Weekend Warrior

This weekend I am running the Wounded Veteran Run in Folsom, CA. I am excited to be using my holiday weekend to run for something as beneficial as this run. This race was started just last year by a local student whose brother was wounded in battle. It's so much more touching when the race hits close to home. I am running with a group from work and it will be a great experience.

I also have a race planned for next weekend, but it is only a 5k so it should just be a brief training run. Since this next week I will be starting my Marathon training for my new Nike Women Ambassadorship, I don't want to do to many other races! That's right ladies, I'm here to promote Nike Women and work with them to reach my PR at the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco in October. I will be keeping you updated on my progress and would love to have you share this journey with me.

What are you up to this Memorial Day weekend? 

Training for Nike Women's Marathon

Nike Master Trainer Marie Purvis

I don't think that dreams are ever achieved by a quick and easy road to the top. I personally have been working towards achieving my fitness and career dreams for a long time. I have had my successes and my setbacks. Most recently, my success in being able to train with Nike Women for the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco in October. I have been spending hours, days, even weeks, nearly 10,000 minutes training with the Nike Training Club app and it is paying off in a big way.

This week I get to talk with Nike Master Trainer Marie Purvis and get a personalized training plan for my upcoming trip to San Francisco for the Nike Women's Marathon. I am so excited, and nervous to talk to my biggest fitness and training inspiration. I know she will have great tips for achieving my PR in the marathon. What questions should I ask her when I get to talk to her? Do you guys have any training or marathon tips?

I definitely need tips on how much running to do each week and how quickly to increase my mileage. I have only run one other marathon and my training was not what I had hoped it would be. I am hoping to get some serious advice that will kick my training into #beastmode! I'll be sure to keep you posted on my training progress.

Bay to Breakers!

I had a great race weekend! This sunday I ran the 101st Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco. I just found out I was racing the thursday before the race so I wasn't sure what to expect. Luckily I have been running and training quite a lot these past few months so I was able to post a fairly good time. I finished in 1:13 minutes. I was really proud of myself for my ability to run the race, conquer the hills and have a great kick at the end. I will definitely be back again if I get the chance. I also reached the blue level of Nike Plus which is really exciting! I thought it was an awesome way to conquer a new level of running and my Nike+ Mini couldn't agree more!

The race itself was less of a race and more of a 7 mile costume contest. I chose the more serious route but was not disappointed by the costumes that were in seen along the course. We even were able to spot a few Waldo's from the popular children's book "Where's Waldo." I had an awesome time and would recommend that everyone do this race at least once in their life. Next time I may pull out a costume to really show my race day spirit.  

What is the most creative or fun race that you have run? Was it Bay to Breakers, a mud run, the Color Run? I'd love to hear about them and find some new races to try. Leave a comment below and I'll be sure to check them out. 

Motivational Tuesday

Dreams are sometimes hard to reach. But most of the time it is the journey that makes it all worth it. Whether you reach your goal or not, the journey is where you learn and grow the most. The ups and the downs make you a stronger person. Struggle, determination, focus, they all make you stronger. Sweat, tears, success and failure have made me know that I can handle whatever the world throws at me. Here are a few motivational quotes to spur you onward towards your goal and into Beast Mode! 

Hard work will pay off, I promise. You just have to give yourself time. 

Always think positively.  

Live each day to the fullest and don't let anything get you down. 

Positive Social Media

I have been realizing lately how much social media can affect and influence my daily life. I spend quite a bit of time interacting with friends and acquaintances on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc. For me it is a great motivational tool and has put me in touch with a huge base of friends that share the same interests and likes that I do.

Opportunities to meet fitness experts, interact with Nike and other fitness brands, and get motivation are endless. When used correctly social media is an amazing tool to motivate, inspire and educate yourself on the world around you and prepare yourself for your career. It creates a window into the lives of experts in their field that you would not be able to see if social media was not around. I learn new things every day.

Sometimes social media can be distracting or take too much time, but like most things in life you have to take the good with the bad. Overall, I am grateful for the opportunities and knowledge that social media has given to me. I hope I can inspire someone else and reach a larger audience through these outlets. What social media channels are your favorites and who are some great fitness experts that you follow? I'd love to hear from you! 

Dream Weekend

This past weekend was so much fun. It started off with an incredible email from Nike Women inviting me to train with them and participate in the Nike Women's Marathon with them. I am so excited to be a part of this event and experience the weekend "Nike Style." I don't have all the details yet, but I am looking forward to sharing my experience there in October.

I also started training hard for my upcoming race. I had the best run I have had in a while Saturday morning. It may have been a result of the excitement and adrenaline rush of discovering that I get to train with Nike, but whatever the reason, I had a great 5 mile run. I also did quite a bit of Nike Training Club drills and had a great tennis match. It was a great week of training and I hope I have more great days in the future.

My commitment to clean eating is even more important right now. I have 5 months to prepare for the race of my life and I don't have any room for shortcuts or falling off the wagon. I want to be fit, fast and prepared to run my best race in 2012! I'll be posting some of my healthy recipes here in the future. I hope you join me with healthy eating and maybe I'll see you at the Nike Women's Marathon!

May Workout Challenge

May is here, I can't believe how fast this year is going by. I feel like just yesterday it was January and I was wearing snow boots and scarves to work. Now I can't seem to stay cool enough. The great thing about this time of year is that it is the perfect time to take my workouts outside. There's a reason that bootcamps in the park and running/triathlon race season picks up speed this time of year. I already ran my first 5k of the year and have four more planned in the next few months. One thing that also picks up speed is my training schedule. It is suddenly a lot easier to do a longer workout since the day stays light longer in the evening.

That being said I have undertaken another challenge. This month I plan to run 100 miles and complete 1200  minutes of workouts on the Nike Training Club app for iPhone. One of my goals is to take more of my workouts outside and use natural resistance and roads and trails to train hard and enjoy nature at the same time. There is just something peaceful and calming about running outside rather than on a treadmill. Luckily for me there are quite a few parks in this area to workout at so finding space will not be a problem.

Wish me luck and join me in my challenge if you think you are up for it!