If this happens to you the first step is acceptance. You should allow yourself to grieve and feel the emotions that come to you. It can be sadness, anger or frustration. Once you accept that you have lost some fitness then you can come up with a plan. Creating a plan involves evaluating your current life situation. If you have been dealing with stress, injury, illness or being too busy it is important to look at your schedule and be realistic about the time you have available to train. Sometimes you are in a situation where you have too many demands and don’t have much time for your workouts. Other times it can be your mood that creates a lack of motivation. Sometimes you can feel like you have fallen so far off the ship that you can’t get back on.

If the reality is that you don’t have much time available focus on how you can go into maintenance mode. Consistency will keep you fit enough to get back to training easier. This could be finding workouts that are less than an hour long. HIIT workouts are short and intense so those could be a great way to get in some harder efforts. Breaking your workouts up into doubles can help, even if you have to split them into two 20 minute sessions. You can get creative and if you get a lunch break, bring food that you can eat on the move and go for a walk! It might not be the training you are used to but it is something and the consistency will keep you in the habit!

If you feel like you are too far gone, take a deep breath! Accept where you are and slowly work your way up to becoming the athlete you were. This can be demoralizing. I have been there a few times and I understand how much it can hurt. The only way to make a come back is to start out where your body is in this moment. If all you can do is walk, then walk. Work up to short jogs for a few seconds and build off of that. Try introducing cross training to work other muscle groups too. Treat yourself with compassion and don’t increase your volume or intensity too quickly. When your workout feels too easy then you can increase time or intensity, but not both at the same time. If you had trained in the past your body will remember what to do and it will come back soon! The key to success is being kind to who you are right now.

If you are coming off an injury, move slowly towards your normal level of training. It requires patience and a lot of work to navigate coming back from an injury. Work with a physical therapist until you are healed and then have a plan that slowly gets you back to your normal volume. Some injuries can take months or years to fully recover from. Appreciate what you can do right now and your recovery process will be far more tolerable.

At the end of the day, your sport should be fun. Whether you are competitive or just out there playing don’t let your workouts stress you out. You will have some that are amazing and some you wish never happened. You will have phases of your life where every day feels like a PR and other times where each day is a struggle. Don’t give up on yourself! No matter where you are with your fitness, enjoy the process of working towards a goal. Be thankful for what your body can do for you. I have a couple of athletes who have degenerative health conditions that will never allow them to run again and I am amazed by how strong they are. I have seen them walk at races and make the cut offs. Seeing their excitement on being able to move at all, even when they were once able to run, reminds me that it isn’t about what you want to be but instead taking advantage of what you can do and appreciating it.

If you are looking for help with your come back reach out! I would love to help! I also offer self guided training options along with my one on one coaching.

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I often have athletes come to me with aggressive weight loss or endurance goals. The first year or two can be the hardest as you navigate training for your goals. It is common for you to want results immediately but patience is going to help you get to where you want to be faster. I have been working with athletes from many different backgrounds. Some are just starting out while others have been on their journey for a while. What I have found is that people often come to me injured or overtrained. My goal is to help them achieve their goals safely while building a solid base.

If you find yourself constantly battling injuries or struggling with fatigue it is important to take a step back and look at your training. Most of my athletes want a high volume of training because we are told that you can’t succeed unless you are an over achiever. What I have found is that taking a few steps back to work on volume, strength and rest are the most important parts of training. It can take 6 months to a year to resolve injuries and start introducing speed work. When I bring speed work into someone’s schedule I watch for signs of fatigue or twinges and will recommend not doing speed work and possibly incorporating cross training into their routines. I also believe that my job is to educate and guide but not force anything on my athletes so I always give them the option to do more, but with the warning that it could trigger injury and fatigue.

Building a base includes a few steps. The first is managing injuries and getting them resolved. With the right corrective exercises and modifications to your training you can still train. Ideally you will want to avoid speed work and long endurance efforts until you are pain free. This allows your body to adapt to training while focusing on strength training. This is a great time to work on mindfulness, time management and learning to pick up on subtle signs from your body. Cross training will work different muscles and give you the ability to work on endurance without overusing strained muscles or tendons.

