Category Archives: inspiration

Today’s Reason: Boston

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As soon as I woke up on Monday morning, I started up my lap top, placed it on the stove in my kitchen, and began making my kids their school lunches while I watched the Boston Marathon. The elites were about an hour and a half in and on their way to victory, I was cheering on Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan and explaining to my children the importance of Boston and how much the event means to all running kind.

Just hours later, friends began texting me about the explosions at the finish line and I just couldn’t believe it… came home, turned on the TV and there it was, the horrifying images of this unbelievable tragedy… my heart broke and the tears came.

I haven’t really been able to find the words to describe how I feel- as a runner, marathoner, spectator, and American. But today, I will try my best… Continue reading →

Today’s Reason: The Long Run

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I was out with a friend for dinner last night and she asked me, “How did you figure out you loved running?” And I really had to pause to think about that… I told her it all began for me 6 years ago because of Oakland Adventure Boot Camp, or really, in the absence of it.  After I started going to the gym and stopped going to boot camp, I kept challenging myself to do what my boot camp trainers had challenged us to: run the entirety- all 3 miles- of Lake Merritt.  That seemed SO HARD to me back then!  “Justholdonasecondhere- you want me to run, without stopping, all the way around the whole entire lake? It’s so big! Who does that?! 3 miles?!?!?! No way!!!!”

Despite how daunting those 3 miles seemed to me at the time, I kept trying and trying and trying to propel my body around that lake 3 or 4 times a week, every week. I’ll never forget the moment I finally accomplished my goal of running the whole entire lake- I was elated and so proud of myself that I went ahead and signed up for my first 5K race in April 2009 and for about a year, that 3 miles was my long run.

Continue reading →

I Resolve NOTHING

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calvin-hobbes-new-years-resolutions-e13572425456659 days into the new year, pressure of the holidays over, home after a brief vacation to our cabin, kids back in school, and I can settle back into my “normal” routine and FINALLY find some quiet time to myself to write a blog post! Yippee!!!

I read somewhere that 60% of Americans do not make new year’s resolutions whereas 20% do (and the other 20%, who knows, maybe they’re the “it’s just another day” types). In the past, I’ve fallen into the 20% who DO vow/pledge/promise themselves at the start of a new year to change all the things I wanted to but didn’t the year prior. This year, however, I became one of the 60 percenters who did not bother to make even one lousy resolution.

Why? Well, cartoon Calvin there has a good point… Continue reading →

Today’s Reason: Accountability

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Over the years, several people have said to me that they dislike it when people post each and every work out they do on Facebook.  And, a few years ago, I would have agreed with that! I used to think to myself, “Exercising is a necessity, it goes without saying that it’s something you have to do every day! I don’t update my status with ‘I breathed oxygen today, people, woo hoo!’ so pipe on down with all the ‘Hey, Internet, I worked out today yay me!’ posts. Geesh.”

I’ve since changed my mind.

I never used to really share my running endeavors on Facebook until I started racing and of course, social media just loves a hey-look-at-me-and-my-finisher’s-medal picture.  When I would share, I would do so somewhat sheepishly, unsure if Facebook friends would see it as a self-absorbed ego trip. In my want to post and write and talk about running without any judgement whatsoever, I went ahead and started this blog. Continue reading →

Anya’s Ultramarathoning Awesomeness

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Anya at the finish line of her very first ultra!

I already introduced you to my friend Kate and her Ultramarathoning Awesomeness, and now for part two, I would like you to meet Anya!

I met Anya during our first season with Team in Training but it really wasn’t until our second season together as mentors that we got really close, especially on those 6am, very dark, very cold, very wet buddy runs.  She is probably going to kill me for saying this but not only is Anya an amazing runner but is she such a sweetheart!  Don’t let the fact that she wears all black fool you- she is kind, funny as heck, and the type of person that will tell you what you need to hear even if you don’t want to hear it!  I LOVE THAT!

