Hello!

I started this blog as a way to capture my experiences and track my progress on my current challenge: to finish a half marathon in all 50 states (plus DC) by the time I'm an attending.  But first, I guess, I should tell you a little bit about me.  

I'm Amy, and I'm currently in my first year (otherwise known as my intern year) in a psychiatry residency program in New Jersey.  I'm originally from Norfolk, Virginia and lived there up until I graduated from medical school in May 2011.  I started running back in high school and did pretty well competing on my school's cross-country and track teams.  However, by the end of the college, I had pretty much fallen out of the running habit.  By my 3rd year of medical school I could count the number of times I had run in the last 3 years on one hand (and still have fingers left over!).  In my fourth year, I found myself with more free time than I'd had in ages and no ideas on how to fill it.  I remembered how much I used to love running in high school and thought that maybe I could enjoy it once again.  In January 2011, spurred on by one of new favorite books (The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin), I registered for my first half marathon.  I finished my first half on April 9, 2011, and my addiction was born!

I originally just started running whatever half marathon I could feasibly get to, but after finishing my 6th half marathon in October, I realized that I had run 5 of my 6 half marathons in different states.  After sharing this tidbit with my boyfriend, he asked me if I was trying for all 50.  I laughed and shrugged it off - what a crazy idea!  But I couldn't get the idea out of my head.  A few days later, I finally made up my mind to do just that - but I wanted to make it even more interesting.  I decided to attempt to run a half marathon in all 50 states and DC by the time I'm an attending.  For those not in the medical field, that means once I finish my residency/fellowship training and am able to practice medicine completely independently.  Right now, this means July 2015 at the earliest or July 2016 if I pursue fellowship.  

As of now, I have completed 10 states (in order of completion):  Virginia, South Carolina, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Texas, Alabama, and Florida.  And I already have several more planned.  This is the story of my journey (and whatever other random things pop into my head!) on what I hope will be the challenge of a lifetime.  I hope you'll join me!