Fitness – Page 3

How to Run a Marathon on the Treadmill

December 13, 2016 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

My 3rd annual running of a marathon on the treadmill took place the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Each year my friend Wendy and I run a marathon on the treadmill the day before thanksgiving to show gratitude that we have the mental and physical capability to do such a challenge.

This year Wendy moved to Georgia, so I was solo on my treadmill that morning. I decided to post a pic on Facebook and share what I was grateful for at each mile during the 26.2 run. At each mile I took a pic, posted my gratitude, and by the time I was done with both of those, I was half way through my next mile! I hardly had time to listen to my podcasts, drink my Shakeology, pee (poop), watch Scandal, fill up on Energize, or struggle through the marathon! And before I knew it, I was done!

Here was my mile by mile gratitude during the 2016 treadmill marathon…

1 mile down…25.2 to go!!! I am listening to the Rich Roll podcast and his interview with the Spud Fit. He is the guy who ate only potatoes for a year!!! He has lost over 140 pounds and his blood work is pristine health-wise!

Mile 1 Gratitude…

Grateful I have made a lifestyle for myself where I can choose what I want to do on a Wednesday!

Happy Hump Day!!

So far so good! Mile 2 DONE! Easier than mile 1 since I’m not a morning person and unless I am racing I usually don’t workout until 8-ish!

Mile 2 Gratitude…

Grateful for the Rich Roll podcast. I have been listening to it since it very first came out and have loved almost every single episode! I always learn something about someone cool as well as something about myself.

3 miles down! When I am running a marathon, this is a milestone for me. I always think “5K done…I only need to do this 7 more times and I have done hundreds of 5Ks. I got this. This will be easy!”

Mile 3 Gratitude…

Grateful for technology! I love that I can listen to this amazing interview while sharing my experience with you! This is the first year I am doing this challenge alone and I don’t feel alone at all because of technology!

Mile 4 done! Feeling good and sweating up a storm. I don’t swear outside because of the breeze, dry air, and coolness, but the gym is a different story! Plus I’m wearing my full compression tights for maximum support.

Mile 4 Gratitude…

Grateful for self-discipline. I don’t know if it’s an inherent skill or a learned skill, and I’m not always as disciplined as I want to be, but for the most part I will do what it takes to get me toward a goal.

5 miles down!! Legs a little fatigued and I have to poop but other than that I am feeling great!!

Mile 5 Gratitude…

While looking through my photos on my phone I am reminded how grateful I am we found Joey… He makes me laugh every single day!!!

10K done! This is another huge milestone for me during a marathon. My average marathon takes me 4 hours so each 10K is approx an hour. After my first 10K I say to myself “You are awesome! 3 more of these and you are done!! You have done dozens of 10Ks and you know exactly how they feel! Keep it up you are rocking this!!”

Also in a race this is the point where I drink my first sports drink (whatever they have on the course). In training I drink Beachbody Performance Energize. It’s made with beet sugar and has electrolytes and caffeine and I love the taste which is super important for me!

Mile 6 Gratitude…

Speaking of Beachbody, I have been a coach with them for almost 6 years and am grateful my friend Wendy for introducing me to them. I love their mission, their products, and their CEO Carl Daikeler!

Mile 7 done! Poop break! I also grabbed a drink of Beachbody Performance Energize. Break felt good!

Maybe too good….ack!

Mile 7 Gratitude…

I was thinking about my incredible husband and how supportive he has been in everything I’ve ever attempted. I have seriously started like 30 businesses over the past 20 years (with most of them failing).

Plus all my crazy health and fitness challenges I do!! He didn’t choose to be vegan or to be an ironman widow, but he cheers me on every single day!!

Mile 8 DONE!! Time flies when you are having fun!!! Done with the podcast…I think I’ll watch an episode of Scandal!! #guiltypleasure

Mile 8 Gratitude…

Grateful for social media so I can connect with my friends and family every single day!!

Mile 9 done!! Wow that Energize gave me a boost and my last mile was 8:34! Not that I have a time goal, but I like numbers and keeping track of everything! You should see my geeky spreadsheet!!!

Mile 9 Gratitude…

Grateful I was raised by parents and in an environment where I was encouraged to be, do, and have whatever I could dream up!!

Mile 10 in the bag!! I love mile 10 in a marathon! It’s the first mile in double digits and is only about a 5K from the halfway point. I like to remind myself how easily I am progressing toward the halfway point and how many 5Ks I have under my belt. I also remind myself that I have done 5Ks sick and sore and injured and out of shape so I can definitely do this next one. I am a running machine!

I am drinking my Energize every 10 minutes now and the only thing getting sore on my bod is my booty!

The hour on the stepmill yesterday may have been a bad idea!!!

Mile 10 Gratitude…

Speaking of sore glutes…I am grateful for my compression tights and calf sleeves. I am wearing them both today. Since I am not actually trained for the marathon today, I figured I could take all the help I can get!! Compressport and X2U I thank you!!

Mile 11 down the tubes! See ya!! I love mile 11 because 11 is my fave number! Been watching Scandal and doing a couple faster intervals just for fun!

