Racing at sea level is a wonderful experience. True, it’s been 4 years since I’ve raced at sea level and I’d forgotten how amazing it is. It makes me feel guilty for not taking advantage of it more often. But I can’t complain: I live in a beautiful area of Idaho with a wonderful community that supports me every step of the way. I couldn’t ask for more, even if the elevation of Idaho Falls is 4,700 feet. True, it’s not ideal for most elite runners because it’s right in-between. In-between the point of oxygen deprivation (found at higher altitudes), and pure speed (that can be attained at sea level).

Regardless, racing in New York last month was a good pick-me-up. I had qualified for three events in the USATF Club National Track and Field Championships. My dilemma was figuring out what events to actually run. For some reason, the schedule on the championship website was outdated and missing certain events. I had pestered the meet director for three months to put out an updated schedule so that I could plan for what races to run. In the past, the championship had been a two day event, so I planned my schedule accordingly.

Unfortunately, the final schedule came out only a week before the championships. To make matters worse, all my events were on the same day. Not only that, they were schedule within 3 ½ hours of one another. I had hoped to run one event on one day, rest, and do another event the second day. Now, I had to decide if I would do just one or two races in a crunched time period. The first event was the 5,000m run. I hadn’t done a 5k on a track since I was a sophomore in college. I personally detested it but I was willing to give it another go to see if my preference had changed in 6 years.

So, at 10 am I toed the line on the track at the breathtaking Icahn Stadium (sorry Oregon, New York has a better venue in my opinion). I hadn’t been training for the 5k so I had no set pace. I was just going to wing it and see how everything turned out. I gave the race everything I had, and lucky for me, I actually enjoyed it. But when I finished I was so wiped that I wasn’t sure if I could do any more races. Here comes the nice part about being at sea level: ½ hour after my race I felt completely recovered. I almost felt like I hadn’t even run a race earlier.

So, I decided to give a shot at the next race, the 3k steeple (scheduled for 12:20). By the time I was done cooling down from the 5k, it was time for me to start warming up for the steeple. I was beginning to think it was a bad idea for me to try to run more than one race, but I didn’t want my time in New York to go to waste. So I toed the line again. Luckily there was a rabbit that I was able to run behind for the first half, but after three laps I was definitely more fatigued than I had planned. Still, I gave it every last ounce of energy and finished as a National Champion*. It wasn’t my fastest time of the season, but it was a decent performance. I was so excited about the outcome that I blurted out to my husband that I was going to run the 1500. Wait, what? I never thought I was crazy enough to do something like that. The last time I had tripled on the same day was my senior year of high school (8 years ago). And the races I did back then were shorter distances, slower paces, and they were scheduled farther apart from one another. But the words were already out, so I went out for my cool down, I mean warm-up.

Either way, I only had 30 minutes until the race started. I barely had time to put my shoes on and run to the start line at 1:25. I was already out of breath before the gun even went off. I felt like a slug the first two laps, and I even considered dropping out. But since I made it half way I decided to go the other half. Luckily my legs started to pick up a little more. I wasn’t able to throw in a great kick at the end but I didn’t lose my place. When I met up with my husband after the race, I joked to him that I should try to do the 800m run that was scheduled 45 minutes later. He just about choked!

Coming back home was the best part about the whole experience. I teared up each night we were gone because I missed my kids and all the fun things they were doing without us (like Logan going on his first train ride). The one thing I didn’t miss was climbing stairs. I never realized how out of breath you can get at 4,700 feet above sea level!

As always, thanks so much to Bill’s Bike and Run and Teton Toyota cheering for me the whole way. It was great to have your support in New York!

*Being a National Champion isn’t as big of a deal as some make it out to be. There are dozens of faster women in the US than me. Plenty of people have asked me if I will be going to the Olympics because of my performance. The answer is no. If I want to make it to the Olympic Trials my times have to be considerably faster. Granted, it has always been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to go to the Olympics. Regardless of what happens I’ll still give it my best shot.

I would like to tribute this article to my fantastic and supportive husband, Tim Richardson. If it wasn’t for his support I would not be the runner I am today. Happy Early Father’s Day!

There are so many people that I have spoken with over the past few months who ask me how I’m able to fit in all this running stuff while being a mother, homemaker, etc... It’s simple: my hubby makes all the difference. As soon as Tim steps in the door from work, I am out the door for a run. He feeds the kids, changes their diapers, plays with them, puts them to bed, and even attempts to bathe them on occasion :)  I’m not going to lie, he does a pretty good job at being a daddy. He has amazing taste in clothes and always picks the cutest outfits for Charlotte (in fact, I hardly ever go clothes shopping for myself anymore because Tim has better taste than me and he gets me the cutest outfits). And Tim is better at playing the Wii than me so Logan is sure to spend more time with Tim.

As an example of how awesome Tim is, he was my support group for the Sawtooth Relays this past weekend. He willingly toted me and the kids from Idaho Falls to Stanley the night before the race (a 4 hour trip). He was super patient when our poor daughter got carsick on the windy road and threw up all over herself - which caused ½ hour delay while we cleaned up the mess and made sure she was a happy baby again (honestly, how many other men out there, besides Tim, are willing to clean up throw up?). Not only that, but he did an awesome job in the car with the kids for over 8 hours while I participated in the relay on Saturday (my team was awesome – we placed first in the women’s category!). I don’t think the kids cried once the entire day. They were so happy and had an absolute blast cheering for me and giving me water every couple of miles. He was so prepared with books, toys, food, snacks, and things to do (like taking the kids to Redfish Lake so they could play in the water).

