About Me


Hi and thanks for stopping by my little piece of the blogosphere! My name is Kristen.  That's me on the left in the picture below with my family...my husband and I are basking in the post-marathon glow.  And, no, I'm clearly not one of those runners who wears makeup for races...although maybe I should start!  ;)  I’m in my late 30’s (okay, turning 40 in just over a month) and I live in Portland, Oregon.  I am married to my best friend, John, and we have three wonderful kids – one son and two daughters.  My son is 12 years-old and our girls are 3.5 and 2 years-old.  We also have a lovable, furry chocolate lab named Ivy.  

Portland Marathon 2011

Ivy

Although born in the suburbs of Chicago (go Cubs!), I grew up in Oregon with an older sister and a younger brother.  We have always been a very active and outdoorsy family.  I learned to ski when I was barely 2 years-old and, shortly thereafter, learned to fly-fish, too.  We grew up skiing in the winters and white-water rafting in the summers. 

As a child, I was incredibly small.  In fact, I was SO tiny that my parents had my sister and I undergo bone growth tests that showed we were both 2.5 years behind our respective age groups.  I was literally below the zero percentile in every growth chart and a full head (or more) shorter than all my friends.  If you have kids, you might like this comparison -- I weighed 32 pounds in the 1st grade.  For anyone that thinks I may be exaggerating about my small stature, check out this pic that someone posted on Facebook.  My friend TAGGED me in it...even though you can't actually SEE me!  I'm the one who is hidden by the candles.

Yes, there is someone behind those candles!

With my size, what else could I do but become a gymnast?!  I spent countless hours after school and entire weekends in the gym when I was in grade school and junior high.  By the time I reached high school, however, I knew I wasn't the next Mary Lou Retton and the time commitment to continue as a gymnast was just too much.

I tried a few sports in high school – freshman volleyball (ha!), cheerleading (am I allowed to call that a sport??) and track & field.  I never really considered myself a runner, though, as the only events I ran were the low and high hurdles.  It seemed the ability to jump high was the only thing that helped me in moving from gymnastics to track.

As much as I loved growing up in Oregon, I viewed college as a way to experience another part of the country so I packed some bags, said goodbye to my family at the airport and bravely boarded a plane to attend Duke University, a mere 3,000 miles from home.  I vaguely remember running occasionally in college as a way to stay in-shape but my runs were few and far between.

After college, I moved back to Portland, Oregon, and began working at a start-up company.  A co-worker mentioned she was going to run the 1996 Portland marathon that fall so I decided to sign up with her.  Doesn't everyone choose a marathon as their first ever race?  Two weeks into the training, she had a change of heart and I was left training by myself.  I had no idea what I was doing but loved running the marathon, never hit the wall and finished somewhere around 4:20 to 4:30.  During the next few years, I continued to run solely as a form of exercise but never consistently or seriously.

After having a little boy in the spring of 2000 and beginning business school classes back at Duke that same fall, I began to really enjoy running in and of itself.  It was no longer exercise but a way for me to connect with my body physically and mentally.  A friend wanted to run her first marathon so we signed up together to run the Marine Corps Marathon in the fall of 2001.  I trained with her and was planning to run 10 minute miles, thinking I would end up running about a 4:20 marathon.  No one was more surprised than I was when I crossed the line in 3:48!

MCM 2001 finish
After the MCM, I finished grad school, went back to work full-time and eventually had my two girls.  I continued to run whenever possible, completing 4 more marathons, a number of half-marathons and a handful of shorter races.  With my busy life, however, I have never really dedicated myself to trying to reach my running potential.


All that is about to change!  This summer is the first time I've really started reading and following blogs and I have been so inspired by what other (mostly women) runners out there are doing to achieve their dreams.  So I have decided to dream big as well.  I now have a running coach and am confident and excited to see what the future holds.  

I don't have any big goals to share yet as Coach Rick and I are just getting to know one another and I'm still in base-building phase following my foot injury.  But I'll be sure to share my goals as soon as they are set...they definitely include at least a sub-3:25 marathon (current PR is 3:35:25) but hopefully much more than that.  I can't wait!

What does your running mean to you?  Do you have any big running-related goals you would like to achieve?  

- Kristen

18 comments:

  1. Just found your blog through runninghood, and love mom running blogs - I've got three little ones myself. Looking forward to following along!!:)

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    1. Thanks, Katie! I love Runninghood -- Amanda is such a great writer and reading her blog is what inspired me to start my own. I will have to go check out your blog now! :)

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  2. Didn't realize you had a blog girlfriend! Saw it on your FB homepage......love it!

