Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Member Spotlight: Kim P.



Get to know member Kim P. in our latest Member Spotlight!

Are you from Louisville originally?
No, I am originally from Poland, NY

Tell us briefly about your family members
I have a great hubby of 30+ years who is very supportive of my running & often comes to races to help “crew” or take pics of me & my running buddies. He’s an avid cyclist. We enjoy biking, kayaking, hiking & discovering new places. I have 4 wonderful kids aged 18-26. One of them runs & I'm trying to convince the others. At first I think they thought my running was a little weird (because none of the other moms my age were doing it), but now they think it’s at least a little cool.

Why do you run?
Fitness, health, weight loss, *stress relief, because I CAN & I love it & being outside! Now I also do it to socialize w/ my MRTT-er friends!



Favorite Non-Running Workout:
Elliptical at home w/Netflix - but this varies too!

Where is your favorite place to run? Why?
This is evolving. I love the Parklands, especially the trails at Turkey Run, but love running in new areas. On our monthly MRTT runs one of my favorites was thru Old Louisville. I run whenever we visit family in NC & Syracuse area & love the adventure of a new run!

What is the one "thing" you absolutely need to run?
Good running shoes.

What is your favorite post-run indulgence?
Coffee with my MRTT buddies!

What has been your favorite race and why?
Urban Bourbon 2018 because I had been injured most of late summer/ fall & not able to train like I wanted. I was able to finish & even PR (even if by 9 seconds) by running 2 min-30 sec intervals with a friend! It got me “back” & I’ve been going strong & smart ever since! Plus the after party was a ball.


Name your bucket list race(s):
I haven’t really been able to pursue this as I haven’t been able to travel much for races. Due to some family responsibilities. But I’d love to do a Ragnar race, Yamacraw, Run the Bluegrass, the Iron Horse Half... I plan to try to do great local races at least once before traveling farther.

At what point did you call yourself a runner?

That’s a funny question but I was running at the Parklands on some trails & a school or camp field trip came upon me. The teacher yells out: “WATCH OUT for the RUNNER!” I remember smiling to myself & finally accepting, that I was, indeed a runner!

Favorite training plan?
I don’t have one but do subscribe to some of Jeff Galloway’s walk-run principles for injury prevention.

What do you tell yourself to keep going during a tough run?
It varies, but “you GOT this”, “you’re doing something many folks WISH they could”, I distract myself by appreciating everything around me including people, nature, architecture, I pray for others & myself and I talk to my dad who has passed (because thinking of him makes me smile & he’d be proud of me)

What have you struggled with during your running journey and did you find a solution?
A few injuries. First, a severe high hamstring strain playing volleyball in Fall 2017. It took a very long time to heal & longer to be able to do hill work. I still haven’t attempted a lot of speed work, probably partly due to fear. I finally made myself go to a Physical Therapist who did dry needling a few times (didn’t go more as dry needling was out of pocket expense). It took a lot for me to go because of this injury it literally in your butt cheek & I was embarrassed to have anyone examining at or touching that chubby area! Then late summer 2018 I thought I had the same thing to a lesser degree on the other side. I tried rest & cross training but every time I tried running pain would worsen. Eventually, I found out that my Sacroiliac joint was misaligned. Once it was adjusted & I followed up w/ home physical therapy suggestions I was able to slowly resume running! Bottom line: I need to not wait for so long to seek help or treatment.


What three things do you most want to accomplish (running or non-running related)?
1- I would really like to inspire more women (including my 2 daughters) to take up running or run/walking (especially young girls, older women like myself or women of different body types, sizes, abilities etc, who don’t believe it’s possible). This includes Being a coach for a Girls on The Run team again (I did it for my daughter’s team in the past).
2- Train smart & injury free so I can complete my first full marathon this spring! KDF
3- I would like to eventually do relay Dualthalons with my husband- but haven’t really told him that yet!



Monday, December 10, 2018

December 2018 Monthly Challenge


December Monthly Challenge


We like to keep things easy the month of December as it is such a busy time of year! The challenge this month: Help hold each other accountable as we wrap up 2018 goals.


From our event that you can find in our closed Facebook group:

Need a place to share your success? Want to support/encourage fellow runners? Need accountability for challenging goals? This is the place! Share workouts daily, weekly or as frequently as you desire! Include selfies, data from your app, funny memes, etc to help stay motivated! The holidays can be busy, so let's help each other stay on track!


Start thinking about 2019: what goals are you ready to crush next year? 

Here are some tips to get you started!