Nutrition for Bone & Joint Health Why should you care about bone health as an athlete or a recreational exerciser? Let’s take a closer look! Your bones contain various minerals and protein complexes. Therefore, they are a mineral pool in which the body can take minerals and supply them to other parts of the body, like the bloodstream, in times when those areas are depleted. This means that bones are constantly being restructured and altered depending on what the body needs. Around 20 years old, your bones reach a point where they achieve 90% of peak bone mass. Prior to that, bones are gro ..read more

Have you heard of RED-S: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport? It is a common syndrome that looks at the signs and consequences of underfueling. Previously known as the Female Athlete Triad, RED-S is a broader, more comprehensive term for a deficiency in dietary intake via disordered eating behaviors or unintentional underfueling. The change from the Female Athlete Triad to RED-S was made primarily to include a more extensive description of symptoms caused by energy deficiency. RED-S also includes males, as they are not immune fro ..read more

This past weekend, I took part in the Shelby Bottoms Boogie 5K Fun Run/Walk. I chose the virtual option as I do not think in-person races are a good idea right now with the ongoing pandemic. I participated in the Shelby Bottoms Boogie 5K as part of Team Beef TN. I haven’t participated in a race for Team Beef TN in a while due to the pandemic and most races being cancelled. My sister and I have been exploring some hiking trails on the weekends when it’s nice out. For my virtual fun run/walk 5k, we went to Montgomery Bell State Park and walked/hiked the trails there. It was a beautiful day for ..read more

Recently, I was invited by my friend and fellow entrepreneur, Garrett McLaughlin, to participate in his new “Fireside Chat” series to debunk some food rules & myths. This series provides runners and the general population with easy-to-absorb information regarding running mechanics, nutrition, strength training, and injury prevention. As the series progresses, he will be covering a variety of topics and speaking with different professionals in the health & running community. As a sports dietitian, we focused on topics I’ve seen come up lately in my nutrition clients and questions that ..read more

This is a special guest post by Nicole Sifuentes, Running Coach. She discusses what run coaching entails and why runners need coaching. There are so many ways to prepare for a race: training plans, running groups, coaching, all of the above, or none of the above. Some runners prefer to just wing it and see what happens on race day. I once met a runner who didn’t own a watch, and yet was still able to achieve PRs year after year! So why do some runners work with a running coach? The choice of coaching boils down to individualization. The quickest and most effective path to making gains is trai ..read more

Wow, it is my 10 year running anniversary! 10 years ago, on March 13, 2010, I ran my first race. (So yes, I began running before then, but I don’t know the date). I ran the St. Patrick’s Day Run of Luck 7k race in my hometown of Evansville, IN. I didn’t know anything about pacing at this point, so I just ran along with everyone around me! I ended up running the 7k in 38:40, which is an 8:54 average pace. Ready to run my first race March 13, 2010. I’ve only had one other race that fast, with that exact same average pace, and that was a 5k in July 2011 in Salt Lake City. It’s pretty much been d ..read more

Another year is coming to an end. This is my fifth(!) end of year running review post. In case you missed them: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015. I love writing these recaps because it allows me to really see and reflect on all that happened in the year. In 2019, I ran 12 races including 3 half marathons and 2 new race states. 2019 Races 3 half marathons 1 – 10 Miler 1 – 15k 1 – 10ks 1 – 7.6k 5 – 5ks 2 new race states – Ohio, Pennsylvania Most Unique Race Experience The Grand Teton half marathon or the DC Cherry Blossom 10 Miler was probably my most unique race experience in terms of scenery ..read more

On November 2, I ran the YMCA Harvest 5k. It was part of the YMCA of Middle TN Race Series. I have done other YMCA races in the past and I really enjoy the shirts! They are super soft and usually fit really well. This one did NOT disappoint! I ran this race as part of Team Beef TN. This was a race I hadn’t run before so I enjoy getting to do new races. I wasn’t able to get to packet pick-up on Friday before the race but that was no problem because it was a pretty small race so I arrived early on Saturday and was able to get my packet and shirt (and Halloween candy!) then. It was a pretty chill ..read more

Nutrition for Bone & Joint Health Why should you care about bone health as an athlete or a recreational exerciser? Let’s take a closer look! Your bones contain various minerals and protein complexes. Therefore, they are a mineral pool in which the body can take minerals and supply them to other parts of the body, like the bloodstream, in times when those areas are depleted. This means that bones are constantly being restructured and altered depending on what the body needs. Around 20 years old, your bones reach a point where they achieve 90% of peak bone mass. Prior to that, bones are gr ..read more

Have you heard of RED-S: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport? It is a common syndrome that looks at the signs and consequences of underfueling. Previously known as the Female Athlete Triad, RED-S is a broader, more comprehensive term for a deficiency in dietary intake via disordered eating behaviors or unintentional underfueling. The change from the Female Athlete Triad to RED-S was made primarily to include a more extensive description of symptoms caused by energy deficiency. RED-S also includes males, as they are not immune f ..read more