Deena Kastor ran 2:27:47 to break the U.S. masters marathon record by almost a minute at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. She finished seventh woman overall and was the top American.

Kastor’s time broke Colleen De Reuck’s U.S. masters record of 2:28:40, which has stood since 2005.

Kastor went into the race targeting the masters record—she knew she needed to average 5:39 per mile—and she was faster than that pace throughout, passing halfway in 1:14:03.

From 21 miles to the finish, it was a grind, said Kastor, who was doing math throughout her race.

“I run with a generic Timex, I don’t run with anything fancy,” she said. “I was saying I had to be under 5:40 and we had a lot of 5:33s in there, then we had a couple of 5:42s and I was like, ‘Oh no.’ I remember at mile 23 I was struggling, and I was like, ‘Please don’t let it be 7-minute pace.’ I looked down and it was still 5:38.”

Kastor, a three-time Olympian and the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist in the marathon, holds the American record for the marathon, 2:19:36, which she ran in London in 2006.

Her training now that she is 42 and has a daughter, Piper, who is 4, is vastly different than it was a decade ago. She used to run 140 miles per week. Now, she says, she runs about 70, with a few 100-mile weeks thrown in during marathon training. She often clusters workouts together, with a tempo run and a long run on back-to-back days.

In the year after Piper’s birth, she struggled to fit in training and motherhood.

“There are thousands of women out there who balance careers, family and running in their lives,” Kastor said. “Lucky for me that running and my career are one and the same, so I should have it easier. I just decided to make priorities that family and health come first. Anything else comes second.”

She recalled a time during training recently when her husband and coach, Andrew, was traveling from their home in Mammoth Lakes, California, and Piper was sent home from school sick. Kastor couldn’t train while she tended to her daughter. For three days, she had zeros in her training log.

“This is when your children need you the most, when they’re sick. I took that time to be the best mom I could be and not dwell on the fact that I lost training,” she said. “I think a positive mindset is really important in dealing with this. You don’t feel begrudged.”

With her performance today—her first sub 2:30 marathon in six years—Kastor returns to conversation for the U.S. 2016 Olympic marathon team. The time she ran currently puts her fourth on the list of U.S. women who have qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials, behind Shalane Flanagan, Desiree Linden, and Amy Cragg.

Kastor deferred when asked about ramping up for the trials in February in Los Angeles.

“Oh no, don’t ask me that question,” she said.

After focusing all summer on the masters record, she’s now planning to take a couple of weeks vacation before setting her goals for the winter.

“I feel confident I can be in some good fitness come February,” she said. “I just need to have some flame burning in me. If that comes to me, I’ll be at that starting line.”

Sarah Lorge Butler Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005.

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