OH, HEY!

"Does it burn you? Does it spread flame inside?

Touch it again. Let it consume you.

This is the why you were after."

~ Nick Govastos

This morning I woke up and realized the last time I posted here was July. Not because I haven't wanted to. Simply because life has been a little nuts and sitting down to write my personal ramblings has not made it to the top of my list of priorities in a while. Sadly, this happens more often than I would like. And sometimes I wonder if it's time to let the blog go while I focus on other aspects of my life. But, then I sit down again, as I did today, and start to write and realize I'm not quite ready to do that. So, fifteen years after writing my first post, we are here. And I'm good with that. I love this blog, mainly because it's a way to channel my inner thoughts but also because it's another form of connection for me with the running world; a world that is mostly foreign to my family and friends. Not that they don't understand and appreciate what I do to some degree.  More that they don't get how someone can be so totally obsessed with a hobby that is often perceived as ridiculously uncomfortable and not something the majority of people do by choice. And I get that. Running is for a unique breed. That said, we all have our passions. And while I wish I could play the guitar or paint, those creative genes did not make it into my DNA. So, running it is.  And along with the running itself there are a lot of other parts of my life that are running related and, at the moment, are filling my cup.  Lucky me.

A few major updates. In July, my friend, Ashley Arnold, and I started a podcast called Still Running. Ashley, is a 39 year old mom of 2 young kids and I'm a 51 year old empty nester. Both of us are competitive runners. We met through our work and as we got to know each other better we began to realize that, despite our age gap and the different phases of life that we are in, we both had a lot of the same questions on hot button topics like motherhood, nutrition, menopause, supplements, sleep, and, of course, running. 

Still Running with guest Kara Goucher

We dove right into the deep end, our first episode about wearables versus our own body's battery and which one to trust more. And we haven't looked back. Additional episodes can be found here.  We've had some good, hard, honest conversations with each other, with professional athletes like Kara Goucher and Kiera D'Amato, and with various experts in the fields that we are digging into. I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't ridiculously excited about this project and eager to watch it expand and grow into something that hopefully many can both relate to and will want to share.

Photo cred: Leslie Poitros

As far as my own running goes, I have raced two 10ks, one in early August and one in late September.  The first one was ok. Not great, not terrible. I had wanted more at the time but my body was clearly not ready to give me that effort. So I buckled down in the seven weeks between the two races and focused hard on my training, especially my recovery, while also doing some work on the mental side of things with the help of sports performance coach, Shannon Thompson, who I had the good fortune of meeting this summer while at a coaching clinic. Turns out, even at 51 years old, I can still sharpen my body and mind in new ways. 

Whirlaway ladies

The underlying theme of my racing, however, is my team. If not for them, I wouldn't continue to line up and push myself at this level. I love to run and I will hopefully be doing it for the rest of my life. But racing and why I do it has changed as I've gotten older. I am no longer seeking fast times or focused on outcome goals. I am drawn to the simple beauty of connecting with friends and teammates and working together as a group with the common goal being to perform well as a team. That is where I am finding the joy and what's making the work, which feels monumentally harder lately, still very worthwhile. For the first time in thirteen years I will not be racing a fall marathon. Which feels both weird and right. After a long discussion with my coach, we both agreed a break from the distance, which I often do twice a year, if not more, just makes sense right now. So, I will be running the Cambridge half in November and then resetting in 2027 to prep for my14th Boston marathon.

LEX XC 2026

In late August we began our cross country season, my 16th as the head girls coach for Lexington High School. If you've been following me for a while you know that I love my job. Every day I get to surround myself with young athletes who share my passion for running and trust me to help them grow and improve as runners and humans. I mean, does it get any better than that? The girls have hit the ground running, pun intended, with some decisive wins at their first few meets. Their strength is their team first mentality.  They are truly a family and their success is primarily due to how much they support each other throughout the season. Their goals are big. The bar is high. And I have zero doubt that they can achieve what they have set out to do. I think you'll want to stay tuned for this one. Big things ahead.

