Mastering Marathon Recovery: Sue Freidus' Journey to Race Day Success & BAA 10k Race Report

Can mastering the art of recovery unlock your best marathon performance yet? Join us in a captivating conversation with Sue Fabulous Freidus as she shares her remarkable journey leading up to the Chicago Marathon and her recent triumph at the BAA 10K. Discover the transformative power of rest and recovery in marathon training, with insights on scheduled rest days, active recovery activities, and the crucial role of flexibility and stretching.

Sue also sheds light on essential recovery tools and techniques, emphasizing the importance of finding what resonates best with your body's needs. From foam rolling to massage therapy, cryotherapy, and the ultimate recovery tool—sleep—this episode is packed with actionable advice that you can incorporate into your own training regimen.

Sue recounts her experience navigating the challenging conditions of a recent 10K in Boston. Learn about her strategies for tackling tricky bridges, the benefits of a conservative start, and how to maintain a steady pace despite the chaos of crowded and slippery race conditions. With practical tips on how logistics like pre-mailed bibs can ease pre-race jitters, this episode offers a masterclass in race preparation and execution.

Finally, we reflect on the essence of race day success, from the mental resilience found in mantras to the physical discipline of maintaining proper form. Sue shares her personal nutrition and hydration strategies, emphasizing the importance of walking through aid stations and avoiding untested supplements. Whether it's balancing a rigorous training schedule with personal commitments or optimizing recovery through sleep and practical tools, this episode is a treasure trove of actionable advice.

Tune in to hear how Sue's experiences and insights can help you achieve your own personal best and how you can implement these recovery strategies to enhance your marathon training and overall performance.

Chapters

• 0:00 Rest and Recovery in Marathon Training
• 7:56 Navigating Bridges and Race Preparation
• 12:41 Reflections on a Successful Race Day
• 20:56 Balancing Training and Recovery in Marathon
• 30:37 Optimizing Recovery and Sleep Prioritization

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of Extraordinary Strides, and today I'm thrilled to have Sue Fabulous Freitas with us again as we continue to follow her marathon journey to Chicago. As a soulmate for Girls on the Run, she's aiming to make a significant comeback. We're also going to dive into her recent personal best at the BAA 10K and discuss her comprehensive training approach, specifically how she really prioritizes taking care of her body off the actual training miles, with proper recovery, and maybe even explore some of the tools that she uses and tools that you should be implementing to help aid your recovery with your training. So you're not going to want to miss this, I have the number one tool that you can utilize for your recovery after we chat with Sue. But first let's get a little kicked off talking about some of the important things to take into account with rest and our recovery, and we think a lot about rest days as it's just about taking a break, but it's much more than that. It's a crucial part of any training plan because during your rest, you that that is a surefire way to make sure you do not make it to the start line. And, of course, the best way that you can make it to the finish line is to make it healthy and ready to go at that start line, and I know this is really hard for runners. We want to run and we want to stay active, and a lot of folks are continually thinking that they have to stay as active as possible every single day. But in theory and in true practice, we want to make sure that you are scheduling at least one full rest day per week and, specifically for women training for a marathon, you can consider two rest days if your training load is quite high or if you're starting to experience any fatigue. Now there's a difference between the full rest day and active rest. Active rest is also crucial to your training, and that's when we incorporate light activities like walking or gentle yoga on those active rest days to promote blood flow without adding stress to your impact of joints and to give you that little bit of opportunity to get some circulation going, and a lot of us do love to keep that movement rolling as well.

Speaker 1: 2:31

Now, if you're a younger runner, congratulations, welcome. We're so glad to have you here. But if you're in your 20s and 30s, you may find that one rest day is sufficient for you. However, if you're new to running. You may also, no matter what your age, need to add in more rest days, and even for training for a marathon, you really want to consider not having back-to-back run days on your training. Now, if you're a more seasoned runner, maybe qualify for those master's categories.

