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| The look of someone en route to a PR marathon |
Introduce yourself - who you are, where you're from, what you do, etc.
I am a mom and a teacher. I was born in Ohio, grew up in Kansas, and now live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I’ve been in Tulsa for 10 years now! I taught 1st and 2nd grade for 6 years before deciding to stay at home with my son after struggling through being a working mom for the first year of his life and realizing it wasn’t for me. After staying at home with my kids for 4 years I went back to work teaching 3 year old preschool part time when we enrolled my daughter in 3 year old preschool. I’ve been at the preschool for 2 years now and plan to go back to teaching full-time when my daughter starts 1st grade. She will enter kindergarten in the 2020-2021 school year. I’m also an avid runner, reader, and animal lover.
I am a mom and a teacher. I was born in Ohio, grew up in Kansas, and now live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I’ve been in Tulsa for 10 years now! I taught 1st and 2nd grade for 6 years before deciding to stay at home with my son after struggling through being a working mom for the first year of his life and realizing it wasn’t for me. After staying at home with my kids for 4 years I went back to work teaching 3 year old preschool part time when we enrolled my daughter in 3 year old preschool. I’ve been at the preschool for 2 years now and plan to go back to teaching full-time when my daughter starts 1st grade. She will enter kindergarten in the 2020-2021 school year. I’m also an avid runner, reader, and animal lover.
What are your thoughts on Boston 2020 being cancelled? How did you handle the initial postponement and eventual cancellation, mentally and physically?
Initially when Boston was postponed to September I was deep into my training and had put in a lot of work. I had run 20+ miles 4 times already along with all the speedwork and tempos. I was excited for just a couple more weeks of work and then starting my taper. Then I came down with the flu and was super sick for over a week. I found out Boston had been postponed while I was still sick so I didn’t really care because I felt awful. I was also starting to stress about flying in a plane come April since Covid-19 was making its way to America. I was obviously disappointed I put in all that work and wouldn’t get to show it off in a race, especially since I knew I was in PR shape from the awesome long run workouts I was able to get in. I think getting the flu when I did was a blessing in disguise because it really softened the blow of the disappointment. I knew I lost some fitness not running for a week while sick and no one wants to have a chunk of time off running during a big marathon training cycle, so I knew it wasn’t an ideal situation going into a marathon and focused on that as a positive to keep me from being too disappointed.
I was so excited to get back into training for the rescheduled Boston that I started back earlier than I normally would have. I usually do a 16 week training cycle for a marathon, but I was so excited I started 20 weeks out from Boston. In the back of my mind, the whole time I was training, I expected Boston to get cancelled. I figured once race day got closer they would have to cancel and then I’d run a marathon in town instead. I had already set up with different friends to come run sections of the marathon with me if it came to that. When they made the announcement that Boston would be virtual I was disappointed and relieved at the same time. I hadn’t put in any 20’s yet and was just a few weeks into training so it was no big deal to just transition over to half-marathon training instead. I was so thankful they made the call early so I wasn’t deep into training and because I could just scrap marathon training altogether. Also my family has been a huge part of this journey, supporting me and encouraging me the whole way. My husband, mom, dad, and brothers were all going to travel to Boston to cheer me on. My mom overcame thyroid cancer a few years ago and my dad has COPD caused by lifelong asthma so neither of them were going to take the chance of contracting Covid-19 by making the trip to Boston if the race actually happened. That took away a huge part of the excitement for me that they wouldn’t get to go with us. I’d rather run it when it is safe for everyone to travel and for spectators to gather on the course! A race is not worth jeopardizing the health of anyone involved so I was glad the B.A.A. made that decision and that they made it so far in advance that I hadn’t made it deep into a marathon training cycle again.
Do you plan to run Boston 2020 virtually? Why or why not?
