Friday Spotlight: SheSaidGoodBye
Howdy-doo weekly readers! I had a lot of fun this week getting the Spotlight ready for today's featured athlete. After formatting everything and reading through the responses I get the vibe that our highlighted runner would be a fun person to know and hang out with...just don't steal food off of her plate! Ladies and gentlemen I present to you... u/SheSaidGoodBye!
Let's rock this...
###The Runner:
First Name?
Katie
Age?
29
Where are you from?
Grew up in WI, currently in Davidson, NC
Occupation?
Client Services Coordinator at a local data center
###Running Q&A's:
What are your PR’s?
- 4k 16:54 (that’s the cross country distance that high school girls run in WI for some reason)
I haven’t run an actual race in… a while, so these are from recent training runs. I’m sure that back in my glory days I had these times spanked, but I honestly don’t recall:
- 5k 24:38
- 10k 50:36
What is your distance PR?
10 miles
What’s your highest recorded weekly mileage?
22 miles
What’s your comfy pace?
8:30ish/mile
How long have you been running?
I ran my first 5k in 3rd grade. I ran a lot in middle and high school, but stopped completely when I got to college. I started running a few days a week last summer and decided to get “serious” again with my training in January.
Tell us why you began running?
Running has always been a part of my life because of my dad. Once when I was in high school he got out an old newspaper clipping from a race that he had won when I was only a few weeks old. In the interview, he mentioned that my mom had to work that day, but he really didn’t want to miss the race. He couldn’t/didn’t bother to find a sitter so he brought me along and left me (his infant child) with some race volunteers (aka strangers) at the finish, so that was his motivation to hurry to the line. He would grumble on family trips if he couldn’t find a race to run nearby. I spent a lot of Saturday mornings as a kid cheering him on at races and hanging out with him and his runner friends. He started taking me to the high school cross country team’s informal summer practices when I was 11. Running just seemed like the thing to do for me. In addition, I have zero hand-eye coordination. I cannot manage any sport that requires me to throw, catch, kick, shoot, or aim at anything so running made the most sense. I got back into it about a year ago to lose a few pounds and then decided to start taking my training more seriously after getting a little peer pressure from a friend.
Most memorable running moment?
I made honorable mention for the All-County Cross Country Team my freshman year of high school… so basically, I was ranked in the top 24 runners out of all nine high schools in the county. My coach told me that my times were even a little better than some of the First and Second Team All-County runners, but they liked to reserve those spots for graduating seniors who wouldn’t get another chance to make the team.
But really, my most memorable running related moments didn’t necessarily happen while I was running but with the runners in my life. I met my best friend in high school on the cross country team and some of the most supportive, influential adults in my life growing up were my dad’s running friends.
Do you have a running mantra?
I wish! Reading other Spotlight Runner’s mantras is one of my favorite things about this weekly post, but I generally just try to go blank when I run. Sometimes when I hit the wall and want to stop, I remind myself that I’m doing this for me and no one else needs to be impressed and it helps me power through to the end.
What time of day do you prefer to run?
Evenings.
Any big races coming up?
I recently signed up for my first marathon – The Steamtown Marathon in PA, Oct. 8! I’m on the lookout for some more casual races in between now and then, but I’m not going to stress about getting signed up early.
What are your short-term running goals?
Getting to that marathon (without hurting myself) and just finishing. I’m not even sure if I’ll enjoy running that far/long, but I need to try it at least once so I know for sure.
What are your long-term running goals?
I’d like to get my comfy pace down to 8:00/mile… or less.
What’s one piece of running advice you’d give to the younger version of yourself?
Your last two years of running in high school will be super discouraging but don’t stop running because of it. It’s ok to not be as good as you hoped you would be, you don’t have to impress anyone.
What is something you need to work on to become a better runner?
My self-confidence. I get a little queasy just thinking about running in front of/with other people and sharing my times… you guys have no idea how much I stressed about whether or not to include my “PRs” and comfy pace here.
What is your current shoe choice?
Nike Pegasus 33, narrow fit
Trail? Road? Track? Or Treadmill?
Trail running is my true love, but there aren’t many close enough to my home to justify running on them more than once or twice a month. I was very spoiled growing up, my parents’ house is less than a 10-minute drive to the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course and there’s a beautiful park across the street with miles of great trails.
What is your ideal running weather?
65 – 70, a little overcast or after the sun starts to set
Do you have any social media accounts you’d like to share? [Facebook, Strava, Twitter]
I’m pretty inactive on most forms of social media, but I'm @kdematt on Instagram. I think it is set to private but send me a request and I’ll add you! Be warned: it’s pretty much just pictures of dogs doing stuff and occasionally my own dumb face. I’m also on Snapchat at xthunderkittenx (I am slightly ashamed of this old username but I don’t know how to change it.)
###Just For Fun:
What’s your spirit animal?
Probably some kind of bat. Something creepy, but maybe a few people think it’s cute.
What hobbies and interests do you have besides running?
Reading, listening to podcasts, cooking, traveling, playing video games, and hanging out & adventuring with my pup. I also got a kitten recently – my first cat! It’s nice because she’s a cuddler and my dog, while being head over heels in love with me, does not understand how to cuddle.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I can draw pretty well and I’m even better at fancy lettering. I’ve actually had friends ask me to design tattoos for them, which is hella flattering!
Biggest pet peeve?
When I’m making a snack I will always offer to make something for you! However, if you say no and then try to take food off my plate, be prepared to have your hand slapped away.
Dream job! What would it be?
Whatever Elaine’s job was on Seinfeld where she read manuscripts to decide which ones went to print. That or getting paid to just read books. I’d even settle for writing research papers or articles; there isn’t an original thought in my head, but I’m great at assembling information from other sources and putting it all together in a cohesive way.
Favorite Quote or Poem?
Currently: “He looked at her as a man looks at a faded flower he has plucked, in which he can barely recognize the beauty that had made him pluck and destroy it.” – Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
What is your favorite movie?
Deathgasm, Detroit Rock City, Animals Are Beautiful People, Without a Paddle
What is your biggest character flaw?
haha, I can only pick one? I guess the biggest one is that I’m constantly putting my foot in my mouth. I swear I’m generally a nice pretty nice person (although the last week or so in this sub has brought out the worst in me) and I usually mean well, I just don’t always think before I speak.
What songs have you been listening to recently?
Brand New is the best band ever and I will fight you over it. Lately I’ve also been listening to a lot of The Front Bottoms, Modern Baseball, and La Dispute.
What are some of your favorite non-running subreddits?
r/childfree
r/RunningWithDogs/
r/Breath_of_the_Wild/
r/toofers
r/sphynx
###One Last Question:
What is the origin of your username?
Before I came over to Reddit I was an Imgurian. I wanted something Brand New related, but BedwettingCosmonaut was already taken. They allow longer usernames at Imgur, so I went with shesaidgoodbyetotheground, which is from the Brand New song “Vices”
She said goodbye to the ground
She said goodbye to the ground
She said goodbye to the ground
and jumped
That's it folks! Have a great weekend and enjoy the miles.
####Thanks for reading everyone!
#Please tag u/SheSaidGoodBye when asking a question in this thread.
Previously Featured Spotlight Runners:
Posted May 5, 2017, 11:49 AM UTC