After completing 2 seasons of road running with TNT, Anya informed me that she was going to go Ultra.  And, honestly, I was very surprised! Knowing the struggles she had on the road, I was a little concerned for my friend that jumping from a road half to a trail ultra may just ruin Anya for life; but, knowing this team and these Coaches, she was in the best hands ever.  Within just a few runs on the trail, Anya was hooked!  And here is what she had to say about it…

Continue reading →

Today’s Reason: Travis Dow

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In memory of Travis Dow: November 3, 1971 – November 4, 2012

While I was well aware that my dear college friend, Travis Dow, had been diagnosed with Burkitt’s Lymphoma earlier this year, I am still shocked and heart broken to learn that he finally lost his battle.  Travis was a truly amazing person through and through, a generous soul, a stellar talent, his smile contagious- plainly put, a Good Man.

I joined Team in Training last May to raise money and awareness for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and upon learning of Travis’s diagnosis, added him to my personal list of honorees, sending him a very loud “shout out” and moment of silence before each and every run.  While he was never aware of that, he was certainly always on my mind whenever our coaches would talk to us about the pain and ridiculousness that is cancer- I would think of Travis, and hope and pray for a cure.
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Kate’s Ultramarathoning Awesomeness

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Kate crossing the Finish Line of her very first Ultra Marathon!

I met Kate my very first season with Team in Training and it was very easy to get to know her as she is one of the sweetest, kindest people I know.  Plus, she is an amazing runner- very speedy, very willful.  A few months after that season concluded, Kate (as well as a handful of other TNT buddies) told me that she had decided to join Team in Training’s Ultra Marathon team to raise funds for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society while getting ready to run her first 50K race.

Wow, I thought, that’s freaking crazy- 26.2 seems fine enough but you go girl with your 31 miles of hilly trails!

Kate started ultra training in February and completed the Skyline 50K race one week ago today. I am so very amazed and inspired by Kate’s accomplishment that I had to interview her to find out more about this crazy thing called Ultra Marathoning, and here is what she said… Continue reading →

Today’s Reason: Reasons

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Ugh, I feel so out of shape right now.  I was gone for 6 weeks of vacation, I’ve been back for 3 weeks and am hitting (most of) my work outs no prob, yet running still feels very hard and my short runs, even 3 miles, are littered with walk breaks.  My stamina and endurance have more than suffered due to my sloth and bacon eating tendencies while on vacation.

(And whose fault is that???  Yeah, yeah, yeah…)

Nevertheless, I am trying to be very easy on myself- I maintain that I am still mentally traumatized from the San Diego RnR Marathon and am reassuring myself that I will get back to where I was, slowly but oh so surely.  In the meantime, I sure miss the ease I had on the road… I miss the confidence I had in the distance… I miss my athletic self.   Continue reading →

Happy 1st Blogiversary!

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Yes, I did actually stick a candle in a Luna Bar… I’m classy like that.

It was exactly one year ago today that I decided I wanted to start a blog and wrote my first blog post ever, embarking on this journey to chronicle my thoughts in and around this hobby of mine- running.  Wow.  I can’t believe it’s already been one whole year!

A lot has happened these past 12 months.  When I initially started Running 4 The Reason, I was in a really weird place in my life- I was just coming off an injury and returning to running, a lot of my personal relationships were being tested, and I knew I needed to start something new, something just for me, something bigger than myself, something that I could sit back and be proud of…. so, I joined Team in Training, decided to run my first marathon, started this blog, and I am so glad I did! Continue reading →

13 Reasons Why I Love Running

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“Laura, you haven’t blogged for quite a while- what happened?”  You may be thinking.  I’ll tell you what happened.  I got sick.  Then I got better and got sick AGAIN. I am currently sick.  I will probably still be sick tomorrow.  Being sick sucks, especially when you’re a parent but it’s even worse when you’re a runner.

I have not had the capacity to do dishes, laundry, get groceries, cook or play with my kids for 5 days now and have been unable to go for a run in 7 days.  Honestly, I’m more upset about missing my runs that I am about the lack of clean underwear or food in the house.  Not being able to run has reminded me of all the reasons why I love running… here are 13.1 of them:

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