I decided not to run Boston virtually because I had just started my training block and had only gotten my long run up to 16 miles before they decided to make that change. I am not a marathoner. I’m more of a half-marathoner who also enjoys the marathon. When I run one marathon a year, I get really excited for those long, long runs and love the training. But I’m ready for a break and shorter races when I’m done. If I chose to run virtually and then applied and got into Boston for 2021, I’d be running 3 marathon cycles in a row and that would just be too much for me. Boston was never about the medal or the gear for me, it was about running the course and enjoying that experience so I’d rather wait to actually run the course.
Do you plan to run Boston 2021? Why or why not?
I plan to apply for Boston 2021. I’m so glad they are extending the qualifying window out so I can use my same qualifying time as I did to get in for 2020. I didn’t run a marathon in the fall of 2019 because I planned to run Boston in the spring. I was 4 minutes and 32 seconds under the standard for my age group, so I’m hoping that will still be enough to get me in for 2021. I also hope they are able to run the race by then! This has all been pretty crazy!
How did you get started in running? Tell us a little about your high school and collegiate running careers.
I have always loved to run. My favorite games my brothers and I played when we were kids all involved running. My favorite sport growing up was soccer and I loved it because I loved to run. In 5th grade we had to run a mile during P.E. and I realized when I beat everyone in my class, boys included, that maybe I was pretty good at it. I still remember memorizing my time so I could go home and ask my dad if it was fast. I ran track in middle school, setting school records in the 800 and 1600. I was too scared to run the 3200, it seemed way too far! Then in high school I couldn’t decide whether to play soccer or run cross country in the fall because my high school only had co-ed soccer where they played against all-boy teams which happened in the fall. My best friend said she would only go out for cross country if I did it with her, so I decided on cross country. I am so glad I did! I qualified for state in cross country my freshman, junior, and senior years, earning a medal at state my senior year. I also ran track all 4 years of high school and ran every distance from 400-3200 over the years. My least favorite race to run was the 400 but I’d do it on the 4x400 when they needed a 4th runner. I set school records in the 1600 and 3200 my senior year and medaled at state in the 1600 and 3200 both my junior and senior years. I decided to run in college and chose the D-II school I went to because I didn’t want to run year round and they didn’t have indoor track. They actually only had a cross country team but the cross country team competed in a few track meets in the spring. It was the perfect fit for me because it was really laid back with mileage mostly around 50 miles per week, peaking around 80 miles a week. I loved it and our coach made it so much fun. I know I could have been faster had I gone somewhere else but I loved it and I think having a laid back high school and college experience has led to me being a lifelong runner with very few injuries (editor's note: she is being modest, she was and is very fast!). I’ve now been running for 22 years with no major running-related injuries (editor's note: this is a HUGE accomplishment)!
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| Liz & I after the Little Rock Marathon 2009, with Tanya who will also be featured in this Beyond Boston series! |
Why did you decide to run your first marathon?
My older brother ran a marathon in November of 2006, my junior year in college. Going into it I thought he was totally crazy but then being at the race, cheering on the runners and feeling that atmosphere, I just had to run one too! The following year I ran the half-marathon at the same race where he again ran the marathon. After I graduated college I was so excited to train for my first marathon!
When did you set the goal of qualifying for Boston and what inspired you to try?
I qualified for Boston with my first marathon back in 2008. I knew there was a lot of prestige behind the race but I didn’t really care to run it. I had some bad experiences with the marathon and after running 3 marathon cycles in a row, the last one in the fall of 2009, I decided to take a break. I didn’t run another marathon until 2017 when my older brother decided he wanted to run a marathon again after a serious accident where he was hit by a car while on a run in 2016 and was in a coma for almost a month. He fractured his femur, pelvis, and skull and sustained a traumatic brain injury so it was a long road back to running for him. I really wanted to run it with him, especially since he ran my first marathon with me! When I didn’t train very seriously and ran a PR, I decided I wanted to train better the following year and attempt to BQ. I first became interested in Boston after the bombing and felt a huge connection with all those runners who competed that year. I had a desire to support the race and maybe run it some day. Then after years of reading race recaps from Boston and watching the race on TV, I decided I wanted to experience the course myself! So I set the goal to BQ after my marathon finish in 2017.