The second step is playing around with either speed work or volume. You don’t want to do both at the same time. You can increase volume slightly on your long run/ride if you want to focus on speed and start with short workouts on your speed work day. Only add one speed workout in a week and maybe even just once every other week to start. If you feel pain or fatigue you want to go back to easy efforts. If your goal is volume begin by adding a small amount of time to your workouts each week and build from there. Building a solid base is easier if you allow your body to recover. This may mean an extra rest day every 7-10 days. When your long runs become easy you can move onto either incorporating speed or longer back to back adventures. If you are cross training you can do back to back long days such as a long run/long ride.

The first and second phases can take 1-2 years. Most of us don’t want to wait that long so we take a chance on potential set backs. When my athletes are able to re-adjust their goals and allow themselves to use races as an opportunity to try but more importantly to learn they have better success in the future. This might mean missing that time goal the first year or two or not making a cut off in an ultra. The important part is remaining injury free.

The last step is when the magic happens. I see this in my athletes who I have worked with for several years. All of a sudden 1-2 years later they can handle higher mileage and more speed work. They don’t get injured and if they feel a twinge it can be resolved quickly. They also have learned a lot about their bodies and respect when they need rest or to skip a speed session. Over those couple of years we also work on stress management which plays a major role in how you feel in your training. When you are stressed you feel more pain and more fatigue. When you are happy you feel better. Building a solid base allows you to feel better so that you can handle stressful moments in your life better. I have learned so much as a coach by watching my long term athletes who put in the effort to build a base flourish! It took a ton of patience on my end and for my athletes but I promise you it pays off!

Set reasonable goals for yourself. If you are overly injured or fatigued take time to focus on zone 2 workouts and build a solid base. Take time to address your injuries and use corrective exercises and strength training to get yourself healthy! Reach out to a sports physical therapist that can help you heal your injuries and work with a coach who can modify your training and keep you fit and healthy as you recover. I have my athletes who work with physical therapists either ask their PT what modifications need to happen or ask their PT to email me so that I can train them appropriately. Having been in healthcare I believe that triaging care is the key to success!

One of the cool features in the Steady State App is the ability for a physical therapist to put in my athletes workouts directly in the app very easily! This increases compliance and allows me to give a nudge to my athlete if needed. If you would love your physical therapist to put your workouts in the app have them sign up for the app or reach out to learn more! Training isn’t just about tossing in workouts, it is about preventing and managing injury, stress, fatigue and rest. Training is about fueling your body correctly to allow for muscle growth and increasing your cardiovascular systems capacity. Training is about building a foundation that will support any goal you have!

If you need help building a solid base and breaking free from the injury success cycle reach out! I would love to help you with your goals! I can help you with cardio, strength, nutrition, corrective exercises, HIIT workouts, mindfulness, and more! I can help you find a good sports physical therapist to help you get back to what you love. More importantly I can help you navigate your schedule so that you can be there for the people you love while working towards your goals!

Isn’t it time you break free from the injury/success cycle?

Reach out to set up a meeting to talk about my coaching!

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Training is where you practice for the big show! When people are practicing their lines for a show there are blooper reels because they are getting the mistakes out of the way before the final cut. Your training is nothing more than a rehearsal. You should have sessions that go completely wrong. Sessions where you bonk get chaffed, totally mess us your nutrition, and make all of the mistakes!

Race day can throw anything your way. High winds, wild temperatures, flooded or muddy trails, snow, ice, a hydration or nutrition error, chafing, macerated feet, blisters and more. You need to know how to handle these situations to have a successful race. If you never practice adversity you may not be able to recover and it can lead to a drop. It may mean stopping to manage the situation or slowing down but you can still finish and even have fun!

Practice eating and drinking all sorts of things on your training sessions to see what makes you sick and what feels good. You need to practice different types of fueling and hydration at various efforts. Harder efforts will make you more susceptible to diarrhea, vomiting and GI distress so play around with foods that you can handle when pushing hard. This is important for distances 50k and lower. The faster you go the fewer things you will eat and drink because your body will be in fight or flight mode and can’t handle digesting much and caffeine can speed the whole process up. Go easy on the simple sugars, go light on the electrolytes and drink only what your stomach can handle. Playing around with hydration and nutrition strategies during fast training sessions will help you dial this in.

