Two years ago I completed my first half marathon with the help of Team Challenge! It was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I met so many amazing people--we trained together, we fundraised together, then we crossed the finish line together! All this to raise money and awareness for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.  Team Challenge has teams all across the U.S. so I when I got to Austin I got in touch with the local chapter to see how I could get involved.  Turned out they needed volunteers for the Austin Marathon so I signed up!

I woke up at 5:00 AM(o'dark thirty as my Dad calls it) and proudly put on my Team Challenge garb. It was still dark when I arrived at the water station--the calm before the storm! Myself and about 30 other volunteers quickly got to work pouring hundreds of cups of water and gatorade for the athletes that would soon be arriving.  I met a lovely woman and her son that had driven from over an hour away just to volunteer. We all worked together and by sunrise we were ready to rock!


When the first runner came over the hill and towards us we all got super excited and starting cheering like crazy. We kept up our cheering and high energy for over 3 hours!! Most runners even said Thank You--so heartwarming!

The leader of the pack!

The vibe was so positive and the athletes were inspiring!! When the first female runner came by our station I got a little teary eyed. Gosh, I'm such a sap but I couldn't help but be inspired by her! GO GIRL!

First Female Runner!

I think the highlight of the day was seeing the smile our youngest volunteer brought to the runners faces. I'm sure she helped tons of people make it through that last mile to the finish line!

She's so cute!!

Although I'm tired and a bit hoarse from cheering, I'm so happy I got to be a part of this event with Team Challenge! I feel inspired to keep training hard for my next race and I'll be sure to thank the volunteers handing me water!

If you'd like to learn more about Team Challenge click HERE!


Happy Racing,
Kristin

I know I'm a little late for a 2014 recap post but I've been busy(forgive me)! I am FULL steam ahead into 2015 with big dreams and objectives but I wanted to take a moment to reflect on everything that's happened in the past year. 2014 was great--it was a year of transition and pushing myself mentally, physically and spiritually!  

I don't like to live in the past but it's also good to stop and acknowledge the goals you achieved and the memories you created. I'm always pushing forward to the next thing and sometimes I forget to stop and smell the roses! Even more importantly for me this is my moment to make space for the gratitude I feel for the all people in my life! New friends, old friends and all the wonderful people I met in the past year--I so grateful for all of you! 

A million double unders are hard to do under pressure!

Photo By: Dan Goodman

Get in my BELLY!

Raffle Time!

WOW! I am so glad I did this post--it makes me realize that anything I put my mind to is possible and how much I LOVE ALL OF YOU! I can't wait to see what amazing adventures I get into this year....

What's your favorite memory or accomplishment from 2014?  

Happy New Year! 
Love, 
K 

One of the highlights of 2013 was running with Team Challenge to raise money for The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.  Nothing feels better than giving back to people in need.  Team Challenge provided me a platform to inform people about the disease and the importance of finding a cure.  On top of that I got to meet and spend time with an amazing group of people that inspired me to run hard and raise money! I've been struggling a bit lately in the motivation department.  I've been doing some soul searching to find that spark inside that drives me to train hard.  The last 6 months my motivations have been more superficial--to look good for my competition.  Now that the competition has passed working out just to look good has left me feeling empty and slacking on my workouts.

My Fundraising Party last year! Love these ladies-

Race 1 of 2014 is in the books! On Sunday I participated in the Hot Chocolate run here in San Francisco.  It was a a really great race and much larger than I expected(and freezing)! There were just over 4,000 runners participating in the 15k and over 5,000 ran the 5k.  I had no idea it was such a big race-apparently people love chocolate!

AMAZING! That is the best way I can describe 2013(am I getting teary eyed right now!?). SO many wonderful things have happened this year...so many firsts.  It makes me feel alive and vibrant when I enjoy new experiences and stretch myself past my comfort zone.  It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day and become complacent and let life pass you by.  But I encourage you to break free of the status quo in 2014 and really LIVE! We only get one shot at this thing called life, so why not live each day to the fullest! Don't let fear or doubt hold you back any longer, those are just imagined obstacles.

In January of 2013 I decided to make fitness my focus and I don't regret a moment.  It was not always easy...early mornings...self doubt and lots of sweat but it has been so satisfying! I looked through all my pictures for this post and it's so motivating to see the progress I've made and the memories I've created over the past 12 months.  It makes me want to work just as hard in 2014!

*Above all I want to inspire others to reach their goals and live a fulfilling, conscious life.

I started my fitness journey almost a year ago with no goal other than to get in shape.  Part of this "Operation: Get HOT" was running my first half marathon. As some of you may know I ran my race with Team Challenge. This group raises money for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation which is near and dear to my heart(Read more about my story here).  I was so motivated each Saturday to meet with the team to training and share this awesome experience together.  I left each team practice feeling fulfilled, energized and rejuvenated.  Finishing the race was bittersweet...although I achieved my goal I was losing those warm and fuzzy Saturday mornings(they were actually cold and foggy but you know what I mean).

A foggy team training morning at the Conservatory of Flowers I've been digging deep lately trying to find that same drive and passion I had during this time.  I kept reading things that said, think about why you started.  I kept coming back to my half marathon and what a huge motivator that was for me.  I was training for the race but it was to raise money for a wonderful cause and it felt so good!  So it got me thinking, how can I replicate that feeling and tie together my passion for fitness with giving back to others?  That's when I stumbled upon this amazing app Charity Miles.  It's an app that donates to the charity of your choice(about 20 to choose from) every time you bike, run or walk! All you have to do is download the app, sign up with your name and email(that's it, promise) then start raising money for your favorite organization! I couldn't believe that it was so easy to give back for something I was already going to be doing.  They donate .25/mile when you run or .10/mile when you bike.  I still can't get over the fact that I am donating every time I go out to run or bike, something I would be doing anyway! To top if off, one of the charities that they support is CCFA(Crohn's and Colitis Foundation)!

So beautiful!

Working out to be healthy should be motivation enough but let's be honest-most of us need more that that! Knowing what motivates you is essential in your fitness journey.  These motivators and goals may change and evolve as time goes on and that's great.  If you need some direction just take a step back and make sure you haven't lost sight of what keeps you happy, grounded and lacing those shoes up each day. Hopefully Charity Miles will give you the same sense of satisfaction and motivation that it does for me!

Participating charities include:

• Achilles International
• ASPCA
• Autism Speaks
• DoSomething.org
• Every Mother Counts
• Feeding America
• Girl Up
• Habitat for Humanity
• Ironman Foundation
• Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
• Nothing But Nets
• Partnership For a Healthier America
• Pencils of Promise
• She's the First 
• Shot@Life
• Stand Up to Cancer
• The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
• The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
• The Nature Conservancy
• VisionSpring
• The World Food Programme
• Wounded Warrior Project

Read more about the app here-
http://www.charitymiles.org