A Year Of Running Lessons: 2019 Recap
2019 has gone by way too fast. I'm still trying to process January!
As I take a look back over this last year, I have learned a lot from my training and races. Running has taught me so much over the years, and am thankful for every experience I have had, even the ones that hurt me initially.
I've learned that the best comeback from a terrible, not-so-good race is to do another one that might be the polar opposite of the experience you just went through. In this case, I experienced a very tough, cold, terrible experience and decided to opt for friendship, fun, and sun! I got the opportunity to join my good friend Jess on her journey to the Estrella Mountain Regional Park out in Arizona for some fun in the desert! I got to run a 52k and I was so full of joy that I think I ran with the biggest smile on my face. The dry heat, the sun, and the Araviapa trail running community were amazing! I also got to escape the terrible winter Minnesota was facing. I came back refreshed and sunburnt (whoops!)
I also learned the importance of getting to know people. With social media, it can be tough to know someone's true character or colors. I was completely blown away when I got to Ogden, Utah for the Salomon Athlete Summit, where I got to meet fellow ambassadors and Salomon athletes. They are some of the most genuine people I have ever met. I love the fact that we all share the same love for running, and found other common ground along the way! It was so much fun to be able to have this opportunity and to meet the people behind my phone screen in the flesh, all while learning some new things, get hyped for upcoming product, and talk about our goals! I am also very fortunate to be an ambassador for such a progressive; play-minded company!
Support your friends, ask ways you can help if they are chasing a goal! My good friend Alex started her first attempt at completing the SHT FKT (Superior Hiking Trail Fastest Known Time) late May. Since I had a long weekend for work, I headed up north with Long and Bean to document her attempt and run/hike with her for some time. She is one of the most down to earth, humble, strong, humorous people with a bigger heart! Her tenacity to push through pain is amazing, and although I was there to help her and be with her, watching her helped me see how to be strong in the midst of terrible trail conditions and what I can only imagine was terrible ankle pain! Time with friends is so important, even if it's a cup of coffee or a phone call. Make time for those people in your life.
Somethings don't work out. While this can be a huge disappointment, it's also part of life that trail and ultra running teaches us so firmly. We can spend countless hours training, months of dedication, spending longer hours away from friends and family. With all this in the bag, we can still line up for race day with the uncertainty that a finish is guaranteed, if not questioning our ability to even line up at all. Unfortunately, Long made the tough decision to not race at Kettle this year, even after training and spending time and money on this adventure. Long being himself still made an adventure out of it, still enjoyed some time on the trail, but ultimately was content with his decision which can be the most difficult part, pulling the plug on a race.
The greatest gift you can ever give yourself is the gift of adventure. Since I turned 25 I made it a thing to make sure I do a birthday run. When I turned 26 last year I decided to try to find a new race to do so I could visit a new place, run a race and turn a year older. This year I decided to do Black Hills 50k. I LOVED the course, the people, and visiting somewhere new. The Black Hills area is beautiful and we made a fun trip out of it!
A race is still just a race. I went in to Voyageur ready for my 4th year and 4th finish at this iconic Minnesota race. I felt strong, ready and mentally on-point. As I got close to the turnaround, I took a wrong turn at an intersection with a few other runners. I recovered from that one but then happened to get lost again on the return trip. That, paired with frustration and some health scares took me out of the race. I was sad yet I knew that it is still just a race and a day I get to play outside and have good laughs and memories.
Life is a lot like running 100 miles. This is one of the reasons why Long and I wanted to get married during the Superior 100 this fall. Communication with each other, our pacers and crew was necessary in order to keep moving forward. We communicated if we felt good, bad, or really bad. There is going to be low points, and there are going to be points where your true colors and strength will show. Whether or not you complete the journey, the trail will teach you lessons.
Try something new. For over a year I have wanted to try burro racing since I watched the Salomon TV episode covering that niche pocket of the running world. Contact the people and places to make it happen. Talk to other people about experiences they do, maybe it's running related, or maybe it's not. Try something new! The worst thing that can happen is you don't like it and you never have to do it again!
Get yourself friends who are in it for the long run. This can be taken literally or metaphorically. Thankfully, I have friends I can text the week of:
"What are you doing this weekend?"
"Running with you?"
"Want to do a race?"
"Yup! I'm in!"
Get yourself a coach. I can't tell you how much I have grown having a coach that has a plan and a method for everything. Learning quality over quantity was HUGE for me in order to get faster, better and stronger. I paired the run coaching with the strength program they offered for my goal race this year and I did feel strong. Having a coach also helped maintain my injuries and offered me some PT work as well. It's also important to get a coach who listens to you, that understands life happens too. I am so thankful for the people at Trail Transformation, they are wonderful coaches.
