Tribute to Marge & Indoor Preview

Hello Runners!

I hope everyone had a very merry holiday season and had some time to reset for the new year- know I sure needed it!

In the last couple months since I last wrote my running life has been steadily progressing, but in many ways my personal life has had many ups and downs.

For those of you who don’t know, my sweet pup Marge died a few weeks ago due to sudden heart failure. This was a very tough loss for me. I adopted Marge September 2021 after her human had died and she had been bounced around from house-to-house. Although she had her quirks and fears, she quickly stole my heart and became my best friend. She gave me so much joy and peace when running, school, or relationships were difficult. She settled into my life so well, going on walks to the park every day and cuddling up for a nap after my runs.

She was a funny little chihuahua/ wiener

dog mix with a lot of character. It was hard for anyone not to love her! We weren’t given nearly enough time (if there is even such a thing). When she started acting funny I felt a deep pit in my stomach that told me something was very wrong.

After a week of vet visits and much anxiety for both of us, she died peacefully in my arms, and I got to tell her how good and brave she was, and how soon she would feel all better. Knowing how little time we had I am so glad that I spoiled her with treats and yummy cooked food when her stomach hurt. I am so glad that I brought her to every adventure and chose to be with her as much as possible. I’m glad I got to make the last couple years so happy for her, I think that’s why we found each other. I feel her absence often and still miss her very much, but am so lucky we found each other, if only for a brief moment.

Hug your furry friends, everyone, they’re not here forever!

On a more positive note-- I have had many people in my life who have made

some hard times a lot easier. I have friends who I am grateful for every day! I don’t know how I would have made it through the week Marge died without Quinn

helping me make difficult decisions or Ben bringing me coffee in the morning when I couldn’t get out of bed. I also appreciated the love I felt from my family who grew to love her very much and teammates who knew how much I cared about that little dog.

From a running perspective, things are moving nicely along! I am running at a high volume, 70-75 miles a week, with intensity coming from solid workouts! I battled through winter storms in MI over break- shout out to my sisters and dad for accompanying me on the bike! I even did the unthinkable… ran my long run on the treadmill… ick!

Getting back into running at the start of a new season is always harder than I expect. It doesn’t feel super smooth, aches and pains come up, and man that first workout back… woof! I came into the season with big big goals for indoor- big, but I sincerely believe that they are attainable. That being said, it’s easy to get discouraged quickly when your first workout back doesn’t feel like you’re immediately knocking ‘em dead. It turns out this is a normal thing that everyone goes through, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s to look at the forest and not just a tree. By that I mean that you need to wait to accumulate a body of work over a consistent period of training before you can either hit the panic or celebrate button.

I’ve learned as a high performing motivated athlete that you can’t let your goals

take complete control of your mind. You don’t want adrenaline pumping through your veins on every recovery run. Doing one-hundred-percent one-hundred-percent of the time is, quite frankly, unsustainable. I found that it even discouraged me and caused me to lose belief in my abilities to reach my goals when I had left no room for error. When I picture myself accomplishing my goals, I picture flawless preparation, and can’t imagine ever having a flat workout or scratching a double because their body needs rest. But in actuality that happens to everyone!!!

Instead, I act in accordance with my goals and values and keep my head down, trusting that if I keep my mind happy and healthy and put in the work that the goals will come. Then, you can look up every once in a while and see how far you’ve come and what you’ve got to do next. Don’t let your goals weigh you down.

I love running, I am so lucky to do what I do.

Tune in to watch the results at our first indoor meet of the year at CU Boulder this Saturday, the 14th! We will also be competing weeks after at CU again on the 27th, I will run the 3k and mile, respectively (and can’t wait)!!!!

Lastly I have a great dinner idea that I have been reusing a ton, it's easy and super nourishing for hard working athletes. There is no special recipe, but I'll drop what I do below!

- Steak: I am no expert at cooking steak, but I have found it is definitely yummiest if I get carne asada or a filet (usually at Trader Joe's). I put some olive oil in a pan, and if it is not already seasoned/ marinated I run the steak with steak seasoning in a separate bowl before cooking it in the pan, covered, until it is done to your liking! Red meat is great to mix in to the weekly meal plan due to the number of endurance athletes, especially women, who suffer from low iron. I try to eat red meat ~3 times a week!

-Coconut Rice: Okay so, one of my secrets is that I actually hate cooking rice and usually cop out by microwaving packets of instant brown rice... but coconut rice is so good that I will take the 20 minutes it takes to actually make it! You add 1 can of coconut milk, 2 cups of rice, and 1.5 cups of water to a pat and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and cook covered for 20 minutes! This makes ~4 servings, so I recommend using the leftovers as a base for bowls for the rest of the week!

-Roasted Veggies: Mmm roasted veggies... these also go great in a bowl with coconut rice as leftovers throughout the week! While you can definitely switch up veggies, I often use brussell sprouts or broccoli with red onion and sweet potato (all diced up). I mix the veggies with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes to taste. Place on a baking sheet and bake for ~30 minutes @ 420 degrees!

This recipe is super simple and takes about 45 minutes to make total, with the longest part being the veggies! Try it out!

Happy running,

Anna