If you hang around long enough with people that run a lot of marathons, you are bound to hear about The Pig. I’d heard about it. I had few expectations. I did it. Here are my thoughts.
Race: Salina Crossroads Marathon 2025 in Salina, Kansas
Time of Year and Weather: First Saturday in November. Really fantastic day for running — mostly sunny, 45-60 degrees, BUT WINDY. I didn’t mind it too much – better than rain!
I’m baaaaaack. I’ve had quite a few changes in my life since I ran my last marathon — the NYC Marathon in 2019 — five months postpartum with my first child. But I decided it was finally time to get back into the marathon game. We have some friends who live in Seattle and thought it would be fun to visit them this summer, so I figured there was no better time to check off Washington in my 50 states journey. I chose Jack and Jill’s Downhill Marathon for a few reasons: (1) it was recommended on the 50 States Marathon Club Facebook page, (2) the timing worked out, and (3) it seemed like a friendly enough and pretty enough course for my return. I didn’t train perfectly and won’t go into detail, but in short, my longest run while training was 15 miles, I did a trail half last fall to help get the base going, I’ve been playing a lot of tennis, and I do a weekly cross-training class that is getting my legs super strong, even if my pace isn’t what it used to be. So let’s dive into the specifics–
I was very happy to find out in October that we were expecting our first child, due in June. Of course, despite my excitement, I had my fears and reservations, and among those was HOW THE HECK AM I GOING TO MAKE IT THROUGH SKI SEASON IF I CAN’T SKI. My worst fears were confirmed at my eight-week appointment, when my doctor said in no uncertain terms “no downhill skiing.” So here are my tips for pregnant ladies out there, especially those who are worried about how pregnancy and the potential loss of running, skiing, and other activities will impact many aspects of their lives…
Where to start? I’ve asked myself so many times in the past few weeks to put together the timeline… when was the beginning of all this? Christmas. I’m pretty sure. But probably before then. Let’s just start there. My husband and I went to Orangetheory in his hometown over the holidays. It felt great to sweat but after the rowing portion of the class, my lower back felt a little tweaked. I had been trying to use good form, engaging my core, etc. etc. so I decided that my historically, notoriously tight hip flexors must have pulled something in my back when I was rowing. My back hurt for a week or two — longer than I expected, but everything felt muscular. I didn’t think much of it and proceeded with my life…
I know I have been delinquent in my posts but I’ve been, you know, trying to LIVE the life. I like to do an annual look back at the past year. Here are my posts from 2015 and 2016 if you want to go down memory lane.
I am finally getting back into a groove after my move to Colorado and weeks of home improvement tasks. I even when to Orangetheory this week for the first time in way too long. It was tough — way tougher than when I was going regularly — but it was so, so good to be back. Definitely planning to go more often, especially as we have these rainy and colder days of fall. Maybe I’ll even do Hell Week this year… Anyway, the purpose of this post is to recap some (but not all!) of the fun running and hiking adventures I’ve had over the past several weeks: (1) completing the Boulder Skyline Traverse (previously mentioned here); (2) summitting Mt. Bierstadt (our 2nd 14er); (3) summitting Grays and Torreys Peaks (our 3rd and 4th 14ers); and (4) joining the Boulder Trail Runners for one of their infamous Sunday “Church” runs. Also don’t forget you can stay up to date on these adventures and much more on Instagram. Let’s dig in…