Training Tips

I have had an ultimate bucket list for about ten years now. In college, a good friend had purchased a journal for me, which I used as therapy during hard times or injury. I have talked many times about how important I believe journaling is, especially when you are struggling with something in your life…

Progression runs force you to confront those inner demons telling you that you can’t do this, they force you to notice the fatigue in your legs around halfway and say, yep, I hear you legs, but we have work to do, the second half needs to be faster than the first half.  I have always…

I get a lot of emails each week. Mostly from runners like you, who are looking for some advice, some REAL advice. Not sponsored, not biased, not judge-y. Some support for a runner from a runner without being looked at like a crazy person. As someone who owns a business called Running for Real, you…

There are endless articles out there giving runners advice on how to run well, race fast, train harder, be better. There is good advice, and there is bad advice. Unfortunately, the rules are constantly changing, and something we are told is good for us, can be found TERRIBLE for us the following year (without us…

It has been an honor to be considered someone a lot of new mothers look to for advice about life with a baby. That truly warms my heart to know that my opinion is important to you. It is yet another reason I am so happy I spoke out about my 9 year struggle with…

We are in England right now, so I wanted to make the most of the time with family and friends. Therefore, I do not have a blog post for you, but I do have an updated list of all my coupon codes to help you save a few pennies. Now, if you have been a…

When I was an elite runner, where I ran was really important. On important workout days I would travel up to 90 minutes to get a long run in along a flat path in Cincinnati. On long run days, I would drive 20 minutes to start my run at the beginning of a paved trail…

When I announced that I was going to stop running to overcome amenorrhea, I knew I was prepared to do whatever it took to get my body to a healthy place. I made that my focus; being the best period-get-backer there ever was. And like other things I had put my mind to, I did…

When you love running, and especially when you have a big goal in mind, you want to be committed to that goal. In fact, you don’t just want to be committed, you are, and its hard to even take it off your mind sometimes. Your days are based around it. We want to prove just…

Coping with injury is never easy for runners. We really love what we do. When you have a running injury, once you figure out a rough plan of how long you will need off, the anxiety from being unable to run quickly begins to build. Which is exactly why I previously gave you the 12…

Here are 110 reasons to run, from which I gathered from the Running4Real Community, within the Superstars Group: I run now because I know someday in the future my body will tell me “no more”, until then I will use this gift I have to be able to run.- CJ Beatty I run because I…

I am probably going to make a lot of people angry with that title, but it is something I hear some variation of over and over again. Especially in newer runners, runners who are falling for all the typical runner mistakes, and it ends up breaking their heart, often breaking their bodies, and breaking their…

When we get injured, we tend to go through phases, phases that I would typically go through every time. But this time, I am trying to make it different. First is denial, we pretend there is nothing there. We are afraid to even admit to ourselves that something doesn’t feel quite right, that the pain…or as…

I am a driven person. By now, most people know that. I set goals, and go get them, that is just how I have always done things. Chances are, that is the way may of you have done things too. How would you possibly stay motivated to do something that requires effort without a goal,…

I thought I would reflect over all that has happened, and remind myself…and you, through my stream of consciousness, that no situation is final. You may be injured right now and feel like you are never going to be a healthy runner again. You may be grieving the loss of a loved one, waiting patiently…

March 21st 2017 I stopped running. At the time, I had no idea if I would ever start again. On that day, I was prepared to say bye to running for good. I had to commit to it, otherwise it would be too easy to beat myself up, let myself slip into old habits, allow…

Even if you aren’t a kid person, newborn baby photos have the power to make anyone melt. They are our favorite photos to see, and when it is your baby, and your bias is in full force, you literally couldn’t imagine a better photo. Especially when your photographer is amazing, and Courtnie Coulson Photography is…

It is the question I have had many times, and the question I had never really thought about before it happened to me. What does it feel like to run while pregnant? I get it. You would think running while pregnant would be pretty uncomfortable, the big bump in your front would kind of bounce…

My doctor, Dr Jennifer Fuson also said she has worked with dozens of women using this method, which gives further confidence that I am doing the right thing. So what are we using? Hypnobabies. If you have not heard of hypnobabies (which I suspect is the case for many), here is their definition: “Hypnobabies is…

You may have heard me throwing that phrase around, maybe you are a Running for Real Superstar on Facebook and see people talking about it in the community (if you aren’t a member yet, why not?! Come join us!) and you are completely confused. You might be thinking: I could NOT run without my watch!…