Reflection(s) on 60

 

Perhaps the best birthday present ever was the surprise appearance(s) of Joey (center, goofy pose) and Natalie, joining James at home with me to celebrate (turning) 60. Both Joey and Natalie surreptitiously planned Labor Day weekend flights home. It was awesome and highly neat. Here's hoping we can (all) be together again in 10 years to celebrate 70 (years). OK.

Home meet: Women's results = team title!

 What an amazing start for our ladies! We were coming off a strong preseason with a lot of energy, enthusiasm and togetherness – “team culture” is almost a coach’s cliché, but this team has a good one so far. Team culture is vitally important to a successful team. What wins races is a fast, deep team. On this day, that’s exactly what we had, and it appears that it will be sustainable and with an upward trajectory in the coming weeks and months. Very exciting!
 
Marist Season Opener
Saturday, August 31, 2024
Vassar Farm
Women’s results
1-Marist 37, 2-UConn 42, 3-UAlbany 72, 4-Fairfield 80, 5-Siena 124, 6-Iona INC
Women’s individual results (winner + Marist finishers)
1-Hannah Snayd (Fairfield) 17:56.6
2-Parker O’Brien 18:17.7
5-Adele Alexander 18:21.5
9-Sierra Fisher 18:35.6
11-Addy Thibodeaux 18:40.9
14-Julia Zyndanowicz 19:07.3
17-Paige McCaul 19:10.3

19-Kyra Pellegrino (unattached) 19:12.5

24-Emily Litke 19:44.9
26-Kayla Hawkins 19:52.2
31-Hannah Belleville 20:08.1
33-Raven Stanet 20:14.2
37-Jackie Caron 20:23.0
41-Mallory Holloway 20:35.5
43-Isabella Colabatistto 20:59.2
46-Tori Mariano 21:07.8
47-Caroline Bell 21:14.7
48-Maddy Stevener 21:17.0
49-Grace LaCapra 21:17.5
52-Kate Murtagh 21:40.9
53-Mary Dougherty 21:40.9
59 finishers 

Home meet: Men's results

 It’s rare that one of the “meet highlights” is the date of the meet. In this case, for me, it was my 60^th birthday and it was a great day to reach that milestone, with my favorite weather (cloudy, humid, warm) and my favorite team (Marist cross country) and the best tailgate/parent support in the MAAC. And! My older children surprised me by flying in for the weekend. Highly, highly NEAT.
 
This was a solid start for the men, with four first-years among our top-10 and sophomore Jackson Borge racing for the first time in nearly a year and being our lead runner. Iona, a preseason 15^th-ranked team in NCAA Division 1, came to play today, dominating the competition and destroying course-record times in the process. Beyond that? Not gonna analyze the meet much further as we have many weeks/months to go.
 
 
Marist Season Opener
Saturday, August 31, 2024
Vassar Farm
Men’s team scores
1-Iona 17, 2-Marist 71, 3-Albany 86, 4-UConn 91, 5-Siena 134, 6-Fairfield 152
Men’s individual results (winner + Marist finishers)
1-Lachlan Wellington (Iona) 18:13.5 *course record
11-Jackson Borge 19:03.7
14-Logan Schaeffler 19:14.9
15-Kieran Donnelly 19:15.6
17-Jeremiah Lanum 19:17.6
21-Jeremy Mbogo 19:30.7
22-Gabriel Rodriguez 19:32.1
24-Tyler Perry 19:37.6
25-Justin Schwartz 19:38.7
28-Davis Haines 19:46.6
30-Raffi Buchakjian 19:47.3
32-Matthew Ferreri 19:50.0
33-Miles Chamberlain 19:50.5
37-Joaquin Bell-Andrade 19:54.0
39-Sanjith Nomula 20:00.0
40-Sean Wilson 20:04.0
43-Sam Tellefson 20:06.1
49-Dennis Love 20:12.0
51-David Laubenheimer 20:14.9
53-Kevin Cannon 20:17.1
54-Jack Dovaras 20:17.6
57-Alexander Pattison 20:24.0
59-Pierce Francis 20:34.7
61-Patrick Wininger 20:43.7
66-Alexander Ushchak 20:50.8
69-Ryan Wisker 20:57.8
75 finishers

Easton, front and CENTER

 

Someone texted me this really neat photo from Wednesday's Faculty and Staff Convocation at the McCann Center. As President Kevin Weinman was speaking, behind him was a Marist collage which included our captain, our (400-meter) school record holder, our MARSHAL, Easton Eberwein. We are blessed to have Easton back for another (academic) year of (athletic) eligibility. Neat, on all levels. 

