The Steem Running Project: Introduction to Your New Nutrition Contributor!

Hello there fellow running enthusiasts! This is Katie (aka @plantstoplanks), one of the newest content contributors for @runningproject. I am really excited to be an even bigger part of the running community here on Steemit. My schedule is so irregular that I have a hard time getting together with my running buddies in person sometimes, but connecting with you all on here has helped fill the void and give me some extra motivation to hit my running goals in 2018!

Today’s post will be something of a warm-up if you will—a brief introduction so you have an idea of who is behind the Tuesday nutrition tips starting next week. I live just outside of Atlanta, Georgia in the Southern United States, otherwise known by local runners as the land of “heat, hills, and humidity”.  Early on in life I actually hated running. I ended up on the track team for a few years in high school running the 400, 4x400, and occasionally the 4x100 if we needed a second team. Mostly it was just to help me stay in shape for volleyball and basketball.

Fast forward about 10 years, and I became a certified personal trainer in 2009 (NSCA-CSCS). A few of my favorite clients were avid runners, so they inspired me to sign up and train for my first 5k. In March of 2010 my older sister and I ran our first race together at my alma mater, Berry College. I was hooked. Perhaps a little too enthusiastic, I started racing more and even bumped up to a 10k a few months later. When some girlfriends said they wanted to do a half marathon in early 2011, I thought why not?

Unfortunately I ran way too much, too soon, and ended up having some IT band issues that took a few months to bounce back from. I think I ended up taking about 6 months off from running to recover and think about whether or not I wanted to keep racing. Luckily, I got back on it and stuck to the 5k and 10k distance for the next few years. I did not attempt another half marathon until I started at my current fitness studio three years ago. At that point I had built a much better running base, and I was a lot smarter about my training. I was also really excited that one of the trainers I work with became a great friend and we actually are really well-matched as running partners. It was tough running that half in 2014, but it was a much better experience than my first one!

Since then I have run loads of races at the 5k distance, a few 10k races a year, and a handful of other half marathons, with this spring being the first time I have two planned in the same season. It is always fun to return to my college and do the race there (they offer a 5k, 10k and half marathon option), so that is where my first one this season will be. I’m not using the Berry half marathon as a goal race, but my personal best half time was there two years ago (1:55:47) and my best 10k time the year before that, too (46:48). So you never know. ;)

Throughout my running and personal training career, I have also taken quite a bit of time to study nutrition. I got certified in basic nutrition with my initial personal training certification, but I added the Nutrition and Wellness Consultant certification from AFPA 3 years ago. I have plans to add on to that with a specific Holistic Nutrition Certification in the next year or two. Professionally, my clients will never have the best results without adjusting their eating habits as well as their fitness ones. Personally, I know I feel the best and perform the best when I am eating quality, whole foods that promote overall health and wellness. If you follow my personal page, you know what that means to me.

That’s where my role is coming in with @runningproject—I’m going to share some tips each week to give ideas on how to use nutrition to improve your running and recovery! Just as we all have different running habits, I think everyone is very individual in what works for them and what they enjoy as far as food goes, so my goal is not to tell you exactly what you need to do and what you need to eat. I would rather think of it more as inspiration for you to take a look at your current nutritional habits and see where you might be able to improve. Specifically I would love to share some ideas on nutrients that are great for recovery and fighting inflammation, foods that may be good to eat before/during/after runs or other workouts, hydration and any other number of topics that may be important for us runners.

One of the things I love about Steemit is the interaction, so I would also enjoy hearing your feedback! What types of nutrition topics would you be interested in seeing? Let me know in the comments and I’ll be happy to add them to my list and do some further research if need be!

For more information about @runningproject please see the latest status report: https://steemit.com/runningproject/@runningproject/the-steem-running-project-growing-5th-status-report 

Also see the latest update on the 5k training program here:  https://steemit.com/runningproject/@runningproject/the-runningproject-5k-training-program-week-2

^{Posted by @plantstoplanks on behalf of @runningproject}

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