Runner's Forum: Introduce yourself here!

Okay, here we go:

My English isn't always correct...but I'll do my best !

I'm Vanessa, from Belgium. I'm 26, mum of 2 lovely kids, a boy who's 3 and a girl who's 8 month. I'm married and I work as a nurse. Mostly nightshifts, sometimes those nightshifts makes it hard to find the strength
to go out and run. Specially when I work a serial
of 7 nightshift.

The motivations there, but when I run that's something else! Sometimes it feels like my legs weight a ton.

Anyway... I started with running a few months ago. With start-to-run. It was great ! I'm really proud of myself that I can run 5 km !! The programme is great and you meet lots of new people.

Two times in a week we meet up and run. In september we start with 3 x training for 10 km. I'm not sure that I will make it, I still have difficulty with the 5 km sometimes. Specially when it's warm !! I hate running in the heat ! Give me clouds and some refreshing rain (a little bit) !!

That's it i guess...  Greetz xxx

 

My name is Thomas. I am in San Francisco. I could not even run 2 miles in January. Now I can run 12 miles(19 km). a bit at a time

I am not sure how you do it with 2 kids and night shift. Good job

Hello everyone.  Looks like I'm the "senior" member of the group so far - 47 years old, married and father of two girls - 16 and 18. 

 Have been running for about 4 years now - got into it with a group from exercise classes.  We've pretty much ditched the classes but still run as a group.  Had a bad (bad, bad) case of plantar fasciitis a few years ago but got that treated and have been back ever since.

Have run two marathons - Richmond in 2006 and Myrtle Beach in 2007.  Planning on Richmond again, half at MB in 2008 and Shamrock in 2008.  Results have been modest to date but always hoping for the future.

I live in a fairly rural area of western Virginia - great weather (well, not during the summer), scenery and places to run.

Howdy :)

 

hello - vince from the nation's capitol here.  i ran xc and track in college.  really into lifting and mtbing more these days, but still run a couple days a week (usually no more than 6 anymore)

i've found most running clubs out here are more competitive than i want to be these days, but if anyone ever wants some company for a 5 or 6 miler at 6-8 minute pace drop me a line

Hi

My name is Shannon and I live in Wellington, New Zealand with my lovely Partner and our gorgeous baby boy (11months). I got back into running when my baby was 3 months and have completed a 10K and wanting to build on that. I am determined to do a marathon before having another baby and then continuing to run gently when I get pregnant again. I must say I am loving it and enjoy running with the buggy while my angel sleeps.

It has been very motivating and inspiring to read about other Parents making it all happen!!

 

Hey! I'm Jeannette, 30, from Ansonia, Connecticut and like most I started running about 2 months ago and love it, especially now that it's getting cooler. I'm also an evening runner.

Hi there!  I'm Helen from Stourbridge in the UK.  I live with my boyfriend of 9 years (sounds stooopid  calling him my boyfriend - I'm 30 for goodness sake not 13!) and 2 rescue cats who are bonkers!

I got into running last June by signing up for Cancer Research's Race For Life 5k.  I've been running on and off since then (sometimes my running mojo deserts me ) and have completed another 5k, a 5 mile and two 10k's this year. 

I'm signed up for the Great North Run in Newcastle on Sept 30th which is renowned in the UK for being a tough half marathon! My training is going well at the moment and I have really started to notice the difference in my fitness - I can recover from those killer hills a lot quicker than I used to, and can now pick up the pace towards the end of a long run, which would have been quite the opposite 2 months ago!

I also love snowboarding and buying new shoes!

 

Hi Guys. Norman (or The Running Wilbury) calling from a rather windy and damp England.

I sympathise with the issue re working nights. I really struggle to run after a night shift, despite sleeping for a while. When training for London a couple of years ago, I sometimes trained after a shift, but before sleeping. That worked sometimes.

Currently training for London 08. Living with partner and stepson. Grandfather to two lovely boys. Work as a paeditric nurse in the community.

Email - roadrunner51@hotmail.com

 

What a site!  I wish I would have found this place earlier...  I live in Windsor, Ontario... and am training for my 1st marathon in October....  Just started running a year ago - challenging myself to "do" something before I turn 35 next year. I have a husband and two small sons to keep me busy.... My favorite quote is "Live in the front row of your life"...

My favorite time to run is 6:00am, I love the peace and quiet, and how good it makes me feel all day, sitting at my desk at work...

 

Hi, I'm Elien, 18, from Belgium. I just graduated and will attend university in October (Leuven).

