January Jump Start

I ran every day in January, sort of on a whim... which for me means I thought about it for a few weeks beforehand. I convinced myself it would be a good idea, fun even, and maybe I'd learn some things. Plus, January always needs a little help in the motivation department, right?

I'm generally not a fan of run streaks. In fact, if we’ve ever talked about running I’m quick to point out that I don’t run every day, I don’t aspire to, and I generally don’t recommend it. I’m a firm believer in alternate running days, especially as I’m coaching new and returning runners. It’s so important to build slowly and allow time for recovery. And last year, a huge part of the major shift in my training focus was prioritising rest and recovery between and before running days. Then there’s the issue of the limited daylight and colder-than-I'd-prefer weather. This was way outside my lane on a lot of levels.

But y’all know I love a good streak! Back in 2012, I started walking a mile a day and it changed my entire life. So when my friend Mimi was posting about running a mile or more every day last year, I was intrigued. I mostly see Mimi on Instagram (@getfitwithmi22) and at running events during the year, and watching her run streak all last year really spoke to me. I started thinking at the end o f December that I’d like to give this a try. I was in a mood to shake things up in my routine, and seeing Mimi in person at our Inspiration Run New Year’s Day felt like affirmation!  

Plus, there’s a widget that helps track daily progress. 

I do love a catchy visual! 

Day 1 was easy… 2.5 miles at Fleet Feet's Inspiration Run and Garmin confirmed I was off to a "Strong Start!

ONE EASY MILE

Because I wasn’t training for a race, I had no goal other than running a mile or more every day. I didn’t have any plans for speed work or distance sessions… this was simply about running however I was feeling each day. That was such an important factor in doing this without winding up injured. Of the 31 days, I had that one fun run on New Year’s day, which was 2.5 miles, a race mid-January that was just over 3 miles, and then 3 runs with our 10K training program that started at the end of January, so only 5 total scheduled runs that were more than 1 mile. The other 26 days I ran just a bit over one mile at whatever pace felt good that day. 

A QUICK WAY TO SEIZE THE DAY!

I know from a dozen years of doing so that I can walk a mile in about 20 minutes, so I can do even a super casual run in less than 15 minutes. While I can also fall into the mental argument of “why am I getting all dressed to go out and I’m only going to run 1 mile?” the ability to get this done at lunchtime most days quickly became a huge motivator. I could choose the sunniest, warmest part of the day, and on many of those cold, cloudy, even rainy days, because this is North Carolina where the weather just cannot make up its mind, the sun often peeked out for at least a quick minute. It was nice to be reminded to take advantage! 

CONSISTENCY IS KEY!

I know this, and yet I usually fall out of my routine during the holidays. I still walk every day, but without a specific race goal, my running routine can easily become haphazard this time of year. A streak was a terrific way to kick off the new year and (re)establish consistency. What we do every day is so much more impactful than what we do once in a while. And this little experiment paid off in both mindset and physical progress!

FEWER DECISIONS, MORE FUN! 

Decision fatigue-- we've all been there. My daily mile quickly became the easiest thing I was doing every day. I didn’t have to decide IF I was going to run, I just had to figure out when. Because it was such a short run, I had way less concern about what I was going to wear. In fact, many days I enjoyed my run in a cozy pair of joggers and a sweatshirt, gear I wouldn’t usually choose for a run. For one mile, I didn’t have to think about dressing for warmer temps as I would on a longer or more intense workout, just lace up and go in whatever felt comfortable. 

I ran the same route most days, familiar, simple. While I might play around with my cadence, mechanics, and form, overall it was still an easy mile. It was fun to approach each run this way, without any specific plan. I might just run the whole mile at a comfortable pace, or throw in some strides or drills, depending on my mood and what popped into my rambling mind. A cool bonus was noticing the benefit of varying each run slightly. This is such an important component in training and injury avoidance, but an element that’s often missed when we get focused on training plans and mileage goals and the calendar. 

With each day, the motivation got easier (or, perhaps, lack of motivation became a non-issue?) The truth is, when it comes to any kind of workout, pretty often you’re not going to feel like it. I love to run, but I still find myself arguing with myself about getting out there. “Today’s so busy, tomorrow’s forecast looks nicer, “ Knowing it’s non-negotiable every day eliminates that mental exercise and the associated decision fatigue.  

