How My Friend and Fellow Runner is Using Grit and Determination to Crush PR’s

Despite everything going on my friend Stephanie keeps nailing her running training plans. In my last post about Running Training Plans, I discussed how to choose and utilize a running training plan. Since the start of the pandemic most races switched to virtual, which adds a level of difficulty. Stephanie has just kept on training for races, and crushing goal after goal. She is truly inspiring to watch, as every race she runs she seems to improve even more. I reached out to her to find out the secret to her recent successes.

How We Met

First, I will tell you a little bit about how we met. Stephanie and I are part of the group Moms Run This Town – She Runs This Town in Green Bay, Wisconsin. If you are looking for a motivating running group this is it. There are multiple chapters across the United Stated and even some internationally. I have been a member for the last few years. I love meeting up with other women for a run. Stephanie and I had run a couple group runs together, and then met up to race at the Iron Mountain Road and Trail Half Marathon in 2018 and the rest is history.

Questions and Answers

1. Why don’t you start by telling us a little about yourself?

I am a 28-year-old wife and mom to a 4-year-old boy. We live in Green Bay, and I work full-time as a project manager in commercial construction. We recently adopted our first dog, a 7 year old boy named Diesel, and surprisingly our 6 year old cat Tippy has welcomed him with mostly open arms. In my “spare time,” I am a Color Street stylist, love to run and exercise (to improve my running), and spend time with my family & friends.

2. How long have you been running?

I ran in high school when required for the sports I was in – I was very active but never a runner just for the sake of running. Then after college, in 2014 I trained for and ran my first Bellin Run. I was hooked, but only enough to run for a couple months each year to train for & run the Bellin. I did that for 3 years and then in 2017, I signed up for my first half marathon and have been consistently running ever since. So, I would consider myself a serious runner for about 4 years. 

3. What different types of races have you run?

I have run many race types and distances. 5k, 5 milers, 10k, 15k, 10 milers, half marathons, and full marathons. I’ve run mostly road races, but I love trail races too. I have done a couple obstacle course races as well. 

4. What is your favorite distance?

I would have to say half marathons are my favorite distance. I feel the training and race itself, are a good physical and mental challenge. In my personal experience, the training is also manageable amongst all of life’s craziness and isn’t too huge of a time commitment. I also personally only need a few days of recovery after a half marathon, so I like that I can get back to running soon after the race if I choose to. I have run 11 half marathons and would love to do 100 in my lifetime.

5. What types of running training plans do you use? Do you create your own or do you follow a specific plan?

It varies. For my first 3 years of serious running, I would look up free plans online. I would find one that seemed doable and would tweak any certain days/runs as necessary. I focused solely on mileage, not speed, so for all of my training runs, I would just go run. Get the miles done, pace didn’t matter, and I didn’t even know what a tempo run was.

Now this year, I have been putting more research into finding training plans that are more suited to improving my speed and endurance, incorporating speed workouts such as tempo runs, intervals, hill repeats, etc. 

6. There is a lot that goes into training for a race such as nutrition, strength training, speed work and long runs. What do you think is the most important part of a running training plan?

I think it truly all works together, so it’s hard to pick the most important piece. I think it also depends on what you want to get out of the race. If you don’t care about your pace, speed work might not be important to you. I think I would put strength training, as the most important. You might only do it once a week during a training plan, but it is crucial to keep all your muscles strong and help you avoid injury. 

7. How do you fit a training schedule into time with your family and working full time?

For me, a big part of it is having an incredibly supportive partner. My husband has no complaints about spending time solo with our son, while I run. We work together to plan our week, including dinners, bath time, and bedtime routines around my training schedules. Beyond that, it’s being willing to get your workout done whenever you can, whether that’s 5:00 am, 8:00 pm, or on your lunch break.

I also use my running as an example for my son of something I enjoy and am committed to. I want to teach him commitment and dedication. So, although it takes away some time I could instead be spending with him and my family, he knows it’s important to me and even though he’s only 4 I think he supports that. 

8. This year is really your year. Despite everything going on, you have been crushing your goals! Tell us about your most recent half marathon PR.

9. What running training plan did you use for the race? (please describe)

I chose a plan created by a woman in the Fox Cities chapter of Moms Run This Town/She Runs This Town. I don’t know a lot about her to share with you, but I do know she’s very experienced in creating training plans with set time goals and workouts to achieve those time goals. My training plan had 6 active days and 1 rest day, as follows: 

Monday – strength training for at least 20 minutes focusing on core, glutes, and hips, 

Tuesday – speed work run (alternated between tempo runs and interval runs each week), 

Wednesday – cross-training which for me was usually biking, 

Thursday – usually an easy-pace run followed by strength training but every few weeks there was a hill repeats workout,  

Friday – rest day, 

Saturday – alternated weekly between a long run at an easy pace and a long run with some miles at an easy pace & some miles at race pace, 

Sunday – shorter run at an easy pace. 

