Burn Baby, Burn!

Whelp, the majority of winter has passed without a single blog post. Such is life! There’s been snowy days. There’s been sickness. There’s been vacations & holidays. But mostly, there’s been good memories made. I’ve tried to keep a running {pun intended!} documentary of my life via social media outlets—both to keep friends & family in the loop, but also because it is super fun to look back upon in the years to come.

So, what’s been going on with your favorite blonde runner??!!

For starters, training for the Shamrock Marathon has gone as well as could be expected! Aside from a short bout with what was assumed to be peroneal tendonitis, I haven’t had to adjust much training or skip runs/workouts. I did stop speed intervals when this tendonitis flared up, but I’ve kept tempo runs on the schedule. Long runs have gone off without a hitch & easy days have been spent solo with random podcasts/music or chatting with friends. Truly, it’s been a lovely training season. I’ve kept my thoughts light & airy, not dwelling too much on a fast pace, or sometimes, lack thereof. Much like the Chicago Marathon last fall, I am entering the marathon in 10 days (!!) with a very laid back attitude. What will be, is what will be!

That said though…… I can feel my mindset shifting. I miss my old running self. I miss racing. I miss toeing the line at local races knowing there was a chance of placing in my age group. I miss shooting for PRs. I miss those huge adrenaline rushes. I miss those final minutes of a race where you dig deep & thrust yourself through the finish line. I love running easy & having a light-hearted approach to training, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss all those other things that go along with intense training & racing.

Last week during the latter solo miles of my long run, after “ditching” two friends when their miles were done, I started listening to a podcast. Over the past few months, I have really gotten into podcasts as a way to stay engaged on a run & enjoy the miles more than I already do. On this occasion I was listening to Lindsey Hein with “I’ll Have Another”. Her guest that day was Sarah Bishop, runner & mother extraordinaire. Since I only had about 40 minutes of running left, I didn’t finish the entire episode that morning. Two days later, I resumed the episode & was even more enthralled with Sarah Bishop & her story. Maybe it was because I was deliriously tired & postcall, or maybe it was because I was subconsciously searching for all of those things I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Or maybe it’s because she was just so down to Earth & relatable. Whatever it was, my wheels were turning.

After my run, I did a Pure Barre class & headed home. Next up was a coffee date & shopping with my sweet boy Alexander {coffee for me; water for him, ha!} & then home for Lego building. A nap was thrown in the mix somewhere & a bit of Internet scouring. Through all of the days’ activities, I couldn’t get a certain topic out of my head. What was that, you might ask??

Well, one of the topics of conversation on the podcast was that Sarah is a running coach—specifically with a group that I have followed on social media for a while now. I had toyed with the idea of being coached in the past, even had a brief stint with a local guy; but never really felt like I had found the right person. Until now. What’s the saying, “if you can’t get someone out of your head, maybe they’re supposed to be there?” I am sure this saying is supposed to be for a romantic relationship, but it definitely applied to me/her that day. So with nervous typing, I sent her an Instagram message {my first time EVER reaching out to an “elite” or “celebrity”, HA!}. And what do you know?! … She promptly replied back to me. ME. Little ‘ole me! That night, I signed up with McKirdy Trained—with Sarah Bishop as my running coach. Y’all, this was 3 days ago. THREE. To say it’s been a spontaneous whirlwind is an understatement. She is amazing & I can just see that this is going to be a magical relationship. She, like me, is all-in for my goals & aspirations… & has even taken the liberty to coach me through the final days before Shamrock. I am super excited! And, did I mention I get to meet her IN person AT Shamrock?!

It has been a while since my running & training made me this happy. The fire has been re-lit & I am ready for it to burn baby, burn! I knew this was what I needed, when I couldn’t get the super cheesy grin off my face Monday night. Not to mention that, in a good way, I am nervously excited to begin this next chapter of my running adventure. I’ve got those butterflies you get when you begin dating a new person. Only this time, that person is not going to give me flowers & chocolate. Oh no, she’s going to push me outside of my comfort zone & make me want to vomit at times. I am quite sure. Hehe!

Oh & you’re probably thinking, “What’s so special about this Sarah chick??” Well, her resume includes 2017 Marine Corps Marathon female winner & an Olympic Trials Qualifier at the marathon distance—both within 6 weeks. Whoa! But, what appealed to me even more than that were her philosophies on training & the fact that she is a working mother—not to mention, a mother of TWINS! And, to top things off, she has served in the military! She sounds incredible, right?! I think so too.

That said though, I realize this all sounds sort of like a selfish blog post, like all “me, me, me”. Quite the contraire {I hope}. I am hopeful that my new adventure & re-discovered spark for running/racing will interest & inspire even more women {& men, I suppose!} to begin their own running escapades! Speaking of, I am excited to report that I will be helping {again!} with a Run Club with the local Fit4Mom franchise {previously known as Stroller Strides}– that same group I have mentioned multiple times in the past as having been extremely influential in helping me return to fitness post-babies. I can’t wait to see a dozen or so ladies conquer their spring goal of completing an 8K!!

So, if you thought I posted too much about running before, you’d better un-friend me now. I’m ready to take this passion of mine to the next level!

Thanks for reading & good luck to all of the runners at the Shamrock races next weekend!!