I took myself to Jack Rabbit Sports and bought myself a good pair of running shoes. What shoe is my solemate you ask… Brooks Ravenna 2. I am not going to lie when I walked in there I wanted a pair of Mizuno’s just like Gina but what I quickly realized is, the shoe will pick you and Mizuno and me just weren’t meant to be (It would have been a very awkward relationship, so it was for the best). #1 if you are just starting to run get yourself a good pair of RUNNING shoes (I can not stress this enough).

Next I signed up for a race, because if you have nothing to work for and you’re just starting out you probably won’t work. I mean let’s be honest here, it is hard to start a routine, you wake up it’s cold outside and if you don’t have a goal well you might as well sleep in. I signed up for a 4 miler in Central Park. Sadly I never got to run it but we will get to the reason why shortly. #2 Sign up for a race, you decide what distance is appropriate for you and how much time you need to train BUT SIGN UP. Just do it!

Now starting and keeping a routine is the hardest part of running. I needed something that would keep me accountable. I had heard many good things about the Couch to 5K program. After reviewing a couple of the apps I ended up going with the Bridge to 10K program (the next one after the couch), I skipped the Couch to 5K because after looking at the workouts, the Bridge to 10K fit my fitness level the best. This was a great way to help me get started and I stuck to the program pretty religiously. I actually started getting excited about running. #3 Find a training program that works for you.

I started to get pretty serious about running and luckily for me I sat next to a runner at work. He had been running for 10 years so I was constantly asking him questions. One day he looked at me and said “you know you’re running a lot, you might want to get an EKG just to make sure your okay to run”. He had a friend that passed at a young age and he took his health very seriously. So I decided he was right and went into my general physician to get a check-up and an EKG. I honestly thought nothing could possible be wrong. Nope I was WRONG. My EKG was abnormal. He recommended that I go see a Cardiologist. So after telling my Mother, she immediately went into panic mode and said I couldn’t run anymore. Goodbye first race… When I went to see the Cardiologist, I found out I have something called Persistent Juvenile T Wave Pattern. Which is a pretty way of saying half my heart isn’t fully developed yet. Luckily for me that just meant I was young at heart and that I could start running again (thank you Doctor!). #4 Go to your doctor and get the okay to run, you never know unless you check. Better safe than sorry.

Because I had to take a little over a month off of running and I was a new runner, getting back into running was extremely hard. Running is not like riding a bike. Sadly, especially if you are new, you can’t just jump back in where you left off. So I had a hard time starting up again. One day I was reading Runners World (#4.5 Get a subscription to Runners World, it is one of the few magazines I read cover to cover ) I came across an ad, Runners World was partnering with Foot Locker to have a coached running group for free! The answer to my prayers a free running group that would have coaches and we would be training to run a 10K. I was nervous, I did it completely alone but I made some amazing friends and I learned a lot from the coaches. I learned about speedwork and hill repeats (Damn you Cat Hill). I also completed my first 10K and it was an amazing feeling. #5 Find a running group (if they have coaches even better). Not only will you learn a lot but you will make some great friends. 

After my race I knew I wanted to do more, so I searched the web and I saw that Run Disney was having a Tinker Bell Half Marathon in January. It was right after my 25th Birthday and Autism Speaks was one of the participating charities. I wanted my first half to be for something that meant a lot to me so I knew this would be the perfect first half. I contacted Team Up at Autism Speaks and before I knew it I was all signed up to run my first half. About 10 minutes later I was like oh crap what have I gotten myself into, I sent out a tweet to some running friends and they told me that Run Less Run Faster was a great plan for someone who didn’t want to run more than 3 days a week. I bought the book and I started my training. #6 Push yourself, you will never know what you are truly capable of unless you push the limits. 