Heart of the sunrise

 

Talk about dedication! Coach Chuck got up Very Early to benefit some members of the women's XC team, took them over to Vassar Farm for a predawn run to beat the (oppressive) heat later. And! He snapped this lovely sunrise picture. Highly neat.

Boston reunion

 

Class of 2012 classmates and good, dear friends Brian Townsend (left) and Luke Shane met up in Boston, where Brian was in town for work and where Luke now lives. Via group text, they reminsced about their Mills Hills cross country workouts and heaven knows so much more. We miss these guys a lot and we are incredulous in the realization that their final cross country season (2011) was 13 years ago! How can that BE! I had to zoom in very closely to see a few slivers of gray hair on Luke's head; no such close examination is needed here at Blog Central, there's plenty of gray to go around! Thanks for the photos, the impromptu group text and for your insistence on my posting it here on this (fancy) blog = glad to oblige!

Big team = big goals

 

In a continuing effort to transition old traditions into new (and better) traditions! We replaced our annual summer team BBQ (which was very cross-country centric) with a full-team (track AND XC) food and fun fest down by the river on Sunday afternoon, on the eve of the Fall 2024 Semester of classes. Although a few of our athletes were missing from this picture, this is the majority of our 100-plus roster of athletes. All event groups are represented here. We're not just XC and mid/distance runners anymore, and we will continue to expand into a more complete track team. It's a really exciting time for our program and today was a good start (for that). Neat.

Blast from the past

 

Last Saturday, as I was wandering around the McCann Center in between preseason XC practices, I happened upon Brian Ordway, who was on the first team that I coached back in 1991, and who was visiting campus with his young and very energtic son. He was one of the original four who showed up at the first organizational meeting for the track team in March of 1991. He went down to the boathouse and reminded me that's where his first practice was -- I vaguely remember a hill workout of some sort. Remember, back when I started in the spring of 1991, I had no coaching experience and it could be argued that I had no idea what I was doing. Some would posit, as I enter my 34th year, that nothing much has changed in that regard! Brian is in his early 50s and his Marist days are well in the past. His elderly parents, who accompanied Brian to campus, were stunned that I was "still here after all this time." Indeed!

Meet info

 Next Saturday, the 2024-2025 cross country/track season(s) kicks off with the Marist Season Opener XC meet at Vassar Farm. The (visiting) teams expected to attend = UAlbany, UConn, Fairfield, Iona, Siena. Men's 6km race is at 9a. Women's 5km race is at 9:45a. Senior Day ceremonies will follow. 

In other news! There seems to be growing interest in the de facto track/XC alumni reunion here, centered around the Dutchess County Classic. For those still interested in that, and seeking the Marist Alumni Racing Team discount code, email me at Peter.Colaizzo@marist.edu or text/call me at 845 309 3640 and I'll get the "secret codes" sent your way. Neat. 

Raising the curtain (on another season)

 "Are you excited for preseason, Coach!" I've been getting some version of this question for the past several days. Because I'm a grumpy old coach, I usually grouse: "No. Not really." Another version of the question: "Are you ready for your team to return, Coach?" My grouse remains the same. "No. Not really." It's been this way for many years now. If "no, not really" is my growling answer in a month or two months from now, I know that'll not be a good sign. But usually, that dread of the summer's end fades within minutes or hours of yet another preseason and beginning of another (academic) year of cross country and track. That'll likely be the case again, at the start of year 34 of this journey.

We have a big roster, as usual, and a young roster, which is not always the case. We are very top-heavy with first-year and sophomore athletes, especially on the men's side but really on both teams. The construction of our new track facility during this academic year will only add to the excitement. For the majority of this year's team, they'll be on a home track for some or most of their collegiate careers.