When I started this blog, my own girls were four and six years old. Today they are nineteen and twenty one, both in college, the older graduating next spring. WHAT???? Over the past couple years the house has been too quiet but they are both living their best lives and, as a mom, I can't ask for more than that.  So, yeah. That about wraps it up for now. Lots of good stuff. And I am beyond grateful. And with that, the blog goes on to live another day. I'm pretty happy about that, too.

Listen to this:

Hasty! by Jahson Paynter

Jahson Paynter · hasty!

BUT HOW DO YOU FEEL?

"If you only look at data, you will not win big. You have to listen to your intuition. The data is about the past. Almost everything we do requires a leap of faith."

~ Jeff Bezos

NO WATCHES ON RACE DAY!

This past winter I trained for the Boston marathon. It was my 39th marathon, so the training itself wasn't anything new. But by March, a string of events caught up with me - Indoor Nationals with my track team, a half marathon, a trip to Madrid to visit my daughter. After that three week stretch, no matter what I did - extra days off, easier workouts, massage, more sleep - I just couldn't bounce back. My sleep was off. My HRV was in the tank. Every run felt harder than it should. Workouts were borderline impossible. I got to the point where I genuinely wondered if I could finish or even start the marathon. According to all my data, the answer was no. But, we all know that's not an option. Right? So, two weeks before the race, I took off my WHOOP and stopped tracking everything. I decided that whatever my band was telling me or suggesting I do, I didn't want to know. On race day, I made one simple decision: run by feel. I had no time goal. I never looked at my watch. If I felt good, I pushed. If I didn't, I backed off. It ended up being one of the best marathons I've ever run. From start to finish, I felt incredible. I'm guessing you could have called that one. 

BOSTON 2026

When I was in college, I used a Timex watch. If I wanted to know how far I had run, I typically drove the route in my car. So much gas wasted! After a workout, I couldn't see the full picture of what I'd done as far as my times. And it usually didn't matter as my coach often did the timing. For obvious reasons, the first question I would myself when I was done wasn't, What was my pace? It was, How did that feel? I didn't have my splits. I didn't have a GPS. I probably didn't even know the exact distance of the workout - the horror!  So, yeah, I had to learn what all the different efforts felt like.

*Note the Timex watch with velcro strap (1995)

Somewhere along the way, that skill has faded. We have so much data available that we've started trusting our devices more than ourselves.  But racing isn't won by data alone. To compete, you have to be confident. To be confident, you have to trust yourself. Trusting yourself means knowing how you feel. Knowing how last week's workout felt. Knowing how today's easy run feels. Knowing what marathon pace feels like. Knowing what the first 400m of a race feels like. Knowing what it feels like to chase down the runner in your age group that always beats you. No watch can teach you that. Your coach can't tell you how you feel. Your teammates can't tell you. That's all you. And just because you can run a certain pace in practice doesn't mean that's exactly what you'll run on race day. Racing has variables - weather, nerves, fatigue, competition, emotion. When you stand on the starting line, you have an idea of what you're capable of. But nothing is a sure thing. What matters most is whether you can recognize how you feel that day and trust yourself enough to respond. Every run is an opportunity to practice that skill.

Try it. When you finish, ask yourself:
How did that feel?
If it felt great, why?
If it didn't, why not?
What was different from yesterday?
What can you change tomorrow?

ALL THE WEARABLES

Your watch can't answer those questions. Only your mind can. We live in a data-driven world. Resting heart rate. HRV. VO₂ max. Sleep scores. Recovery scores. Nutrition scores. Every device tells us how we should feel before we've even taken our first step. I'm not against the data. I'm just suggesting you look at it after the run, not before. Wake up. Give yourself a chance. See how you actually feel. Then compare that with the numbers. You might surprise yourself. As far as racing goes, you can't change your the date of your race to work with your data. Not enough sleep? Too bad. Low HRV? So what. Unless something is really wrong, you're probably still going to race. All you can do is show up and get the best out of yourself. Don't let a device decide what that's going to be before you even begin. As you continue to train I challenge you to tap in. Finish your workout. Finish your race. Before you look at your watch, ask yourself one question:

How did that feel?
Remember the answer.
Learn from it.
Trust it.