STILL NOT A FAN OF MY TREADMILL 

I went into this knowing I’d likely have to do some treadmill miles, and I was kind of looking forward to getting more comfortable with that as a backup for training. I did run into a few treadmill days, and I was happy to have the option, but I still do not enjoy the treadmill. At all. Not even for one mile.  

HIGH MILEAGE

I always encourage my athletes to focus on one goal at a time. We can work to improve speed or endurance, for example, but it's tough to try and improve both at the same time. For this challenge my goal was consistency, and as a result my mileage for January was much higher than it typically is. I never ran more than 4 miles, yet I ended the month at 50 miles running plus 12 walking, 32 activities total. By comparison, in 2023 I ran 8 times, 36 miles total. That included a half marathon, but still ONLY 36 miles. Looking back over the past 10 years, I typically run 20-30 miles total in January, fewer than 10 runs all month. I can't say I'm surprised at these numbers, running every day in a month that felt like it was 728 days long, but it still feels like a huge win! 

ADAPTATION HAPPENS EVEN WITH AN EASY DAILY MILE!

This was an unexpected outcome. For the first several days, Garmin's suggestion was REST. I expected that. And while I pay close attention to my Garmin data and suggestions, I was confident in ignoring this one. I wasn't planning on a "workout" per se, just an easy mile. It is not lost on me how strange it would have sounded to 45 year old me to hear 58 year old me say that running a mile is "not a workout", yet here we are. This, too, began with a mile a day streak.

What surprised me was that as I got into the second week, I no longer got the REST recommendation, and my recommended recovery time dropped from 30 hours to 24 hours to 8 hours-- basically a good night’s sleep! There are so many ways to measure progress, and recovery time is a huge metric we often ignore. It’s an important indicator of overall wellness, and I was excited to see this one improve, especially during my "hibernation" season! 

MORE RUNNING, MORE HYDRATION 

An unexpected benefit was that I drank MUCH more water than I typically would on any given January day. It’s so important to stay hydrated when the winter air, both indoors and out, is so dry/drying, and yet I often don’t drink as much as I do during humid summer months. When it’s cold I tend to reach for coffee.

 

But every day in January, I finished this 18oz. bottle on my run, plus a refill, and found myself drinking more water throughout the day. This helps with my running, my energy level, my skin, my sleep quality, and overall just feeling really good!

RUNNING STRONGER As I mentioned, my recovery time improved noticeably during this streak, and while I wasn't following a formal training plan, I was running faster and feeling stronger. I was finally seeing the results of heart rate training I’d started almost a year ago! Training with a focus on my heart rate helped me improve my base pace, and run more comfortably over longer distances as I prepared for two marathons last fall. This month, one mile at a time, I’m running at faster paces with surprising ease. It's especially fun to see this in a month that usually finds me trying to build back ground I've lost... not this year!

Serendipity! I had decided to aim for a 10K PR this spring, and training began the end of January. Our first workout was a Cooper test– basically a one mile time trial– and I was fully ready for it! 

The most amazing thing, when I step back and think about it, is the fact that I can just choose to go run a mile every day. There was a time when I would not have believed I’d ever be doing something like this. I am acutely aware of how fortunate I am to have this choice. That’s a big reason I keep doing it. 

While I’ve enjoyed this experiment and seeing some interesting results, my main focus was doing this simple thing for myself every single day. It was about carving out a little time and showing up for myself. It’s so easy to set aside my goals, to push things off, especially this time of year.

If you've read this far, I'd encourage you to choose something you can do every day, a way to show up for yourself, a quick win you can repeat until it becomes second nature. It doesn’t have to be anything difficult. In fact I wouldn’t recommend an activity that’s a huge stretch, because the streak IS the stretch. Get started, stick with it, and watch where the journey leads! I'd love to hear all about it!

