Reykjavik Marathon update: Navigating burnout during this training block

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I’m running the Reykjavik Marathon in 2 weeks, a true bucket list race for me. When I started this training block, I had every intention of going for a time that was close to my PR of 3:17, or hell, maybe even beating it. But right now, I’m just ready for this cycle to be over. 

Truthfully, I’m kind of burned out on marathon training at the moment. Which makes sense– after I run Reykjavik on August 22, I’ll have run 4 marathons in 11 months. I ran Boston in April and jumped almost immediately back into marathon training. I haven’t missed any runs, and my track workouts and tempo runs have actually gone pretty well. But I haven’t had a really good long run all summer. I’ve done the mileage, sure, but I’ve struggled to hit my prescribed marathon paces in pretty much every long run workout. I also raced a 10 miler on a flat trail near my hometown in PA and finished in a disappointing 1:16. For context, I ran the A10 last year, at the peak of my training for Wicked Fast Poconos, in 1:10. Both of my 20 milers sucked and my coach decided to give me a 3-week taper instead of my usual 2 weeks as a result.

Now granted, this summer has been super hot and humid, but it’s always like that around here this time of year. Again, I think I am just burned out, at least on the really long runs. I do have a few half marathons on the schedule this fall– Baltimore and Rehoboth– and I have no intention of quitting marathons, but I do think I need a break from marathon training until it’s time to train for Boston next year.

I’ve talked about this before, but I started getting into running more seriously because I was burned out at work. In the first phase of my career, I worked as a newspaper reporter, a job known for its low pay and terrible work-life balance. In the early 2010s, I was covering a scandal-plagued county government, which had its fun moments. But I was also incredibly stressed out all the time, and it was never my dream to cover politics, so I can’t say I was particularly happy in that role. Running, however, became my outlet, and I ran my first A10 during that time. The following year I took another news job that paid better, but my burnout only intensified with a long commute, long hours, weekend shifts, and a less-than-great work environment. Still, running was there for me, and I ran my first marathon and many half marathons during those years. 

I ended up leaving the news business altogether in 2017, and took a social media/comms job that I thought was going to be the answer to all of my work problems. It wasn’t (though at least I didn’t have a long commute anymore.) It ended up being a poor fit for several reasons, and I stayed much longer than I should have. But once again, running was a source of comfort, and I managed to BQ for the first time. When COVID hit, things got a lot more difficult at work and I found myself on call every night and weekend. But I made time for running (including training for and running a BQ at a COVID-era marathon!)  

Finally, I got fed up and left for a new comms job in early 2021, and since then I’m happy to report that my career has been on an upswing. I finally found work-life balance, am happy with my salary, and feel like I am working in a supportive environment where my bosses and peers value me. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that my running took off beginning in 2021. I had a major marathon breakthrough in the fall of 2021, and I started being able to run Boston Marathon qualifying times with significant buffers. I broke 3:30 in the marathon, then broke 3:20. I’ve run Boston every year since 2022. 

For so many years, I identified myself by my job, because that’s what so many people of my generation were raised to do. I was Allison the Journalist. (There’s probably more to be said about why I was hinging my identity on a job that I wasn’t happy in, but that’s a topic for another day.)  When I started running marathons, it was like I found this whole new identity. I was Allison the Runner. And then I got pretty decent at marathons, and suddenly I was a Boston Marathon Runner. And I love that.

Which is why I am so conscious of getting burned out. I don’t want to lose the joy that I’ve found in running. So after Reykjavik, it’s time to take a break. Not from running, but from the intense marathon training I’ve been doing for pretty much the last year. Maybe I can finally dust off my poor neglected bicycle and take that out for some rides this fall! 

It’s me, hi! (Boston Marathon 2026 recap)

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Does anyone even read blogs anymore? If you do — hey!

It’s been a minute since I last posted, when I shared about the disaster that was the Atlantic City Marathon. Don’t worry, I didn’t give up on running after that.

In December, I ran two half marathons– Rehoboth (1:39) and Naptown (1:36). And then it was time to train for my 6th Boston Marathon! I had also signed up for the Algonquin 50K, which took place the first weekend of February, but I bailed at the last minute when I heard the trails were coated in snow and ice and that wearing YakTrax was recommended. Plus, the real feel was like negative 7 or something stupid. That was a hard no for me, especially with a goal marathon not far behind. Sadly for me, this was the last year of Alq, so it looks like my 2023 race was my one and only experience.

I actually ran several races in March, but most were as marathon pace workouts. The only one I went full send on was the Annapolis Running Festival half, where I ran a slightly disappointing 1:38 (was shooting for 1:35 or faster.) But training for Boston went well, despite how cold this winter was. And I like running in the cold! But like, I like running in the cold when it’s 35 degrees. Not when it’s 15 degrees. It was definitely an unusually cold winter in Maryland, and I vowed not to complain about the heat this summer (yeah right.)

So– onto the Boston recap!

I woke up on Marathon Monday feeling super pumped for the race. The weather forecast had pretty much everyone excited— 40s, no rain, and a tailwind? F yeah. Unfortunately, the day got off to a messy start, with bus loading at the Common the most chaotic I’ve ever seen it. I was supposed to get on the bus to Hopkinton at 8 and didn’t board until close to 9. Once I got there, I had very little time in Athletes Village before my wave was called. By the time I walked through Hopkinton and hit a porta potty, it was almost go time and I ended up running to get into my corral on time. Not ideal! However, I perked up when I heard the Doobie Bros.’ Taking It to the Streets playing (much better choice than What a Fool Believes for right before a marathon)

My big goal for Boston this year was to run a consistent race. I felt like I was in shape for mid-3:20s, faster if I had a perfect day (my course PR is 3:19 from 2023.) The big challenge with Boston is that the course can easily trick you into going out too fast. There’s a ton of downhill (but also some uphill!) in the first half, really the first 16 miles, and of course your adrenaline is pumping and you wanna go. But then you hit Newton at mile 16 and your quads are shot. I kept telling myself, run by effort. Don’t weave around other people. Let others pass you if they want! Focus on your own race. I was keeping a close eye on my splits, and they were pretty consistently in the 7:40s, with a few dipping into the 7:30s. But I felt strong! I took in the sights and funny signs— there was a man standing in a speedo around mile 4 with a sign that said “Run Faster or I’ll Drop the Sign” LOL! I split the first 10 miles in around 1:17, which felt right pacing wise, and I was looking forward to my very favorite part of the course, the Wellesley Scream Tunnel. That’s right before the halfway point and you can hear the Wellesley students cheering at least a half mile before you get there. It’s so fun and always gives me a massive boost!

