Tag: Marathon

Looking Back – A Race Review of The Chicago Marathon

On By idratherbestrongthanskinnyIn marathon training, race recap, running, travel2 Comments

I registered for the 2017 Chicago Marathon on a post-race high following the 2016 Philadelphia Marathon. My summer spent ironman training more than prepared me to take on 26.2 miles in Philly, despite not doing a ton of training in between the October 1st triathlon and the November 20th race date. Nearly two months of squashing my sorrows in food and beer after a disappointing race experience (more about that here) had me weighing about 15 pounds heavier than my normal weight, and not in the “look how much muscle mass I gained”-way. Yet I surprised myself by running a 3:24:33 — my second-best marathon time (second to a 3:21:16 in the 2014 New York Marathon).

A few days after returning from Philly (or, more likely, the next day) a friend told me he planned to use his qualifying time in Philadelphia to enter the Chicago Marathon. I decided to join him, and, in my post-race stupor, was excited to work for an ambitious goal: a PR.

Unfortunately, a few weeks later — and most likely due to those 15 pounds — I found myself diagnosed with a stress fracture in my foot, and unable to run for more for than two months. I had to reevaluate my life, and later, my running goals. I decided not to run the Boston Marathon in April, and declared that my goal for Chicago would simply to be to finish pain-free.

The good news is, I succeeded! Here’s how it all went down:

THE TRIP

I’ve run 12 marathons, but the only other race I’ve had to get on an airplane for was my very first marathon, the Nashville Country Music Marathon in April of 2012. I remember that trip being full of anticipation — my friends and I were giggling nervously and filled with genuine excitement to explore Nashville. In retrospect, I should have been more excited than I was for my trip to Chicago. I honestly think that after a winter of injuries (my friends experienced their fair share of injuries as well), a summer spent focusing on a difficult calculus class, and the complexities of coordinating accommodations for eight people, I wasn’t feeling the ‘journey’ at all, but rather just wanted to arrive at my destination unscathed.

The good news: flying out of Newark was seamless and easy; NJ Transit got us to the airport for $13, we got through security in a breeze, there were delicious margaritas and beers at the terminal restaurant, and I got to sit with my friends for the duration of the flight.

THE EXPO

Screen Shot 2017-10-16 at 9.45.16 AM Continue reading “Looking Back – A Race Review of The Chicago Marathon” →

Do You Need A Coach For the 2017 New York City Marathon? A Coach Weighs In

On By idratherbestrongthanskinnyIn marathon training, running, The Boston Marathon2 Comments

If you are signed up for the 2017 New York City Marathon, you probably know that you need to start training fairly soon, if you haven’t already started. If you don’t, well, here’s your heads up: it’s time to start running!

The marathon is an entirely different beast of a race than a local 5k or 10k — or even a half marathon. So when it comes to tackling the 26.2-mile distance, it’s not uncommon to question whether or not you need to hire a running coach to get yourself to the finish line.

I’ll be the first person to tell you that you probably don’t.

That’s right — Road Runners Club of America Certification and all, I’ll tell you right now that you don’t need a coach to get yourself to the end of a marathon course. In fact, if you’re in decent enough shape, you could probably walk or jog the course to completion right now.

However, having said that, if you did attempt to conquer the course right now, it would most likely be a horrible experience. It wouldn’t be enjoyable, and you’d probably suffer through it — maybe even injuring yourself along the way.

That’s why I’ll be the first person to tell you that you don’t need a coach to get yourself through a marathon … but it’s a pretty good idea.

Having a running coach or mentor to guide you through 18, or 16, or 12 weeks of marathon training is helpful for a number of reasons, whether you’re a novice runner or a seasoned athlete. While I didn’t hire a coach for my first marathon, I sought out the guidance of coach Chris Baker for my first ironman and am confident that my experience was infinitely better because of it.

How, exactly, can a run coach help get you to the finish line? Let me count the ways.

Screen Shot 2017-07-12 at 9.07.56 AM Continue reading “Do You Need A Coach For the 2017 New York City Marathon? A Coach Weighs In” →

The Runner Diaries — Lorna Chaulet

On By idratherbestrongthanskinnyIn food, Inspiration, marathon training, race recap, running, The Boston Marathon, The Runner Diaries, travelLeave a comment

Inspired by Refinery29’s Money Diaries and The Cut’s Sex Diaries, welcome to The Runner Diaries, where we’re sharing a behind-the-scenes look into a week of training with runners of varying ages, paces and GPS coordinates.

This week, we have Lorna Chaulet, a 25-year-old from Boston, Massachusetts. Despite Chaulet’s claim that she is anything BUT a runner, below, she documents her week running back-to-back marathons in Paris and Boston.

