Signs of Spring, Final Training Runs, New Beginnings & A Special Offer

"When you complain your mood changes.  When you work your momentum changes."
-TJ Tysus

Today we were rewarded for our loss of sleep this weekend with some amazing Spring-like weather!  There is nothing like running outside in 50 degree weather after months of running in subfreezing temps or on the treadmill.  Puddles everywhere showed signs that Spring is right around the corner, and Connecticut will no longer be a giant ice block.  Even the path in the woods I usually run on, until it was buried under feet of snow for the winter, was finally visible, but extremely muddy.  I've been tapering off my runs, but it was so nice today I ran 6 miles at what I hope will be my race pace, about 8:50.  

So excited to replace my black Winter wardrobe with bright Spring colors again!

I'm starting to have some pre-race day nerves--worrying about what to wear for the weather, of course my iPhone is suddenly having problems playing music so I might be running sans headphones (I did my first half without them due to rain so it wouldn't be the end of the world), but mostly I am just excited to run one of the most exciting races in the US!  If you're interested in tracking me while I run be sure to download the app from the app store.

I've fallen behind on my blogging recently as I've been going through the most arduous processes known to man- job searching.  However, I am extremely happy to announce that I will be starting a new job at the end of month as a Senior Research Assistant with a pregnancy nutrition and fitness intervention study.  One of my major interests while I was in grad school was prenatal and early childhood nutrition, which led me to obtain an additional personal training certification in pre/postnatal training.  This job is perfect for me because it will allow me to further explore this area and even use some of my training skills to work with the women in the study.  It will also provide me with the opportunity to explore several career paths and, hopefully, help me solidify what I want to do in the future.

With a new season and a new beginning I have definitely been thinking a lot about goals I want to set for myself in terms of this new position, the future, and training.  Maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle even though my new job is technically a "desk job" is one of my biggest priorities.  I have used the past couple weeks to develop a workout schedule for myself and start meal planning.  In order to make sure I stay up to date with advancements in the personal training world I plan to update this blog at least twice a week with nutrition and workout tips- check out my Pinterest boards I made especially to go along with this blog- and stay tuned for more posts in the future.   

Special Offer

Since I was unable to reach my original fundraising goal I have decided to continue fundraising with Livestrong as I train for my third half marathon, Brooklyn Half, in the beginning of May.  As an incentive I am offering your choice of individualized weekly meal plans for 1 month, training programs for 5K/10K/half marathons, or a 1 month strength training program in exchange for a Livestrong donation.  Please email me (kasey.a.faulkner@gmail.com), and pass along the offer to any friends.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the many people that have supported me throughout job searching, marathon training, fundraising, and of course reading and spreading this blog!!!  Here's to the start of many more adventures!

Click here to donate to Kasey's Team Livestrong