I heard the women in the Wellesley Scream Tunnel about a half mile before I got there, and as always running through it is my favorite part of the course! I gave out so many high fives!

Heading into Newton, I was still maintaining a consistent pace and again reminded myself to run by effort. The hills were hard. They always are. Part of that is where they fall on the course; any incline after 16 miles of running is going to feel hard! And part of that is I’m not a super strong uphill or downhill runner, tbh. My goal was to keep it steady up the four hills and then recover/pick up some more speed on the way back down. It was still such a relief to get to the top of Heartbreak and know then it would be mostly downhill into Boston (though of course, after 20+ miles of ups and downs, I felt every bit of the downhill in my quads!)

From mile 21 on, the crowds were just insane— there wasn’t one part of the course that wasn’t packed with screaming spectators. I looked at my watch and saw if I kept up the pace I’d be well under 3:30 (a loose goal I had for the race). Saw the Citgo sign and then there was just a mile left. Really noticed the tailwind here and felt like it was my reward for suffering through that awful headwind at Atlantic City last fall. My husband and sister were planning to be about a half mile from the finish, so I was looking for them, but never saw them. They actually got a spot to watch on Boylston and saw the winners and other elites — so cool!

The turn onto Hereford and then Boylston was electric. Saw the photog at the corner and hammed it up and got some of my favorite race photos ever! Then gunned it to the finish line, which is further away than it seems once you’re on Boylston.

Official time was 3:26:36, my third fastest Boston out of six.

And yes, I’ll be back next year!

So, what’s next? Well, last Sunday I ran the Pittsburgh Half on the 11th anniversary of running the Pittsburgh Marathon, which was my first marathon! I had no idea how I would feel less than two weeks after Boston, but I ran a 1:36 and felt strong.

And believe it or not– it’s almost time to start another marathon training block! I am running my first international marathon, the Reykjavik Marathon, on August 22. I have wanted to go to Iceland for at least 15 years and I am so stoked for this trip. Training starts on Monday and I am really hoping to crush this flat, fast course!

Running a personal worst at the 2025 Atlantic City Marathon

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Earlier this month, I finished the Atlantic City Marathon. It was my 20th marathon and my slowest one to date.

What on earth happened?

Backing up a bit– I had an amazing race at the Wicked Fast Poconos Marathon 5 weeks earlier, running a PR of 3:17:41. So I’m sure you’re thinking, did you really expect to crush another marathon so soon?

Well…. yes? I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2022 in a then-PR of 3:18, then followed that up with a strong 3:24 in Philly 6 weeks later. In 2024, I ran Boston in 3:24 and the Ohiopyle Marathon in PA 3 weeks later in 3:29 (though I wouldn’t call that a strong race; I bonked badly at the end and felt pretty terrible.)

So yeah, I didn’t expect to be an entire 47 minutes slower than my PR from Wicked Fast. (Is this perimenopause catching up with me? I fear it may be.)

Let’s get into the dirty details!

After Wicked Fast, I took a week off running as I usually do. But I felt pretty recovered almost immediately and my coach asked me if I could handle 10 easy miles a week after the marathon. I said yep, I feel good. She tailored my workouts to build me up slowly after Wicked Fast, then taper again for AC. Then I had a horrible tempo run 10 days after Wicked Fast that I blamed on the oppressive humidity that day. I think I probably just wasn’t as recovered as I thought. My coach adjusted my next long run, cutting the distance and the marathon pace miles, and that went better. The following week, I was right back on track, even smashing an 18 miler with 8 miles of marathon pace (and that’s a tough long run workout.) So I was optimistic Atlantic City would go well, though I thought running another PR was likely out of the question. In any event, I was really looking forward to the race, which coincided with a planned girls weekend in nearby Cape May.

The day before the race, which was held Sunday, was a perfect fall day in Cape May. My girlfriends and I visited a fall festival, went shopping, took a trolley tour to learn about the history of the town, and ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Mexican is definitely not my first choice the night before a marathon, but I got a big ass rice bowl with a side of…. more rice, plus I ate more than my fair share of tortilla chips, so I felt adequately carbed up.

A basic B in her natural habitat

I also slept decently the night before the race. I was super nervous about parking in Atlantic City, so I left extra early and got there with an hour and a half to spare. I packed a bagel and two hard boiled eggs, which I ate the morning of Wicked Fast, and ate that in the car.

The race begins and ends on the boardwalk in front of Bally’s Casino, and the great thing about that was we could use the bathrooms in there ahead of time. Side note, the smell of weed was everywhere. No judgment– I partake in gummies from time to time myself– but Jesus people, it was 6:30 in the morning. Wake and bake, I guess.

Sunrise over the ocean

The marathon and half marathon started promptly at 8 am, and I lined up with the 3:25 pacer. Given that I had just run a 3:17, and this marathon was pretty much pancake flat, I felt like that should feel like a comfortable pace. Oh boy, how wrong I was!

If you’ve ever run a marathon, certainly if you’ve run a few, you know how it feels when your race goes to hell. I was feeling good until I wasn’t, and I stopped feeling good pretty early on. I knew it wasn’t going to be my day pretty much as soon as we turned back onto the boardwalk around mile 8. The headwind was AWFUL. I mentioned the 2022 Philly Marathon earlier, which had insane wind gusts. This was so much worse, and it was unseasonably warm and humid. By mile 10, the 3:25 pacers had slipped ahead and I wondered how on earth I was going to run another 16 miles.

Early in the race when I still felt good
I look happy, but the wind was offensive

We were on the boardwalk until probably close to the halfway point, and I was still holding onto paces in the high 7s/low 8s. Then everything really went off a cliff. I noticed other people struggling, too, much sooner than I normally do in a marathon. I passed a guy around mile 12 who said “good job, how are you feeling?” “Not good,” I said with a chuckle. “Yeah, same,” he said. I really blame the wind for that. God, it sucked.

At mile 15, I started to walk and I called Micah.

“Hey, I’m having a really bad day out here!”

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Are you sick?”

“No…. I just don’t want to do this!”

