image via Runner’s World My half-marathon is coming up on Saturday, and with a 10-mile run last weekend that went superbly, I’m feeling a lot better about the upcoming race. It had seemed like all of my long runs (just about, anyway) during this bout of training had been uphill battles that I was …
Success is Not Achieved in the Comfort Zone
Human pride is a funny thing, and it’s something that’s come to my attention a lot in my runs— If while I am running, I see someone else running, I tend to speed up. If I was about to walk during my run for whatever reason and I see someone—anyone—in the area around me …
Emotional Running
Last Saturday was a perfect day for running—so perfect, apparently, that the springlike atmosphere and pleasant breeze wafting through my hair caused me to get a bit lost right in the middle of my long run. Let me paint a picture for you– Saturday, 8:30 a.m. Looking at my training schedule and my personal …
8 Things That Surprised Me When I First Started Running
All posters via Runner’s World When I first started really getting into running, I was totally a newbie to the sport–I’d never done track in middle or high school, I’d never enjoyed any time I’d spent on a treadmill, and I’d never run more than 4 miles at a time EVER before I started training for a marathon back …
Is Exercising While Listening to Music Really Better?
Image via The research on listening to music while exercising is a bit confusing if you’ve ever taken the time to wade through it. Even while googling “exercise while listening to music” for an image, I saw multiple posters with sayings like “Listening to music while exercising can increase endurance by 15%” or “Music blocks …
The Top 5 Ways to Spoil Your Run
(semi-unrelated running posters via Runners World) Even though my running commitment (and distances) aren’t quite as stellar as they were over the summer, I’ve still been managing to squeeze in some 2-3 mile runs two to three days a week when I get home from work. During the summer, I always did my runs in …
It’s Not Just About the Weight
Almost three years ago, I got home from serving a mission in El Salvador about 25 pounds heavier than when I’d left the U.S. eighteen months prior. In addition to having to adjust to “normal” life back at home, I was having to adjust to a completely different body shape and size. Since none of …
It’s Been Almost a Year…
Almost a year ago to the day, I ran my first (and maybe last) marathon, which had been on my life’s bucket list forever. Honestly, even though it was something I had wanted to do for as long as I could remember, I never thought I would buckle down and actually do it. Running had never …