Mile 11 Gratitude…

Grateful for my Pure Romance biz (www.MovingTowardPassion.com), my Beachbody biz (www.RealResultsROCK.com), my coaching biz, and my blog biz www.FoodFitnessFinanceFun.com) for letting me make money online and on my own schedule! You have allowed me to accomplish so many of my fitness, financial, and personal goals over the past 10 years!!

Mile 12 DONEZO!! Ahhhh! Only one more mile to the halfway point! Still drinking my Beachbody Performance Energize every 10 minutes and actually feel amazing right now!!

Mile 12 Gratitude….

Grateful my body is healthy, strong, able, fit, and does what I ask it to do!!

Oh how I love you 13.1 . Halfway point in any challenge for me means “it’s all downhill from here” and by downhill I mean easy!!! I love hitting the halfway point!! And I’m right on target for my time restraint I have today. It’s not too bad but I agreed to sub a class at the gym at noon so I gave myself 5 hours to finish. Got to 13.1 in 2:02 so I am good to go! Still feeling strong! Getting a bit hungry…may drink a Shakeology® in a couple miles!!!

Mile 13 Gratitude…

Grateful I am a vegan. I became a vegetarian when I was 8 because I didn’t want to eat animals. Becoming a vegan was a 10 year process of breaking my physical and emotional addiction to cheese and dairy. I have been vegan now for almost 3 years and I have never fly better both physically, emotionally, and ethically.

14 miles down!! 12.2 to go!!! I’ll be honest with you…I love seeing the numbers of calories burned! I know they aren’t accurate on a treadmill, but I know running for 4+ hours will burn a lot of calories!! I’m not as obsessed as I used to be (14 Mile Gratitude) but I still want to be fit and thin. I love food so burning calories helps me stay healthy and in shape on the days when I do tend to over eat! I know I will indulge at the vegan buffet at Native Foods tomorrow for Thanksgiving so I am grateful for the calories I am burning today!!

Mile 15…crushed it!

Yes, I am sweaty Betty but I feel great! This is my longest run since IRONMAN Boulder August 7th. My body doesn’t mind it at all!!

Mile 15 Gratitude…

Speaking of IRONMAN…grateful for my performance last season. I cut over an hour from my ironman PR in Boulder at the age of 44 and am grateful (and excited) to see how well I do in my new age group next year! I love that my body is faster, stronger, and recovers more quickly than it did in its 20s and 30s.

Mile 16 DONE! Yikes! In less than an hour I have to restart or switch treadmills! Last year Wendy ran her first 10 miles on one treadmill and the last 16 on 16 different treadmills!

Mile 16 Gratitude…

Speaking of Wendy…I am grateful I have friends who will do crazy and fun things with me!!

Mile 17…killed it! Ok maybe not so much of a kill as a slap actually I LOVE mile 17 because it means I only have 9 left. 9 is a single digit number and it seems manageable! In a race it is mile 17 where I start counting down. I’ll say to myself “9 miles to go, an hour and a half, nice and easy 3 miles and then see how you feel.’ Usually by then most marathons have an aid station so I’ll start drinking a cup of electrolyte at each aid station.

Mile 17 Gratitude...

I often forget to be grateful for things I take for granted because it’s just part of who I am, but things I like. I am grateful I have blonde hair, grateful for my blue eyes, grateful I am tall, grateful that when I do gain weight my stomach stays fairly flat. I am grateful for my calves and forearms-2 of my body parts I like. I am grateful I have full lips. I am grateful I never got in the habit of wearing make-up or a push-up bra! What you see is what you get!

Mile 18…YIPPEE! My joints are getting a bit achy, but that is to be expected!! I drank half a cup of Shakeology® because I was a bit hungry. I’m holding steady at 10:00/mile which is perfect for me at mile 18. In a race if I have snacks like PROBAR Bolt or an energy shot, this is when I would take it.

Mile 18 Gratitude…

I am grateful for Dave Ramsey and his baby steps. It took us about 7 years to get on board but this is the first time in my life I have had no debt, had an emergency fund, had an HSA, and starting to save money toward retirement!

Mile 19 just flew by!! Ok maybe not flew…But I did it! Just a little over a 10K to go! This is when I am amazed at where the time went. Often I strongly remember the first and last 6 miles of a marathon, but not much in between!

Mile 19 Gratitude…

I am grateful I have a free membership to this gym. I sub fitness classes here so I get my membership paid for! It’s almost like I’m getting paid to run today! Almost!! #professionalatete

Mile 20 COMPLETE! My 3rd favorite part of the marathon (after 3 miles to go and the finish). I finished off my Shakeology®, walked a couple minutes, restarted the treadmill and off and running again! 10K to go!!

Mile 20 Gratitude…

I am grateful for my family. They are all so supportive of me, my lifestyle, and all my choices. I am super excited to see my sis and her kids at Xmas! I haven’t seen them since April and I miss them all soooooo much!!

Mile 1 what?? Is it Groundhog Day? I would not choose treadmill marathon day to be my day I live over and over! Actually I had to restart my treadmill…hit the time limit!! It’s slower going but I will most likely still finish under 4:22 which is always a great goal for being “out of shape”. 4:22 is a 10:00/mile average. 21 down…5 to go!!