And so, we begin again. As we do every year. At this stage, there are far fewer tomorrows than there were yesterdays, so we might as well cherish every moment of it. OK. 

Forever (and Future) Foxes

 

Thanks to Rolek (Class of 2008) for sharing these incredibly awesome photos of circa-2007/2008 era Marist Running Red Foxes, with their growing brood of Future Foxes. It's an annual gathering and I'm so glad he/they remember their old coach by sending me this (neat) picture.

Clapp your hands!

 

Thanks to (from left) Dennis Love, Joe Logan, Alex Ushchak and Ian Wiesinger for coming out to Clapp Park in Pittsfield to support me in the annual Sweltering Summer 8-hour ultramarathon. I was able to cover 111 laps of the 0.3553-mile dirt track, much of which was a muddy mess for the first half of the day due to flooding rains on Friday night. Neat. 

Hayley wins Kelley/Ocean Beach half marathon!

 

Congrats to Hayley Collins (pictured here with me on Saturday at Ocean Beach in New London, CT) for winning the Kelley/Ocean Beach Half Marathon. The race was held on a brutally humid and sunny morning. Hayley said she went into "survival mode" early but she still easily outdistanced the field, winning in 1:23:45. 

For those interested, I wrote a post on my Substack about my participation in the race to support Marist alum and Sacred Heart track coach Christian Morrison, who completed the race for a remarkable 49th year in a row! You can read that here for free (and please consider subscribing to it?). Thank you.

Save money! Run the Dutchess County Classic!

 Hopefully, that title got your attention?

We (and when I say "we" I really mean "me"?) are planning for (hoping for?) a relatively big Track/XC alumni weekend on the weekend of the Dutchess County Classic, which is on Sunday, September 15. On that day, the Classic will feature a half marathon and 10km (the full marathon was discontinued). There is also a 5km on Saturday afternoon. Most alums who have come back for the Classic have opted for the Sunday races -- half marathon or 10km. Here's the incentive: Because I asked my friends at the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club, they have agreed to give me a DISCOUNT CODE exclusively for Marist alums. The MHRRC folks told me (urged me!) not to openly publicize the codes (good advice, because I'm an idiot and I was planning on including them in THIS POST ... which, last time I checked, is still on the World Wide Web and thus accessible to anyone who might stumble upon it!). 

So anyway? If you are interested in or planning on racing the Dutchess County Classic, please text me at 845 309 3640 and I will send you the code(s). The codes are race-specific so let me know which race you plan on entering in. If you have already entered in the Classic? Sorry, I don't think we can retroactively get you a discount. However! You can (and should!) most definitely take part in what I hope will be a big, fun and active weekend. Here's what I have planned: 

--Friday night, September 13: Any alums that are in town, we can try to plan an informal gathering at a Place That Serves Adult Beverages. Hey. I don't go out anymore, so I don't even have any (good) suggestions! Heck, I don't even have to be INVITED. Hopefully, you all can organize something?

--Saturday morning, September 14: Come and cheer on the 2024 version of your Running Red Foxes! We will be taking part in the Jasper XC Invitational (aka, the pre-MAAC meet). It will be at Twin Ponds on the Farm in Montgomery, NY -- a mere 43-minute drive from Poughkeepsie! I don't have the specific race details, but races are late morning. More on that later. Our current team would LOVE your support. 

--Saturday afternoon, September 14: We're planning on having a big team BBQ on campus -- and you're invited! This will be a great way to meet the entire team and our ever-expanding coaching staff. (and yes, maybe I'll be hitting you up for donations to the new track project). More details to follow, but it'll likely be late afternoon on South Field (the grass field next to McCann, which will eventually be the site of our throwing events!). 

--Sunday morning, September 15: The Dutchess County Classic! Go out and run with your favorite alums, or make new (alumni) friends! I hope you can MAKE it!

I know this post has a goofy tone (even though I turn 60 in a few weeks, my "maturity level" remains a contentious subject as well as a "work in progress") but I really would love to see a lot of alums come back for this -- the XC meet + the Classic. Even if you don't run/race, come back anyway!