Intentionally go out in conditions that are not desirable. If the conditions are potentially dangerous (below zero, freezing rain, extreme heat) set up a loop from your car or home to use as an aid station and bail out point if needed. You can practice layering, fueling, dealing with wet macerated feet, blisters, frozen bottles, chafing etc. You can have food and hydration supplies, dry clothes, blister care, lube, etc so that you can practice recovering from tough conditions. This will allow you to know what to bring to your race and how to use it.

Challenging trail conditions are common in races during rainy years. Find the right gear to use in these conditions. If you are running it may be shoes with bigger lugs. If you are mountain biking it could be different tires. Get used to the slipping and sliding, splashing mud and unpredictable surfaces. Running and biking through deep water crossings can be challenging but if you practice safely crossing them (not if they are going to wash you away) you will know how to deal with moving through deeper water. Slippery roots and rocks can add a whole new challenge to your event so know how your bike handles in those conditions and how your body holds up.

When you are training for anything over a 50k you can be on the trail for up to a half a day or more than one day so preparing for everything that can go wrong is very important. Practicing sleep deprivation (for all of you parents out there with young kids you know this all too well!) You don’t want to do a bunch of sleep deprived training but you can do some. It will help you manage those moments in your ultra where you are just completely exhausted. Typically in events over 50k you will want to eat more food so taking along real food on your long runs will help you figure out which foods work for you later in the race. As you become more tired you might struggle to digest food and too many bars and gels can make you sick. You can eat small wraps, sweet potatoes, rice, etc. Some people even make their own gels and this allows you to control what you are eating! Looking at what the race you are doing has at the aid stations is important so that you can practice with those foods to see what sticks. Then there is no guessing at the race! You can even set up a small aid station from your house and have soup, grilled cheese, etc to try!

I used to be frustrated when a training session was not what I expected and if it fell apart I was devastated. Over the years I learned that the key to success is allowing these training sessions to be nothing more than an amazing lesson and to be thankful it happened in training and not your race! Changing your mindset is the key to enjoying your training. There is no such thing as a bad training effort. If you got out and tried then it is a success!

If you need help working through injuries, managing your training and learning to embrace the tough days or have someone to help you find joy in your journey reach out! I would love to help you achieve your goals and have fun while doing so! My goal is to help educate everyone I work with in the importance of injury prevention, finding balance and help to make training fun!

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I start my wellness journey?

Simply reach out to me and we can find out if we are a good fit!

How do I get my workouts?

I use the Steady State app to create your workouts. It helps to monitor your subjective and objective data so that I can provide a safe training program for you.

How often do you check my workouts?

I am a highly communicative coach. I will respond to all of your workouts within a few hours.

What is the billing procedure?

You will be billed monthly and can cancel at anytime before your next monthly billing cycle.

How many schedule changes can I have?

Unlimited! Life happens and I want to make sure I adjust your schedule so that you don’t have to worry!

Curious about more details?

Learn more about my endurance coaching.

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This is the most common hurdle my athletes face and one that I often struggle with myself. When you are juggling a stressful job, after school activities, taking care of your spouse and kids (furry ones count too!), life obligations and all the other things that take up time you will find yourself over reaching and losing motivation. I like to think of this as baking a massive cake and not making enough frosting to cover it. So where do you find more frosting? You have to make it.

Sleep should be a priority so start with a regular sleep schedule that you can maintain. For me I fall asleep between 7:30pm and 8:00pm. Most mornings the dogs have me up anywhere from 4am-5am. I used to stay up late watching movies or playing on my phone. I now have a hard cutoff at 8pm and I try to be done working by 7:30pm, this includes weekends (I work 7 days a week and maintaining a normal sleep pattern helps to maintain good sleep hygiene). This gives me time to get in enough sleep to feel good the next day. Once you establish a sleep schedule then you can begin to plan your day.

I like to wake up and have an hour to drink my coffee, eat some food, journal and respond to my athletes workouts that happened while I was sleeping. I guide early morning personal training sessions before the sun comes up and give myself around an hour to do my morning cardio workout. This allows me to get in a workout early in the day before I am too tired and lose motivation later in the day. When I was a dental hygienist my morning workout was typically a gym session with cardio at lunch or after work (I had to dig very deep to do after work cardio). For most people waking up a bit earlier to get in a workout before you start your day will leave you feeling recharged and ready to tackle the day! It can take a bit to get used to waking up early but you will adapt! There is something magical about starting in the dark and seeing the sun rise.