I'm actually not a runner, I play volleyball, but I always try to run when the season ends (so usually in summer, I try to run every 2 days or so). I'm not a very good runner either, so I was looking for some kind of training scheme. I decided to do the 'Start to run' programme which I found at Inet, but all alone. 

 For the moment I really can't run a lot, I'm working (only for a month) and volleyballtrainings has started again, so it's quite hard to find the time and the guts to go out and run. I hope this will get better in Leuven, as I haven't got a lot of colleges, and I'd love to go running in another neighbourhood.

I registered here because it's a great way to plan my runs, keep an eye on my work-outs and a great motivation!

Hi I'm Mario from New Zealand this is my 3rd year back running after 25 years off any sport. I run for the Timaru Harrier Club and compete at Veteran level 40-45 age group I am 44 and as my wife says I am obsessed with running. I joined WeightWatchers in 2004 with my wife and won the mens catergory of the NZWW slimmer of the year in 2005 last year I posted a personal record in the NZ 1/2 marathon champs time of 1:20.19 this was my second ever and longest distance I have raced.

hello everybody! i am 16 years old, and my sister is doing a half marathon and so she came onto this site and told me about it-and now i'm a member. i love this so far-i love finding out how far i run and just seeing how many calories i lose, etc. well thats about all and bye!

Hey everyone,

I'm Ali, 34, and live in Hoboken, NJ.  I'm originally from Pennsylvania where I used to coach track and run with an amazing running club, Oregon East.  I was a field hockey player and sprinter in high school and when I started running with OE back in 1999, I had never run further than maybe 3 miles.  The first time I ran with them, I ran 12 and realized it's all about the pace.

 I ran steadily for about 7 years and then stopped completely 18 months ago when my knees and heels started to give me problems.  I began biking and speed walking instead, in addition to hiking regularly throughout the summer (I did the West Highland Way a few years ago and just got back from hiking a 40 mile section of the Cornish Coastal Path last week).  

I spend every summer on the Isle of Skye with my godparents and this year before I left, I bought a new pair of running shoes and took them with me.  It was sooo miserably hot in NJ when I left but I knew the weather on Skye would be cool - perfect for running - so I started running again in July after my long hiatus and have been going strong ever since 5 or 6 days a week.  This site has given me the motivation to continue - mapping my run ahead of time allows me to get into the right mental state and not pressure myself to keep going or add more miles or speed up or what have you - I just see how I feel before I leave for my run and then sit down and map out a run that suits my needs.

By the way Ali, my sister lives on the Isle of Skye.

Hi, Laurance here.

I am a 40yrs young woman, from the west of Ireland; and work as a special needs assistant.

 I started running two and a half yrs ago when I decided (naively!!!!) to enter in a triathlon to fundraise for the local RNLI after my 18yrs old son died when the fishing boat he worked on sank in bad weather. My partner and I entered as a team... I did the swim and the run, he did the cycle(only person on a mountain bike). the swim nearly killed me in rough seas and bad weather and thank god we did not realise what we were getting into when we decided to enter. Anyway we did it all in 2:42hrs and came in the middle and fundraised over €3000. I gave it up after that but a yr later decided to take up running again to help me deal with my depression etc.. the best thing I ever did. I do not run very fast but enjoy it thoroughly and feel so good afterwards. I have 2 other "children" aged 19 and 17 and you never know I might enter the triathlon again in 2008!

This is a great site and I love it!

Hi -- 27 year old married female in Los Angeles...been running off & on for about 10 years...About a year ago I started really enjoying it while running 4 miles five or six days a week.  Then I got bored and would go weeks between my runs.  THEN I got bored with the other exercise I replaced running with....about a month ago decided with a friend to train for a 1/2 marathon but upon joining a training group (the LA Leggers, uses the Jeff Galloway program) have now upped it to a marathon.  Of course, we're only at 5 miles.....so far I've been keeping to the training schedule so I'm happy about that.  I am not a morning person, let alone a morning exerciser, so I was scared of the early morning Saturday runs. To adapt to working out in the morning I'm doing my Tuesday/Thursday runs early as well, so the long Saturday ones won't be so difficult.  My runs now have a purpose beyond maintaining health which so far has been enough motivation.  I'm excited to see if my body can actually DO it...The numbers tell me I'm a slow runner when I compare them to the times of my nonathletic friends who decide to complete a marathon.  (I run just a little under a 10 minute mile pace for 4 miles..which supposedly means I'll run 11.5ish for the marathon.)  I have girlfriends who rarely exercised but wanted to complete a marathon & they finished at 8.5 and 9.5 mile paces!!  I don't get it...b/c I feel like I'm going fast enough : )...But I'm not worrying about a time goal for the first one, just will be happy to finish.  Then I may try to improve that time in another race.  

