Archive for the ‘Marathon’ Category

Happy Independence Day: A Salute To Fifty States

Wednesday, July 4th, 2012

Laura Skladzinski hasn’t been running long. But what she’s lacked in years of experience she’s made up for with number of races. Laura doesn’t just run races, she runs marathons. She doesn’t just run marathons, she has ran a marathon in all fifty states and broke a world record while doing it.

Laura, who lives and works in NYC broke the record for being the youngest woman to complete a marathon in all fifty states.  What better way to celebrate the Fourth of July than to get to know Laura a little better.

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What was your first marathon (when and where?):

I signed up for the Vermont City Marathon in May 2008, selecting it in large part because it was sponsored by Ben & Jerry’s and promised free ice cream at the finish. My mom and my best friend came, holding signs that said “run to the ice cream, Laura!” Whenever I saw their signs, you can bet that I ran a little faster! I finished the marathon, but instead of wanting to stop there, I decided to keep running them. That feeling of conquering the impossible you get when you cross a finish line… it never gets old, and there’s just nothing like it.

Why did you start running and why did you take on this huge goal?

I started running six years ago, having previously been a total non-jock and the worst student in my grade school gym classes. I began to challenge this idea of myself while doing a college internship in Sarasota, Florida. Finding it difficult to make friends in a strange place, I told myself that I could either be miserable and have a terrible summer, or I could make the best of it and spend the time trying to better myself. I decided that I was going to do two things I had previously thought impossible: learn to cook and learn to run. The cooking was easy; the running was a bit harder for me. I did little loops around my neighborhood, working my way up to longer distances. By the end of the summer, I was able to complete a 5K race. I was so proud of myself, and told everyone I knew – I seriously thought a 5K was like the equivalent of an Ironman! However, I then found myself wondering… if I could push my limits to complete a 5K, how much more could I do? In December 2007, I decided it would be my New Year’s resolution to train for and complete a half marathon by the end of the year. I smashed that resolution before the end of the month! I was shocked that I had been able to do it – I thought for sure I was pushing my limits further than I could go. After that, I didn’t put together a marathon training plan, but I started doing a long run every weekend, increasing it by one mile each time. I figured that I could always add 10 more minutes! By the time I did a 22 mile long run, I knew that I was going as far as most marathon training plans go, so I signed up for one. I had no idea how it would change my life!

Why was this “marathon tour” important to you?

For me, it was just about doing something that I thought was absolutely impossible. I am still so proud of myself for overcoming my high school days, when I couldn’t even run one mile without stopping to walk. I believe that marathoning is something that ANYONE can do, with motivation and training.

Favorite marathon / city?

It’s hard to compare big and small marathons, so I always give two answers to this question. My favorite big marathon was the New York City Marathon. It was my 33rd marathon but my first in my hometown, and I’ll admit that I got teary eyed when “New York, New York” played at the start. The crowds were incredible, and I loved having my friends and family there to cheer me on! My favorite small marathon, on the other hand, was very different – Run With the Horses in Green River, Wyoming. You started at the top of a mesa at sunrise, and all you could see around you were mountains and sky – no buildings, roads, or even farms for miles. It was such a small field for a race that by halfway through the race, I was running all by myself with no other runners even in sight. The course was a dirt trail that was used by wild horses and they would pass the runners at a gallop. It was just incredibly scenic and beautiful.

When / what was your record breaking marathon (the last state)?

I broke the world record as the youngest woman to run a marathon in all 50 states in June 2010, two years and one week after my first marathon. My last marathon was the inaugural Minneapolis Marathon in Minnesota.

Describe the details of your world record.

Before I finished, the youngest woman to run a marathon in all 50 states was 29 years old; I finished one month before my 25th birthday. That led to my blog URL – 50 by 25!


How did your schedule work?  You trained and travelled all while working full time?

I work in strategy consulting, typically between 50 and 80 hours per week. The hardest part for me to deal with is not necessarily the long hours, but team dinners/events and other obligations that keep me from eating healthy and working out. I live in a hotel four days a week and then fly home to NYC on weekends, so there is a lot of time where I need to improvise workouts based on time constraints and available equipment. Since I’m often not comfortable going for a solo run as a woman in a strange city, I typically only run on weekends (one long run a week). During the week, I do strength training (huge advocate of finding a free weight routine that works for you) and intervals on either the treadmill or the elliptical. I almost never do more than 3 miles at a time during the week.

What’s the best advice you could give to someone training for their first?