#berlinlegend #runforjoy

 After months of training and posting incessantly about preparing for this race, I've finally gathered my memories of the day. It was such a unique experience, I wanted to capture every single detail. It's probably the longest I’ve ever thought about a race, and that’s including the 2014 Dopey Challenge that I trained for for 9 months.  I love looking back at what I wrote during that time– you think you’ll remember, but looking back at my own words from 10 years ago, I'm always surprised at little things I'd forgotten.

This was my first World Major and my first international race.  I’d entered the lottery in September of 2022, which began the process of waiting to hear if I’d been selected.  That was followed by a long period of waiting to actually begin training, trying not to think about all the ways I could be derailed in the span of 12 months (hello, hip injury!), then finally beginning the training and the travel preparations.  Running the race was just one piece of a pretty huge puzzle!  I was very grateful to be sharing the journey with my daughter, Morgan, who has always inspired me to combine the adventures of travel and running together! 

In short, it was a fantastic experience from beginning to end.  It wasn’t my fastest race, and I don’t even know why I feel the need to comment on my finish time, since that wasn’t even a goal of mine, but it IS a race, after all.  This was actually one of my slower marathons, but without question, my strongest.  This was the first marathon I ran the whole 26.2 miles! My legs felt great up until the last few kilometers, and at that point, there was just a slight winge in my calf that I was able to ignore as long as I held my stride, kept my eyes up, shoulders back, moving forward. With the exception of my PB in 2019, this was the absolute best I have felt at a marathon finish! 

The perfect word to describe my race is “level.”  Level course, level pace, level energy… a solid consistent effort. I went out a little hot, I’m gonna go ahead and blame the crowds at the start.  I always want to find an open space to run.  The middle two 10Ks were right in my sweet spot pace, and by the last 10K it was warming up and I was slowing down just a bit. But the best feeling was feeling “nothing”... just running right through the Brandenburg Tor, then through the finish line, no hip pain, no knee pain, no back pain, nothing! It was glorious!!  

One huge highlight was seeing friends from Raleigh on the course!  We had talked about meeting for a photo beforehand, but with the size of the crowds in each corral, it just wasn’t in the cards. Somewhere in the second mile, I heard my name being called, and it was my friend Theresa coming up behind me.  We got a fun selfie as we ran. It was such a fun surprise to see a friend so early in the race!

Later, right around mile 10, I heard my name again, and it was Pragya!  We chatted a bit, and got a couple of selfies. Pragya always makes me smile!

I was so glad I’d started near the front of the corral or I’d have missed seeing both of them!  Just past the halfway point, my daughter said “I think there’s another one of your friends over there!” and sure enough, it was Michelle, one of our Fleet Feet Family who had come to Berlin to cheer us on!

I enjoyed all the crowds and signs and support along the course, but the joy in the unexpected sighting of a friend is unparalleled!!  

As we were heading into the finish at Brandenburg Gate, I heard people to my right cheering and calling “Hey, Raleigh/Morrisville! We’re from the Triangle!  She went to Duke!” and I see the unmistakable blue sweatshirt. (I’m not from the Triangle, so I have no loyalty to a particular shade.)  Just a few steps later I heard someone yell “Fleet Feet!  Which store?”  I answered “Raleigh!” and they called back “We’re from Raleigh! We love Fleet Feet!” 

I was so happy that the weather had cooperated for me to wear that bright yellow Fleet Feet Running Club shirt!  I had three options for the race (tank, short sleeves, long sleeves), but this was exactly why I was hoping to wear the one that shouted "Fleet Feet!" so that maybe someone in the crowd would shout back!  Anything that will result in a big smile, especially in the last miles of a marathon, is definitely a huge boost!   

Getting to the start of this race was surprisingly easy.  Our apartment was right on the race route, so the bus we’d normally take wasn’t running this morning. The silver lining was that the walk felt great!  It settled my nerves, my stomach, and provided an excellent active distraction rather than standing/sitting still waiting for and riding on a bus or train.  I warmed up just a comfortable amount, and then we hopped on a train to Tiergarten. Our start time was 10:30, and we arrived right around 9, so even with the long lines for the toilets, we were at our corral an hour before the start. 

