When was the last time you paused and took a moment to think about how far you’ve come and where you are in your life?
For the first time, I’m participating in the Grow Your Blog Hop hosted by Kristy of Runaway Bridal Planner. If you’re a fitness or healthy living blogger, it’s a great way to discover new blogs in your niche!
If you’re a brand new visitor to Run With No Regrets, hello, and welcome! I thought now would be a great opportunity to re-introduce myself and give a little more insight to my current readers of who I am and why I Run With No Regrets!
Allow me to reintroduce myself... #runchat Click To TweetIn the My Journey section of the blog, I give a brief overview of who I am, but I’d like to go a little deeper.
I’m a young engineering professional who was born and raised in Buffalo, New York and has lived in Philadelphia for over 10 years now. When I grew up, I loved running…short distances! I remember racing my friends and sister down the street. I loved being fast…it was fun.
Eventually in high school I joined the track team for a year, but I HATED it! I only did one event – the 4 x 400m, and I enjoyed it but wasn’t really motivated or coached to push myself. After that fiasco, I didn’t run again for 8 years.
Finally, I was encouraged to train for the Broad Street Run, the ultimate 10-mile race in Philly. I found a training plan, headed to the gym, and ran on the treadmill, going from a 12-minute pace to a 10-minute pace. I fell in love with running in the process, and the rest is history!
Today, I’m not a 10 minute/mile runner…I’m more in the 11-minute range. In the past 4 years, I’ve had several setbacks on my journey – runner’s knee, a stress fracture, and plantar fasciitis. Thankfully, I’m healthy now and have had some great experiences with my races over the past year a half, thanks to my running coach Kristy Campbell!
Run With No Regrets is my personal running philosophy that I always keep in the back of my mind. Around the time that I was trying to find a name for the blog, I was out on a run, really pushing myself. What did I say to myself with labored breath as I pushed myself to keep going? “No regrets!”. Eureka!
Since starting the blog in July 2013, I’ve gone through a lot, and the blog has evolved from a personal journal about dropping a few pounds and getting back to running after my stress fracture injury, to becoming a place to talk about running with some wonderful people! It really feels like a community and I’m grateful to everyone who is a part of it!
It’s been a really motivating experience to see myself grow over time, and to share my triumphs and failures with others who can relate. Running is hard, guys! I really hope that somehow, my blog can help encourage others to challenge themselves in new ways, whether it’s running, trying a new sport (softball!), or getting out of your comfort zone (the Running Club Roundup!)
Run With No Regrets is a running blog first and foremost, so all of my fitness activities revolve around running. Right now I’m training for the Annapolis Classic Half Marathon, a new race for me. A couple of weeks ago, I did my first Tough Mudder. It really has been an adventure!
I’m fortunate that Philly has such a strong community around running and fitness. To be able to go to events like the Be Well Philly Boot Camp and the City Fit Girls Fit Retreat is such a blessing – I’ve discovered that working out really is one of my passions because I love the way it makes me feel. It just makes you want to get stronger and constantly challenged!
Right now I’m running 4 days a week with 2 easy runs, a speedy run, and a long run. That has been going really well and I think I’m finally starting to get faster! In between, I try to do core work and strength training twice a week, but I’m always looking for more ways to squeeze in fitness and work on my weak spots!
I love writing race recaps! This year, I’ve been fortunate to run a lot of great races, and I still have a few left for the year to finish out the fall. Racing is the big test where you get to see all of your hard work training pay off. As a runner, there are so many criteria that can make a good race even better, so I like to share my experiences and recommend races that are fun, organized, and full of great value.
I’m hoping that I can continue to run more races outside of Philadelphia and go to NYC, DC, and beyond the East coast! Racecation, anyone?
When I started seeing a dietitian a little over 2 years ago, I was inspired to finally get in the kitchen and make real food that requires more effort than pasta and broccoli every night….seriously. In the process, I’ve realized that I love cooking! I just started getting back into meal planning, so it’s a great way to ensure that I’m eating well. There’s so much creativity out there, so I’m hooked on Pinterest and collecting recipes from food and healthy living bloggers to try.
I can’t wait to move into a home with a bigger kitchen so I can buy all the gadgets and really get cooking!
I hope you enjoyed this introduction to me and Run With No Regrets, and if you’re new, I’d love if you would stick around and check out some really fun and useful posts about running from the blog. Here are just a few of my recent favorites:
If you’re interested in being part of the Run With No Regrets community, please sign up for my newsletter! I have huge goals in the next few months for some big things that will help you with your running, so if you sign up, you’ll be the first on the list!
Have you looked back at your journey of health and fitness lately?