The Wrinkled Runner
The Wrinkled Runner
Season 11 Preview: Treadmill Running, Mammoth Marches, and Upcoming Topics for the Pod
Hey Running Friends!
Join me as I map out the first half of 2026. In this episode, I'm sharing what marathon I'm doing...and how I'm doing it (currently on the treadmill). I'll also be talking about a few other races and my next Mammoth March. I'm going to end the discussion with an overview of some of the topics we are going to cover for the next few months.
Resources from the Episode:
The Wrinkled Runner Website:
Could Your Running Belt Be Causing Glute Pain
The Wrinkled Runner YouTube Channel:
The Wrinkled Runner Podcast:
A Small Gear Change to Fix Running Pain
What Happens When Runners Stop Stepping Over Trash
Other Resources:
Niagara Falls USA Marathon/Half/10k/5K
Products I talk about in the episode (I earn from qualifying purchases)
If you are looking for a coach to help you reach your running goals, even if it's just to start to run, take a look at my Coaching Services page on the website. I do virtual, in-person (Buffalo, NY area) and also offer single zoom sessions for those would just like to chat with a coach one time.
I am also a Personal Trainer, and offer virtual training as well, in addition to Nutrition Coaching.
Find my additional outlets over at the YouTube channel and at wrinkledrunner.com. If you would like information on utilizing a running coach, check out what I can do for you here.
If you have any running-related questions, please send an email to sherry@wrinkledrunner.com…I answer every one.
So we are in the middle of January, and as we kick off into 2026, I am going to be sharing a little bit about what my running year is going to look like at least the first six months or so, and then also talk about some of the topics that we're going to be covering over this season, which is season 11, if you can believe that. So I just started marathon training today for the Buffalo Marathon. If you've listened to other podcasts, you know that I have had some hip issues, glute issues with running, and had to defer the Buffalo Marathon from last year to this year. I was able to complete the Richmond Marathon back in November. And so I am just starting into Buffalo training today, was my first long run, uh, which was 11 miles. And because I live in Buffalo, I had to run 11 miles on the treadmill. It is 11 degrees outside with a negative nine reel feel, or what they used to call wind chill. And I was not going to run in that. And I got this treadmill for Christmas. It's a Nordic track treadmill. And so it's it's really cool because you can like choose to follow other runners through other races, through the forest, through all these places around the world. And so it kind of keeps your mind off the fact that you're actually on a treadmill. Now you do have to pay for the subscription to iFit for that. But I decided that I really needed a treadmill. Last winter was terrible. A secondary reason why uh Buffalo Marathon was not going to happen was because I could not get the training in. So even if I was totally healthy, I would not be able to get that training in. It was just all ice all winter long. Even yak tracks weren't cutting it. And I was not going to be able to get out on the long runs. So this year for Christmas, I asked for this treadmill. And today was the longest run that I've done on it. I mean, I do prefer to be outside. I'm not gonna, you know, sing too many praises about the treadmill, but if you do have to get runs in the winter time and having that as an option, it's it's just it's better for my training. So I uh I'm trying to get used to the learning curve that comes with doing something new. I haven't run on a treadmill uh probably since 2019, and so my body runs a little differently on it, so I've had to kind of ease into running on the treadmill again, but I got through the 11 miles and it was it was relatively okay. So I'm not gonna complain. I'm I'm able to run. In March is the Boston Run and Outdoor Show. So I'm going to be going there again. I am an ambassador for the Boston Run show, and it's they've changed it now so where it is also an outdoor show. So whether it's running or fishing or camping, it they've kind of combined it. So I go there, I help out. You know, we give a lot of gifts and things uh before people before the doors open. There's always a lot of speakers. Last year, Des Linden was there. Uh, we went plogging with Tina Muir. There's just a lot to do, and it's super cool. This year it's going to be outside of the city at a stadium, and I'm going to do an entire episode on the Boston Run show and you know, kind of give you some details of meetups that I will have if people express an interest, then they're going to be there. But I will share in the show notes a link to their website so that you can see some of the things that are going on with that. I'm going to be doing a 10K run with a client at the end of April. And this is in Lewiston, which uh is a beautiful area here in western New York. It's close to where the Niagara River goes into Lake Ontario, and beautiful hikes up there, lots of nice terrain, and there's going to be a marathon, half marathon, and 10K. And I will be doing the 10K. That will be, I'll just incorporate my my marathon training in with that. And uh I'm thinking of doing the Grand Island half marathon, which is uh usually the beginning of May. It's kind of a nice run to do. It's uh it'll be a few weeks before the marathon, so I will use it as a training run. I won't race it like a maniac, but it's it's just something fun to do that can give you a long run, get that in there, but have kind of the race, the cool stuff that goes along with the race as you're doing that. Uh, the other thing I'm going to do again is a another mammoth march. And I've talked about that before on the podcast. And I did one in October and it was part of marathon training. Well, it was in the middle of marathon training, and I'm going to do it again. I thought it was actually beneficial to my training, and so I'm going to do it in April with one of my daughters-in-law. So, you you know, you get that time on fee, you get the mental toughness. It actually takes about twice as long as a marathon uh for a lot of people. And so it's a different way to be moving your legs. And I did not find that it detracted from my training at all. I was able, it's a 20-mile uh hike, and I was able to go on a 10-mile run two days later. So I did the mammoth march on Saturday and on Monday, and I went out and ran 10 miles. So I enjoy it. I think it's a really cool thing, and I'm excited to do this. One is in Virginia, where my son lives and his wife, and so uh I'll also be visiting him as well. So that's kind of what I'm going to be doing over the next six months. And if you are going to be a part of any of that, do let me know so that we can meet up. I love meeting up with people that uh usually only hear my voice. And the other thing I wanted to cover today is talking about some exciting topics that we're going to be talking about this season. So next week uh I'm going to talk about micro sessions for runners. So we're going to explore the concept of micro training sessions. So short targeted workouts and you know, that you can do if you have a busy day or, you know, just to be able to get out there, or if you are finding that you're not able to go out and run anymore as we age, uh, for you know, an hour or more. These micro sessions can still keep up your running fitness, get you out there, and we're gonna talk about that next week. And then a few weeks after that, we're going to talk about running gate changes as we age. So we're gonna look at some of the research on gate change after about age 50 and discuss stride length and cadence shifts uh and things like that, and how to adapt your training to work with your body's evolution and also try to stave off some of the things that can happen. We are running and we're not really paying attention to how things are changing. Uh, kind of a weird one that I'm gonna cover is dental health and performance. There's some research connecting oral health to athletic performance, and we're gonna talk about some of those things that enter into dental health. Uh, my dentist or my dental health is uh pretty bad. Um I I mean I go to the dentist, but I think I think there's only been one tooth in my mouth that has not been worked on. But unfortunately, they actually had to shave it halfway down in order to put a bridge in. So uh I know dental health, and it'll be interesting as I do my research on this, how that can affect performance and what we can do to, you know, help that not be an issue. So there you go. My 2026 running season and how that is shaping up, and also some things that I'm going to be sharing with you uh over the next few months as far as topics for the podcast. So, for any resources that I covered, go ahead and check those show notes, especially for that Boston Run show. I would love to see you there.