What was your journey to BQ like? Was your qualifying time for Boston 2020 your first BQ, and if not why did you decide to run Boston 2020?
I qualified for Boston in my first marathon back in 2008. At the time I was in my early 20’s and my mentality was to train with the littlest effort possible so I got the long runs in and not a whole lot of weekly miles. My highest mileage week was 38 miles with a 20 mile long run! I wasn’t taking it super seriously and just focusing on getting the long runs in so I could finish the race. Since I waited so long to attempt to BQ again, even though I was 12 years older, the qualifying time was now 10 minutes faster! Thanks to the growing popularity of the race and the qualifying times dropping a few times. When I first decided to attempt a BQ and was training for my marathon, the standard was 3:35. During my training cycle they dropped the standard to 3:30. Luckily for me, I was already planning to shoot for significantly under the standard to ensure I would actually get into the race. After running a marathon PR in 2017 off minimal training, I was confident I could run much faster the following year and felt like shooting for under 3:35 was definitely possible. I felt like it was the right time because I was only working part time so it would be easier to make the trip. I had never done any long run workouts before so I added those into my training plan and that made a huge difference for me. Even though I’ve run 5 marathons now, I still feel like a newbie and I’m learning so much from each training cycle I complete.
Tell us a little about the marathons you ran before you achieved the BQ.
Like I said before, I don’t really think of myself as a marathoner and it’s not my favorite race distance so I haven’t run that many of them.
I ran my first marathon in November 2008 at the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, OK. My goal was to finish and in the back of my mind I hoped I might be able to sneak under 3:41 to qualify for Boston. Back then the standard was 3:40 for a female under the age of 35 and anything from 3:40-3:40:59 would qualify you and likely get you in, even though I didn't plan to run Boston. I only ran one 20 mile long run during my training. The course was 20 flat miles and then the last 10k all up and down hills so that was a bit challenging. I finished in 3:40:05 and was hooked. I had so much fun and felt so great, I couldn’t wait to train for my next marathon and break 3:40!
My next marathon was April 2009. My training went really well and I was sure I would break 3:40, that was my big goal. I chose the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon because it was flat. The race website referred to it as a flat, fast course if it’s not too windy. The atmosphere of the race was very emotional and the event was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately the wind was out of control with 20 mph winds and gusts up to 40 mph. It felt like I was getting blown backward at some points! I was pretty proud to finish only 3 minutes over my PR in those conditions.
My third marathon was again the Route 66 Marathon in November of 2009. I got sick the week of the race and should have gone to the doctor but was pretty sure I would be told not to run the marathon, so I just drank Airborne and hoped for the best. I was again shooting for a sub-3:40 finish. At the halfway point I was already struggling and knew it wasn’t going to happen. I switched my focus to sub-4 which I barely got in 3:58:04! The day after the race I went to Urgent Care and was diagnosed with bronchitis and a sinus infection. I was so low after that race I couldn’t bring myself to run another marathon and wasn’t sure I’d ever run another marathon.
When 2017 rolled around and I found out my brother was running a marathon in November, I was super excited to run it with him. I planned to run the race and finish with him so I didn’t worry about shooting for a specific time and just got the long runs in. He figured he’d finish somewhere in the 4:00-4:30 range. On race day he got super excited and took off really fast without me. It took me 12 miles to catch up to him and when I did he encouraged me to go on and run my own race so I did. I could see the 3:40 pacers ahead of me and knew if I ran a negative split, I could run a PR. And negative split I did with a high 1:51 first half and a 1:47 second half! I finished in 3:38:58. I was so excited to have run a PR when I was planning on running around a 4 hour marathon! I realized even though it was a PR and I had qualified for Boston with my previous PR, now I would have to run even faster to BQ and set that as my goal for my next marathon.
