How I Seized the Solstice

I hope you are enjoying your weekend! I had a great time this weekend mixing up my workouts and participating in the Athleta Seize the Solstice event at the Roseville Galleria store. Athleta was celebrating the beginning of summer by holding a live yoga event in Times Square and included their stores in this event by offering free yoga classes and the opportunity to come home with a brand new yoga mat to commemorate the event and improve your practice. I enjoyed the hour long free class that started my day off right. Following that I won a yoga mat in the drawing held in-store. Athleta also provided water, fruit and snacks for after the event. One lucky lady won a new yoga outfit! Athleta is always offering amazing free classes, training and opportunities for women to achieve athletic success. If you haven't checked them out yet stop by your local store or check them out online at athleta.com.

On Saturday I went for a short run around the sidewalks of Roseville. I have been getting over a cold so it was a short run, but it felt so good to be out and about! I loved breathing in the fresh morning air and breaking in my Nike Flyknit running shoes. The color is perfect for summer as it pops brightly in the sun. I have the Hood to Coast Relay coming up in just two months, so I have to start training hard for this event. I also need to build a base for my third marathon in October! Lots of training is in my future. 

The tennis season is in full swing and Wimbledon begins tomorrow! I am so excited to start watching this event. The grass courts of Wimbledon are my favorite to watch. It may be the clean cut lawns or the traditions that make Wimbledon great. Whatever the reason, someday I hope to be able to attend the Wimbledon event and experience it first hand! Until then, I will be working for the Sacramento Capitals World TeamTennis season again and getting used to the tournament world. I love working in their social media department and watching the matches. The energy on the court is amazing! This year, in Sacramento we will have Grand Slam champions the Bryan Brothers playing on our courts! Top American players Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish will also play. It is going to be such a fun season! If you are in Sacramento in July I hope you come out to experience the matches!

If you have been following me on Instagram you have seen the photos I have been posting to the daily Instagram challenge from espnW. Today I got a little creative with their vitamin photo challenge! I am about a month into the challenge and have really enjoyed posting the daily photos and going out of my comfort zone. If you haven't joined yet you should check out their Instagram and Twitter feed and get on board! You could win daily prizes and be entered to win grand prize at the end, which is a trip to the US Open tennis tournament! I would love this prize! What are you waiting for? Start posting your photos today and inspire others!

Happy training!

Make Yourself with Sharapova

Maria Sharapova is just one of Nike's Make Yourself athletes. She is inspirational to me for many different reasons. For a quick sneak peak at how she trains and what has brought her to champion status check out this video filmed by Nike Women for their Make Yourself campaign.

Sharapova's attitude and refusal to give up on every game and every match she plays is unlike most athletes, even at the professional level. What makes her stand out is her massive success. She is easily the highest paid female athlete of all time, has design deals with Nike and it's affiliate brands (Cole Haan), Head, Rolex, and various other companies, yet refuses to give up on what got her where she is, her tennis game (and 3 Grand Slam titles).

Injury, surgery and a painful recovery with some poor match play might have convinced a lessor competitor and champion to give up on the game and explore other exploits. This is not the case for Maria Sharapova. She instead came back with a vengeance and fire that just cannot be quenched. Her run to the finals of both Wimbledon in 2011 and the Australian Open in 2012 show how this hard work has paid off. I can't wait to see more things from this talented tennis player and business woman.

Check out Maria Sharapova and the six other athletes in Nike's "Make Yourself" campaign. You will be inspired to push yourself harder after checking out their videos and words of advice.