June 16, 2011

Andrea's Profile in Utah Running Magazine

The fine folks at UtahRunning.com have featured Andrea in their latest magazine issue.

Check it out: Andrea North - Utahns Leading the Pack. The full text is also pasted below...




Age: 24

Current residence: Salt Lake City, UT

Running background: I ran cross country and track all through high school in
Knoxville, Tennessee (my hometown – Go Vols!). I decided not to run collegiately and
instead focus on school, but continued to run recreationally as a stress reliever and to
maintain fitness. I graduated college last May 2010 and took the chance to move to Utah.
I got a great engineering job here and now have the ability to focus more on running and
other fun outdoor adventures. My running has really ramped up since I moved here, and
I’m definitely a better athlete at altitude than I ever was at sea level!

Why the Provo Half Marathon: I chose the Provo Half Marathon for several reasons.
The race is an unaided, flat course. So many races here in Utah are downhill and point-to-
point, but I was looking for a fair course at altitude to get a true indication of my fitness.
The timing of the race fit perfectly with my training schedule, and it was an easy drive
from Salt Lake City to Provo.

PR’s: 17:52 5K, 58:30 15K, 1:21:43 Half Marathon (all in 2011!)

Training regimen/schedule (weekly mileage, types of workouts, when you fit it in):
I have been building up my mileage since November of last year. Before then, I hadn’t
consistently run more than 40 miles a week and never run more than 45 miles in a single
week. After hearing “mileage makes champions” about a million times by my boyfriend
Jake (he got 2nd in the Provo Half and runs A LOT of miles), I decided to jump on the
bandwagon. I built up the mileage very slowly – it took me about 10 weeks to go from
40 miles a week to 65 miles a week (I also cross trained a lot too, which I would highly
recommend). In a typical week, I run twice a day for 3-4 days, do a longer run once a
week of 13-17 miles, and 1-2 track/tempo workouts. If I ever feel worn down, I just take
an easy day – it’s not worth getting injured or burnt out. Non-race weekends are often
devoted to skiing, hiking, biking, or any other form of outdoor exercise.

Favorite place to run: Trails and dirt roads with great scenery! I especially enjoy
running trails in Southern Utah at the national and state parks.

Favorite pre-race meal and post-race drink: For all of the races I have run this year,
my pre-race meal has been mac-and-cheese and ice cream. This has been a great strategy
because these are my two favorite foods (= mental boost) and they give me lots of energy
for the next day’s race. Favorite post-race drink is chocolate milk, which I believe every
race should provide at the finish!

Favorite race distance: Half marathon, definitely.

Why run (motivation, inspiration): I run to maintain fitness, to be healthy and feel
great. I run so I can eat ice cream every night, to enjoy the outdoors, and to relieve stress.
I would say that I have a love/hate relationship with running…sometimes it is so hard to
get out and start running, but when it’s over, I’m always happy that I did.

Favorite quote or best advice you’ve been given as a runner: “Believe in your
training.”

Advice you would give to other aspiring runners: Train smart and stay healthy. Find
a group or someone to run with – it is great motivation and makes running much more
enjoyable.

Goals: Not an official goal yet, but maybe I’ll try for the 2016 Olympic Trials in the
marathon….

1 comment:

  1. You guys seriously rock, and I couldn't be happier to stumble upon your blog. It's safe to say that I am aspiring to take your same footsteps. I am currently finishing up my last year of engineering out in Wisconsin and then hopefully, moving out west to start running in the mountains. Both my husband and I are all about the outdoors; we are avid cyclist and runners and can't wait to ramp up our training further once we move and I'm done. Hopefully we get to meet one day!

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