What qualifies Rearview Runner to dole out advice?

So a little background about myself as a runner:  Running became an interest for me in the 7th grade when I came home from school and announced to my parents that I was going to join the cross country team.  What was my reasoning behind this?  I have no idea.  Guess I just wanted to run.  Ran my way through my middle school years on the cross and track team.  High school rolled around and the running continued.  This running took place at Mukwonago High School in lovely Mukwonago.  Memories were made, lessons were learned.  Cross Country was my forte and I qualified all four years to compete in the state meet in Wisconsin Rapids.  Track was a bit harder- heat and I do not mix and what happens during sectionals for track?  It gets ungodly hot!  One good thing about track in high school was my 4 x 1600 team broke the school record and it has yet to be broken, but that could be because the event is no longer run........  High school ended and college began.  Attempted to run in college but my heart just wasn't into competing anymore and my running days came to an abrupt halt after my sophomore year.  I still yearned to be in the running loop and was afforded the opportunity to be an assistant coach back at Mukwonago.  Hooray!  Coaching track soon followed and my love of running began to be piqued again.  I attempted to run but found my old form and speed had gone, but in its place my body actually looked like woman's.  Good trade off, I guess?  To really get back into the groove of running I needed something to motivate me.  Step in: Team In Training.  On a whim I decided to join team in training and run a marathon.  Why not?  It was one of the best experiences of my life being able to run in Alaska.  Marathoning was just soooo much fun I ran another last year- the Lakefront Marathon.  Over the years I have run everything from a 4K to 26.2 miles and everything in-between.
So what?  I've run a lot.  Lots of people have run a lot.  But I have run on the varsity level, experienced just about every injury imaginable to a run, experienced the "13 mile curse", and have coached all levels.  So I think I may a bit to say and hopefully it interesting and helpful.  Till next time, enjoy!

Rearview Runner- Tales from the back of the pack

What exactly is a "rearview runner?"  Someone who views runner's rears?  Well, not exactly.  If you plod, like me, you spend a lot of your time viewing the rears of the runners in front of you.  Absolutely nothing wrong with the slow running!  The title "Rearview Runner" came into being on a loooooong 22 mile build-up run for the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon.  My running partners and I were always at the end of the training pack.  When we plodded by, the water stop volunteers knew their services were no longer required.  We'd gratefully thank the volunteers and watch them scurry to the awaiting vehicles. The group took all of this in stride (even if all the chocolate milk was gone by the time we finished our runs.........sigh).  On one particularly torturous loop around the Summerfest grounds, to keep our sanity, we began playing with names for our little group- hence "Rearview Runners" was born!  So this blog promises to regale you with tales from the back of the pack and advice to runners like me.  Enjoy!