GOTR

This week I started my first week as a coach for the Girls on the Run chapter closest to Clemson, located at the Anderson YMCA. If you're not familiar with Girls on the Run, straight from their website......

"Girls on the Run is a life-changing, experiential learning programs for girls age eight to thirteen years old. The programs combine training for a 3.1 mile running event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts. The goals of the programs are to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development. The objective of Girls on the Run is to educate and empower girls at an early age in order to prevent the display of at-risk activities in the future. At risk activities include substance/alcohol use, eating disorders, early onset of sexual activity, sedentary lifestyle, depression, suicide attempts and confrontations with the juvenile justice system."

It is my dream to someday work for Girls on the Run in the program development area! This week's lesson was right up my alley (ie. healthy eating!) I loved listening to the girls creative answers to trivia questions about the different food groups, what gives us energy, and what makes us powerful girls. 

One of our questions this week was "What is the doctor recommended running distance that girls our age (8-13) could train for?" As the program suggests, the recommended distance is 3 miles. One of the girls, when learning this answer, scoffed at this and said, 

"Well we can all run 3 miles, that's easy!" 

Her confidence was inspiring. 

Not only was she confident, but she was empowered by her ability to run. 

After one day spent with the girls in Anderson I fully believe in the positive effects that running can have on a young girl's self-confidence and optimism. I am incredibly excited to continue with these girls throughout the 'season' and watch each and every one of them recognize the power that they can achieve through running.

bitch to bacon, year two.

two weeks ago kayla reeves made the trek to the maineland while i ran the old port half marathon. this weekend we made the trip again to participate in the td bank beacon to beach 10k road race. the race allows over 6,000 entrants and minutes after registration opens all the spot are filled. kayla and i were lucky enough to get two spots during those critical moments and it was the first race we ran together since my very first 5k, the clark university 2nd annual green run.

for being one of the most prestigious races in maine, i can't say that this years bitch to bacon was as enjoyable as last year, but despite the heat/humidity and our relaxed attitude, it was a wonderful way to spend my last weekend in maine. its amazing how quickly i've fallen back into the pattern of seeing kayla almost every day and i'm surely dreading saying "see you later" next week, knowing that later will be much longer than a few days.

old port half marathon, in review

march 2nd, 2010 i wrote my first blog post, just three months after my second acl reconstruction, i wrote "today i started training for my first half-marathon." now, almost a year and a half later i can successfully say that my training is over, and i can finally cross that first half-marathon off the list.

in true fashion, i suppose i will start out with my thank yous. i am forever gratefully for my ever-growing cheering squad. i was lucky enough to have three of the most important my people in my life bouncing around the race course, cheering me on throughout the thirteen miles. i am not quite sure my parents fully understand how much it meant to me to see them there at miles one, three, four, four and half, six, eleven and the finish. and of course, papa schutte repping his steps foundation t-shirt was enough to make me blink back the tears when i first spotted them out of the starting line. along with my parents, having kayla reeves along the course was all the motivation i needed to keep my legs moving. although i could have done without the vomit comment at mile eleven, she has constantly been a source of motivation, inspiration and consolation since day one. i can confidently say that without her, i would have given up a long time ago.

the quote at the top of this page states that "if you run, you are a runner. it doesn't matter how fast or how far. it doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. there is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. you just run." i also believe this applies to the running community. runners accept and encourage each other regardless, which is why i am so thankful to have met another inspirational runner at acs. elise has been a constant supporter and partner as we simultaneously trained for our first half marathons. although she was not along the race course, her support during the weeks leading up to race day was comparable and i am unbelievably excited for her to experience her first half on august 7th.

the prizes of this weekend include much more than my finishers medal, t-shirt, or pint glass. i have forever joined the 13.1 club and proved to myself that i am capable of things that i, and many others, never thought possible. i tried to look at my second acl tear as a set back, knowing that a set back is only a set up for a comeback. i think it is safe to say that i have made my comeback and i have savored every mile.

this certainly isn't over, there will always be more roads to discover and new races to run.

mind over matter

as i fully expected, yesterdays long run through the backwoods of central maine was just what i needed to boost my confidence for next weekend's race. it still amazes me that in ten miles i was able to cross three towns, seven wild chickens, eight different people that i know, and four red pick-up trucks (including one spotted from the i-95 overpass) i've never run ten miles before. during my training for twin-lights the longest run i completed was eight, so even yesterday i was doubtful about my ability to run as far as i did.