Speaker 1: 3:02

We want you to make sure that you know that as, speaking from experience, while I still feel every bit of 17, my body doesn't necessarily agree with me every single day, so you may need more recovery time. It will likely require you to really consider those two rest days and alternating hard and easy weeks and that's something that Sue and I have put into practice with her training is truly finding that sweet spot of getting her to that peak performance but also incorporating those easier weeks so that she can continue moving and grooving, continue working on her endurance goals and her performance goals, but without overtaxing her. So if you may be in the past, have used an incredibly high training load and finding that you're just not able to recover, this time around, as a more seasoned runner, it is a possibility that you look potentially more at a three or a four day a week type of training plan and then adding in more of that cross training or those rest days, active rest days, into your routine. With that said, friends, it is also imperative that we spend some time on stretching, and I know none of those runners like to stretch, but stretching and flexibility really do help us to stay as mobile as possible, and it's one of the pillars of being as healthy as possible for as long as possible. So when we think of blue living, living as long as we possibly can in longevity and having that long, active, healthy life, we want to think of strength, we want to think of our aerobic capacity and flexibility as being that third pillar. So please, don't skip your warmups, don't skip those cool downs, and incorporate some nice, easy, static stretching only after your runs, before your actual run. It should always be dynamic. So incorporating leg swings, lunges or high knees into your warmup routine is really important.

Speaker 1: 5:03

Now, if you are familiar with the book Good to Go what the Athlete and All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery, you'll know that the author, christy Ashwandan. She debunks a lot of the recovery tools that we tend to use and turn to, and she debunks it with really good deep dives into some scientific results. So I want to preface this by saying that, while some of these are recommended, there may not be actual scientific proof that states that they are beneficial. So this is where you need to listen to your body and if you find this has helped you, it is imperative that you listen and tune in and continue to use the tools that you have found work really well for you. Now there is one thing that she found in her book and she shared that we can all benefit from, and again, I'm going to share that at the end of the episode, after we chat a little bit more with Sue. So, friends, we're going to talk with Sue, we're going to hear about some of her recovery and I'll chat about those recovery tools on the other side of this, but we're also going to share that one number, one way that you can help prioritize keeping yourself as healthy as possible while training for any distance on the other side.

Speaker 1: 6:24

So, without further ado, I want to welcome Sue on in. I am so excited to have you here. How are you doing today, sue? I'm doing well. How are you? I am great. This is very weird for me, because one of the first things that we do after any kind of a race or any kind of a significant training run is. We kind of have a little bit of a communication going back and forth, and this time I asked you to hold off until we could actually record it for the podcast. So the edge of my seat and super excited to hear all the details. But before we get into it, let's talk about leading up. Sue, so you tend to run quite a few of the BAA races and I think you've tackled this race before. But what I'm curious is maybe what got you excited to sign up for this specific BAA 10K that you ran?

Speaker 2: 7:10

I've been wanting to do the BAA 10K for a couple of years. Last year I signed up but I didn't get to do it because I hurt my hip and I had to go into physical therapy to get that back on right. The year before I actually had done it, but it was a bloody hot day. In that time the race was run in the city of Boston itself, along the concrete streets and within the buildings of Boston University. So this year they came out with a new course which ran across and over the Charles River and along the Charles River. So I was looking forward to that, because even if it was going to be hot which it was supposed to be I felt that we might have an opportunity to get a breeze off the Charles and cool us down a bit.

Speaker 1: 7:51

So, in terms of the course, for folks that aren't familiar with it, was the new course flatter. Did you have like a bridge to go over, or was it easier to tackle?

Speaker 2: 8:01

There were three bridges if you count them all. Okay, there was one that went out and over the Child's River to the Memorial Drive side, so the Cambridge side of the river. And then, once we were in Cambridge, there was this scary old metal, rickety, I don't know bridge thing with cobblestones built into it and of course it rained that morning so it was slick. I think I said the other day, if I could have crawled across the bridge I would have. So we crossed slick. It was slick. I think I said the other day, if I could have crawled across the bridge I would have. So we crossed that. And then we did a turnaround, came back and had to go across the rickety old bridge again. And then there was another bridge, a different bridge, going from the Cambridge side over to the back to the Boston side, so we could then run up Boylston Street to the Common. So it's beautiful, it's all along the river. I mean you couldn't miss the river, which is lovely.

Speaker 1: 8:50

But still it takes a little bit of traversing. You have to be a bit more cautious with it, so of course that plays into your overall time. So let's talk about that. You've already touched on the weather Leading up to race week. What were some of the thoughts that you had? How did you feel about your preparation? Let us peek into the final few days leading up to it.

Speaker 2: 9:09

Yeah, I mean, all eyes were definitely on the weather. The forecast was for very hot, humid, icky weather. So you know, obviously planning what to wear to be as cool as possible, and then, sort of at the very last moment on Saturday, they started protecting clouds and showers, which would help, I mean, immensely. If you don't have sun, it's not as hot. Obviously, the showers didn't look like they were on the radar when I left the house that morning, but by the time I was standing in the Stark Corral, the skies grew darker and the rain came pouring down on us and, of course, I didn't have any kind of a jacket or anything like that. I did my hat on, luckily, so I just let it rain on me, as did everyone else that was standing there, huddled together, wondering what was going on.