Mile 21 Gratitude…

Grateful that thinking about gratitude and sharing my experience with you is making my marathon fly by!! I spend time every single day focusing on gratitude and I know it has made me a better person and my life more meaningful.

Mile 22 done! Filled up my cup and drank half while walking one minute. Pretty much every muscle from my neck down to my toes is achy. Luckily I have done this before and know this is normal, that my body can handle it, and that I can easily finish with 4 miles to go!!

Mile 22 Gratitude…

Grateful my mind is tenacious and more resilient than my body! Running this marathon on the treadmill will only make me stronger!!!!

I love me some mile 23!! My 2nd fave part of the marathon. This means I have about 5K to go and as I mentioned a couple hours ago, I have done hundreds of them in my lifetime! At this point I know I am almost done! I know I will make it through! And I typically get a 10th wind…at least for 1-2 minutes

Mile 23 Gratitude…

Grateful for my husband’s job. His boss is super flexible and lets him take time off for his adventures and his adventures make him very happy! I also get a gym membership at UCHealth – Poudre Valley Medical Fitness through his job and that is where I do most of my swimming and indoor training for triathlon.

Mile 24 DONE! And I may have tripped on the treadmill belt twice in the last mile. Joints and muscles are all pretty much done but my stubborn brain is forcing them to keep going for 2 more miles!!

Plus finishing my bottle of Energize didn’t hurt!!

Mile 24 Gratitude…

Grateful for my tenacity and pushing when things get hard in my life. The harder the challenge, the stronger I feel!

Mile 25…WHAT??? Only 1.2 to go! This makes me very happy!! My legs are getting super super tight and I’ve been walking about a minute for every 5 of running!! Still on track to finish under 4:22.

YIPPEEEEE!!!

Mile 25 Gratitude…

Grateful for guilty pleasures! I love binge watching shows and drinking Zevia when I am feeling anxious or overwhelmed!!!

26 miles OMG! Sooooooo close! I walked a few minutes but overall felt good! I am super thirsty but didn’t want to take the time to stop and fill up since I’m almost done!!!

Mile 26 Gratitude…

Grateful for silicone lube to prevent chaffing!!! When I was w Passion Parties I used Slip-n- Slide and now w Pure Romance I use Pure Pleasure. They are 100% silicone and even after 4 hours of running today and sweating like crazy, I chaffed NO where!!! YES!!

DONE AND DONE! 26.2!! My 3rd annual treadmill marathon is complete! I feel amazing! My legs are tired (DOY) but for not running a lot in the past 2 months I did so great!! I may be sore later today but that is expected! I am grateful for my body! Good job girl!! Now off to bike (easy to loosen my legs and get my bike streak in). I’ll swim later too since that always makes me feel better!!

Mile 26.2 Gratitude…

Grateful for the awesome things that helped me get through the past 4 hours and 13 minutes…

And all YOUR energizing words of encouragements, thoughts, and messages!

I’m out!!!

Follow more of my fun fitness endeavors at…

www.facebook.com/FoodFitnessFinanceFun

See you SOON!

PS – There are affiliate links and links to my business in this post! Help a girl out and support these fine sponsors!!

Stay Sane and Maintain Your Weight Through the Holidays

November 15, 2016 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

When I went full-time as a personal trainer, I wanted to come up with programs that could help my clients stay motivated throughout the holiday season even when I wasn’t there to coach them at every office celebration, every stressful shopping day, and every holiday party.

I spent hours and hours writing up meal plans and fun workouts they could do with their friends and families when they were too busy to get to the gym. I encouraged them to sign up for 5Ks and ski trips and other active activities, but without fail, New Year’s Day would arrive and I would have sad clients who ate their way through November and December instead of moving their way through it.

I wanted to do more but didn’t know what I could do since I couldn’t follow each person around all day long and give them motivating words and help them make different choices. And back then we didn’t have social media or text to easily stay in touch each and every day!

Around the same time, I was diving deep into personal growth and development. I was learning not only about myself and how to become a better version of me, but also more about others and how we all operate. In general we do not like pain. We don’t like giving things up that we love. This is why we choose comfort (sitting on the couch watching a show instead of hitting the gym before bed) and why we call ice cream a comfort food and not broccoli.

I began to think about all the things most people love and find value in. Something most people do not want to give up. Something that hurts when lost. A-HA! Money! People hate to lose money and when money is on the line, they may re-think the bet!

So I started a program where my client’s holiday activities (or lack thereof) affected their pocket book.

To join, each person gave me $20. If they maintained their weight between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, they got their $20 back. If they gained weight, they lost their $20 and I donated it to a local charity. And IT WORKED!!! The following year out of my 18 person “test group” only 2 had gained weight! And a few even lost weight! WHAT??? Amazing results! I continued this challenge for the next 7 years at the gym. It grew each year with excellent results. Clients even started wagering with each other who could lose the most weight, run the fastest, lift the heaviest, etc. Money talks!

As I transitioned from a “gym” coach to an “online” coach, I wanted to continue the tradition. So here are the deets…

The cost is $20. If you GAIN weight, you lose your $20, if you MAINTAIN, you get your $20 back. At the end of the program I will donate any money we have left over to a charity of my choice.