Again, if you want to enter the Classic at a discount, text me at 845 309 3640 and I'll send you the code. And please! Do NOT share the code with anyone else. The MHRRC was nice enough to do this for us and I don't want abuse the privilege and cost them any potential profits from the race.

More details to follow ...

Our staff is GROWING! (highly neat)

 

We are very excited to announce the addition of Alisha Samuel to our growing track staff. See this link for more details. Alisha and her husband Sam will be moving from Minnesota to Poughkeepsie in the coming week and she'll be on campus in time for preseason. Although her primary role will be with the track team, she will definitely be part of our entire XC/track family and we're thrilled that she decided to join us. Neat!

Breaking news! Journal(ism) reunion was neat!

 

We try to do it every year. Thanks to the hard work and persistence of our former colleague and resident Good Guy J.W. Stewart, the annual Poughkeepsie Journal sports department reunion happens every July at the Palace Diner in Poughkeepsie. This diner was the site of many, many, many after-deadline, late-night, unhealthy-eating excursions – usually at 2 a.m. or later (after, as we used to say, the paper was “put to bed.”) way back in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, etc., when we all worked together at what we liked to call Dutchess County’s Finest Daily Newspaper.
 
This year’s edition was Sunday at the diner and we had a fabulous turnout of 13 not-so-young-anymore men – old ties and companions that remain strong. Some members are the group are still working in journalism (more on THAT in a moment). Most of us have moved on, but we still remain connected in one way or another to the days of our daily newspaper grind. It was hard work, rewarding work, and we forged a bond that has remained decades later.
 
Like most reunions, we just caught up on things – family and friends, our current careers, etc. More than one guy in the group asked, “hey Pete, are you still coaching?” I get this question A LOT these days, as I prepare to embark on Year 34 as Marist track/XC coach. Like the rest of the world, we are all tethered to our phones. So it was no surprise that when the news of President Biden’s bowing out of the presidential race broke, our phones lit up like Christmas trees in December. We all let our minds wander to what it would be like if we were still working in the newsroom. For one of us, Phil, his mind didn’t have to wander too far. He still works for LoHud, and his editor summoned him away from the burgers, wraps, French fries and onion rings – the same “healthy” fare of our 2 a.m. gatherings! – to get to his laptop and get to work posting updates. This was breaking news, and he’s still a breaking news guy.
 
Because of Phil’s call to duty, he’s not in this awesome photo. Some traditions are worth keeping, no matter what breaking news is happening in the world. A lunch date at the diner with a bunch of Good Men is certainly one of them. Neat.

U.S. Olympic Team Trials: Racewalk results

How exciting was it to watch the Olympic Trials racewalk on Peacock this morning? It was equally thrilling to obsessively refresh the live results, where all 40 500-meter splits were being posted. Obviously, it was more thrilling (and appropriate) for Coach Chuck and Coach Billy to be out there cheering on and coaching on our ladies. Marissa Sciotto and Marist alum Katie Miale worked together for the majority of the race, with Katie pulling ahead in the late stages of the race. Both of them walked wonderfully, with Katie getting 10^th and Marissa a few strides back in 12^th. Mia Priore had a tough day, having to bow out after 7km due to a balky knee. Mia wasn’t even sure she was going to be racing until a few weeks ago! Anyway, we’re proud of them all. For the second consecutive Olympic cycle, we had athletes in the 20km racewalk event. Neat!
 
United States Olympic Team Trials
Saturday, June 29, 2024
Springfield, Oregon
20,000-meter racewalk
10-Katie Miale (New England Walkers) 1:54:44
12-Marissa Sciotto (Marist) 1:55:21
Mia Priore (Marist) DNF

U.S. Olympic Team Trials: Racewalkers!

