you wanted to know, questions 26-30

When I had my 1,000 mile giveaway, a requirement for entry was to ask me a question. Any question. And I promised to answer them in a series of posts. Here are questions 26-30 ...

Meggan asked, "Who inspires you the most?"

That's a hard one. I admire a lot of traits in a lot of different people. But, as a runner, I am probably most inspired by Amy Palmiero-Winters. She is a single-leg amputee, who has run a 3:04 marathon (the fastest time ever for a below-knee amputee - FEMALE or MALE). And earlier this year, she became the first amputee to finish the Western States 100. She is seriously hardcore and has proven that the only limitations we have are the ones we set for ourselves. How could you not be inspired by that?

Karen asked, "Did your kids already have the nicknames you use for them on the blog, or did you create the nicknames for the blog? Do you use those nicknames in real life?"

What if I told you that they aren't nicknames? That my daughters are really named Dizzle, Doodle and Dilly? Right. You'd probably know I was lying. Their nicknames were established before the blog (except for Dilly, who came along after the blog).

Dizzle originated from a modified version of "Hey Diddle Diddle" that J used to sing to her. It went, "K Dizzle Dizzle ..." For a while, she was K Dizzle, but at some point we stopped saying the K.

Doodle started as Mac-a-doodle. Eventually, we dropped the beginning of it and the Doodle part stuck.

And Dilly, like her sisters got her nickname when we shortened the name that we used for her when I was pregnant - Piccadilly.

And yes, we do use those nicknames in real life, but not nearly as much as we did when they were younger.

Laurie asked, "Do you ever lose blogging motivation? It seems that you always have such great things to write about and never miss a day. How do you do it?"

Well, thank you. I'm glad to hear that you like what I am writing.

Honestly, I haven't really hit a point where I have lost my motivation for blogging. I truly enjoy documenting and sharing the experiences of our lives. As for topics and such, I think my writing ability is benefited by the content of my blog. This is not solely a running blog or a mommy blog or any one thing. It's a daily record of me and my family as seen through my eyes. And because of this, I have never felt limited in what I could or couldn't write about. Plus, I just really have a lot to say, which doesn't hurt either.

suzy@countdownto26.2 asked, "How important is strength training when training for a 1/2 or full marathon? I can never find time/energy to do it!"

It depends on who you ask. Strength training is going to be beneficial to any runner. But, not strength training isn't going to keep you from crossing that finish line.

When it comes down to it, a runner needs to run to be successful. So, if you had to make the choice between fitting in strength training or your run, I would say that you should choose the run. But, if you can fit in both activities, you will definitely see an improvement in your running.

Erin G asked, "What's your fav pre-race meal?"

Easy peasy - Mud Pie. OK, I am kidding about that. Before the vast majority of my races, I eat a chocolate chip Clif Bar and drink a little water.