Interview with Kasie Wallace Enman

When I first thought about contacting runners for interviews, Kasie was the first person I thought of. Kasie and I went to Manchester Central High Scool together (CHS) and graduated in 1997. I don't know how she has time for all she does, but she is so inspiring.  I have been following her on Facebook and her racing career is impressive:

• 2 Time Olympic Trials Women's Marathon Qualifier 2008 & 2012, PR of 2:37:14
• Runner-Up in the 2014 SkyRunner Ultra Series (1st place at Trofeo Kima 50k, 2nd place at Speedgoat 50k, 2nd place at The Rut 50k)
• Winner of the 2012 Vermont City Marathon (1st Vermont woman to get the title there)
• 2011 World Mountain Running Champion
• All-American and NCAA team champion while at Middlebury College

She is preparing for the NYC Marathon on November 2nd and hoping to clinch her third Olympic qualifier. I hope you enjoy my interview with her!

What are you currently training for now and what are your goals?

I just finished up a season of long distance SkyRunning (high altitude, technical mountain racing) and am turning my focus to the New York City Marathon.  It will be a short training block, but I have a huge training base behind me so my hope is that with enough rest and a little tuning up, I'll be able to get in an Olympic Trials qualifier there.  If it's a really good day and everything lines up perfectly I'd love to give a PR a try.  It's kind of a big experiment as I've never entered a marathon off of so much endurance and so little speed.

How do you balance training, rest, friends, family etc?

How to find balance is a constantly evolving question for me.  I have two young children now, age 1 and 4, plus a pile of other commitments so it's all too easy to get run down with too little sleep, too much stress, or just lack of ability to focus.  My personal athletic goals are more easily lost in the fray than they used to be.  My current strategy is to stay in the moment as much as possible and remember that, while everything I'm trying to do can seem overwhelming, it's all good.  

Do you have a philosophy on diet and nutrition?

Eat the food that's healthy for you first, then whatever else you want after that.  I eat lots and often.  Of course, I've been either pregnant or breast feeding continuously for the past 5 years on top of lots of running, so my metabolism is through the roof.  Oh, and I also have a major addiction to chocolate.  Ghiradelli's 60% Cacao chocolate chips to be specific.

What was your lowest point in running and how did you learn from it?

This is an interesting question because what comes to mind is actually the lull that came after each of my biggest highs.  The focus is always on setting a goal and striving toward that goal, but we sometimes forget to think about what comes next when you actually meet that big lofty pie in the sky goal.  It can been a bit disorienting.  I associate as being the underdog or always the bridesmaid never the bride, so the few times when I've come out on top I've had to go through a period of feeling lost and unmotivated before getting my bearing back.  It all evens out in the end, I guess!

What is your favorite cross country memory from CHS?

After my last race at Derryfield Park, I remember getting together with the other Seniors on the team, laying down, and rolling down the hill from the finish line to the starting line.  I was go happy to never have to run up that again!  It's funny, I actually ended up coming back to Derryfield quite a few times with the high school team that I coached from Vermont and have finally gotten to a point where I think it would be fun to race there again, just to see how fast I could run there now.  I heard there is a new citizens race on the course.  Maybe I'll put it on my race schedule for next year!

Favorites:

Race: Loon Mountain Race in Lincoln, NH

Running shoe: Salomon Sense 

Running store: Ski Rack in Burlington, VT

Way to relax: jumping in a lake or river on a hot summer day

Athlete: That's a hard one.  I get a little bit of inspiration from a ton of different athletes, plus all my runner friends and teammates.  

Recovery meal:  A burger

TV show: The Voice

Movie: A Christmas Story

Book: Unbroken

Singer/Band: Brett Dennen

Places in Manchester: Dorrs Pond

Places in Vermont: Sleepy Hollow Ski & Bike Center (full disclosure - I live there & it's my husband's business)

Mantra: Hmmm.  Depends on the circumstance.  

Guilty pleasure: Chocolate.

You can follow Kasie on Twitter and Facebook. 

Thanks again to Kasie for letting my interview her, I know she is busy and I appreciate her time. Good Luck in New York, we are all rooting for you! 

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Weak in the Knees

This week was a bit crazy. My bad knee (I had surgery on my right knee twice) has been flaring up all week and I didn't have high hopes for my long run yesterday. I had a tough time deciding whether or not to run this week, but I ended up deciding it playing it safe and not running.

