1) Primary sport (s):Ultra running
2) Team member since: 2010
3) City/state of residence: Lakewood, IL
4) Occupation: Accounts Payable Manager for Trucking company
5) Goals for 2012:
Work on my nutrition at the 100 mile distance. This is my achilles heal at the moment. I think I can drop my times once I get this figured out. My goal, train hard, train smart and PR every race.
Iron Horse 100, Florida 2012- Set a new 100 mile PR
Pony Express 100, Utah 2012- PR again
6) Notable achievements/memories/PR’s in your sport:
Winona Lake 50 miler-1st overall Female (and a trail 50 mile PR)
Kettle 100k-1st Master Female
North Country 50 miler- 1st age group-(another trail PR)
Pumpkin Holler 100- 4th overall female-3 hour PR at the 100 mile distance
This was my most rewarding race. I cruised through most of the day feeling like nothing could stop me. Hit a really bad low around mile 75, stopped for an hour. After dreams of a big PR- I thought my new goal was just to finish. With help from volunteers and crew I was able to get some food down, pull myself together and get myself to the finish line with a huge PR!
7) Favorite inov-8 gear:
Roclite 268 is my favorite trail racer/trainer. I love cruising through single track in these light shoes! I wear them on technical trail or rocky roads. They hold my feet in place and give me plenty of underfoot protection. I call them my long distance racing flats. The Roclite 268’s were my 2011 lucky shoes-I PR’d three times last year in them!
Roclite 275 Gore-Tex- My favorite winter shoe. My feet used to freeze in the winter. I thought that was just winter running. Then I tried the Roclite 275’s, now feet are always dry and warm. This has made my winter training much more enjoyable. I run a ton of miles. I’ve worn the same pair for two winters and they are still in great shape. I wear them on roads or trails.
Road-X 238 is my favorite road shoe- I have always been most comfortable in my trail shoes. Thank goodness Inov-8 came out with these. Finally I have a road shoe I like. They fit and work like my Inov-8 trail shoes but are made for roads. I PR’d 2 half marathons in 2011 wearing the Road-X 238’s.
8) List one thing others may not know about you:
I once told a friend, “I am not a runner, never will be, there is NO WAY I would ever want to run a marathon!” I remember saying this with conviction, completely sure that I meant it…then I turned 40…. and decided to do one crazy thing... Finish Chicago Marathon. I was hooked and I haven’t stopped challenging myself since. It’s the best thing I ever did for myself.
9) Favorite energy drink/food:
Honey Stinger chews- Cherry blossom flavor
Hammer Perpetuem-café latte flavor
10) Your favorite race/event and why?
I love 100 mile races! I can say this now with absolute certainty because I’m NOT on mile 70 of a race. Crossing the finish line at a 100 mile race makes me feel good about everything that went into getting there. I immediately forget what was tough about it and smile at my accomplishment.
11) Advice to other athletes:
2011 was a big PR year for me because I had a solid training plan. A smart training plan will get you your personal best results. I think the thing that helped me the most in 2011 was running my easy runs truly easy. This helped keep me injury free so I was able to get my mileage consistent and high. As the year went on, and my mileage went up, my easy pace got faster and faster. This is very important when you race long distance.
2 comments:
Michele takes what she does very seriously, she is a dedicated ultra runner. When she wants to reach a goal she has set for herself, I don't think she let's anything stand in the way. She represents inov8 with a kindness and flair for adventure that I don't see in other ultra runners.
Wow, that's a really nice compliment. Thank you!
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