Welcome to 4run2! Follow along on my fitness journey!

4run2

Instead of hitting up the resorts this winter, we

Instead of hitting up the resorts this winter, we did a backcountry ski trip and experienced the freshest and softest snow! We hiked about 2 miles to get to the hut. The wood burning stove kept the hut warm, we melted snow to use as drinking water (and yes, it was delicious), and we made our meals on propane stove tops. During the day we would look for safe spots to ski down and then we would hike up to another spot. It was a lot of work, but so worth it to glide across untouched snow. First tracks at a resort are nice, but first tracks in the backcountry can't be beat. It was nice living off the grid for a couple days. We were able to relax and unwind without thinking about what is going on in the world. It is just what my soul needed!

I made it to 2 years!! I started my run streak on

I made it to 2 years!! I started my run streak on January 2nd, 2020 and it has been quite a journey! The first year wasn’t so bad because I didn’t have much going on due to the pandemic. I had so much time on my hands that running was my go to activity. Year 2 was a little tougher. It was more of a mental game. On the days I struggled to get out the door, I would tell myself it is only 10 minutes and I can go back inside and relax in the couch. I would use this time to clear my head and think about nothing. Literally nothing! Sometimes I would get lost in my neighborhood because I would turn my brain off …and then my mile run would become longer 😂 but through the struggles, this run streak has kept me motivated to move my body each day. The more I move, the better I feel. I love running and I love sharing my love for running with everyone. Im not sure where this run streak journey is going, but I promise it won’t be boring!

Post run Mieke smiles 😍😍 She crushed 2 runs

Post run Mieke smiles 😍😍 She crushed 2 runs this weekend for a total of 8 miles. She is all smiles after a morning spent outside since it was so crappy yesterday.

How is it December 1st already?! November is one o

How is it December 1st already?! November is one of my least favorite months because of daylights savings. It really messes with my running schedule. I try to run as many miles as I can on the weekend since it gets dark so early and I can barely get out of bed in time for work. I was able to do a few 10 mile runs this month. It is always great to get in a double digit run when I am not in training mode. There are days I get winded walking up steps, so it is nice to know I still have my endurance. Mieke joined me for a lot of runs this month. The weather is perfect for her, but all of the rabbits and deer are out now and she gets distracted easily. I hope we have some snowy days in December, so she can really be in her element!
-
I am still streaking! 699 days. Run 700 is today and a great way to start off the month. 2 years is right around the corner. My December goal is to stay healthy so I can make it 730 days!

Holiday baking is here 🙌🏻🙌🏻 which is r

Holiday baking is here 🙌🏻🙌🏻 which is really just baking with the word holiday in front of it 😂 I love any excuse to bake. Whether it is a classic chocolate chip cookie or something completely new, I am always down. In the spring/summer, I bake fruity desserts, pumpkin in the fall, and winter is a mixture of cinnamon/ginger and all the above! Pictured is: Twix bars (@ambitiouskitchen), sprinkle cookies, and chocolate chip peanut butter blondies! What are some of your holiday favorites to bake?!

She beat me by a tail! - I ran with Mieke 4 times

She beat me by a tail!
-
I ran with Mieke 4 times this week. We ran a couple recovery runs and then she crushed a 10k on Friday (her longest run since the beginning of the year). Saturday morning, she pulled me around the Schenley Oval with @ascendclimbinggym and @pumpedtorun. She started out hot and then saw a deer and got a little distracted 😂, but she finished strong! I had to bundle up on Saturday (yes, there was a little snow 🙃), but it was perfect running weather for Meeks! I think the more layers I wear means the longer she will run 😂 She has a lot of miles in the tank and the weather is only getting colder. Huskies are finally in their glory!

