Weekly Pace Setter: Kelly

Name
Kelly O'Brien

Blog
Running at the Beach with Sand in my Shoes

I run in...
Asics Gel Landreth







Why I run...
The endorphin high! It just makes me feel so good about myself! The more I run, the better I get and lately, I have been improving by sucking up to the speed work. Oh, the dreaded track….but that and the tempo runs are very effective. Just this last year, I have been placing in my age group. For someone who has never been athletic, it’s a major accomplishment and ego boost.


I've been running for...
7 years of serious running but I have been running since college when I gained the “freshman 15”

Currently training for...
I am currently training for the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach. It will be my third run at Shamrock and my first honest attempt at a Boston Qualifying time.

Running Pet Peeve
No real pet peeves here…but I do get annoyed when other runners run too close to me. Otherwise, Im pretty good at tuning people out when I am concentrating on my pace.

Favorite Running Song
That is a tough one….I have a few but I think my favorite jam tune right now is “Gotta Be Somebody” by Nickleback….it was playing in my head as I crossed the finish line at the Outer Banks Marathon beating my best marathon time by almost 15 min.

Favorite race
Outer Banks marathon…I broke 4 hours this year at that race. The island has many childhood and adulthood memories for me. It’s a beautiful but challenging run. The course runs along the sound side of the island with beautiful houses and waterways. Then you go past all the cool landmarks, Wright Brothers Memorial, Jockey’s Ridge and then you get zapped with a 2.5 mile trail run. The last 6 miles of torture include a half mile run over the Manteo Bridge.

Favorite place to run

On the Virginia Beach boardwalk with my best Running Buddy right beside me

Short Term Running Goal

Comfortably run an 8 min mile with a smile on my face!

Long Term Running Goal

None other than to qualify for the holy grail of running the Boston Marathon. Once I meet that challenge, I might consider an Ironman.

Favorite Cross-training activity

Bicycling

Favorite inspirational quote

“The most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.” (Pierre de Coubertin) and at the Outer Banks Marathon, my Running Buddy said to me after jumping on the course at mile 20 to talk me through to the end "Running the last 6 miles and finishing this marathon with you means more to me than any time I could have gotten if I had run this race." My partner never got to run the marathon she trained so hard for due to the flu.

Post Run Guilty Pleasure Food

Pizza and lots of beer!

Running Gear Wish List

Super fast and tireless legs…Oh I can’t buy those?? Ok, then I will settle for a new GPS.

What’s the best piece of running advice you’ve ever received?

Run your own race……

Favorite Race Fuel

Yum Yum! Shot Blocks! They taste like candy and make me run faster!

Proudest Running Moments

I actually have three…..crossing the finish line of my very first marathon…..crossing the finish line with my Running Buddy at her first marathon….and breaking four hours at the Outer Banks Marathon…and not necessarily in that order.

Magazines I currently have subscriptions to

Runners World, Outside Magazine, Bicycling and I just got a subscription to Women’s Running…..

The one place I most want to visit...

Greece….its where I would like to get married.

What I'm listening to lately?

When I’m not listening to whiney students…I am jumping and jamming to killer ipod tunes.

On my nightstand you'll find...

My running journal of course! Along with a pair of eyeglasses “The Way of the Peaceful Warrior” by Dan Millman, a lamp, the stupid alarm clock and some dust.

Thanks Kelly! Everyone have a great weekend!