Cinderella's Caste

Cinderella's Caste

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Wednesday's Weekly Wrap-up (June 19-25)

(With my wrap-up posts I try to update each Wednesday about my week in review. I include pictures posted during the week from my Instagram @lilrunner1485 as well. Why Wednesday instead of Saturday or Sunday? Well, it just works better for me on this schedule. So, Hump Day it is!)

Hello friends! Hope you all are having a good week so far. We’ve already made it to Hump Day, which means the weekend fun is just around the corner! This past week was busy as usual followed by a pretty great weekend.

Immediately after work last Friday I planned to get a quick run in and then change in the car before heading to Huntington with the husband. Sometimes I wonder if West Virginia has been channeling its inner-Florida as of late with these random torrential downpours that occur for a few minutes followed by bright and sunny skies. I say this because my weather app indicated no change of storming/rain prior to my run Friday. While the sky did look a little overcast, I brushed it off thinking “well, it might sprinkle a little, but it should be ok.” Just in case, I grabbed my little running belt pack, aka my running fanny pack lol, and stuck my phone in there. As a precaution I put it in a sock since I didn’t have a plastic bag. Crafty! Well, I got about 400 meters into my run when the sky pretty much fell out unleashing basically a monsoon on me. I panicked because of my precious iPhone 5S, which was in just a regular case (not a protective one). I turned around and sprinted back to the car already soaking wet and my phone thankfully escaped this incident unscathed. I ended up finishing my run without my phone by doing laps at the park (boring yawn). The good news is that the rain shower distracted me from how hot it was! Always look for the silver lining folks!
WV 5K Fun!

After my shower, I mean run, we were on our way to Huntington to pick up our race bibs and swag for the West Virginia 5K Championship. We explored the race expo and then decided to have a quick dinner date at Olive Garden. I love Olive Garden salad and breadsticks. What I don’t love is them continually changing their menu as of late. They recently took my favorite dish off the menu and now the husband’s favorite is gone as well. For shame, Olive Garden, for shame. Don’t you just hate when restaurants take away your go-to order? First world problems indeed! It was still a great meal and a fun evening out. Saturday we woke up entirely too early for a non-work day for the race. You can read my full West Virginia 5K Race Recap here. Other than me badly rolling my ankle, which made the race itself not so great, it was a fun morning.

Blonder hair for summer plus a new
Run Disney Mickey for my desk! 
We continued our weekend fun by sticking around Huntington after the 5K to get some things done. We had a quick breakfast at Starbucks (my favorite!) before heading our separate ways for the rest of the morning. I had a much needed hair appointment for a color and a trim. I love getting some hair TLC and I always feel fresh and renewed after a color touch up. It takes a while, but getting my hair done is super relaxing. It’s nice to be pampered! For the summer season my hair stylist made my hair a bit blonder, which I really like. It felt nice to get my layers and bangs trimmed as well. Bangs that have grown to be too long are one of the most annoying things. I’m sure many ladies can attest to that! After my much-needed girly time, I met back up with the husband at the mall. We had planned to get in some shopping but he was completely exhausted and I was having trouble walking thanks to my ankle snafu, so I only made a quick stop at Macy’s to get some makeup. Before we left Huntington we decided to have a late lunch at Chipotle, which recently opened in town. The husband had never experienced Chipotle awesomeness before and I was happy to introduce him to it! I absolutely love Chipotle! It was a really fun lunch date to close out a great day. The rest of our Saturday was spent icing my ankle, napping and being couch potatoes!

Now for a quick RWRunStreak update: Tuesday marked Day 30 of the RWRunStreak Summer Challenge! Fellow streakers, we are now in the HOME STRETCH! We’ve got this! I am very pleased to report that my ankle is feeling much better since Saturday’s 5K. It’s not at 100 percent yet, but with the help of an ice regimen and KT Tape I’ve been able to continue running to keep my streak alive! More importantly, thus far it’s feeling better with each day. Hopefully I continue to stay on the mend!
KT Tape is helping keep my RWRunStreak alive! Winston has also deemed himself my bodyguard since he knows I haven't been 100 percent with my ankle snafu lol! 
What’s on tap for the rest of the week? Friday I will be volunteering for Habitat for Humanity! I volunteered with Habitat this past November and as cheesy as it sounds, it was a very fulfilling experience! I look forward to helping such a great cause again. We are still kicking around our weekend plans, but hopefully we will do something fun! I hope everyone has a wonderful, enjoyable rest of the week!

