Friday Spotlight: loratliff
Holy crap it's Friday again! I had to rush to get this one out on time because the week just flew by. I got in contact with today's highlighted athlete and she responded very quickly and was up to the challenge to be interviewed. After a couple back and forth messages it was clear that the Friday Spotlight was going to be a good one. Today's featured runner seems to be my kinda gal and yet again seems like she'd be a great running partner to chat with while hitting the streets. Ladies and gents, I present to you our friend and fellow runner..... u/loratliff
Let's Roll!
###The Runner:
First Name?
Laura
Age?
27
Where are you from?
Originally from Texas, but I now make my home in NYC (East Village, Manhattan).
Occupation?
Producer for a glossy, fancy magazine.
###Running Q&A's
What are your PR’s?
5k - 25:59
10K - 54:55
HM - 1:57:10
M - 4:30:57
What is your distance PR?
26.2 miles, and not a step further. :)
How long have you been running?
Since October 2014. I ran my first marathon (Wineglass Marathon, 2015) exactly 364 days to the date of my first run.
Briefly explain why you began running?
There was money on the line! (Who wouldn’t run for a few hundred bucks?) In January 2014, I was working from home mostly and pretty sedentary. This was compounded when I slipped down a flight of marble stairs in my apartment building and fractured my coccyx and sacrum. By May, I was about 30 pounds heavier than I should’ve been and started tracking and logging food with MyFitnessPal. My mom (a runner) wagered me $200 if I lost 20 pounds, and an additional $300 if I could get down an additional 30 pounds. I got down 17 pounds just by logging, but in October 2014, I joined a gym and decided I liked the idea of running. I started with C25K, like so many of us. I hit the 20 pound mark the day before the 2014 NYC Marathon and used my $200 payout to buy my Garmin 220 at the race’s expo that year! (I hit the 30-pound mark in April 2015, and am now at a very healthy weight for my height, and down four dress sizes from where I started. I don’t think my mom was expecting me to hit that 30-pound mark, but I reminded her that I’ve never NOT accomplished something I’ve put my mind to.)
Most memorable running moment?
I remember when I was working through Couch to 5K and I hit that week 5, day 3, run. I know some of you all remember: the one where you have to run 20 minutes straight without stopping. That seemed insane to me at the time! I felt like such a badass after completing that run.
Do you have a running mantra?
The first mile (or three) is always the hardest.
What’s your highest recorded weekly mileage?
45, during my last marathon training cyle. My body seems pretty happy with sensible mileage increases, so I’m aiming for 60 in my upcoming cycle.
What time of day do you prefer to run?
Prefer? Nothing like the mornings. Actual time I end up running? Usually 7pm or so, after work, as my bed wins out more often than it should.
Any big races coming up?
I’ll run the NYRR Oakley Mini 10K in a few weeks, and then the Shipyard Old Port Half-Marathon in Portland, Maine, the second week of July. The big prize in all this will be NYC in November though, where I’m really, really hoping to run a sub-4.
What are your short-term running goals?
I just splurged on a fancy gym membership in hopes of improving my commitment to cross-training. Before I start another training cycle, I really want to buckle down on improving my core strength and flexibility. So far, tabata classes have been kicking my ass...
What are your long-term running goals?
I’ve made a lot of progress in what I feel like is a pretty short amount of time… I know it won’t happen overnight, and probably not until I hit the next age bracket (or two), but I would like to BQ someday. I think running the World Marathon Majors would also be pretty neat, and my spouse even likes that idea since we love to travel.
What’s one piece of running advice you’d give to the younger version of yourself?
Run more, run slower.
What is something you need to work on to become a better runner?
The aforementioned core strength and flexibility. Also, waking up earlier!
What is your current shoe choice?
I rotate between Mizuno Wave Hitogamis and Hoke One One Clifton 2s.
What’s your comfy pace?
9:45ish… Getting faster!
Trail? Road? Track? Or Treadmill?
Road. Nothing like cruising through NYC streets, especially on a crisp spring night. It’s invigorating, and you always see something new.
What is your ideal running weather?
Before the 60 mph winds started, the weather at Big Sur Marathon this year was pretty close: overcast, 50 degrees, slight cool breeze. I run hot and sweat like crazy.
Do you have any social media accounts you’d like to share?
Running Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura_o_ratliff/
###Just For Fun:
What’s your spirit animal?
Sometimes I pretend I’m a racehorse at the end of a race. :)
What hobbies and interests do you have besides running?
As a kid/teenage/young adult, I was an equestrian and went to college on an NCAA scholarship for that, so it was a huge part of my life for many years. (Funny story: I used to fake stomachaches to skip the running portion of our gym workouts.) I don’t ride as much as I used to, but I also like cooking, photography, and my dog, Iggy Pop.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I’m a really fast two-fingered typist.
Biggest pet peeve?
Noisy, messy eaters.
What songs have you been listening to recently?
Television’s Marquee Moon has been on repeat lately, both on vinyl at home and on Spotify.
What are some of your favorite non-running subreddits?
Mostly food-related: r/wine, r/breadit, r/slowcooking. I also read r/AskNYC and r/personalfinance.
###One Last Question:
What is the origin of your username?
First initials, last name. So creative, I know.
I really appreciate u/loratliff taking the time to let us know a bit more about her. I must admit, pretending to be a race horse sprinting towards the finish line of a run does seem to be something I might have to do on my lunch run today. Plus her pet peeve with noisy eaters is something I can totally relate to because it kills me too. This is the third week in a row now that I've gotten to learn more about someone I'm not familiar with so it's getting better every week. As usual, please tag u/loratliff 's username when personally asking her a question in this thread! Also, if I see that you've failed to tag her after asking her a question, I'll try my best to respond to your question by tagging her myself. So be aware. Tagging her username alerts her that her attention is needed. This way, she doesn't have to sift through all of the comments one by one, which can be a rather daunting task when there is a lot of traffic to the thread. Please don't forget that all of our Friday Spotlight athletes may need time to respond to your comments and questions so give them some time to reply.
####Thanks for reading everyone!!!
Previously Featured Spotlight Runners:
ATTENTION READERS!
I've been getting messages weekly from a lot of people asking to be featured in the Friday Spotlight Thread. My response to them is the same every time. I do not get to personally choose who is chosen for each thread. With exception to Palindrome27 (which I randomly chose to get this started), every runner thus far has been selected by the person before them. It's one of the perks of getting nominated. There is no list of names. No spreadsheet with columns and columns of usernames. Nothing. So for those confused, users like Philpips was chosen by Despoena. Despoena was chosen by Craigster38. So on and so on. You get the idea. Doing it this way eliminates the hassle of having to personally pick someone every week. This keeps me neutral. Some of you have expressed your opinion (via PM) on who's been featured this far claiming that I have only chosen runners who are fast, have been running for a while, or compete in longer distance races. This is simply luck of the draw. There is zero favoritism here. Each featured runner gets to personally pick someone they find interesting. I apply no pressure to the runners to pick a particular skill level of runner. This is the beauty of the process. If you want to be featured, you can up your chances of being chosen by being an active member of the subreddit. Comment as much as possible. Submit quality content. Provide as much as you can as a runner to help keep this community growing and I'm certain your efforts will not go unnoticed. Just keep tuning in and making friends and eventually it'll pay off if you want to be featured. Thank you.
Posted May 27, 2016, 11:54 AM UTC · edited