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Favorites
Place to run: The Charles River paths, Fresh Pond and the long country roads in my hometown.
Time of Day to run: When ever I can get out
Race: BAA Half Marathon
Pre-Race Meal: Yogurt, banana, and pineapple smoothie
Music to listen to while running: my feet on the pavement & my own inner dialog
Running Shoes: Brooks & Avia's (but I'm thinking about trying some vibram five fingers)
Running Background
I ran track in high school, but really picked up running after college as a way to shed a few pounds and get back in shape. I ran a 5K road race with my family and loved it. One finishers medal around my neck and I was hooked. I signed up for more races, increased my mileage and started running with the Boston LUNA Chix. Five years later, I've completed 2 Boston Marathons and 8 half marathons. I love the camaraderie of running with a group and the quiet meditation that comes with a long solo run.
Favorites
Place to run: City streets in downtown Boston and on the paths along the Charles River.
Time of Day to run: The middle of the day
Race: Hyannis Marathon as part of a relay team and the Maine Coast Half Marathon
Pre-Race Meal: Cereal when I get up and some sort of power food (Luna moons or Gu) an hour before the race
Music to listen to while running: I have a pretty random mix on my ipod- TIm McGraw, 50 Cent, Aretha Franklin, and Tool, but I prefer to run with friends and listen to them telling me about their crazy adventures.
Running Shoes: Brooks Addiction
Running Background
I often joked that I didn't like running unless I was chasing a
soccer ball, but the truth is that I've been a runner my whole
life. As a kid I was always running around the orchards
behind my house or racing the boys at recess (I usually won!)
In high school I did cross country and track to keep in shape
for soccer. In college, I would run on occasion and started
playing rugby as a way to stay in shape and relieve tension.
Since college, I've played soccer on and off, but have
enjoyed running more and more. I no longer feel I need to be
chasing something or having someone chase me to motivate
me to run (though it still helps to chase someone in a race).
I still enjoy being in a team environment and that led me to
the LUNA Chix. I started running with them on the Wednesday
night runs and meeting up with them at some of their
sponsored races (Iron Girl, Tufts 10K) and joined the team in
February 2008.
In the LUNA Chix, I've found a great community of women who
enjoy being outside and pushing themselves to be better
athletes without being competitive. And there's always
someone for me to chase when I need the extra motivation!
Favorites
Place to run: Various routes around my neighborhood in Belmont, Waltham, and Watertown. I like Watertown the best because of rewarding views of downtown.
Time of Day to run: Early in the morning when fresh snow is falling and it is still quiet outside.
Race: Marathon #2... one day
Pre-Race Meal: Food
Music to listen to while running: The sounds around me
Running Shoes: Brooks Ariel
Running Background
I had a blast running track in high school- it was nice that my school mascot is a greyhound!
I have run casually over the years, but did not get into road races until I moved to Boston and a friend from work encouraged me to do so.
I love the individuality and low-equipment needs of running, and also the fact that you can do it with others for camaraderie and encouragement.
Favorites
Place to run: Charles River, Castle Island
Time of Day to run: Weekend mornings. There's nothing quite like a long run on a sunday morning around Boston
Race: Walt Disney World Marathon
Pre-Race Meal: Bagel & Cream Cheese, banana, orange juice
Music to listen to while running: Everything and anything!
Running Shoes: Brooks Ghost
Running Background
I ran track in high school running anything from the 100M - 1000M. I loved the shorter races but never dreamed I would run more than a few miles!
In college I participated in a variety of intramural sports and enjoyed running around Boston. A friend approached me my senior year about running the Boston Marathon for charity. After watching the Boston Marathon for the previous 4 years, I thought why not - I love watching this race - maybe I should try a longer distance. I had so much fun during my first marathon that 9 months later I found myself running another one - Walt Disney World Marathon.
I joined the weekly LUNA runs as a way to stay in shape after the Boston Marathon and found myself surrounded by an amazingly supportive and fun loving group of runners! It's because of thier support and love of running that I've found myself signed up for another marathon in October!
Favorites
Place to run: I choose the place to run based on training theme. Minuteman Bikeway for endurance runs, Charles River for lactate threshold runs, and Somerville for hill runs.
Time of Day to run: I prefer doing my training runs early in the morning when the growth hormones are actively produced.
Race: I raced Marathon Sports City Run, Tufts 10K Race, Bay State Marathon, Hyannis Half Marathon, and Boston Marathon
Pre-Race Meal: I drink coffee as soon as I get up and have a big breakfast meal 2hr before the race which includes pancakes, egg and cheese, milk, and juice.
Music to listen to while running: I train to run without music. I like listening to my heart beat, breathing, and strides. It keeps me present during my run.
Running Shoes: I had my loyal and friendly Nike Pegasus +25 for a few years which endured through most of my races. I'm training on Saucony ProGrid Echelon for Boston Marathon 2010.
Running Background:
I've been running on and off up until the June of 2009 when I officially started training with my running coach. With disciplined and fun training, we successfully went through physical adaptation period and base training that involved strength, endurance, and lactate threshold runs 6 days a week to prepare for the races.
Every race I entered had a new lesson came along with it and I realized the more I get to explore the more I fell in love with running. And now running has become part of my life. Running is the way I am and the way I live.
My coach and I have a motto that became a principle of our training and that's "We train as we race and we race as we train." This kept me present during the training runs and helped me concentrate on my form, pace, breathing, and goal of my running. The training process totally got me hooked because I'm not only running for fun, but also observing myself grow as an athlete.