The RUN DOWN:

Name: Lorna Chaulet
Location: Boston, Mass
Age: 25
Training For: Paris & Boston Marathons
Occupation: Marketing at Reebok
Goal race? Paris Marathon
Following a training plan? No
Part of any running communities, clubs or training programs? I’m a member of Janji Corps
How long you’ve been ‘a runner:’ 2016
Goal weekly mileage: One long run per week Continue reading “The Runner Diaries — Lorna Chaulet” →

Alternatives To Setting A Rigid Time Goal In Your Next Race

On By idratherbestrongthanskinnyIn Inspiration, marathon training, runningLeave a comment

If you’ve ever run a race, you’ve probably gotten this question from your friends, family members, running buddies, and, innocuous (yet annoyingly curious) strangers:

“What was your time?”

It’s a simple question that holds a TON of weight. It’s invasive, almost — at least, in my opinion.

Because once I answer that question, it doesn’t matter how hard I trained for that race, or what was going on in my head from the start to the finish line. It doesn’t matter if this was my personal best time, or a time I’m not proud of. It doesn’t matter if just having the courage to get to the starting line was a struggle in itself, or what I went through during the training process.

I know it’s a standard question; a common one in the running community. But it can also be belittling. Continue reading “Alternatives To Setting A Rigid Time Goal In Your Next Race” →

Writer, Runner … Triathlete?

On By idratherbestrongthanskinnyIn Uncategorized6 Comments

erin - triathlon

Sometimes, we all go a little too far — in life, in love, and for some of us, especially in training. As someone who takes pride in pushing herself, even I reached a point in May where even I had to acknowledge I’d taken measures to an extreme, in a not-so-great type of way.

After months and months of training for the Boston Marathon (my 2014 recap is here… still working on the 2015 recap!), I finished the 26.2-mile race in a personal best time for the course. (Yay!). Yet after just one weekend off, I was back to the grind: I completed a 10k with an elevation gain of 1,212 feet in Bear Mountain State Park, then set off to Cape Cod for the all day/all night Ragnar Relay, where I ran just under 35 miles in 24 hours.

And I wasn’t done yet! One week later I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon, a race I had to scramble to buy a bib on Craigslist…then finished in a disappointing time, in pain.

By the time I crossed the finish line along the Coney Island boardwalk, I was mentally and physically exhausted. A pain was creeping up my left knee, and both my hips ached.

The last thing I needed was an injury, but what did I expect? I’d just broken every rule in the recovery book. My runner’s high was running out, and I had officially given my friends and co-workers who labeled me “crazy” a legitimate reason to do so.

So I set out to rest for a few weeks. And I did. Try, I mean. Really. But as most runners and athletes know, not training for something is often worse than training for a specific race, even if you’re tired. So when I heard that a group of friends were signing up for triathlons, I started toying with the idea of registering for one myself.

I’d swam as a kid at my local swim club (thanks mom!) and I’d once biked 26 miles with my high school gym class … so how hard could a tri really be, right? After some encouragement from a few buddies, I signed up for the Lake George Half Ironman, a course boasting a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, and 13.1-mile run in upstate New York.

Well, I was wrong about the “easy” part — riding a road bike is completely different than the mountain bike I’d used to commute in college, swimming might be the most exhaustive sport, ever, and running after both of these events is a feeling I cannot even describe into words. 

However, what I did find is that by training with three sports instead of the usual, “run every damn day” workout routine I was previously doing, was that my body didn’t feel overly strained in one specific area anymore. Plus, mixing up my workouts was fun. I wasn’t dreading my next sweat session — as long as you don’t count the 5am wakeup call — or feeling exhausted before I even put my sneakers on.  

I completed my first Triathlon Sprint in Connecticut this July as a “warmup” for the big race (Lake George). The Greenwich Cup’s half mile swim, 15-mile bike and 3-mile run was a refreshing change up from my beloved marathon. I even came in second for women in my age group, which, as SNL’s version Hannah Montana would say, is, “Pretty cool.”

Now, all that’s left to do is conquer the half ironman distance, without forgetting the real reason I compete in endurance events to begin with: Because it’s fun, because I get to train with amazing people, and because I like proving to myself, and to others once in awhile, that I’m strong and capable of conquering challenges — both big and small.

Stay tuned for a race recap, and leave any advice/words of wisdom in the comments below.

On Running Boston

On By idratherbestrongthanskinnyIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

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My first experience with the Boston Marathon was my freshman year of college. I filled my Nalgene bottle (a necessity back then) with cranberry juice and vodka, and went to cheer on the runners with my friends. I clapped at strangers and wore a Yankees baseball hat, for which I was ridiculed for by several passersby. I got excited when I saw my friend’s dad pass by unexpectedly, and I witnessed an elderly woman attempt to cross the street only to get stampeded by a runner too exhausted to stop in time.