I started training alone because my running group had ended but I quickly got very lonely. I saw a lot of tweets about people who would run on the East Side (close to where I live) and I decided to see if I could join them one day. Luckily I met two great girls and one ended up becoming my sole sister (aka my running buddy that I run with all the time and probably see more than most people, I love you Katherine and I am not ashamed of who knows it ). Having someone to run with on a regularly basis and push you when you don’t want to push yourself is amazing. I wouldn’t be half as good if it wasn’t for Katherine. # 7 Find a running buddy or in my case a sole sister.

So that pretty much brings us to now. I have finished my first half marathon (yah! go me) but I am sad to say I have not gotten the marathon bug yet (I still love my legs too much)… I am training for the NYC Half (which is in 6 weeks!) and I want to beat my time. I learned that speedwork and hills actually play a huge part in your training so I am going to actually do all of my speedwork and tempo runs. While training for my last race I didn’t really do much of that which was fine but now I want to get faster. #8 Don’t skip your speedwork and tempo runs

My last two tips when it comes to running is:

#9 Have fun and #10 Run for you

I would love to hear your stories on how you fell in love with running and if you have any tips please share! I feel like I can constantly learn more. And if you haven’t gotten a chance yet, I am having a raffle to raise money for Autism Speaks for the NYC Half, I am raffling off a necklace from Erica Sara Designs. She designs some amazing Race Bling and your support would mean the world to me.

Erica Sara has been generous enough to donate a ½” sterling silver circle pendant on a silver cable chain with customizable engraving with whatever the winner wants.  You can get your race distance, inspirational words, initials, name, etc. See above for some examples. To get more inspiration you can check out her website or Facebook.

Here is how the raffle will work: click here and donate $5 to my cause.

• $5 donation gets you 1 entry to win the necklace
• $10 donation gets you 2 entries
• $20 donation gets you 5 entries
• $50 donation gets you 15 entries
• $75 donation gets you 25 entries
• $100 donation gets you 55 entries

If you spread the word on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, or email list leave a comment below telling me how you passed the word on and I will give you 1 additional entry for every way you spread the love*, after all the more the merrier.  And for all the guys out there, even if you don’t wear necklaces, this is the perfect gift for a girlfriend, sister, mom, grandma etc. I will choose a winner at random on Monday, February 27^th.

Thank you in advance for all of your support, it means so much to me.

* You can only receive 1 additional entry  per Facebook post, Tweet, Blog post/mention, Tumblr post, and email blast even if you tweet multiple times or send out multiple emails. So that means you can receive up to a maximum of 5 additional entries.

Here is how it works:

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section like “you are tagged if you are reading this”. You (the blogger) legitimately have to tag 11 (or so) people.

Random Fun Facts:

1. I was an Art & Design major at the University of Michigan (GO BLUE!!)
2. I am self-declared conversational ADD, I start talking about something completely random in the middle of a sentence
3. I think snow should only exist where I ski (I love Park City!)
4. My Mom is my best friend in the entire world (Hi Mom, I love you!)
5. I used to say “I hate running more than anything”, ha clearly that has changed
6. I grew up in Indiana, by Notre Dame but I am in no way an Irish Fan
7. I have 10 siblings
8. I have an old soul, I am more like a 40-year-old than a 25-year-old
9. I do not have a tattoo, nor will I ever get one. Personal preference
10. I love Frank Sinatra
11. I can’t cook to save my life

Marathon Winer Questions:

1. When did you start running? I actually started last April, I had to take some time off in June due to an abnormal EKG but was able to seriously start again in August and I have been running ever since. I ran my first half marathon last Sunday!

2. What monopoly piece do you always pick? I actually do not think I have a “go to” piece sadly. But I would have to say that my favorites are the thimble and the top hat (stay classy).

3. What is your favorite pre-race meal? A banana. I don’t really eat much before a run, so I have a hard time eating before races. I think it’s the pre-race jitters.

4. Disney or Nickelodeon as a kid? Nickelodeon, how can you not love Doug Funnie or Legends of the Hidden Temple.

5. What is your favorite race fuel? Power Bar Energy Gel Blasts, Strawberry Banana, HANDS DOWN. I love these things, I could eat them as a snack. I also like grabbing powerade at the rest stops sometimes.