Tell us about your awesome race, with a PR and BQ in the Tulsa Route 66 Marathon.
My race at the Route 66 in November 2018 was a magical experience. It was one of those races where everything falls together perfectly and the race is so much fun. Using my long run workouts as a guide I thought I was capable of running 8:00 pace for the first half of the race and then dropping to 7:45 pace for the 2nd half. I told my husband on a perfect day with great conditions I thought I could run a 3:26. Race day was cold, barely above freezing, with a drizzling rain and some decent winds. I was so excited for the race not even those conditions could dampen my excitement! To add to the fun, my group of friends I run with some mornings were entered in the marathon relay and I knew I would see them out on the course. Between them and my parents it was like I had a built in cheering squad following me on the course. It was so much fun! I went through the half-marathon mark a little faster than I expected in 1:44 so I didn’t drop the pace right away and decided to maintain until the 20 mile mark to see what I had left. I didn’t want to take off too early and burn out. I hit the 20 mile mark on pace to run a couple minutes under 3:30 and was so excited. I felt great so I really took off and dropped to 7:30-7:40 pace. One of my favorite moments on the course was somewhere around 23-24 miles when I saw my family. My dad cheered and said I was on pace, everyone knew I was shooting for a BQ. I told him I was actually 3 minutes under pace and his reaction was awesome, he was so excited! My brother told me I wasn’t far behind my friend, Morgan, on the relay team. My mantra for those last couple miles was every second you pick up, is a second closer to actually getting accepted into Boston. I also wanted to close the gap between me and my friend in the relay so I could see my friends finish. It was so awesome how it worked out because coming up toward the finish when the rest of the relay team was coming onto the course to finish with Morgan, I was coming up behind them. They all started screaming at me to catch them and finish with them and it was so encouraging. It was the best finish I’ve ever had in a marathon. I crossed the finish line and when I saw my husband I started to cry. I knew I had done it and I was so proud. It was the best race I’ve ever run and I put it together perfectly, again negative splitting the race, this time by 3 minutes. I gave Ty a hug over the barrier and told him, I’d done it, I finished in 3:26 just like I said. He told me that I’d actually finished in 3:25 and I didn’t believe it. I actually had to go to the results tent and get my time because I was so surprised but he was right, I finished in 3:25:27!
How did it feel to achieve your BQ goal and to be accepted into Boston 2020?
It was the best feeling and running such a strong last 10k made me feel so strong. I rode the high of that race for weeks and even now when I think back to that feeling I still do! I was really nervous about getting accepted. Everyone told me I shouldn’t have any trouble getting in with how much I was under the standard, but you aren’t in until you get in! I was so darn nervous because I wanted to run Boston so badly! It was naptime at school and I was sitting in the dark eating my lunch when I got the email notification that I had been accepted. I was so excited but had to be quiet because we had some kids napping and some resting, so I just did a little quiet dance and texted my family!
Side note: Boston would have been my first marathon outside of Oklahoma. That's especially funny because I lived in Missouri when I ran my first 3 marathons. I told my friends that since I was ready to run a marathon outside of Oklahoma, I figured I'd just go big and have it be the most famous marathon in the country. Go big or go home, right? haha
What did you learn from your BQ journey?
I learned that the marathon is a beast and can lead to such high highs and also some very low points. I’ve had a couple marathons that did not go as planned and were so darn rough! Even with my BQ Marathon in 2018 I came down with a stomach bug a few hours after the race and it was a reminder how sickness can steal everything you worked so hard for! With the marathon I think you have to be so mentally strong just not for the race but also for the strong possibility of disappointment. It sucked for me to work hard, get into Boston, and then not get to run. But there are so many people who have worked for years to get in and then miss it by seconds and then people who worked for years, finally got in, and then won’t get to run it this year. So I feel like I was lucky in that I made it in the first year I attempted, even if that year ended up to not be the best year to run Boston since it was the only year the race didn’t happen in the race’s 123 year history. Through my journey I’ve learned to be adaptable and focus on the positive. Those are things that are a continual struggle and journey and this was one more step in mastering my ability to do so. I have also learned that the more work you put into training for a marathon, the easier your recovery is. The most painful recovery I've had was when I trained for a 4 hour marathon and finished over 20 minutes faster than that in the race. The easiest recovery I've had was with my BQ where I worked much harder in training!
