Going in to this race, I had no idea what to expect. It was my first ever trail race. I knew it was in a super hilly area, but the race director mentioned it was the perfect course for a new trail runner. I couldn’t find a course map, and I know she’s known for her tough races so I was a little skeptical and prepared for hills (mentally, not physically, oops). I knew I’d be slower than normal but also secretly hoped I could randomly pull out something closer to my PR. Sometimes my optimism is so laughable. Brendan… View Post

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Surprise…I have a RACEDAY coming up! I feel like I’m always getting entries into half marathons at the last minute. One of these days I’ll actually sign up in advance, but once again, I now have a half on Saturday! I won an entry into the Griffith Park Half Marathon from Fit and Awesome. I’m SO PUMPED. I don’t have too much information on it, but I do know it’s all on trails. I thought there would be a million hills because it’s basically in the mountains, but in the interview on that blog, the race organizer says it’s a perfect intro… View Post

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A couple weeks ago my friend Ali was visiting from NYC and we wanted to do something active, so we did a little Googling and decided to head to Runyon Canyon, a park near the Hollywood Hills at the eastern end of the Santa Monica mountains. (I saw it on The Hills so naturally I wanted to go. I’m not embarrassed to admit it. Okay maybe just a little.) I found a random address for the entrance to the park and put it into my GPS, hoping we’d find a place to park. Thankfully there was a little parking lot… View Post

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In between job searching and unpacking, I’ve been staying busy trying out all the ClassPass studios close enough to drive to without it taking 15 hours. Here are my reviews of the Los Angeles fitness studios I’ve tried thus far: Poise Fitness, Hermosa Beach When I walked into this studio, the two girls working were from NJ and CT. Ahhh…east coast people! I swear I’m not biased because of that…but I LOVED this workout. You start with a quick warmup on the treadmill, then move to circuits: 10 rounds of 1 minute in each of 3 stations. (Does that make… View Post

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There aren’t too many more refreshing ways to spend a weekend than doing something you love with friends who love it too. Spoiler Alert: Went to Philly. Ran a half marathon. Didn’t PR. Loved every second of it. This little Philly race recap is a little less about the actual race and a little more about the “running weekend experience” as a whole. As “they” say, it really is more about the journey than the destination sometimes. It’s the miles in between that matter and all that jazz. Cliche but true…as cliches always are. I’ll start from the beginning. Ashley… View Post

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I’ve been to the West Coast more times in the past month than I have in my entire life. (Unless you count Hawaii, I guess.) Anyway, I spent my weekend in San Francisco cheering on participants in the Nike Women’s Marathon. For work. Running and cheering and guys in tuxes? Yes, thank you. If you don’t know, all finishers of NWM get a Tiffany’s necklace handed to them on a silver platter by these lovely gentlemen. Yes, I’m serious. I’m tempted to sign up for this race next year…if it weren’t so close to Ironman Lake Placid, I would 100%… View Post

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You know how Runner’s World publishes “Rave Runs” each month, complete with photos and stories about the route? I totally had my own rave run this weekend. MY OWN! I don’t know where my personal running photographer was though, he must have been out for brunch. Dang, I could have been in Runner’s World. Next time. Anyway, back to my rave run. On a mountain. In Massachusetts. Mountain running doesn’t seem so great, right? You know, all the hills and stuff. Thrilling, yes. But sort of painful. Almost degrading. My brain was teasing my body about its slow-ness and out-of-breath-ness… View Post

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It’s a beautiful Monday! How are you all? Good? Recovered from the weekend yet? Great. I spent my weekend in Kansas. Someone in Northeast Kansas actually won a shared portion of that huge Mega Millions jackpot. Basically that means it could have been me (if I hadn’t dropped the ball; I did NOT buy a ticket in KS). Dang it…how could I let my millionaire status slip from my fingers? I spent my quick, 27 hour weekend at my alma mater, seeing old friends and cheering on my Jayhawks. No less than 16 times did I proclaim “I can’t believe I’m… View Post

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