Speaker 1: 9:55

Which is interesting because just a few weeks ago you talked about how you had rain unexpectedly for one of your training runs and that you kind of decided to just dig in because you never know what's going to happen on race day. There it was, there you go. Preparation definitely came in handy. So let's talk a little bit about, maybe, expo. How did Expo BibBicUp? How did all that go down?

Speaker 2: 10:17

That doesn't actually happen with the BAA 10K. They mail you your bib oh nice, I know, very cool. So you get to put it on your clothes the night before, which helps, and then you don't pick up your shirt till after the race. I mean you can pick it up before, but like then you have to check your bag and all that stuff I don't like.

Speaker 1: 10:34

Okay, so you're able to sleep in your own bed, sleep in my own bed and drive in, which definitely makes it a little easier for most folks. You're there, you get a little bit of rain, and the rain stops by the time you start actually running, and then you have a bit of a progression strategy that you that we discussed prior to. How do you feel that your progression went and why would we choose a progression strategy for you?

Speaker 2: 11:00

Well, I mean, I wanted to start out conservatively because I didn't want to, you know, wear myself out. I really, you know, didn't know what the course would hold for me. So I did want to start off pretty conservatively and then build up to it and then obviously have a nice fast finish. Coming into the Boston column, and you know, as soon as I saw the strategy sort of on paper, if you will I knew that it had the potential to be a pretty good time for me if I hit those numbers. You know I played it cool. A pretty good time for me if I hit those numbers. I played it cool. I went out and I knew that we had the strategy. So I did take it slow because it was wet and slippery and we went pretty much across the first bridge immediately to go to the other side. So I was just trying to be careful, honestly, and not slip and fall and crash. I knew that we could pick it up.

Speaker 1: 11:46

Coming back into the Boston side, Still have a chance at a pretty good time. I have your day pulled up. It's absolutely beautiful. Your cadence, as usual, is absolutely gorgeous. What do you feel helps you for race day to be prepared to actually be able to do progression? Because I think a lot of athletes and by that I mean 99.9% of us have difficulty out of the gate not going too fast. So what do you feel it helps you in terms of being a bit more conservative at the front of the race?

Speaker 2: 12:13

I mean I think just knowing that it's been a while since I did a 10K, so wanting to keep some gas in the tank. I mean, obviously I was running a little fast at the beginning because we're all jammed together and running down Charles Street, which is a very busy narrow street in Boston, but still I just I knew the end goal was to get across that finish line in good shape. So keeping that in mind allowed me to slow down. I know we've been working on slowing down a lot so that helped.

Speaker 1: 12:41

What kind of mantras, if any, did you have that you were kind of thinking through that day?

Speaker 2: 12:53

I don't know. I mean, I think really it was just finish, get to the finish line and be happy. I think one of the main things that helped me, honestly, as I got a little bit tired around mile four or so or five, was going back to basics. I know it sounds like you paid me to say that, but when I got tired I started, you know, focusing on my breath and my cadence and swinging my arms making tired. I started, you know, focusing on my breath and my cadence and swinging my arms, making sure my form was, you know, right on swinging my arms by my sides, and by focusing on that I took my attention away from being tired and, honestly, that did the trick.

Speaker 1: 13:20

So, for friends that aren't familiar, we are coming off the heels of our sixth week where we did a deep dive and going back to basics, which I think was really beneficial for all of us, no matter how long we've been running, but definitely it is going back to the basics of running to help us with race day performance and, of course, our training let's talk a little bit about. Would you recommend this race to others?

Speaker 2: 13:40

I would if they would do something about the scary bridge. Okay, I mean, I think I mean otherwise. Yes, I mean, it's a great race. You know you are going to see the best of Boston and Cambridge. It's beautiful. I mean, everyone talks about running this part of Boston and now I got the chance to do it. I'm convinced that I would like to go back there and do it again for a training run, but, yes, I would recommend it. I mean, it was much better organized than in years past. I will say so that's good. Obviously, getting your bib ahead of time is big. It's huge, yeah, but yeah, and then you know, then you're in Boston and you can do whatever you want for the rest of the day.