I typically use my mornings to work on athlete schedules and try to avoid having any meetings until after lunch. My lunch break is a gym session. Working from home makes my daily grazing easier but, even when I was a dental hygienist with minimal time to eat or go to the bathroom, I had snacks prepared that I could eat within a minute or two. Sometimes chewing my food while going pee. Yes, that is how healthcare is and if you can’t multitask you will be hungry with a full bladder. I still have easy snacks prepared so that I can quickly eat when I feel hungry. Eating the same foods makes it really easy to stay on top of macros and getting in enough calories each day. Dinner is always different and is just a protein, carb and fat that changes daily.

Protein shakes and smoothies can be an easy meal if you are combining your lunch break with a workout. A portable blender pre filled with whatever you choose takes seconds to mix up and a few minutes to drink! Have fun with your smoothies and play around with combinations of different foods that include all 3 macros.

After lunch is when the bulk of my meetings happen. It is a lot of talking, working through challenges and planning athlete strategies for events and races. I try to have a hard cutoff for meetings by about 4:30pm to give myself time to decompress by taking the dogs for a walk. After coming back from the walk it is time to have dinner, shower, and respond to my athletes workouts and questions. I take time to watch a couple of episodes of tv shows while doing corrective exercises and rolling out. Having a little bit of time to veg out before bed helps me fall asleep easier.

For a lot of my athletes with long commutes and after school activities it can be easier to workout while your kids are in practice. If they are at a school there is typically a track you can run on. One of my athletes runs to and from the train to work while others run or bike commute to work. Encouraging your kids to have a bit of downtime before bed is important and may give you a bit of space to get caught up on stretching/rolling out at the end of the day. Some kids enjoy being a part of it so don’t be afraid to include them!

When you have a stressful day, remember, your body will respond to your stress the same way it would respond to speed work. Take those days to use a lower effort while exercising. If you find yourself in a constant state of time constraints and stress taking a deep breath and rethinking your goals will help you find time to stay fit. Don’t stress out about getting in high miles and lots of speed work because you will become overwhelmed and cranky. I have had athletes switch from marathon goals to 5k goals because they can’t find balance when training for a long event. Once they went through the grieving process of changing goals they began to flourish in all aspects of their lives! The stress will eventually pass and you are never too old to train for longer endurance goals!

Having been a race director I have seen many people above retirement age doing amazing things at really hard races! It is a reminder that sometimes you have to wait until the kids are out of the house, you move on to a less stressful job (or retire) and eventually end up in a place where you have more time for you! If you maintain any form of fitness you will be able to return to your bigger goals at a later time! I am personally taking a break from big goals until my life allows me to have more time to revisit them. Once I tore off that bandaid and let go of feeling the need to do all of the big events I found more happiness in smaller and more achievable goals. At some point I might return to some longer and more demanding goals but for now I am happy doing less.

Aim for at least 30 minutes a day of strength and/or cardio. Workouts can be split up into two sessions. Target 1-2 days a week for a HIIT workout, plyo routine or speed work. Take 1-2 days off a week to allow for proper recovery. Sandwich your harder effort days with at least 30 minutes of easy cardio and if you have a few small goal events or races that you can sign up for it will help keep you motivated. 5k’s are awesome because they are short, easy to train for and fun! Some areas have local seasonal series such as biking, running or triathlons that are short after work races which can provide social time and speed work! Many of these small events offer activities for the whole family so the kids can participate in kids races too.

If you feel stressed out trying to get in workouts for big goals then consider smaller goals that will keep you motivated, fit and allow for more happiness in your life. You are not a failure for doing less. If you are able to acknowledge that you need to choose smaller goals to improve the quality of your life, I commend you. When the time is right you will have a beautiful base to do all of the grand adventures! If you need help learning how to find the perfect goals to train for in your busy life, reach out! I would love to help you learn how to make more frosting!

Helping you be your best self

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The post How can you stay fit and healthy when you just don’t have the time? appeared first on Wild Raven Endurance Coaching.