To join, paypal me $20, make sure your name is on the order AND you put it is to family and friends so you aren’t charged a fee. My paypal acct is Kirsten@MovingTowardPassion.com.

Next, join our support group here…

https://www.facebook.com/groups/StaySane

I will be posting articles, workouts, and recipes DAILY! Plus, you can use each other for support and accountability!

On Thursday morning (Thanksgiving), weight yourself and document it (pics are perfect for this) in the group.

I recommend weighing yourself WEEKLY as to avoid a “surprise” 5 pounds 😉

On January 1st , weight yourself first thing in the morning.

Post your results!

Get your money back (if all goes well).

I would love to have you join us this year. Email or text me if you have specific questions…

CoachSmith@usa.com

970-214- 7745

See you soon!!

Filed Under: Fitness Tagged With: fitness, holiday weight gain, weight loss

Race Report: 2016 Wildlife Loop Triathlon

November 8, 2016 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

The question I get most often from my clients who are training for any distance triathlon (but especially the longer distances) is “what do I eat during the race?” This is a great question and one that takes years of experimenting to master as each person is so different and our bodies respond differently to different amounts of salts, sugars, water, etc over the course of a 1-17 hour race day.

I have spent my fair share of time, energy, and money to figure out what works best for me and my body. I race a lot so I have a lot of opportunities to experiment. And this year has been the best for me so far with my race day nutrition.

The Wildlife Loop triathlon was one of my faves this year. It’s a half ironman distance (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run) which is quickly becoming my favorite distance. I raced 6 of this distance this year. This was one of my favorites because the course was gorgeous, the temps were perfect, the race was low-key, and my nutrition plan worked perfectly. Oh…and I won $800!

I made a video race report you can watch here…

And here are the deets about my race day nutrition…

Pre-Race…

6:30 am Vegan Chocolate Shakeology (www.FoodFitnessFinanceFun.com/Shakeology) with unsweetened vanilla Almond Milk

7:30 am Banana and Energize (www.FoodFitnessFinanceFun.com/Energize)

7:45 am (15 minutes before swim start) Package of Pro Bar Bolt (http://amzn.to/2e9mhrN)

During-Race…

I drank 2 bottles of Energize on the bike, ¼ bottle every 10 minutes for the first half and then Gatorade (on the course) the second half, again about ¼ bottle every 10 minutes.

I drank a bottle of Bing Cherry Energy Drink (http://amzn.to/2dKxBN8) ¼ of the bottle each mile for the first 4 miles and then switched to Gatorade on the course (same amount).

I also had one package of Pro Bar Bolt w caffeine at mile 10 of the run.

The temps were pretty much perfectly moderate, but in hotter races, I have taken salt tablets and consumed more Gatorade on the course.

Post-Race…

After ANY race, I immediately drink a bottle of Shakeology with water to replenish nutrients and give my body some clean protein. Typically I don’t eat a lot at the race “after-party” due to limited options for me, so I want to make sure I get something nutritious in me right away.

For this race, I did eat about 50 cherry tomatoes and 20 pickles post-race as well!! BONUS!!

If you have any questions at all about any of my races, training, or nutrition, please reach out! I offer personalized training and racing plans as well as custom meal plans, on or off the race course!

Check out some options here…

www.etsy.com/shop/FitnessDivaKir

Free training and recipes here…

www.FoodFitnessFinanceFun.com/newsletter

See you soon!

Filed Under: Fitness, Race Reports Tagged With: race report, triathalon

I AM A Professional Athlete

September 22, 2016 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

photo credit SDTriNews.com

My friend and marketing coach, Tara, once asked me why I couldn’t be a professional athlete since I was so in love with every aspect of being an athlete: training, racing, nutrition, and of course sharing it with the world as often as possible. I quickly replied (and quite defensively) that I wasn’t fast enough to be a professional athlete.

I was kind of annoyed that I had to explain to her that to be a professional athlete I had to have some crazy fast genes that I wasn’t given and that although I do well in our local runs and triathlons, I am DEFINITELY not good enough to be a professional.

I think she got brave and mentioned it a few more times, and I quickly gave her the same answer (justification) why I could NEVER be a professional athlete.

This past year I have won a lot of races, not only in my age group, but in the overall women category. So she suggested it again (since I spend 75% of every day centered around triathlon and being a triathlete and my other businesses were suffering financially). And once again, I shut her down, even more quickly this time because she just didn’t understand. Winning a 5K in Johnstown, CO is much different than making money at races and getting noticed by sponsors who want to pay for my races, equipment, training, etc.

But this time she had had enough. She was sick of my defensive and definitive answers and made me dig into WHY I was so opposed to the idea. After all, being a professional doesn’t mean you are FAST, it means you make money doing it.

A professional organizer makes money being an organizer. She isn’t necessarily the world’s best organizer. There are hundreds of professional talk show hosts that aren’t Oprah. I think even William Hung who did a horrible rendition of “She Bangs” on American Idol sold 200,000 albums!! So why couldn’t I be a professional athlete?