Speaker 1: 14:14

So Well, I do want to talk a little bit about your after party and what you may have done to celebrate your big, strong run, but I also then, before that, want to talk a little. So what do you feel in terms of nutrition and hydration? In terms of the aid stations, how do you tackle those?

Speaker 2: 14:28

I made sure that I kind of walked through the aid stations like each of them and grabbed water. I wasn't drinking the Gatorade because I hadn't trained with that and didn't want to take any kind of chances. I think when I went to actually fuel at mile four I grabbed my little packet of UCAN and I struggled with opening it because everything was wet. That was a little bit of a challenge for me. You know, that's something I think I can do better with that sort of transition, if you will. But I intended to take fuel at like 50 minutes in, five zero minutes in, and I did and it worked perfectly, got me to the finish. It definitely was a pick me up at that point in time that I needed.

Speaker 1: 15:07

Good, that's great to hear. Let's talk about more about that walking through aid stations, because I think that's a big fear of folks that maybe are just new to racing. And I can tell you guys again, I have her actual race day performance pulled up and I don't see, I see maybe one of the entire 6.2 miles where there may have been a little bit of a shorter or I mean a longer time as a walk may have been at aid station. That's what I was struggling to open the package.

Speaker 1: 15:33

That could be it too, but as far as that, it looks like you were staying with your typical run walk from pretty much the entire race, so it doesn't really feel like there's very much time that was at all utilized with that, either with trying to get our fuel or yeah.

Speaker 2: 15:48

I mean, the only other time I sort of slowed down, maybe didn't hit my run walk, was when I tried to take a picture of the Sitco sign, you know, at Kenmore Square, from across the bridge. I was trying to get the perfect shot and I kind of stopped like three times trying to take it and it came out pretty good, but not as good as I wanted.

Speaker 1: 16:04

That's okay, because you still had a strong performance and you got some race day photos. How do you feel after you are done with this performance? You're done with this race. You hit your PB, which I think that maybe it took you a little bit of like digging in through some of your analytics to come across that. What did you feel at that point?

Speaker 2: 16:20

I was very happy with my performance. Honestly, I'm very happy that it didn't turn out to be, you know, 95 degrees and 90% humidity. I was very grateful for the clouds and the rain both. I was very grateful for the popsicles they handed out at the finish line, because that was just the most delicious popsicle I've ever had in my life. You know, sometimes it just hits the spot and that was just perfect. And then I was walking back to the car across the common and I ran into an old friend from Corning that you know I haven't seen since I left Corning, so that was kind of a nice surprise. But then, yeah, then I had to get home for the dogs, so that was pretty much it for the day.

Speaker 1: 16:56

Okay. So you got in. You got a great strong run, you got a PB. How do you feel when you look at that day? You look at that performance in terms of does it give you any kind of a psychological boost for your training for Chicago? Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 17:10

I mean, you know, obviously having a plan, executing plan as project manager, you know.

Speaker 2: 17:15

I'm all about that. Yeah, I mean, the only other thing was, you know, trying to do a little better with the fueling and I want to take time to do dilly dally. So I'm appreciative of that time that I spent taking the Sipville picture, because I think that's an important part of the journey you know, I plan to take in Chicago as well, and this just tells me that I can do that and not and still be strong in your race performance, exactly Very good, very good.

Speaker 1: 17:40

So when you think of it from the perspective of you mission accomplished here, what would you carry into the knowledge of? Maybe things that you would tweak for Chicago, what would you do a little differently and what would you absolutely want to replicate?

Speaker 2: 17:53

I mean pretty much would replicate most of it. Okay, yeah, I mean I was very happy there was one little bit of road rage I had at the end on Boylston Street. Have you ever had?

Speaker 1: 18:05

road rage during a race. Yes, I just posted a reel about it with Inside Out characters and yes, there is a little anchor character from Inside Out and how have we not experienced that at a race? Usually it's when somebody cuts you off or there's just a ton of.

Speaker 2: 18:20

Yeah, like an entire family tried to cross the street in front of me.

Speaker 1: 18:23

Seriously, guys really, which is funny because I don't get road rage when I'm actually driving. But yes, this particular thing I completely understand you're talking about. So a little bit of road rage, yeah.

Speaker 2: 18:33

But otherwise I mean, yeah, I was just really really happy about pretty much all of it Okay.

