Runner Sunday

 Happy post-Thanksgiving Sunday! Temperatures sure made a 180 here, as it was in the upper 70s with about 1000% humidity, and this weekend it has been in the 50s and raining. I’m not complaining, though, as I much prefer the cold to hot when it comes to running. And speaking of, here’s a little running survey to get your Sunday morning started.

National Running Day 2015

New Years Day Run 2015

Best Run Ever

I’m going to have to say the first half marathon I ever ran – in Austin, Texas my freshman year of college. It was that race, that I signed up for on a whim, that I went into with minimal amounts of training, that made me fall in love with running. And has kept me running ever since.

Three Words that Describe My Running

Calm, focused, and energetic. Do calm and energetic cancel one another out? Oh well!

My Go-To Running Outfit

Typically I wear shorts and a short-sleeve dri-fit shirt. If it’s chilly outside, I’ll usually throw on a Nike dri-fit jacket, but it’s rare that you’ll find me running in leggings. I get really hot, really fast, so I tend to shy away from them, opting to suck it up and be cold for those first couple of miles. I always make sure that I have a pair of my favorite Lululemon socks clean, my Garmin fully charged, and a Lululemon headband that goes with my outfit. Look good, run good, right?

Quirky Habit While Running

Hmm, I don't know! I'm sure I have a lot of them, but when I'm running in my neighborhood, especially at night, I often belt out the song that is playing on my Spotify. I've been embarrassed once or twice when I happen upon innocent neighbors that are outside walking. Good thing I can just speed on by!

Morning, Mid-day, or Evening

Any time! I love the feeling that comes with conquering a long run early in the morning, but lately I’ve been rocking the evening runs. Sure, it’s dark, and my risk of injury goes up, but there’s something about ending the day with a run. It allows me to think about all of the days’ events.

My headlamp keeps me safe when I'm running at night

I Won’t Run Outside When It’s

I would say when it’s snowing, but we don’t get snow here. Maybe when it’s icy? I can’t say that I won’t run when it’s upward of 100 degrees, because here in Texas, that happens on the reg. I tend to shy away from running when the humidity level is really high, but even humidity-filled runs are better than running on a treadmill.

Worst Injury – And How I Got Over It

Definitely the shin splints. And I’m not necessarily “over it,” rather, I’ve just been taking better care of myself. Earlier this year, in February, to be exact, I was in so much pain that I made myself a doctor’s appointment. That’s when you know it’s bad. But even walking up the stairs at school was causing me problems, so I knew something had to be done. I was so scared that I was going to hear the words “stress fracture” that I took nearly three weeks off of running. And I’ve limited myself to running only three times a week. They still give me trouble from time-to-time, but even my 15.5-miler didn’t cause me any pain. Success!

KT Tape helps too

I Felt Most Like a Badass Mother Runner When

Man, anytime I finish a race I feel pretty good about myself. Running is never easy for me, and I think I feel the best when I conquer an especially challenging run. When two miles in, I want to start walking, but I push myself to finish the entire run. The 2015 Austin Half Marathon is one race that comes to mind, because I have never thought harder about quitting that race before crossing the finish line. I felt horrible, was dehydrated and overheated, but I slowed my pace and finished the race, on terms that worked for me.

This one felt pretty good, too

Potential Running Goal for 2016

Cross the finish line of the Chevron Houston Marathon. When I was 13, and typing up a bucket list, I never would have dreamed that I would (hopefully) be crossing this item off my list at age 23. I absolutely hated running, and sometimes I'm still shocked that I love it as much as I do.

For my next marathon

Next Race Is

Fort Bend KIA 30K (18.6 miles, for those of not on the metric system) on December 13^th. My longest distance to date. Eek!

                                                                                                                                                                         

I promise that I’m going to be better about posting. Writing brings me so much joy, and things are about to slow down big time around here. Well, not really, but with the Christmas holidays on the horizon, I can tell myself that. I hope you enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving holiday - tomorrow means we all go back to reality. But I'll go back to reality with a full heart (and stomach). And the fact that there's only three weeks to Christmas break. YEAH.