“You’re pregnant!” a spectator shouted around mile 3. “You go! Looking strong!” I ran the Popcorn Panic 5 Miler at 38.5 weeks pregnant. When I think about it objectively, I almost can’t wrap my mind around the fact that I did that. I felt great on race day - certainly not almost 9 months pregnant! Initially, I did not even plan to run this far into pregnancy. I anticipated feeling heavy and uncomfortable, so I had the contingency plan of switching to cross-training at about 35-36 ...
Running
How to Run Your Fastest 10K
The 10K deserves more appreciation. It’s not just a tune-up race or a stepping stone into the half marathon and then marathon. It’s a challenging test of both speed and endurance. It's long enough and requires enough grit to appeal to long-distance lovers, while fast enough to appeal to speedsters. Running your fastest 10K requires both of speed and endurance. If you want to run your fastest 10K, you can’t just rely on mileage alone or speed alone. Instead, as with any distance, you want to ...
Mile Markers: Racing at 38 Weeks
I ran a race this week! I certainly didn't race it, but running 5 miles at a faster pace than recent runs felt like a huge accomplishment at 38 weeks pregnant. I waited until the last minute to sign up, but I'm really happy I did this race - especially since it's time to taper down running soon! Since I wanted to feel fresh for the race, I took it easy this week. I took a couple of days off of running to let some tightness in my calf subside early in the week. I did walk a lot this week ...
Athlete Accomplishments: August 2019
Several of the runners I coach raced in August. For some, these races were tune-up races as part of their training cycles for big goals. For others, they ran their goal races in hot conditions. For all runners, it was a strong month of racing! Mark ran a PR of 5:35 in a mile race! Chelsey placed 8th in a cross-country 2-miler! Aimee ran the Cascade Lakes Relay! Sam raced two strong 5Ks with some speedy splits! Marlene raced a 10K! Jessica ran her fastest half ...
How to Include Tune-Up Races in Your Training
You picked your goal race for the season and you have already put in weeks of hard training, but your race feels weeks away. You're eager to test your fitness and enjoy a race atmosphere - so why not run a tune-up race? When done correctly, a tune-up race can boost your fitness and your confidence before a goal race. The Benefits of Running Tune-up Races What exactly is a tune-up race? A tune-up race is a race run in preparation for a goal race. It is not a goal race itself but rather ...