 

Yes, plural! Since we last posted about this, another Marist racewalker (Mia Priore) was accepted into the field for the United States Olympic Team Trials. The 20km racewalk will take place on Saturday morning in Springfield, Oregon, on the same road 1km course that was utilized three years ago at the Trials. Mia and Marissa Sciotto will be towing the line with Marist singlets on, and Marist alum Katie Miale once again will be racing at Trials -- it's Katie's second trip to the Trials! So, three Marist-connected athletes will be out there. Coach Chuck, of course, is out there to coach and inspire his athletes. Coach Billy is out there as well, so Marist track is well-represented out at the Olympic Trials. I did not make the trip to Oregon this time, but will continue to post about it from afar. Go Red Foxes!

Jiggy's our Maine Man

Recent graduate John “Jiggy” Ignacz won the inaugural Great Bangor Marathon on Sunday (and the $1,000 prize money that goes along with it!) in 2:38:26, an average of 6:02.57 per mile. This is remarkably similar to his debut marathon time at Shamrock in March 2023 (2:38:13)debut marathon time at Shamrock in March 2023 (2:38:13) but he said this one felt easier. In a text, he said it “kinda just felt like a steady long run and never really got close to the wall. Think I settled too much once I took the lead. Way easier than the last one.” If you look at his splits and his heartrate, the corroborate his analysis. John decided to do this toward the end of the spring semester, and he went into it with no real marathon buildup other than his track fitness and one or two longer runs. He’s excited to see what a more traditional marathon buildup might yield for Boston 2025, which is now qualified for! Nicely done, Jiggy!

Lisa (D'Aniello) Chase's (soon-to-be) record achievement!

Below is a copy (literally) of my "other" blog ... for those who did not see of Lisa's amazing effort last month. It's really neat! Please consider subscribing to my "other" blog too! Thanks and congrats to Lisa and her family on this (wonderful) accomplishment. 

Double stroller achievement

With help from friends, Lisa Chase sets a unique speed standard

PETE COLAIZZO

JUN 15, 2024

7

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“Running is so boring.”

How many times have you heard some version of this, almost exclusively from non-runners who don’t “get” it?

Some other uninformed questions/comments: “What do you THINK about?” “Just thinking about DRIVING that far makes me tired!” “All that POUNDING can’t be good for you!” “It’s unhealthy!” “Have you SEEN what people look like after marathons?’’

Yeah well. Readers of this Substack, you know better, don’t you?

One of the wonderful things about our sport is that we can (and we do!) create new, unique challenges. Runners were great at this during the pandemic. Virtual runs, fastest-known-times, vertical challenges … all them started or flourished during those otherwise baleful months and years.

Other challenges just happen, blossoming from simple ideas. And, that’s the subject of today’s post: A unique challenge that will eventually, hopefully, most likely, become part of the lore of the Guinness Book of Records.

Note of caution and clarity: This record-breaking run that you will be reading about momentarily is still pending certification from Guinness.

No matter the fine-print, disclaimer material, Lisa Chase’s awesome idea – and, later, accomplishment -- still makes for a very, very cool story, and I’m grateful for her allowing me to share it with you.

OK. As usual, I’ve prattled on with a long-winded introduction. Back in my newspaper days, such shenanigans wouldn’t get past a good editor!

So, what’s the story? Lisa Chase set a (yes, pending) world record for fastest mile time while pushing a double stroller – yes, with her two children in it! Lisa accomplished this last month at the University at Albany track, with certified, official timing, in 5 minutes, 48.84 seconds – and with a lot of support and encouragement from her Albany Running Exchange teammates, friends and coach Dick Vincent.

“The idea started in December,’’ Dick Vincent wrote in a Facebook post, “and Lisa and I have been working towards this for six months. She needed to accomplish this pronto as her two children, Addie and Will, are growing too big for the stroller. The weight of the stroller with kids: 130 pounds!!! Josh Merlis and the A.R.E. family assisted with timing, pacing, videos, photos, organizing, documentation and adhering to Guinness’ 32 pages of rule and regulations. Congratulations to Lisa, her two kids and her supportive husband Lance on this accomplishment!”

My connection with Lisa goes back about 20 years. She was a member of the Class of 2008 at Marist College, where she was an elite level rower … and, yes, a great runner too! One of the finest pure athletes we’ve ever encountered in all our years at Marist (obviously a biased opinion, but I stand by it!), Lisa was able to excel at both sports, a grueling two-sport athlete!