And that was the crux of it– my body just didn’t want to run 26.2 miles. Nothing was really wrong. I wasn’t injured, I wasn’t cramping, and I didn’t have any stomach issues.

Once the 3:35 group passed me, things deteriorated rapidly. The 3:45 pace group left me in the dust around mile 18 and I realized, wow, you probably won’t even qualify for Boston today. I already have my 2027 BQ thanks to Wicked Fast, but this would be my first time not BQing in 5 years. So that was a blow to the old ego.

I spent a good portion of the back half of the race alternating between running slowly and walking, texting my family and Micah, and posting stories to Instagram to let everyone know I was having a shit day. I passed a bar at some point and seriously contemplated just stopping in.

Indeed

Then the 3:55 group passed me and I knew it would be a fight just to finish in under 4 hours. I’ve gone sub-4 in all of my other marathons, usually by quite a lot. As cocky as it sounds, I basically took it for granted that I would always be under 4. But the marathon will humble you, that’s for damn sure.

Once we hit mile 23, we were back on the boardwalk and FINALLY had a tailwind, but I was so done at that point it didn’t even matter. Then the 4:00 pacer passed me and I knew I was officially running my slowest marathon time ever. My previous “worst” was my first marathon 10 years ago, and I ran a 3:56. I walked most of the last mile and then picked it up through the final 400 meters and across the finish line, crossing in 4:04:23. I’ve never been so happy to finish a marathon. I can’t even say it was a party pace marathon because there was no party involved. It was a fight to the finish.

Clutching my phone like a fool

I got a free beer with my race bib, but I wasn’t even in the mood for it and was just eager to leave town. I left shortly after collecting my medal and stopped for a crispy Diet Coke and Taco Bell, the recovery meal of champions, on the way back to Maryland.

I’m probably more disappointed than I should be. Yes, I ran my slowest marathon, and that’s never fun, but I had honestly been really looking forward to this race and I’m sad that it wasn’t a better experience. I’m also regretful that I didn’t just stick to the half marathon, which is what I was originally signed up for until I had the brilliant idea to knock out two marathons in one training cycle. Seriously, never again, even though it’s worked for me in the past. I need more recovery time, especially after running a PR.

I do want to clarify that I don’t think a 4:04 is a bad marathon time! No marathon finish time is a bad one and I certainly am proud of myself for gutting it out on a tough day. After I shared my experience with friends and on social media, several said a 4:04 was still faster than they had ever run. But it’s all relative. My 3:17 PR would be “slow” for some runners, for example. But a 4:04 is now my Personal Worst.

So what’s next? Aside from the annual Turkey Trot in my hometown on Thanksgiving, I’m running the Rehoboth Half Marathon as I always do the first weekend in December. No real time goals for that one. Then Boston Marathon training starts in January, which will be here before I know it! I also made the highly questionable decision to run the Algonquin 50K in February, but that will be at a very, very easy pace. It’s supposedly the last year for it, and I wanted to run it one more time.

I received a free entry to the Atlantic City Marathon as part of a partnership with The Vibe: A BibRave Network. Thank you so much for this opportunity!  

Running a wicked fast PR at the Wicked Fast Poconos PA Marathon

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Before signing up for the Wicked Fast Poconos PA Marathon, I’d never raced a downhill marathon.

Yes, Boston is technically a net downhill, but with the Newton Hills it’s nowhere near the same as a race with a steady decline from start to finish. I know downhill marathons are controversial, but I wanted to try one. Wicked Fast is point to point with a very slight downhill slope— I originally saw that the course dropped 800 feet, but then I read that it was a net decline of 680 feet. Not actually sure which was correct.

But I took down a 3-year-old marathon PR at last month’s race, beating my 2022 Chicago time by just over a minute. And I freaking loved it!

Getting paced by a caterpillar

Wicked Fast, formerly known as the Jack and Jill Marathon — they also have a sister race in Washington state that has been going on for years — actually held two half marathons and marathons, one on Friday, September 12 for anyone who wanted a last ditch attempt to qualify for Boston 2026, and then one on Saturday, September 13, the first day of the Boston 2027 qualifying window. I signed up for Saturday’s race.

I stayed at Staci’s house and was up bright and early (3:30 am) to make it on time to the bus that would take me from the Lehighton Outdoor Center to the starting line at the Lehigh Gorge State Park. My goal was to run sub 3:25 and I was hoping for a 3:25 pace group, but the fastest was 3:30. So I just decided to line up ahead of them, close to the start line. Just before we began, 4 women connected by a caterpillar costume approached the start, and the race director announced that they were going for a Guinness World Record and were aiming for a 3:20 finish. Definitely not anything I’d ever seen at a marathon before!

The course was simple — 5K out on the D&L Trail, then we turned around and ran straight back down to the finish at the outdoor center. I didn’t notice any downhill until about mile 10, and even then it was very slight. The route was also absolutely gorgeous and we had views of the Lehigh River the whole way. And the weather! Couldn’t have ordered a nicer day!

Two things that made this hard packed gravel trail a little more challenging than expected, though. One, uneven terrain. I almost rolled my ankle around mile 4 on a rocky patch on the trail. Two, running in the mountains really jacked up my Garmin and I pretty much had to run by feel, because the pace it was telling me was not accurate (and only got worse in the later miles!)

Somewhere around mile 7, I caught up to the caterpillar and realized I was going faster than I expected. They were keeping a steady pace and I felt pretty comfortable, so I decided to hang with them as long as I could! These ladies were so fun and I’ll never forget being paced by a caterpillar in a marathon! (Spoiler: They did get their record; it just has to be verified by Guinness!)

Around miles 15 and 16 is when my Garmin really started to shit the bed, at one point saying I was running an average pace of 18 minutes per mile. So I relied on the caterpillar, the mile markers along the trail, my elapsed time and just my own sense of what my marathon pace is. But it was a bit of a mindf*ck.

Wait– I’m going to PR?

I completely spaced out during miles 17-19 and then was legit surprised to spot the mile 20 marker. How the hell were we at mile 20 already? The elapsed time on my watch told me I had been running for 2.5 hours and then it hit me that if I just kept running my current pace, I could finish under 3:20…. And maybe even PR!