6. What did you want to be when you grow up as a kid? A ballerina and a Fire Fighter, I wonder what would happen if I combined the two.

7. What do you want to be now? Still deciding that, at the moment a dreamer

8. What is the best place you’ve ever lived? Firenze (Florence), Italy. I studied abroad there and I think my heart is still over there. One of the best experiences of my life.

9. What is the best route you’ve ever run? So far in my short running career, my favorite would either be the park in Madrid Spain or around the tip of Manhattan.

10. What TV show is your guilty pleasure? Uh oh, you had to ask this question… I love Gossip Girls, Vampire Diaries, and The Bachelor (don’t judge, the drama is just sooo good).

11. What is your favorite non-running blog? There are other blogs out there other than running blogs!!! Just kidding, it would have to be Answering Oliver, I actually came across this blog by another blogger and it turns out it is written by someone I used to know a long time ago, Devon Mills. She is about to embark on a around the world adventure and I can’t wait to read about it. She also happens to be a runner (bonus).

Alright get ready:

• @frekleandspice  • Freckles and Spice
• @skinnyrunner •  Skinny Runner 
• @runeatrepeat • Run Eat Repeat
• @MomattheBarre • Mom at the Barre
• @MalindaAnnHill • Twins RUN in our Family
• @katekatebear • Sunshine and the Bear

You have been tagged! Can’t wait to see what you write, and if you have already been tagged please ignore. I tried to check everyone’s blogs.

Here are your questions:

1. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
2. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
3. Salt or Pepper?
4. Why did you start blogging?
5. Who is an inspiration to you and why?
6. What are your must haves in your gym bag?
7. If you could be any Disney character, who would you be and why?
8. Who is your celebrity crush?
9. Favorite way to workout (class, etc)?
10. What is one of your 10-year goals?
11. What brand of running shoes do you have?

After spending hours of looking at the back of my eyelids and not actually sleeping, I heard that annoying harp noise that comes out of my iPhone. 3:30am, it was time to wake up for my big debut, the Tinker Bell Half! I am not going to lie, I shot out of bed, I was pretty excited, not to mention the fact that I didn’t want to miss anything. Turns out that there really isn’t too much to miss until you are in you’re corral, but who knew? I threw on my Autism Speaks singlet, my Nike capri’s and my new Team Sparkle skirt and one arm warmer (don’t ask, I guess I thought it looked cool or only one of my arms was cold).

I also wore my fuel belt with two bottles, which also carried my phone so I could find my parents afterwards, my Nike + watch (which I LOVE), and a Halo headband I bought at the Health Expo the day before. I should tell you that headband was the best $30 I have ever spent on running equipment. It’s called the Halo Rhythm headband, it came with short-wired headphones and you attach a small music device like the Nike shuffle to the back of it. It was amazing! I didn’t have to fuss with anything on my arm and there were no wires in my way!  So now that you know how fashionably dressed I was lets move on to the race (if you don’t agree and you happen to be a stylist, thats great because I have been looking for one).

They asked us to be outside by 4:30am but it turns out since my hotel was at the start, I really didn’t need to be out until we were lining up in our corals at 5:15am, fail, oh well.  At 5:20am I was in my corral ready to go, my nerves were going crazy. Run Disney, had great race announcers and lit off fireworks during the Nation Anthem at the start of the race. Which was pretty cool seeing how I have never seen fireworks at the beginning of a race. Around 5:50am the race began (I was in corral C so we started about 10 minutes behind the start).

One of the most amazing things I found that Run Disney offered was live tracking during the race. At the 5K, 10K, 15K, and the finish my family got an email and text saying what my pace was and my projected finish time. Not too shabby if you ask me, it would also update your twitter and your Facebook if you wanted but I decided I didn’t want to do that for my first race, this race was just for me (sorry people, next time). Miles 1-4 were very fun, we were able to run through Disney Land in the dark which was pretty cool and they had Disney characters stationed everywhere. People would stop and line up to get their pictures but since this was my first race I didn’t want to stop even though the Pirates were very tempting.

