Tiny Thunder Running

For those of you that follow me on instagram, you know that I have been faithfully hitting the mat for every day of January. I am not going to lie- it has not always been easy. During the week it was generally easy to get done because I would practice at my lunch break. The weekends got tricky with long runs and other obligations. Most importantly, even when it got hard to, I showed up for myself. With the exception of Day 1, I completed each day on the assigned day and I am so proud of that. Last year I doubled up quite a few times. January 1st I worked all day then we went to visit family and we actually got home after midnight so I decided I would just get a good night's rest then hit it the next day. Each week day I would anxiously await my lunch break from work so that I could hit the mat. I loved that this series had practices that were generally 30 minutes or less. It made it so much easier for me to make the time for it and my brain and body were so grateful. Practic...

This past weekend I got to experience a really fun event hosted by Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run . We met at a park in Lancaster County about 45 minutes away and there were various distances available. We did a goofy warm up/ice breaker where we had to crawl on our hands and feet towards the middle of the circle, high five someone then go backwards to our starting point. Unlucky for us, we had to go backwards up hill.. SO HARD!! From there, we split up into 3, 5 and 7 mile run groups and were off on our merry way. There were some spots that were definitely very challenging, but overall I loved this trail run. They wove us in and out of a few different trails and we had minimal time on the road. Our group somewhat stuck together and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Some highlights were: 1.  The crazy deer stampede that had us all (almost) peeing our pants and fearing for our lives. 2.  Passing through a covered bridge. This may not be too exci...

The weekend before Christmas I did something I have never done before, but definitely hope to do again. I had been asked by a friend to crew and pace her for  Devil Dog Ultras  as she would conquer the 100k race. There was also a 100 mile option that another member of our group (Fred) would set out to destroy. Initially, I wasn't sure I could or should commit an entire weekend to something that wasn't on my initial schedule for 2016. After discussing and thinking more about it, I knew I had to! Bekah is a good friend and I knew I had to be there with and for her.  Emily, Bekah and Fred all ready (and maybe a little nervous) for the hours ahead of them. The early morning crew-ers. Me, Chris and Maegan.  Here we are right before Bekah was getting ready to leave on her journey. Ice and all. So badass. After we saw them all off on their running journeys, the 3 crew members headed back to the hotel for some breakfast and to pack...

I can't let this month slip by without sharing an amazing part of this year's running journey with you. This is not about a personal achievement. Not at all. Although personal tooting of our own horns is often the subject of our blog and/or social media posts, that is not the purpose of this post. Instead, it is a celebration of friendship, same pace camaraderie, and the massive amount of miles it takes to cross the finish line of a marathon. Especially a first marathon. Back in January of this year, the running gods aligned me with three amazing women. We all had similar goals for our spring half marathon races and therefore had similar goals for our workouts at each  Fleet Feet Mechanicsburg  led running class. We all held each other accountable to our goals and paces... just a little obsessively. This is a picture of us all bundled up at that first workout. Little did we know... Long story short we trained together all spring and, in the process gained a grou...

All week, I was looking forward to this weekend. I know they say you shouldn't live for the weekends, but sometimes it's hard not to. I didn't go on a trip or some fancy getaway, I just stayed in my home area and enjoyed some great events/outside time. Friday night after work, I headed over to  Absolute Pilates  for a special "Runner's Night" event hosted at their Mechanicsburg location. There were two 30 minute classes along with some great tips on remaining injury free from  Zang Physical Therapy  and running form type advice from the wonderful Fred at  Fleet Feet Mechanicsburg ,  Funny enough I knew most of the other ladies who showed up from class at Fleet Feet. When I first walked in, I was pretty intimidated by all the equipment! Really though, that's only because I have no idea what they do with it!! I set up time to meet with Andrew Zang prior to the event starting to seek out some possible answers on my annoying returning injury in my le...

Saturday morning I woke up earlier than I do on work days- and happily!! One of my trail runner partner in crimes, stopped by to pick me up shortly before 7 am to make our way to Boiling Springs to meet up with  Appalachian Running Company  for their trail run. I have been trying to make it out to more of these runs while my mileage is lower to keep my "trail legs" as they say. Really glad I have been doing this since my 50k since I have added something to my plans for the end of the year (more on that later). It has been fun to join this group on a few runs and meet some new faces and enjoy a change of pace with the trails and beautiful views. Here's the crew!! We were greeted by some really cool fog on the Children's lake in town and I quickly jogged across the road to get some photos (of course!). Views I don't get to see on my regular day to day. So refreshing and wonderful to soak up the last of the beautiful colors of fall here in ...