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    1. Thanks for checking it out, Cheska. :) I don't write that often but always seem to have random thoughts floating around in my head so it has been a fun way to process. Have you been running much? I know you are battling Lyme disease!! That is crazy.

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  3. Just found your blog through Runninghood! SO glad I found it!! I just re-read your Boston or Bust and I'm excited for you. Boston 2013 will be my first Boston as well! I'm excited to follow your training!

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    1. Any friend of Amanda's is a friend of mine. ;) I just visited your blog -- you are one speedy mama! And you have a gorgeous family.

      I'm not looking forward to training through the winter but now that I know I'll have so many virtual running buddies who are also training for Boston, it will make those early, dark, cold morning runs a little easier. I'll be following your training as well and I'm sure you will be inspiring me to push harder!

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  4. Small world- I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago! I now live in San Diego and just might move to Portland in 4 years. My partner and I are exploring where we would like to move next. Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Boulder are all possibilities. We are going to spend a week in Portland to check it out this December over the holidays.

    My (one and only) marathon so far was also a 3:35! We could be running buddies. I am hoping for a sub 3:30 in 2 weeks in Santa Barbara but not sure it's going to happen with only 8 weeks of training.

    I am ALSO running Boston 2013! My goal for Boston is 3:25. :)

    Just thought those were some fun little things we have in common.

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    1. So now that I have visited your blog, I could name about 10 more things we have in common! Not only do we have the same marathon PR, goal for Boston, and hometowns (when I was little, at least) but we also have a love of treadmills, we're both vegetarian and we both plan on becoming trail runners once we're done pushing ourselves to run faster!

      Keep me posted on when you are coming to Portland and we can go trail running together. I love running buddies!! :)

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    2. You're a vegetarian too!? How cool.

      Yes, I do love the treadmill more than I like to admit. I feel so judged when I tell people I ran 20 miles on the treadmill. I know it's crazy, but I like it!

      We will be in Portland Dec 19-25 and would love to have someone show us the trails! We'd also love to pick your brain about all things Portland.

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  5. I'm adding you to my blogs I follow! Love it! That picture of you is to die for behind the candles :)

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    1. Ha! I know, it is such a ridiculous picture (not to mention it was some sort of Girl Scout ceremony!) but it really shows how small I was. I added you to my list as well and am looking forward to learning more about barefoot running from you. I'm a big fan of Dr. McClanahan!!

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  6. Hi Kristen! I'm so glad you found our Sole Sisters Running blog. I had actually just found you the other day via Runninghood. How fun that you too are running Boston. We should meet up for a run sometime. I've got a few buddies training for Boston who I could introduce you to also. I'm looking forward to following along on your blog.

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    1. I would love to meet up for a run! I ran 15 with Amanda on Sunday and it was so much easier and fun than the 8 miles I struggled to finish today by myself. Although I'm used to doing most of my runs by myself (not by choice but due to scheduling and convenience), running with other women is ten times more fun! And it sounds like we have very similar paces. :)

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    2. I agree. The miles fly by with a friend to chat with. I too do most runs by myself. I just tried to find you on Facebook. Hopefully the friend request went to the right person! :)

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  7. Just read your "about me." Way to go! I'm excited to get caught up on your blog.

    I'm super tall and so I ended up playing basketball and volleyball. When I "ran" track it was to high jump and shot put. I just took up running in March and I am loving it!

    I'm a late-thirties mom of two boys (13 and 11) so I'm sure I'll be able to relate to a lot of your posts!

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    1. I just checked out your blog, too! So amazing that you just started running in March and have kept with it long enough to fall in love with it. :)

      How fun that you have a house full of boys! I loved having a son so much (he's 12) and never had a strong desire/need to have daughters. I don't consider myself very girly (hate shopping, am always in athletic gear, love camping and love sports) so it has been such a surprise to have girls who wear only pink ALL THE TIME! Kids are so much fun, though, and I love watching them grow up and become their own little person. If you are tall and athletic, I'm assuming your boys are as well...so you must be busy!

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  8. I just found your blog and I am so excited to read more! I love reading other running blogs- it is so encouraging! I am going to run my first marathon in November. I am so nervous and excited! I have no idea what to expect!

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    1. How ironic -- I just found your blog yesterday, too! I can't remember how I came across it but I'm looking forward to following along. :)

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