In honor of the @anteloperunningclub 555 challenge

In honor of the @anteloperunningclub 555 challenge starting today, here are a couple pics from last weeks group runs in Vegas. It is always fun meeting fellow runners while on tour. During our runs we talk about Phish, running, last nights show, upcoming shows, and everything in between! Hoping to make a run doing the MSG shows!
-
If you are looking for some winter running motivation, checkout their page for details about this challenge. There are 13 donut challenges. I’m hoping to do at least 11 of them (not sure if I can do 55.5 miles every week nor a 55.5 miler). The 3 big goals for me are: run 555 miles, run 55.5 km in one day 😬, and run 55.5 km every week. Let’s do this!

Climbing + Phish = a perfect weekend! Seriously, l

Climbing + Phish = a perfect weekend! Seriously, last weekend was perfect. We had a couple great days of climbing at Red Rocks followed by 4 awesome shows. We climbed the Civilization Crag and the Stone Wall. We were very impressed we were able to find both crags and not get lost or go too far out of the way 😂 . I think my favorite climb of the weekend was Roto Hammer. It was pretty reachy for me. I really liked the crux. It was at about the second to last bolt. I had to get a little uncomfortable with a traverse-high foot- lunge to a high hold and then to another one (if that makes sense). Michael (being over 6') climbed it a little more statically than I did 😂. It was a fun climb and it was in the shade 🙌. After 2 full days of climbing and 2 concerts, we switched up our afternoon activity to brunch and disc golf. We were exhausted on Sunday night and my swollen ankles definitely showed it 😂
-
All 4 concerts were awesome. The number set 😍 what we thought was a names set 😂 the animal set 😍 and then the eagerly awaited Halloween set 🙌. It was such a fun weekend. We sat around a lot of great people. We dressed up for every show: Reba McIntrye with and without whistling, Jay and Silent Bob, Strip Club Promoters, and Dr Grant and Dr Hammond. A lot of fun was had coming up with costume ideas. Can't wait for New Years! And a shout out to our boy, Dave, for catching pure happiness during the Hood encore 😃

How are there only 2 months left in 2021?! I finis

How are there only 2 months left in 2021?! I finished my October running in Nevada running around Red Rocks after climbing or on the Strip with the @anteloperunningclub! A pretty solid way to end the month!
-
I didn’t really have a running plan for October. I took it easy for about a week and then I got back into the swing of things with a couple double digit runs. The weather is finally getting to the perfect running temperature and I am excited to take advantage of it on weekends. The one thing I’m not looking forward to in November is daylights savings 😩 I don’t really like to run in the dark and I can barely get out of bed to make it to work on time, so morning runs aren’t really a consistent thing in my life. Maybe I’ll work on that this month 🤷🏻‍♀️ but it’s harder to get out of bed when it’s cold and dark 😩.
-
November goal: sign up for a full marathon in 2022!
Running Streak: 669 days!

Back on the bakery runs 🙌🏻 - Today I took t

Back on the bakery runs 🙌🏻
-
Today I took the long route to get to @madeleinebakerybistro in Wilkinsburg. Google maps put it at about 5 miles, but I wanted to run at least 8. I decided to add a couple extra miles by going a different route. I didn’t map it out first and it turned into a 10 mile run😂but I was ok with that. It rained last night and this morning (stopped before my run 🤞🏻) and it finally felt like a typical late fall run and I am here for it 🙌🏻🙌🏻 After being out of town last weekend, it was nice to do a long weekend run. I was a little slow at the beginning, pushed through the hills in the middle and then cruised down(hill) on Forbes to finish it. It was a pretty decent tempo run. Right now, I’m using these long weekend runs to keep my miles up while I figure out my next race/training schedule.
-
Madeleine’s is located near Frick Park. The shop smells amazing and everything looks delicious! We picked up a few goodies to enjoy this weekend (swipe to see!) Only part of the baguette made it home since we took Mieke to the dog park and needed to try something! Everything was delicious and we will definitely be going back!