Anyway, rather than continuing with my long-winded writing, I’ll let Lisa tell her story in her own words, in the form of an email interview from last week.

Where did you get the idea for attempting the stroller record?

As I increased my mileage over the past year and a half, I had been running more and more with the kids in the stroller.  We did a hilly 5k last Thanksgiving and I averaged just over 7 minutes per mile.  That got me wondering how fast I could run with them in a single, non-hilly mile.  That then led me to wonder what the world record was.  I had read some articles about other stroller running records, and saw that just a year ago, the single stroller female mile record was 5:57.  It was lowered last summer to 5:24 (and just six weeks ago lowered further to a sizzling 5:11!).  However, there was NO double stroller mile record, which I found very surprising, but also very enticing.  Why not try to set it before we retire the double stroller? Even if we only held the record for a short time, I thought that would be a really neat thing to do with my kids, Addie and Will.  

How often do you run with the double jogger and how difficult is it?

I tried to do at least one run a week pushing the kids, varying between shorter, easy runs; hard workouts; and longer (up to 7ish miles … the kids couldn’t handle much more than that) runs.  Dick Vincent helped coach me the last five months and with Josh Merlis of the timing company ARE Event Productions, we targeted the second half of May for the mile attempt.  As we got closer, Dick assigned some great workouts on the track pushing the kids that really helped get me ready.  While the track takes away any elevation challenges, navigating the curves with a wide, heavy stroller in front of me takes some getting used to.  Additionally, as you know, there’s no avoiding the wind on a track and a slight wind becomes amplified while a strong headwind can make it feel like you’re pushing a car!

How old are your two children and how much do they weigh (individual and combined)?

Addie is six and has always been a solid kid.  She is about 55 pounds.  Will is four and weighs close to 40 pounds.  The stroller advertises a max of 100 pounds so as you can see, we are pretty much there!  When you add the stroller weight, I’m pushing about 130 pounds, which is a little more than what I weigh. 

Do they LIKE the ride?

Haha, good question. They can both ride 2-wheel bicycles now and would usually rather be doing that, but they have been pretty good sports about getting out regularly in the stroller.  Well-timed snacks have been very helpful, and so have audiobooks (recent favorites include Charlotte’s Web and James and the Giant Peach).  Destination runs (like running to the playground) are also well received.  We have one final race planned together, the Route 50 Mile in Burnt Hills: a slight downhill one-mile event on where everyone receives free ice cream at the finish, so they are looking forward to that one. (Editor’s note: At the time of this interview, this race was in the future; well, it happened the other night and Lisa ran 5:29.6!)

Tell me about the record effort on the track! The video of it was really exciting to watch!

My goal all along was to go under 6 minutes.  Theoretically, I could submit any time as long as it was under 12:00 (the minimum standard put out by Guinness) but I wanted it to be decently competitive and felt that 5:-- was what I needed to shoot for.  Honestly, as I did more track workouts with the stroller, I wondered if sub 6 was even possible for me.  It was often challenging to run just a 400 at that pace with them, especially if there was any wind.  I did a time trial at the end of April and pushed them to a 6:05 mile, which renewed my confidence a great deal.  I felt with an additional month of training, plus some supporters cheering for me, I could dip under 6.

I had reached out to Guinness at that time to see if pacers were allowed, and finally heard back from them just a few days before my scheduled mile on May 28 (which had already been rescheduled from one week earlier, when it was 90 degrees and Will wasn’t feeling well).  With the green light to have others setting the pace, I asked Pete Rowell from the ARE men’s team who had already volunteered, and he recruited two others  - including Drew Burns, fellow Marist alum! I always like to start conservatively, and indicated that I really wanted the first half to be just under 6 minute pace, with the hope to pick it up a bit after that.  

It literally started raining the moment the race started, although I didn’t notice until halfway through the second lap.  The guys took me through the first quarter in 89, which was perfect.  The wind and rain picked up in the second lap and I heard Will say at the 600-meter mark, “Mommy, my socks are getting all wet!” as we got pelted in the face with rain (I had made the kids remove their shoes before we started to save a little weight).  I did not respond to him and thankfully he didn’t say anything further. 