As with most large races, there were multiple start waves, and multiple corrals within each wave.  The official start was at 9:30, with the elite runners, Eliud Kipchoge, Tigist Yessefa, and Amanal Petros in that first wave. While Kipchoge claimed his 5th Berlin win, Petros set a new German marathon record, and Yessefa absolutely smashed the women’s world marathon record with an astounding finish time of 2:11:53!  

After the official start, waves 2-4 were released, and we got to experience the dramatic Viking Clap I’d seen in so many videos of the Berlin Marathon.  40,000 runners, hands raised high overhead, beginning with a slow clap that gradually builds to excited applause! 

We were in Wave 4, which included everyone who expected to finish in 4 hours or more, as well as all first time marathoners.  I know a LOT of runners, most of them faster than I am, and the vast majority do not run a sub-4 hour marathon.  Wave 4 was huge!  We were standing shoulder to shoulder waiting to finally start. Fortunately, as each corral was released, the crowd around us thinned, and I found I had a fair amount of personal space.   

I had planned to run/walk intervals, as I generally do all my longer races.  But in my training I’d been doing a lot of longer intervals and longer distances running without walk breaks, so I kept that option open. If you run/walk and people tell you that running would be faster, ignore them.  Run/walk is a strategy, not a pace. I definitely could have run a faster overall pace with walk breaks, it’s a matter of having different goals.  

The weather was mild, ranging from high 50s at the start to high 60s at the finish. I heard a couple of comments about the humidity, and wondered where these runners had trained all summer. Certainly not North Carolina!

Typically, the only thing I’d have to say about water stops is how crowded they were, and generally they’re pretty crowded at big races.  I’m kind of used to the messy, and I always slow down or even walk through water stops, just to be safe.  I’ve seen runners try and run through at full speed only to wipe out and end their race early, and I’m not interested in that experience. But stops in Berlin where the sports drink was served were a unique challenge.  

I was initially questioning whether it was my imagination or maybe my shoes… I’d never run in these shoes on wet pavement.  NOTE: I do not recommend.  If you don’t want to purposely go for a rainy run (I do not), at least go out after a run to see how your shoes respond to those conditions.  Some have better traction than others.  Good to know what you might be up against! 

I overheard another runner comment, “this is slippery to the point of being dangerous!” and I figured it wasn’t just me.  Then I heard this really strange “crunching” sound, almost like you hear running on crushed gravel, but we were on black asphalt.  It dawned on us all at once– it was the sound of shoes sticking to pavement!  I’ve run through my share of sloppy water stations, and I know I’ve run through whole puddles of Gatorade, but I’ve never experienced anything like this before, and hope never to again!  Fortunately, this was only in a couple of spots, for a very short distance... no huge impact overall, just odd. (And a good reminder to add wet pavement to the training plan!)

We were told that in addition to the sports drink, at some stops there would be “sweet tea” on the course.  We were warned this is not the southern sweet tea we’re used to in the US.  It was served warm.  Not hot, but definitely not cold. Just a bit sweet, and with lemon.  Once we were past the halfway point, I decided to give it a try, and really enjoyed it! It wasn’t quite Bojangles', but it was nice to have something different to the LMNT I was carrying.  

I have heard all sorts of opinions about crowd support on the course in Berlin.  It’s definitely not NYC, but we knew that, right?  It’s not the deafening sound of the 5 boroughs, but people were out and cheering all along the way!  There were tons of signs, mostly in German, which made me wish I could translate!  Of the ones that were in English, there was loads of inspiration, lots of Power Ups, well wishes from Michelle Obama, and several reminders that “You paid to do this!” 

People were out at restaurants and bars along the route, cheering from their balconies, and so many drum line bands! I’ve seen these at races before, groups of people of a wide range of ages, the unique energy of a marching band drum line without the heavy uniforms! I’ve added this to my list of things I’d like to try!  

From beginning to end, there were people calling out names that they, for the most part, were reading phonetically from runners’ bibs.  It was so exciting to hear my name, people I would never meet encouraging me to keep going, telling me I was doing great! After being so careful in the last couple of months and especially in the weeks leading up to the race, I wore a mask on the flight from JFK to Berlin, just to be on the safe side. Race day, I was eating cut up apples and bananas being handed out by volunteers, and I feel like I high-fived every single child in Berlin cheering along that route! Absolute magic!