I pulled ahead of the caterpillar around then and the next few miles were kind of a blur, as the later miles in a marathon usually are. The course flattened out and we passed by the town of Jim Thorpe, where there were more people around cheering us on. My watch was still going bananas and I’m sure the trees lining the trail didn’t help. At mile 24ish, I saw Kristen, whom I had met in the spring at the Spring Ahead Half near Philly. She had been one of the pacers for the half marathon, and she was running some extra miles so she joined me until almost the end of the race.

The end had a surprise (to me anyway) overpass before we made the final turn toward the finish. That was mean! About 800 meters from the finish, another woman, Aimee (I stalked her online pretty quickly after and we became Instagram friends) came up behind me. As we approached the finish line, the announcer called out “we have a fight to the finish!” We both were running as hard as we could and she outkicked me by 7 seconds. We finished as 2nd and 3rd female respectively and both PR’d!

Official time was 3:17:41, a BQ with almost 27 minutes of cushion for 2027 (since I’m 45!)

The downhill factor

As I mentioned before, I didn’t notice any downhill until about mile 10, and even then it was very minimal. Did it give me extra speed? Probably, but the hard packed gravel terrain was more difficult for me than running on pavement, so that might have canceled out any benefits I got.

My previous PR was 3:18:46 from the 2022 Chicago Marathon, a pancake flat course. I also ran 3:19:53 in Boston in 2023. I think I was in similar shape for those races. My A10 time this year was almost identical to my A10 time in the weeks leading up to Chicago in 2022, so again I think my fitness was comparable.

Regardless, I worked hard, had fun, and am happy with the result. I highly recommend the Wicked Fast PA marathon if you’re on the East Coast and looking to try a downhill marathon (that adheres to Boston’s new restrictions on downhill marathons!)

What’s next?

I am also running the Atlantic City Marathon in 11 days with BibRave! I was so back and forth on this race. First, I was planning to run the half and train to run a fast half (low 1:30s/maybe even sub 90 again.) Then I signed up for Wicked Fast and decided to focus on marathon training instead of half training. And THEN I decided what the hell, let’s just run two marathons this fall. When I ran Philly six weeks after the Chicago Marathon, I ended up having so much fun and running even faster than expected. So I am hoping for similar vibes in AC!

A fantastic day for the 50th anniversary of the Annapolis Ten Mile Run

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The Annapolis Ten Mile Run will always hold a special place in my heart. 

I was mainly a treadmill runner and group fitness enthusiast when I signed up for the 2013 race. I didn’t even really consider myself a runner then, though I had run a few 5K road races. I mainly signed up to give myself something to chase outside of work. At the time, I was covering county government for the local newspaper, making less than $35,000 a year to be available at what seemed like all hours of the days, nights and weekends. It was a lot, and I often felt overwhelmed and wondered what the hell I was doing with my life.

That first year, I ran it extremely hungover (because I had spent the day before partying on my now-husband’s boat) in 1:24 and was hooked. Soon I signed up for a half marathon, then another one. Then a marathon. Then I qualified for and ran Boston– 5 times now! I truly believe I have the A10 to thank for that.

I haven’t missed a year of the A10 since I first ran in 2013, except for 2020 and 2021 when the Covid pandemic forced its cancellation. This year, which also marked the 50th anniversary of the race, was my 11th time running it. 

And I ran my second fastest time ever on the course, finishing in 1:10:50, 10 seconds off my course PR from 2022! I won my age group and yes, got my mug this time – as well as the mug I was supposed to have gotten last year!   

Micah, who turned 50 at the end of August, also ran the race for the second time. He had run the 40th anniversary of the race when he turned 40, so it had been a full decade. He doesn’t run much these days and didn’t train at all, but did pretty well all things considered, finishing in just over 2 hours.    

Much like last year, the weather was fantastic. A little humid, but not even 70 degrees at the start of the race, truly a blessing for late August.

The A10 course is challenging and hilly. But it is also very scenic and there is a decent amount of crowd support for a small town race, which always helps pump up my mood. 

I also know the course very well after so many years of running it, which I think gives me a huge advantage. This was easily my best race since, well, last year’s A10. I ran three 10 milers during Boston prep: The Lewis 10 Miler in 1:18:00 (a prediction race where the first half is straight uphill), the Road Runners Club of America 10 Mile Challenge in 1:14:50 and the Shamrock Shuffle 10 Miler in 1:13:23. I actually won the Shamrock Shuffle, but was disappointed in my time, having expected to be closer to 1:10 in that pancake flat race. I did run it two days after a 20-mile long run, though.  

Aside from my familiarity with the course, this year’s race took place 3 weeks out from my September marathon, the Wicked Fast Poconos Marathon, and I felt like I was in peak shape thanks to many of the workouts my coach has given me over the past few weeks! I’ve run lower mileage this training block, but more workouts– each week has a track workout, a tempo run, and of course a long run, but always with marathon pace miles. It’s been tough, but fun, and I think my body is holding up well!  

The race takes you on a tour of historic Annapolis, starting at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and heading downtown, past the Naval Academy and over the Naval Academy Bridge (a tough climb that rewards you with amazing views at the top), through the Pendennis Mount community and then back over the bridge before ending at the stadium. As I mentioned earlier, the crowd support is great. The midshipmen staff a water stop at miles 4 and 9, and they are always cheering loudly and playing great music. Lots of residents of Pendennis Mount come out to support the runners as we run through their neighborhood. 

But my favorite part this year, hands down, was how many runner friends I saw on the course! I said before the race I probably knew a hundred people who were running, and that’s a low estimate. As soon as Micah and I got to the race that morning, I started bumping into people I recognized. “Geez, do you know everyone?” he said with a laugh. It was such a boost to see and hear “go Allison!” from others on the course. I really felt the love this year! A woman who was running near me around mile 7 even said “wow, you’re popular!” I guess this is what happens when you run your hometown race year after year!  

I kept up with the 1:10 group pretty well, but they pulled ahead somewhere around mile 6. Still, I was able to keep them in my sights pretty much the whole way until the finish line, and so I knew a 1:10:xx finish was in the cards. Around mile 8, I saw Coach Beth handing out lemonade and water. She had told our marathon training group she would be out there with refreshments, which was awesome, but at that point I was in too much of a hurry to stop, ha! She later said my running looked “effortless,” but let me tell you, I was definitely working hard at that point. The second trip over the Naval Academy Bridge was soul crushing!

