Stronger Strides

Train with me! Are you training for a marathon, half marathon or any running race this fall? Whether you are a seasoned runner or just signed up for your first event, let’s train together! I am preparing to run the Chicago Marathon on October 7th this fall. I am so excited! I have some big goals set and I want to help you reach your goals as well. Disclaimer- I am not a running coach, I have run 6 marathons, and countless half marathons. I have qualified for Boston, New York and the Chicago marathon. I have done my research and I am ready to take my running to the next level. I am not acting as a coach, just wanting to give guidance and share my journey to runners and learn throughout this every changing process. I will post weekly runs, workouts and explain how these workouts are supposed to go. I believe that everyone is different, and everyone succeeds through different workouts. I am a huge advocate of listening to the body, going off of feel rather than time. We will have spee

My first ever Half Ironman! Completing a Half Ironman has always been on my bucket list. I have always loved to run, picked up biking in college for cross training and then my plan was to suffer through the swim. I wanted to do Boulder in August but I wan to really focus on training for Chicago and so I picked St. George. I had heard this course was a beast of its own. I was ready. I like hills. My Training: I followed a 16 week training program that I bought from a coach. It truly was amazing! I felt awesome on race day and I attribute it to what great plan she wrote. My average training looked something like this: Monday: Run 30-45 minutes, swim 1500-2000 yards and incorporating drills and speed Tuesday: Bike or Bike + Brick Run + Strength training for hips and core Wednesday: Run 30-45 minutes, swim 1500-2000 yards and incorporating drills and speed Thursday: Yoga + foam rolling and stretching Friday: long bike + Brick run Saturday: long run (1:30- 2 Hour) + endurance s

As I was pounding away some miles on the boring treadmill, I was thinking. I don’t know about you, but it feels like the fitness world is becoming more and more divided. I get that in life we have different talents and passions. But I feel like there is a war waging and it is getting intense out there. It is a war against weight lifting verses cardio junkies. I feel like these two worlds are growing farther and farther apart. I have a lot of visions, hopes and dreams. One of my aspirations is to merge these two divided groups. I have done a little self-research and I think that it is so interesting the feelings between these two groups. I was talking to some body builders and they pretty much talked about cardio like it was a disease and how they didn’t want anything to do with it. They often expressed their feelings as though people were just wasting their time on those cardio machines. As I talked to some people who only believe in cardio, who said they can go a whole year without

Is it just me or does January just stink when it comes to getting back to eating healthy? I feel like I am constantly craving sugar and eating way too many sweets. It is rough getting back on that healthy train. Here are some healthier sweet treats that help me kick that sugar craving. Peanut Butter Rice-Krispies  Ingredients · 4 cups rice Krispies (I like to use Brown Rice Crips ) · ½ cup honey · ½ cup peanut butter Instructions : · Place 4 cups of Rice Krispies in a mixing bowl and set aside · Prepare a baking dish (9X11) and line with parchment paper- set aside · Bring honey to a boil for 1 minute- constantly stirring the honey · Remove honey from heat and stir in peanut butter · You will have a creamy mixture, stir over Rice Krispies until well mixed. · Spread mixture into baking dish and let sit for 1 hour · Cut into squares and enjoy! Snickerdoodle Bites Ingredients : · ½ cup all-natural almond butter · ½ cup pure maple syrup · ¼ tsp vanilla extract · ¼

"Give a girl the right shoes and she will conquer the world"  -Marilyn Monroe  My personal belief is that shoes are one of the most important things to prevent an injury. I am a girl who loves to run which for me, means that I like to buy a lot of shoes. Did you know that most running shoes last only 500 miles before they need to be replaced? Most people hear the number 500 and they think that it will take them years to reach that number. It is actually a lot easier to hit 500 miles than you think. I have noticed that a lot of the people at the gym and on the trails always wear the same running shoes! Every day! I have been running and training hard for almost 10 years. I have only had minor injuries (knock on wood) and I strongly contribute that to making my shoes a priority. How it works for me is that I have about 3 shoes that I rotate during my training. I do my long runs in some, speed work in some, trail runs in some, treadmill in some, etc. Play close attentio

The holidays can be a hard time to stick to your goals. Here are five tips to beat the holiday pitfalls in your goals! 1. Tweak your recipes Cherished family recipes may be loaded with ingredients that we should avoid. Try substituting with applesauce, greek yogurt, vanilla extract and trade condensed milk for coconut milk. 2. Practice portion control Feeling stuffed after a holiday meal seems to be a common feeling this time of year, but it doesn’t have to be. There is a difference between feeling satisfied and feeling full. Watch “having seconds” This can lead to excess calories and not giving yourself enough time to fill full. Limit the food that is around. Food waste is a big deal in America and we can reduce this by the amount of food that we make. Do not miss meals! This slows down your metabolism and will actually do more damage than good on your body. Bring your own snacks to work- there are always tons of holiday treats around the office this tim