From a training perspective, I’d suggest doing as many long runs (18 miles or more) as you can. There is a lot of new research finding that running more days per week is not going to help you at all; you’ll do better by doing more high-mileage runs and cutting out the shorter “recovery” runs that are often found in older marathon training plans. From personal experience, I can say that the more you can get your body used to running long, the easier the final miles get – I usually don’t even get sore after a marathon now!

Love that you now work as a pacer, why have you decided to take on that job?

A big part of my motivation at first was financial – paying for race registrations gets expensive! However, once I actually paced, I discovered how much I loved it – much more than just running a marathon on my own. I love getting to cheer other people on and share what I’ve learned about running marathons. I especially love pacing first time marathoners – it is SO magical to get to see how excited they are, particularly as they start getting close to the finish line and realize they’re about to reach their goal.

How did you end up coaching Justin Gimelstob?

Justin Gimelstob is a pro tennis player who made a $10,000 bet with his friend, Andy Roddick, that he could run the NYC Marathon. I connected with Justin on Twitter (ah, the power of social media!) and offered to help coach/pace him. The terms of the bet were set so that Justin had to finish under 4:45, and he smashed that goal, finishing in 4:10! We had a lot of fun, and I was so excited to earn that money for our charity.  (Read about it here)

And because we’re a t-shirt company – did you have any fun/unique shirts or outfits?

  • Ran my first marathon in a shirt that said “Will Run for Ice Cream. When I finish, I can eat 14 scoops!”
  • Ran the 2009 Boston Marathon in a shirt that said “48th Marathon, 1st Boston!”
  • Ran the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon dressed in a Superwoman costume
  • Ran the 2012 Half Sauer Half Kraut Marathon dressed in a German beer girl costume

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Wow isn’t she an inspiration?

You can follow Laura on her blog, Twitter, and on Facebook.

What impossible dream have you made possible?  Are you motivated to start working towards a BIG goal now?

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Posted in Marathon, Race | 3 Comments »

First Marathon: When, Why, How?

Wednesday, June 13th, 2012

Do you remember your first marathon?  Are you training for your first marathon?

Running a marathon is a big commitment, and for a lot of runners it’s the ultimate achievement.  We had a chat with two marathon enthusiasts to get their perspective on training for your first marathon.  Meghann just celebrated her third anniversary of her first marathon and Krysten just committed to training for her first marathon which she’ll run this fall.

Meghann from Meals and Miles ran the San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon as her first.  She trained with and fundraised for Team in Training.  Three years later she’s run six marathons AND an ultra marathon.  Go Meghann!

Why did you decide to run your first marathon?

“I decided to run my first marathon after volunteering as a screaming fan at mile 22 of the Disney marathon in January 2009. I had a vague idea that I wanted to run a marathon “someday” and after spending 7 hours cheering on runners of all shapes and sizes still pushing themselves after 22 miles of being on their feet was inspired. I figured if they could do it, then I could too. I signed up within the next couple of weeks to run my first.”

What was your biggest fear before running your first?

“That I wouldn’t finish. When you train for a charity with a team, you have so many people relying on you to finish the race. It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s also what pushed me to the finish line in the end.”


What’s the biggest change you’ve made 3 years later?

“I train with a goal now. My first marathon was all about the experience, but once you do one, you start thinking about how you can do the next one faster. I train harder now and have since shaved over 30 minutes from my original finish time.”

What advice would you give someone who wants to sign up / train for their first marathon?

“Do your first one for the experience. Take away all the pressure of time and just enjoy the ride. Bring a camera, take photos, and have fun!”

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Speaking of first timers … Krysten from The Misadventures of a Darwinian Fail has recently declared her intentions for her first marathon – the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.  This year she is trying to overcome her less than stellar genetics by dedicating 2012 to eating a clean diet and focusing on her general well-being.  She is beating heart disease, breast cancer, and genetics all while striving for the coveted marathon glory.


Why did you decide to train for your first marathon?

“Running is where I do battle with my genetic demons. Running for me is a challenge, and a competition that I have with myself. And it is the way I chose to take control of body and my health.I just ran my first half marathon this past March – actually the day before my prophylactic bilateral mastectomy. It was a throw down against BRCA (the breast cancer gene).

So I am dubbing my first marathon my “battle royal” against genetics.  Because the truth is, as much as my battle with BRCA is over, my battle with genetics rages on.