Speaker 1: 18:38

So I'm going to take this as an opportunity to say that, for folks that are signed up for a big audacious goal with a big audacious race in sight, that it is beneficial to sign up for smaller distances, races that align with your training plan, and not necessarily going out there and trying to push for the fastest run ever because you don't want to waste your efforts, of course, depending on where you're at with your training on your race. But it helps in terms of what you just talked about, you were able to kind of really troubleshoot fueling and hydration off of a training run because, while a training run is really great and that's where we do a lot of our practice it helps kind of like real day conditions. So it sounds like, besides trying to kind of figure out how to ease your opening of your fuel packet, everything else was pretty much locked in.

Speaker 2: 19:23

Yeah, I think so, and I mean I think you know I've been struggling with my shoes and you know getting my shoes to be comfortably snug on my heels, and even that worked out well. On Sunday I finally figured out the lace lock tying system, got it to work for me. As you know, I've also been struggling with my hamstring lately and that felt pretty good throughout the day.

Speaker 1: 19:43

Let's talk about that. What have you been doing that you feel has addressed your hamstring in a way that has helped?

Speaker 2: 19:48

Definitely stretching icing, massage gun. Normal tech boots, compression boots.

Speaker 1: 19:55

So basically, a lot of dedicated time off the run for recovery. Yeah, you got to do it, okay. So how often would you say that you spend on recovery efforts on a weekly basis, and not trying to like pin you down, but just to give folks a general idea as to? We know that Sue's got a job. She's taking time out of her job right now to chat with us. She's got responsibilities outside of this and she's training for a marathon, but still, this aspect is pretty important. How do you incorporate that recovery into your week and how long do you think you need to spend on it Strength?

Speaker 2: 20:27

running recovery. I think you have to prioritize each of them, trying to spend at least 20 minutes a day on the recovery bit, taking care of my hamstring and anything else that might be bothering me at the moment. But I mean, I have all the tools right here so I really don't have to go anywhere to get them or do anything. You know, I have the compression boots here, I have massage gun here, so no excuses really.

Speaker 1: 20:52

Fancy pants. You are with those boots, but let's also talk a little bit about that too. So for this particular training cycle, we are going to do four run days per week, two strength training days, one full rest day and then incorporating what we like to call exercise confetti with that recovery, where you're popping it in between. Sometimes it may be a dedicated yoga video or stretching video, but, like you said, you're doing all of that. How does it feel with that kind of a training cycle and balancing the rest of your life?

Speaker 2: 21:19

So far, so good. I think, okay, you know I'm in a new job so I'm not totally stressed out yet about it. It's starting to build. So but no, I mean, I think everyone at work knows that I'm training for Chicago. I sent them all the copy of the podcast and my boss even listened to it. Yay, so yay Hi boss you know I think they all know that I'm a little bit obsessed with running and that it's a part of my life and I just have to make time for it.

Speaker 1: 21:47

I do have one specific question that I want to tap into before we go on, because first I'm going to start with. Do you have concerns now, training that you may not have had earlier on in life Meaning? Do you feel like you have to adjust your training a little differently because of being at a different point of your life age-wise? Because I hear this a lot from women. There's a lot of concern of honestly. The phrase that I hear is I'm too old to train for a race.

Speaker 2: 22:15

There's this part of my brain that says that, but then I tell it to shut up. I mean yes, because I don't believe that. I mean I think you and I were just talking the other day about planning for next year, where I will be obviously a year older, I mean, but that doesn't ever like slow me down.

Speaker 1: 22:35

Limit you. Yeah, yeah I love.

Speaker 1: 22:38

that I mean as long as my body stays running then I'm good, which is what the aim of the game is, and that's why it's being approached the way that it is. Okay, I want to talk a little bit about your rest day. You have had the same day of rest since we started working together. For the most part, we I mean we've had to move it around for life purposes at other times, but traditionally your one go-to full rest day is what we call fabulous Frida's fry Yay, and it's a moment of rest and reflection. What do you do on your rest days to help you? Because I think that's also part of it. When folks are getting into their racing, they feel a little restless on race day.

Speaker 2: 23:16

I mean, I think the one thing I do for sure is I don't set my alarm During the week. The alarm is set for 420 in the morning. On Friday I do not set the alarm, although my dogs know that I wake up at 4.20, so they tend to be my alarm. But sometimes they sleep in, it's good. And then I don't really set an alarm on weekends either, unless there's a race obviously. But it's just that knowing that I don't have to rush in the morning, I can sit and enjoy my coffee and play connections and just kind of ease into the day. You know, I do a lot of prep work in the morning. Even on days where I'm running or whatnot, I'm, you know, always cooking something, getting ready for the dinner. I do a lot of stuff in the morning and obviously easy to do on Fridays when I don't have to get ready to go out for a run or whatnot.