So I changed my thinking. I changed my mindset. I decided I can make money as an athlete, therefore, I could be a professional athlete! YAY!

Within the next couple weeks I was approached by 2 sponsors and I started winning gift certificates and even cash doing what I love to do already…race!!

Here is a link to an article about my last big win! The Wildlife Loop Half: South Dakota’s Toughest Tri

I am sharing this because we often are the ones holding ourselves back from getting what we want, doing what we want to do, and being who we want to be. We are the ones limiting our happiness and success. A simple shift in thinking or believing can help you get unstuck in your life.

What do you want to do? Then find a way to do it. Who do you want to be? Make yourself into that person! What do you want to have? Find out how to get it and go for it! One of my all-time favorite quotes says it best: Don’t underestimate yourself. You are capable of more than you can ever imagine.

You have Greatness within you. – Les Brown

And be brave and share your goals, dreams, and desires. If you aren’t ready to share them with the world, or even those close to you, you can always share them with me!

Connect with me weekly…

www.FoodFitnessFinanceFun.com/newsletter

Be part of my world…

www.facebook.com/FoodFitnessFinanceFun

See you SOON!

Filed Under: Fitness Tagged With: motivation, running, triathalon

3 Reasons Triathletes Should Learn to Swim all 4 Strokes

September 7, 2016 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

I am a triathlete, but I started as a swimmer. Before I ever rode a bike or ran, I swam. So now I am a rare breed of triathlete who LOVES to swim, and can swim all 4 competitive strokes, butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. Most triathletes just learn freestyle (or front crawl it is actually called) because that is what you would swim in a triathlon, because that is the fasted of all 4 strokes.

So if that is what a triathlete swims in competition, why would he need to learn the other strokes??

The “complaint” I hear most from my triathlon clients about swimming is that it is BORING!! Basically as a swimmer, you swim back and forth in a swimming pool for an allotted time or distance. Sometimes it’s slower, sometimes faster, sometimes doing drills, and sometimes doing intervals. But essentially all you are doing is swimming back and forth, which could get boring to some (I actually LOVE it, but again, I’m the minority here).

When you know all 4 strokes, it gives you 4 times as many options when completing a swim workout.

Doing different strokes in your workouts not only make it more fun, but you are also working different muscles so it’s like cross training while still becoming a faster and more skilled swimmer.

These 2 reasons alone are good enough to get out of your comfort zone and learn the other strokes, but the main reason I use all 4 strokes in triathlon training is to keep from getting injured.

As a triathlete, we bike a run…a lot! Biking and running are very similar movements and use many of the same muscles. I like to use breastroke kick to help strengthen the adductors and abductors (inner and outer thighs) and hips (these don’t get worked much with biking and running) and I like dolphin kick to stretch my hip flexors which get very tight with biking and running, and to strengthen my core.

I also use butterfly and breastroke pull to work opposing muscles to freestyle in my upper body and give my shoulders and rotator cuffs the break they deserve after lap after lap of turning over my arms.
All in all I attribute my variety of swimming strokes, drills, etc to no injuries over the past 4 years of triathlon training. When I started increasing my biking and running, I also increased my swimming.

If you want a great place to start learning to swim other strokes, we have instructional videos on all 4 strokes here…
www.facebook.com/groups/iHeartSwimming

For all your swimming equipment needs…www.SwimOutlet.com/iHeartSwimming

For daily swim workouts in your inbox…
http://www.FoodFitnessFinanceFun.com/DailySwim

For 10 great swims for triathletes…
www.FoodFitnessFinanceFun.com/Etsy

Keep on Swimming! See you soon!

Filed Under: Fitness Tagged With: swimming, triathalon

Race Report: 2016 Ironman Boulder

August 17, 2016 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

At the beginning of this year, I decided I wanted to try to qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Kona again. Currently I am in the 40-44 age group which in most races, the winners come in around 10 hours. At the time, my PR was 12 hours.

I knew it wasn’t realistic for me to take off 2 hours in one year after 15 years of hard and smart training, but looking at the winning times for the next age group 45-49 (where I will be next year), which are around 11 hours, I started to get my hopes up.

So I decided on a long term goal, a 2 year plan, to qualify for Kona.

This year my goal was to do the Boulder Ironman, take 30 minutes off my PR to get around 11:30, make top 10 in age group, and learn from the course how to train better next year.

Then next year, do the Boulder Ironman again, take off another 30 minutes to get 11:00, make top 3 and get a slot to Kona!

This year I blew my expectations out of the water. I ended up with a time of 10:56 and a 5th place age group finish. I know what I need to do next year in training to get even faster, which I will need to do as this year only the top 2 (not 3) earned a spot to the World Championships.

This is how my 2016 race in Boulder went down…

For 2017 I want to take another 10 minutes off my bike and 5 minutes off my run. I’m putting it out there now so the Universe can work on it for the next 10 months until the race on June 11th .

Thanks so much for being a part of my amazing life’s journey! I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have the best friends and family EVER!!!

See you soon!