We finally have fall weather in Pittsburgh which m

We finally have fall weather in Pittsburgh which means Mieke will be running with me more 😃😃
-
In the summer she is good for a morning run (which we know are few and far between) or maybe a quick mile around the block, but the heat gets to this sled dog pretty quickly and she would much rather be hanging in the shade. After a long and hot summer, Mieke is ready to crush 10k’s again. I just hope she doesn’t want to hop in the creek on the really cold days 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

Just outside of Nuremberg is an area called Franke

Just outside of Nuremberg is an area called Frankenjura that has a ton of climbing spots. We had to check it out! We climbed in the Freudenhaus area. This wall had a bunch of 10's and 9's for us to explore. I wasn't sure how I would be feeling after the race and we didn't want to overdo it with climbing anything too hard. Thanks to 8A, it didn't take us too long to find the parking area...but we may have taken a different route to get to the crag than we were supposed to take.It was a gorgeous drive to this crag and we went through a bunch of little towns and green areas to get there. This limestone was mostly crimps and pockets. We haven't done a lot of pocket climbing outside, so this was a nice change for us. I tried to do a lot of high feet to get a good leg stretch after the race. We had a really nice day climbing. It was very peaceful in this area and a nice break from the city.
-
I'm so happy we were able to climb in a different country. We weren't sure what to expect, but it was no different than what we have climbed here in the US. The routes were well bolted (looked like they were recently updated) with the only difference being one anchor ring instead of 2. Since we were climbing in the middle of the week, we were the only ones at this crag. We did see a couple other climbing pairs on our drive in. It would've been nice to talk to a few German climbers (or try to with our limited German language knowledge). Not sure what our next international trip will be, but we will definitely be checking out the climbing scene!

Bakeries and Beer: Nuremberg Edition! - If you di

Bakeries and Beer: Nuremberg Edition!
-
If you didn’t know, I love a good bakery and this city was filled with them 😍 I started my mornings with a quick run and would end it at a bakery to pick up some pastries for a quick breakfast. I loved running through the town in the morning and exploring different parts of the city while I scoped out different spots to try. My favorite was croissant dipped in chocolate and stuffed with hazelnut 😍 I didn’t really know what I was ordering and the hazelnut middle was a very nice surprise 🙌🏻. After a day of exploring we would grab and a beer and pick up some dessert to enjoy after dinner aka the perfect way to end a day 😃
-
My favorite meal here was at a restaurant called Globo. It is a wonderful farm to table restaurant that features different types of European food. Highly recommend! We enjoyed the hummus, mushroom carpaccio, char salad, eggplant, and braised beef. And everything else in the menu sounded amazing! @globorestaurantnuernberg

Daydreaming of this city view and soaking in all t

Daydreaming of this city view and soaking in all the history around me.

Marathon month is over 😔 now to plan my next ra

Marathon month is over 😔 now to plan my next race 😂. Most of September was tapering for Berlin. I think with each marathon, my training plan gets better. I’m excited to work towards my next race this spring. Right now, I am signed up for the @pghmarathon Half, but I’m thinking of adding a spring and/or fall marathon! I’ll need something to keep me busy.
-
US Miles: ~100
Germany Mile: ~42
Running Streak: 638 days

We had a lot of good food in Berlin. I only have p

We had a lot of good food in Berlin. I only have pictures of sweets and beer 🤣 a lot of both we had! I started my mornings with a run and a bakery aka the perfect morning!
-
During the race, all I wanted was a pretzel, beer, and Coke Zero. That was exactly what I had after I finished 🙌🏻 it’s the little things that keep me motivated after hours of running 😂😂
-
One of my favorite meals in Berlin was at @claerchens_ballhaus. It was originally a dance hall and now it operated as both a dance hall and restaurant. I had a very good poached cod over tagliatelle with a spinach sauce 🤤🤤 it really hit the spot after a day of exploring.