yesterday convinced me that mind over matter is really most important and that by staying positive this week only good things will be in store for me on sunday.

summer in the city

and here it is, my long overdue blog post. seeing how my last post was following boston marathon weekend it is probably time for an update?

where to start... I didn't register in time for the twin lights half marathon in order to secure a t-shirt, so I never registered at all and that plan fell by the wayside. It wasn't a horrible decision because kayla's graduation weekend was hectic enough without attempting to run my very first half as well.

summer is more than halfway over now and the majority of it has been spent in my somerville, ma apartment with the lovely paige begley, hostessing at the russell house tavern in harvard square, and working as an intern on the making strides against breast cancer walk of boston put on by the american cancer society. between the irregular schedules and sometimes late nights at russell house I haven't always been able to get in the best quality runs, but when I do I am often dodging cars and waiting for stoplights. more often than not it is during my runs that I find myself missing home the most.

living just across the charles from historic boston makes it hard not to imagine myself running boston someday (see previous post), but before boston must come a half marathon..and none other than the old port half marathon next sunday! I am beyond both nervous and excited to run my first half in one of my favorite places in maine, and I registered in time to receive the t-shirt which is always an added bonus. kayla reeves will be making the trek to the maine-lands to watch and I know that having her there will only mean positive things, as well as a guarantee of finish-line tears. I have a fresh playlist lined up for next week, a new pair of sneakers in an attempt to alleviate my recent knee pains...all that's left is my daunting 10-mile training run tonight and then a week of mid-distance runs before race day on sunday!

I am happy to be home this weekend for my last long run and I'm confident that running some of my favorite routes will give me the final inspiration and confidence I need to be prepared for next weekend.

Boston Marathon Weekend Wrap up

Yesterday was the 115th running of the Boston Marathon! I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to fly to Boston last Thursday and spend the weekend with some of my favorite people, bouncing around in and around Boston until flying back to Clemson this morning (and by opportunity, I mean the weeks that I spent hating my life at MGTA this summer provided the funds for my airfare). Although I left Clark for greener pastures, it's still nice to go back and see Kayla Reeves and the rest of the dirty woo that still remains!

As I spent the weekend focused around all things running, it was hard not to imagine myself out there one day. On Marathon Monday as I rode the t (boston subway system for all you non-new-englanders) many people asked me if I had just run, and the more people that asked me, the more I wanted to say yes! I started telling people that running Boston sure is on my bucket list, but when I run it I want to know that I'm training correctly by getting enough sleep and eating well, two thing that aren't always priorities in college. Yesterday and today, I kept telling people that once I finish my undergrad I plan to run Boston. Although logical, I'm not really quite sure where this plan came from. I'm going to go ahead and blame it on the extensive quantities of coffee I consumed combined with the lack of sleep.

Speaking of training smart...that half marathon? I was doing really well, got up to my 8-mile long run, then on a shorter run I had an incident with some pre-run peanut butter cups that lead to my downfall in the form of yuking on the outer parts of Perimeter Road. This weekend, although inspiring, exhausting, and much needed, only allowed for one run, meaning that my training has continued spiraling downward and my long run must occur tomorrow if at all this week. I am going to keep going with my training, but as I haven't officially signed up for Twin Lights (and I missed the t-shirt deadline....) the option to choose a different half is still very much a possibility.


I'm hoping the inspirations from this weekend will be enough to carry me through the next twenty-seven days as I push forward in attempts of completing Twin Lights. The spirit of Boston is contagious and I'm still amazed by the tremendous things that were accomplished in 26.2 miles by runners of all shapes and sizes yesterday. As we did last year, Kayla and I volunteered for the Hall Steps Foundation (Ryan Hall's foundation!) at the expo events, and were actually able to hang out with Ryan for a quick minute! (see above!) The Hall Steps Foundation isn't the only non-profit that runners can choose to support in their running endeavors, there are probably too many charities that were represented yesterday, but I admire each and every runner that dedicates their steps to help others. Yesterday over 27,000 runners raised money for charities, over came personal battles, broke records (impressive records too!) and made a difference during their journey from Hopkinton to Copley Square.

Someday, I can't wait to be one of them.

snails pace

not-so-good-things about today's run
-it was still hot and humid at 5pm
-i found myself face to face with a potentially rabid raccoon
-i accidentally took the last two days off, aka today's run kicked my ass

i don't think i've ever run slower in my entire life

good-things about today's run