Filed Under: Fitness, Race Reports Tagged With: fitness, ironman, training

Why I Love Being a Beachbody Coach

July 26, 2016 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

This month celebrates my 5 year anniversary of being an active Beachbody Coach. I say “active” because I actually signed up to be a coach in December 2010 to help my friend Wendy get her business up and running. But it wasn’t until July 2011, during the Lake Placid Ironman, that I decided to build my Beachbody business.

I decided during the 112 miles on the bike (I had a lot of time to think) that I would at least check into the business and compensation plan, and then make a decision. The day I returned home from Lake Placid, I went online, checked everything out, and was sold! I WAS IN!

The past 5 years have for sure been a roller coaster, as with any business. There were months where I put all my time and energy into my business and was rewarded with huge commissions, bonuses, and even rank advancement to 3 Star Diamond (I know most of you don’t know what that means, just know it’s pretty awesome).

There were also months where I barely worked at all, made hardly any commissions, and even lost my “Diamond” status. But through it all, I have never once thought of giving it up, the idea of quitting as a coach has never crossed my mind. I love the company, its products, and our mission to “help people achieve their goals and enjoy a healthy, fulfilling life.” So pretty much what I have wanted to do my entire life.

This is Beachbody’s vision:

Our co-founders Carl Daikeler and Jon Congdon began Beachbody in 1998 with one idea in mind: to help you live a healthy, fulfilling life. You’re the reason we exist.

It’s our mission to help you become the person you want to be. Our comprehensive approach combines fitness, nutrition, and support—a proven formula that has helped thousands of people completely transform their lives. People just like you.

We believe in progress rather than perfection. We believe that giving 100% effort will take you further than taking shortcuts. That real, lasting change tops the quick-fix. We’ll never tell you it’s easy, but we’ll always remind you that it’s worth it.

So for those of you who know me, you totally understand why I love being a Beachbody Coach!!

Here is more on why I love being a coach…

Here is info about joining my team…

http://www.foodfitnessfinancefun.com/BBTeam

Email me to set up a time to talk if you want to see how Beachbody can help YOU!

CoachSmith@usa.com

See you SOON!

Filed Under: Fitness Tagged With: beachbody, fitness

Running 105 Laps on a Track was Surprisingly Easy

July 20, 2016 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

My friend Wendy and I like to do crazy stuff! Last year we started a tradition of running a marathon around a track to celebrate the 4th of July. So 105 laps!! I like to say it’s to celebrate the freedom of choice and we are choosing to run around a track for 4+ hours.

I also like to tell people it’s celebrating that I have the mental and physical capacity to do such a challenge. Both are true, but of course there is more to it.

If you know me, you know I like to challenge my body and mind, I like to inspire others to go big, and I like the attention of doing crazy things. It helps my confidence, gives me something to talk about, and grows my businesses. After all, I can’t expect others to attempt hard things if I’m not willing to do hard things myself. And this year it didn’t hurt that I have my “A” race, the Boulder Ironman, in 5 weeks, which for me is a perfect time to run 26.2 miles.

Last year Wendy and I ran together on the CSU track in Fort Collins, CO. We didn’t know what to expect since it was our first year, so we walked, jogged, ran, and mixed it up. Sometimes together, sometimes not. We had a track team training for about 2 hours there as well, so that was a good distraction watching them do drills, sprints, intervals, etc. I also was living in the RV at the time, so I had my dog, Joey, with me and I needed to take him out a couple times, so he even did a couple laps with me. All in all, we finished under 5 hours and it never felt hard or long.

This year I was a little more nervous. Wendy moved to Georgia so we were doing our track marathon at the same time but in different states. I decided to run on the track close to home at Roosevelt High School in Johnstown, CO which is pretty quiet and lonely. I didn’t know how it would be doing it by myself, but was of course up for the challenge.

I left my house at 7:00am to go to the store to get Gatorade. I also had a cooler with me with Beachbody Performance Endurance, watermelon, and almond milk to mix with my Shakeology in case I got hungry. I was all set up at the track with sunscreen and silicon lube to prevent chaffing covering my body and ready to start at 7:30. I grabbed my phone to start my timer and lap counter and was off and running.

As soon as I started, I FaceTimed Wendy to see how she was doing. It’s 2 hours later in Georgia so she was already over halfway done. We chatted for about 45 minutes which got me through my first 5 miles.

I was taking my splits of each lap as a way of counting and keeping track of my time. I wasn’t running for time, but I like to see numbers. I’m a geek like that!!

I felt great! I was running at an easy pace and the only thing that felt a little sore was my lower back, but it was manageable.

After my 45 minute chat with Wendy, I switched directions and started my first set of intervals. 5x (400 easy, 400 moderate, 400 fast, 400 walk).This made the next 5 miles go by pretty quickly and even with the walking, I was still averaging a 10:00/mile pace which would put me at 4:22 total time for the marathon.

I then switched directions, grabbed a bottle of Beachbody Endurance, and walked 2 laps while I drank it.

I finished up the “half-marathon” with a comfortable jog putting me at 2:15 for the half. I then decided to make my goal to finish under 4:30. At this point, I was also getting a lot of sun so I put on my arm/back covers, drank a bottle of Gatorade, and headed out for the second half. My knees and hip joints were a little sore, as was my back, but nothing I haven’t dealt with before, so I jogged the next 2 miles at a consistent pace.