Run Disney is a great race organizer, they had cameras everywhere and I made sure to run, skip, jump, and hop by every photographer and look as happy as possible. I actually got some pretty great pictures (thank you Bright Room, now if you could just lower your prices I would be super happy). At almost every mile outside of the park there was a cheerleading squad, dance team, marching band, or local band. It was amazing to have that kind of support while running and it always made you look forward to what was coming next. I stayed pretty strong all the way up until mile 9.5 and that’s when I started hitting mental walls, I knew I could keep running but sometimes, I let my head get the best of me and I would walk and then I would start-up again. Believe me this was a constant battle of me talking to myself but luckily I got through it with no one thinking I was crazy (or so I can only hope).

Finally at mile 12, we were back in the park at California Adventure and I knew I was close, but the last mile is NEVER close. I ran by a camera and I tried to do the number 12, turned out to be 21, I forgot it would be the reverse, fail. I feel like I was constantly looking for my finish and I never get there. Around 12.5 miles I found my family waiting for me, which was exactly what I needed to finish the race (I had one amazing cheering squad, my younger brother Nolen got up at 3:30 with me). Seeing the finish sign in the distance was unreal, I was finishing my first half marathon! I raised my hands and ran through the finish, to be honest I raised my hands because everyone else does it and I thought it would make for a good picture. Next time I need to come up with something super creative (if you have any ideas send me an email). I finished in 2:14:52, which is 8 seconds under what I put down as my estimated finish time. I am pretty happy with that and I know I can only get better from here.

I am so glad I chose a Disney race to be my first half it was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I learned so much about running in those 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 52 seconds that I didn’t learn while training and I am so excited for my next race. Which I should mention is the NYC Half Marathon on March 18^th!!!! There was one spot left on the Autism Speaks team and I couldn’t pick a better team to be racing with, so here is to the start of another training adventure.

Running has become a huge part of my life and has helped me learn a lot about myself that I might have never taken the time to learn. It has taught me many valuable lessons like “How to not get bored while running for hours straight” and ” How to yell at yourself so you don’t stop running.” Ha, but in all seriousness have learned many lessons. I have learned how to keep a routine even when life gets hectic, will power, stamina, how to quite my thoughts, not give up even when it gets hard and what it really means to work for something.

Running would be much harder if it was not for my running buddy Katherine, who writes the blog Sweat, Passion, and Tears, she has been a savior through this whole training process and has made it much more entertaining than if I were alone. While I am training for my multiple half marathons this year (my first is next weekend!) she has been training for the Paris Marathon, yes you should all be jealous. Not only does she get to run 26.2 miles around Paris, France she can eat amazing crepes after, I know I am jealous. Katherine and I have run many different routes around the city, each weekend it’s a new task to try and find a new route (even though Katherine is really in charge of that).

I have gone through many phases during running. Some include:

• “I need to buy everything in the running store” phase
• “I need to have at least 8 pairs of running shoes” phase
• “I will wear my leg compression sleeves even when I don’t need too” phase
• “I will eat froyo after every run” phase
• “Running in anything hot pink makes everything better” phase ( I don’t know if this one is going anywhere)
• “I will bore people who don’t run, by talking about running non-stop” phase (I think I may still be on that phase)
• And my favorite ”I like to take pictures of myself before I run” phase

Sadly I never thought I would get a chance to ever use those pictures but now I have a reason! For your viewing pleasure the short-lived phase of “Kristine Before the Run”.

I know they are very exciting. I have a feeling the only running pictures I will be taking are before and after races. So finally after all those phases, I have figured out what running means to ME and it feels great. Everyone has their own reasons for running and I promise we do not do it to torture ourselves. After the first couple of months it actually becomes fun. So that is what I have been up to for the past couple of months, and I just didn’t feel like there was anything really exciting that I should write about until now (if you didn’t think this was exciting just keep your thoughts to yourself ).

