Get NTC FIT With Me In 2014!

Today is the final day of 2013. This year has been a great one for training and in 2014 I plan to take it to the next level. I hope you will all join me! I have an exciting announcement for all of my fellow Nike Training Club fans. First, the app has been updated and can be even more personalized to you with individual training plans and integration with the Nike Running App. Second, there are now community forums for you to interact with other Nike Training Club users around the world. 

I was fortunate enough to be invited by Nike Women to be a Captain of the #NTCFIT community group and would love for you to all join me on the site. You can login by clicking this link: #NTCFIT Community. I will be on the site often to help answer your questions, share my training tips and help motivate you to keep training strong! 

As a special bonus, during the month of January I am running another NTC challenge! For this challenge I want you to set up a training program on the new NTC App. Commit to following the personalized program you have set for yourself in January and share your progress on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook with the Hashtags: #NTCFIT and #NTCJANUARY14. Be sure to let me know that you are joining the challenge in the comments below. I'd love to hear what program you are doing as well and what you think of the App. 

As a special bonus I am going to give away a prize pack or two at the end of the challenge! The prize pack with include some tasty fitness snacks, Feetures! socks and some other items I will be collecting throughout the month of January. Stay on track and work hard and you will be entered to win! 

2014 will be a year for taking chances, pushing past your limits and becoming a better version of you. I have big goals in the fitness world as well as my career and together we can motivate and inspire each other to reach our dreams. 

~Karen

The #NTC November 30 Challenge Winners!

I'm happy to say that we had eighteen challengers in my #NTCNOVEMBER30 challenge on Twitter and Instagram. These ladies all committed to doing 30 minutes of Nike Training Club live or with the app during the month of November and submitted their workouts with the hashtag. Congrats to all who participated and committed to making themselves stronger. The following girls all deserve a huge shoutout:

@Lil_roni

@Ajayiabby

@Maclucille

@Tay_toned_fit

@Missfitriss

@Beccafit4life

@Pattitutu

@Danibeanz

@Turtlegirl00

@Cityfitgirls

@Runningdivasf

@Iamarlynn

@Tikibar87

@Thisfitlife365

@Kierasmalls

@ShayMLawson

@Itsallaboutme00

@TheJanelleKay

As promised - it's prize time! Since everyone did so well on their challenge I decided to do a random draw for prizes. The following two participants both won a prize package! The winners are:

Kiera Smalls - @KieraSmalls, who won an autographed copy of Apolo Ohno's book Zero Regrets, Pocketfuel and Natures Bakery Fig Bars! Kiera did great in the challenge and recruited many of her friends to join. Great job!

The second prize winner is Patti Tu - @Pattitutu, she won The Little Book of Yoga, a pair of funky knee socks, a Natures Bakery Fig Bar and Gatorade Prime Energy Chews to power her through her training!

Congratulations ladies. Your prizes will be coming your way to help you keep up the great work. Be sure to stay posted on my blog for an upcoming challenge to ring in the new year. You don't want to miss it! 

Marathon Training Peak = More Sleep!

Marathon training is kicking my butt right now. Yes, I said it. I'm starting to remember when I got to this point last year. The tiredness and the life suddenly devoted to running - and running LONG miles. Yesterday I ran 7 miles - 3.5 of which were straight up a hill. Today I had a speed workout on the track and tomorrow I have a 6 mile run. Today I got home and I fell asleep, on the floor. I didn't even have the energy to make it to my bed and it's a nice bed! I have to say, it was some of the best sleep ever. Much needed! I'm excited for the marathon and it is now less than five weeks away, but these are always the longest weeks for me. 

My track workout this morning

Today I didn't feel like going to the track, but I did it anyway. I went early in the morning before it got too hot and I got it done! It wasn't the speediest I could have gone, but I was running on tired legs. In my marathon I will be running on tired legs, so it was good training and helped me learn how to pick up the pace even when I am feeling exhaustion creeping in. I shared my run with Nike Running on Twitter and they were able to give me a pick-me-up. The showed me that focusing on my training will get me to my PR goal. A big shout-out to them for giving me an extra push right when I need it.

Personalized poster from Nike Running

This evening I did some yoga and it felt amazing. If there is one thing that I have been slacking on recently it would have to be my yoga practice. I am starting to feel the tightness creeping in, so it was high time I took to the mat. After 45 minutes of yoga with Leah Kim on the Nike Training Club app, I feel much better. I don't recommend skipping yoga or stretching, trust me, you'll pay a price! 

Marathon training is hard right now, but I am going to push through stronger. I'd love to know if you have any tips for pushing through the tough weeks of training. Let me know in the comments below!

~Happy Training!

