I train Monday-Thursday at Sportxcel, 5 p.m adult class. I love it. I just walk in the door, do a pre warm up session and train as hard as I can for one hour. Followed up with the foam roller stretch. Its perfect, the trainers Ryan, Chris and Jordan set up a challenging workout and we work hard to get the job done.  Sportxcel takes the boredom and guess work out of training.  We do a variety of unique exercised with an aerobic edge. You really need to give it a try! Friday I train at the Trails Recreation Center. I have been in the advance spinning class for many years with Jill followed up with Terries fast track interval running. In January I added 1/4 of a mile swim to before cycling. The SheRox consists of a .5 mile open water swim in Aurora reservoir, cycling 10 miles and running a 5k. At the end of April I had completed unofficial 6 Sprint Triathlon. I was considering an Olympic distance triathlon in September, which is double the distance of a sprint. Now I  knew I could finish the race and it was all about the speed.

February at SportXcel Rob challenged the classes to train 5 times a week and complete a challenging goal by the end on the month. My goal was to run at a speed of 5.5 on a treadmill for a 5K.  I completed the goal by running 5.7 for the 5K. The double training on Fridays was tough and I continued that pace until mid March. The prize was a day at the Spa and I earned it and LOVED IT!

My first 5k St. Patrick’s Day 5k Run a great season warm-up through the neighborhood at Highlands Ranch. Followed by Heritage Adventure 10K run his course utilizes our HRCA Backcounty Wilderness trails and the Douglas County Trails. The run starts at Red Tail Park and follows the Dad Clark trail and the Rocky Gulch Trail. The course’s challenging trail and scenic vistas were inspiring. There is only a small piece on sidewalk. Majority of the course is on dirt paths. The 3rd race was Sunday, May 8 the Race for Wishes 5K, a friend and training partner Michelle Ibarra ran the event with me. Since 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation® has enriched the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting work.. One of Michelle clients (Molly of Molly’s Tiger) was a child that would benefit from the donations in this race. Michelle kept me at a fast pace for most of the race until the big hill after the half way point. She just ran up the hill so easily and I watcher her keep up the fast pace until she turned the corner. I slowed to an easier speed and had some discomfort in my right leg. I woke up the next morning and my leg below my knee was very sore and decided to go to the doctor. I needed to stop running for the next 8 weeks due to what they though was a stress fracture.

Monday I came into Sportxcel an talked with Eric about the stress fracture.  Eric and Ray designed water running program. I began running in the water for 15 minutes about three times per week. Next step was walking in the lazy river for 30 minutes and finally running against the current. I increased my swimming distance to over a mile and started working on speed intervals. Cycling  with Jill tough and we are pushed to the limits in both hills and speed work. I truly passionate about cycling and give 110%. I meet Megan & Caitlin in the cycling class in January. They both wanted to do a triathlon in the summer and decided to do the SheRox with us. Caitlin trained on my left and Megan was to the left of Caitlin. We pushed each other on the speed work and jumps every class. Caitlin is a strong competition, running track for Drake University, the assistant Jr. Olympic track coach and took first for women in the 2010 Warrior Dash in Colorado.

On aerobic Wednesday at Sportxcel the guys just moved the stationary bike to include me in the training. If the class was running outside I was cycling outside. When they sprinted I sprinted. I knew I would be really ready for 2/3 of my race but I would be testing my running on the day of the SheRox Triathlon July 10, 2010.