Monday, June 23, 2014

Race Recap: West Virginia 5K Championship

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! One of the major highlights this weekend for me was the West Virginia 5K Championship, which was held Saturday in Huntington. This 5K coincides with the state’s birthday, which was the day before the race on Friday. I’ve never seen other states so passionate about their state’s day of birth, and this is one of the many reasons why I am so proud to be a born and raised West Virginia gal! All day on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram I saw numerous posts from many people regarding West Virginia day! Yes, that’s right world, West Virginia is its own state and has been since 1863. We are NOT, I repeat NOT part of Virginia. You wouldn’t believe how many people I meet that don’t know West Virginia is a state. It’s truly appalling.
WORD!
Hello, basic geography anyone?! Well, now that I’ve got that little rambling rant in, I will continue to talk about the race itself!

The West Virginia 5K Championship is an event that promotes fitness and an overall healthy lifestyle. West Virginia is usually sited as an “unhealthy state,” and Huntington, specifically, was deemed one of the most “unhealthy cities” a few years ago. This race in particular is an effort to change that unfortunate stigma by welcoming runners and walkers of all fitness levels to participate. Proceeds from the race are donated to the United Way River Cities and used to help fight childhood obesity. Anything that encourages fitness as well as works to turn a negative statistic into a positive one is great to me. This was my second year running this race with the husband. Things didn’t exactly go as planned this year race-wise, but that’s life. We must take the setbacks, accept the challenges and work to overcome them!

On Friday we picked up our race packets and checked out the expo. Normally for races that aren’t Run Disney I wait until the morning of to get my race gear, but since we don’t live in Huntington, I didn’t want to wake up any earlier than I had to Saturday. Not to mention, they were giving away WV 5K 2014 pint glasses to the first 500 participants to pick up their race stuff. Well, obviously I love me some race swag and especially LOVE my WV 5K 2013 pint glass, so this was a must-have item. We didn’t really spend too much time at the expo itself since we were hungry. Also, I hate to be *that person* but Run Disney has really spoiled all other race expos for me. It’s just not the same! The expo for the most part was well organized, with the exception of some chaotic congestion near the bib pick-up area. Runners were to pick up race bibs by knowing their race number, and most, including myself, did not know theirs. The swag was pretty great for a “local” 5K: the coveted 2014 pint glass and best of all, a tech shirt! Tech shirts are so much better than cotton because I can actually get use out of them! We had a quick dinner date at Olive Garden after the expo before heading home to turn in early for the night.
Tech Shirt and Pint Glass! Love the race SWAG!

Saturday we got up earlier than we even do for work (yuck!) and headed to Huntington. We only had some Clif Gels for breakfast, but that was fine for us. I know many runners are shaking their fingers at us for not “eating enough” but we both tend to get sick easily if we don’t have much time between eating and running. Pardon me if I don’t feel like waking up at 3 a.m. to eat a bagel and/or Clif Bar. I only do that crazy crap for Run Disney! The energy before the race was great and I was happy that while there was 100 percent humidity it didn’t feel as sweltering hot as last year. I wore my lime green Team Sparkle running skirt, which got many compliments but some weird looks too. It’s all good. Haters gonna hate! Lol! I’m a proud skirt runner! After taking a huge pre-race “selfie” with the mayor of Huntington, the group of 600 plus runners, including us, were off!

The first mile was going decent until the dreaded rock that I happened to step on in the middle of the street. I didn’t realize there was rock there until I stepped on it and managed to BADLY roll my ankle. If it hadn’t been for the husband catching my arm, this would have easily resulted in me face planting right into the pavement! Upon next step, I immediately knew I did more than simply tweak my ankle like I often do on runs. Usually I might turn it a bit, which is due to it already being weak from an old high school cross country injury. Normally when I “tweak it” the pain only lasts for a split second and I’m good to go. I quickly realized this wasn’t the case as each step I took got more and more painful. It was even more irritating that it happened before we even approached the first mile marker! The husband asked if I was ok, and I decided to tell him it was fine and tried to do my best to ignore the pain hoping that if I did it would go away.

