Training & Racing Update for Summer

Wow - it's almost August already and I haven't blogged. Sorry everyone it's been a busy summer! Don't worry - I have been running and racing as per usual just not writing as much as I should! After the Cleveland Marathon in May I raced the Eagle Up Ultra again in early June. My goal was the 100k this year but I ended up having a rough day of GI issues so called it at 50 miles. I ended up first female for the 50 again albeit a little slower than last year. This one is such a great race though that I am sure I will be back again next year for 100k or maybe more!

After Eagle Up I did a new race in my backyard this summer called the Mingo Madness 15K. It's a doozy of a race with about 1200-1300 ft of elevation gain over 9ish miles. It was a great turn out and a butt kicker for sure. I was happy with an AG win for this one for sure!

I ran my first 5K since March in downtown Akron 2-3 wks back called the Andrea Rose Teodosio 5K and that was tough as well since most of my runs these days are longer and slower. I ended up around 21:40, not my best time but good for 1st AG and a top 10 finish in a pretty good field of ladies so happy with the result.

With the Erie Marathon and Akron Marathon quickly approaching in September I have been running between 50-60 miles a week and getting in long runs of 16-20 last month or so. Did I mention it's been a hot July in Ohio? Well it has been hot and humid for some of the runs and although I do love summer I am looking forward to fall running temps!

This weekend I'll be racing the Hofbrauhaus half marathon in downtown Cleveland with the hubby for his birthday and some of our running friends so I am curious to see how that goes. The following weekend we have the Shot in the Dark 4 miler so another sprint and I am also planning to run the Moebius Trail 50K again in later August before my taper starts for Erie.

Fall will be fun too as I just signed up for a few trail 25 and 50ks to keep my endurance up. I plan to return to longer distance next year with my eye on another 100!

Stay tuned for the next update - probably after the next race. Happy running everyone! Keep on chasing that runner's high!

Kicking off the 2019 Training and Race Planning!

It's January, which means the race planning for 2019 is in full swing. I am thankful to once again be on board as a Cleveland Marathon ambassador as well as a Skirt Sports ambassador! I'm also excited to run the Boston Marathon for the second time this spring!

Save 10% off registration with code PM2019!

My marathon training is underway and I must admit I'm having a tougher time getting into it physically and mentally this year. In addition to my foot injuries last summer, I had some health issues in the fall and I am still not feeling 100% myself. I have lacked my normal strength and energy levels, which means some of my workouts have suffered or been postponed. I am doing my best to get in my planned mileage and workouts. I hope in the coming weeks I will feel stronger and more confident in my training.

I must accept that as an athlete there will be ups and downs. Clearly I am in a down period at the moment but this too shall pass. I am strong and I will persist! I am planning a fun race season and will do my best every time I toe the line (even if that means not being as fast as I want). I would love a shiny, new marathon PR in the spring but if it does not happen I can try again in the fall...or next season.

Here is what I have planned out for 2019 so far:

The season will most likely start with the Hinckley Buzzard 25K in mid March unless I jump into something sooner to test my fitness.

My big race in April will be the Boston Marathon of course!

May will be the Cleveland Marathon about 4-5 weeks after Boston. If you are thinking about running feel free to use and share my code PM2019 for 10% off your registration.

In June I will be running a new race called The Forgotten 25K followed up with the Eagle up 100K in (if I can swing it otherwise I will run the 50k or 50 miler).

I am leaving July and August open for now for recovery and lots of summer bike rides! I may sign up for a 1/2 marathon and some shorter stuff to help with my training for the Akron Marathon in September but will play it by ear. I then have Doan Creek 25k in early October.

The rest of the year is TBD or rest if needed. As much as I wish I could commit to more I am learning that my body needs some rest periods too. I will wait and see how I feel later in the year. At minimum I hope to run the Akron Turkey Trot and maybe a Christmas and/or New Years race.

What races are you planning in 2019?