We set out at a strong, steady pace, and I felt good, so I kept running.  I was thinking maybe I’d switch to run/walk after the first half... well, then maybe for the last 10k... but running felt good so I just kept going.  I didn’t have a finish time goal for this race, just to make the cutoffs, and we were well inside that window.  I’ve run a few half marathons straight through, but this is double the distance, which is not insignificant. I decided this was the day I’d just go for it!  

There were three “hard” cutoff points, where we would be prevented from finishing and receiving a medal.  The first was at 33K, which was right by our apartment.  It was really fun, after 20 miles of "touring" Berlin, to run along a block that was very familiar to us!   

We were comfortably ahead of the clock at this point, and the next cutoff was at 38K. We had well over an hour to run those 3 miles.  A man who seemed to be struggling asked, “Are we going to be able to make it, at this pace?”  “Absolutely!” we assured him.  He said, “My back is really giving me trouble,” and I could see his shoulders were rounded forward, a common sign of fatigue in those later miles.  I shared our favorite run group posture reset: put your hands in the air, open up your chest, and make big circles with your arms to get yourself out of that forward lean.  He smiled, said “that feels much better!” and we carried on, with just under 10K left to the finish. 

We passed the second cutoff, and I saw the same man as we approached the finish.  By this time, he was clearly in pain, but determined to keep moving.  I was happy to see him so close to the finish, his son was on the side cheering, offering a bottle of water and encouragement! After crossing the finish, I moved slowly thru the medal area, hoping to see him finish as well. They have plenty of course monitors to keep the area clear, and wouldn’t let me wait there. Just as they told me I really needed to move along, I finally saw him come thru the finish!  

At that point, I could process my own relief, excitement, amazement, and absolute joy at finishing! In a race this long, a lot of things can happen, both predictable and unexpected.  But through the entire course I felt solid, confident, never hit a wall, never questioned whether I’d finish.  It was a long "distance" from back in March when I thought I might need to stop running all together, and for that, I’m immensely grateful!  

There are two hashtags associated with this race: #BERLINLEGEND and #RUNFORJOY. Both are emblazoned on the wristband sealed onto each runner's arm at the expo (and which I am still wearing, weeks later.) By definition, legend means famous, or very well known, especially in a particular field. Throughout our time in Berlin, we heard "you are all legends!" and I will say, running this course with people calling out my name for 26.2 miles is probably as close to famous as I'm likely to get. But that #RUNFORJOY part, I fully felt that, 100%, and still feel it as I remember that beautiful afternoon in Berlin!

As I said, it's been a really long training cycle, and there was a time earlier this year I doubted this race could even happen for me. I never thought I'd appreciate a summer of marathon training, early mornings, long miles, historic levels of heat... but I can honestly say I enjoyed every step. Largely because I was so grateful to be out there doing it, and with much credit to my running family for the camaraderie and for making it fun! I will always think of Berlin as the marathon that helped me find my way back to the joy of running. #runforjoy. Literally.

"... gonna wanna remember this!"

Last weekend, as I headed to NYC for a race I wasn't sure I'd able to finish, I decided I was going to write about it.  So, a nearly 10-year hiatus from this blog, I'm writing a race recap!  

I signed up for the Fred Lebow Half Marathon because my kids who live in NYC had signed up and I wanted in on the fun!  This race takes place in Central Park, which is where I ran for the very first time in 2012. I love to run in the park any chance I get, and running this race with my kids?  Yes, please! 

 

                             

Moments after I registered it hit me that this race takes place the third weekend of January. That's why they give everyone the cool beanie! It's very likely going to be cold, if not snowing!  What had I just signed myself up for?  I am not, as a general rule, happy running in cold weather.  I have a well-known 50º threshold for complaining about the weather.  I know this about myself. 

"You feel good while you're running, and you feel even better when you're finished." ~Fred Lebow

I wasn't expecting to set any records with this race, I signed up just 4 weeks before and hadn't been training, just a few casual 5K runs each week.  Usually I'll keep my base around 7-8 miles, and at that I know I can finish a half marathon fairly comfortably.  Throwing in a hip injury, I wasn't able to get in a long run, but instead I'd done several 7+ mile walks, about 2 hours on my feet. I really had to lean into my coaching and fitness certification training, knowing that rest is important for healing, and I'd done what I could to maintain my endurance without exacerbating my hip pain.

