For more about my running journey, click here.
Welcome to my life! I am a 26 year old teacher and I live with my husband in Sarasota, Florida. We are both originally from West Michigan and think it’s pretty much the greatest place on earth. We mainly choose to live in Florida because of my job; I teach middle school at a charter school in Sarasota.
When I am not running and training, I spend a lot of my time at school where, in addition to teaching language arts, I coach cheerleading and advise our yearbook club. Outside of work, I like to spend as much time as possible with my husband, Mike. “The Husband” and I have known each other since high school, and were married in July 2008 in our hometown, Holland, Michigan.
Mike and I like to be active together – he loves getting outdoors to hike and canoe, and we do a lot of walking and biking around our downtown neighborhood together.
One of my great loves is reading – I have a BA in English from Hillsdale College and I read all the time, especially young adult literature. (What can I say, I’m a middle school teacher!) Favorite YA books: the Twilight series, the Harry Potter series, anything by Meg Cabot, Madeleine L’Engle’s Vickie Austen books, and 39 Clues. Occasionally, I read books written for adults, too. 
I also love food and eating, which is why I chose to start blogging about healthy living! I am all about eating foods that will positively contribute to my overall well-being. When I started to increase my running distances in April 2009, I began to drastically change what and how I eat to reach my running goals. I still eat all my favorite foods, but I’ve added many healthier foods to the mix as well!
- Likes: Coupons and sales at Publix; shopping, particularly for clothes; coaching cheerleading; teaching reading and writing to my middle schoolers; relaxing with a good book and a glass of wine; pajamas; traveling and trying new things; baking; Disney World
- Dislikes: Procrastinators; most fruit (I know, I know); bagpipes
- Favorite foods: Potatoes in absolutely any form, grilled cheese sandwiches, steak, mint chocolate chip ice cream, pretty much any kind of bread, pepperoni pizza
- Favorite foods that are actually good for me: Whole wheat pasta, broccoli, corn on the cob, sugar snap peas, pineapple, strawberry yogurt
- Favorite restaurants: 8th Street Grille in Holland, MI; Roy’s Orlando; BD’s Mongolian Grill; Yachtsman Steakhouse at Disney World
Some of my favorite posts:
- My commentary on the NYT article about slower runners in marathons
- The first time I ever ran double digits, Thanksgiving 2009
- How I tackle my weekly grocery trip
- My favorite books about running
- A Real Person’s Guide to Finishing a Half Marathon
See my “Running” page for race report posts!