Well, before we approached the second mile marker it became evident my ignore tactic wasn’t working and we had to unfortunately slow our pace way down. We even had to take a moment to stop at the water station and see if I could stretch it. We didn’t stop long at all, but this is something I NEVER do and have NEVER DONE in a 5K! That’s when the husband really knew something was definitely wrong. He asked if we should stop and then my stubborn nature really kicked in and I replied “absolutely not! I never quit!” I sucked it up and pushed forward. By the time we had a little over a half mile left, I was in a lot of pain, but you better believe when we came to the finish line stretch that I somehow reached deep in my gut and pulled out a pretty fast finishing kick. I passed a lot of people down that last 100 meter stretch so much so that someone shouted “get it lady!” at me haha! That finishing kick was two-fold: a will to be done ASAP so I could sit down and assess the ankle damage and because I was frustrated with how the race had gone and at least wanted to enjoy a good sprint at the end!

As soon as we finished the husband said his feet were bothering him most of the race since his new shoes still weren’t quite broken in, but he didn’t want to mention it while we were running because he knew how irritated I was over rolling my ankle. I must thank him again on here for putting his own discomfort aside to be the positive motivator that I needed during the race! Usually I am the cheerful one when doing races together, so this was a role reversal! Back to the race and time for my one major complaint: we saw absolutely no trainer, medical tent or place to get ice post-race. The husband and his crafty skills ended up finding a bag and taking ice from a water cooler to create a makeshift ice bag for me to use on my ankle. After the post-race ice debacle, I limped to the area where the Brown Dog Yoga instructors were offering a free post-race yoga stretch. I enjoyed the post-race yoga, except of course the parts where I had to balance on my right foot since well, the ankle clearly wasn’t feeling it (obviously.)
Fun at the West Virginia 5K 2014!
Overall despite my ankle snafu, I had a great time at the West Virginia 5K Championship. Most races this would have likely ruined the whole experience for me, but this 5K is really enjoyable and I still had fun. It was FAR from my best time, but considering the circumstances I think we did pretty well. After finishing and feeling the pain that came from simply walking, it was clear to me that my adrenaline and stubborn nature fueled me to the finish. The Marshall Men’s Basketball Team also made the race enjoyable and kept me laughing the whole time. They were hilarious! The entire team ran the race, and it always impresses me to see coaches not only value running as conditioning but to also show support in the community where their university is located. As members of the team finished they stuck around the finish area to high five everyone as they completed the race. I was very impressed with their demeanor. I am a WVU fan FOREVER, but this team endeared themselves to me so much so that I’m going to have to cheer for them too (except when they play my beloved Mountaineers, of course!)

It was a fun weekend and a fun race. I love doing races with the husband and even though I badly rolled my ankle, I am still glad we did the West Virginia 5K for the second time. Sometimes not all races are sunshine and rainbows and we have to overcome a little adversity along the way. Who else raced this weekend? Who else has dealt with injury either before or during a race? How did you work to overcome that challenge? I’d love to hear all about it and I commend those of you that have had and conquered the many challenges that come with running!

(Update: Since people have asked and for those wondering, my ankle is still pretty sore but feeling much better today. As of now, I am still forging on with the RWRunStreak because I am soooo close to being finished that I can’t fathom stopping at this point. I’ve been icing A LOT to help with swelling and on Sunday and today I did very light runs at an easy pace. Sunday’s run was quite unpleasant, but in a way the running seemed to help make my ankle less stiff. Believe me I would have sucked it up and stopped if it was absolutely too painful to keep going. I’ve also finally used the much talked about KT Tape, so expect a future blog review on that! Hopefully my ankle continues to feel better! Fingers crossed!)
Ice Ice that ankle baby!

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Wednesday's Weekly Wrap-up

(With my wrap-up posts I try to update each Wednesday about my week in review. I include pictures posted during the week from my Instagram @lilrunner1485 as well. Why Wednesday instead of Saturday or Sunday? Well, it just works better for me on this schedule. So, Hump Day it is!) 

Happy Hump Day! I know so many of you are working for the weekend, but cheers and virtual high fives all around to making it to the mid-week! This will be my first “week in review” post, which I will hopefully be able to do on a weekly basis each Wednesday. I know Wednesday seems like an odd day to do a week in review, but hey, whatever works right?! Let’s get this first series post started! Last week was extremely busy for me work-wise. Plus, now that he is back safe and sound, I figure that it’s ok to say that the husband was also away in New Orleans on business. We certainly aren’t the type of couple that must spend every waking minute with each other, but I most definitely missed him! I am a social person so the extra silence is always weird when I’m the only human home! Luckily, I had my fuzzy child Winston to keep me company! While Winston missed his daddy, I think he enjoyed the time he got to have his mama all to himself! Other than finding a snake egg in my backyard (SCREAM!), not too many exciting things happened. I usually am an “after work runner” so my routine was pretty much work, run, come home, shower (duh) and then Winston and I just chilled watching Pirates baseball games and my Sex and the City DVDs. Yes, I know I live a glamorous life! I was and am still finding myself to be more exhausted in the evenings than usual and I blame that on the summer heat! Running especially in these hot and humid temperatures is a total energy drain!