But I am super pumped with how it went and it was a real confidence booster going into Wicked Fast next weekend. When I ran my A10 course PR three years ago, I went on to set my marathon PR later that fall in Chicago. I know my marathon PR is really solid and will be tough to ever beat. But maybe I can get closer to it than I think. I keep saying I’ll be happy with any time under 3:25, and I definitely think that’s reasonable. Plus, Wicked Fast is a point-to-point downhill– designed to run fast. Let’s go see what I can do out there!

Summer 2025 running: A mud run, a mile PR, and more marathon training!

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Does anyone even still read running blogs anymore? I have to wonder, ha! I started this blog in 2017 (which was probably way past peak blogger era anyway) when I was trying to qualify for Boston for the first time. 

Here we are 8 years, 12 BQs, and 5 Boston Marathons later. I’m still blogging, just much less often, though I am very active over on Instagram. 

I figured it was time to give a brief update on what I’ve been up to since I ran Boston in April! 

I Did a Mud Run

To be honest, I’ve never had any interest in doing anything like a Tough Mudder or a Spartan race. The risk of injury always seemed far too great. But when my friend Staci asked me last Christmas if I wanted to run the Mud Girl women’s race in the Poconos at the end of May, I said why not. They let kids as young as 7 participate, and the obstacles didn’t look too scary (plus, you could skip any you weren’t comfortable with.) It’s not a timed event, so it was purely for fun. 

And we did have a lot of fun, despite dealing with some pretty awful weather. Even though it was the last day of May, the weather didn’t get above 50 degrees and there was a steady cold rain for most of the run, which took place at the Pocono Raceway. But honestly, that kind of added to the experience. There were 17 total obstacles where we did things like carry weighted bags through mud, climb up mud piles, and swim through muddy pools of water underneath netting. I don’t love being in cold water at all, so that was a challenge for me, but both Staci and I got through. Total distance was about 5K, but we mostly ran/walked it, so it wasn’t like a 5K race. We both laughed a lot throughout the race and said afterwards that we would do it again!

I PR’d My Mile Time at the John Wall Memorial Mile

I’ve said it before, the mile scares the shit out of me. I am a long distance girlie for life. But the Annapolis Striders host a track mile race every summer, and I have always been intrigued by it. However, I am usually on vacation when it happens. Not this year, though– so I decided to really push myself and sign up, with the goal of finishing in under 6 minutes and hopefully even breaking my previous mile PR of 5:56. 

I trained for the race for about 6 weeks, doing mile-specific workouts on the track once a week. And oh my GOD, they were hard! Think 10 x 400 at goal mile pace with brief recoveries in between. Made me long for marathon training. I also participated in an informal track meet held by the Striders earlier in June, racing in the 800 meter (finishing in 2:49) and the 400 meter (76 seconds). 

The race was held at Severna Park High School and I was way more nervous and scared beforehand than I ever am before a marathon! I had a lot of friends there, some who were running and some who just came to watch, so that helped take the edge off. 

We were segmented into heats, with the last heat for anyone who was going to try to run 6 minutes or faster. I ran in that heat and was honestly just hoping I wasn’t the last one to finish. The whole thing was kind of a blur, as racing the mile is. The first lap felt hard, the second lap felt harder, I felt like I wanted to die during the third lap and then just tried to hang on for dear life for lap 4. When I turned the final corner on lap 4, I saw 5:3x on the clock up ahead and I knew I had sub 6. My official time was 5:51 and I was so happy with that! I was the top female Master and second female overall. Maybe I’m a miler after all! (I still prefer marathons, haha!)

I’m Running a Marathon in September…..

I said after Boston that I was going to take the fall off from marathons and focus once again on running a fast half, like I did in 2023. But what do I do? Sign up for the Jack and Jill Poconos Marathon on September 13. 

Why? A few reasons. One, well…. I like marathons. Two, the race is in Jim Thorpe, one of my favorite small towns in PA, and it’s 15 minutes away from Staci’s house. Three, it’s a downhill marathon, dropping 800 feet from start to finish. I know downhill marathons are controversial, but I’ve always wanted to try one and there are very few on the East Coast. This isn’t even that downhill and still falls within the Boston Athletic Association’s new standards for downhill races. Who knows how much of an advantage I will even have. But I am excited to run it! I am actually working with a coach for the first time ever. I got a very part-time job (like 5 hours a week) at my favorite local running store, and with that comes some cool perks– like half off coaching. So I decided to take advantage. So far it is going great, but this summer humidity is kicking my butt. Is it just me, or is it worse than usual lately? 

I’m shooting for around a 3:25 finish. A year ago, I had my heart set on a 3:15, and maybe I can get there, but– I am getting older and the amount of training I would have to do to beat my 3:18 PR from three years ago is daunting. If I can still keep qualifying for Boston with a comfortable cushion, that may be good enough for me.   

…..And Maybe One in October?

I am signed up for the Atlantic City Half on October 19, and now I am thinking of bumping up to the full marathon there, too! I ran the Chicago and Philly marathons, which are 6 weeks apart, in 2022 and both races went awesome (Chicago holds my PR.) Jack and Jill and AC are 5 weeks apart; maybe I can make magic happen again?  

Regardless of what distance I ultimately choose, BibRave is kindly sponsoring me, so I have a comped entry, plus a discount code to share: 15% off your registration with the code BIBRAVE25! Price goes up the first of August, so don’t hesitate to sign up! https://www.acraceseries.com/

How is your summer running going? Any big races you are training for?

Long overdue 2025 Boston Marathon recap

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Boston was more than a month ago at this point, and I am just getting around to updating my blog! If you follow me on social media, you have already heard most of this, so feel free to skip this entry, LOL. For the rest of you– I hope you enjoy it!

I’m beginning to think it wouldn’t be a true trip to Boston without some dumb drama. Last year, Micah forgot his C-PAP cord and I had to book him his own room so I could sleep the night before the marathon. The year before, I lost my gels somewhere between leaving my hotel room and mile 4 of the race. This year, Micah wasn’t able to travel with me because of his new job, but that was OK– my sister Catherine came with me. I decided to fly this year since I was traveling solo. However, when Micah dropped me off at BWI Saturday morning, I reached into the back of the car and realized I had forgotten my backpack with all my essential race gear at our house, 40 minutes away! I panicked and asked/told/begged Micah to drive back to the house and get it for me. I frantically re-booked my flight and got on one at 10:30 am that morning. He drove off and arrived back at our house, only to realize the damn backpack WAS in the car the whole time. How did we miss it? I have no clue.