As I'm inspired by my coach, I want to eventually pass along my enthusiasm and experience to new runners as a running coach.
Favorites
Place to run: On the Esplanade - nothing beats it on a beautiful day
Time of Day to run: First thing in the morning.. well, when I can get myself out of bed
Race: Harpoon 5 miler
Pre-Race Meal: Whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter
Music to listen to while running: Can't go wrong with Britney Spears! Or the Glee soundtrack
Running Shoes: Brook's Addiction and Ariel
Running BackgroundI grew up playing sports - soccer, tennis, basketball, swimming - but never ran until after I had ACL reconstructive surgery the summer before my senior year of college. I started slow, and short and am now training for my fourth half marathon!
Favorites
Place to run: Esplanade, the Fells, Coast Guard Beach-- near water.
Time of Day to run: Love to run in the morning.
Race: I haven't done many, but Reach the Beach is my favorite so far.
Pre-Race Meal: Fruit and LUNA bar!
Music to listen to while running: Getting used to NO music, crazy! Never thought it would happen.
Running Shoes: New Balance 859
Running Background
I have been a swimmer and kayaker most of my life, so running is very new. I started on a treadmill in college a year ago and as of August 2008, I've worked up the courage to run outside and even complete a few races. So far, it's been 2 5ks, 2 10k... and Reach the Beach. They have all been fun but the best is finding races out of the city in a beautiful location!
Favorites
Place to run: Around the Charles or Jamaica Pond -those little runner/biker hide-aways from the crazy city traffic.
Time of Day to run: Mid-afternoon is ideal however I really do not get to run then during the week so I run in the evening.
Race: Reach the Beach Relay
Pre-Race Meal: a bagel
Music to listen to while running: I usually listen to an eclectic mix-sometimes a radio station. I like being surprised by what song is next.
Running Shoes: Nike Pegasus
Running Background
Since high school I have been a big fan of track and field and running events. I managed the track teams in high school, and volunteered with the BAA half-marathon and Boston Marathon a few times. However, I only started running on a regular basis in college, and did not run in my first race (a 5k) until fall 2004.
In 2006, I began training to complete a longer distance run. The weekly LUNA Chix runs were a great motivating factor and the support of the women who run with the group really propelled me throughout the year.
I ran my first 10k in July 2006, the Ryka Iron Girl in Quincy, MA, and completed my first half-marathon in October with the BAA event. The latter was a huge accomplishment for me after volunteering with the event for several years (and always saying: Maybe next year I will run it).
Since 2006, I have been taking part in one of me favorite races: the Reach the Beach Relay, a 200-plus mile relay race across New Hampshire in September. The 2007 Marine Corp Marathon was my first marathon; I completed my goal of just finishing the race! (walking was included.) In 2008, I ran the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco, and have completed many other races in the past few years - from 5K to half marathons to a 1-mile charity Speedo run through Boston in December!
Favorites
Place to run: Lakefront path (Chicago), Boulder Creek path (CO), Jamaica Pond, Charles River
Time of Day to run: Right before lunch
Race: Boston Marathon
Pre-Race Meal: Bagel with cream cheese
Music to listen to while running: Dance music
Running Shoes: Asics
Running Background
After getting cut from my high school lacrosse team, I joined track primarily because my best friend told me that running would be fun. Although I did not find it to be as much fun as she did and often complained at our after-school practices, I soon discovered that running was a great way to stay in shape.
Still, I could not understand why anybody would want to run more than a few miles at a time. It was only during college one summer, when two close friends began training for the Chicago marathon, that I became truly hooked on running.
I started to run 10ks, followed by my first half marathon in 1996, and for a few years I thought that was far enough. However, after moving to Boulder, CO for graduate school, I decided that I wanted to run a marathon. In June of 1999, I ran the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon, followed by the Chicago marathon that fall, the Boston marathon in 2000, and the Hawaii Kona marathon in 2001.
Then I took a break from marathons and stuck with shorter races while I finished up graduate school. However, once I moved to Boston in August 2005, I started doing more races and long runs with the LUNA Chix. I've gotten back into running marathons, and also have an interest in triathlons.
Favorites
Place to run: Harvard campus, around the Charles, the Cambridge bike path
Time of Day to run: Late morning
Race: 5Ks
Pre-Race Meal: Mini bagel w/ peanut butter and a banana or yogurt
Music to listen to while running: I usually do not run listening to music, but when I do it's to pop/dance music like Rihanna
Running Shoes: Mizuno Wave Rider
Running Background
A few years ago I started going for runs a couple times a week to start doing something other than just going to the gym. I played soccer in high school, which involves a lot of running, so it was something I always liked doing. My first race was a 5k a few years ago, and I continued running short distances since then.
Then my friend Alex, already a member of the LUNA Chix, encouraged me to try running distances longer than 2 or 3 miles. She also encouraged me to try my first half-marathon, and in March 2007, I successfully ran the Boston Run to Remember. During my training for that race, I learned there is a lot more to running than just putting on a pair of sneakers and hitting the pavement - running makes you more health-conscious and mentally strong, and it motivates you to reach for new challenges. I know now that running is something that I want to continue to make part of my life. I am excited to have the support of the LUNA Chix team to help me become an all-around better runner, and more importantly, to share the joy of the sport.
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