When I work with people who have never exercised before I create workouts that simulate real life motions. Strength training is important for maintaining good posture for your entire life, preventing back pain (usually from a weak core), improving balance and ultimately prolonging your independence. Our bodies lose muscle when we don’t challenge ourselves physically. Becoming strong isn’t about how much weight you are lifting, it is using weight that is challenging to move. In some cases this can even be body weight exercises!

Any form of cardio, even brisk walking, is also important in maintaining your independence. When you move fast enough to elevate your heart rate your body “cleans out the pipes”. Your heart beats faster, essentially strengthening your heart muscle. Your lungs expand and contract more, making your lungs more efficient at exchanging carbon dioxide and oxygen. Your brain receives more oxygen, improving mood and brain function. Lastly, your circulatory system becomes more efficient with fewer chances of blockages and your body will build more capillaries! How cool is that!

Your body is the most amazing machine in existence. It can repair itself, adapt and grow stronger when exposed to healthy stressors (such as exercise), and it allows us to experience so many wonderful things! Competitive and social sports are fun and a great way to find the motivation to exercise. If you do not have social or competitive motivators having a long and healthy life with independence is a wonderful motivator!

If you can find 2-4 times a week to strength train and 5 days a week to walk briskly or do another form of cardio for 45 minutes you will feel better and not succumb to “old age”. Having a strong core helps you get out of bed, prevent falls and keeps your posture solid. Working your upper and lower body will allow you to use stairs, carry groceries, put on your shoes and socks without sitting, get up if you fall, get off the toilet without help, go for walks, pick up heavy items in your house and so much more!

Take some time to think about your motivators. Envision your older self. How do you want to age? If you want independence and health start making positive changes today! Go for a walk, hire a personal trainer to help you navigate strength training or get together with a group of friends and start working out together! Your past is in the past. Today you can choose to change your life…one step at a time.

The post Functional Fitness – The key to a long and healthy life! appeared first on Wild Raven Endurance Coaching.

So how can exercise be used as a healthy tool for managing stress and anxiety? First it is important to recognize how you react under stress. Binge eating, aggressive exercise, not getting out of bed and overly restrictive eating are some of the most common ways people deal with stress. Understanding your coping mechanism is important in proper management of your stress. Sometimes you can remove yourself from stressful circumstances while other times it is completely out of your control.  When you can’t make a meaningful change it is important to remember that you get to choose how you react to stress.

Mindfulness and meditation are great ways to find clarity and peace during stressful times. Journaling can help you sort out your emotions and you can use words or art to express your feelings. This is one way to recenter yourself. Exercise is an incredible way to help decrease your stress if you adjust your effort based on the amount of stress you are feeling. When under high levels of stress or anxiety your body needs easy workouts that are done at a conversational effort. The reason your body needs this is because it doesn’t know the difference between emotional and physical stress. From a biological level physical and emotional stress have the same response to the human body. Aggressive workouts will only create more stress, increase cortisol levels and ultimately lead to injury. Research has shown that emotional stress increases the risk of injury in athletes significantly.

You are probably wondering how easy workouts can help you feel better. We often choose to self sabotage ourselves in an attempt to make our bodies hurt more than our minds do. I used to use that technique and I spent so many days recovering from injury which led to depression. Under periods of emotional stress one hard effort every 7-10 days is okay. You may need to take an extra rest day (one a week is best for everyone but under stressful times two a week can have greater benefits, especially if you are doing a hard effort weekly). The rest of your workouts should be easy enough for you to have a conversation. This is called active recovery. Active recovery helps your body heal faster and you will have more energy to work through the emotionally challenging times in your life. When you are doing too many hard efforts you are constantly in a state of fatigue and end up in a cycle of never ending stress. When you have more energy your body can process the emotional stress better.

When you strategically plan your easy workouts to allow for recovery from your hard workouts your body will be able to repair itself by increasing blood blow and capillary production, building muscle and improve neurological connections in your body. It is your active recovery sessions and sleep that will allow this to happen. When we sleep our bodies do most of the repairs we need so sleep hygiene is another key piece to stress management. If you find yourself having trouble sleeping use that time to meditate. Allow thoughts to gently pass through your mind, focus on how your body feels, the breath coming in and out of your body and start to visualize yourself in a calming place. It can be anywhere and don’t be afraid to create a fantasy world as you may have when you were a child. Your happy place be anything you choose, even if it isn’t real! Reconnect with your imagination!