At mile 15 I switched directions again and started back with the same intervals I did before. I only got through 4 repeats when I decided to walk a couple laps, drink another bottle of Beachbody Endurance, and check my texts and facebook messages. Luckily I had convos going on with Wendy and a couple other super supportive friends that reminded me to keep going!! I also decided to look at my GPS which reminded me I was already at mile 20. With only a 10K to go!!! I was an hour away from my time goal and I knew I could do a 10K in an hour, even on tired legs. YAY!!

I switched directions and changed up my intervals to 2 easy run, 1 as fast as I can, 1 walk. Each lap was significantly slower than my early intervals, and my “fast” laps started creeping over the 2 minute mark, but I was watching my lap count go up and before I knew it, I had 7 laps to go…then 4…then 1!!! I decided to walk/skip my last lap to celebrate my victory. I took lots of pics and shared my success with my friends who support and love me.

I couldn’t believe it. I was done! 4:27 and I didn’t feel bad at all!! Of course my joints and muscles were tired, but I never once felt like I was struggling or miserable or any other feelings you would assume would go along with running around a track for 4 ½ hours.

So why did this feel easy? I think I have done enough “hard” things in my life at this point that something seemingly hard isn’t hard anymore. Some of my biggest challenges have been 7 marathons in 7 days in 7 states, double century ride (yes 200 miles in one day), Kona ironman, living in an RV for 2 ½ years, being married for 20 years, working full-time while taking 20 credits in college, working full time while building my first business, getting out of debt, working 4-5 jobs at a time in my 20s, giving up dairy, recovering from an eating disorder, making peace with money, watching 2 dogs die, and the hardest journey of all…loving myself.

Compared to all that, running 105 laps around a deserted track in the middle of the summer is easy!

I am grateful for every hard experience in my life. It has made me who I am and has helped me become the person I am proud to love today. Embrace your challenges, love the hard parts of your life, look your fears in the face and tell them you are afraid but that won’t stop you.

I know it’s cliché to say “go outside your comfort zone” but it’s such great advice. The more you push your boundaries, the bigger they become, and next thing you know, you are running a marathon like it’s a walk around the block. A very LONG walk around the block!

I would love to connect with you weekly through my newsletter here…

www.FoodFitnessFinanceFun.com/Newsletter

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Check out more race reports here…

www.YouTube.com/FitnessDivaKir

See you SOON!

Filed Under: Fitness, Race Reports Tagged With: marathon, Shakeology, track running

My 60th Marathon | Estes Park Marathon Race Report – No. 1 Woman

June 28, 2016 by Kirsten 1 Comment

Usually I do videos for my race reports, but the other day I was looking at race reports from a couple of my friends and realized it’s more convenient for me personally to read them instead of watch them. So I thought I would take a video break (for your sake) and write up my race report for the Estes Park Marathon I did last weekend.

The Estes Park Marathon is my favorite marathon. I have done it three times, once in 2006, once in 2011, and once in 2012. This year I was using the Estes Park Marathon as a training run for the Boulder Ironman. I admittedly haven’t been running more than 2-3 times a week this entire year, but most of that is racing so my speed is there, just not the endurance. I was most worried about my muscles and joints standing up to 26.2 miles.

I have done 2 long runs this year, one after a half marathon race I ran and walked an additional 5 miles, and the other after the Boulder 70.3 where I also ran and walked an additional 5 miles. This is less training than I usually do for a marathon, but again, this was just a training run for me so my goal was to run 20 of the miles.

On the positive side, I have completed 3 half ironman races so far this year, which although the run is only 13.1 miles, the entire race has been between 5-6 hours which gives me at least a good cardio fitness level.

The day before the race, I decided to bike 100 miles in the Pedal for Promise century ride. I figured a long weekend of training was exactly what I needed 7 weeks out from Boulder Ironman. I rode the 100 miles slower than I had hoped (goal was 6 hours, actual was 6 ½) but managed to finish feeling pretty good.

I ate a nutritious post-race meal of watermelon, vegan chocolate Shakeology, and bean/rice burritos and took a 20 minute ice bath as soon as I got home. I got to bed early with slight aches in my knees and quads that were just a little bit tired. And despite the near 100 degree temps, I managed to stay un-sunburned thanks to mass amounts of applied and re-applied sunscreen.

The Estes Park Marathon started at 6am and I live about an hour away, so I had to wake up at 4:30am. I didn’t really sleep much because it had been almost 100 degrees the day before and we don’t have AC in our house. I woke up feeling a little stiff, tired, and groggy, so I chose to wear my compression tights even though the temps were supposed to reach the high 80s by mid-day.

I drank my usually morning quart of water with lemon essential oil, took my supplements (B-12, iron, and probiotic) and slathered on the sunscreen just in case. I wore my long, black 2XU compression tights with a small sports bra and my DeSoto wings that are designed to keep the sun off my back and arms and keep me cool. I drank my usual breakfast of chocolate vegan Shakeology with power greens and unsweetened vanilla almond milk, grabbed a banana, Bolt chews, salt tabs, and headed up the canyon.

