What advice would you give to someone looking into running?
“Just keep at it!”, would be my #1 piece of advice. Running can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. Yesterday was an easy victory, today may be a battle to even finish a short run, but just keep at it! It is one of the things that makes it so rewarding.
Have you ever followed any sort of training plan? Which ones and how did you like them?
Yes! I would be completely lost without a training plan. For my first marathon I was training for (then got sick for 😦 goodbye $140) I used the Runner’s World training plan from their book “Marathoning For Mortals”, but for the last marathon and for my next one I am using Hal Higdons Intermediate training plan. I like it because it doesn’t include a required amount of hill or or fartleks. Though I think these are very necessary, I find this training plan to be effective and not intimidating.
This picture has nothing to do with running, but I love it.
Love this picture so much!
Thanks to an awesome fellow blogger, http://runningdetermined.tumblr.com/, I have discovered this amazing website called the Daily Mile where you can log all of your runs and build a network. I love the thought of the accountability. It is great motivation to get my last run in before my half marathon this weekend.
Check it out! http://www.dailymile.com/people/stephaniee18#ref=tophd
Which I am taking as a clean slate, a starting off point for an even healthier, more active, lifestyle.
I have my best friend’s wedding in 2 months, and I want to be able to look at the pictures and not hate what I see (which has been the case for pretty much the last 2 years).
Not to mention the fact that marathon training is kicking into high gear, so I really need to get focused.
New month, new focus!
Show us a picture of your best “I’m a beast runner” runner face!
Well, here is my big ol’ head.
Me, all grossy-gross, but this is my best bad ass face. Nothing is better than a slight smile, especially while running.
Other times it is a full on grin 🙂
I LOVED this commercial
What are your PRs? Time, distance?
My PR during a half was 2:03.. and I am determined to beat that!
My best chipped time during a 5k was 27 minutes, but I clocked in at 21:22 while running 3 miles one night. I was fueled by rage at something and was just killing it!
I hope to set a PR of under 5 hours in my marathon, so fingers crossed.
Again, I am not a fast runner, but I keep it movin’!
How many miles a week are you usually running and what’s your normal pace? How would you like to improve this?
My mileage has been pretty low lately, around 20-25, but is increasing significantly with my training plan for the October marathon.
I am not a fast runner by any means and usually come in around 10 minutes per mile on a long run, but have noticed that my pace has really picked up during shorter runs, coming in more at 9 minutes per mile.
It would be ultimate goal to run a marathon at a 9 minute mile, but being a super asthmatic, I try to just focus on distance and not so much time, but I will get there.
Consistency and speed work is the key!
Do you carry water or powerfood with you while running? If so, how and what kind?
I will generally only carry water with me if it is really hot or if I am running for longer than 9 or 10 miles.
When I take powerfood with me, it is generally pretzels for the carbs and sodium, and some sort of dried fruit, like dried apricots. I either stick them in my pockets if I have them, or put them in a zip-lock bag and stuff them in my sports bra. When I take water with me, I put the bottle in the back of my sports bra, and reach back to get it when I need it. I HATE carrying things while running, and hips packs never really work for me.
It’s glorious when I have a “Sherpa” riding a bike next to me who can carry all water and sustenance 🙂
Show us a picture of your sexy running calves!
I don’t know about sexy but…
I’ve got big ol’ legs…BUT, they carry me far.
Adventures of S 