Human connections are another great way to manage stress. Whether you are working out together, going out for coffee or sitting in a park spending time with others can be healing. Focus on conversations that are uplifting, happy and inspiring. Observe everything around you and talk about it! It is okay to talk a bit about your stress but even more important to begin to focus on things that aren’t stressful. You can reprogram your mind to focus on the brighter side of everything and less on stressful situations. If you are able to remove yourself from triggers, do so. You need to protect yourself. If you are unable to remove yourself from the situation choose joy and find ways to see something good in even the worst moments. This is not easy but it can be seeing a sunrise, enjoying the smell of the office coffee maker or going home after a rough day. It doesn’t have to be anything amazing but each day find one thing that was nice.

When you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed be sure to track your daily stress levels and quality of your sleep. It will help you see patterns and do a better job of planning your harder workouts. Putting easy days around your hard days will decrease your bodies negative response to stress. If you are looking for a training app that can track your stress, sleep and workouts to help you learn more about the recovery process check out the Steady State Fit app. Sign up for free on the App Store! It was designed by coaches, athletes and physical therapists who see the effects of stress on their athletes and want to help teach athletes how to train smarter by listening to what their bodies are asking for.

Use movement to heal and adjust the effort based on how you are feeling emotionally. You will find that strategically placing your hard efforts into your routine with many easy efforts you will feel better. You will have more energy to mange emotional stress and you will begin to sleep better. Rest and active recovery is when the magic all happens so don’t skip these because they are the most important part of your training! If you need help reach out to see if coaching would be right for you.

The post Stress management through fitness appeared first on Wild Raven Endurance Coaching.

• Layer! You will want to have a wind shell, mittens or gloves, sunglasses, maybe a hat and depending on how cold it is a warm jacket and hand warmers. Having multiple layers allows you to adjust when you get too warm or cold and the wind either picks up or slows down.
• Make it fun! Headwinds are tough, sometimes a side wind can be brutal too. Use this as an opportunity to view it as resistance training. It will be more work but do your best and adjust your body position if you are on the bike and maintain good running form. You never know if it will be windy at your event so this will prepare you emotionally and physically to deal with it.
• Love the tailwinds! Who doesn’t love a good tailwind! Embrace feeling the wind assist you in moving forward! Tailwinds are so playful and make you feel super human!
• Be safe! You know your personal comfort zones. If you are in the wilderness or mountains be sure to have a bailout plan and always watch the weather. Wind can be dangerous so on days with high wind you may want to choose a route that is below tree line or closer to roads.

Remember, you can’t control the weather but you can control your attitude. Look at adversity as a challenge that will help you become stronger. The days that have the biggest struggles are the ones that help us grow and become stronger.

Have fun and enjoy the magic of nature!

The post Running with the wind appeared first on Wild Raven Endurance Coaching.

Without taking daily time for yourself, exhaustion sets in. Mental health declines, sleep becomes disrupted, and unhealthy food and habits creep in. When this happens, it’s time to hit the brakes. Life might not allow for full workouts or activities that fulfill you emotionally, but that doesn’t mean you need to stop entirely.

Find ten minutes a day for yourself. This could include a walk, a few yoga poses, reading, art, or meditating. Try to get outside and breathe in the fresh air. Taking just a few minutes daily can restore balance and maintain consistency in self-care.

Feeling overwhelmed may make it seem impossible to carve out ten minutes, but look closely at your day. Do you spend more than ten minutes scrolling the internet, sitting in the break room, or watching TV? Use part of your lunch break for a walk, eat on the move, or invite co-workers for a midday stroll. If you have kids, bring them on a family walk. It might not be alone time, but it’s still movement—and every step counts!

When life gives you more time again, the consistency you maintained will make it easier to return to your sport and keep your fitness level intact. Completely stopping can make restarting harder. Never feel bad about decreasing your time spent on endurance sports. Instead, appreciate what you can do, even if it’s just ten minutes. Consistency, no matter how small, builds self-worth and a sense of accomplishment.

