Pre-Bass Pro write up, just posted a bit late! :)

With my final race of the fall season just 6 days away, I decided I would take this time to recap my fall racing/training season. After the Grandma's marathon in June where I finally met my sub 6 min average goal that I had been working towards for a couple years, I really struggled mentally to regroup and set another goal. To be honest, I still haven't been able to get myself 100% focused on any particular goal. I signed up for the Bass Pro full marathon during the early signups this year knowing that it would be my 9th marathon. At the time, I never really thought about how difficult the training would be for me to get back to my peak level (I just don't do as well in the heat and this summer seemed to go on forever).  Bass Pro will wrap up my fall racing season. I raced a couple times this fall. The only two races I ran this fall were both 10k's. The Plaza 10k was an awesome race. I ran one of my best road times at 34:26. Then a few weeks later, Kimi and I went up to Columbia to run the Roots N Blues 10k. We ran a really solid race. The plan was to run it together and that's precisely what we did. This is a much tougher course than the Plaza 10k course so our times reflected it. We ran right around 35:30. Another solid outing though.

Track day! Love 'em!

One of the highlights of my entire fall so far didn't even come from my own personal running. I want to take this time to talk just a little about how proud I am of all the athletes I get the opportunity to coach. I have the opportunity to work with runners of all levels. Some are working toward their first 5k or improving upon their past 5k's. Others working towards and completing their first marathons. It's difficult for me to express the joy I get working with other runners and seeing their accomplishments. In June, I was able to witness one of my runners complete her first ever marathon at the Grandma's marathon. It was amazing! She even qualified for the Boston Marathon! Another one of the athletes I coach was able to finally break the 3 hour barrier in the marathon back in early October. She had been working towards this goal for a long time and I was simply happy to be a small part in it.

One last story (there are many and I simply don't have the time for all of them). I have to give props to one other athlete that I'm very proud of as well. She and I have been working together for close to a year now. She had some injuries that I helped her with and then I started coaching her towards running a half marathon. I was very impressed with her dedication and discipline. She's not blazing fast which is what makes it even more impressive. The athletes that impress me the most are the ones that aren't blazing fast but are very determined to get to the finish line. She completed the half just under 2 hrs 30 minutes. Immediately after that, she told me that she wanted to do a full marathon. I could see the determination in her face and proceeded to explain the amount of work it would take for her to get to the finish line at 26.2 miles. It would take hours and hours of running, training, and nutrition consulting to get her there. She had to struggle through some 18 and 20 mile runs which take 3-4 hours of her time on the weekends to get finished (unlike myself which takes about 2 hrs 20 minutes or so). In October, she ventured up to the Twin Cities Marathon and took on the challenge. Heading into the race, she was very concerned about whether she would make it to the finish line fast enough to be allowed to finish. A few days after the race, she came into my office wearing her medal with extreme joy on her face. She had finished the marathon and wasn't even close to the time cut off. These are the stories that inspire me in my practice. I'm always truly honored to be a small part of these success stories.