10. How did you decide on what race pace to run for the race?

I just knew I wanted to beat a 2:14:00 for my race time, so when looking at the available plans, I chose one with a goal finish time of 2:10:00. The plan laid out what all of my training paces and my race pace should be, so I didn’t have to put much thought into it! Race pace was a 9:50 per mile which would have resulted in around a 2:08:00 finish time. 

11. What was the most challenging part of the training?

Definitely adapting to running “hard.” It sounds silly but I had gotten so used to running comfortably. It had been quite some time since I pushed myself during a race let alone a training run. Intervals weren’t too tough because I found I could sustain the assigned paces for those short bursts of time, but tempo runs were very challenging. Running ‘comfortably hard’ for miles on end once I got further into the training plan was tough.

I also struggled with some of the long runs with race pace goals. I remember the first 8 mile workout that had me running 4 miles straight at race pace, and I was huffing and puffing by mile 3 at that 9:50 pace. But that workout was 8+ weeks before race day, so I had plenty of time to get stronger. I didn’t think I could do it at the time of course, but I did. 

12. Don’t ask me why, but I love hill repeats the most! What is your favorite type of speed work?

I really enjoy intervals. I like running so fast for those 400s or 800s, or even 1200s, and seeing the results. I would often surprise myself with what paces I was capable of. The recovery breaks in between the intervals are nice too. 

13. Why do you think speed work is so crucial to hitting a PR?

Speed work does so much for your body. I didn’t know this until I did some research before my half marathon training cycle, but speed work literally physiologically changes your body to help it run faster! Science! It improves your cardiovascular fitness as well as training your legs to be able to run faster for longer periods of time. I saw it explained once as: “it’s like getting better gas mileage, but for your legs” – haha. To me, it just made sense that if I wanted to run a new personal record, I would need to make speed work a consistent part of my training plan. 

14. How do you adjust your training around life’s moments? Do you feel like it affected your training?

In most cases, I try as best as I can to still get the run or the workout done. If I absolutely cannot, I give myself some grace and know that 1 or 2, or even 5 missed workouts during a training cycle will not totally break my efforts and success.

I actually had strep throat during my half marathon training cycle. I had to skip 3 days of running, but my doctor gave me permission to walk if I was feeling well enough (and no fever). I took 2 complete rest days and on the third day, I took a walk. The 4th day, I jumped right back into my training plan where I was – no need to “make up” the missed days (unless you miss a crucial long run, but that wasn’t the case for me).

Just continue on. Training is really about consistency. So, if life occasionally happens and I have to miss a workout here or there, not a big deal; but I make sure that for the most part, I stick to the plan. 

15. Tell us about your next race. What are your goals for the race?

This Saturday I am running my first ever ultra marathon – a 50k (31 miles)! I have a couple goals for this race. First, I would like to PR my marathon time within this event. Based on the speed I’ve gained this year and some of the longer training runs I did this cycle, I should be able to cut about 15-30 minutes off my current marathon PR which would be amazing. For the overall 50k, my goal is to finish in under 6 hours.

The weather could play a big factor in meeting these goals, if it’s hot and humid. So I will do my best and know that if I don’t meet these goals, that’s okay. I know I will have fun with it. One of my awesome and supportive friends, Lauren, will be biking the whole 31 miles along with me while I run. I also will have some spectator support along the way from friends I have made through She Runs This Town. So, I have that to look forward to as well! 

16. What are your future goals? A new PR? A longer distance? Destination race?

I have been thinking about this a lot recently, as I near my 50k. I am very goal-oriented and love to be working toward something. I’m at a point where I’ve wondered “can I run any faster?” and “can I run any further?” And truthfully I don’t know, but I love a challenge. For this summer, my goal will just be to get at least 102 running miles a month through September for a virtual challenge I’m completing. Beyond that, I would love to run a sub-2 hour half marathon one day and maybe run a 50 mile or 100k race. I do have big plans to complete a race in every state in my lifetime. So, I hope to knock a state or two off that list each year. 

Conclusion

I want to thank Stephanie for taking the time to talk to Inspired to Run and discuss what is working for her. She is an inspiration to watch and I can’t wait to see what she is going to accomplish next!