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In this episode of my Road to Grandma's Marathon series, Katie is sharing a real, unfiltered look at the past couple weeks of training—high mileage, tough workouts, and the reality of balancing running with work, parenting, and unpredictable conditions.

From squeezing in treadmill workouts between calls to navigating spring break schedule changes, this was a week that required a lot of flexibility. Katie breaks down what worked, what didn’t, and how outside stress, heat, and fatigue can impact performance more than we sometimes expect.

Katie also recaps a challenging half marathon that didn’t go as planned—between unseasonably hot weather, a hilly course, and race-day decisions, it ended up being more of a learning experience than a confidence boost. Katie talks about how to interpret those kinds of races, what they actually mean for fitness, and how to move forward without spiraling.

During the second half of the episode, Katie dives into her marathon journey so far. This includes a total of 10 marathons. Katie provides details of each as well as what went well and not so well and learning lessons from each.

Plus, she dives into:

• Adjusting training when life gets busy
• Knowing when to push vs. when to back off
• Fueling during workouts for better recovery
• Adding plyometrics, strength work, and heat training
• Building volume strategically (even when the week isn’t ideal)

If you’ve ever had a week where training didn’t go perfectly—or a race that left you questioning everything—this episode is for you.

Key Takeaways

• Not every week will go as planned—and that’s normal
• Heat, stress, and life load can significantly impact performance
• One race doesn’t define your fitness
• Fueling during workouts can improve both performance and recovery
• Flexibility and consistency matter more than perfection
• Marathons are a journey within themselves and mastering the marathon is not completed with just one marathon

For coaching inquiries:

Coach Katie → https://fuel2run.com

Coach Justin → https://tabularasaracing.com

Podcast Email → theenduranceathletejourney@gmail.com