2012 - A Year for the Record Books

2012 was an amazing year! If I had been asked in December 2011 what I expected 2012 to look like, it would not have been nearly this exciting. As a fitness enthusiast, I could not have asked for a better year. I can't believe what an amazing journey it has been and I am so excited to see what 2013 holds. Here's a look back at what made my 2012 spectacular!

I ran my first Bay to Breakers 12k race in San Francisco! I love running in San Francisco and this race is a beautiful short run throughout the city. A must run event on any serious runners race calendar!

I got to run with ultra endurance athlete Jason Lester on his journey across the country with the Nike Journey for a Better World Campaign. This was such an inspiring run and I can't believe I got to meet him and run with him. Dream come true!

I had the chance to work this summer for the Sacramento Capitals World Team Tennis tournament as their marketing coordinator and I had the privilege of meeting some top ranked players, like Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish. As a tennis player and enthusiast, this was such a neat opportunity and I really enjoyed working with this team on their digital marketing, definitely something I want to pursue in the future (hint - Nike - I'm ready to be part of your social media team!)

The Nike Women team featured me in one of their campaigns for my achievements with the Nike Training Club App! The workouts on this app totally changed my body for the better and I am stronger and more toned because of these drills. Thank you Nike for recognizing my hard work!

In October I got my Black Belt in Taekwondo the week before I ran my 2nd marathon. I have been working on this achievement for so long and I made it to the big day! I was so honored to have put in the work and achieved this ranking, I can't wait to continue my journey in martial arts in the future. 

In October I ran my 2nd Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco and got to meet my favorite trainer, Marie Purvis! She is the developer of the Nike Training Club workouts and I was in awe of her, seriously, such an amazing trainer! She created my customized training plan for the Nike Women's Marathon and I PR'd!

Nike Women selected a group of five ladies to train and dote upon with Nike gear for the Nike Women's Marathon and I was one of the chosen ones, along with Renisha, Elizabeth, Tiara and Nerissa. As Nike Women's Marathon 2012 Training Ambassadors we were given elite training gear, a personalized training plan, a photo shoot in San Francisco and an all expenses paid weekend at the race. Nike made my year with this one. I will never forget this experience and hope that it is not the last time that I get to work with them. This is a picture of the group of us before the race!

Crossing the finish line at the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco! Such a proud moment. Thank you for making this possible Nike!

I found out about a month ago that I was accepted as a FitFluential Ambassador and while I haven't done much yet with them, I know there will be incredible opportunities to participate in campaigns with them and improve my blog and fitness knowledge in 2013. Thank you for believing in me FitFluential!

I got to visit the Nike World Headquarters campus in Beaverton, OR and participate in a live NTC workout. This was a dream come true, I flew to Beaverton, slept for 4 hours and then got up at 5:30 in the morning for this workout with Nike Elite Trainers. I was impressed with the workout and the facility. I have made myself a promise that I will work here someday soon, currently it's on my 5 year plan. Get ready Nike, here I come!

A group of my friends from work and I did The Color Run in Sacramento. This was such a fun race, not necessarily for time, but just a really fun event for the whole family to enjoy. I would recommend this to everyone! Find one in your city this year, you won't regret it!

I ended 2012 with a trip to Sun River, OR for a snowboarding trip at Mt. Bachelor and it was a blast. So fun to try out different sports. While in Oregon I went for a run in the snow, snowboarded and got in an evening of iceskating. 

2012 was a year of many adventures, running events and training. Thank you to those who believed in me and those who are supporting me now and in the future. Thank you Nike, Nike Running, Nike Women, Nike Fuel, Marie Purvis, Leah Kim, Tiara, Elizabeth, Renisha, Nerissa and FitFluential for making this a year to remember.

Watch out 2013, I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and going for big goals!

NTC and NWM Training

Here's my random rant post of the night. I may be jumping around a bit, but I just had too many things to share and couldn't focus on just one!

Training Update

These past few weeks of NWM training have been tough. I have been having a hard time juggling my time and the taper. I don't want to taper too much, but I don't want to run too much either. Since my knee has been acting up I have been focusing more on my speed. I want to really kill my last few track workouts so I can power through those tough moments during my 26.2. 

NTC Milestone

I also finally made it to the 12,000 minute mark on the #NTC app! Woohoo! I really enjoy all the exercises on this app and can truly see a difference in my endurance and flexibility when using this app. My next goal is to get to the 20,000 minute mark! There is a lot of training in my future. 

Move More, Live More

The Nike Women's Marathon just shared this link on Facebook from designedtomove.org. It really got me thinking about the state of our generation. Watch the video and let me know what you think. I want to live those 5 extra years. I think this movie is just more proof that I should think more seriously about becoming a personal trainer. After all, if only one person were to live an extra five years, it would all be worth it. How about you? What are you doing to move?