Speaker 1: 24:01

Fridays, when I don't have to get ready to go out for a run or whatnot. So what along this journey, because we're about a little under four months away from you're actually tying it to the start line. What are you most excited, and a little bit, and what are you most trepidatious about? So start with the trepidatious first. What's a little concerning along the way? For me, it's really the logistics.

Speaker 2: 24:23

It's making sure that you know I get there, nothing wrong with the flight, and I get into the hotel, no problem, and I get to the start line no problem. Those are always like the things in my head that really get me worked up Again as a project manager.

Speaker 1: 24:37

Yes, absolutely yeah, I mean the running.

Speaker 2: 24:41

I'm not too worried about it. I mean I'm worried about it, of course. But again, if we have a good plan and I execute it, then it should be good.

Speaker 1: 24:50

And then, what are you most excited about? Not about the race, the journey leading up to the race, because I think we put a lot of focus on race day, but, friends, there's a lot of time that goes into it before the actual race day.

Speaker 2: 25:05

Yeah, I mean I've gotten some good input on things to try to get out and see in Chicago, because I, honestly, have only been in the airport. That's what I know of Chicago, so I'd like to see some of the architectural historical sites. As I mentioned before, my company has a large showroom in Chicago. I'd love to get over there and see our stuff and meet some of my colleagues, and then, of course, it's the expo, so we got to get over there and spend time and get some goodies, of course, you mean you're not super excited about, like, your longest run, or like right before Taper Town, or you're not super excited for those, all those really big double digits.

Speaker 1: 25:37

I am excited.

Speaker 2: 25:40

Scary and excited. Yeah, I mean, in my head I do visualize those a lot and you know, making sure that I I know where I'm going to do those so I can get the mileage in without excuses of turning around and coming home. But yeah, um, taper town, cause I don't feel like I ever truly deserve taper town before.

Speaker 1: 25:59

So that's, this is a really well, we'll definitely be talking about that leading up to it, friends.

Speaker 2: 26:04

Okay.

Speaker 1: 26:04

Well, at this point we're still in the building phase, so that's what's super exciting about this journey is to be able to keep touching base and kind of troubleshooting along the way. So, friends, we would love you to stay in the loop again. Sue is fundraising for Girls on the Run of Chicago because it's very important and near and dear to her heart as well, and we can't wait to support her along that journey as well as kind of be a fly in the wall of what's going on in her brain. As you guys can tell, logistics are definitely a big part of it. So we will continue to talk about logistics, but we're also going to continue to dive a little bit more into her nutrition and hydration strategy.

Speaker 1: 26:44

Pacing, we'll talk quite a bit about run, walk over the next few segments and some of the gear and equipment that she's utilizing that works best for her, that we will continue to tweak as we get ready for Chicago. So, with that said, sue, thank you so much for letting us come along for this ride and can't wait to chat with you next. Thank you, okay, friend, so you were able to kind of breathe through a little bit of that road rage, but you are making your way to what I consider absolutely spectacular finish line finish. Tell me more about it.

Speaker 2: 27:15

I mean, one of my goals for this race was to actually take a good finish line photo because I'm really awful at it. So I finally got one, and what made me really happy about the photo was I could raise both arms sort of symmetrically, which I haven't been able to do for years because I needed a new shoulder. And now that I have my new shoulder, both of the arms look kind of symmetrical in the photo and that just made me so happy.

Speaker 1: 27:39

I think it's important to talk about the shoulder surgery because that is part of the, you know, your comeback is the fact that there was a really long recovery time of that shoulder where you pretty much had to stop not I wouldn't say put running by the wayside but you had to prioritize recovery and rehab before you could really pick back up with running. So with that, how long has it been since your shoulder replacement so that was in September of 2022.

Speaker 1: 28:08

Okay, and from that point to now, can you feel and see the difference in terms of slow and steady and coming back and then having the confidence to tackle the marathon?

Speaker 2: 28:22

Well, I mean honestly, it just makes such a difference to run with two arms. Yeah, I mean, I had been running basically with one arm for so many years, so now you know, I'm not afraid to use that arm to power me. So now I'm using both arms to run.