Additionally, if you're struggling with every day diet, race day nutrition, or have any food related goals or just need help with food in general, get yourself a dietician. Since the 52k In January, I had been using the same fueling techniques and have always felt OK during 50k distances, but anything more than that usually resulted in stomach upset and bloating with my race nutrition. Before this, my Hitchcock experience really fell apart all because I could not recover from poor nutrition choices. I remember at once point I couldn't remember the last time I fueled and was getting sick of the food I brought but could not rely on the aid station foods because of their uncertainty if certain foods contained dairy. I started working with Rachel Turi from Trail Transformation over the course of three months as she helped me gear up for my goal race and used the races I did along the summer months as benchmarks for trying out nutrition strategies. I am so glad I did this because I went in to Superior not only trained but confident in my fueling plan! I can't stress the importance of this enough, you should feel confident in your fueling plan especially for races!
You are your own best indicator of pain management. If something is bothering you, have it checked out. The worst it can be is nothing. I had new and old pains pop up during my summer training cycle, and was referred to Michael Rodriguez of Endurance Sports PT who works out of Performance Running Gym (also a wonderful gym where I did strength training!) Michael is also a coach and truly understand athletes. He takes the time to listen to what aches and pains you have going on, and makes sure that he can help with temporary pain management and long term management (exercises). He works around your races and goals. I have heard other people talk highly of him before I went and was happy I went in! Not only did my pains feel better initially after the first few visits, the exercises worked!
Allow yourself the recovery you need, both mentally and physically. It might be easier for us as athletes to recover from big goal races, but I can attest that mentally it takes us a bit longer to adjust. We want to live in our blissful and blistered world of the trail and ultra running community, riding every high and sipping every last drop of glory we can before the acute memories fade and we go back into our regular grind. We can find ourselves becoming depressed, glum that the feelings we felt while on an adventure of a lifetime can't be the every day. We might be slow-going, puffy, and hugging a bag of family size potato chips at our desks. Take time to recapture those feelings- let them process, spill them out over a glass of wine with your dear friend. Don't be afraid of those feelings. Write them down, re-watch it- whatever helps you be peaceful with all the events that happened.
As a year comes to a close, take some time to think, write down, or talk to someone about your year. What did you learn? What did you enjoy and excel at? Was there anything you wish you did? Take all these things with you as you put both feet first in to the new year!
As I take a look back over this last year, I have learned a lot from my training and races. Running has taught me so much over the years, and am thankful for every experience I have had, even the ones that hurt me initially.
 |
| Coldwater Rumble 54k! |
I've learned that the best comeback from a terrible, not-so-good race is to do another one that might be the polar opposite of the experience you just went through. In this case, I experienced a very tough, cold, terrible experience and decided to opt for friendship, fun, and sun! I got the opportunity to join my good friend Jess on her journey to the Estrella Mountain Regional Park out in Arizona for some fun in the desert! I got to run a 52k and I was so full of joy that I think I ran with the biggest smile on my face. The dry heat, the sun, and the Araviapa trail running community were amazing! I also got to escape the terrible winter Minnesota was facing. I came back refreshed and sunburnt (whoops!)
 |
| Salomon Summit with some of the ladies! |
I also learned the importance of getting to know people. With social media, it can be tough to know someone's true character or colors. I was completely blown away when I got to Ogden, Utah for the Salomon Athlete Summit, where I got to meet fellow ambassadors and Salomon athletes. They are some of the most genuine people I have ever met. I love the fact that we all share the same love for running, and found other common ground along the way! It was so much fun to be able to have this opportunity and to meet the people behind my phone screen in the flesh, all while learning some new things, get hyped for upcoming product, and talk about our goals! I am also very fortunate to be an ambassador for such a progressive; play-minded company!
 |
| Heading off in the evening with Alex on the SHT FKT in Late May |
Support your friends, ask ways you can help if they are chasing a goal! My good friend Alex started her first attempt at completing the SHT FKT (Superior Hiking Trail Fastest Known Time) late May. Since I had a long weekend for work, I headed up north with Long and Bean to document her attempt and run/hike with her for some time. She is one of the most down to earth, humble, strong, humorous people with a bigger heart! Her tenacity to push through pain is amazing, and although I was there to help her and be with her, watching her helped me see how to be strong in the midst of terrible trail conditions and what I can only imagine was terrible ankle pain! Time with friends is so important, even if it's a cup of coffee or a phone call. Make time for those people in your life.