Canal Corridor 100 err 50 & Training Update

After Canal Corridor 100 on July 7th I've been working through a couple muscular injuries that led to some foot pain especially in my left - but also in my right foot as well. Going into the race I was admittedly fatigued after running Charlevoix Marathon and Eagle up 50 within 4 weeks before. I didn't feel too bad at the start line or for the first hour or two but by 10-15 miles my feet were achy and I had a tight right quad so I knew I was in trouble. I took some ibuprofen at the 20 mile mark and headed back to Lock 3 from the first turn-around at St. Helena.

I hit the 50K mark right around 5 hours and hit lock 3 around 6.5 hours but was really hurting and didn't want to go back out there. MY friend Rich that was doing timing convinced me to get back out there after a good 30 minute or so break to eat, change, go to the bathroom, etc. I knew when I started back up it would not be pretty. I made it a couple miles then started walking and at 45.5 I turned around along with Steve and headed back in. It was a slow hobble back in and we called it a day with 51 miles. I was very sore and hungry so we went to get food at the Barley House with our friends Leslie and Larry that were planning to help crew for us. Some days just don't end how you think they will.

Fastforward to four weeks later and I am still fighting off the injuries so it's safe to say I did the right thing at CC100. I have been fortunately riding my bike a lot and was able to run 20 miles including a 13 mile run last week. I went in to Dr. Tim Pavlik in Cuyahoga Falls this week for some dry-needling, graston and ART. That seems to be helping. He wants me to try to get 30 miles in this week and increase my long run to 15 miles so we'll see how that goes.

In all honesty, there's been so much going on in my life and I've been so busy that a break from running hasn't been as bad as I thought it was. Although my race didn't go well, I welcomed a beautiful baby niece Lylah Anne who I adore, rekindled my love of biking with a new roadie and got some stuff done around the house like painting our patio!

I hope to be back to racing in a month or so - if my body is ready. If not, I'll wait longer because my next A-race is Boston 2019! I need to be healthy and ready to start a heavy training cycle in mid to late December for that.

Me with Lylah :)

My new bike Penny Lane

Summer patio living!

Eagle Up Ultra 50 Mile Race Report

Last Saturday I ran my first 50 miler. I had no idea going into it how it would feel since the only other time I ran 50 miles was in my 100 miler last summer. Since I am once again running the Canal Corridor 100 miler on July 7 I thought that running the Eagle Up 50 miler would be an ideal training run for me. I hope that it will better prepare me for this year's 100. My expectations for Eagle Up were low key and I did not put a lot of pressure on myself. That is one of the things I like most about ultras and ultrarunners - generally the races and people are easy going with these longer distances. It makes sense because a lot can happen with your body in 50 or 100+ miles plus some days you feel better than others so you just go into it with a flexible mindset.

race start I'm the pink skirt left side :)

I lined up Saturday with a goal of trying to maintain 9-10 minute miles for as much of the race as possible. Most of my miles were between 9:15-10 minutes so right on target. Of course stopping at the aid station added a little time to each loop. The course was setup in a 5 mile loop consisting of about 2.5 on the Towpath and 2.5 on another trail just like the towpath. I actually really liked this setup. The loops went very fast for me mentally.

After the first loop I ate a Honeystinger waffle and just dropped off my water bottle. After the second loop I also ate a Honeystinger waffle and picked up my water bottle again. By the end of the third loop I had to stop and use the porta potty and I also hit up the aid station for some pbj and watermelon. After the 4th loop (20 miles) and 5th loop I also hit the aid station for similar fare. During my 6th loop I felt like crap having some cramps and just decided to walk for a while to see if it would pass. I debated dropping down to 50k but figured I could at minimum walk a lap and see if it passed. I walked the first half of the loop (2.5 miles) and decided to run again following the aid station. I felt much better! From there on out I walked about 1/2 mile after each 5 mile loop to give my body a little break. This worked well because by mile 40 (start of 9th loop) I could grab a slice of cheese pizza and walk while I ate it.

All smiles for most of the race anyways!

