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In the beginning...
Wow, this year is flying by. I had hoped to blog more on this site and planned to catch up with my year several times. Here it is nearly the end of July and I haven't gotten rolling. The good news is, the reason I can't seem to find time to blog is that I'm so busy, running, biking, swimming, coaching, race directing, personal training and in general facilitating the red9runners Run Club at the YMCA. So, the beginning of this year, we were in the thick of marathon training for Go! St. Louis and I was in the thick of my training for Melbourne Beaches Marathon set in February. This year so far has brought about many races for me, not the least of which has been two marathons, Melbourne Beaches Music Marathon in Melbourne, Florida in February and the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, Tennessee in April. April also held the Go! St. Louis Marathon and Half Marathon where I coached a group of 25 runners in both events. There was also the Hibernian 5K race, the Hornet Hustle 5K, the Crusader Cruise 5K along with the races I directed, the Summer Sizzler 5k / 10k which took place on July 17th (thank you PowerBar for the sponsorship of our event) and the Italian Fest 5K which will be coming up in September. Whew, its been a busy year and I haven't even talked about half of it! The red9runners took a road trip with a group of "red9warriors" to the Warrior Dash in Joliet, Illinois. The run was approximately 3 miles of mud, obstacles, climbing walls, cargo nets, jumping over fire and lots of good very muddy fun! Our team of 8 represented well and a good time was had by all. Most recently, with many volunteers from the red9runners, we started a First 5K Program and well as a Young Runners Club. This program kicked off in the end of June and will train everyone to race the Italian Fest 5K in September. Currently we have 12 adults and 23 kids on board. It is very exciting to see so many new runners and to watch as they gain confidence each week. Another new adventure for many of us in the run club is the triathlon. That event that has alluded me for year becuase of my lack of knowing how to actually swim. I am happy to report that in just a few short weeks, I will attempt my first tri -- a sprint distance, but I am already thinking 1/2 Ironman. My practices have gone well and our Tri Clinic that we hosted with one of our veteran Iron Man triathlete run club members this past Sunday, July 25th, was fabulous. He walked us through transitions, gave us all kinds of helpful tips and then we practiced it all, swim, bike, run. I have to say this really boosted my confidence. The St. Jude Relay Run is coming up next week, August 6th - 7th. (Thank you PowerBar once again for the sponsoship of this event). A week from this Friday morning I will start out in St. Louis, Missouri and will run relay-style to Peoria, Illinois, nearly 187 miles away. This is not a race but rather a chairty run to benefit St. Jude Hospital. This is my 6th year on the run. I hope to get in 40+ miles over the day and a half and have a wonderful time with my running friends. Coming up this fall is another local 5k that I will be helping with. Unfortunately the race date falls on the exact same day as my already planned marathon in Wisconsin, so I will only be able to help in the planning and pre-race preparation but it will be very satisfying to assist anyway I can. This race is the Fred Winters' Memorial Run held in memory of Pastor Fred Winters. All proceeds going to Grace and Hope Ministries. My Fall Marathon this year will be the Whistlestop Marathon in Ashland, Wisconsin. I still have my sights set on an ultra, but I think I will put that off for a little while. My plan is to run a 50 before I am 50 -- that gives me a few years for that goal :) Of course all of this activity was fueled by PowerBar. I couldn't perform and keep up with all that I do if it were not for using PowerBar products to support me in every aspect of my running, biking, swimming -- my life. From energy bars, to gels, to endurance drink, recovery drink, and Triple Threat bars (yum). PowerBar has my back. I don't have to think about it, I just grab and go. Perfect for a busy lifestyle like mine! Well, that's all for now, gotta run! Happy Running! Cheri
Illinois, United States
Fitness Professional
Marathon runner, ultra runner, coach, personal trainer, budding triathlete :) Fearless le…MORE
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