But, I got the backpack, got on my rescheduled flight and landed in Boston with EVERYTHING I needed. Catherine was already there and we spent the day hitting the expo, enjoying a day at Fenway watching the Red Sox play the White Sox, and stuffing our faces with Italian food. I figured if that mishap was the worst thing that could happen all weekend, it was all good! And it was!

The day before the marathon was Easter Sunday, the second time I have run Boston where it’s fallen on Easter weekend. After I completed my shakeout run, we spent the day doing more shopping and eating delicious food! I usually stay in a hotel out in Bunker Hill/Somerville for the marathon, but the hotel had a fire in February and Marathon Tours gave us the choice of three other hotels. So this year, we were at a Fairfield Inn in Chelsea. It was fine, but I thought the location was kind of inconvenient. Next year, I will probably stay out in Bunker Hill again. It is so easy to get around on the T from there, and it’s really affordable.

Marathon Monday!

Since I was staying in a new hotel this year, I was nervous about transportation to the Boston Common. I was in wave 3 this year and ended giving myself a ton of extra time and got down there an hour and a half before my wave’s buses boarded. Which in the end might have been a good thing; I got on one of the first buses in line for Hopkinton and was on the road pretty quickly. But the drive there took over an hour due to construction! I know some people who boarded later buses missed their wave start!

As a result, once I got to Athletes Village, I didn’t have much time to chill! I got in a porta potty line and then met Instagram friend Bethany, who walked to the corrals with me. It was her first Boston Marathon! Before I knew it, I was in my corral and the announcer said we had 30 seconds to go.

There is a lot of downhill in the first few miles, and it is crowded. I went out around 7:45 pace and it felt comfortable.  Saw KJ, another IG friend, with her amazing colorful ponytails at mile 3 or 4! The early miles seemed to fly by and before I knew it, we were around the 15K mark. I think it was right around then that yet another IG buddy Carissa tapped me on the shoulder to say hi and I crashed into a runner in front of me 😂 I was happy to see her!

I always look forward to the Wellesley Scream Tunnel, just before the halfway point, every year and they did not disappoint! I high fived so many Wellesley ladies and was smiling so hard the whole time. By the end, my watch told me I was running 6:45 pace. Whoops. Usually I get some good photos in the Scream Tunnel, but not this year.

After the halfway mark, I started to hear the faint call of nature. I’d felt a mild stomach cramp earlier on in the race, but wasn’t too worried about it and it went away by mile 8 or 9. However, by the time we approached the Newton hills, nature’s call got louder and I started hunting for a porta potty. Luckily, there are tons on the course and I darted into one around mile 17.

I definitely felt better after that, but lost some momentum and I swear there felt like an extra Newton hill this year 😂 I started to slow down after that poo break and never really picked the pace back up. I can’t blame the weather, as it was pretty darn good, though definitely sunny and I heard other runners say it was too warm. But it was nothing like last year! My feet started to hurt a bit — I wore my Alpha Fly 3s and they busted up my toes, much like the Alpha Fly 2s did last year. What I wouldn’t give for a pair of OG Alpha Flys 😭 They didn’t feel terrible, but they didn’t feel great. Maybe the newer versions just aren’t for me. 😢 I even felt a blister pop on my right foot just after summiting Heartbreak Hill, and that was annoying, but I was able to run through it without too much discomfort.

All that to say, I was still enjoying myself out there, waving at spectators who called out my name (thanks to my friend Pat who made me a personalized shirt!) or yelled go Maryland! when they saw my shorts!

I knew Catherine was going to be in Brookline around mile 23-24 so I was excited to see her with her cowbell! At this point in the race, the cheers were just deafening. I think the boisterous crowds are what keep me coming back for more of this roller coaster of a race!

The last 3 miles of the marathon hurt, as they always do even when you are having an awesome race, which I really wasn’t. The temperature seemed to drop as we got into Boston, and we had a slight headwind that actually felt refreshing. The crowds got heavier and heavier as we approached Hereford and I continued to hear lots of people cheering for me by name or by state 😀 Then it was time to turn right on Hereford and left on Boylston and I was reminded once again how far away the finish line feels when you make that final left! But I just tried to soak in that last part of the race because it really is so special.

I finished in 3:30:09, my second slowest Boston, but not by much. The bathroom break cost me a solid minute or two, but it is what it is. This shit ain’t easy (no pun intended!)

Though I thought I could be a bit faster, overall I’m happy. 5 years ago, all I wanted was to run a 3:30 marathon. This year, I banged out a 3:30 on an off day in my 5th Boston Marathon. That’s something to be grateful for!

And because I turn 45 this summer, this gives me a BQ with nearly 15 minutes of cushion for the 2026 race (the standard for women ages 45-49 is 3:45.) Aging is a privilege in so many ways!

I already can’t wait to go back.

Oh! And the local news interviewed me at the race after party. You can read the article here. My mother is mortified that I told the reporter I wanted to party with my favorite patriot Sam Adams, but as a former reporter, I know how to give a good quote!

In my racing era: Boston Marathon 2025 training

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How is the 2025 Boston Marathon only 28 days away? 

I train in 12-week blocks, and it always seems to go really fast. This cycle has proven to be no exception. Though it’s not necessarily been the easiest training cycle. This winter was pretty much the worst winter I’ve trained through since I started running marathons a decade ago. There wasn’t quite as much snow and ice as there was during the winter of 2015, thank goodness, but it’s been really cold. I don’t even mind the cold, and it was still too much for me. Thankfully we are coming out of it now and it’s actually expected to be close to 80 this weekend– so I might start complaining about the heat soon! 

I’ve incorporated a bunch of races into my training this past winter, so here’s a quick recap of what I’ve been up to! 

Road Runners Club of America 10 Mile Challenge

This 10-mile race happens every February in Columbia, and it is known for being very competitive – I think the top 50 runners all finish in under an hour– and challenging. My friend Daniel was running with team Bullseye Running, and they were looking for another female in the 40-49 age group, so he asked me to run. I had a planned weekend long run of 16 miles with 10 at goal marathon pace, so I said sure, why not. It was cold, it was windy, and the course was hilly, but nowhere near as hard as the Lewis 10 Miler that I’d run a few weeks prior. I ran a 1:14:50/7:30 pace, which seems wildly optimistic for Boston Marathon pace, but hey. That time would typically earn me at least an age group award in a local race. Not at this race! I was 20th in my age group! Like I said, it is a very fast crowd! I also ran 4 miles before the race and 2 miles after it to get to 16 for the day. 

