10 Running Questions Answered

I saw this post with 10 running questions over on Food & Fun on the Run last week and thought it was a lot of fun to read her answers, so I decided to follow suit and post my own version.

1. Best Run Ever: The Fargo Marathon, hands down.  I was running in my home state, the weather was perfect, crowd support was amazing, and I somehow managed to qualify for Boston with a time that was faster than I thought I would ever be able to run.  The best part, however, was being able to share the experience with my parents, my sister Miranda, and three of my lifelong girlfriends.  The fact that all of these people whom I love were willing to travel from out of town to watch me run a marathon, which is not exactly the most spectator friendly sport, meant the world to me and made that moment so much more special.
2. 3 Words That Describe Your Running:  Therapeutic. I saw this post on Facebook the other day, and it really resonated with me. I can’t even begin to count how many frustrations, disappointments, and conflicts I have left behind on the pavement.Sweaty. I sweat…..a whole lot. But, as I learned on one of my Ragnar relays, “It’s not sweat, it’s liquid awesome!”  Gratitude-filled. Not sure if that counts as only one word or not, but I’m running (ha!) with it anyway. Running has helped me transform my body, it has given me an outlet for my stress, and it has connected me with people I never otherwise would have met and become friends with. Running has truly been a gift in my life, and I try to remind myself of that every time I run.
3. Go-To Running Outfit:  I generally just grab any clean pair of shorts and a tank top from my giant pile of workout clothes, but my Brooks PureConnects, my Spibelt, my Garmin, my iPod, and my water bottle are never left behind.
4. Quirky Habit When Running:  I do a lot of math while I’m running – How much can I slow down and still meet my goal pace?  If I was running a half marathon at this pace, what would be my finish time?  It’s 7:25 right now, I have 8 miles to go, I’m running at an 8:10 pace…..what time will I be eating breakfast??
5. Morning, Midday, or Evening:  Morning, all the way. I love starting my day with a workout, I know exactly what works for me nutrition-wise, and watching the sun rise over the bay never gets old.
6. I Won’t Run Outside When…..it’s too hot, humid, and sunny. I wilt in the heat, and I hate it. I will gladly wake up at 4:30 AM to get my run in before the heat gets unbearable. 
7. Worst Injury and How You Got Over It: I had a small tear in my left meniscus about two and a half years ago. Luckily, it didn’t require surgery, so I got a cortisone shot, took 8 weeks off completely from running, and went to physical therapy. It was a long 8 weeks, but I was fortunate enough to have trainers who customized a workout plan that allowed me to maintain my cardiovascular endurance and force me to obey the doctor’s orders so that I didn’t injure myself further.
8. I Felt Like the Most Badass Mother Runner When I was running my second leg of the Florida Keys Ragnar in 2011.  It was about 9 miles in the dark on a canal trail. Runners had very specific instructions to stay away from the water and not discard anything that would attract the wildlife (wildlife = gators). One of my teammates was engaged to a Ragnar staff member who had texted her pictures of the alligators sunning themselves on the trail earlier in the day, so I knew that the warnings were serious. It was easily the scariest run of my life, but I felt invincible when it was over.
9. My Next Race Is next Sunday!! I’m running the Women Run the Cities 10 Miler in Minneapolis, MN, and I was able to convince one of my sisters and two of my girlfriends to run the 5k. I’m so excited to share the race experience with them!
10. Running Goals for 2013: I’ve still got a 10 miler, a 15k, a half marathon, and a full marathon in 2012 to focus on. My main goal for 2013 is to train properly to allow me to truly enjoy running the Boston Marathon. While I hope that there will be many more Boston experiences in my future, there’s no guarantee that I will make it back again, so I want to soak up every second of the race in 2013.