When the relay was finally over he was still in Superdad mode – he told me how awful he felt that he had forgotten to put sunscreen on the kids. If it were me, I wouldn’t have even thought to bring sunscreen. The best part about the whole day was the smile I saw on Tim’s face every time he stopped to cheer me on. He is the happiest person I know. Thanks for all your support Tim, and Happy Father’s Day!

It has been so much fun being back on the track! Since graduating in 2011 I raced on a track only two times. Now I’m back to what I love – the 3k Steeplechase.

Not anyone can run the 3k Steeple. You have to have guts to run two miles over 35 immovable barriers (5 each lap, one of which includes a 12 foot long water pit). It takes hours of training too… strength training, practicing hurdle form, speed work, stretching, tempo runs, practicing water jumps, intervals, ladders, not to mention still getting in the right amount of mileage… enough said. But it’s totally worth the effort.

To top it off, anything can go wrong in a race like the 3k steeplechase. That’s what happened to me five weeks ago when I sprained my ankle coming off of the first water jump of a race. Let’s just say I was lame for the rest of the ordeal. I should have stepped off the track mid mango but it had been so long since I had been able to run a steeplechase that I wanted to finish.

Well, that experience put me out of order for about two weeks, but it made me smarter. I realized I hadn’t prepared well enough for that race. The big wake-up call came to me when I read one of my former teammates’ articles in Runner’s World magazine that emphasized strength training. Lois Keller was an awesome mentor for me when I came to ISU in 2007. She was a veteran of the steeplechase and I was a naïve freshman hoping to follow in her footsteps. I trusted every piece of advice she gave me and it helped me improve by leaps and bounds. Now, eight years later, I still trust in her advice. Her article helped me realize that strength training was not on the top of my priority list where it should be.

Simply put, it all comes down to the nitty gritty details. When one is striving for success it is easy to plateau if they are only focusing on one or two facets. It’s easy to forget about the little things that improve performance other than just mileage and workouts. So I intensified my strength training efforts, spent more time stretching, and I focused my attention on improving technique over the barriers.

Amazingly, all that hard work has already paid off. I attempted another steeplechase last weekend and – Voila! I was able to cut my splits down by 3 seconds per lap simply because my technique and muscle strength were significantly improved.

Granted, adding in an extra workout each day hasn’t been the easiest adjustment to make. For all those mothers out there (and Happy Mother’s Day by the way) who know what it’s like to keep the house clean, make meals, do laundry, run errands, keep kids happy, etc… you know it’s hard enough just to get a run in, let alone another hour of strength training. But as I’ve mentioned earlier in my blog, don’t give up!!! Because…

 

The best part about all the hard work before each race is the fun time that I can have with my family when the race is over: playing in the steeple pit!!! My kids get so excited to go to track meets now because they get to “play in the water”. If I’ve taken anything away from this experience, it is: make sure there is still fun involved in the hard work.

My wisdom for this month is: Just get out and do it… No excuse is good enough.

Ever since I had my second child it has been harder and harder to motivate myself to get out and run. It is so enjoyable to spend all day playing with my kids (and cleaning up after them, although that isn’t as enjoyable). So when it comes time for me to go running I honestly don’t want to. Like every other normal human being out there, it has always been easier for me to stay inside. Still, I force myself to go for a run because I know if I don’t I will regret it later.

So when I signed up for the Health and Fitness 10k road race two weeks ago I wasn’t too excited about it. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE road races, but I’m just not fond of races over 5 kilometers. It is still necessary for me to race longer distances so I can build my endurance for shorter races. I convinced myself that I was simply going to tempo the whole thing and see where that got me. Well, the race started and I lagged back for the first 5k, enjoying the pace I had set for myself. Except there was one problem: One of the racers ahead of me was pushing their two year old in a stroller and was beating me (any guesses who that was?… yup, Gray Augustus, the manager for Bill’s Bike and Run). I figured he was just doing the 5k and would finish after the first loop (the 10k course followed the 5k loop twice).

Well, the first loop came around and Gray kept on going. I didn’t think he was serious. He had crossed the first 5k under 18 minutes. That’s fast for anyone, but you have to be wearing rockets on the bottom of your shoes to be pushing a stroller that fast. I have gone on runs with my kids in the past and it’s hard for me to push 8:30 pace for three miles, but Gray was going sub 6 minute miles for 10 kilometers. I chuckled to myself thinking that I would pass him in a jiffy and cruise in the last 5k. Oh boy was I wrong. By the last mile I was sweating in my socks because I still wasn’t catching Gray even though I had picked up my pace significantly.

Let’s just say that when I finished the race I was extremely humbled. Gray finished barely ahead of me still pushing the stroller. I had gotten my best 10k time ever, and had still lost to the two year old in the stroller. :) I came away from that race with a greater appreciation for what it takes to be a parent and runner all in one. So when a day comes when I just want to stay inside, I realize that no excuse is good enough. If someone else can get out and run a 10k in 35 minutes pushing a stroller, then I can certainly get out and go for an easy jog. Or better yet, bring the kids along in the stroller for the ride too. I know when I come back from my run I’ll be glad that I got out and did it.

-Erica Richardson