my faves

My favorite professional runners that is. I don't know if you know this, but I LOVE the sport of running. I like to follow professional runners. I like watching running more than football, basketball, and any other sport. Thanks to websites like letsrun.com and flotrack.org it's easy to follow the sport, both professional and collegiate (since the sport of running isn't shown on TV that often).

I have 3 favorite runners:  Shalane Flanagan, Ryan Hall, and Lisa Koll.

Shalane Flanagan

Shalane Flanagan ran for UNC-Chapel Hill and went professional in 2004. At the 2008 summer Olympics, she received a bronze medal in the 10,000m and set a new American record in the distance with a time of 30:22.22. She is only the 2nd American woman to receive an Olympic medal in the 10,000m. 2010 was a hot year for her. She won the US half marathon championships in Houstin, TX and set a course record in 1:09:45; she won the US XC Championships; and she finished 2nd in the ING NYC Marathon (her debut marathon) in 2:28:40. She is one fast lady!
 

Ryan Hall

Next, is Ryan Hall. Ryan Hall ran for Stanford University and went professional in 2005. Ryan Hall has many, many professional running achievements. The coolest thing though is that he is currently the fastest American marathoner! His PR for the marathon is 2:06:17. He doesn't hold the American record for the marathon, but he does hold the American record for the half marathon in 59:43. In 2010, he left his coach and he's currently coaching himself! Talk about ballsy for a professional!! That's pretty much unheard of! Also, he is completely open about his Christian faith, and him and his wife (who is also a professional runner) started the Hall Steps Foundation. The Hall Steps Foundation goal is to take small steps to end poverty by raising money toward clean water, fighting human trafficking, and funding a home in a Rescue Center in Kenya! He's fast, he's Christian, and he's fighting poverty one step at a time!!

Lisa Koll

And finally, LISA KOLL!!! Lisa is my favorite favorite. She ran for Iowa State and went professional in 2010. She deferred entry into Veterinary School to go professional. She believes in doing everything 100% and she couldn't do both running and vet school at 100%, something was going to lack effort, so she chose to go professional (Good choice if you ask me). (Also, she's training partners with Shalane now). In her debut professional race, the Bix 7 (a 7 mile race in Iowa), she won!! Her last year at Iowa, she dominated the 5,000m and 10,000m distances on the track. She was the NCAA champion in both events (there's only 4 people who have done that)! I should also mention that she holds the collegiate record for the 10,000m in 31:18.07 (her nearest competition was 30 seconds back when she broke the record)! I've watched her race, I've watched videos of interviews, and she is my favorite professional runner. She is smart, fast, down to earth,and just happy to have the experiences despite her performance in the races (although that makes it better sometimes).

Watching them race and watching interviews with them help keep me motivated in my own training. Call me a running nerd, I don't care, I know I am! I absolutely love the sport and I wish I could do it full-time.

Runners Nipple

I got to do my long run in NC this weekend with my boyfriend and a couple of his running buddies. One of the guys got runners nipple. I thought it would be good to talk about runners nipple because most people don't talk about it.

What is runners nipple? Runners nipple is when the nipple becomes chafed and irritated.

bloody runners nipple

Luckily for me and all my lady runner friends, it's more common in males. Here are some common causes of runners nipple:

• wearing a shirt that's too tight
• wearing a cotton shirt because they soak up sweat, becoming heavy and rubbing against the nipple
• running in the rain

The best way to prevent runners nipple is to wear band-aids on them! Nipples are sensitive, protect them!

Motivation Flip-Flop

After my 14 mile long run on Sunday, my motivation was a total flop. I had tweaked my back somehow. I could barely do 4 miles on Tuesday, my back hurt so bad. Thank goodness I'm an athletic trainer and have access to therapeutic modalities like electrical stimulation and awesome ice bags.

I don't stretch very often, but I was stretching like a crazy woman. I iced my back like 3 times on Tuesday, took some ibuprofen, and took the day off from running on Wednesday.

This morning, I planned to get up in the morning and do an easy run to see how my back felt, but I stayed in bed. I'm really not much of a morning runner. I work from 10am - 7pm most days. If I don't get up in the morning to run, it's dark when I get off work and I usually just end up running on the treadmill at work (I hate the treadmill). My motivation was at an all-time low. I didn't want to run on the treadmill, I didn't want my back to hurt anymore, I just wanted to be able to run and feel good doing it. I'm in week 6 of my training for Boston, and only have 6 more weeks of good training before I taper. And I definitely do not want a set back in my training.

Luckily for me, it was exceptionally warm out today, so when I got off work at 7pm, it was still warm. In fact, the weather felt absolutely perfect. As soon as I got home, I changed to run and headed out to the track at the near by high school. The track doesn't have lights, but the moon was high and the lights from the surrounding buildings were just enough. The track workout is just what I needed.

Talk about a major confidence booster!! I couldn't see my splits after each lap because of the dim light, so all I could see were my final times. With each mile repeat I did, my time got faster! I was busting out times that I hadn't seen since my final college cross country season! I felt good and I felt strong!

I feel so pumped! I was pretty much dreading my long run this week, but now I'm looking forward to it!
It's amazing what one great workout can do for your motivation!

doggy envy

I don't get jealous very easily, but today on my run I got jealous a lot. Why? Because I saw a bunch of people out running with their dogs. I want a dog to run with!

I read this article not too long ago, about a group called "Monster Milers". They go to animal shelters, and check a dog out to go for a run. It's such a great idea! The people get a 4-legged running partner! More importantly, the dogs get exercise, get interaction with people, and become more sociable making them more adoptable.

I'm not allowed to have pets where I live, so this would be a great idea for me! Unfortunately, I don't think there's a group like that where I live, and I also don't even know where any animal shelters are. I wish I could run with a doggy! Maybe one day, I'll start a program like that wherever I live....or I could just get my own dog!

the little things

It's amazing how simple, little things can really make your day. It could be a phone call, a gesture, or even a comment.  Yesterday, 2 people absolutely made my day. It wasn't anything special or all that exciting, but to me it was....I received letters from 2 friends of mine.

I was so excited to get real mail that wasn't a bill or a magazine. The letters they sent made me feel so happy and so special. They were heart-warming, encouraging, and even funny. I talked about the letters to my roommates, my coworkers, and even to some of my athletes. The letters were just what I needed. We all need a little pick-me-up every now-and-then when we're feeling down, and the letters definitely accomplished that. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Whether it be a letter, a comment on my facebook wall, or even helping me fold my laundry (please...anyone?). It's always the little things that warm my heart the most.

I want to challenge you this week to do something for someone else that you think would really make their day. Here are some ideas... a little note/letter/card, a helping hand (maybe the dishes?), a phone call to someone you haven't talked to in a while (maybe your Grandma?), pretty much anything that is unexpected. So get to it, be creative, and I would love to hear about what you did!!