The morning of the race was cold, but the rain that had been in the forecast for 2 weeks did not materialize!  So weather conditions, better than anticipated, honestly. I slept really well, if not long enough, and felt pretty good, other than climbing a LOT of stairs at the subway stations... leading with my left foot each step, but also careful not to transfer the pain from my right hip to my left knee, as it had occasionally on long walks.  

My goal was to finish.  I went out extra slow, and eased into a careful stride.  I knew this was the right approach, but also, doing the math I was not thrilled knowing I'd be at this for another 3 hours. I always feel wonky the first couple of miles.  Always.  I know I'll usually feel better by the 4th mile.  That's where the magic happens.  

I chose the Jonas Brothers playlist my daughter, Katharine, created for me.  In 2021, we saw them live at Jones Beach, standing, jumping up and down, singing for more than 2 hours! Listening to that playlist takes me right back, and is a good reminder to channel that energy and stamina into my race!     

This course is two 6-ish miles around Central Park, which meant that right around mile 4, all the fastest runners were passing... on both sides.  Honestly, track clubs of NYC, a bit of race etiquette?  I'm not particularly agile anyway, and with temps in the 30s, and proper curbs along the route near Columbus Circle, I was afraid a bit of jostling could end really badly. 

I was too cold to even think about taking any photos, but in this stretch, I saw a section of covered walkway I remembered from my very first run in 2012!  That run was in summer, and the structure was covered in greenery.  This day, it was dormant, but brought back all the memories.  I had to stop and recreate that photo! I was still feeling all the cold and not quite as warmed up as I'd like to be, but the park near Columbus Circle is the area most familiar to me, and it was fun to be back there running again after a few years! 

Around about this time, it occurred to me that my last long run (more than 10K) was an 8-miler in September.  Before that, a half marathon in March.  A bit sobering... nevermind, focus on getting to mile 7. That's usually the point in a half where I can take a deep breath and know I can finish.  

Mile 7 was also the start of the second lap, so the speedier runners had peeled off toward the finish. Byeeee!!!  The field opened up, and I was able to relax my mind a bit.  But this was also our second (of three!) trips up thru the Harlem Hills.  I felt much better than I'd expected on these hills, but hills are always an energy drain for me.  

As I was trying to refocus, a cheering spectator stepped onto the course ahead of me, with a huge smile and said "eyes up! shoulders down! you got this!"  It was exactly what I needed in that moment!

I reset, focused on my form, deep steady breathing, good arm swing.  The pain in my right hip was gone and now both hips just felt balanced, evenly a bit tired after a couple of hours of running, "normal." Not even a hint of pain in my knee. I can't say I felt great, but it felt really good to be running! 

I'd also seen finishers with blue ponchos.  THE blue ponchos they give the NYC Marathon finishers.  What???  Incentive!  Motivation! 

As if on cue, the sun peeked out, and my Jonas Brothers playlist hit Remember This and I was smiling heading toward Columbus Circle the second time. 

   

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My focus at this point was Mile 10.  Then I'd switch over to One Direction's FOUR album, and kick out the last 5K. As soon as I saw that sign, I knew I was going to finish. I played Girl Almighty a second time, just for good measure!  

 

And in fact, not only did I finish, I ran those last 3 miles faster than the first 10!  All things considered, that wasn't at all what I'd expected for the end of this race.  I was surprised to find myself passing other runners, and after a third run up the Harlem Hills, I actually felt like I was flying into that (downhill!!) finish! 

 

Got that poncho, got the traditional NY Road Runners race finisher bagel, and headed for the subway!   

Amazingly, the subway stairs felt easier AFTER the race-- the NYC subway will always give you the chance to really know how you did.  

My friend, Justin texted me, "Congratulations! Are y'all going out to celebrate?" My response, "No!  It's cold and threatening rain.  We're heading home and ordering in ramen, like the 98-year-old women that we are!"