There is officially a new American Female record for the marathon for all of us ladies to chase. Wow, Keira D’Amato is AMAZING!

Sara won the Houston Half Marathon and also made a new American record for all us ladies to chase. I wish I could have been in Houston this weekend spectating, look at these incredible times!

One of my biggest marathon idols is offering a masterclass, which I think is a very cool opportunity. In marathon running it is so important to learn from idols and the backbone of our sport, as well as learning about yourself through the progression of running mileage in higher capacity.

https://www.masterclass.com/classes/joan-benoit-samuelson-teaches-the-runner-s-mindset/

Today, as -3 degrees is too cold to be running outside in the wilderness, I just did an hour running on my treadmill at race-pace and an hour running on my stationary bike. Afterwards, I rowed on my bowflex, so I think it equates to the long run that I would typically do outside in warmer conditions. I also did my abb workout. Keeping in shape now, will so be worth it for racing in the year ahead!

Tonight, I ran at race pace for an hour and did a cool down on the stationary bike. The stationary bike is my favorite piece of exercise equipment, because it can be for a hard workout or an exhilaratingly satisfying breezy cool own. I have been listing to audio books whilst working out these days. My latest and greatest audio books have been Fast Girl by Suzy Favor Hamilton, Bravey by Alexis Papas, and You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson. The coolest part about You Better Be Lightning, is Andrea reading the book herself which definitely gives me chills every poem I listen to. Of course, I usually have the real book and the audio book of everything so I can appreciate the literature or writing styles as well as the dialect and passion in different ways.

I really do appreciate listening to powerful literature, so it was awesome having these books the past week!

My ten /eleven mile loop of hills makes me feel valid in women’s running. After my ten miles, I stopped at the Mountain Man Maple Syrup Stand, and bought some syrup covered cashews and walnuts. Maybe I will buy the almonds next time, it just would have been excessive to run my last mile with three bags of nuts, two were perfect.

Tomorrow upon my new sneakers arriving, I will wash and retire my Pegasus 37’s, just casually wear them out and about. I am so looking forward to trying out the new spikes for track, if they are perfect then I will buy two pairs for sure. Being the marathon runner that I am, those new VaperFly colors are so tempting, however I cannot decide which color is my favorite. Hopefully, tomorrow morning I can run twenty miles before retiring my pink Pegasus 37’s. I have literally been wearing the same Nike sneakers for the past ten years of marathon running, so I would be very reluctant to switch in my last couple years of racing ahead.

It is so funny thinking about my future in running right now, because I know that I can run certain goal times and place well this Spring + Fall. I also know, next Winter is probably when I will just go ahead and have my run book out there. My goal is really to live in the moment chasing 1:10 and 2:30, certain races are preferable of course, and publishing my run book or whatever that means. Hopefully, I can enjoy a high point in my long running career. No backtracking. Covid is the worst, but it is just something to work around.

What is next for me in the marathon? Well, today I did my 11 mile loop for the second time this week and felt pretty strong. Going from my goal of always being Olympic Trials to choosing Boston instead of Trials, to having Boston cancelled because of covid… I feel weird. Having devoted 17-24 on mastering the marathon to amount to nothing the year I thought would be the biggest is very confusing. Luckily, I still have the luxury of being young in my sport and having an established spot where I can race while I do my PhD + work my academic job +coach + knit. I wonder if instead of Olympic Trials next time around ( I’ll be 29) will they pick top three on the list or have an actual event?? We have the four year cycle to qualify for Trials, so how would it work if they go by the list? If someone runs 2:25 this year, and three women run 2:28 the year of the Olympic who will they pick? I am training with the ambition to run 2:30 and 1:10 in my next race season, hopefully I come pretty close to my goal and place top 20ish in whatever the races happen to be. Races may be official time trials with a group of elite runners, I am not sure yet. Nevertheless, after these ten years I am running my times in actual races or time trials with a company if it is the last thing that I do. My goal outside of actual racing is to be the cool assistant (honorary position or official) coach for events and team, have more blog interviews post epidemic, and publish my run book next winter so it is out for the spring season and summer events. I still have time to have my day, and so do a lot of runners.

I just ordered a new pair of spikes, and Pegasus 38’s, and black Flyknits. I have been changing the insoles of all my old sneakers during covid, and it was certainly appropriate for Santa to give me new sneakers this year (with matching earrings).

It hurts to lose a career you put your entire body and soul into for years, but I feel like all the work I have been doing during the epidemic will pay off in my races to come post epidemic. I will be flying like a bird in zero drop sneakers with a flock of elite runners before I know it. I truly do miss my training partners in crime, but I need to do my long runs so I guess I have to just keep running alone until things are normal again.

In addition to my running career, I have decided to become as flexible as possible again so I can really do my yoga like I could just two years ago. Let’s see how close I can get to the ground for splits a week from now. If I practice in the morning and at night every day, I bet it will make a difference. Strength, stretching and strides make such a dramatic improvement on performance in racing I need to remember to do all of them consistently, omg. Always the little things! It is always funny getting back into something, but I feel like after the awkward phase it will be worth it and I will still be making fun of myself.

What does everyone else have for a fitness goal? Professional running? Recreational running? Coaching? Splits?!

https://www.roadrunnersports.com/

There is a 20% off discount if you join the VIP club, which is always a nice a nice thing to have.

 
 
 

Ho, Ho, Ho! Knit, Knit, Knit!

My 10 miles of weekend running were freezing, except for my treadmill session of course. However, it is the perfect knitting weather.

I am knitting baby hats to donate to a NICU for Christmas. With two more weeks of knitting, I hope to reach my goal amount of 50-100ish…

For my Santa Pattern for Preemie’s, I cast on 60 stitches to double pointed needles. 15 stitches onto each needle. Then, I knit in the round until about four to five inches, and decrease by one stitch every round until I have 10 stitches on each double pointed needle or 40 stitches. I knit in the round 10 more rows, then decrease to five stitches on each needle for another ten rows. After the last ten rows, I close the hat and tie on a pom-pom. The pom-poms are made by wrapping yarn around two fingers about 100 times, tying yarn around the center, and cutting the middle of the loops on each end. Pom-poms are very easy and fun to make. If I am making a normal sized baby hat, I use 65-75 stitches depending on the type of yarn. Or if I want a normal hat instead of a Santa hat, then I decrease by one stitch on each needle per row after 4-5 inches, such as the third stitch, until the hat is finished. I love knitting for Christmas, and this project makes me happier than my mask donation project and is something that I would typically do outside of covid. Everyone loves Santa babies!

Happy Knitting!