Training and the NWM Lottery

As of yesterday morning I am registered in the lottery for the 10th anniversary of the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco! It is going to be torture the next few weeks while I wait to hear if I have been selected to run the race. This will be my third marathon and I am so excited to run it with new friends and some of the girls I ran the race with last year. It's not too late for you to sign up for the lottery yet either and I suggest you do! You can sign up on Facebook here. 

In preparation for the Nike Women's Marathon in SF, I am going to be focusing a lot on speed work and hill repeats. I want to make sure I am prepared for the tough hills of San Francisco as well as finally reaching my sub-4 hour marathon finish time. Last year I came close until my IT Band began acting up.  This year I am going to train hard and do a lot of strength drills and yoga to keep my IT Band strong. 

Yoga is so important for runners and flexibility is key in preventing injuries. While training for this marathon I will also be training for the Hood to Coast relay I am running with Team Nuun so I am going to need to make sure I am healthy and strong for this fun race in August! Yoga is key in keeping runners legs, hips and core strong and flexible to improve running form. Runners, especially myself, often have imbalances due to their repetitive forward motion. Yoga can help eliminate repetitive stress injuries and create a more balanced body.

My yoga experience is with vinyasa flow, aerial yoga and Leah Kim's NTC yoga workout on the Nike Training Club app. No matter what type of yoga you prefer, take the time to focus your practice on muscles that are neglected during running training or that need to be stretched or strengthened. Yoga also allows a critical time where you can relax and unwind after a hard training session. 

This weekend I am running the See Jane Run Half Marathon and I am taking this week easy with running in preparation for this fun race. It's not too late if you are going to be in the Alameda area you can still sign up and run with me! 

~Karen

My Motivational Bloggers

I thought I would give a shout out to the newest member of the blogging community. Welcome Tiara! She just started a fitness blog sharing her NTC and fitness journey. Check out her blog NTC Journey and follow her fitness goals and join her #ntcJuneabs challenge! This challenge is a commitment to doing 15 minutes of abs every day with the Nike Training Club app for iphone and ipad. It's a great way to stay motivated to work out those abs. She motivates me to train harder every day and I know you will find her inspirational as well!

Also, don't forget about my other favorite bloggers: Marie Purvis (@NikeGetFit) at All Things Fitness, a Nike Master trainer, developer of the NTC app, and soon to be xbox Kinect star this coming holiday season, she gives great fitness advice and is going to train me for the Nike Women's Marathon in October. A great blogger to follow, you won't regret reading her blog!

Yoga Eat Run is another excellent blogger who shares her fitness goals, advice and life with women everywhere. She is an inspiration and a class act who will get you motivated to get your foot out the door and onto some HIIT Training. A soon to be NASM certified trainer, you won't want to miss a word of this fitness superstar's advice.

And finally, one of my earliest fitness blog finds, be sure to check out iheartspandex, an inspirational fitness and fashion blogger. She was the inspiration behind me starting my own fitness blog. You're sure to find great fitness fashion advice here!

Know of any other inspirational fitness bloggers? Let me know in the comments below!