Surprise … bonus Marathon!

T-15 days until the Antarctica Ice Marathon! This is what’s been going on since my last post:

• I have run 2 marathons and endless hours of PT as I work through some Achilles pain from calf triggers
• In have also run 2 VERY important races; Michaels very first and second 5ks!
• Plus… surprise! I signed up for a trail marathon… for this weekend. 

Only 10 days until I start the 24 hour journey to Punta Arenas, Chile to meet the other runners, debrief and wait on the weather report to see when we are cleared to fly! Is it overwhelming? ABSOLUTELY. Am I excited? Also ABSOLUTELY.

#94 and #95

Over the past few weeks I completed the Hudson Mohawk Marathon (NY) and the Louisville Marathon (KY). I was feeling great in NY (running around an 8:10 mile) until mile 20 when I felt my the back of my left ankle lock up completely. Full club foot… so I dragged it for the last 6 miles. I went into the race knowing I had issues with my Achilles but no tears shown during my MRIs. 

The next week I became “that runner” and walked into PT saying “I ran a marathon yesterday and I need to run one in 2 weeks”. Luckily I found a PT that didn’t dismiss me right away and was able to narrow down what was happening: lots of triggers in both of my calves causing those to not work very well. When your calves don’t work, your Achilles take the entire brunt of pushing off causing a ton of tendinitis. The short term some was dry needling to unlock my calves. Have you ever heard of dry needling? It looks like this --> (note: not my calves... I'm usually squeezing my eyes into a pillow as this is happening)

After 2 weeks of therapy, dry needling, putting a heel lift in my shoe and generally taking it easy, I ran the Louisville marathon VERY easy. LIKE VERY EASY. 4:00+. I felt like my achilles ached around a 2-3 in pain at the start but it eventually went away. I was sore the next day, but happy that I was able to run. 

#96... This Weekend? 

As I'm listening to Peloton's Matt Wilpers in my training run say "don't do anything crazy and add extra workouts in your last 2 weeks of training" I was hearing "you should definitely sign up for another marathon... in fact, make it a trail marathon to really test the fates. Insert: The TOPO Trail Marathon. TO be FAIR... I had to get brand new trail running shoes with big lugs to run in Antarctica. I have never worn them and I do not want the first time to be IN Antarctica. Could I have just gone to a trail and run? Well yeah... but I saw this race and felt like fate put it in my path for a reason... to get to 96. Plus I only have another 4 races planned between here and the pig and needed another one. Shhh don't tell my PT. 

My Little Runner:

My main man, Michael, ran his first 5k 2 weeks ago. We took it very very easy doing running/walking intervals. REALLY proud to say that he finished STRONG at 35:40. 

Well last week, he did the Troy Turkey Trot and wanted to beat his first time SO badly. We started with running/walking intervals with LOTS of weaving as there were 4,000 runners! Well at the 1.5mile point he started taking off before the walk portion was over and eventually started doing run/run hard intervals and finished with a 34:26! Crushing his first time by over a min. 

Most importantly he had FUN doing this. He has definitely caught the bug. 

We are NEARING the HALFWAY point of my fundraising goal of $10k to support Autism Connections in Cincinnati. PLEASE consider donating to this amazing group... and supporting me as I take on 26.2 miles in the arctic :) 

DONATE HERE

Keep Running,

Stephanie 

Antarctica - When, Why, and for WHO

!LONG POST WARNING! You may learn, you may laugh, you may cry... hey you may book a flight to do something CRAZY. So keep reading... 

T-52 Days to Antarctica

We are just over 50 days until I trek down through South America and to Antarctica to complete marathon #95 (assuming I get through 1 more 26 mile jaunt between now and then). The 18th  Antarctica Ice Marathon. This race is touted as being "the world's southern most marathon" with challenges such as temperature (typically -10 to -20C), terrain (running on packed snow and ice), torrential winds (10 to 25 knots), and transit (waiting in Chili for clear weather to travel into, run, and travel back from Antarctica). 

Could I have completed my 100 marathon journey a little easier? Run in the states, closer to home, in temperatures much less painful? SURE. But I wanted to do something challenges; something HARD. Why?...