Besides that, the whole day was pretty uneventful.

Yet my friends and I returned to watch the race year after year. “Marathon Monday,” it was called, and it was a celebration for all Boston college students, not to mention an excuse to day drink and yell (words of encouragement!) at strangers.

Things changed when my friends convinced me to run a marathon of my own right before graduation. We couldn’t qualify for Boston, but we flew to Nashville for the Country Music Marathon as a ‘last hurrah’ before getting our diplomas. As my first visit to the south, I realized the best way perhaps, to see a city, is to run 26.2 miles–or any distance, really–through it. And it was during that race that I finally figured out what a marathon was all about.

Strangers hold signs and their hands out for high fives from sweaty, wet, shaky palms. Runners and non-runners are pushed to their very breaking point. Individuals discover their true potential, and what they’re really made of. And the crowd supports them, because whether they are running for charity, in memory of someone, or for themselves; running that distance alone is incredible. So after we crossed that finish line and flew home, watching the 2012 Boston Marathon was a truly extraordinary and special experience for me. “I get it now,” I remembered thinking. “And someday that’ll be me.”

Last year’s 2013 race was the first in five years I was unable to stand on the sidelines and cheer. After graduating and moving back to my hometown in New Jersey, I no longer had the luxury of Patriot’s Day off from work. Yet I was still excited for the runners, and my younger friends still attending Northeastern who would be cheering them on.

But as we all know, the marathon did not go as planned. People were killed, and a city was in panic. Watching it all unfold from screens via newscasts, Twitter and text messages was eerily strange, weird and scary for me–as it was for the nation.

On any other year, I would be cheering alongside the other spectators, most likely near the finish line as it was close to my dorm. I had many friends who were in attendance, that day—and confined to their apartments during the manhunt that followed–yet luckily were spared from any serious harm.

Timing is everything though. And while it felt strange to miss such a big day in Boston history I would normally be at, I’m glad I wasn’t at that finish line.

Just a few weeks later, several of my friends from Boston and I took on the New Jersey Half Marathon and Marathon in Long Branch, NJ. We wore custom made, “NJ Runs for Boston” tank tops, and ran with the city and its people in our hearts. Along the course, I got emotional seeing the #BostonStrong signs along the route and runners who wore shirts designating they had been just 2, 1 or .5-miles away from the finish line in Boston before they were stopped.

Even though I struggled through the last 6 miles of that race, I ended up finishing with a time of 3:27:07–not only a Personal Record, but within The Boston Marathon’s qualifying requirements. I quickly forgot about all the cursing myself out in my head I’d done while I was painfully finishing the race, and switched to being elated about running Boston the following year.

After crossing the finish line in 3:30:26 on April 21, 2014, words can’t really describe the experience I had. Being back in Boston with the same friends I had traveled to Nashville with was so comforting to begin with, and prepping for the race (going to the expo, making pasta dinners, rolling our calves out with The Stick in the living room) felt like home. My phone blew up with text messages, Facebook posts and tweets from friends, family members and coworkers wishing me luck. To be honest, I’ve never felt more loved in my life.

As for the race itself, the excitement, anticipation, enthusiasm, respect from and for other runners, pride from Bostonians and its people, and resilience was overwhelming, awesome and powerful. Along the course, I had so much support from cheering spectators–from small children handing out water cups and high fives, to families holding out orange peels and necessity items like wet paper towels, to inspirational signs, to drunken frat boys and the Wellesley College scream (and kiss!) tunnel. There was never a dull moment in the course (I say that about the crowd, and the rolling hills!). It might be weird to say, but I enjoyed just about every sweaty, calf-burning minute of it…minus that awkward moment a man walked in on me in a Porta Potty right before the race.

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Though I wasn’t there for the tragic events of last year and cannot pretend to know or even imagine what it must have been like, I know in my heart that Boston has come back three times as strong, and nine times as proud. While the Boston Marathon has always been something special and amazing, it is now a symbol of a comeback–quite possibly, the greatest comeback this nation has ever seen.

I won’t pretend to associate myself with the runners who returned to the finish line in 2014 after being stopped in 2013 (and I admire those people to the fullest extent). But what I can say is, I’m proud to have gotten the opportunity to join them in their own personal comebacks. I’ll even wear my Solar Zest-colored marathon jacket with dignity!

I couldn’t walk normally for over a week, but the pain was well worth it. Just past the finish line, I think the smile on my face said it all: I could not be more honored to have been part of Boston’s big day.