Gretch Runs

Is anyone else ready for the weekend? I know that it's only Tuesday, but it's already been a long week.  I can't believe the weekend is still days away.  I guess we have to power on and hope that the rest of the days fly by! On a more positive note, I have a fun post today and I'm linking up with Tuesdays on the Run !  We'll be talking about running routes, so I'm really excited to see the other posts!  I'll be talking about a few different neighborhoods in the city today.  These are some of the more popular areas to stay in if you're visiting the city.   I thought it would be helpful to share routes as well as a fun place to refuel after your run.  Enjoy! I hope you enjoy the post today, and if you're interested in seeing some routes that I previously talked about, check out this post ! Downtown Source: Friends of the Riverfront Where to run : River Trails There are three rivers that run through Pittsburgh, with miles of...

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...

Hello! What a week this has been. I did my longest training run yet and also went home for the weekend to surprise my mom for her birthday. While I was there, I got the chance to run with my dad, and had a terrific hill workout with him. Here's a look at my workouts from the past week: ------------------------------------------------------ Monday 1.30.12, Wednesday 2.1.12, Friday 2.3.12 Volleyball tournament. My team unfortunately came in last. Hopefully next time I'll have more luck! ------------------------------------------------------ Tuesday 1.31.12 This was my long run. I felt really great during it, and didn't really get sore or tired at all until mile 8. At that point, a little boy with his dad started to run alongside me for a block, and when he couldn't run any more he yelled back to his dad "I want to run like that when I'm older!" It was a great motivation to keep going, and hopefully I've inspired a new generation of runners...

Hello! Well, it's been a very hectic few weeks, and I have to admit that my training has suffered quite a bit due to life happening all around me. Last weekend, I took a trip home for my grandparent's 50th anniversary. Here's a picture of our beautiful family: We've had some unseasonably warm and beautiful weather in State College. Luckily for me, my boyfriend is a wonderful photographer, and took me to a gorgeous wooded area and got some pictures. Here's one of my favorites: I squeezed in some workouts and runs as much as I could. I did have a terrific run this weekend and did my longest training run yet: 9 miles. Even better news for me was the fact that my 9th and final mile was my fastest! (my Nike watch gives mile times for each mile run, then tells you your fastest and slowest miles). Here's a look at the runs I completed the past two weeks and used my watch: I'm now over 150 miles on my watch! I c...

What a week! I did my longest run of training so far (8 miles) and felt absolutely amazing during it. I also had a great interval workout on Wednesday that made me feel like I'm really getting into shape and it feels INCREDIBLE. Here is my week of workouts: 10/10/11: Stretching and 1 hour of strength 10/12/11: Treadmill intervals: 1 mile warmup at 9:00/mile pace, 7x400 at 7:00/mile pace, cool-down at 10:00/mile pace in between each, 1 mile cool-down at 10:00/mile pace. Total of 5.5 miles 10/13/11: Unfortunately my watch died half way through the run (I need to remember to always keep it charged!) so the rest of my run is highlighted in green. Total of 30 minutes, so I'm guessing a little over 3 miles. 1 hour of strength 10/14/11: Rest 10/15/11: PSU 23 - Purdue 18 10/16/11: Rest (Study Day..ew) This is going to be an easier week of training and I definitely need it! It's been a lot of hard work and my body is so sore. I'm loving adding mileage every week, so I ca...

Hello! What a challenge this week was! Not only did I have to deal with a hectic exam and project week, it was a very busy week with other activities like band and dinners with my college. Unfortunately, this definitely affected my workouts this week and I got a bit off track. I also have a mild calf injury and had to rest it Saturday and Sunday (marching pre-game and half time didn't exactly help either..) One bad week won't bring me down though and this week I'm going to push myself to the limit to make up for it! Here was my week: 10/3: stretching and 1 hour lifting 10/5: ran without the watch, 30 minutes of running 10/7: 3 mile run (above), 2 hours of rock climbing 10/8: PSU 13- Iowa 3!! I finally figured out how to use the GPS feature of my watch and can map out the runs, alone with pace during the run, on nikeplus.com! Now I can document and keep track much better. Also, Friday I went rock climbing for the first time! It was such a tough workout but a lot of fu...

" STAND UP and FINISH what you started " Bob Harper This was a really rough but fun week. I had 4 exams, countless hours of homework, 2 presentations and band practice. On the weekend I went camping for the first time ever, which was so much fun! I also incorporated an aerobic class at Penn State into my workout, which was a great change of pace and really enjoyable! I'll try to add another in the next week. 9/26: stretching and light plyometrics 9/27: 3.5 mile run: 27:00, 8:00/mile 9/28: 6x400 repeats on treadmill with 1 mile warm-up and 1 mile cool-down 9/29 : 3.5 mile run: 30:00, 8:32/mile Step Aerobics class- 45:00 9/30, 10/1: REST and CAMPING! 10/2: 4.25 mile run: 38:47, 9:07/mile Here's next week's schedule: 4 Stretch & Strengthen 3.5 m run 35 min tempo 3 m run + strength Rest 3 m run ...