Speaking of running, for all my fellow summer challenge streakers, last Saturday marked the official HALF-WAY point of the RWRunStreak! If you are streaking with me, virtual high five for a job well done so far! (You can read more about the RWRunStreak here.) I admit at one point on Saturday (Day 20 of the streak), I was thinking “really I still have another 20 days in a row?” Coupled with last week being exhausting in general, my legs are FEELING the streak and I can tell I’ve been running for several plus days without any actual time off. That being said, at the same time it’s nice to look at the glass half-full and know that I’ve made it this far! Now we have less than 20 days left! Fellow streakers: keep pushing through! I know it isn’t always easy and the past few days I’ve experienced those times when I’m just not feeling it, but I keep running toward that goal! I can say that I always feel better about myself after a run, even if the run itself isn’t pleasant. I like being happy, so that’s motivation enough to keep on streaking! Today marks Day 24 of the streak and we are over half way done guys! To quote Princess Tiana, “I’m almost there!”

Aside from the streaking madness and the work flow, after the husband’s return from the Big Easy we basically chilled out all weekend. It’s not unusual for us to go to the theatre to see a movie at least once a week because we love movies. There isn’t a whole lot to do in the area we live in, so we spend a lot of time at our local theatre. We ended up actually seeing TWO movies last weekend and stuck with a comedy theme for both of them. On Friday we saw A Million Ways to Die in the West and on Saturday we saw 22 Jump Street. We particularly enjoy stupid, raunchy, tacky humor, so of course we found both movies hilarious! The movies were a nice addition to our overall low-key weekend.

Sunday was Father’s Day. While neither of us got to see our dads on that day, we did call them to wish them a happy Father’s Day. I hope all you dads out there had a good one!

So far, this week has been busy as usual. I’d say while it has basically been a normal week, Tuesday was an exciting day for me and this blog! After being encouraged to do so via Instagram, I joined the Tuesday Link-up with hosts My No-Guilt Life and Run The Great Wide Somewhere. Both of these blogs are great and I urge you to add them to your reading list! It worked out perfectly that I had just posted about new running shoes on Monday because that’s what Tuesday’s link-up topic pertained to! The link-up was a great way to further connect with other runners in the social media community and it provided me with some great new blogs to add to my reading list! I will certainly be taking part in more link-ups! Thanks again to My No-Guilt Life for inviting me to join!
LOL! I hope I don't come off like this on social media!
What’s on my schedule for the rest of the week? The West Virginia 5K Championship! The husband will be joining me for this race. Our last race was clear back in April for the Pirates 5K Home Run. It’s looking to be a HOT and HUMID time for the WV 5K! Last year was no different and the painful parts of that race are all of a sudden coming screaming back to me! The race in general, however, is very well-run (literally…oh puns, come on hire me now Disney Jungle Cruise). Hopefully we can push through the heat and have a fun time! I hope you all have a good rest of your week! Remember Friday is just around the corner! Let me know if you have any race plans this weekend or if you have any fun things planned in general!

Monday, June 16, 2014

Celebrating New Running Shoes!

Ahhhh the key to my heart: new running shoes! I know it’s been a week(ish) since I last posted, but it was a crazy busy week! On the plus side, that week brought me one of life’s greatest joys, as mentioned above, brand spankin’ new running shoes! New running shoes are just simply the best. I love the smell of new shoes. I love getting a “new look” to update my running style. I love feeling the extra bouncy cushion and support when putting my feet in my new shoes. Can you tell how much I just love getting new running shoes?!

Love my newest running shoes!
Almost all runners know the jubilation of new running kicks, and I am no different! I tend to wear a pair of shoes much longer than I should, which definitely falls under my “bad running habits” category. I don’t know why I do this. Sure, I do get attached to my current pair of running shoes. I mean these bad boys go through it all with me: the joy of a great run, the sucky awfulness of a not-so-fun-run, long runs and everything from crappy to mediocre to great races. My running shoes literally go the distance. They endure my sweaty feet (sexy!). They sometimes suffer from being splashed with my not always but quite often “post-race puke.” They usually end up with battle scars from the obvious overuse and of course grass and mud stains. What with living in West Virginia where so many gorgeous trails exist you didn’t think I’d just confine my shoes to paved streets did you?! A good, loved pair of shoes wouldn’t be complete without the addition of some good ole’ fashion dirt décor! (The only running shoes I exclude from this rule of mine are my beautiful Run Disney New Balance Cinderella shoes! They are just too gorgeous for mud!)

