miles for a few months, so my training cycle shown below would not be recommended for first timers/newbies or anyone worried about injuries–I kept a close eye on things with the amazing support of my reflexologist a and PT!

This was my rough training plan…I followed it pretty much exactly. And did yoga, pilates, stretching and an occasional short mid week run (3 or less).

Race Day Recap: May 6, 2018

After a fun and gloriously sunny and warm First Communion day on May 5, with many family and friends celebrating with us, the 6th was cold and drizzly–the kind of Sunday morning that you really wouldn’t mind staying in bed for ;). Joel and I roused the kids and threw on their race gear, and I fueled up with breakfast and my hydrate/energy tea combo, and then we drove the less than half mile to the farm where the events were taking place.

The girls had been complaining about getting out of bed so early but when we pulled into the farm and saw the cows, the finish line, and all the excited runners, they became all smiles and energy! Corinne insisted on running with her cow bell and her piglet stuffed animal (swag), and I loved her for it. We headed up to the barnyard and they did a prompt 7:30 start–we were off!

The kids’ race was entirely on the farm property, a half mile distance of rolling hills–I let them pace and little sis was out in front, with older sister worried about getting a side ache (she’s gotten them before) and we just encouraged her to keep going at a steady pace, and even though she got a tiny one, it was in the final downhill and she was able to push through it–and she didn’t want Corinne getting too far away from her either! That served as my perfect warm up jog, and we had so much fun with grandma and papa waiting at the finish line too before they took off for home.

My race started out on the farm as well, and when we reached the first sign that said “Hill 1 of 15” we all got that excited and sinking feeling–“here goes nothing!” Since I live right next to the course, I’ve trained on it, and that helped in some regards–but definitely more fun with a nice group of runners (it’s a small race, they cap it well). Apparently, Joan Benoit Samuelson, famous for winning the first Olympic Gold the year they introduced women’s marathon running, was with us–I saw her cap in the front when someone pointed it out to me.

At mile 1 or so, the rain started. These are the beautiful, scenic, winding roads that I love in this town, and it was so fun that the race took us on some I drive or run often, and also on back roads that I’ve never before discovered! I didn’t take many photos during this time–I was trying to keep my phone dry.

Around mile 5, I decided to start chatting with some folks who were pacing with me. See, I know from experience that miles 5-9 can be the most challenging mentally (and therefore that can translate to slower speeds, or being unsure of whether you’ll “make it”)–by mile 9, I always know–OK, I’m gonna finish, and get an extra boost.

Well, I started making small talk with a nice guy named Keith, and with a lady Melanie, and then later with Jah who was also the pacer for my ideal finishing time–so I was motivated to keep her in my sights! Those rainy, mostly flat miles really few by, and then around mile 8 the rain stopped, and then the hills started! I think that there were 7 hills—ranging from short to long–in the final 5 miles of the race. It made it pretty intense in terms of wondering how much you had left to give, testing the edge, and then on the downhills, working to stride well and make up times lost on the uphills.

We also wound into the beautiful town state park, had a water station there, and ran right up to the beach in Topstone Park. That was a fun change of pace, and a lot of runners rushing by in both directions make for a nice energy boost. I had finished my electrolyte drink, had part of a snack bar, and then grabbed some jelly beans from this station–which give that nice rush for the final miles. I also turned on my music which I don’t always run with, but I had a feeling it would be key for the hilly miles 10-12…and sure enough, it helped. I listened to my MIKA radio station on Pandora and then we had some great sideline support on those final hills–folks cheering for us and saying “you’re almost done”…amazing how much you need that when you’re in the last reserves and I was trying to pick up my pace and do some negative splits at the end too…Which I did for miles 10-12.

When the final sign–Hill 15 of 15 passed and we thought that it was all down hill to the farm finish, there was a feeling of sheer joy—but I know the race organizer enough to know that he thought it would be funny for there to be one more tiny uphill—so yes, on the other side of that we could see the turn in to the farm and we were pumping down to the barn yard and around the corner to the fun finish line.

I just checked the total elevation gain and it was 979 feet. Woah. So of course I’m convincing a few friends, my dad, and others to do it with me next year (and there’s a 7 mile option too!).

I knew the hills would be tough, the rain added an extra layer of mental challenge, but at the end of it, the finish line was SO sweet, and I felt on top of the world. Not to mention the flowers, fun medals, free massage and PT right at the finish line, and local places offering us coffee, donuts, pizza, and some fun finish line tunes.

The best part was probably being able to walk home from the finish line (less than half mile away) carrying a box full of fun race food for my fam, and the girls had run a hot bath for me….heaven.

All in all, a great race day. I didn’t win in my age group, or even close, but that wasn’t my goal. I felt strong, focused, amazing and injury free. So grateful that I can enjoy this sport of running after 3 kids–and will continue to encourage family and friends to challenge ourselves, knowing the journey is just as important as the end goal!

I often get asked what tools and support and tips I have for others who want to start training for runs–especially moms (yep, I’ve done the past few half marathons while breastfeeding;))-so that info is here in another post. I would love to discuss what is inspiring you and how you too might be able to set a stretch goal that is right for you, and see it to completion!

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I’m working on my next important post: some reflections/over-arching themes of postpartum fitness, from my own journey (vulnerability overload, you’ve been warned), and sharing in what others tell me are their unique joys and challenges. I do believe being a mother encourages us to find strengths that we never knew we had, and this avenue for testing and reminding ourselves of that strength is indeed a great gift. It will look slightly different for every person, but we all have ways to continue testing our physical and mental limits, for the development of ourselves as humans.

Thanks for reading to the end, and I hope you’ll share below your own stories of the races you’ll always remember, and the people you became along the journey to the finish line.