My team of athletes is growing, and I’m so excited about it! I love being able to help runners of all abilities work towards their goals and hopefully blow their expectations out of the water.
The next athlete I want to introduce is Veronica! I met Veronica through our Skinny Raven training group, but she was wanting more personalized attention in her training, and it has worked! Just a few weeks ago, she cut 8 minutes off her 10K PR! That’s two minutes per mile faster! We started working together in January, and I know we have only began to scratch the surface of what she is capable of!
Here’s the little Q&A with Veronica!
Tell us a little about yourself: family, work, where you’ve lived, etc.
I grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. I went to undergrad in Williamsport, PA, and graduate school for Library and Information Science in Boston, MA. The summer I graduated, I was offered a job as an archivist at UAA and moved to Alaska. I have lived here for almost 5 years. Most of my good friends and family live on the East Coast, so I try to make it back there a couple times a year.
How did you get into running?
I was never into sports or anything that would cause exertion growing up. After I moved to Boston I realized I had to do something, so I joined a gym and had a personal trainer for a few months. Once I moved to Alaska, I got into hiking and backpacking. Then in the fall of 2016, I fell while on a hike and shattered my radial head and tore my medial collateral ligament in my right arm. I fell perfectly. I ended up having three surgeries in three months and a radial head replacement. Since my arm was still unstable, and I pretty much lost use of it for a while, I was afraid to go on long hikes, so I decided to try running as a way to stay active and joined the Her Tern training group last year. I’m glad I did.
Highlight a few races with times and how they went.
My first race was the Run for Women last June. My goal was to do it in less than an hour and I did. My first half was the Mayor’s, and it was awful, but I wanted to see what one was like. I hoped to do it in less than 3 hours, and my time was 2:54. Then I did the Her Tern Half, and had a time of 2:38, which I was really happy with. More recently, I ran in the Trent Waldron 10K in 1:04:29, which was nearly an 8-minute PR from my last 10K in September. That felt awesome.
What motivates you in your running?
I really like seeing myself improve and seeing what I’m capable of. And I can’t wait to see how I do in my upcoming races. I also really like the feeling of accomplishment, especially after a hard run.
What are your running goals?
My current goals are a 5K in less than 30 minutes and a sub 2:20 half. My far-off goal is to finish a half in less than 2 hours. And maybe a marathon at some point? I’m not so sure about that.
What was the strangest/coolest/weirdest thing that has happened (or that your saw) on a run?
I once saw an otter at Westchester Lagoon, which was neat.
How do you reward yourself after a hard run?
After a hard run, I like to eat something and take a shower. And usually do some type of yoga and stretching. The shower and food are my favorite parts though.
What are your upcoming races?
I’m doing the Mayor’s Half next weekend, the Skinny Raven Half in August, and the Smuttynose Half in New Hampshire in September. One of my good friends is joining me for the Smuttynose, and I’m excited to race with him.