Listen to this:

Push Through by Darcy Lane

Darcy Lane · Push Through

RWR: MEET RORY LINKLETTER - RUNNER, DAD, COACH

"I love the way music creates and matches moods."

~ Rory Linkletter

In high school, a friend asked him if he wanted to go to a summer practice with him. That was his first introduction to running. I'm going to go ahead and assume he liked it or, at the very least, realized he was good at it because things went pretty well after that. Following high school he ran competitively at BYU and was a six time All-American. Since then, he has represented Canada in the marathon at both the World Championships and the Paris Olympics. He currently holds the Canadian record for the fastest half marathon which he finished in a blazing 59:49 - that's an average pace of 4:34 per mile. He ran 2:06.04, his personal best, at Boston this past April making him the second fastest Canadian of all time. He recently started a coaching business, Let's Tango Running, for distance runners of all levels. He's married with two children and a third on the way. And he has a killer mullet. He is Rory Linkletter. Born in Canada, raised in Utah and now living in the running mecca otherwise known as Flagstaff, AZ. Somehow he finds time to train, work, be a dad and, to my good fortune, answer these RWR questions. So nice of him. It's okay that he doesn't know if Creedence Clearwater Revival is still together or not. He clearly doesn't have time to research this. I'll go ahead and do it for him. They are not. Okay, enough from me, let's meet Rory Linkletter, a RUNNER WHO ROCKS.

RWR:RORY LINKLETTER

 

Name: Rory Linkletter

Where you're from: Calgary Alberta, Canada 

Where you reside now: Flagstaff, AZ

Age: 29

Occupation: Runner / Coach / Influencer

Blog/website: Letstango.run

ON RUNNING & MUSIC

What do you love most about running? 

I love to compete, but for the act of running itself, I love the time with my thoughts and in nature.

What do you love most about music? 

I love the way music creates and matches moods.

RORY'S FAVORITES:

Artist (current, all time or both): Drake / Kanye

Album (current, all time or both): Kanye West - 'Life of Pablo'

Race venue: Boston Marathon

Music venue: Pepsi Amphitheater - Flagstaff

Race distance: Half Marathon

Show you've seen live: Nickelback

Ice cream flavor: Cookie Dough

THIS OR THAT:

Sweet or salty? Salty

Live or recorded? Recorded

Coffee or tea? Coffee

Summer or winter? Summer

 

MORE MUSIC INFO:

Which band or artist would you go see tonight if you could? 

Luke Bryan

Which band or artist (wait...but no longer alive or playing together) would you go see tonight if you could? 

Creedence Clearwater Revival (I actually don’t know their status)

Which band or artist would you like to have dinner with tonight if you could? 

Post Malone

Which band or artist would you like to be playing alongside you during your next race (or long run)? Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar

LAST ONE:

Today, I feel like…(fill in the blank)

I’m going a million miles a minute.

Top 5 Songs for running, dancing or both?

* Use This Gospel, Kanye West

* DNA., Kendrick Lamar

* Public Service Announcement, Jay-Z

* Nose On the Grindstone, Tyler Childers

* Titi Mi Pregunto, Bad Bunny 

Last 5 Songs you listened to today?

* Today’s Country Hits Radio Station

* Titi Mi Pregunto, Bad Bunny

* GOAT- the Soundtrack (with my son)

* Be Her, Ella Langley (with my daughter)

Listen to this:

Be Her - Ella Langley

Ella Langley · Be Her

RACE REVIEW:BOSTON MARATHON

 "Love. It's the only way you'll make it. Love will help you choose your project and drag you back on the bad days. Love will wake you up with deep yearning for the work, such that you're miserable when you're away from it. Whatever it is. You've got to love it."

