I caught up with the very inspiring Denise Terry, Boston Qualifier and local speedy runner for Motivational Monday. Denise ran her first marathon at the Philadelphia Marathon 2008, finishing well under 4 hours. In the summer of 2009, she ran 50 miles in the 20 in 24 ultra marathon, and then Denise qualified for the one and only Boston Marathon at the Philadelphia Marathon last November. She is an inspiring and down to earth runner. Check out her story below!
When and why did you start running?
I've been active and interested in working out my whole life but it wasn't until I decided to run the Las Vegas Half Marathon in Dec 2007 that I got serious about running. Prior to that the most I had run was probably around 3 miles. I had never run a race before this so while training I ran my first 5 and 10k. I quickly realized that I loved running and seeing what I was capable of. When I completed the Vegas half, I realized I found a new hobby. With much hesitation because I wasn't sure I was good enough, fast enough, experienced enough, etc I joined a local running club. This was by far the best decision I could have made. It's so important to surround yourself with people who have similar interests.
You have a great story - you ran your first marathon in 2008 at Philadelphia, did an ultra in the summer of 2009, and then came back to qualify for Boston in the Philadelphia Marathon in November. How did your training intensify after your first marathon?
I wouldn't actually say my training intensified as much as I started to train smarter. For my first marathon, I ran hard and I ran a lot. I thought faster, longer, further was the best and while I finished my first marathon in 3:51, there was still a lot for me to learn. In Feb 2009 I decided that I wanted to run an Ultra and set my site on 50 miles. After doing some research on ultras, I realized that I might have gotten myself in over my head. Through my running club, I heard of a running coach and decided to enlist his help to make sure I trained appropriately. This is where I learned that it's so important to train smart to avoid injury, burn out, etc.
With all of the running that you log, do you ever get burnt out?
Right after the ultra I had to switch gears to get ready for a hard effort at Philadelphia marathon in November. At this point, I had been running at least 6 days a week since the beginning of the year. It did catch up with me and right after the ultra in July, I hit a bad spot. My body wanted to run but my mind was just not in to it. There was a point where getting through the first mile of a run was a huge mental challenge. It felt like it took forever and I thought I'd never get through the rest of my run. I would think to myself, "you just ran 51 miles and you can't run 4?" I pushed and got through these runs but they weren't fun. That's when I knew I was burnt out. Getting out the door was hard and I wasn't enjoying myself. I took a week and just ran for fun, not worrying about time, distance, pace and just ran based on how I felt. I got back to enjoying the act of running and just being out there. Taking this little break made a huge difference. It's really important to me that I always enjoy this. To me, if it's not fun, it's not worth doing. So the second I feel like it's a chore, I know I need to scale back a bit.
How do you get motivated when you really don't feel like running?
Honestly, I love running so it's rare that I don't feel like doing it, but occasionally it is hard to get out there. Unless there is something seriously wrong (I'm sick, something hurts, etc,) I tell myself to get out there and give it a shot. If I'm still not feeling it, I can turn around and head home. But that has never happened. Once I'm out there, I'm happy I made the decision to run and enjoy it.
How many miles do you run each week when you are in training season?
For Philly I maxed out a little over 50 miles a week and for the ultra this summer, I'll take it close to 80 miles a week. I have a goal to run over 2000 miles for this year!
What training plan do you follow or what aspects are key to your training?
Balancing hard and easy workouts and taking rest days when they are needed.
Many runners have a hard time determining the best things to eat before and during races. What have you found works for you?
This was one of the toughest things for me to figure out with running. My stomach does not like running! I have a standard pre race/long run dinner of baked chicken, brown rice and mushrooms all mixed together with soy sauce. The morning of I have a slice of Ezekiel with almond butter and a banana. During a long run or marathon, I stick with Clif margarita bloks and eat one blok every 2 – 2.5 miles. I can't handle a bunch of them at once, too much sugar. Eating for the ultra is a completely different beast. You need to consume a lot of food to keep you going for such a long time. After a lot of experimenting I found that frosted strawberry pop tarts, Ensure, boiled potatoes, soft pretzels and peanut butter m&ms work for me. I should note that these are not staples in my diet and are only consumed for ultras! I wish I could eat peanut butter m&ms daily.
Last summer you ran 50 miles for the 20 in 24 down in Philadelphia. Most runners can't fathom getting past the marathon. Tell us about your training for this day, and the experience of it!