I got up yesterday and drank my usual my tea and an Uncrustable and immediately felt nauseous. As I drove to Umstead, my stomach starting hurting. I was a little nervous because Umstead doesn't have any bathrooms. Miles 1-3 were tough between my knee and my stomach, but as I continued on my stomach felt better but I was still nauseous. My knee was very painful from 6-9 and I even had to stop at 6.89 miles and rest. I was planning on running the last mile again like last week, but I was in a lot of pain and decided not to push it. My goal time was two hours, and I finished in 2:03:14. Not bad with "broken knees".

On Thursday, we dropped Jager off for his cataract surgery. I was on pins and needles all day waiting for an update on him and finally I got a call staying everything went well. Jager was able to see well immediately according to the surgeon. He was pretty excited.  His vision will get better in the next five to seven days. He is already going up and down the stairs better, catching treats and wagging his tail more. We are so happy for him.

My cousin, Julia, who is also running the Manchester Marathon half, wrote an amazing blog that you should check out. She tackles eating disorders and her honesty is refreshing and is all too familiar with me. I have mentioned in previous blogs that I would one day write about my experience, but I'm still not ready. It is going to be tough, but I will one day. The courage that Julia has displayed in her blog, makes me think I can share my story too.

I forgot to mention in last week's blog that I got my cholesterol rechecked and it dropped twenty points and my triglycerides dropped firty seven points in three months! I'm pretty proud of that.

Wednesday's interview is with Kasie Wallace Enman. I went to Manchester Central High School with Kasie where she was part of the cross country team. Since high school, she has been busy. Not only has she been raising a family, but she is also a two time Olympic Trials Women's Marathon Qualifier (2008 and 2012). She is running the NYC marathon on November 2nd and will be running with Med Keflezighi, Wilson Kipsang, Kara Goucher, Desi Linden and many others. So, make sure you check it out on Wednesday!

Only five weeks until the Manchester Marathon half! Time is flying!

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Interview With Bart Yasso

I was thrilled to get a interview with the Mayor of Running, Bart Yasso, because he has led an amazing life. I met him at the the packet pick up at the Huntington Marathon in WV, but was too intimidated to ask him anything other than, "Can you sign my book?" and "Can I get a picture?"

I'm not sure which of Bart's accomplishments are the most impressive. Bart has ran races all over the world and is one of the few people who have finished races on every continent. He has cycled across the country twice, won the U.S. National Biathlon Long Course Championship, and won the Smoky Mountain Marathon in 1998. He has also completed the Ironman five times, the Badwater 146 thru Death Valley, and has helped countless runners reach their marathon goals with his Yasso 800s method. 

Bart has worked at Runner's World since 1987 and travels to races all over the country. He speaks at expos and often does shake out runs before the race. He is an inspiration to many and I was excited when he agreed to be interviewed for my blog. Enjoy! 

Do you remember the moment you felt like a runner?

I felt like a runner right from the beginning way back in 1977. When I started running I started dreaming about what I wanted most out of life. The mind works as hard as the body does during exercise. I knew I wanted to travel around the world, experience exotic locations and different cultures. I did participate in other sports in my younger years including wrestling, basketball and football. However, I made a critical error and chose the path of alcohol and drugs, mostly marijuana. I was very lucky to gravitate towards running in 1977. It may have saved my life.

How has your chronic illness (lyme disease) affected your running? How do you say positive?

I contracted Lyme disease twice, in 1990 and again in 1997. Running never helped my Lyme disease. Living with chronic Lyme is very painful. Doctors compare the symptoms to rheumatoid arthritis. My legs swell I limp around the office most days. I am still trying to figure out how to be a runner dealing with Lyme disease. If I’m having a good week I’m happy if I get in two runs per-week. My weekly mileage is around 10 miles. The other days I go to the gym or ride my bike when the weather permits. I always stay positive no matter how bad I feel.

Do you have any rituals or superstitions?

Before every run I remind myself how lucky I am both physically and culturally to have the opportunity to be a runner.

Do you have a philosophy on diet and nutrition?

I’ve been a vegetarian for many years. I follow a vegetarian regiment for ethical and environmental reasons.

What was your most epic race? Tell me about it.

Comrades Marathon the 56 mile ultra marathon held each year between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, South Africa. Comrades is the world’s oldest ultra and the world’s largest ultra with over 20,000 registered runners.

