[NEW] Friday Spotlight: Palindrome27
Hello Runners!
As some of you may already know, the other day it was discussed that I should combine the Friday Forgiveness Thread with Thursday's Complaint Thread due to their similarity. This opened up a spot on Friday to host something a bit new and different to the sub. A few other subs like to do interviews with the people who frequent those subs and here in r/running we've got such a large audience and wide variety of runners with different skill sets that I thought we should implement something similar. Every Friday (as long as this goes over well) I'll work on featuring a new runner who frequents this subreddit. This week I chose u/palindrome27 to be our guinea pig. She will get to nominate next week's highlighted runner, next week's highlighted runner will get to nominate the runner after them, and so on.
Use this thread to learn a little bit about a fellow runner. Ask her questions! Give her positive feed back! Discuss with her something you might have a common interest in that you read about. The point of this post is to help build up our community in r/running and highlight individual runners one by one. In a way it's a big "Thank You!" to everyone featured for helping make this sub what it is.
Keep in mind that over time, formatting will change as this thread evolves. It's still in it's construction phase and will get better over time should there be any bumps in the road. So apologies beforehand.
Let's get started shall we?
###Who's Palindrome27?
First Name?
Hannah (Pronounced like Fawn-uh, not Banana)
Age?
25 (26 in a couple weeks. My birthday is a date which will live in infamy.)
Where are you from?
Born and raised in Southern California, currently located on the East Coast for work but will be relocating next Fall when my SO starts med school and I start...something else to be determined. (Cue panic mode!)
Occupation?
I work in Economics Research as a Research Assistant at a very big bank that regulates all the littler banks (don’t ask me about interest rates I know literally nothing)
###The Running Q&A’s:
What are your PR’s?
All of them are segments of my most recent (and first ever) half-marathon. 5k: 28:44, 10k: 58:18, HM: 2:05:56. Although if we’re counting Garmin-timed training runs then I’ve got a 5k in 27:36.
How long have you been running?
Since around June of this year? I am basically still a baby fawn learning to walk at this point.
Briefly explain why you began running?
I have struggled with my weight for basically my entire life. I think the first time I went with my mom to Weight Watchers I was around 13? In college I put on a ton of weight, and after graduation I decided I need to make health a priority again. So I went on a pretty extreme low-carb diet (<20g per day) for about a year or so! (Awesome logic, past Hannah!) Anyways, that made my hair fall out, so I realized that I was making health a priority in entirely the wrong way. I discovered r/xxfitness, went through a heavy-lifting-only anti-cardio stage, but didn’t really lose the rest of the weight I was hoping to, so I decided to start hopping on the treadmill twice a week. Soon I discovered the outside, and after that I was 100% hooked. Running did help me lose the weight (about 40lbs total, some progress pics here for the curious), but more importantly it helped me realize that I am a person capable of doing athletic things. I am more focused on performance-based goals now (gunning for that sub-2 half in the Spring) and have finally been able to stop obsessing over my weight and my food for the first time in my life. Also I eat carbs again. Soooo many carbs. It has been a pretty awesome journey so far.
Most memorable running moment?
Probably the entirety of my first half-marathon. My average long run pace before that was around 10:30, never faster than 10:10. I had been getting faster pretty rapidly in my shorter runs leading up to the half so I thought 10 flat might be doable, but after talking to my running buds was convinced to be ridiculously bold and start in the 1:59-2:00 corral. The whole race I had a mental back and forth going on: “This is so fast, I’m going so fast, This is impossible, No, Shut up, This is totally possible, etc. etc.” I ended up with a 9:37 average pace….almost a full minute per mile faster than my long run average. It was like a happy painful dream. (A couple good pictures from the race here.)
Do you have a running mantra?
No mantras really, I spend a lot of time curating playlists so those keep my mind pretty well occupied.
What’s your highest recorded weekly mileage?
My peak was 32 before my Half, I am currently back up to around 25 and would like to build up to a base of 35-40 over the winter.
