Gretch Runs

Happy Friday-eve everyone!  Today I'm doing something new- joining the Thinking Out Loud linkup with  Amanda ! Today I'll basically be doing a picture dump from the past week, which will explain what's been going on in my life lately. First, though, I want to talk about the Bachelorette. If you didn't see it, the finale aired on Monday, and it was announced that there would be TWO  Bachelorettes next season- Kaitlyn and Britt.  First off, I'm so excited that Kaitlyn was chosen.  She seems like one of the coolest girls who's ever been on the show, and I think she will make a fantastic lead.  Britt is on the other end of the spectrum-much more emotional and opened up a lot quicker with Chris.  Much more of the typical personality that is chosen to be lead, whil Kaitlyn is more spunky and quirky. I think this twist will make things really exciting next season and will certainly help shake things up.  I've watched the show for a few...

Hi everyone and Happy Thursday! Today's post is inspired by a fellow Pittsburgh runner and blogger who asked me where I liked to run in Pittsburgh.  I grew up on the Northside, moved downtown for a few years, and now live in the East End, so I've run in a variety of places.  Here a few of my favorite routes, along with directions and some tips for each place.  I hope this is helpful if you're either visiting Pittsburgh, or looking for a new place to run.  Enjoy! (P.S. this is my first time creating maps and images, so if they're hard to read or you have suggestions on how to improve PLEASE let me know!) Northside 1.   Riverview Park- 3.5 miles .  Pittsburgh has 4 city parks, and Riverview is the one I'm most familiar with.  This park has tons of trails as well as a 2-mile loop that is paved and has a walk/run lane.  This is one of the more secluded parks, so you never have to worry about finding a parking space.  I grew up run...

You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement. - PRE 7/27 Workout: 4 miles on trails at Riverview 7/28 Workout: 30 minute stationary bike 1 hour strength 20 minute core 7/30 Workout: 6.75 miles at North Park 57:05, 8:30/mile 7/31 Workout: Flag football game with the interns 4 hours of walking at the zoo: some elephants! look at the little baby :) a jellyfish, taken by another intern (Dan Koller, great pic!) we ran into a peacock that was just walking around the zoo So, I didn't hit my target as far as runs go, but I did have EXCELLENT runs this week! I felt absolutely amazing during my long run at North Park, and my endurance is definitely improving. This weekend I'm hoping to have a run of over 7 miles, and keep picking up a half mile every weekend. Thanks for reading! Pittsburgh M...

Hello! Happy (belated) 4 th of July to everyone! I had a fantastic weekend. It was nice to be able to relax and see some friends and meet new ones. Having a day off of work is also always nice! I was able to get in a few good-quality workouts this weekend, which I'm really happy about. On Saturday, I wasn't feeling so great, so I wanted to have an easy trail run at Riverview . Once I started though, I immediately felt better and ended up having a great run. I ran 3.58 miles all over the trails in a little under 30:00. On Sunday, I was able to go running at North Park, which is a really nice place that I like to run. There's a road going around the lake there, and it's 5 miles. The course is a bit hilly, which makes it challenging but it's a very quick run. It was an extremely hot day out, and it was a bit of a challenge to finish the run. I did the 5 miles in 41:00, which I was pretty happy about. I also lifted weights on Monday, which I haven't been doing late...