What a great week! I was able to complete all of the mileage for the week and felt absolutely fantastic. I don't know if it's the cooler fall weather, but I felt really strong and powered through all of my runs almost effortlessly. Here's a look at what I did: 9/19: Stretch and some light plyometrics 9/20: 3 mile run: 25:12, 8:23/mile 9/21: 10 minute warm-up at 8:37 /mile 15 minutes at 8:04/mile 5 minute cool-down at 8:59/mile Total of 3.6 miles in 30:00 9/22: 3.12 mile run: 25:47, 8:15/mile 1 hour of strength (push-up intervals, sit up intervals, chest and shoulder exercises) 9/23: REST! 9/24: PSU vs. EMU! 9/25: 7.03 mile run: 57:47, 8:12/mile 100th mile run since July 1st! I was extremely happy with my workouts this week. Registration for the Pittsburgh Marathon opened today, and I am officially in!! I'm SO pumped and am looking forward to an easy week of training: 3 Stretch & Strengthen 3.5 m run ...

The first week of my official training is OVER. This weekend, the Blue Band went to the Temple game, so I was unable to run the weekend, but finished all the other workouts. Here's a summary of what I did this week: Monday : 30 min on bike, 1 hour lifting, 20 minutes abs/stretching Tuesday :3.34 miles: 27:00, 8:04/mile Wednesday : Treadmill intervals 1 mile warmup at speed 6, 5x400 going to speed 7.5, reducing to speed 5.5 for 400 m in between. 1 mile cooldown at speed 6 Thursday : 4.80 miles: 39:05, 8:07/mile 1/2 hour lifting Friday : Central York football game Saturday : Penn State vs. Temple game, Upper Dublin Spectacle in Sound festival Here is my schedule for this coming week: 2 Stretch & Strengthen 3 m run 30 min tempo 3 m run + strength Rest 3 m pace 6 m run A little motivation for the w...

Hello! I am back at Penn State for my final year much sooner than it seems possible. This year, I was fortunate enough to be chosen to be a guide (section leader) for my section in the Blue Band. I had to come up a few days early for training and my audition, so I came up on Sunday. This is a very busy week for me, as we have Band Camp starting, which means 3 practices a day (around 3 hours each.) Yesterday I was able to go for a run in the morning, and I'm planning on running again tonight before (or after if necessary) a fundamental review. Here's the run I did yesterday: 8/15 workout: 5.3 miles 45:00, 8:30/mile Basically what I did was run back and forth around campus on all the main roads. I went down Beaver, College, Pollock, Curtain, Park and finally back to Garner where I started. It was so nice to run around campus and see everything again! I'm heading out to run again, then going to Blue Band (which will be my life this week...a workout by itself...

If the word quit is part of your vocabulary, then the word finish is likely not. - B.G. Jett 8/3 workout: 5 miles on Rivertrail (different starting point!) 42:00, 8:20/mile In order to make sure my training is going well, I'm signing up for the Nittany Valley Half Marathon , which is December (or about 5 months before the Pittsburgh Marathon). This race seems like a nice, small, cheap race, so I'm really excited to do it. A few of my friends in the Blue Band are running it as well, so I'm hoping to run in under 2 hours this time! Here is a map of the course, which is at Penn State (perfect location!): It's hard to see, but it begins at the Ag Arena, goes up to Fox Hill Road, down to Houserville, and finishes at the Visitor's Center by Beaver Stadium. I'm so excited to do this course and see how my training is! I'm starting a half-marathon training plan by Hal Higdon which can be found HERE . With the 12 weeks of workouts, I'd be sta...

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...

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going . - Jim Ryun 7/25 workout: 3.63 miles on Rivertrail 30:00, 8:15/mile Pittsburgh Marathon: 283 days

It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys . Emil Zatopek I just found that quote, and it could not explain my weekend better! I had two terrific workouts and am in absolute pain this morning (which is a good thing to me!) On Saturday, I biked for 30 minutes at the maximum resistance on my very old stationary bike, then increased my weight on about half of the exercises I did, and increased repetitions on the exercises I didn't move up. Overall my body was feeling very strong, but I was really sore the next day! Sunday I went out for a run while it was in the 90's, and ran on the trails in Riverview. I decided to run without calculating my distance or pace to just relax and run for time. I ran for about an hour, and it felt terrific to just enjoy the run and not worry about pushing myself to the limit! This week I'm hoping to run 5 days and lift 3. It's almost time for vacation (Deep Creek, Maryland!) and Blue Band, so I ...

Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. - Pre 7/19 workout: 4.70 miles on Rivertrail 40:07, 8:30/mile 7/20 workout: 30 min upper body lifting 3.25 miles at Riverview Park 26:00, 7:58/mile Pittsburgh Marathon: 289 days

Hello! I wanted to share a link with anyone interested in starting running, for those living in/visiting Pittsburgh. We have some amazing rail trails that have been renovated cleaned up that run along all three of the rivers. There are a few different sections, and the one that I usually run on is along the Northshore and goes by both PNC Park and Heinz Field. I found a map that shows all of the trails: http://www.friendsoftheriverfront.org/misc_docs/FOR_Brochure_Map_07_REV1.pdf They're so much fun to run or walk on and offer some amazing views of the city. It always makes my runs go by much quicker, and they're relatively flat so it's not too hard of a workout. Also, yesterday for my birthday I got an amazing GPS watch made by Nike: which I'm VERY EXCITED to start using. I'll be able to track my miles, calories, average pace, and many other stats. I'll talk more about how I like it once I'm able to use it. It's been a very busy week so f...