Next up we have Mandy. Mandy is someone I connected with through twitter through a former co-worker. I was just finding my love of this sport and it was nice to be able to “talk shop” with another runner who was just as into it as myself. I don’t know many runners in this region and so twitter/tumblr have become sanctuaries for me, places where I can talk about running and not be considered a complete lunatic, or at least not as much. She’s still someone I go to with running related questions, injuries, advice, etc. Definitely a most chill lady.
Name: Mandy B.
Age: 29
Height/Weight: 5’1/less than 120 (I don’t keep track anymore – I feel good and healthy and strong and that’s all I need to know.)
Occupation: Middle school teacher – Grade 6, currently
1) How long have you been running? When/why did you start?
Off and on for my whole life; seriously for about 10 months. My dad was a runner and we used to cheer him on at his races, including his marathons. I’d go along with him on his 12Ks, on my bike. He was my inspiration when I began to run laps around the block; I always did track and cross country with school and he’d come to all my meets. I went running here and there through university, but I wouldn’t have called myself a runner. My dabbling in it was always in stints and bursts. A few years back, I was sick with an eating disorder. I ran then, but for different reasons, and because I was nutritionally depleted, it was HARD work and I didn’t enjoy it. There were easier ways to lose weight and manage my anxiety so I quit it.
At the end of 2010, I became a vegan. This helped me resolve my relationship with food. I think I felt healthy and well for the first time in a number of years. I was getting a little tired of my gym routine and missing being outside once the winter months came. One day, I brought some sweatpants and a hoodie to work, and went for a 3km run on my lunch break. This was February. I couldn’t walk for two weeks after – the elliptical machine is a lot easier on your body than running is! But something hooked me – I cancelled my gym membership almost immediately and once I was over that initial road shock to my muscles, I was at it. I’d go at lunch or after school, before coming home, while I could still catch some daylight. By the beginning of April, I had registered for my first full marathon – Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October 2011 – with my dad. It was for me. It gave me something nothing else did. I felt like I could take on the world. I ran because I could run and it was mine.
2) What keeps you motivated?
Knowing how good I feel after a run – how it helps me let go of anxieties, how it clears my head, how it helps me feel strong and accomplished and productive. Sometimes having a new playlist keeps me motivated. Other times, it’s knowing I have a race coming up that I want to kick in the butt. When the weather’s good, the weather motivates me. When I’ve had a great day, that motivates me – I run to celebrate. When I’ve had a bad day, that motivates me, too – I run to get over it. I draw motivation from lots of places – there are many, many good excuses to go for a run!
3) Do you follow a specific plan, training, running program?
Not really. When I was marathon training, I had a vague schedule slapped to my fridge, based on a beginner marathoner’s plan that I found online and tweaked to suit my schedule. I didn’t follow it day-to-day, though. It was mostly a reminder not to push it too far too early. After my October marathon, I actually had to put the Garmin away to even get out there. I was getting intimidated by having to always do better than my previous pace and time and forgetting why I started running to begin with. These days, I am running because it feels good, because I am catching those last bits of daylight, because it helps me feel strong – all those things that hooked me in the first place. I feel like things have come pretty full-circle this year in that regard. I’ll start a bit more of a structured schedule again at the end of January to train for the 2012 Vancouver Marathon in May – I’ve already registered for that. I’d like to throw in more hill training this time around because I’ve had success with it in the past in terms of speed increase.
4) How often do you run?
This varies wildly at the moment. This year, my teaching workload is definitely on the heavy side – sometimes my days are so long that by the end I am legitimately just too tired to go. Some weeks I run 5 times; some weeks I run twice. I’d like it to be more regular, but it doesn’t seem to be in the cards right now.
5) What is your favourite thing about running?
Accomplishment, strength, goal-setting and goal-smashing and goal-resetting. Clearing my head. Happy-exhaustion. Positive social time. Sharing it. Just going. Having something that’s mine.
6) What is your least favourite thing about running?
I got injured just before the first half marathon I was supposed to run in May 2010. It hurt so much to have trained for something meaningful and to end up just watching from the sidelines instead. That’s been the worst part so far.
7) Shoes or Barefoot?
Shoes. New Balance 890s are working out for me really well because they carry wide widths, are nice and narrow in the ankle, and have neutral support for supinators. I’m on my third pair.
8) With headphones or without?
Depends on my mood, really. I’ve done distances/races up to a half marathon without music but I take it with me more often than not.
9) Do you race? If so - why?
YES. Yes. I need the checkpoints. I need something to train for, some date in the distance to say to myself, that’s the day I’m going to beat my previous best. That’s the date I need to be ready for. The atmosphere at races – nothing beats that. I’ve done most of my races with my dad and I’ve had the opportunity on two occasions to share races with friends who had never raced before. Racing inspires me – so much positivity and so many reasons for running all in one place.
10) Ideal pre-race/post-race meals?
Pre-race: oats with soy or almond milk and a spoonful of peanut butter. Always. I don’t mess around with that one because it sits well and does the job. Post-race: fruit and more fruit. I’m vegan and can’t always eat the stuff they hand out at the end of races so I throw some non-banana fruit into my bag of dry clothes for after a run. Usually, my stomach is too unsettled to eat more than a couple of pieces of fruit when I’m finished, but when I’m ready to eat a meal, I usually go for something really clean – veggies, nuts, etc. Big salads. Grains like quinoa.
11) Most embarrassing running moment/memory?
Like Jacqueline, mine’s a pee story. I had to check out of my fastest 5K in July and take a detour into a ditch - there was no way I was making it to the finish line first. It was still a PR for me but it obviously wasn’t the time I could have had, and I learned a thing or two that day about water consumption the morning of a race, no matter how hot it is out there.
12) Solo runner or with a friend?
I love racing with someone else. When my dad and I race together, we each run our own race, but it’s great to have someone to celebrate with at the finish line. I run occasionally with a friend from work and I enjoy that way more than I thought I was going to. It’s good social time and he likes park trails, which gets me doing a kind of run that I wouldn’t do on my own. I’ve had a few friends pick up running since the summer and I’d like more buddy runs in my schedule, I think – but in the end I run for me, because it’s my time with my head and my body and my music and my goals. So overall I’m much more of a solo runner.
13) If you had to give some advice to someone just getting into the sport: what advice would you give?
Know your body. Stop listening to advice (except this? haha) and get out there and listen to what your body is telling you about what you need – food, water, distance, speed. Get in touch with yourself and you’re in a much better position to prevent injury and be at your best.
