April 2015 Recap
“Boston on 12 weeks of Running?”
April has been such a HUGE month of racing for Iron Fit Endurance that I don’t know where to start for my recap! SO, I decided to highlight one race that was particularly impressive and then do a short recap of the other races and athletic accomplishments that the Iron Fit Endurance crew had this month!
When I first met Kiri Spillane she was in the middle of recovering from a stress fracture in her knee. She was diagnosed with this 1 week before what was to be her 2nd NYC marathon. In her first marathon, the year prior, this mother of three ran a 3:36 qualifying her for Boston! When we met up she was focused on finishing Boston, despite having this injury that ended up taking her out of running for over 2 months! We started up and had her doing everything BUT running. Kiri was biking on the trainer 3 to 4 days a week (this was a new addition to her training, which I believe helped her to gain strength as well as keep up her cardiovascular fitness). We also had her “run” in the pool. I am a HUGE advocate of water running. I personally have done this in the past while rehabbing injuries, including one injury that had me out of running for over 3 months! I found water running to be an incredible substitution that had me back to running almost seamlessly!
Finally, on January 16th, Kiri got the green light to start running again! (keep in mind that the Boston Marathon was just 13 weeks away)! We started her out VERY gradually…she started with just ½ mile run 3x/week for the first week! For the next week she ran 1 mile 3x/week (this was 11 weeks out from Boston, mind you). From there we progressed on to 2 miles 3x/week (I got this method of getting back to running from my genius podiatrist, Dr. McGuiness and I swear by it!). Kiri followed everything that I planned out for her to a tee. She kept up the biking as well as the pool running, until she was running longer distances. She never ran over 18 miles, and she only did that once, for her longest run. We did, however, add quality to her runs once she was ready. Every run she did had some sort of quality in it, which in my opinion, made up for the lack of distance. She was nervous, but she forged ahead.
Kiri ended up finishing Boston in amazing fashion. She did a 3:40 on a very tough day with rain and wind. Her knee felt great and still does! I was so proud of her. Sticking to a plan where you aren’t putting in the typical “marathon miles” can be very tough mentally. One can feel under-confident even getting to the start line! She not only got there, but she excelled! Congrats on a great race and thanks for the challenge of getting you there on such little time!
In other races, here’s the recap!
Shelley Bache, who will be competing in the Alcatraz triathlon in June, competed in the “Philly Love Half marathon” on March 29th. She had a great day!
Robin Munch and Alyssa Kasek, both new to running, headed to Mrtyle Beach to compete in the Diva half Marathon and 5K! Robin finished the half in 2:15 (like I said, she was new to running!) and Alyssa competed in the 5K, after having to bow out of the Half due to injury. Smart move on her part! The two had a great time down there, as you can see!
Susan Roman headed to North Carolina for the Tar Heel 10 Miler. A TOUGH course and a great training day and race for her!
Jose Hernandez, who is focusing more on the bike this spring competed in the grueling race, Battenkill where he crushed his time from last year and had an incredible race posting a VERY fast time for a fierce course!! He also just competed in the Spring Cycling Series in Branchbrook where he finished with the main pack.
Hilary Topper competed in the Cedar Creek Duathlon and had a great day! She had two smoking-fast run splits and a strong bike too! She had a great day out there. Here’s a link to her race report: http://www.arunnersdiary.com/spring-duathlon-at-cedar-creek-park/#utm_sguid=133014,d381626d-5306-6ba8-4907-68a0c8d7332a
Zach Lam (Noah and Irene Lam's son) finished 9th Overall in the Mini Mightyman pool Triathlon! Congrats on a great race!! here's a picture of the Lam family after the race!
Jim Nostrom completed an amazing feat, doing the Bike Across Florida, 170 miles coast to coast! Awesome Jim!
Frank Fiorello finished 2nd in his division at the St. Anthony’s Triathlon in Florida this past weekend! Hot humid temps and a stacked field didn't stop Frank! Awesome race!
Both Noah and Irene Lam posted PR’s in their 5K times at the Contractor for Kids 5K. Their son Elijah had a PR that day too while their other son Zach, stayed with a friend to help her through her first 5K! Go Lams!
In other news, we had two great weekends of 50 Mile bike rides for great causes, first at the ALS Ride for Life:
…and then this past weekend at the CWC warrior Ride:
I want to thank everyone who is a part of Iron fit Endurance. It's been such a fun journey for me so far and I look forward to more!
We will continue swim workouts at 8PM on Thursdays at Suffolk County Community College through May. Also, Im excited to start up track workouts at Runners Edge! These workouts will start at 6PM on Tuesdays from the store, located in Farmingdale. They will be starting soon! I will keep you posted for an official start date!
Also, visit The Hub for any of your bike needs. They just recently did a great job tuning up my tri bike!
Thanks again and happy training and racing! :-)