Even my attachment toward a pair of running shoes still doesn’t explain why I always seem to wait too long to purchase new shoes. For every new pair I get there is the short discomfort of “breaking them in,” so that could be a reason. I also always order my shoes online so maybe my laziness to actually take the five minutes to order them is another contributing factor. I mean go for a 60 minute run? No problem! Sit down for five minutes to order shoes? Oh no that apparently takes up far too much time! Once I finally breakdown and order my new shoes, I’m always excited! Having a super narrow foot, I never change brands or style. I am totally team New Balance specifically because they have the 2A narrow width option. Prior to wearing New Balance, I’d always have to tie my shoes absurdly tight and wear heal grips. That’s how narrow my silly feet are. It was a game changer when I went to a specialty running store and discovered New Balance and their narrow sizing options. If you are a runner or are wanting to try running and have never been to a specialty running store, take the time to find one and GO! General name brand sports stores may carry a selection of running shoes, but the staff typically does not specialize in running. Specific running stores can help you, like they helped me, find the right shoe for you and believe me it will make a HUGE difference in your running! The reason why I tend to purchase my shoes online now is that I currently live a little over an hour away from the closest specialty running store. Thankfully, I know what works for me shoe-wise and am able to order the right pair online. I do, however, make sure to support these local stores whenever I can. If you are a runner and live close to a specialty store I encourage you to support it!

My BEAUTIFUL Cinderella
Run Disney Shoes!
Before I purchase my new running kicks I do obsess over what color options I want. The one bad thing about the 2A width New Balance style I wear is that sometimes the super cool colors only come in sizes for all you “normal” foot width runners. Talk about a first world problem! But alas, life moves on and new shoes are better than old, worn out ones. Financially speaking, money really isn’t an option when it comes to running shoes. As a woman, I enjoy all shoes, but while I adore the lovely Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City, I feel sick if I spend more than a certain amount of money on regular dress/casual shoes. I will sadly never own a coveted pair of Jimmy Choos or Manolo Blahniks. For me it’s all about the cute, cheap knock-off versions. However, when it comes to my running shoes, I don’t think twice about spending well over a hundred dollars per pair. I consider running as an investment to my fitness so having the proper footwear no matter the cost is money well spent if you ask me! Aside from race fees running as a whole is a relatively inexpensive sport, so if my main investment is in a great fitting pair of shoes I don’t mind to drop the extra cash.
Mine and the husband's new running shoes!
What are your favorite running shoes? Are you loyal to a certain brand or do you like to change it up? Do you get excited for new running shoes? Are you like me and spend way more for running shoes than your “every day” shoes?

I have more exciting things planned for Random Ramblings of a Running Princess, including a “weekly post,” which hopefully I can launch this week. If not, assume I’m out running instead and here’s a virtual high five for patience!

(All thoughts in this post are my own. I received no compensation from New Balance for this post.) 

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

National Running Day!

Happy National Running Day! A holiday that celebrates one of my passions and promotes fitness sounds like a great idea to me! While there has fortunately been an increase in its popularity, running is a sport that's often overlooked as are runners themselves. I am happy that National Running Day is here once again to celebrate this amazing sport and this even more amazing community of people I'm happy to be part of.

As the National Running Day website says, "Be a part of National Running Day, a coast-to-coast celebration of running. On this day, longtime runners reaffirm their love of running and beginners can kick off a lifetime and life-changing commitment."

Today I plan to celebrate with a run of course (duh)! National Running Day also happens to fall within the RW Run Streak Summer Challenge, so I love the double motivation to run. For more on the challenge, check out my recent post about it here and let me know if you are streaking too. I'd also be interested in hearing why you run. I run for SO MANY different reasons! I run for basic exercise and fitness. I run to relieve the stress of the day. While I generally try to eat decent, I still love food, and I run so I can enjoy the finer things in life like pizza and cupcakes! In light of my new Run Disney addiction, I also run so I can combine my two loves of running and Disney. Running at Disney?! What could be better? I run to enjoy the outdoors. A little bit of sunshine does the body good.  When I must run on a treadmill (I'm looking at you Polar Vortex 2014), I run so I can marathon shows on Netflix that the husband doesn't exactly enjoy. I run because frankly it's a time effective exercise. Sure, long runs can take a chunk out of the day, but basic maintenance runs give me a great workout in less time than it would take me to do other things. I run because I've been doing it for so long that it's pretty much part of my routine. Most of all, I RUN BECAUSE IT MAKES ME HAPPY! (Please don't take the all caps as shouting, it's meant to be read in an excited tone lol.) I'm not always all sunshine and rainbows, but I do choose to be happy, and running is something that helps me be happy!