Speaker 1: 28:37

Yeah, and not going into it with pain or fear of causing a lot of pain. Exactly yeah. So what would you say to somebody who has really big hopes but maybe does have a few physical ailments that they're putting off?

Speaker 2: 28:51

If you can get the surgery, get it. I know it's scary. I was scared, of course, but I knew that if I wanted to continue running for the rest of my life, I needed to have this body part replaced, so I'm very happy that.

Speaker 1: 29:05

I did it. So, basically, kind of thinking about the long run and being healthier and happier for the long run. I know we're going to have that punt every single conversation. Well, I think that's such a really powerful conversation to have. So, folks, if you are considering maybe putting that off and your doctor's been at you, maybe pop into the Stride Collective and ask Sue a little bit about it. She's always there to lend her support and encouragement and her knowledge base. Thank you, sue. I love that you brought that attention.

Speaker 1: 29:35

But, more importantly, can we share the finish line photo? Yes, I think you should have it or not, I don't know. Yeah, I do, I do. Okay, we'll be sharing it when we have this podcast as well. So, friends, that's always a lot of fun to have those great finish line photos, which we have actually some insight as to how to get those really good finish line photos. So we'll share that as well. I need more training on that as well. We'll incorporate that this. Maybe that's what we look forward to, okay? Well, friends, I always love having Sue along with us and while, yes, her and I are working on incorporating some of those fun selfies to prepare for that finished line photo, we're also talking a lot about recovery, and she is shining bright in the entire arena of recovery right now. So we're going to dive into some things that you likely have heard of or you've tackled on your own, and, again, knowing that we're going to be referencing a lot of the work of good to go from Christy Ashwandan as to whether or not these actual techniques are proven to work.

Speaker 1: 30:37

So, right out of the gate is foam rolling. If you are not familiar with foam rolling, it's a self myofascial release technique and that alleviates muscle tightness, reduces soreness and improves blood flow. It helps to break down those muscle knots and promotes faster recovery. A practical implantation of how to foam roll is to spend about 10 to 15 minutes foam rolling after workouts, and you're going to focus on areas that feel tight or sore, such as your calves, your quads, your glutes. Now, I'm going to be honest with you not a lot of people have those extra 15 minutes every single run day. So if you do not have that available to you right after your run, I'm going to ask you to consider spending time foam rolling when you're watching TV. I know that we're all going to say we're too busy, but likely you could scroll through TikTok or Instagram for five, 10 minutes, and that is a wonderful activity, to kind of multitask your foam rolling. Now again, for younger runners, regular foam rolling can prevent the buildup of tightness. But for us, more seasoned runners, we're going to want to continue being very, very mindful and consistent with foam rolling, because it does help us in aiding our recovery. Now, if you will have a high training load, that's where that daily foam rolling really will become important for you.

Speaker 1: 32:04

Now, this is the one caveat to foam rolling. A lot of us don't love the way it feels, so we maybe do it for a few minutes or we really don't get in deep enough to release that fascia tightness. This is where massage therapy is going to come into play, and massage therapy is going to help to reduce that muscle tension, improve that circulation and it accelerates your healing. It also helps to, depending on the type of massage you get in your massage therapist. It can help to enhance flexibility. You can work with your massage therapist to help you with stretching. It might reduce soreness. You may have a little bit of soreness a few days or a few hours after getting it done if it's a deeper tissue or a sports massage, but this is something that's really important to incorporate regularly, especially at the marathon distance and beyond. So I would say that it is wonderful if you can incorporate massage therapy at least once a month, and if that's not feasible for you, that's where that percussive massage gun or that foam rolling is going to become really important. So you're going to have to really prioritize making those available and making that happen for yourself. But getting that extra bit of love from a really good massage therapist is something that you should try at least once a month. And if you are able to, your budget allows and you're in the higher weeks of your training or peak training weeks, I'd love for you to look at getting in those massage sessions every two to four weeks. And this is where I'm going to caveat it Everybody's a little different in terms of how we like our pressure, but generally when I speak of massage, I'm not necessarily talking about more of the massage that you are more familiar with from a spa setting. I'm looking for you to definitely find that massage therapist that has worked with other runners or other athletes before they can get into more of that deep tissue and really help you with that body work that you are needing during this time.

