CNW Athlete, Meghan Lyle shares her experiences and background as a runner.
Tell us about your running history.
I was a late bloomer, playing soccer through high school and doing track 'on the side' just to stay fit. Later in college I was continuing to run for fitness, and started to develop more speed as I trained for a few half marathons. One random day my senior year, I did a treadmill run, and was running late for an engagement so I picked up the pace. I was able to run about 7:00 mile pace and I thought "Hey l, I wonder how fast you have to run to run to run in college?" I started looking up the Husky women's race times online, and did the calculations. To this day I can't believe I had the gumption to do this, but I contacted the coach to see if I could try out for the team anyway. I also can't believe they took a chance on such an unseasoned runner. They gave me a training schedule for the summer, and I walked on as a 5th year senior. The exposure to D1 training was miraculous for improving my fitness, and I ended up running really well, even making our XC Nationals team, and ultimately running third for the team at XC Nationals. It's insane that at the beginning of the season I had never run in a XC spike, and had to borrow some from a teammate for my first race. I knew what a special experience it was to be able to run at the UW as a senior, and I savored every minute of my single college year of running. Naturally once I got this taste for it, I had to keep running competitively, so I tracked down Club NW to continue my training. Since then, I've become somewhat of a distance specialist, with probably the marathon being my best event, though I've only trained for a few. Cross country will also always have a special place in my heart. I love the grit of it, and also the team element. I'll probably delve into trail running at some point given how much I love XC.
Tell us about your most unusual racing/running experience?
Perhaps the bridal shower pub run we did a few years back. We celebrated the brides to be on a run through the neighborhood with several stops at pubs along the way, which was insanely fun. I've also had to do some very creative juggling in order to fit in my marathon training at times with the responsibilities of motherhood. I have two boys, and my older one (Liam) has logged a lot of stroller miles with me. Paxton I'm sure will follow suit. When I was training for Boston last year, I did a lot of 'split' long runs, where I ran a portion of the run with the stroller, and a portion without. There were a few where I ran 8 to 10 miles with the stroller, and an additional 10 after dropping Liam home with my husband. I'll just say I was definitely prepared to tackle hills. Pushing a stroller with a toddler up a hill is no joke!
Meghan's son, Liam sporting orange.
If you could be/are good at some other sport, what would it be? And no fair saying dietician.
I am actually a really solid soccer player. I love the sport, but have neglected it for years to run train. I wasn't good enough to play in college though, which is why I even discovered my talent for running in the first place. I'm fond of saying if I had been a better soccer player, I probably wouldn't be a runner to this day.
Learn more about Meghan here.