Training for this event was actually a lot of fun. It takes a lot of dedication and commitment, though. You're logging a lot of miles and you have back to back long runs on the weekend. To get used to running in the heat, I would do my runs after work when it was warmer out. I would be out the door within 10 minutes of getting home after work. I was so committed to training for this event that some days it felt like I had a second job. The back to back long runs put a glitch in my happy hour plans, but they were worth it. I remember my longest training run of 31 miles. We had been out there for over 5 hours and I enjoyed every minute of it. When it came time to taper and I knew race day was close, I actually felt really sad. I wasn't ready for it to end. When it came time to line up on race day, it was such a different feeling. Usually my heart beats faster and I'm ready to race hard. But this was totally different. I wasn't "racing" this time around. This race was about me and if I was capable of going the distance. Race day went well and while there were two points where I thought laying down on the cot at the aid station sounded tempting, I kept going. I remember the last loop (ran 6 – 8.4 mile loops) when I realized I was actually going to finish. I picked up my pace a bit and said through tears, "I can't believe I did it!" I finished 51.2 miles in 10 hours and 4 minutes. Aside from extremely tired legs, I felt incredible and was all smiles. Crossing the finish line was incredible. I couldn't believe what I just accomplished. I love challenging myself and this solidified the fact that I can, and will, do anything I set my mind to. I enjoyed this whole experience so much that I'm heading back for more this July. While my goal is to go further this time around. I'm also hoping to complete the first 50 miles in under 10 hours…got to have a little bit of a PR goal in there to shoot for.
What is coming up for the spring racing season?
I just ran (and started off the year with a PR) Frostbite 5 miler and am getting ready for Shamrock Marathon in March where I am hoping for another BQ. Following that I will be one of the pacers for the 4:15 group at NJ Marathon May 2nd. To earn my marathon maniac status I'm running either Pocono or DE on May 16th. This will be 3 marathons in less than 90 days and earn me the bronze level. After the 3rd marathon, all focus will be on the Ultra in July where I'm planning to run 75 miles. Although I'd be lying if I said 100 miles didn't sound tempting…
What is your favorite distance?
I think I'm still learning this actually because right now I love them all! I love heading out for a long training run and look forward to this all week. But I also get really excited thinking about racing shorter distances and pushing myself hard to see what I can do. In all honesty, I hope it stays this way and I continue to enjoy all distances while pushing to improve whether it's a 5k or marathon.
What is your greatest running accomplishment?
Without a doubt…Qualifying for Boston, by far!! People seem shocked to hear that qualifying was a bigger deal than running 50 miles, but qualifying was the most amazing feeling. After finishing my first marathon, I didn't even think I'd ever attempt to qualify because the thought of it scared me. It's one thing to run an 8:20 pace for a few miles, but for 26.2? I didn't think I had it in me. But after I signed up for my second attempt at Philly, I realized it wasn't worth running if I wasn't going to try harder. So I set my sites on a BQ. While I felt great at Philly and knew throughout the race things were going well and it was my day, it was hard. Pushing hard for 26.2 miles and having all your hard work pay off…by far the most incredible feeling. Qualifying was not easy. I worked really hard through training and even harder on race day and I will never forget that moment during the last 5k when I knew I was going to qualify with time to spare. I still tear up thinking about that day. I wanted it so badly, I fought hard for it, and I earned my spot at Boston.
What has been your greatest running moment?
Running my first marathon in November 2008. This was such a big deal for me and my family, aunts and cousins came out to support me. It was freezing that day, in the 20s at the start of the race, and my family spent hours in the cold, staggered along the course, to support me. But I will never forget the moment when I was rounding the art museum to the finish line. I was hurting pretty bad and all of a sudden I heard my sister. I looked up and saw her on the side cheering for me with tears in her eyes. It was amazing to be finishing my first marathon, but what made the day even more memorable was having all my family there with me.
You have been so successful in such a short amount of time - is there anything (running wise) that you have not accomplished that you still want to do?
A 3:30 marathon is definitely on my mind!! I also want to continue trying new races in different locations. Running has taken me to New Hampshire, Vegas and New Orleans so far and I want to keep traveling to race in new places. I have a laundry list of races I want to do!
You have a career and a husband - how do you fit it in all the training with everything else on your plate?
I know a lot of runners who don't have supportive significant others. Thankfully, my husband is very supportive. He's made his share of sacrifices to support my running and understands the importance of it to me. But with that being said, I have to be flexible, too. I try to plan my schedule so it affects him as little as possible. And if that means getting up at 4am for a run, then that's what I do. To juggle running with my career, I get up at a 5am to workout/run every day. The other day I got up at 4:30am to get a 20 miler in before work because that's the only time I could fit it in. Running is important to me so I make it a priority and base my day around it. Getting it done in the morning leaves more time with my husband in the evening and I love starting the day off with a great workout. We also spend a lot of time on Sunday prepping lunches and dinners for the week. This saves so much time during the week and makes it easy to eat healthy!!
Running advice to readers?
Train smart. Balance hard and easy efforts so your body can recover. And don't just train for the act of running. Your mind is a huge part of racing and you need to be prepared mentally, too. Your body can be in shape to run a marathon but if you're mentally not prepared, that could come back to bite you on race day.
Want to be even more inspired? Check out Denise's blog!
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