I'm Busy Getting Stronger

My New Mantra

This is my new mantra for the next month until the Nike Women's Marathon! I want to get stronger everyday until then. Today started with my commitment to eating healthy and training smart every day. I want to be the strongest I have been come October 14, both physically and mentally. The last few weeks of Nike Training Challenges have helped me learn how to push myself and keep trying until I achieve my best result. The Rafa Nadal Mountain Climbers was my defining challenge. I finally reached the top of the leader board! I practiced and tried all week to reach this goal and finally I made it to 31 reps, my new personal best. 

The leader board in the Rafa Nadal challenge. My twitter handle @superwomankw made it to the top of the leader board with 31 reps! 

The Nike store in the Portland airport! 

Last week I was able to "Gear up for Greatness" when I received new gear from Nike Women to help me power through the last four weeks of training. I am in love with these new Free TR 2 trainers! Such a cute color that really pops at the gym and makes me want to do my fast feet NTC drills even faster! Look out Hope Solo 15 minute workout, my feet will be flying!

TR Trainer!

Also, I got some cold weather gear since the mornings here have turned chilly. I wore my new Nike Legend Tight Fit pants last week and the Nike Speed Long Sleeve shirt, complete with thumb holes, to keep me warm in the early morning. Nothing like compression gear to keep me warm on a long run in the morning. It fits like a second skin and I love it! The Relay Capri's are awesome too! I love running in capris because they are so versatile and work for a variety of weather. 

Last week I took some rest from running because I was having some IT Band problems, but it is time to get back on track with my training plan this week. I am picking my mileage back up and taking precautions to keep my legs, knees and IT band in top shape for October. It was so hard to stop running last week, especially when I kept seeing all my fellow #SistersInNike working hard and sticking with their training. I am so excited to be back at it! 

The Passionate Pursuit

Passion. Drive. Desire. These are all a part of the pursuit. It is the pursuit that makes reaching my goals so rewarding. It's the challenges that come up along the way that make the pursuit so great. I can think of no greater team to demonstrate this than the United States Women's National Team (soccer). They have been pursuing greatness for so long and just recently their regular season was cancelled on the heels of an incredible season ending in a heartbreaking loss to Japan in the World Cup.

The funny thing is it's the loss that defines this team more than a win would have. The USWNT went on to share their story after the games many times and the fire in their eyes shows how much they want to come back and win in 2012. The team practices unrelentingly and works so hard every day. Each girl on the team is inspirational to me and Hope Solo is my absolute favorite player. In every game she is the last defense and always sacrifices herself for her team. She is strong and passionate about the game, always pursuing perfection. But a goalie can never be perfect, they can only pursue perfection, and in that pursuit she finds her passion.

No matter what I do and how many times I succeed or fail, it will always be the pursuit that makes my dreams truly worth reaching for. 

Nike Women and Hope Solo

Twitter is an amazing tool and my favorite account to follow is NikeWomen! They always have amazing tips to share and contests to enter. This time it was my tweet that won the limited edition "Hope Knows" tee. I couldn't be more excited. If you're interested in keeping up with all things Nike Women and like the chance to win free workout apparel, then follow NikeWomen on Twitter today. You won't regret it and you may even end up with some amazing workout apparel too.

Also, be sure to check out Nikewomen.com and the Nike Women Facebook page for more in depth updates. While you are there check out the Nike Training Club page and then download the App for your iphone today. It has in depth workouts that you can do at home for free with little to no equipment. Trust me, this workout is no joke either, you will get results and feel the burn every time you complete a workout. And every month there is a new 15 minute celebrity athlete workout to download, like the Hope Solo "Unbeatable" workout.