Spring Ahead Half Marathon 

Signing up for this half, held a little more than two hours away in the small town of Douglassville, PA, was a last minute decision. But I had 15 miles to run with 12 at marathon pace, and what I won’t do to avoid doing that alone in a training run. When I saw this half marathon wasn’t happening until 10 in the morning, meaning I wouldn’t even have to leave the house all that early, I decided to sign up. I’m glad I did! The trail it was on, mostly the Schuylkill River Greenway, was beautiful, as well as flat and fast. My only complaint was a really annoying headwind on the way back to the finish line and my Garmin didn’t seem to want to function with the trees lining the trail. At one point late in the race, it told me I was running a 9:30 pace and I knew damn well that wasn’t the case, that I was probably running around 7:30 or faster. Trust me, I’ve been running long enough that I know what 7:30 pace feels like vs. 9:30! I finished in 1:37:52/7:29 average pace, again overshooting what my marathon pace is likely going to be. (I’m thinking 7:40-7:45 is more realistic for my current fitness.) I was 6th overall female and first in my age group. My husband and I got brunch at the Fork and Ale a few steps from the trail and it was awesome! All the runners got one free beer, which of course I was happy about! 

Shamrock Shuffle 10 Miler

Aside from Boston, this race in Cape Henlopen State Park in Rehoboth Beach and Lewes, DE was the one on my calendar that I was most excited about this spring. I’d been looking forward to our little St. Patrick’s Day weekend getaway since Christmas. I love the beach any time of year, but I really appreciate it in the off season. My plan was also to race this 10 miler, rather than stick to marathon pace, and I thought I could finish somewhere around 1:10-1:11. I ran the Annapolis 10 Mile Run, which is a much harder course, in 1:11 last August! 

So I was somewhat disappointed to finish in 1:13:23/7:20 average pace. I think there were probably a few reasons why I was slower than expected. This race came at the tail end of a 61-mile peak week of training. I also ran a strong 20 miler Friday morning before we left for the beach, and my legs probably weren’t recovered. I got up Saturday morning and ran a 4-mile shakeout around Rehoboth, and my legs definitely felt tired. That said, I set my 10-mile PR of 1:08:03 the day after running a 16-mile long run, so. Sometimes you get lucky. Despite the Shamrock Shuffle being the day before St. Paddy’s Day, that didn’t happen this time. 

All that said, I won the race! So it’s hard to be too bummed, ha! And I had fun. I might make it an annual St. Patrick’s Day tradition! 

I had a lead bike to chase!

Piece of Cake 10K       

Big fat DNS (Did Not Start) for this race! 

My plan called for me to race a 10K this past weekend, and normally I would have signed up for the 10K at the Annapolis Running Festival, which I have run twice before. But Christ, it’s expensive – $85 when I went to sign up in December, which is awfully steep for a 10K in my opinion, especially one that I have already run. So I found another one in Montgomery County that was only $17, happening the same weekend. It was on a Sunday, so I planned to run my long run of 17 miles on Saturday. 

As mentioned above, I’ve run really strong races the day after knocking out a long run. Well, I knew after I finished my 17 miles that I was not running a fast 10K on Sunday. The cumulative fatigue had really caught up with me. I think a lot of that was due to a particularly hard kickboxing class on Thursday night, which involved a ton of weighted squats. I got through the 17 miles fine, though the last 5 miles were a real slog, but I was soooo sore afterwards. At first I thought, well, I’ll go and just run the 10K at marathon pace. Then as the day wore on, I knew I wasn’t up even to that. So I bagged it and ran an easy 6 miles around my neighborhood. I have no regrets! 

The plan calls for me to race another 10K in two weeks/just before my taper starts, but it looks like my only option is the Sole of the City 10K in Baltimore. Which looks great, but also expensive– currently right around $100! Yikes! So I will probably chuck it in the f*ck it bucket, as my friend Chris likes to say.

I’ve always heard it’s better to get to the start line of a marathon slightly undercooked than overcooked anyway. We’ll see what my 5th Marathon Monday holds!

Running up that hill: Recap of the Lewis Memorial 10 Miler

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A staple of the marathon training plans in Pete Pfitzinger’s Advanced Marathoning book are his long runs with marathon pace work. These runs, to me, are some of the most challenging in the plan. Even though I know I can run the marathon pace, and I have many times before, it is HARD to do it all alone in a training run. 

So, whenever I can, I try to find a race that fits in with the schedule that will allow me to practice the pace in a race environment. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t! 

The long run for the first week of Pfitz’s 12/55 plan that I am following for Boston was 13 miles with 8 at goal marathon pace. I am still not sure what my goal marathon pace is going to be – I’m not chasing a PR in Boston, just hoping to run a strong race – but I feel like somewhere in the 7:40-7:50 range is reasonable. 

When I saw the Lewis Memorial 10 Miler was happening on Feb. 1 near Frederick, I thought that might be a good opportunity to practice marathon pace. 

But this wasn’t your typical 10 mile race.  

For starters, it was straight up a mountain for the first 5 miles, then straight down it. (So, you were pretty much guaranteed to run negative splits!)

But the real catch is that it was a prediction style race, meaning you had to guess your predicted finish time before the race started and prizes were given out based on who came the closest to their prediction. No watches allowed! 

My last 10 miler was the A10 last August, which I ran in 1:11. However, with this elevation profile, I had zero clue what to expect. I predicted I would run a 1:18:30 (which was more or less in line with my goal marathon pace anyway.) 

The race started and ended at Mount St. Mary’s college in Emmitsburg, and I got there early enough to do a 2-mile warm up. When I checked in, the volunteers with Frederick Steeplechasers, who organize the race, asked me if I was OK with my predicted time. Sure, why not, I said. 

The first three-quarters of a mile or so of the race was mostly flat, with a few little rollers– but then the climbing began almost immediately. There was a pretty steep hill in the second mile – at least I think it was in the second mile, because not only were we not allowed to wear watches, there were also no mile markers! I was actually glad I didn’t have my Garmin on here, because I think my pace would have depressed me, ha! 