I felt really good the last couple of loops and was super excited near the end when the guy who was winning the 100 miler told me that I was likely first female in the 50 miler! It had not dawned on me that I could finish first because there are people running 50k, the relay, 50 miles, 100k, 100 miles so it was hard to know where I was in the race. That gave me a little boost and I pushed on to finish the race in 8:44:44 (10:28 avg). I think if my 6th loop was better I may have finished closer to 8:30 but I was pretty excited to finish and also to learn from the timers that I was indeed first female in the 50 mile race! :) P.S. The Skirt Sports Lioness Skirt in Holiday print was a big success as probably at least 20 people said "Love that skirt" to me!

My friend and fellow Skirt Sports ambassador Mary had came to cheer and drop off some goodies she picked up from me at the Skirt Sports store in Colorado so it was nice to see her there at the finish as well as my hubby who also ran the 50 miler and was technically first in the 50 miler too so that was awesome! We ate some food and had a couple of beers/ciders before heading home for a much needed shower!

Weather wise it ended up being a pretty mild, cloudy day for the first 4-5 hours with some off and on rain the back few hours but it was manageable. The race vibe was fabulous - so many people cheering and great volunteers and also made some new running friends from all around while running and chatting. The race swag included a nice women's fit tech tee and goodie bag along with a 50 mile medal. I would highly recommend this race! It would be a great first ultra or great for a PR at any distance. I am thinking I will run this again next year although not sure what distance - perhaps the 50 again or the 100K. I guess I have time to think it over.

My recovery this week is on schedule. I took a few days off of running and got in 4 miles yesterday morning, which went fine. I've been walking a lot of miles and doing some cycling. Next up is the Charlevoix Marathon next Saturday in Michigan. It's a great small-town marathon. Another marathon PR right now may be too lofty of a goal but I'll see how I feel that day and run accordingly. I will get in a good training run and have some fun to say the least!

Finally two weeks later is the Canal Corridor 100 again (eek)! I hope to start healthier this year and take some hours off of my time as well as have some fun! This year my husband is running it also so it will be fun to see him out there on the course! After the 100 I am taking a summer break to rest and cross train more and will start ramping up for fall races when I'm ready. I have some ideas about what I'd like to do but plan to allow myself more recovery time this year.

Post race with my speedy husband!

Post race with my Skirt Sister Mary!

Hard earned adult beverage. MMM!

Training Update - April is a Busy Month & Another Race is on the Schedule

I thought I would do a quick training update before things get crazy this month. This Sunday I'll be running the first of three long races this month as preparation for my spring marathons. The Run for Home Half in Dover is a challenging half marathon with some good hills so it should be a good workout. I plan to get in a mile or two before and after to get in my mileage goal for the day.

The following Sunday I'm racing the 20 Mile Drop in Lake County, which will be a good quad buster and then I'll be starting my two week taper for the Hall of Fame Marathon on Sunday, 4/29.

I then get a few weeks off. Well racing that is! I'll still be running a lot until the Cleveland Marathon on Sunday, May 20! This of course is one of my favorites because it was my first half and full marathon and I get to run with all my awesome fellow ambassadors. If you still haven't signed up use my code PMCLE10 and get 10% off your registration.

I also just signed up for the Eagle Up Ultra in Canal Fulton on June 9. I signed up for the 50 miler to get in a good training run for the Canal Corridor 100 in July! It's shaping up to be an epic running season!

As far as my training goes, last week was decent. Although we traveled to Louisville, KY for some fun we still got some running in so I ended the week with about 40 miles of running, 60 miles of cycling and a couple of strength workouts - down a little from the previous week.

These next two weeks although I am racing I will not taper much for either because I need the mileage. I will just do my best to race being fatigued and while that may not be ideal it will help me build strength for my summer ultras.

I have front-loaded my week with two strength workouts and a big chunk of running so I can cross train more and just get in an easy run or two before the race Sunday. I'm planning to end the week with 45-50 miles of running and 50 miles of cycling and of course my 2 strength sessions.

I'm sure I will be sore Monday and will cross train on the bike or in the pool as active recovery and try to build up mid-week and taper off Friday and Saturday leading into the 20 miler.