 This site is great for recording my training! 

 Alej

Hi Nice to meet you all.  I've been using mapmyrun since May and I really love it.  It's a great tool.

 Anyway my name is Annie, I'm 30, married with 3 kids.  I ran my first Half marathon in June, another in July and I'm planning to run one in October.

Very nice to read about others who are using this site. 

I'm Brad from New Hampshire, 37 years old with 6 kids.  Ages 13, 10, 5, 2, and 9 month old twins.  I know, how do I find the time to work out?  Well I didn't for many years and it showed.  I used to run cross country and track in High School and have done an occasional 5k race here and there over the years but have remained pretty out of shape.  I am now committed to changing my lifestyle and have been training for the Hartford 1/2 marathon in October.  I bought a new bike too and plan on doing some triathlons next year.

This site has been great to track all of the training that I do and very helpful in mapping my workouts.  I have told a lot of people about it and now can't imagine what I did before I found this site.

Hello, Mark here from Pelham New Hampshire. 52 years and try to run 22-25 miles a week. Long runs on Sunday are 10mi I run with my wife Debbie who is 50 and we are close to the same pace 7-8 min per mile. We are empty nested now and enjoying it. Lot's of time to run. We are heading to Hilton Head SC for some R&R soon. If any knows of a good route please pass it on. We have a 1/2 marathon coming in early October - our first 1/2 M

Hello, everyone. I'm married and the mother of three wonderful kids. I love running. I'm not the fastest, but I like the distant. Recently I've run the Ragnar Wasatch back relay in June 2007 with my neighborhood/church community. We had four teams of twelve. Each team runs 178 miles non-stop with team members rotating 3-7 mile legs. We had a mens, womens, and two youth teams with ages ranging from 62 to 13. My daughter was the 13 year old. (She was the youngest in the entire race. Yes, I'm proud of her!)  My husband, two younger kids, and dog joined in as volunteers over night at one of the exchanges. It was a great family experience. (The experience is one of the reasons I love running.) Anyway,I found this sight as I started to train for this relay. I actually have only been using the training portion of the site until just recently when I posted a question. Anyway, it's been very helpful. Thanks for all the input!

Hi, I'm Lex, I'm 28 years old and live in Sheffield, UK although I travel & work abroad quite a lot. I was never a particularly sporty kid, I did martial arts in through my early to mid 20's and love swimming and being in the water (I'm a marine biologist by profession) but was always a bit more 'book-ish' and never particularly got into sports or fitness. I discovered running about 18 months ago - just decided to give it a go one day to try and get fit and surprise surprise I actually really enjoyed it! I find it such a release - a great way to burn off a bad mood or frustration and get some energy and focus (not to mention the endorphins - love the endorphins). I spent the last 18 months on a very small island in the Indian Ocean so only had a treadmill but have been back in the real world fora few weeks and have been enjoying woodland xc's and parks - I've gone from 3 to 5 miles now and try to do that at least couple of times a week - that's seems to be my limit. Very proud of myself today as my Ipod froze 1mile into the 5miles but I kept on going and did it! I'd like to do the London Marathon some time (maybe next year?) I love this site, I've only just found it but I reckon it's more addictive than facebook! Nice to 'meet' you all

i'm melissa. i just started running again a few weeks ago, am running only about 4 or 5 miles a day. i'm 23 and looking for pretty dirt roads to run down in se michigan. and people to run on them with.

Dave, 27, in Tampa Bay! 

Rode bmx, semi-competitive downhill and mountain biking, and lots of heavy lifting in high school to my first couple years at Univ of FL.  Then I started running cause I wanted my heart to like me!  I logged a bunch of halfs and full marathons, and sprints tri's.  I started coaching and personal training, mainly endurance sports and specialize in sports-specific strength and conditioning .  I still run cause marathons are too much fun!

 Over a few years I earned bachelors and masters degrees in Exercise Physiology from Univ of FL and am a FL lic massage therapist.  I owned my own clinic in South Florida (Boca Raton/Ft Lauderdale).  I now see patients and athletes in a physical therapy clinic and do one-on-one sports-specific work.  If I can help anyone out in any way, please feel free to post or drop me an email.  Also, if anyone is in the Tampa Bay area, I am always looking for other riders!  Have fun and ride/run safe!

 

Dave

activewell@gmail.com