About Me
Just another avid crazy runner (what more can I say, fellow runners can relate!) My name is Ashley and I’m 24 years old currently residing in Fairfax, VA. I am from Richmond and I just recently located to the Northern Virginia area. I got back into running at the beginning of 2015 and wanted to blog about my running adventures. I originally started writing this for my own personal use and organization, but I figured I would share my experiences with you all! I began running back in high school. I ran it all, Outdoor Track, Indoor Track, and Cross Country. I was told by my doctors not to run due to having severe anxiety attacks from PTSD, but I didn’t let that stop me (I can be pretty dág on stubborn). I ran my first half marathon back on May 31, 2015 and placed 2nd in my age group out of 46 others! This REALLY inspired me to keep going and to not give up no matter who tried to put me down. You can find out more about me in My Story and where it all began (I am trying to keep this short and sweet).
I graduated with my Bachelor’s in Science in Criminal Justice and Psychology from Old Dominion University. As much as I would love to run and adventure all day long, I do have a day job. When I am not at work you can find me running pretty much anywhere, exploring a local park, hiking, biking, on the trails, traveling to a race (as you can see my race calendar is pretty hectic), or on some crazy adventure!
Last year I started to really embrace my artistic side; my passion for running has helped spur me to see new places and discover how much I enjoy nature and photography. I started posting pictures of my runs on Instagram hoping to encourage others to get there. I did not expect much from it and was surprised when my picture’s started increasing in popularity. I have received numerous comments from people all over the world telling me how my pictures have inspired them! I have even been featured on REI, the National Park Foundation, Recreation News, Ragnar and more! So I have decided to add them to my blog to help share my passion with even more people! My pictures capture the spirit of adventure; every picture is a painting of the beautiful outdoors. I am a distance runner, adventure seeker, and nature enthusiast who seeks to capture a story with every photo I take. My love of adventuring and nature will take me to the best Virginia has to offer and beyond.
Check out my 1st prize Article!
https://www.himarco.com/slideshow/14389-looking-for-eden-the-best-of-virginia-s-scenic-outdoors
Follow me on Instagram for more!
https://www.instagram.com/adventurewith_ashley/
Hello Ashley, I was looking at the fantastic photo of the double rainbow and bridge on the Weather Undergound when I looked at your website. You indicate that you do enjoy the outdoors and do a tremendous amount of running. When I see young people (I’m 72 years old) running, I’m always concerned about the effects of high impact on their knees. In the 9th grade I ran the 440 (1/4 mile) in 58 seconds flat. The gym coach wanted me to join the track team, but I never did because I was a bookworm with my nose in a book all the time. I wasn’t into sports. My sister-in-law Eleanor, like you, was eilther running or jogging all her life. She’s now 62 years old and just recently had to have a knee replacement and other surgery due to the damage to her knee caused by the high impact of running and jogging.
I would suggest that you consider fast walking. I read that you get more exercise from fast walking than you do from slow jogging!
Of course the exercise that you get from running and jogging is better than no exercise at all, but I just want you to consider the long-term possible effect of this.
Take care.
Best wishes
Ed de Brito
Hello Ashley, I was looking at the fantastic photo of the double rainbow and bridge on the Weather Underground when I looked at your website. You indicate that you do enjoy the outdoors and do a tremendous amount of running. When I see young people (I’m 72 years old) running, I’m always concerned about the effects of high impact on their knees. In the 9th grade I ran the 440 (1/4 mile) in 58 seconds flat. The gym coach wanted me to join the track team, but I never did because I was a bookworm with my nose in a book all the time. I wasn’t into sports. My sister-in-law Eleanor, like you, was eilther running or jogging all her life. She’s now 62 years old and just recently had to have a knee replacement and other surgery due to the damage to her knee caused by the high impact of running and jogging.
I would suggest that you consider fast walking. I read that you get more exercise from fast walking than you do from slow jogging!
Of course the exercise that you get from running and jogging is better than no exercise at all, but I just want you to consider the long-term possible effect of this.
Take care.
Best wishes
Ed de Brito
PS I’m a Vietnam Veteran
Hey Ed, I appreciate you reaching out to me. I have considered the long term effects. I actually have patellofemoral pain syndrome in my knee. I’ve been in physical therapy for it, but thankfully it is nothing too serious. I love running. Running is my passion. I love the way running makes me feel and it is my happy place. Running helps to encourage me to keep going and has amazed me with what I’ve been able to accomplish. I guess you could say that I am one of those stubborn runners. I am sure you’ve noticed how busy my race calendar was last year. I can’t just stop doing something that I love, but I can definitely learn to take it easy on myself. I use to just run all the time, but I realized that I am too young to be setting myself up for injury so I have been learning along the way. Fast walking just wouldn’t be the same for me. I have been doing some cross training by swimming, biking, being in the gym, doing a boot camp and more. This has definitely helped me out a great deal and the exercises I’ve been doing in physical therapy are continuing to make me stronger. I am hoping I will be okay when I get older by taking care of myself and not over doing anything. Thank you for your service sir, my father is also a Vietnam Veteran.
Thank you for your message,
Ashley