The post Consistency is the Key to Success appeared first on Wild Raven Endurance Coaching.

1. Mindful Eating Without Missing Out

Staying balanced with food during this season doesn’t mean avoiding treats. The key is to stay mindful in your choices and eat to feel good. Here’s how:

• Healthy Whole Foods in Between Treats: When you’re not at gatherings, focus on whole foods like lean proteins, fiber-rich veggies, and nutrient-dense options. These give you lasting energy and keep you feeling your best.
• Stay Hydrated: Hydration helps with digestion and can prevent you from feeling overfull.

2. Managing Guilt and Staying Active

If you’re a fitness enthusiast, the abundance of treats and varying routines may cause some stress. Remember, the holidays don’t have to disrupt your health goals:

• Quick, Energizing Workouts: Try a short, peppy workout before meals to stay active and keep up your motivation.
• After-Meal Walks: Consider inviting friends or family for a short walk after meals. A post-dinner stroll is a simple way to stay active and enjoy the season.

3. Prioritizing Rest and Sleep

It’s easy for sleep routines to shift during the holidays. Focus on rest to recharge:

• Give Yourself Permission to Rest: If you’re out later than usual, it’s okay to sleep in and do an easier workout. Listening to your body can keep your energy balanced and ready for the next gathering.
• Don’t Stress Over Small Setbacks: Gaining a little weight or reducing workouts for a short time is normal. Once the season wraps up, you can reset with ease.

4. Incorporate Festive Movement

Holiday races like Turkey Trots, Holiday 5Ks, and New Year’s Day events are great for staying active while having fun:

• Community Events: Many races welcome both walkers and runners, so you can bring family and friends. These can make holiday movement extra special, especially if costumes are involved!
• Cheer Each Other On: Embrace the community vibe by supporting one another at the finish line.

5. Be Kind to Yourself

Whatever traditions you enjoy (or create!), remember to give yourself a little grace. The season is a time to celebrate, connect, and unwind. Enjoying treats and good company won’t erase all your hard work. If you keep a balance of nourishing meals and a few festive activities, you’ll feel ready to jump back in with energy and motivation.

This season, take time to celebrate with intention. By keeping balance in mind, you can start the new year feeling refreshed and ready for what’s next.

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That period revealed so many unspoken truths about myself and pushed me to dream beyond the limits I’d once set. Alone with my thoughts, I met the real me. For the first time, I wasn’t seeking anyone’s approval. I realized I didn’t like the scared, approval-seeking version of myself, so I made a change. I began running purely for personal enjoyment and accomplishment. It became clear that my career as a dental hygienist no longer aligned with my path—I wanted to help people in a different way.

With over 20 years as a competitive athlete and about 25 as a dental hygienist, I saw an opportunity to turn my passion for fitness into a career. I became certified as an 80/20 endurance coach and launched a coaching business, focusing not just on fitness but on holistic health. I wanted to offer athletes more than just training; I wanted to help them balance the emotional and physical aspects of their journey. Through my own experience, I saw how interconnected physical performance and mental well-being are—stress affects the body, whether it’s emotional or physical.

When I stopped using intense training as my main stress outlet and instead incorporated mindfulness and journaling, my body stopped breaking down. I was no longer pushing myself to the brink. I felt stronger, more joyful, and my performance improved. This realization inspired me to dive into other certifications—Shamanism, corrective exercises, personal training, and nutrition coaching—all with the goal of empowering others.

In my coaching, I bring together health care and fitness to help people grow physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Building close, supportive relationships with my athletes has been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey. It’s not uncommon for significant others to join our meetings, creating a training experience that enriches their relationships and their lives beyond sport. My hope is to guide each person I work with to find joy, balance, and most importantly, self-love.

Starting a career as an endurance coach and personal trainer was a leap of faith, but it’s also been the most fun and fulfilling work I’ve ever done. I’m deeply grateful to every client who has joined me on this journey and allowed me to be part of theirs.

If you’re looking for a coach who blends health care and fitness to support you in sport and in life, reach out! I’d love to help you reach your goals.

Where Endurance Meets Wellness

✓ physical health

✓ emotional health

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