Advice for new runners?

I always tell new runners you never know where this sport will take you. Running became my vehicle to take me around the world and introduced me to different people, their history and culture.  Running in foreign lands has been special, but understanding a new culture has been my greatest reward and fondest memories.

Have you been to New Hampshire? If, so, what did you like about it? 

I’ve been to NH many times I love the Mount Washington Road Race.

Favorites:

Race: Comrades

Way to relax: Bird watching

Athlete: Abebe Bikila

Recovery meal: Veggie stir fry

TV show: Seinfeld

Movie: Caddy Shack

Book: Black Elk Speaks

Singer/Band: Bruce Springsteen

Mantra: Never limit where running can take you.

Guilty pleasure: Nachos

City: Cape Town

Country: Tanzania

Racing Memory: Seeing my mother at Trevi Fountain during the Rome Marathon.

Check out Bart's book "My Life on the Run: The Wit Wisdom, and Insights of a Road Racing Icon". You can read about his adventures with running all over the world, struggles with Lyme Disease, and his special way with rhinos and burros.

Thanks for stopping by and reading, feel free to leave any comments or suggestions below. Come by on Sunday and read about my weekly runs. I've got 9 miles on tap for Saturday, wish me luck! 

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Never Give Up On Your Dreams

Hope you all enjoyed my interview with my coach, Lou Ann Bakolia. You can contact her at offtorun.com with any questions. I'm really enjoying putting together these interviews, but I am disappointed by the lack of women athletes. I only have one other woman on my interview schedule, all the others haven't responded or declined. I have contacted a few more, so hopefully I'll get a few more lined up!

I did struggle a bit mentally this week with running, but all in all it was a good week. In my head, I'm a way better runner than I actually am. This is good and bad. Good because I believe in myself and have confidence. Bad because I get disappointed easy because in my head I expect so much more from myself. I'm trying to tell my head that running is hard work and being overweight, it is going to even harder. To achieve those times I expect from myself, I have to lose weight. I remember reading that for every pound you lose, you can ran four seconds faster! With my weight loss at a standstill despite working my ass off, I have a lot of frustration.  I've been lifting weights and running since May, and no change in muscle tone or weight (except for a couple pounds here and there). I'm trying to stay positive, but but weekly runs didn't help my attitude.

Monday: 3 miles 40:47

Wednesday: 2 miles 28:10

Saturday I woke up and headed to Umstead to do my eight miles. I was surprised that I was actually chilly when I started, but I'm not complaining! All the humidity here has been a killer for me. I was not looking forward to this run because Umstead is TOUGH. It has tough hills and I usually walk them because you know, I might die if I try to run them. Well, Saturday I felt different and was determined to hit all my intervals (3:1) and I did! Sometimes when I was climbing those damn hills, I was pretty sure I was running in place, but I hit them all. As I got closer to the seventh mile, I wondered if I could run the last mile without the intervals even though I was pretty tired. Twice, I almost gave up, but I kept on. I finished in 1:47:44, beating my slowest eight mile time by thirteen minutes and my fastest by six minutes! For the first time in a long time, I felt validated for my hard work.  I will never be an elite runner by any means, but I'm not going to stop dreaming about it. I dream of getting stronger and faster. I dream of qualifying for Boston. I dream of running in NYC, Chicago, Maui...everywhere! I'm not giving up on my dreams, I'm just going to continue to work hard. Running is a privilege and I need to relax and enjoy the experience.

In non racing news, I finished my third rag quilt. Like Cher said in the movie Clueless, its "full-on Monet... From far away, it's ok, but up close, it's a big old mess".  I still need to practice measuring, sewing in a straight line, pretty much everything. I do love the fabric though! 

I'm spending the rest of Sunday relaxing, icing and watching football. My knees haven't liked me at all since yesterday's run, but my leg seems better. Jager's cataract surgery on Thursday, so we are looking forward to that. Oh, and check out my interview on Wednesday with the Mayor of Running, Bart Yasso!

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Last Run Before My First Marathon

Friday was my last run before the Marathon University Marathon on the 10th. Very nerve racking. It is coming up crazy fast.

I'm not going to lie, I DID NOT want to go out to run the day after our anniversary. It took me seventeen minutes to get out of bed and then Matt had to literally close the door in my face to get me to go.