Somethings don't work out. While this can be a huge disappointment, it's also part of life that trail and ultra running teaches us so firmly. We can spend countless hours training, months of dedication, spending longer hours away from friends and family. With all this in the bag, we can still line up for race day with the uncertainty that a finish is guaranteed, if not questioning our ability to even line up at all. Unfortunately, Long made the tough decision to not race at Kettle this year, even after training and spending time and money on this adventure. Long being himself still made an adventure out of it, still enjoyed some time on the trail, but ultimately was content with his decision which can be the most difficult part, pulling the plug on a race.
 |
| One of the water crossings at Black Hills 50k |
The greatest gift you can ever give yourself is the gift of adventure. Since I turned 25 I made it a thing to make sure I do a birthday run. When I turned 26 last year I decided to try to find a new race to do so I could visit a new place, run a race and turn a year older. This year I decided to do Black Hills 50k. I LOVED the course, the people, and visiting somewhere new. The Black Hills area is beautiful and we made a fun trip out of it!
A race is still just a race. I went in to Voyageur ready for my 4th year and 4th finish at this iconic Minnesota race. I felt strong, ready and mentally on-point. As I got close to the turnaround, I took a wrong turn at an intersection with a few other runners. I recovered from that one but then happened to get lost again on the return trip. That, paired with frustration and some health scares took me out of the race. I was sad yet I knew that it is still just a race and a day I get to play outside and have good laughs and memories.
 |
| Post Superior 100 with food, fun, family and friends! |
Life is a lot like running 100 miles. This is one of the reasons why Long and I wanted to get married during the Superior 100 this fall. Communication with each other, our pacers and crew was necessary in order to keep moving forward. We communicated if we felt good, bad, or really bad. There is going to be low points, and there are going to be points where your true colors and strength will show. Whether or not you complete the journey, the trail will teach you lessons.
 |
| Miner's Day 10k With Buddy Brat |
Try something new. For over a year I have wanted to try burro racing since I watched the Salomon TV episode covering that niche pocket of the running world. Contact the people and places to make it happen. Talk to other people about experiences they do, maybe it's running related, or maybe it's not. Try something new! The worst thing that can happen is you don't like it and you never have to do it again!
 |
| Marey and I during Run The Ritter 15 mile November 2019 |
Get yourself friends who are in it for the long run. This can be taken literally or metaphorically. Thankfully, I have friends I can text the week of:
"What are you doing this weekend?"
"Running with you?"
"Want to do a race?"
"Yup! I'm in!"
Get yourself a coach. I can't tell you how much I have grown having a coach that has a plan and a method for everything. Learning quality over quantity was HUGE for me in order to get faster, better and stronger. I paired the run coaching with the strength program they offered for my goal race this year and I did feel strong. Having a coach also helped maintain my injuries and offered me some PT work as well. It's also important to get a coach who listens to you, that understands life happens too. I am so thankful for the people at Trail Transformation, they are wonderful coaches.
Additionally, if you're struggling with every day diet, race day nutrition, or have any food related goals or just need help with food in general, get yourself a dietician. Since the 52k In January, I had been using the same fueling techniques and have always felt OK during 50k distances, but anything more than that usually resulted in stomach upset and bloating with my race nutrition. Before this, my Hitchcock experience really fell apart all because I could not recover from poor nutrition choices. I remember at once point I couldn't remember the last time I fueled and was getting sick of the food I brought but could not rely on the aid station foods because of their uncertainty if certain foods contained dairy. I started working with Rachel Turi from Trail Transformation over the course of three months as she helped me gear up for my goal race and used the races I did along the summer months as benchmarks for trying out nutrition strategies. I am so glad I did this because I went in to Superior not only trained but confident in my fueling plan! I can't stress the importance of this enough, you should feel confident in your fueling plan especially for races!
You are your own best indicator of pain management. If something is bothering you, have it checked out. The worst it can be is nothing. I had new and old pains pop up during my summer training cycle, and was referred to Michael Rodriguez of Endurance Sports PT who works out of Performance Running Gym (also a wonderful gym where I did strength training!) Michael is also a coach and truly understand athletes. He takes the time to listen to what aches and pains you have going on, and makes sure that he can help with temporary pain management and long term management (exercises). He works around your races and goals. I have heard other people talk highly of him before I went and was happy I went in! Not only did my pains feel better initially after the first few visits, the exercises worked!
Allow yourself the recovery you need, both mentally and physically. It might be easier for us as athletes to recover from big goal races, but I can attest that mentally it takes us a bit longer to adjust. We want to live in our blissful and blistered world of the trail and ultra running community, riding every high and sipping every last drop of glory we can before the acute memories fade and we go back into our regular grind. We can find ourselves becoming depressed, glum that the feelings we felt while on an adventure of a lifetime can't be the every day. We might be slow-going, puffy, and hugging a bag of family size potato chips at our desks. Take time to recapture those feelings- let them process, spill them out over a glass of wine with your dear friend. Don't be afraid of those feelings. Write them down, re-watch it- whatever helps you be peaceful with all the events that happened.
As a year comes to a close, take some time to think, write down, or talk to someone about your year. What did you learn? What did you enjoy and excel at? Was there anything you wish you did? Take all these things with you as you put both feet first in to the new year!
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