Running Away from Adulting

My first marathon is in September. When I picked the marathon, I chose Erie because it was close to home and because it was the last weekend for Boston Qualifying submissions for 2018. I did not, however, completely consider that it would mean training all summer. Oops. As someone who does not handle the heat well, I've compiled a five helpful tips that I plan to use to help combat summer training for fall marathon season. 1. Always Check the Weather I do this all year round, but this is especially critical for me for the summer. Last summer, I was training for my first half marathon, and I found myself running late at night because those times had the lowest temperatures. I've also found the early mornings to be great since the sun hasn't boiled the ground yet either. ... unless you like the heat... you crazy heat people... It's also good to see how the weather is going to be a few days out. If your training is a little flexible, th...

I have a love-hate relationship with running. I think most people can say the same about themselves and their own hobbies/lifestyles. But for now, let's just stick with the positives: 5 Things I Love About Running 1. The feeling of knowing I am better than I was yesterday Never ever did I think I would be a runner in high school. Even when I was running regularly, I wasn't doing it for the love of the sport. Then in college when I stopped running, I doubted ever picking it up again. Now, I look back and think, "Damn girl, you showed you." Seeing how far I have progressed and how I've become a runner in itself energizes me to keep going out there. 2. Being exhausted When am I not exhausted actually? I work too much, sleep too little, and from what my non-running friends say - run wayyyyy too much. But there is a whole new exhaustion felt when you finish your run. No matter if its 1 mile or 10 miles, the body is tired ...

My tattoo says "Stronger never a victim, forever a fighter" My journey is 6 1/2 years long, and my story isn't over just yet. I was never athletic in high school. I played field hockey from 7th - 12th grade (prior to a quadricep tear), but I didn't try hard at all. However, when I was a junior in high school, I met a guy who played soccer year round. He was super thin and only 5lbs more than me. His build wasn't the issue, how he made fun of my weight was. So I attempted to lose a little weight and be more athletic like him. I trained the summer before my senior year of field hockey, which ended up being for nothing because I tore my quad on a sprinting drill in the first four days of two-a-days. I went to PT during the season and took score at games. After PT, I would go home and run and do simple workouts in my room to help improve my chances of getting back on the field. ... I was never cleared to play...  Okay, so season's over. N...

Wow. This last weekend was truly something amazing. I ran faster than I expected in both the 5K and the Half. Actually, finishing 1st in the women's 20-24 in the 5K scared me for what the Half would come out to be. I was worried that I had used up all my energy in the 5K to really have a decent effort in the Half. BUTTTTTTTT, that was far from the case! My watch showed that I averaged 7'55" pace, which absolutely blew me away. I dreamed of the day that I would accomplish a 8'00" mile average in the half marathon. I craved it, but didn't believe this would be the race to accomplish such. I honestly believe that the amazing energy from the spectators, the proper pre-race meal, proper hydration, a good long roll out, and the excitement from the day before really made the difference in last weekends race. Here's how it race morning went for me: 5:05AM: "NICK! WAKE UP! WE'RE LATE!" We were actually on time, but I w...

Thanks to my wonderful boyfriend for all the photos! This was the first 5K I've done since Fall of 2012. Not that I've avoided 5Ks, but just always put the focus on adding mileage and not really speed training. Last week I received an email that they extended the sign-up for the UPMC Health Plan 5K, and decided to just go with it. To be quite frank, I only did it because I saw that doing the 5K and either the Half or Full Marathon meant you were participating in the Steel Challenge. I saw "challenge" and couldn't pass that up. Competitive much? Medals just steel-ing the spotlight However, I wasn't feeling completely confident in myself about this run. I told myself I should take it as a shakeout run before the Half. Well, after a speedy 3 miles the other day, I found the courage to make this a race worth racing for. IG post after completing 3 miles in 22:04 (there were some stops along the way) I had tremendous support...

I've compiled 5 commandments I strive to live by throughout training, but especially on race week! These are just 5 of many other great tidbits of advice to live by as we prepare to test our body's capabilities. Thou Shall Eat a Healthy Balanced Diet that You Should've Been Doing All Along If you didn't eat it during the last 12-16 weeks while you were training, DON'T TRY IT THIS WEEK. I don't eat a lot of potatoes or bread, I'm not going to carb-load with it this week. Though they shouldn't be labeled as 'unhealthy', they are not what my body is used to digesting and can really turn my stomach upside down come mile 10. Don't overeat or undereat. Though carb-loading is a thing, it does not mean stuff your face like you do on Thanksgiving! You're going to have a brick sitting in your insides and you will feel it while running. On the other side, just because it is taper week, doesn't mean you should eat less. This is a chance f...

My go-to genre at any time of the day is EDM. Driving to work? EDM Driving home from work? EDM Cooking dinner? EDM Showering? EDM Cleaning the house? EDM Running? EDM Writing this blog post? EDM I try to branch out a little, but EDM just gets me and helps keep me going. For race day, I wanted to make sure I didn't have to keep flipping through songs. I picked some EDM for sure, some rap/pop, and some harder rock. Highlighting songs of my playlist: Hook, Line, & Sinner by Texas in July: this song goes back to my middle school/ high school screamo band obsession days. This song has really good drops in it that I would jump in the mosh pit to. It definitely will pump me to pick up the pace on Sunday. Obsessed by Joel Fletcher Bianca: the chorus is the most upbeat fist-pumping song I think I have on here. I jam the hell out to it in the car so much that my boyfriend is laughing at me from his truck behind. Monster by Skillet: this has a c...

It is finally here!!! I have been dreaming of this week for a year now, and it is finally here!!!! Why I've been waiting a year? Well, I decided in January of 2016 that I wanted to be able to say that I ran a half marathon. So, I trained for the 2016 Pittsburgh Half. However, I didn't have the slightest clue how to train. So I just ran and ran and ran, and ended up with a LOVELY stress fracture in my tibia two weeks before race day. Needless to say, I did not run the 2016 PGH Half Marathon. Spring forward to now, I feel more than ready to crush this. First post last year of me attempting to get into running! If I wasn't feeling powered up enough already, I last minute signed up to be a part of the Steel Challenge - I'll be doing the 5K on Saturday as well as the half on Sunday. There's a huge part of me that really wants to compete in the 5K, but then a more realistic part of me knows that I shouldn't push too hard, because it could really hurt m...