Still obsessing over how amazing of a day Sunday w

Still obsessing over how amazing of a day Sunday was 😃😃 I wasn’t sure if the marathon was going to happen. 2 years of training for a day that might not happen is hard, both physically and mentally. Yes, I could’ve ran another race, but there is something special about Berlin. I usually get a little emotional during marathons knowing that all of my hard work paid off, but this one hit different. This race was the first major in almost 2 years. It is the start of in person races and it gave us runners hope that our races are back!
-
I broke down as I crossed the finish line like I never have before. I embraced with the man next to me who was rejoicing in Spanish and the girl on the other side of me who dropped to her knees. Everyone was celebrating in their summer own way and you could see the emotion. This is why I love marathons!! It was such a special moment sharing this race with everyone. We did it and I can’t wait for what is next ❤️❤️

Berlin Marathon 2021 ✅ Yesterday was amazing! It

Berlin Marathon 2021 ✅ Yesterday was amazing! It was my first in person race in 2 years and it was perfect. The people running were amazing, the people lining the streets were awesome (seriously, there were people every step of the way cheering everyone on!), and running through the streets of Berlin was was everything I hoped it would be.
It was very tough training during a pandemic Thankfully my running friends were there to get me through my training (shout out to @anteloperunningclub and the @ascendclimbinggym run club!!)
-
Race Day!! I met some pretty cool people before the race. One lady was from California and we had similar goals and decided to run together. She was awesome! We pushed each other to keep our pace and encouraged each other along the way. It was so nice having someone to chat with during the rough parts and high five as we hit different milestones. We split up with about a 10k left. My adrenaline started to kick in and my brain started throwing out stuff my legs weren’t ready for 😂 i would hit a water station & my energy would boost for a little bit and then come back down. The people on the streets were so loud & it really helped with the last few km. Free by @phish came on at the perfect time right before the turn to Brandenburg and gave me all the feels 😊 a few too many because I started to choke up & that messed up my breathing which caused to laugh 🤦🏻‍♀️ Crossing the finish line was very emotional. This marathon journey has been very long & I wasn’t sure if it was ever gonna happen. I could tell everyone felt the same. You could see the smiles & happy tears on everyone as we finished & received our medals. I loved everything about this race and I hope to run it again in the future. Congrats to my fellow runners! We crushed it! If you’re thinking of running a marathon, do it! #berlinmarathon #berlinlegend

When it’s marathon month, but you want to go to

When it’s marathon month, but you want to go to a music festival 🤷🏻‍♀️ This past weekend we went to Summerdance to see Lotus play. It was Remple’s last time playing with the band and we could not miss it! It is possible to stick to your training while camping at a music fest!
-
With the @berlinmarathon at the end of the month and a running streak I didn’t want to break, I had to plan my workouts for the weekend. I started with a pre work 5k tempo run with Mieke to start the weekend. I made sure to hydrate all day since the weekend was going to consist of beer and camp food. We lucked out and had great weather (mid 70s and a lot of shade from the trees). The road just outside the campsite was empty and flat. I woke up around 9 with a good amount of energy and decided to do 5 miles since my friends were still sleeping 😂. I warmed up around the campground and was on the road by a 1/2 mile. The road I ran on was perfect for a sprint workout. If you asked me earlier in the week if I would do a sprint workout while camping, I would’ve laughed! I started with .25 mile sprint, .25 recovery and worked my way up to .5 mile sprints. This work out helped get me in the mindset for Sunday’s run. Saturday afternoon was spent cooking and floating in the lake (aka my shower)-a great way to relax before the concert! Another concert Saturday night with plenty of water and late night pizza (aka pre run carbs 😂). It rained overnight, so Sunday morning was pretty slow 😂 but, I got my run in! It was a little slower than Saturday, but I worked on some speed to get my heart rate up. The cooler temperature and the light drizzle made my ‘camping shower’ a little better 🤣. I’m happy I was able to get my runs in last weekend! A weekend in AC with Phish was good prep for this weekend! 2 more weekends until Berlin! I wish I could say they are going to be relaxing, but I have back to back bachelorette parties 🤦🏻‍♀️ The challenge continues…

I’m not sure if how I started was the intended b

I’m not sure if how I started was the intended beta, but locking my foot felt the most secure to bump myself up the next couple moves.
Once I got the sequence down, it made for a nice flow up the wall. I got a little too excited the first time I got the last hold and fell right as my hand slipped off the top 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 There is a good selection of challenging problems on the slab wall that have been fun to figure out!

Follow on Instagram

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins