Share a little about yourself!
Hi there! My name is Karen and I blog at Just Me & My Running Shoes. I have been married for 5 years to a wonderful and supportive husband (Jason) and we have two amazing puppy dogs – Pixie and Madalynn! I’m a Registered Nurse, certified in Oncology Nursing, and I love to volunteer with the American Cancer Society. I became serious about running in 2009 when I attended the Walt
Disney World Marathon Weekend – I was so inspired by the runners that I decided to complete a Marathon myself! Since then, I’ve fallen in love with running and I can’t stop! I’ve completed two Full Marathons and quite a few Half Marathons – two of those races being with the American Cancer Society’s DetermiNation team. Travelling is a passion – we especially love travelling if Disney is involved! I also love to cook and I love the challenge of a new recipe!
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Oh my goodness I cannot say enough about my first Marathon! I ran my very first Marathon at Walt Disney World in 2011 and I had the time of my life, really. Second to my wedding day, my very first Marathon was one of the best days of my life. I ran the race with a few friends and we had a BLAST! Disney knows how to put on a good race. Overall, my favorite races are the ones that involve Disney - the course entertainment, food along the course, the characters – they know how to do it right! Training for and completing my first Marathon showed me that I CAN do anything I put my mind to! No matter how much negativity comes my way and no matter how much self-doubt I have, in the words of Walt Disney “If I (you) can dream it, I (you) CAN do it”!
How do you like to train for a marathon?
When I first began running, I joined a local running group in my community. My running group includes a wonderful coach who personalizes training plans according to each person’s scheduled race. Along the way, I’ve made several friends in my running group and we run our Saturday long runs together. When training for a marathon, I treat each long run differently according to the weather and how I feel physically. Here in the south, we have a LOT of hot and humid days where it’s not easy to breathe outside – on those days, I run a lot slower. If I’m lucky enough to snag a “perfect weather” day and if I’m feeling good, I go with what my body is telling me. If I feel as if I can push myself, then I do. If I feel like I need to slow down, then I do. I don’t necessarily have a cookie cutter way to training for a marathon, but I do love it!
In order to stay motivated, I have to plan a few races on my calendar for the upcoming season. I love to have something to look forward to. Without that push, I’m not near as motivated to run (like during the summer)!
On your blog it says you have participated in some mud runs. Tell us a little about what those are and your favorite part about them.
So far, I have participated in one mud run with my sister in law. I ran the Winnie Wars 3.5 Mile Mud Run in Winnie, Texas. I enjoyed the race – the obstacles were fun and the amount of mud was just enough to get us dirty! There are talks of running another mud run this fall with a few friends – we’ll see what happens!
Thanks for reading along!
For more from Karen, visit her blog, www.justmeandmyrunningshoes.com, and follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter @kren2700