There were a few downhills during that first half, but it was mostly a climb. It was really tough! It sort of reminded me of Riley’s Rumble, except in that race, I felt like there was a lot of downhill in the first part and then some mean uphills in the second half. 

At one point during the first half, I ran past a water stop and asked the volunteers what mile we were at. “Mile 3!” they said. (Seriously? Only mile 3?)  

After lots more climbing, we finally reached what seemed to be the top of the mountain and then, thank goodness, we got to run down! So much downhill! I actually don’t consider myself to be a particularly strong downhill runner– for one, I am clumsy and always afraid I am going to trip and eat shit – but this felt so fun after the long uphills. Did my quads ache for two days afterwards? For sure! Again, no idea what my pace was, but I felt like I was flying! 

At one point, we ran past another water stop and the volunteers told us we had a little less than 3 miles left. The course flattened out a bit, then we got some more downhill, and then in the last mile leading back to Mount St. Mary’s– we had another long-ish uphill! It was all I could do not to walk at that point, but I knew I was so close. 

When I crossed the finish line, the clock said 1:18:00. So, I was exactly 30 seconds faster than my predicted finish! I was really happy with that! 

I thought I might get a prize based on how close my prediction was, but the top 3 closest guesses were within 10 seconds of their finish time. The funny thing is, I almost chose 1:18:00 as my prediction. Oh well! 

After the race, I ran a 1-mile cooldown to get to 13 miles for the day. My average pace for the race was 7:48/mile, so pretty in line with goal marathon pace (and I guess I did a little extra as far as the workout goes since my plan only prescribed 8 miles at goal pace.) 

I was also the fourth female finisher, so I was happy about that! 

This weekend, Pfitz has me running 16 miles with 10 at goal marathon pace and once again, I am running a 10 mile race: The Road Runners Club of America Club Challenge in Columbia, after a friend recruited me to run on the Bullseye Running team. The course has a reputation for being challenging and the race itself is very competitive, so even if I was planning to race it all out, which I am not, I have zero chance of placing! 

That said, I did practice the course with some friends over the weekend and it was hilly, but nothing like the Lewis 10 Miler! I’d compare it more to the A10. I am looking forward to it!

Recap of The Naptown Half Marathon: Overcoming my bad attitude

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I didn’t really want to run the Naptown Half.

The race, which also includes a 5K and a 10K, has been around for a few years now, but I’ve never signed up for it because it’s always on the same day as the Santa Speedo Run. The Santa Speedo Run is NOT a competitive race; it’s a drunken stumble from O’Briens in downtown Annapolis to Church Circle and back, followed by a dance party. It also raises a lot of money for local charities. I’ve been participating in the Speedo Run for the last few years, and never want to miss the chance to run around downtown in my favorite skimpy, festive, probably highly flammable Amazon outfit.

But this year, the Speedo Run was on the 14th and the Naptown Run was on the 21st. It still wasn’t really on my radar until one of my friends from my old job at the local hospital said he was going to be in town and was thinking about signing up for the 10K. He asked me and a few of our other friends/old colleagues if we were interested, too. I said, what the hell, might as well run the half. This was back in September, when I was training for Ocean City. 

The fall flew by, I (disastrously) ran the Ocean City Marathon, and before I knew it, it was December. This is usually one of my favorite months of the year. Well, December 2024 was a little bit different. Without going into a ton of detail, we had a huge restructuring at work and a bunch of my colleagues got laid off. My original position with the company was eliminated, and I got reassigned to a new role. Was I thankful to still have a job? Of course! But anyone who has been through one of these situations knows just how stressful it is, and seeing friends and colleagues lose their jobs is devastating. Plus, it’s just weird to wake up one day and be expected to do one job, then the next day be in a whole new one. So yeah, that all put a damper on the whole month and it was hard to feel very holly and jolly.

The day before the race, I had to go pick up my bib and I was just in a sour mood. I didn’t feel like waking up super early and running a half marathon in the cold and wind. (After a string of really mild winters in Maryland, this winter is coming in with a bang.) But I reminded myself that running through Annapolis is always fun, and it’s not like it was going to be a PR attempt, so there was no pressure. I was going to run on vibes. 

So that’s what I did– and it went better than expected. 

The weather was about the same as it was for the Rehoboth Half, but I decided against wearing running tights under my Christmas themed shorts this time. And honestly, I was totally fine. Definitely cold while waiting for the race to start, but once I got going, I was pretty comfortable. 

I didn’t look at the course ahead of time, but I figured it would be pretty similar to the old Annapolis Running Classic half marathon I used to run, and it was. We started at the Navy stadium, ran through downtown and by the Naval Academy, then headed over the Naval Academy Bridge and to the B&A Trail. We were on the B&A for probably a little over 3 miles before heading back into Annapolis, running over the bridge for a second time, and finishing at the stadium. My favorite part was seeing a lot of friends on the out and back on the B&A! Also, someone, not sure who, told me I looked festive and fast, and it made my day.

Like I said, this was no PR attempt. I’ve done little to no speedwork since the marathon and haven’t been running more than 30-32 miles a week (that’ll be ticking up in a few weeks as I begin my Boston 2025 build!) But I felt surprisingly good. I started out running around a 7:30-7:35 pace, and it felt pretty comfortable. I was actually able to speed up quite a bit in the second half of the race, dropping down to 7:15-7:20 pace. The course is definitely hilly, but I did my best to take advantage of the downhills. 

I ended up finishing in 1:38:05, almost a minute faster than Rehoboth, which is a much easier course! Second in my age group and 8th overall female (this is also a way less competitive race than Rehoboth.) I think I would have dipped under 1:38 had I not been fighting a headwind the entire last mile and a half. That really sucked.  

Thank you to my IG friend Rachel for the finish line pic!
I think the wind was blowing me sideways

But I was super happy with how I did, especially given my pissy attitude. This was a fun way to kick off my Christmas vacation, and I also got to catch up with some friends I don’t get to see nearly enough! 

Boston training officially begins on Monday, January 27, and I don’t have any races on my calendar until March, when I run the Shamrock Shuffle 10 Miler in Lewes, Delaware on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. 10 mile races are my favorite and I think it is the distance I am actually the strongest in, so I am hoping to run under 70 minutes. I also have a small 10K race on my schedule for the weekend after that. I may find another 10K to race before Boston, as I think my lord and savior Pfitzinger recommends one two weeks out.    

Looking forward to seeing what the rest of 2025 holds!