LEMME TELL YA BOUT MY BEEEESSSTT FRINEDS:

Since my 50 states marathon adventures, I've had 3 wonderful little boys; Michael (7), Mason (6), and Maverick (4). They are all so unique and amazing in their own ways, but our Mavi has a little something extra special - he is a neuro-diverse SUPERHERO. Just short of his third birthday, he was diagnosed with Autism. 

Why do I say Superhero? Because you have never seen STRENGTH and RESILIANCE, until you've seen a child that function, thinks, and operates completely outside of the culture norm and still finds a way to strive. Imagine being raised by a community of people that couldn't understand you and you can't learn the way 95% of them know how to teach you. Now imagine not only thriving, but doing it with a smile, a genuine love for those crazy people that have no idea how to teach you, and a zest for live that inspires others. \

That's what Mav does for me- his strength and ability to blow past the expectations and limiting beliefs of others makes me feel like nothing is impossible.

Autism Support in N. Kentucky and Cincinnati

Mavi has inspired me to use this incredible opportunity to run in honor of him and in support of one amazing group that helps our autism community directly in Cincinnati. 

WHY? KY and OH are 2 of the LOWEST ranked states for autism support and let me tell you, we feel it in the... 

1. CRAZY wait times (8- 12 months) to even get a diagnosis. A critical thing needed to start getting our children the support and therapies they desperately need

2. After getting the diagnosis, you're good right? NOPE. Even longer wait times to get INTO therapies, with trusted places like Cincinnati Children's Speech therapy on a huge wait list. 

3. Revolving door of Doctors to work with. We got our diagnosis a year and a half ago and Children's has lost 2 doctors in a row and will be on our 3rd as soon as they can get one assigned. 

4. 0 direction on how to handle the education system with special needs. We were handed a standard pack of paper on autism and sent on our way. We are feeling around in the dark on a daily basis. 

#4 is the scariest part! Autism is so unique to each person, so navigating a prognosis, needs, plans, medical, behavioral... it's ALL so unique to each child that nothing is standard. Because of that,

it feels like you're navigating a rare disease for the first time in history, instead of navigating something impacting 1 in 36 children today!

With 1 in 36 children being diagnosed on the spectrum (and growing), the medical infrastructure in cities like Cincinnati HAVE to grow. They have to do better. But until the states get better insurance mandates, grants, and inclusion in the ADDM network, group's like...

In honor of Maverick and the difficulty of his journey so far (and into the future) I'm using the biggest running challenge so far, to bring awareness of the immense need of increased autism support. I have partnered with Autism Connections, supporting individuals with autism (and their families) in the greater Cincinnati area, providing: support, training, social programs and HELP to those that feel lost. I've been there... some days I'm still there. But groups like this consist of individuals that choose to make the time to give families like ours support, so we feel a little less alone. 

My Goal: Raise $10,000 for Autism Connections and help bring critical funding to this group doing so much for the autism families of the greater Cincinnati area. ALL donations stay local to Cincinnati.

I'll be sharing more on: this wonderful charity, my journey (both autism parenting and running), and so much more on my way to Antarctica. Please consider supporting me, Mavi, and Autism connections in this "Antarctica for Autism" fundraiser:

DONATE HERE

NEXT UP:

Keeping up my mileage, Achilles pain, finding the right shoes for snow, and adapting to cold weather... QUICKLY!

Keep Running,

Stephanie

My Marathon this weekend… and Boston?!

As of my last post, I was deciding on the my marathon for this weekend. I’m at 22 miles in my training. If you’ve followed my training in the past, you’ll know that if I’m going over 20 miles, I use a marathon to get it done and check another one off. I usually will push the 20-24 miles (depending on what my training needs) then jog the rest. Or I’ll just take it easy overall, saving the big push for my seasonal goal marathon. The 2 options were:

1) Erie marathon: 26.2 miles, FLAT, road, 5.5 hours away from home

2) Germantown 50k: 31 miles, hilly, trail, 1 hour away from home.

With 3 young kids, traveling from home is a BIG deal… so that distance matters. Unlike my 50 Marathon State adventures (blog here) in my 20’s, I don’t have the same freedom for travel. I’ll be making due with a lot of mid-west (OH, KY, IN) marathons with exceptions for fun family trips (hello Disney!!!). 

📸: My 3 boys. M1 and M2 started school this week!

