Hi All!

As mentioned in my eBook “12 Steps to Making 2015 Your Healthiest Year Yet,” I’m going to be sharing with you my journey as I take on 4 , maybe 5 half marathons this summer/fall.  Have I taken on more than I can handle?  I have no idea!  This will be a first and I’m SUPER excited about it!  I haven’t participated in a running event since 2006 when I completed my fist half (Georgetown to Idaho Springs) and my first full (Chicago) marathon!

If you’re an endurance athlete, or an athlete of any discipline for that matter,  you know the hardest part is making it through training injury-free.  To get you up to speed, I had just started running again when on Christmas Eve I managed to break my pinky toe.  Ouch!  That really hurts!  However, I continued doing my workouts and running as it didn’t bother me during the exercise.  Two weeks later, I re-broke the toe!  Seriously!?  Oh well, I kept training.  I went for my first outdoor long run and felt so AMAZING that instead of only running the 9 miles, I ran 11.37 miles.  Yep, not smart.  I ended up straining the same foot as the broken toe was on because of compensation.  Finally, I modified what I was doing but still didn’t take a break.  Thanks to a sick kiddo who wasn’t sleeping a lick at night, I was forced to take just over a week off.  Man!  Did I feel SO much better after that!  YES, taking some time off can be exactly what the doctor ordered, or in this case, should have been exactly what this doctor did in the beginning.

Now, I’m fully back into training hard in the basement.  Yep, in the basement.  I’m not even running on a treadmill.  This girl is running back and forth in the basement.  Crazy, I know, but that’s what happens when you’re committed.  One of my favorite phrases, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”  Weather and schedule permitting, I’m currently trying to get one run done outside.

In combination with my running, I’m also doing high intensity interval training (HIIT).  The program I’m using is T25 developed by the same guy who did the Insanity program.  SO MUCH FUN!!!  If you’ve never tried interval training, you should.  You will not believe the endurance and strength gains you’ll make.  Also, research has shown this form of exercise is the best for shedding unwanted fat.  AND, all of this for a fraction of the time you put into other training.  T25 is only 25 minutes!!  See, even the busiest people can get a HIIT workout in.  I’ve also used Krysta Stryker’s, of the 12 Minute Athlete, workouts.  She also has an app full of 12 or 16 minute workouts for cheap that you can take with you and use anywhere.  No excuses!  Let’s do this!

Here are the events I’m preparing for this summer:

Fear the Deer, “Colorado’s Toughest Half Marathon” on May 9th

Denver Trail 1/2 Marathon on June 7th 

Georgetown to Idaho Springs 1/2 Marathon on August 8th 

Backcountry Wilderness Half Marathon on November 7th 

Are you training for an event this year or have you set a fitness goal for yourself?  I’d love to hear about it and how you’re training and fueling.  I’ll be posting weekly re-caps of what I’m doing including what is working and what is not, how to stay injury free and more!  I can’t wait to hear from you!