About Me
Hi, I’m Rebecca. Welcome to my blog! Here I will be sharing my race training, race recaps, favorite recipes and fitness gear, and other tidbits about my life!
I have been active my whole life, but my running "career" started when I was in high school. During my freshman and sophomore years, I was a member of the cross-country team, and was also a sprinter on the track and field teams for a few seasons. I wasn't the most serious runner, and I certainly wasn't breaking any records, but I loved it. What drew me to running then was the social aspect of the team (I may or may not have had to run my fair share of punishment laps for talking too much), as well as a fun way to stay in shape. In college, I worked out just about every day, and was a total cardio bunny. I loved running laps on my college's indoor track at the fitness center (I hated the treadmill), and usually ran for about an hour a few times a week. I could also spend hours on the elliptical. I never kept track of my miles or workouts; I figured just a few hours of movement each day was good enough to prevent me from gaining the dreaded college weight.
Fast forward to my graduate school years, and my relationship with running changed completely. I was working full-time as a Teaching Assistant while pursuing a Master's degree in Special Education. After completing my first year of graduate school, something in me snapped. I had struggled for over a year to find a job in a school, and my graduate work was overwhelming. During the Fall 2012 semester, I would have to write a 40-page thesis in order to graduate the following May. For some reason, I thought training for a half marathon would help me get through it. At age 24, I had never been to Disney World, so I decided two things: 1. I was going to run a half marathon. 2. I was going to go to Disney World. It just so happened that the 2013 Princess Half Marathon would be taking place over my mid-winter break, so when registration opened in July 2012, I gladly (okay, nervously) signed up. I had no idea that it would be such a life changing decision.
In February 2013, I completed the Princess Half Marathon in 2:12:42. I struggled during the last three miles of the race because the humidity was so bad, and I didn't know a whole lot then about proper fueling. Regardless, when I crossed the finish line just before 9am, and my first thought was, "when can I do that again?"
At the time, I was registered for the Disneyland Half Marathon so that I could earn a Coast-to-Coast Challenge medal. Three weeks after Princess, I ran the New York City Half Marathon with Team in Training, and PRed by 6 minutes. When I returned home from the race that night, I figured since I was already running in 3 states, why not shoot for all 50? The next thing I knew, I was registering for a race in Connecticut that June. In just over two years, I have run 16 half marathons and 4 full marathons. I have checked 11 states off of my list, as well as Washington, DC.
As I became more serious about running, my diet changed tremendously. Throughout high school and college, I considered myself a healthy eater because I only ate non-fat or low-fat foods (mostly processed), and avoided sweets. I also drank a LITERS of diet soda a day. After tons of research, self-education, and trial-and-error, I decided that a plant-based diet works best for me. I gave up meat about three years ago, and consume as little gluten and dairy as possible. I also haven't had soda in about three years...score!
If you're still reading this...thanks! I hope you enjoy my blog. Feel free to connect with me on my other social media channels; links can be found on the Home page!