We came through the half in 2:59 and I felt strong, which was exactly as I had hoped.  There was an incredible turnout of local folks (Dick had put the word out) who had come to cheer for me prior to the official Tuesday night track practice for the Albany Running Exchange, and as the rain and wind died down in the second half, we picked up the pace. The third quarter was run in about 87 and I gave it everything I had that last lap, finishing with an 82, for a full-mile time of 5:48.84.  

Watching one of the videos later on, I could hear my mom telling a family friend as I was on the last lap that I tend to have a good kick.  I’m glad I was able to deliver that again for this momentous occasion. I was truly thrilled to go so far under my goal, as well as humbled by all the folks who came out to support me.  As I tried to catch my breath in the moments after the finish, the kids were pretty unfazed by it all, simply asking me when they could have the lollipops I promised them.  

In general, how has your training been going and how do you balance it with work/family schedule? What IS your work/family schedule and when do you run?

Training has been going better than I ever expected!  It's definitely a balancing act, and I couldn't do it without the support of my husband Lance.  In 2024 so far, I've averaged about 22 miles a week for running (lowest week was 9; highest week was 31) and an additional 7ish miles of rowing per week (mostly on the ERG, but I will soon be getting on the water a lot more!).  Every week is different and flexibility is key, but most weeks include five workouts: generally two on weekdays before work (often with a great group of fellow mom runners I’ve gotten to know since moving to Delmar), one after work (often a track Tuesday workout with Dick), and a workout on both Saturday and Sunday.  I also try to get in 1-2 lifts per week after the kids go to bed.  It's helped that I've had at least one run per week with the kids in the stroller, and feel less guilty about taking time away from them.  I'm excited for the school year to be ending to take work off my plate for a while.

How pleased were you with the Run for Women 5k? You seemed very, very pumped. How did that go, and were you expecting to run that fast?

Until recently, my fastest 5k was from when I was 30 (pre-kids) and ran 18:40.  Once I had Addie and Will, I never thought I’d be able to run that fast again, and I was genuinely OK with that.  I had gotten older, life was significantly more tiring, and running never again would be my top priority with my family taking that spot. 

But as I slowly got back into running in 2021-2022, I dealt with a lot of foot issues and ended up not being able to run for quite some time, instead needing months of PT.  As I rehabilitated, I found myself more motivated than I otherwise would have been, and also much smarter about injury prevention.  Last year things started taking off and I managed an 18:32 5k at the end of September, which absolutely stunned me.  

Before the Delightful Run for Women (formerly Freihofer’s) last weekend, I’d only run two 5ks in 2024: 18:50 in March and 18:58 in early May on a hilly course.  I was hoping to be close to my PR but kept in mind that it’s not the easiest course.  I used my watch to keep me on pace for 18:40ish the first 2k and then just gutted it out for the last 3k.  Once again, it was a shock to see the time on the finish clock: 18:20, although my official chip time was 18:19 due to starting a second back. 

I recognize that being able to run these times with such a busy life and such low mileage is a bit of an anomaly and I’m truly grateful to be able to do so.   I think whether you’re running 18-minute 5ks or 28-minute 5ks, being able to surprise yourself with a good time is always exciting.  I hope to keep this momentum going, especially as I’m less than two years away from the Masters Division. 

What advice/encouragement can you give to women trying to regain competitiveness after having children? 

For any moms who are struggling to get back into running after kids: Yes, it can be hard and very daunting!  Start small and just try to have fun with it.  Making a little bit of time for myself to get out for a walk - and then eventually a run - especially in those early years, was key to me staying sane and ultimately being a better parent.  Also, just want to point out for anyone who has given birth, whether it was recently or years ago: Pelvic floor therapy can be extremely helpful!

Anything else I might have missed that you would like to add ... 

Just wanted to make sure it’s clear that I did not officially set a Guinness record YET … all the evidence has been submitted and they responded to let me know I should hear in the next 12 weeks if my performance met all their requirements and is accepted.