I went to Shelley Lake and I felt heavy and out of shape....what else is new? It also started pouring at mile 2.5, so I was really excited. I decided to just enjoy the scenery and finish the run. When I finished I saw and crane and I tried to take a picture bc I I felt like how the crane looked, but then I got attacked by the bastard bird. He jumped out of nowhere and came at me. I ran away and started to cry (note to my readers, birds are my main fear in life). I saw a grandmother and her grandkids coming my way and I ran by them to get away from the bird. As I ran by, I hear the kids scream and then saw the grandmother kick the bird away. Go, grandma.

I have two short runs before the big day. We are leaving for WV on Friday and hopefully, I will get to meet Bart Yasso this weekend. I'm also looking forward to meeting a bunch of Loopsters as well. 

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20 Miles Done!

This weekend was pretty uneventful bc I had my first 20 miler ever. It is my last double digit run before my marathon.

I spend Friday hydrating and eating. Matt made my usual pre long run dinner and it is always so good! I had hot tea the rest of the evening bc I was freezing and Jager agreed.

I woke Saturday and had my usual salted cashews and a packet of Welch's fruit snacks and was on my way to Shelley Lake. I was very overwhelmed about doing 20 miles, so I broke it up in my mind into four five milers and that helped. I also did short videos for every five miles on instagram (JenHaught) and that was kinda fun.

I was doing decent the first 15 miles, but then I got very tired and my legs were heavy. I think I pushed too hard in the beginning. I'm VERY nervous bc I'm super slow and I have a six hour course limit. I'm a super slow runner and my finishing time was concerning: 

I have a few weeks to make adjustments but I will be livid as myself if I get disqualified. Fingers crossed for me, but I'm worried. I think I will change my intervals from 3:1 to 2:1, maybe I'm tiring out bc of that? 

I will share some pictures from my run. I saw a group of people in kayaks cleaning up the area and I thought that was great. The last picture is a picture of McDonald's and man it was hard to pass that place FOUR times and not stop. I was over cashews and fruit snacks and ran out of water at mile 15.

Here are my five mile times, I just got slower and slower and slower: 

All and all I felt well on my 20 miler. My knees didn't bother me, but I had a issue with the inside of my left foot, my right ankle and finally a killer cramp in my left calf. At the end of my 20, I felt that I could go further, but I just don't know how fast.

I treated myself to an amazing dinner and it was cooked by my very understanding husband:

Matt also hung up my poster while I was gone on my run and I love it. My ultimate goal is to qualify for Boston by the time I'm 40, so this is a great daily reminder.

I can't believe this marathon is only a month away! Wish me luck! 

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Training Is Going Well

Not much really to report this week. Pretty uneventful, really. My training went very well this week, although I didn't get any yoga in. I really need to work on that. 

My goal for my 10 miler was 2:10, but I didn't make it. I was a few minutes over, but I had a great run. I felt pretty good thru the whole thing and I didn't fall on my face. Always a plus.

Next Saturday jumps to 18 miles, and again I'm pretty nervous. It will be my longest distance to date. I'd like to do 18 eighteen miles in no more than 3 hours and 45 minutes. Fingers crossed! 

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Fevers, Vomiting and Cramping...Oh My!

Yeah, my weekend went to crap when I suddenly got sick at work on Thursday. It really came out of nowhere and it wasn't pretty. All I did this week was watch Bones, football and eat Ramen noodles.

My sixteen miler did not happen and I feel anxiety every time I think about it. I wanted to run three today but Matt wasn't having it. I will start back up tomorrow and readjust my Sat long runs. 16 miles will just have to wait another week or two. 

I'm not going to lie and say that I'm feeling prepared for this marathon, bc I'm not. I'm watching my weight like a hawk and I swear to the universe that if I gain another ounce, I will kill someone. I'm getting heavier and slower and it is freaking me out bc I DO NOT want to be disqualified for being out on the course all day. I want my medal and my marathon jacket! 

I'm getting pretty determined since falling ill, so I've got a nice nutritional plan going on and I got this yoga dvd to start this week:

Fun fact about me: I can't touch my toes. Embarrassing. I should make it a goal to accomplish by the end of the year. Huh, which is sadder, the fact that I can't touch my toes or that I actually have a goal for touching my toes by the end of the year? 

Here's to a healthier week!  

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