With Long QT Syndrome (my heart condition) there is no quick fix. This is something I will have to manage for the rest of my life. And while I will spare you the details – that task gets more difficult and more complex with each passing year. Genetics has an iron clad grip on my body, but not my spark. This race is about channeling that inner spark. This race is a statement.”

What’s your biggest fear?

“I am scared that my body won’t cooperate. I am talking about running 42 km. Can we just take a moment, pause, and appreciate how crazy that number is?! That is a long, long, long way to run. And it is going to require a lot of training. So admittedly I am nervous that my genetically defective body is not going to be able to do it.”

What resources are you using to prepare / make a training plan?

“I have a lot of awesome running buddies (mostly in the online world – Fitfluential Power) who are helping me create a training plan. These runners are much faster and much more talented than I am, so I am so grateful for all their advice and encouragement. Michelle from NYC Running Mama and Amanda from Miss Zippy 1 helped me train for my half marathon, and have been encouraging me to take the marathon plunge.

I also love the resources available at Runner’s World and LiveStrong. They have a lot of great tips, techniques, and recipes.”


How do you think your training will differ for this than other races?

“I definitely learned some important lessons while training for my half marathon, so I plan to change my training accordingly. I have 3 major changes I want to make,

1. Nutrition is important. I know that should be obvious, but I slacked big time in this area while training for my half. I used all my running as an excuse to eat anything I wanted (aka lots of junk),  but this time I plan to focus more on my fuel.

2. My defective little ticker needs a long time to train – longer than most. I need to run the full distance several time for my body to really get comfortable running it. I only trained for 8 weeks before my half marathon, and that wasn’t enough time. I think I will do better with a longer training period, so this time I am giving myself 5 months. I am hoping that will make a big difference.

3. I am going to incorporate strength training into my marathon training. Last time around I focused on logging miles, which is obviously necessary, but I want to work on increasing muscle as well as my endurance this time around.”

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Have you run many marathons like Meghann?  Or ready to train for your first like Krysten?

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Posted in Marathon, Running, Tips | 4 Comments »

Blog Post #4: In 2011, Resolve to Run Your First Marathon!

Monday, December 20th, 2010

In 2011, Resolve to Run Your First Marathon!

Have you started thinking about your New Year’s resolutions yet? Now’s the time, since history has proven that coming up with your list of promises on New Year’s Eve during the countdown to midnight tends to result in failure. Start planning now, carefully working out which of your goals are the most feasible for 2011.

Of course, at MyRaceRagz we always suggest setting some realistic but challenging running goals! Have you run a few short races, but never “gone the distance”? You might want to consider spending 2011 training for your first marathon.

A marathon, for those of you who haven’t been introduced yet, is a grueling but utterly satisfying 26.2-mile race. Most of the more common marathons are street races, and are sometimes decked out with concerts, crowds, and family events. In spite of the use of the word “race,” this is not your traditional 100-meter dash; you’re not necessarily racing against your fellow runners. Instead, most runners treat marathons as a sort of personal milestone, a way to push and challenge themselves to be the absolute best they can be, to set and reach a goal that is truly fulfilling.

First of all, you will need to determine if you are ready to start training for a marathon. Have you run a few 5k races already? How about 10k? Ever done a half-marathon? If so, you’re probably in a good position to start thinking about marathon training. Of course, check out your overall health with your doctor and let him or her know your plans – a doctor can be an extremely valuable resource when setting up a training plan.

Next, research the various marathons that might be coming up in your area. If you’re a bare-bones beginner, or you’ve only run a few 5k’s, look several months into the future. If you feel you’re prepared to tackle something a little sooner, research accordingly. Be sure you select a marathon that gives you plenty of time to prepare your body and your mind for the grind. For an extra spiritual boost, sign up for a race that supports a charity you can really get behind.

Now…sign up! Go ahead and pay the registration fee, mark it on your calendar, and begin your planning stage. Divide up the time between now and then into individual weeks, and plan to gradually increase your daily mileage until you are able to run at least 22 miles at once. Make sure that you throw in a couple of low-mileage easy days every week, or you absolutely will exhaust yourself long before the sound of the starting pistol.

Once you’ve gotten yourself checked out, the hardest part is staying committed and wrapping your brain around the reality of the situation. Don’t just “hope” you’ll complete a marathon. Don’t “wish” you could run that far. Plan on it. Visualize that it’s already done, and that you feel great. Go to other marathons as a spectator and watch the looks on the runners’ faces as they cross the finish line. That will be you one day in 2011!

Happy Holidays from MyRaceRagz.com!

Posted in Marathon | 8 Comments »