A little bout me…
I am first a mother and wife, and second a dedicated runner. I have been an athlete of some sort since my middle school years. I ran track in the small town of Pickens, SC and was inspired by a very encouraging, caring and enthusiastic coach, Bryan Clevenger. Clevenger introduced me to the world of track, pain and success. I was able to get on a small collegiate team where I ran for one semester. I felt like a big fish in a small pond, and sincerely wanted to push myself further. Eventually I became a part of USC’s cross country team (thank you Clevenger once again!), and by my 2nd year on the team I dropped 3 minutes from my current time with the help of Coach Stan Rosenthal (20 minutes to 17:05 at Penn Relays). There was a lot of talent on the team, and the girls really pushed me, supported one another and also had a lot of fun together. I remember running my first 6 miles with them at a 7 min/mile pace and thinking I was surely going to die. I didn’t die, and went on to receive MVP honors and co-captained the team with two brilliantly smart and talented runners whose names I will leave anonymous. At this point I became over trained was not eating properly to fuel my body and eventually broke down mentally. I quit the team, and a year later joined a semi-professional cycling team. I had great success on the road, racing alongside Olympians like Krista Armstrong. In 2011 I married my best friend and super hero- Rob. In September of 2011 I gave birth to a wide-eyed and jolly baby girl, Ms. Ella-Kate. After some time off the bike I have yet again caught the endurance bug, and am currently training for my first marathon- Potomac River Run, where I hope to set a Boston Qualifying time while staying healthy and happy.
This blog is about a little of everything (most probably)… my training, my goals, successes, failures and family. Thanks for following along!
The Southern Mother Runner
Current PRs:
5k: 17:05
Mile: 5:03
Southern Mother Runner 