~ Sam Robinson

On Monday, April 20th, I ran the Boston Marathon. It was my 39th marathon and my 13th Boston. I was more nervous than usual going into this one. For a couple reasons. First, the last time I raced Boston (recap here) I almost didn't make it to the finish. My body broke down in the heat and I ended up in the medical tent at mile 20. I finished, but it was a shit show. In general, I love this sport. But that day, I hated it. And I found myself wondering if perhaps I was done with marathons all together. All that work and so much heartbreak; it really did a number on me. Since then I have run six marathons so...yeah. Hard to stop doing what you love even when it beats you down. You know it and I know it. But, back to my reasons. Second, this winter just about killed me. It was so freaking cold and snowy in Boston. I did almost all of my hard workouts inside on the treadmill. And by the time I got outside in March, I just wasn't feeling like myself. I got most of the work done but the build just felt off and my body was not responding to training the way it usually did. Come April, my confidence was pretty low and my fear of another bad experience was high. I just couldn't go through that again. And because of that, I knew I was going to have to approach this one differently. I got on the phone with my coach and we made a plan. Without going into too much detail we agreed to run smart and in control, focusing more on how my body was feeling than my watch with the goal being to have enough in the tank to finish feeling good. I hung up feeling a little better about the situation and trying to be open to what was possible rather than fearing what could go wrong.

As usual, I got myself organized and turned in around 9:00 in preparation for my 5:00am wakeup. It's worth noting that it rained ALL day on Sunday before the race. The weather was forecasting chilly but dry for Monday but I couldn't help but feel a slight panic that things might unfold differently. Mother Nature is a feisty beast. I never trust her. If there are weather gods, I was praying hard to them that night.

When I woke up it was 35 degrees outside. Pretty atypical for mid-April. And while it was ridiculously cold, I was relieved that it was dry.  Jeff was going to drive me up to Methuen so I could meet up with my Whirlaway teammates and ride the van into Boston with them. I was supposed to be up there at 6:00am sharp and was right on schedule until we got out to the car and realized it was iced over and the windshield needed to be scraped off.  WHAT?  Panic ensued. I was going to be the one who would hold up the van and I was not happy about it. I texted my friends and our team manager to let them know what happened and then sat in the passenger seat and sweated profusely as we made our way north. We rolled into the parking lot five minutes late and I hopped out of our car as it was moving and frog jumped over to the van which took off immediately. This is not how I wanted to start my morning. Totally my fault. Not my best. We pulled into Hopkinton around 7:00 and set ourselves up in the local post office which we're allowed to use each year because one of our teammates has a friend who works there. We are very, very lucky. 

Sitting and waiting for anything that you're anxious about for any amount of time is nerve-wracking.  We had three hours to kill in this small locker room. So. Much. Time. But, thankfully, we were all together so we did our best to keep each other distracted with stories, pep talks and conversations about anything and everything. This. This is why I am on a team. Finally, around 9:40 we headed outside to leave our drop bags in the van and do some last minute strides and dynamics before walking over to the start. The temp was in the low forties and while it still felt pretty cold, the sun was out in full force and we now knew that we would be fine for the race itself. That was a huge relief. We walked to the corrals and waited for the volunteers to let us in for Wave 2. 

Katy and I were both Wave 2, Corral 1 and we'd now spent four very long hours together. I could have not have asked for a better wing woman. She was my rock all morning. We hugged each other just before the start and then got on the line to go. Ready or not.

THE RACE:

Miles 1-6 (6:43, 6:55, 6:56, 6:54, 7:09, 6:59)

My mantra for this race was WHAT IF. My dear friend CB had asked me this when I told her I was doubting myself during my training cycle. She was encouraging me to be curious and approach it with the mindset that anything was possible. She's also a big rock for me both in running and in life. At 10:15am we were off. The last few marathons I have raced I've been trying to break three hours so my goal pace was around 6:50. Given my goal for this day, which was to finish strong and happy, I was resolved to dial it back and run what felt good, no pace goal. Right off the gun I got excited and started cruising at my typical race pace. Based on experience, I knew that was not going to make for the day I had in mind, so I calibrated for the next few miles and settled into an effort that felt solid but manageable. The night before my friend, Samantha, had texted me and asked if I'd ever raced a marathon without a watch. I told her that I hadn't but that I'd always been tempted to try. Once I passed mile three, I made a conscious decision to stop looking at my watch for the rest of the race. If I wanted to feel good and finish smiling than I needed to let go of time and focus on how my body was handling things. If I was getting tired, I'd back off. If I felt good, I could pick it up. But time was no longer part of the equation. It was incredibly liberating.