Next weekend I will be running my first half marathon, the Tinker Bell Half in Disney Land. I am very excited and I will make sure to write all about it. I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a great year!

“If Cardio, Strength Training, and Pilates had a baby… It would be SLT”

As soon as I read that I knew I had to try it. With all the running I have been doing, I have had a really hard time trying to find time to strength train and I thought this would be the perfect class to try. So today my sister, Molly who writes Damsel in a dDress, a style and wellness blog, decided to check it out.

SLT is based on Sebastien Lagree’s acclaimed Megaformer classes (called SPX or Pilates Plus)  in Los Angeles. Sebastien Lagree is a celebrity trainer in Los Angeles but what sets Sebastien apart from the rest of celebrity trainers in Hollywood is that Sebastien designs, prototypes, manufactures, and distributes his own equipment. Sebastien’s first design was called the Proformer in 2003 which was originally designed to solve the problems of the reformer. In 2008 Sebastien designed the Megaformer which is the machine you use in SLT. STL is the first Megaformer studio in New York and opened a little over a month ago.

STL is a 50 minute class that is done entirely on the megaformer. The megaformer looks like a glorified reformer if you have ever used one in a pilates class. It is pretty simple to use, I really liked the design but that didn’t last long. As soon as we started I was like wow I am not strong. It was one of the most intense workouts I have been put through and I loved all 50 minutes of it. We did a series of different arm and leg workouts with names I can not remember at the moment because I was concentrating so hard on my form. I thought this was amazing class, it is a great strength training class that flew by, normally when I am doing weight training it seems to drag on but STL seemed to fly by. I thought it was a great combination of pilates and strength training. It is very similar to barre classes like Core Fusion, Barre Method or Physique 57 but you use a machine which I really like. Also like barre classes it is expensive :/

Which I don’t like but your first class is $20 and I highly recommend you try it once. After your first time a single class is $40. STL does offer packages and private sessions.

If you live in New York and you are a fan of barre classes or pilates I highly recommend that you check out STL. If you don’t live in New York there are also studios located in California, Boston, Atlanta, and Texas just to name a few. You can see a list of all the studios here. Trust me this was an amazing workout and I hope I can go back soon!

With my new love for running, I wanted to run for a reason (anything over 6 miles should be for a reason or a purpose in my mind), so when I saw that Autism Speaks was participating in the Inaugural Tinker Bell 1/2 Marathon, I decided that this would be the perfect race. I will be raising money in celebration of my brother CJ, my goal for this race is to raise $2,500. This will be my first half marathon ever, right after my 25th Birthday and at one of my brother’s favorite amusement parks, Disney Land in California!

I am doing a 17 week training program that starts on Monday, I am slightly nervous but very excited. I will be using the Run Less, Run Faster FIRST training plan. I am very excited to be using this plan, I got the recommendation from some of my biggest running inspirations, Gina from Walk to the Mailbox and  Katie, from Katie RUNS This. I will be updating you on my progress here on my blog and on my twitter @kymarie13.

If you feel like giving me an early birthday gifts please feel free to donate now, you can check out my race page here. But honestly I am just happy I can share my journey with all of you and I hope to inspire other new runners. This is bound to be interesting considering I have never considered myself a runner. Below are some more pictures of my brother CJ, so excited to be running this race and it looks like CJ may be running the last half of the race with me!

Place: 2819/ 4404
Finish Time: 0:59:36
Pace: 9:36
Age Place: 70
Start Time: 8:45:00am
Finish Time: 9:44:36am

My running mascot, Swift

1. Road ID
2. Sunglasses
3. Chapstick
4. Body Glide
5. Gu
6. iPod Shuffle
7. iPod armband
8. Headphones
9. Heart-rate monitor
10. Band-Aids
11. Aleve
12. My Mascot Swift
13. Sweatshirt
14. Sweatpants
15. Protein Bar
16. Water Bottle
17. Extra Safety pins