Wendy, quite literally, hit the ground running at the beginning of 2016. After competing in the Dopey Challenge, a four-day event covering nearly 50 miles, she happily shared her experience with us, and found some common threads in running, and in her work at Freedom Consulting Group, too. Never heard of foam rolling? Us either. Wendy explains the post-workout  technique, recommends her favorite gadgets and runs us through her routine the morning of a race in her interview below.

So what exactly is the Dopey Challenge and how did you get involved in this event?

The Dopey Challenge is a four-day event with four races hosted by runDisney at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The challenge is 48.6 miles total—a 5K, 10K, half-marathon and full marathon. I ran the full marathon last year and upon completion I was really intrigued with the added challenge of back-to-back races.

How long have you been competitively running, and how were you first introduced to the sport?

I’ve always loved to run, but I’ve become a more “serious” runner over the past nine years. I can’t recall how I was first introduced to the sport…it seems like it’s always been a part of my life.

What is the most unique race you’ve participated in? Or the most unique location?

I’ve done races in a lot of great cities, including Philadelphia, New York and Nashville. As for the most unique, I’d have to say the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon in Las Vegas, a nighttime race along the strip. It was a crazy race due to a multitude of logistical problems—a very memorable experience!

Take us through your training in the months leading up to the Dopey Challenge.

Training officially started for the Dopey Challenge in July 2015. I’m a member of the Howard County Striders running club, and they have a great group-training program, which guided me through the training plan. I ran four to five times a week, averaging 30-45 miles. Key components of this training plan were a group track and hill workout once a week, a five to 10 mile tempo run once a week and two back-to-back long runs on the weekends. The long runs were between eight and 22 miles each.

Which apps, products, books or websites for training, or day-to-day exercise do you recommend?

My Garmin GPS watch is great for tracking workouts and progress over time. I love data, so it’s helpful to look back over the years and review my training progress and personal race records. I love Strava, a social media app for runners and bikers. You can see what other runners in your area are up to and it’ll track fastest times along common routes. Another favorite is the Fitbit Charge HR. It makes staying active fun by allowing you to track daily activity, sleep patterns and caloric burn. You can also create daily step challenges between friends, a great motivational tool.

As for day-to-day exercises, it’s important to include other activities into your daily schedule, in addition to running. These can include weight training, cycling, yoga…anything to engage other muscles, and to reduce the risk of running overuse injuries. I’m a big fan of foam rolling, which helps increase blood flow to muscles and with relieving muscle tension after hard workouts.

It’s the morning of a competition. What’s your routine before you hit the pavement?

My morning routine before a race is a big glass of water, coffee and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Other good options as pre-race fuel are a bagel and cream cheese, or a bowl of oatmeal. I also lay out all my necessary gear the night before a race. There’s nothing worse than added stress in the morning. And dynamic stretching helps to get my muscles warmed up and ready to go before the race begins.

During a race what are you most focused on?

I really do try to just enjoy the race. Great words of wisdom a lot of my runner friends have told me is to “run the mile you are in,” which means don’t focus on how far you need to go, just concentrate on where you currently are. I really enjoy taking in the sites during each race, which is especially fun in Disney where there’s entertainment at every mile. Disney characters, parade floats, high school bands, gospel choirs, live animals…you never know what’s ahead.

What similarities does training for an event like this have in common with your work at Freedom Consulting Group?

There are so many ways in which running has a common tie to working at Freedom Consulting Group. First, you need a good foundation. It’s taken years of physically training my body to run these types of endurance events. And I can say the same for my professional career. Over the past 10 years with Freedom Consulting Group I’ve built a great technical and managerial foundation, which helps me in my day-to-day activities.

I also have a great support system in both my running community and at work. In running, I love having such supportive, knowledgeable friends to help me achieve my goals. My co-workers and the management at Freedom Consulting Group play big roles in helping me succeed on the job.

Lastly, I would say a similarity is to always be prepared for the unexpected, and always persevere through. With running you might go out for an “easy four-mile run” and feel like dying, or it may be a torrential downpour during a race. However, you need to realize that every run isn’t always going to be easy, or perfect. You need to continue to push forward and to use those difficult experiences to make you stronger. It’s the same thing at work. Some days are tough, but I try to learn from those experiences and use them to build me into a better employee of Freedom Consulting Group.

Lastly, which of the seven dwarves do you most identify with and why?

This is a funny one. I’d probably say Happy—I always try to keep a positive attitude, and to look for the bright side of situations. 🙂