Miles 7-14 (7:00, 7:10, 7:06, 7:11, 7:13, 7:08, 7:16, 7:13)

I took my first gel at mile six. I did a mental check from head to toe and made sure I was in tune with how I was feeling. So far so good. My friend and teammate, Lauren, told me she was going to be at mile fourteen with her family so that was my next benchmark. I think this part of any marathon is the hardest. You have to be focused and locked in but you are nowhere near the finish. And while you're working hard and trying to be in the moment, it's easy to zone out and get a little bored. This is usually when I tell myself that moving forward I'll probably just focus on shorter distances. You can laugh. I always do after the fact. I got through the Wellesley tunnel, easily the loudest part of the race, and then focused on finding Lauren and crew.

Miles 15-21 (7:16, 7:00, 7:20, 7:21, 7:01, 7:16, 7:31)

Success. I smiled and waved like a champ. It was so fun to see their familiar faces. I also felt like it was safe to quietly celebrate getting to this point. Not that I was making any assumptions on the rest of the race. I wasn't. I've learned that lesson the hard way. We probably all have. I was doing my damndest to smile at every single photographer I saw. You can see that I was doing a pretty good job with this. I rolled up and down the hills with gratitude and grit. I wasn't remotely concerned about my pace (I know I keep saying this, but it's such a foreign concept for me) as I climbed and descended. Heartbreak hill was my slowest split of the day but it didn't hurt nearly as bad as it usually does without the pressure of a goal time. Once I was up and over, I knew I had enough in me to finish strong. I've truly never felt like this with five miles to go. Ever. To say it was amazing is an understatement. 

Miles 22-26.2 (7:04, 7:08, 6:58, 7:00, 7:17, 6:59)

My legs and feet had started to feel heavy and tired just before the hills. Once I got past this section I was so mentally ecstatic to be finishing the last piece of this adventure that I forgot all about how beat up they'd been feeling. Joy was literally pouring into my body. Like, I could feel it. I was able to pick it up and start cruising. The crowd here is insane. Normally, I'm borderline dying or hobbling or throwing up and I don't notice this electric vibe of awesomeness. Not this time. I felt it all. Every person I locked eyes with; they would nod or cheer or scream & that is what propelled me to the finish line. That and the notion that I'd done what I'd set out to do. I had been smart. Stayed in control. Listened to my body. All of it. And because of this I was smiling ear to ear for the last few miles. What a gift.

Exhibit A - Arms up!!

Exhibit B - Clap it up!

Exhibit C - FUCK YEAH!

I crossed the line in 3:08.06. I was beyond thrilled. I texted my husband....BEST MARATHON!!!  I've run a lot of these babies. Many have been good. A few have been great. Most have been garbage. This one was easily taking a top spot on my list. Everything had unfolded the way I'd hoped and planned. The weather had been perfect. My stomach had agreed with me. And, because I wasn't a moron and ran the way I knew I needed to in order to have the day I wanted, my body had held up beautifully. I had such a bad taste in my mouth after my last Boston experience. I can now say the slate has been wiped clean and, once again, I am totally smitten.  Will I do it again? I honestly don't know. But all signs are pointing to probably. As far as what's next for me? I truly have no idea. I just want to bask in the glory of this feeling for a few more days. Recognizing, again, how much I love this sport and all that it gives me. Good. Bad. All of it. I tell my Lex athletes all the time....you have to KNOW YOUR WHY. I'd lost this a little bit over the last year or so. On Monday it all came flooding back in. So. Much. Love. Thank you, running. And thank you, Boston. You're glorious. Both of you.

Listen to this:

Euphoria by Talia Rae

Talia Rae · Euphoria