I hope all my fellow runners have a Happy National Running Day! No matter your level of fitness or how many miles you log, enjoy your run today rain or shine. Even on the days I'm not as motivated, I am always thankful that I am able to run, and on National Running Day I am extra grateful! If you aren't a runner, but have always wanted to start, today is the perfect time to do so! If you aren't really into running at all, I still encourage you to get out there and walk, bike or do something active today.


Let me know how you are celebrating National Running Day!

Monday, June 2, 2014

Pardon My Streaking!

Well, I've decided to go streaking again! Say what?! Oh, perhaps I should clarify, RUN STREAKING that is! If you aren't familiar with run streaking, this post will give you all the streaking deets!

After successfully completing the 2013 Runner's World Run Streak Summer Challenge, I've decided to give it a go again this year! The RW Run Streak Summer Challenge is to run at least a mile every day from Memorial Day (May, 26) to Independence Day (July, 4), for a total of 40 consecutive days of running. Today marks a week into the streaking madness, and while it isn't always easy, I find that I am more motivated to run when I set a challenge for myself. If you are interested in streaking with me (run streaking of course lol), and didn't start on Memorial Day, it's not too late to do this challenge. My advice would be to just add on the extra days you missed after The Fourth of July, and you can be a RW Run Streak Finisher too!
My 2013 RW Run Streak Finisher Badge



Like last year's challenge, I do have stipulations set for myself. In the event of injury/illness, I will discontinue the streak, because it's better/smarter to be healthy rather than hobble through a challenge. Fingers crossed that doesn't deter me though! I embarked on the RW Run Streak Summer Challenge for the first time last year because of two reasons:

1. Serious need of motivation!
2. I had never, not even in the competitive running years, done a run streak challenge before!

This year, my reason is my need for motivation once again. For me, the summer time is my LEAST FAVORITE time of the year to run. I know, that's the opposite of most people. It gets pretty hot and humid during the summer where I live, and I'm just not a huge fan of running in the heat. It makes it hard for me to want to be out there when the air conditioning seems so nice lol. By doing this challenge I'm motivated to still get my runs in even though I don't particularly enjoy the super hot temperatures. The RW Run Streak makes my summer running better because of the end goal in mind. In addition, I'm currently in training mode for the Run Disney Tower of Terror 10-Miler, which takes place in October at Walt Disney World (my favorite place!). The last few longer races I've done have been in the winter, so my summer training this year is very important with an early fall distance race!
After finishing Day 7 of the RW Run Streak!

I am also a goal oriented person and I enjoyed embarking in last year's run streak challenge. It wasn't always easy and it was even hard to get out there and run on certain days, but it was fun to work toward a goal! The social media community for the run streak challengers is great! The running community is generally very supportive and a special group I'm proud to be part of, so having encouragement from my fellow runners all over the world during this challenge is very motivating! Last year was actually the very first time in all my years of running that I ran that many days in a row! I liked being able to do something I'd never done and this year I'm ready to do something out of my typical comfort zone once again.

As the RW Run Streak stipulates, it only has to be at least a mile every day to finish the summer challenge. As I did in 2013, I am taking the same approach this year. On days that are generally my rest days, I do an easy mile instead. While it certainly isn't easy to even just do a mile on the days I usually rest, it's doable and keeps me focused. Often times I have to make sure I run my mile at an easy pace because typically when I do shorter runs, I want to go faster! This was something I dealt with during last year's challenge, and am hopeful that I can have a better time with the easier days this year!


Every runner is different and personally, I am a huge proponent of having rest days. I don't think I'd want to do a longer streak, but the summer challenge is a good way for me to really stay motivated to keep running as well as build my base back to a stronger place. Again, I encourage you to join me on this challenge! If you are a fellow RW Run Streak summer challenger, let me know how you are doing in the comments below. Thank you and happy (run) streaking! For more information on the RW Run Streak, click here.