Anything else you'd like to share?
Since this is Sara’s blog, I have to share that Sara and I used to be running buddies. It’s something I brag about quite a bit. I used to run with someone who is an aspiring Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifier! I may not be fast enough to keep up with her now, but we did run together once upon a time. I have learned so much about the marathon from Sara and I know I wouldn’t have made it to where I am in the marathon without her guidance, ideas, and support. Anytime I have questions and want some help in deciding the best path forward, she is so gracious in sharing her ideas and experience. I feel so lucky to have made a connection with her. I met her at a party the evening after I ran my first half-marathon in 2007 and we started running together in the summers. Back then she was attempting to break 1:30 in the half and now she can run two halves back to back in a marathon significantly faster than that. It is such an inspiration! I always knew if she could just stay healthy she would be soooooo much faster and I’m so glad she has found a way to do that (editor's note, after recently taking 15 weeks off: she mostly found a way to do that, hah! -- and also this whole paragraph made me tear up, running friends are the best)!
What was your journey to BQ like? Was your qualifying time for Boston 2020 your first BQ, and if not why did you decide to run Boston 2020?
I qualified for Boston in my first marathon back in 2008. At the time I was in my early 20’s and my mentality was to train with the littlest effort possible so I got the long runs in and not a whole lot of weekly miles. My highest mileage week was 38 miles with a 20 mile long run! I wasn’t taking it super seriously and just focusing on getting the long runs in so I could finish the race. Since I waited so long to attempt to BQ again, even though I was 12 years older, the qualifying time was now 10 minutes faster! Thanks to the growing popularity of the race and the qualifying times dropping a few times. When I first decided to attempt a BQ and was training for my marathon, the standard was 3:35. During my training cycle they dropped the standard to 3:30. Luckily for me, I was already planning to shoot for significantly under the standard to ensure I would actually get into the race. After running a marathon PR in 2017 off minimal training, I was confident I could run much faster the following year and felt like shooting for under 3:35 was definitely possible. I felt like it was the right time because I was only working part time so it would be easier to make the trip. I had never done any long run workouts before so I added those into my training plan and that made a huge difference for me. Even though I’ve run 5 marathons now, I still feel like a newbie and I’m learning so much from each training cycle I complete.
Tell us a little about the marathons you ran before you achieved the BQ.
Like I said before, I don’t really think of myself as a marathoner and it’s not my favorite race distance so I haven’t run that many of them.
I ran my first marathon in November 2008 at the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, OK. My goal was to finish and in the back of my mind I hoped I might be able to sneak under 3:41 to qualify for Boston. Back then the standard was 3:40 for a female under the age of 35 and anything from 3:40-3:40:59 would qualify you and likely get you in, even though I didn't plan to run Boston. I only ran one 20 mile long run during my training. The course was 20 flat miles and then the last 10k all up and down hills so that was a bit challenging. I finished in 3:40:05 and was hooked. I had so much fun and felt so great, I couldn’t wait to train for my next marathon and break 3:40!
My next marathon was April 2009. My training went really well and I was sure I would break 3:40, that was my big goal. I chose the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon because it was flat. The race website referred to it as a flat, fast course if it’s not too windy. The atmosphere of the race was very emotional and the event was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately the wind was out of control with 20 mph winds and gusts up to 40 mph. It felt like I was getting blown backward at some points! I was pretty proud to finish only 3 minutes over my PR in those conditions.