What time of day do you prefer to run?
I used to be an “only morning” kind of person, but there are two really fast (one is former College XC) guys that I work with who I run with at lunchtime a lot now and I LOVE those runs. They really help me push myself and I think are the reason why I’ve seen some real improvements in speed over such a short time period. I run at lunch with them quite a bit now.
Any big races coming up?
I’m running a couple of silly 5ks in December but I’m most excited for the Half-Marathon in April that I’ve already registered for. It’s a hilly course in Amish Country where they keep the roads open (not many cars around) so you frequently come across horses and buggies. My first half was 100% flat and I think going sub-2 on a more challenging course would be extra satisfying. I’ll be doing bridge repeats until then since that’s the only hill I have available to me!
What are your short-term running goals?
<27 5k and <55 10k. Also just finding fun ways to get my mileage in in a more functional way. I’ve started run commuting once a week and I’m really loving that. I’m trying to run everywhere I can instead of taking the train or a car.
What are your long-term running goals?
Definitely would like to do a marathon one day. In terms of long-term time-related goals, I kind of like to keep them undefined. I’ve learned already that the less I put restrictions on my own potential, the more progress I’ll see.
What’s one piece of running advice you’d give to the younger version of yourself?
I think a younger version of me would benefit so much from just seeing me right now, a version of myself who identifies as a runner and actually enjoys it. I was the kid who would lie to skip PE, who would fail the physical fitness testing every time. I never ever imagined I would be this active or healthy.
What is something you need to work on to become a better runner?
Stretching a LOT more. I used to do yoga a few days a week and could probably benefit from getting back to it. Also foam rolling, which I hate because it is so terribly fucking boring, but I know I need to do more of it.
What is your current shoe choice?
I’m breaking in some Saucony Guide 9’s (LOVE them so far) but still keeping my Brooks Ravennas in the rotation.
What’s your comfy pace?
Probably around 9:50-10:00 currently.
Trail? Road? Or Treadmill?
Road mainly, since that’s basically all that’s around here. Treadmill once a week or so lately because my fingers and toes go numb very quickly in the cold!
What is your ideal running weather?
I’m cool with anything but humidity. I grew up in dry heat so 100 degree temperatures don’t phase me as long as there is zero water in the air. I have also recently discovered how much fun it is to run in the rain, and am doing that a lot more.
Do you have any social media accounts you’d like to share? [Facebook, Strava, Twitter]
###Just For Fun:
What’s your spirit animal?
I don’t know if this counts but probably my pair of beautiful amazing perfect one-eyed geriatric pugs. One more.
What hobbies and interests do you have besides running?
Reading, I think Kindle books are my third largest budget category after rent and food, although running related junk may surpass it soon.
What songs have you been listening to recently?
I am not a crazy music explorer (I have this theory that as kids we have to make a choice whether to spend our small amount of disposable income on books or music and I always chose books) but I have really been looking forward to Adele’s new album. ‘When We Were Young’ has been on repeat since it came out on Tuesday.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I have really hyperextended elbows and knees and I can turn my feet around so they face almost all the way backwards. Very popular trick at parties. Also I used to do musical theater and can still sing pretty darn well.
Biggest pet peeve?
Bad customer service. Also when people look at their cell phones during movies and the little light distracts you from whatever awesome thing is happening on screen at that moment.
###One Final Question!
What is the origin of your username?
It is a highly uncreative reference to my first name. Also 27 is my favorite number, since it is 3^3, 30-3, and 2+7=9 which is 3*3. For some reason I find that very satisfying..
Thanks for reading the thread and getting to know a bit more about Palindrome27. Don't forget to check out Palindrome27 on Strava and be sure to bombard her with questions after you are done reading this. I'm positive there are going to be many questions about her dogs!!!
Join us next week when we shine the spotlight on another runner from the sub.
####Have a great day folks!!!
Posted Nov 20, 2015, 1:01 PM UTC · edited