Running & Such

I was born chubby, was always 'healthy' or 'meaty.' Never, never slender, ever in my whole life. I ran track and played basketball in highschool and did ok, not great. The middle of my junior year of highschool we moved... and kept moving - I went to 3 different high schools in 2 years. Fun....not.

So I didn't join any teams or do anything remotely athletic from age 17 until my early 20's. My weight yo-yo'd like crazy. I gained 70 - SEVENTY - pounds when I was pregnant with Jake...and he weighed a whopping 6 1/2 pounds so I couldn't blame it on him.

When he started school, I started running again during my lunch hour, and I ran a respectable 3-5 miles about 4 days a week. I also entered 5k's here and there. Nothing major, just had fun with it.

Then Bill and I got engaged. He *hates* running. So I quit.

Then I birthed, adopted, birthed 3 kids in less than 4 years. And then Shane was a sick, screaming mess for his first 3 years.

Surviving that, I NEEDED to run or do anything really that gave me even 10 minutes of quiet.

So in 2009, the year I turned 40, I started the Couch to 5K program and ran my first 5K in over 11 years that August. It has been a wild ride, and I've run a variety of distances up to a full marathon. My 'big' goal is to run a 50 miler by the time I turn 50. I have also completed a Sprint Triathlon and would *love* to have the time and money to do more tri'ing. Fun stuff!

2010 was a challenging, injury-plagued year, but I've worked on my form and getting strong so I've been able to run pretty well since then. In 2012 I discovered a love for trail running so I 'head to the mountain' near us for many of my runs.

My objective when I started running was primarily to preserve my fading sanity as well as model a healthy and active lifestyle for my kids. The boys run cross country in the fall and Ella has joined a competitive jump rope team so they're setting the building blocks for a healthy lifestyle in place at a young age.

Here is a very small sampling of links that you may find helpful

~ Couch to 5K Running Plan
~ Endurance Athlete Project
~ Frederick Steeplechasers - local running club
~ Natural Running Center - a conglomeration of natural running helps
~ Sparkpeople - calorie tracker, fitness log
~ Toe Salad - barefoot running resource
~ Two Rivers Treads - barefoot running shoe store - ironic, eh?

Some of my favorite products

~ Garmin 301XT
~ Road ID
~ Nathan Reflective Gear
~ Inperspire Towels
~ Vivo Barefoot Shoes