Friday, August 28, 2015

Friday Five: 5 Things I Did This Summer

MarCourtney, and Cynthia host Friday Five, and today is talking about this that happened this summer! I'm going to let the pictures mostly speak for themselves this week.

1. I went to school.  It was brutal.  4 week semesters! They're normally 16.

I might have studied in a bar - sorry Mom and Dad!


2. I finished moving into my new place!



3. I ran a half marathon with my big sister!



4. I ate.  This is just a small selection of the food pictures I have from this summer.



5. Most importantly, I spent time with family! A week long trip with Mom, Dad, brother, sister (in law), and 2 nephews!




Did you do anything exciting this summer? My favorite time was when I was on vacation.  It was amazing to chill out for once and spend time with family I hadn't seen!

Lauren







Tuesday, August 18, 2015

TotR: Runners I Admire

April from Run the Great Wide Somewhere, Patty from My No Guilt Life, and Erika from MCM Mama Runs host Tuesdays on the Run. And look! It's actually Tuesday.  Today we're talking about Runner Role Models or Runners we admire.

There are so many wonderful runner bloggers that I definitely look to as role models!  I don't really know enough about the "professional" running scene to look up to any of them, though there are many incredible women!

Three of the women I look up to most in this blogging community are PattyAmy, and Julie, for similar reasons.  They're all running moms, which I greatly admire.  They all have a love of Disney that I wish I could rival.  But most of all, they taught me there's nothing wrong with being a back of the pack-er.  In fact, they've taught me to be able to embrace it!  Amy, Julie, and Patty helped me see the more fun and social aspect of running; it doesn't all have to be about great speed.  

Patty

Julie
Amy

Another runner I greatly admire is Cynthia.  She's the mom I hope to be when I'm blessed with little ones of my own.  She's fast and more importantly, she's so dedicated to every aspect of her life.  She manages to balance being a mom, having a job, and staying in shape to not only run, but do triathlons!  Every time I read about her busy weeks on her blog, I get tired just thinking about it, so she must be exhausted.  I greatly admire her, both as a person and a runner.

Cynthia

While there are many more people I could add in here, the last one I will is Karen.  Not only does she run, she's also been a race director, which is something I would love to do some day!  She always seems very happy and positive.  Karen also does a lot for and in her community, which I think is fabulous!  Not to mention, she's a nurse, which is super demanding in many ways.

Karen

These are just a few of the many runners I read adventures about and look up to!  I tend to have "real" people as role models more often than professionals or celebrities, just because they're more relatable.

Who do you look up to in the running world?
Lauren





Saturday, August 15, 2015

Friday Five: 5 Running Tips

MarCourtney, and Cynthia host Friday Five, and although this is a day late (sense a pattern here?), this week's topic is 5 Running Tips!

While I'm certainly not the most proficient runner, there are definitely some life lessons I've learned so far.

1. Get the right pair of shoes!!! I think any runner will tell you this, and it's so so important.  I started running in Nike Frees.  Such a bad decision! They've now retired to my weight lifting shoes and work just fine for that.  I then went to Asics, the GT 2000 model.  They worked pretty well for me, but I still had some arch soreness and tenderness for me.  We have a "natural" running store in the next town over, Georgia Game Changers.  It was there that I found Newtons, and I've fallen in love with them! I still get some arch soreness, but it's usually just when I'm undertrained, so I don't blame that on the shoe at all!

2. There are running clothes that are both comfortable and cute! I have thighs.  Big ones.  As much as I love cute little Nike, etc. running shorts, I just can't do them! They ride up and then there's chafing, and no one likes that.  I also live in Georgia, which means pants or capris just aren't an option the majority of the year.  I finally found SparkleSkirts which are long enough, never ride up, and are super cute! They also have really functional pockets.  I never run in anything else now!  The point is - find what works for you.  I thought if I couldn't wear the cute little shorts, I couldn't be cute running, and I was totally wrong about it.

3. You don't have to run every day to train for a race.  There are a lot of people out there that run 6 out of 7 days a week.  That's wonderful for them.  But it doesn't work for me.  I don't have the patience for it, quite frankly.  And I don't need to run that much to race well.  Galloway's plans call for 3-4 days of running a week and that works just fine for me!  It seems to be a theme - you just have to find what works for you, and not feel the need to do what everyone else is doing.

4. Running brings you into a great community.  There are bloggers I follow because of running alone that I've met in real life who are amazing people!  There are huge blog communities online, such as link-ups like this one.  Or on Tumblr.  Or on Facebook.  There are local running groups, or local chapters of national running groups such as RWB.  I definitely haven't taken as much advantage of these groups as I should have because I'm not the most social person, but they are available and definitely something all new runners should look into!

5.  It's ok to be last. It's ok to be slow.  A lot of the blogs I read are super fast runners.  They amaze me every time they post Garmin pictures after a training run, or race results on weekends.  I envy them, and I get jealous of their times.  Sometimes I feel disheartened comparing my times to theirs.  What I've learned over the years, and from doing small races, is that I am slow and sometimes I will come in last.  But also sometimes I'll place in races (and not by default!).  Just because I finish last, or close to it, doesn't mean I'm less of a runner or I ran a lesser race than those who came in first.  I ran my own race and did the best I could!

Running is definitely a great experience, but it's hard to go in to blind.  Well, at least for me.  Some people are natural runners and need barely any gear or help.  But the majority of us need support and help, and hopefully this can help someone!

What are your best tips?
Lauren