So what did I choose?! We will get there, but first a story of love… and extreme over-confidence in me from my husband… 
The other day, I get a text from my husband that looks like this…

Bless his soul. While I appreciate the great deal of faith mt husband has in me, he maybe doesn’t understand that to qualify for Boston, it would have to be in the next week 😳. Or how difficult BQ’ing is. Have I done it? 30 times over but that was 10’years and 3 kids ago. I was also deep into my marathon training, clicking off an average of a marathon every other week. My current training plan has been focused on adding speed, but I went back to the start and have been building up endurance at speed. 

I’m at 20 miles with a goal to TRY for a BQ at my October race… however, I also like a challenge and in one little message he (likely) unknowingly solidified my choice for this weekend. Erie Marathon being flat and fast is a notorious Boston Qualifying race. IF I’m feeling good that day and IF I can find the strength to push beyond my training… it IS doable… maybe? Or I could crash and burn at 18 miles?  I guess we will see!

My weekend marathon: The Erie Marathon at Presque Isle in PA! This will be my 93rd lifetime marathon. It's also the SECOND time I've run this. Last time I ran Erie was in the infancy of my marathoning- just my 14th State in 2009! Some things have changed... others not so much. You can check out the race ratings from the last time I ran this race here. In 2009 I gave it a 3.8 out of 5. The GOOD was the race organization and course. The not so great? The swag (medals and shirts were ok). I'm really excited to see what has changed. 

Mini Race Rundown: 

Erie Marathon at Presque Isle ~ Sunday September 10, 2023. Start time: 7am

Erie, PA ~ Presque Isle State Park

Registration Fees: $110 - $140 (this was $40-60 in 2009!)

Year Running: 29th

Races Available: Marathon ONLY (there used to be a half and a relay- I HATE relays during races. They really mess with pacing for those running the fulls. SO glad this change was made). 

Certified Course/BQ Certified?: Yes/Yes... MANY people run this to BQ and 34% actually accomplish it on average. This weekend, it's the last race before Boston registration opens.

Cutoff Time and Early Start Option: No early start. There is a 6.5 hours limit 

Weather Update: It it looking to land in the mid 60's and 70's with a chance of rain. NOT the best conditions... not the worst. 

Course: 

MarathonGuide

The course is a runners dream- flat, looped (lots of water stops), shaded, and FAST. Given the timing and course, many people run this to attempt to BQ (Boston Qualify). 

Race Plan: It's been YEARS since I last BQ'd. That should make things easier, right? I would just age into a slower qualifying time (Boston qualifying is done by age groups). However... I actually have to run FASTER than the last time I qualified (10 years ago). Why? People have gotten faster, so they pushed the BQ time's UP. I used to have to run a 3:40 in my 20's and now I need to run a 3:35 in my late 30's! When I was in my 20's my best time was 3:19 and I was BQ'ing left and right. I thought those days were behind me, and maybe they are. But I also remember a time that I was running a 4:00 marathon with dreams of hitting a BQ. It took a few months and lots and lots of MISSES before I finally made it... and made it, and made it... 20 times over. 

PR: 3:19

Post-Babies PR: 3:42

Current BQ Time: 3:35

This IS supposed to be my a TRAINING run with goals of racing the Hudson Mohawk in October. However, if I'm feeling good, I may let 'er rip for the first 20 and try to hold on after that. I have a few goals for this race:

#1: FINISH Marathon 93

#2: PR (post babies)... better than a 3:42

#3: BQ

Let's see how it goes. 

Happy Running!

-Stephanie 

It’s not long now….

Not long until a few things (Hudson Mohawk marathon, Antarctica, Disney Dopey) but the most disturbing is the likely length of time until this guy (yes, he’s 7) is beating me in races. I give it only 2 years and desire to do so and it will happen. He already has speed I legitimately cannot touch and a very natural endurance talent. He has been going on 2 to 4 miles jogs whenever he gets the whim…. Between 1.5 hour travel

Soccer practices. 

⛔️ This is Michael… runners beware ⚠️. I’m holding him back for now in fear of burnout and development issues. It won’t be long. This is him jumping to grab a leaf while on a 2 min sprint race against me. He was laugh the whole time… I was trying not to die. 

Training Update:

Long Run: 18 miles (last week) this week is my drop down week so I took Michael for my first 2 miles…. That and I went out for the first time in 8 years and wasn’t feeling my very best

Training Program: Peloton’s Road to 26.2 marathon program… semi adjusted. I’m adding 2-4 miles onto the long runs and some climbing work on the off days (future post on these). 