My third marathon was again the Route 66 Marathon in November of 2009. I got sick the week of the race and should have gone to the doctor but was pretty sure I would be told not to run the marathon, so I just drank Airborne and hoped for the best. I was again shooting for a sub-3:40 finish. At the halfway point I was already struggling and knew it wasn’t going to happen. I switched my focus to sub-4 which I barely got in 3:58:04! The day after the race I went to Urgent Care and was diagnosed with bronchitis and a sinus infection. I was so low after that race I couldn’t bring myself to run another marathon and wasn’t sure I’d ever run another marathon.
When 2017 rolled around and I found out my brother was running a marathon in November, I was super excited to run it with him. I planned to run the race and finish with him so I didn’t worry about shooting for a specific time and just got the long runs in. He figured he’d finish somewhere in the 4:00-4:30 range. On race day he got super excited and took off really fast without me. It took me 12 miles to catch up to him and when I did he encouraged me to go on and run my own race so I did. I could see the 3:40 pacers ahead of me and knew if I ran a negative split, I could run a PR. And negative split I did with a high 1:51 first half and a 1:47 second half! I finished in 3:38:58. I was so excited to have run a PR when I was planning on running around a 4 hour marathon! I realized even though it was a PR and I had qualified for Boston with my previous PR, now I would have to run even faster to BQ and set that as my goal for my next marathon.
Tell us about your awesome race, with a PR and BQ in the Tulsa Route 66 Marathon.
My race at the Route 66 in November 2018 was a magical experience. It was one of those races where everything falls together perfectly and the race is so much fun. Using my long run workouts as a guide I thought I was capable of running 8:00 pace for the first half of the race and then dropping to 7:45 pace for the 2nd half. I told my husband on a perfect day with great conditions I thought I could run a 3:26. Race day was cold, barely above freezing, with a drizzling rain and some decent winds. I was so excited for the race not even those conditions could dampen my excitement! To add to the fun, my group of friends I run with some mornings were entered in the marathon relay and I knew I would see them out on the course. Between them and my parents it was like I had a built in cheering squad following me on the course. It was so much fun! I went through the half-marathon mark a little faster than I expected in 1:44 so I didn’t drop the pace right away and decided to maintain until the 20 mile mark to see what I had left. I didn’t want to take off too early and burn out. I hit the 20 mile mark on pace to run a couple minutes under 3:30 and was so excited. I felt great so I really took off and dropped to 7:30-7:40 pace. One of my favorite moments on the course was somewhere around 23-24 miles when I saw my family. My dad cheered and said I was on pace, everyone knew I was shooting for a BQ. I told him I was actually 3 minutes under pace and his reaction was awesome, he was so excited! My brother told me I wasn’t far behind my friend, Morgan, on the relay team. My mantra for those last couple miles was every second you pick up, is a second closer to actually getting accepted into Boston. I also wanted to close the gap between me and my friend in the relay so I could see my friends finish. It was so awesome how it worked out because coming up toward the finish when the rest of the relay team was coming onto the course to finish with Morgan, I was coming up behind them. They all started screaming at me to catch them and finish with them and it was so encouraging. It was the best finish I’ve ever had in a marathon. I crossed the finish line and when I saw my husband I started to cry. I knew I had done it and I was so proud. It was the best race I’ve ever run and I put it together perfectly, again negative splitting the race, this time by 3 minutes. I gave Ty a hug over the barrier and told him, I’d done it, I finished in 3:26 just like I said. He told me that I’d actually finished in 3:25 and I didn’t believe it. I actually had to go to the results tent and get my time because I was so surprised but he was right, I finished in 3:25:27!
How did it feel to achieve your BQ goal and to be accepted into Boston 2020?
