Here it is-the 3rd edition of our H+P Athlete Spotlight. For this installment, we had the chance to sit down with longtime H+P runner, Helen Broom. She has been with the club since day one, and has really shown an impressive level of improvement over the last few years. To top if off, her hard work ethic, dedication to the team, and kind demeanor has earned her team MVP honours two years in a row! Here is what she had to say:
H+P: When did
you first start getting into running?
HB: I started running in the summer of 2007. A friend
of mine had just run a half marathon and convinced me that running was a fun
thing to do. I joined a 10K group from
The Running Room and ran my first race, The Oktoberfest Run, that fall.
H+P: You are,
by far, one of the most consistent H+P runners. It doesn't matter how early, or
how cold a practice may be, you always show up. Where does this drive to train
come from?
HB: My drive is my love for all the H&P athletes!!!!!
I think it’s also because I rely on running to ground myself. My days are pretty hectic, but if I make time
to get a good workout in I’m more able to tackle the stress of the next
day. I also feel there is a huge
incentive to running with the group. I
am way more likely to push myself when there are people cheering me on. I’ve seen a huge improvement in my speed
these past 3 years and so that makes me more addicted to practice.
H+P: Since you
started running, you have come a long way. What were your first runs like? How
far were you able to go, what was the pace, and what did it feel like?
HB: When I started training for my first race, I
remember thinking 8K was a really long run.
The first run I did, I wore flat tennis shoes, thinking all “running
shoes” were the same. I ended up losing a layer of skin of the bottom of my
foot and wasn’t able to run again for two weeks. But once I recovered and bought proper shoes
I worked my way up to 12K over the course of a few months. My first 10K time was a little over 54
minutes. Since then I’ve worked myself
down to running a 10K in about 48 minutes.
H+P: Since
that time, you have had an number of amazing performances. Which one are you
most proud of?
H+P: You come
across as a very polite, calm and soft spoken person..and yet you have this
drive to keep pushing yourself and you never seem 100% satisfied with your
performances! Are you secretly a super competitive person? Have you been able
to make sense of this seemingly contradictory nature of yours?
HB: Well I’m definitely competitive with myself. I’m a
bit addicted to improvement and can be pretty hard on myself at times. This can sometimes be a good thing but is
also something I struggle with too.
H+P: While it
may surprise some (since you are so consistent with the club), you have faced a
number of injuries and health issues over the last few years that really have
kept you from performing at your best. Would you be willing to elaborate at
all? What mistakes do you think you made, and what tips would you offer to
other athletes?
HB: I think the biggest mistake I made was treating the
running/cycling training as the most important and really only component of
training. Since childhood I’ve dealt
with allergies that make my diet pretty restrictive at times, and I’ve never
been a huge meat eater. This was never a
problem with I was just running casually, but once I started training more
consistently I became anemic. It took me
a long time to discover that something was wrong, as I thought I was just tired
from long days at school and the intensified exercise schedule. For about a year I struggled with getting my
red blood cell count back into a normal range. It was extremely frustrating to
feel myself losing energy with each week and to see my pace slow, while at the
same time putting in more hours running than I ever had. I have now made it a priority to eat the
right kinds of food so that my workouts can be more effective. Although it may be so obvious to most, I have
a much greater appreciation for the importance of eating right. I figure that since I spend so much time
running, I should also find time to make sure I’m getting the right balance of
carbs/protein/fat, and in particular red meat so that I can maintain a normal
red blood cell count. I also continue to
regularly get blood work done to insure I’m not slipping into anemia
again.
H+P: What do
you like most about training with H+P?
HB: I have met so many awesome people these past few years. Everyone has different running experiences and is at different levels but at the end of the day we’re all there to cheer each other on. It’s been amazing to see everyone get faster with each race!
HB: I have met so many awesome people these past few years. Everyone has different running experiences and is at different levels but at the end of the day we’re all there to cheer each other on. It’s been amazing to see everyone get faster with each race!
H+P: What are
your goals for your running in 2014?
HB: I’ve committed to running 30K Around the Bay, but
my main goal is the Scotiabank Marathon this year. This will be my 3rd marathon and
I’m hoping that it will be the one that convinces me that I like running
42K…we’ll see. I’d also like to run the
Sulphur Springs Trail Run and maybe a few others.
It would be interesting to join such an aggressive and real discussion with readers of this blog as well as readers of other blogs or websites who really thing that they can express more related to this topic.รองเท้า แฟชั่น เพื่อ สุขภาพ
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