Estes Park is a gorgeous town that sits about 7,500 feet in elevation. It’s the gateway to the Rockies, so it’s surrounded by majestic, snow-capped mountains. In the center of town is a lake. The whole thing is straight out of an outdoor mag. One of the main reasons it’s my fave.

I showed up, grabbed my bib, ate my banana, and headed to the start. There were about 100 people doing the full marathon, about 600 doing the half, and many others doing relays, 10K, and 5K. All the races started at different times, so we only started with about 100. I started off easy but right away saw there were only about 10 women ahead of me, and within the first mile, everyone was so spread out and I had passed 5 of them. My plan was to go easy until mile 14 and if I felt good, pick it up. The course does a loop around the lake about 4 miles, then up a hill and around a big 10 mile loop twice, and then back to the HS track for the finish. Around the lake is fairly flat with a few small rises and falls, the big loop is half gradual uphill and half gradual downhill with a few rollers thrown in.

A couple times on the uphills, I would pass people, only to be passed on the downhills by young fresh knees and hips. No problem! My goal was to run 20 of the miles, and at mile 14 I was still feeling great.

Well, you know, great for 14 miles!! My joints were a little achy and my calves were starting to get tight from climbing, but all in all felt good. I was 5th female. I don’t wear a watch when I race, but there was someone at mile 14. They called out my split 2:12. For the next mile I did the math in my head and thought “OMG! If I keep this up, I can get under 4 hours” which was my “if all goes perfectly today” goal!!

With that new info, my body feeling pretty good, and a long uphill stretch where I could see a couple girls ahead of me, I got my second wind. Instead of one cup of Gatorade at each aid station, I started taking two. I ate my Bolt chews, took a couple salt tabs, and picked up the pace.

By mile 20 there was only one female ahead of me. I could see her with the leader bike about a minute ahead and she was slowing down at a faster pace than I was. I was now passed the last long climb and decided I would go for it. I told myself it would probably hurt…a lot, but I could do it. I picked up my pace and by mile 21 I had passed her. Now all I had to do was keep it up for 5 miles. Easier said than done, but as hard as it got, I kept pushing. I didn’t look back (but did ask the biker at one point if any women were in sight…he said no) and started doubling up my Gatorade and salt tabs again because my calves were borderline cramping. I was so close to the finish I just kept telling my muscles how relaxed they were and how amazing I was.

It worked! I ran onto the track and heard the announcer say “and here comes the first place female marathoner” and the crowd went wild! Well not really, but I did in my head. I have never won a marathon before. I know there were only like 50 women who ran it, but still!! It was a hard, hilly, high altitude course and I WON!!

I made my #1 goal which was sub 4 hours and even negative-splitted my time as my final time was 3:47, so my average for the first 14 was about 9:25 and the last 12 was close to 8:00 which gave me an average of 8:40 which is right at my ironman goal race pace which was PERFECT!

The day was amazing! The sun stayed behind the clouds for most of the race so the temps hovered in the 70s. There were aid stations about every mile so any time I felt like I needed Gatorade, it magically appeared for me. The last 6 miles of the race are primarily downhill so I could keep moving even when every muscle in my body was screaming at me to stop. And of course making my goal time and winning were just icing on the cake!!

60th marathon in the books! And out of the 60, this was my 3rd fastest time. My first 2 fastest are both in California, at sea level, flat courses, so this race was one of my best ever! My previous Estes Park Marathon times were 4:00, 3:58, and 6:34 (when I walked it 2 months after breaking my collar bone).

Here is the link if you want to check out the marathon…

http://epmarathon.org

And here are my other race reports if you do like watching videos…

http://www.youtube.com/FitnessDivaKir

Here are the chews I eat when I race…

http://amzn.to/290wXX6

And here is the salt capsules I use…

http://amzn.to/28PT6pC

I hope you are loving your summer as much as I am!

See you soon!

Filed Under: Fitness, Race Reports Tagged With: estes park marathon, race report

Race Report: 2016 St George 70.3 Triathlon

June 21, 2016 by Kirsten Leave a Comment

For those wanting to hear about the SUPER hard day I had in St George on May 7, 2016, here is my race report…

Here are some of the products I used in my race…ALL of which I will use again next race as I felt my nutrition was PERFECT for this race!!!

Breakfast w water 2 hours before race start…

www.MyShakeology.com/RealResultsRock

ProBar Bolt Energy Chews…ate 45 mins and 15 mins before race start…

http://amzn.to/1SVOjCL

Vuka Energy Drink (2 bottles during bike)…

http://amzn.to/1VyQa6y

Bing Cherry Drink (1 can during run)…

http://amzn.to/1YDNfHQ

Salt Stick Caps Plus…took 2 about every hour.

http://amzn.to/1Soq8zn

Other than what is above, I drank 2 bottles of Gatorade from the course in the last 15 miles of the bike and drank a cup (or 2) of Gatorade on the run course at each mile as soon as my Bing was gone (about mile 6)

Any questions? Feel free to contact me at coachsmith@usa.com or join our community at…

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RealResultsROCK/

Next up is the Boulder 70.3 in 2 weeks!!

See you then!

Filed Under: Fitness, Race Reports Tagged With: fitness, race report, running, triathalon