Pacing: This program has a lot of focus on target and current pacing including: current marathon pace, target marathon pace, tempo pace, etc. This is my second time through this program and I’ve used those paces to add speed. The first time I completed the program (last winter through spring) my marathon pace was roughly 8:30 and my tempo race was 730/7:40. This time through I’ve been picking up those times 5-10 seconds every few weeks.

Program Marathon Target Pace:  8:00

Program Tempo: 7-7:10 (currently up to 9 min at a time)

Long Run Distance: 18 (program reco 16)

Target Marathon: Hudson Mohawk Marathon in Albany, NY on Oct 8th

Next Race Up…

That’s a VERY good question. Between work, kids sports schedules, husband schedules, I have nailed down one weekend to add in a practice race before Hudson Mohawk. I hate running more than 20 miles in training runs so I use marathons to get the mileage in… plus a little extra. If I’m going over 20, may as well get a medal, right?

The weekend I’m doing my next marathon will be Oct 8/9. Between now and then I’ll do (1) 20 mile training run (next weekend). For that weekend I’m deciding between 2 options:

1) Erie Marathon. 26.2 miles. It’s about a 5.5 hour drive away. The course is as flat as a pancake and asphalt. 

2) Germantown 50k. 31 miles. It’s about an hour away (no hotel needed). The course is a looped 8 mile trail with about 3,000 feet of elevation. 

Sooo yeah they couldn’t be any different. I used to find trails to be super fun-‘but that was 10 years ago. Erie is only 26 miles vs 31 trail miles. Erie is far away to need a hotel and a long drive home. But the 50k starts later and will go longer with potential heat. 

I’m SO torn! Help me decide!

ERIE OR GERMANTOWN?!

Antarctica Training Update

 We are roughly 17-18 weeks (yes it’s a range as the race’s start is subject to weather) away from Antarctica Ice Marathon. I’m planning to do 2 or 3 full marathons + as part of my training including a trail 50k to get used to the foot conditions of running on snow. Right now I’m targeting the Hudson Mohawk in October for my “fast” fall race and that is only 8 weeks away. Today I did a 16 mile training run. 

Folks, it’s hot. It’s very hot. And while I was finishing my run I was thinking:

1. Maybe training in extreme heat is not the best way to train to run in Antarctica 

2. Maybe dressing in the dark isn’t the best choice either 🤦‍♀️

People keep asking how I’m going to train for running in the arctic. 🤔 Being in Kentucky, it’s not the HOTTEST part of the country but we certainly don’t get comparable weather conditions of Antarctic summer (December is summer there) until our coldest parts of the year- typically January. Just like with all races and training, there are things in my control and things that are not. The weather is not one of those things. So here is my plan:

A. Run at the coldest part of the day / week. My oct-Dec long runs, I’ll actually look for the coldest early mornings and run then. I’ll also wear as little as I can tolerate to try and thicken my blood.

B. Lots of lots of miles. The ground we are running on is flattened snow and ice. I’m told it’s very similar to running on wet sand. I don’t have a ton of trails around me (nor the time to get to them) but I do have the ability to put in so many miles that 26 in sub-optimal conditions is easy.

C. Tempo and speed training. No, I’m not planning to run a PR, but similar to the above, the tougher I can get my body, the more doable it will be to run in not great conditions. 

That’s it… that’s all I got. Other than a wing and a prayer, this 👆is essentially my whole plan. Yeah so… wish me luck. 

Oh I forgot the top training strategy!!! Keep this guy around as a reminder that we can work through hard things! If you haven’t met Mavi John, this is him. He’s my youngest and our Neruo-diverse super hero! I’m running 2 hard challenges this winter, including Antarctica, in support of him and all of his neurodiverse friends. Mavi was diagnosed with autism at 2.5 years (more on this in upcoming posts). His biggest challenges have been speech and sensory seeking. He can’t conjugate full sentences but he is resilient and smart and finds ways to communicate and get all of his needs met… which mostly consist of asking for Pizza, ice cream, to swim and to watch tablet. What else does a kid need?! #RunforMavi

That’s it for now. Maybe I’ll stop sweating sometime today. 

-S