Speaker 1: 34:03

Another tool that was very popular not so long ago and has now seen its heyday, if you will, with plunging being all the rage is cryotherapy or ice baths. There are some caveats with this. There is no doubt that both of these with cryotherapy, ice baths, cold plunging helps to reduce inflammation. However, as we found out in Good To Go, that inflammation is part of the healing process, even after your workouts, so I want you to consider using these judiciously as well, as there has been new research that has found that females, specifically females that are going through perimenopause or menopausal, are not benefiting from cold plunging as well as their younger counterparts, and it actually, in some situations, can be a little counter effective for us. So take that into consideration, see if it works for you specifically, and know that, yes, it's helping to reduce that inflammation, but that inflammation is part of the process of recovery, so let's not rely on it too much, which is also where we need to be very judicious about our use of NSAIDs or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like Aleve or Motrin.

Speaker 1: 35:26

Now I want to caveat this right here Now that we're talking about NSAIDs, do whatever your doctor tells you to do. I am not a medical professional. If your doctor's prescribing it for you and they say you absolutely need it, go for it. However, what we do know is that NSAIDs again need to be used judiciously, because they do reduce that inflammation. They may cover some of those pain signals which could potentially lead you to injury. None of these recovery tools are supposed to be utilized because you're injured and you think it's going to magically heal you. These are to help you, aid the recovery process that you're naturally already doing, so you can continue running strong. With that said, I promised you one tip that Good To Go was able to prove time and time again in her book, with studies to back it up.

Speaker 1: 36:21

That works for every single person, and I want to pause here for dramatic effects, but mainly to see if maybe you want to say it out loud, if you know what it is it's sleep. I love sleeping so much, but it's so important. It's the most effective recovery tool bar none, my friends. So you want to try to prioritize sleep as much as possible. You want to aim for seven to nine hours of quality sleep per night, and I know, for a myriad of reasons, that might not be possible between very busy schedules, between family obligations. If you're like me and having really wonderful hot flashes and night sweats, perimenopause or menopause, or having sleep disruption, I completely understand it may not be possible to have that seven to nine hours of quality sleep per night, but it's important that during these endurance training cycles, that you establish a consistent sleep schedule and create and try to set yourself up for success as much as you possibly can. So before entering any endurance training cycle, you may want to have a conversation with the loved ones, letting them know you'll be going to bed a little earlier than maybe they're used to. Super important, though, to have those earlier bedtimes and to stay consistent throughout.

Speaker 1: 37:41

If you're not able to do that because life happens that I want you to turn to nap time. That's right, my friends. Be it a short nap 20 to 30 minutes to just help to reduce fatigue and improve alertness, or, if you're able to get in a full 90 minutes to allow for a full sleep cycle and deeper recovery. Those are absolutely delicious for those long run days. I try as much as possible, when I can, to have a longer nap after my long run days, or over the summer I've been splitting up some of my long runs in two sessions and having that nap right in between is absolutely delicious. You do want the sweet spot for those naps to be 20 to 30 minutes or 90 minutes. Anything in between will likely have you feeling a little groggy. So take into account that if you don't have the full 90, it's better to aim for 20 to 30 minutes at most, versus 45 or 50, because that'll probably mess with your sleep cycle just a wee bit.

Speaker 1: 38:38

Another thing that you may need to do to help you prioritize your sleep is to pull back on your caffeine. But you guys all know I wouldn't pretend that I am not my favorite person when I have my caffeine. So what I try to do during this time of year, when I am in endurance training as well, is to cut off my caffeine around noon every day. So, taking into consideration it is super important to get in that sleep. It's truly what's going to help you the most, in addition to taking those rest days, adding in active rest days and to really learn and know your body. So if you're like Sue and you are an absolute superstar at resting, recovering and getting all of the work that your body needs, as she mentioned in our interview, that is definitely going to help you stay healthy and get to the start line.

Speaker 1: 39:28

And what do we want after that start line? That gorgeous finish line, right, my friends? So, with that said, if you have any questions you wanna chit chat about maybe some of your secrets to getting your restful sleep or your recovery, feel free to reach out to me. I'd love to hear you. And, of course, we're going to have these conversations inside of the Stride Collective Facebook group. If you're not there yet, please do join, because that's where all the fun is at. And, that said, I want to thank you guys so much for joining us for this conversation. I want to thank you, sue, for continuing to share your journey and your insights with us today. And, my friends, I want to remind you that, of course, I want you to prioritize your rest. I want you to stretch, roll and sleep to make those strides extraordinary. So until next time, my friends, keep running, keep shining and keep making those strides a. So until next time, my friends, keep running, keep shining and keep making those strides a little extra ordinary. Take care.