Train Like a Mother Survey: Part 2

Day 2 of boring you with the Q&A I filled out for the Insightful, Hilarious, Superhuman authors of the upcoming book "Train Like a Mother".

(I just found out that they have this new-fangled inter-web device that tells them when someone links their site in a blog. Let's see how over-the-top I can make my descriptions of Sarah Bowen Shea and Dimity McDowell Davis of Another Mother Runner.)

GEAR

How do you describe your clothing style/what you wear when you run? Cheap/free! Though I do love to feel cute so running skirts have found their way into my repertoire.

Do you go commando? I'm unaffiliated... Sometimes I dos and sometimes I don'ts.(Honestly, it depends on what sort of, ahem, evening I had the night before. Blusssshiiinnnnggg!)

Where/how do you display your medals? I have a bed sheet (hastily) nailed to the wall in my bedroom. I have them there along with my bibs, on which I write my time/pace/place, etc. It's not fancy but it does serve to inspire.

What is must-have piece of gear for training? Some kind of watch with a stop watch component. I trained for my first marathon without a Garmin-type and it worked fine, since I knew where all my mile markers were. It was also a good mental workout b/c I had to calculate my estimated pace in my head. But... I do love being able to glance at my wrist now and know how close I am to my goal pace.

Do you have a specific race outfit you try to wear? Why is it special? Not so much. I was pretty pleased with my very pink get up at my last 1/2 though: Pink knee compression socks, pink skirt, pink "badass mother runner" hat, pink "fight like a girl" tags on my shirt. Honestly, I don't even love pink. It just worked for me!

Do you have an aging piece of gear/clothing that you should throw away, but can’t bring yourself to because it has sentimental value? Not really.Wait. I'm still wearing sports bras I got in college. So, yeah, I guess I do have that stuff. I just don't worry about it!

Have you run barefoot or in Vibram Five Fingers? What was your impression? Did you keep it up? Nope. Intrigued, though. Funny how ALL this stuff is coming out literally this week about whether or not it makes a difference for injury rates.

Do you buy new shoes for race day? Nope. Well, not on purpose. Sometimes my shoes are so beat I have to buy new shoes fairly close to a race, though I know it's not ideal.

Have you ever bought something at a race expo and worn it on race day? If so, did you regret wearing it, or was it o.k.? Never tried that.

Do you use recovery gear: compression socks or tights, a foam roller, a massage therapist? Compression socks (which I also wear on my long runs) and a foam roller recently came into my life. I really love them both. If I could get a massage therapist on the cheap I would do that too! I was going to a chiropractor earlier in the year but I had to reschedule so many times that I've fallen out of the schedule/habit. Oh, well....

TRAINING

What’s your favorite workout (length of run, speed you run, type of terrain)? Tough question. I have recently become pretty enamored of track workouts... but probably only because I only started doing the in the last couple of months. And although I don't do it very often, nothing beats a long, slow social run with friends.

Do you run/train solo, with a running partner, with a group, or a mixture? Solo. Always. It's a curse. Or a blessing. I can never decide!

Are you a serial trainer/racer—are you consistently on a training plan or heading to a race— are you a do-your-own-thing or do you go back and forth? I'm better off if I have a race on the horizon. If I'm just running to run I slack off and become a complete horror to everyone in my life. After a marathon or something I'll give myself a month or so to chill but I definitely need a “next” on the calendar.

What do you carry on training runs? Depends on the weather and where I'm going. On long runs more than 8 miles or so) I generally wear a Road ID bracelet and a fuel belt with one small bottle of water, one small bottle of Gatorade (or similar), a gel or chew, cell phone... Man, that sounds like a lot!

Do you have a mantra? Where did it come from? When do you use it? Nothing official, but I do get some phrases in my head on lots of runs. During a marathon after mile 20 I sometimes think “tri-umph; tri-umph; tri-umph” with my footfalls. Cuz hell, any step you take after 20 is DEFINITELY a triumph!