It was the best feeling and running such a strong last 10k made me feel so strong. I rode the high of that race for weeks and even now when I think back to that feeling I still do! I was really nervous about getting accepted. Everyone told me I shouldn’t have any trouble getting in with how much I was under the standard, but you aren’t in until you get in! I was so darn nervous because I wanted to run Boston so badly! It was naptime at school and I was sitting in the dark eating my lunch when I got the email notification that I had been accepted. I was so excited but had to be quiet because we had some kids napping and some resting, so I just did a little quiet dance and texted my family!
Side note: Boston would have been my first marathon outside of Oklahoma. That's especially funny because I lived in Missouri when I ran my first 3 marathons. I told my friends that since I was ready to run a marathon outside of Oklahoma, I figured I'd just go big and have it be the most famous marathon in the country. Go big or go home, right? haha
What did you learn from your BQ journey?
I learned that the marathon is a beast and can lead to such high highs and also some very low points. I’ve had a couple marathons that did not go as planned and were so darn rough! Even with my BQ Marathon in 2018 I came down with a stomach bug a few hours after the race and it was a reminder how sickness can steal everything you worked so hard for! With the marathon I think you have to be so mentally strong just not for the race but also for the strong possibility of disappointment. It sucked for me to work hard, get into Boston, and then not get to run. But there are so many people who have worked for years to get in and then miss it by seconds and then people who worked for years, finally got in, and then won’t get to run it this year. So I feel like I was lucky in that I made it in the first year I attempted, even if that year ended up to not be the best year to run Boston since it was the only year the race didn’t happen in the race’s 123 year history. Through my journey I’ve learned to be adaptable and focus on the positive. Those are things that are a continual struggle and journey and this was one more step in mastering my ability to do so. I have also learned that the more work you put into training for a marathon, the easier your recovery is. The most painful recovery I've had was when I trained for a 4 hour marathon and finished over 20 minutes faster than that in the race. The easiest recovery I've had was with my BQ where I worked much harder in training!
Anything else you'd like to share?
Since this is Sara’s blog, I have to share that Sara and I used to be running buddies. It’s something I brag about quite a bit. I used to run with someone who is an aspiring Olympic Trials Marathon Qualifier! I may not be fast enough to keep up with her now, but we did run together once upon a time. I have learned so much about the marathon from Sara and I know I wouldn’t have made it to where I am in the marathon without her guidance, ideas, and support. Anytime I have questions and want some help in deciding the best path forward, she is so gracious in sharing her ideas and experience. I feel so lucky to have made a connection with her. I met her at a party the evening after I ran my first half-marathon in 2007 and we started running together in the summers. Back then she was attempting to break 1:30 in the half and now she can run two halves back to back in a marathon significantly faster than that. It is such an inspiration! I always knew if she could just stay healthy she would be soooooo much faster and I’m so glad she has found a way to do that (editor's note, after recently taking 15 weeks off: she mostly found a way to do that, hah! -- and also this whole paragraph made me tear up, running friends are the best)!
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| Since Liz specializes in Oklahoma races, this was after a 20K we both ran there in 200? |
I love your editor's notes. I know I wrote this after you came off a long running hiatus due to injury, but these past few years you have been much more consistently healthy than back in the day! I'm so proud of you!
ReplyDeleteYes, that is accurate, but I think it's too soon for me to feel that way. :-) From 2014 to present I've actually only had one injury that was caused by training error (a severe peroneal muscle strain); my recent hip thing was thanks to wonky anatomy that I think I'm learning to work around. Back in 200X's I made a lot of training errors and did no strength work, stretching, or yoga, and definitely had a lot of problems because of it. I find it extremely impressive that you've never had a major injury in 22 years!!!
DeleteI also loved reading your answers on this and from Facebook it's clear that many, many others did too. :-)
It's so crazy that it took this long for that to cause an issue. The strength training and yoga for sure seem to help! I used to have hip issues and since starting strength training and yoga I haven't had any issues with my hips!
DeleteI definitely think strength and yoga help a lot, which is too bad since "just" running would be nice! I like yoga quite a bit, but strength training, meh.
Delete