On this #fueledisfast #fueledisstrong Thursday, we are excited to introduce you to Jennifer Konikowski. Jennifer just crushed the CanLake MiniCan 25k, landing on the podium with an outstanding 3rd place finish! Read on to learn more about Jennifer:
Where do you live? Geneva, NY
Are you currently employed or in school (or both)? I’m a Staff Developer at 1Password.
What sports do you participate in? Right now, I run, powerlift, and take an adult beginner ballet class. Prior to moving to NY, I was also on an adult rec volleyball team.
When did you first start running & racing? I started running when I randomly signed up to play soccer my senior year of high school, so twenty years ago. I started racing a little over sixteen years ago. When I was injured playing ultimate frisbee, my physical therapist told me I shouldn’t run and I’m a Taurus… so I signed up to train for a marathon through Team in Training.
What distances have you completed? Everything up to a 50K! November 23 will be my 31st half marathon and I’ve done four marathons.
Where have you raced? Which location was your favorite? Mostly in the northeast (NY, RI, CT, MA, and PA) but also CA, TN, KY, OH, FL, GA, IA, VA, and QB. I think my favorite race is probably still the Pier to Peak in Santa Barbara, CA. It was BRUTAL but the views were gorgeous the whole way as you are going up the mountain.
What accomplishments are you most proud of? Probably that very first marathon! It is still my worst time and I felt awful but there was a time where I thought I wasn’t going to finish and I actually saw my grandma near the finish and started crying. Second is probably Great Race 5K 2021. I finished in 23:44 and I almost broke down because I couldn’t believe I did it. I had gained weight since the last time I had run it (thanks pandemic and depression!!!) but somehow managed to cut 40 seconds off my time. But of course I had signed up to also run the 10K so I had to immediately get on the bus to go back to the start line and then run the 10K.😂
Do you have a mantra when things get tough? Usually it’s “you have done [x thing that was infinitely worse], you can push through this”. I tend to sign up for a lot of races, and it’s partly so, if I have one bad race, it doesn’t totally wreck me. There’s always another chance coming up very soon! Possibly next week! Recently, I had an 18 miler when it was fairly hot. I wasn’t really racing-racing… just trying to finish without passing out. When I felt like I was hitting a wall at Wineglass last weekend, I told myself “it is 20º cooler and you would’ve had 9 more miles to go if it was 2 weeks ago… this is NOTHING. you’ve got it.” and just pushed through.
What is your favorite food? Least favorite food? I LOVE PASTA. I really do have to stop myself from just eating pasta all the time. Luckily my husband is the chef, otherwise I might do that. Least favorite… I have a few and I always forget them. Shrimp is definitely on that list though!
What surprised you most from your nutrition assessment? That I don’t eat enough! I think, as women, it’s really hard to fight the conditioning we get that overeating == weight gain so we need to make sure to not eat that much and that 2000 cal per day is normal. When Nancy told me I should probably be eating closer to 2800 cal/day, I think my jaw might’ve dropped to the floor.
What changes did you make based on your nutrition assessment? I think one of the biggest is that, every night, I try to have yogurt, granola, and protein powder. I’m still not great at eating snacks (I should probably snack more!!!) but that’s at least one snack that I have added to my routine that has helped ensure I have energy in the morning. I also make sure to have some type of food before running. Sometimes I still don’t do it before my training runs (ugh time is hard) but I always make sure to get up early enough to make sure to eat before races.
How have the changes you’ve made influenced your health & performance? I definitely notice more now when I haven’t fueled well! It’s made me more in tune with how I fuel my body and I’ve also become more diligent about drinking way less as well (down to once or twice a week). It’s been a journey, but I have noticed that I’ve started improving. I knew it would take some time cause I also knew it wasn’t going to happen in the summer!
What is your next big goal? Every year I run the Manchester Road Race and every year my goal is to keep my corral (sub 42). I was really close to missing it last year, so I’m hoping I do better this year. Ideally, I can shoot for getting to the next corral (sub 38). So basically my goal is to not eat it in Manchester on Thanksgiving😛
What nutrition advice would you give to other athletes? Don’t be afraid of food! Also protein is great.
We are so proud of Jennifer & looking forward to seeing her crush the Mancester Road Race in November!
