This summer I shared with you my experience with a 4-mile race. To recap…I hadn’t participated in a race in 8 years. I currently am only going for a short 3-4 mile run 1 time a week, and the rest of the week I am teaching/doing my classes. Much to my surprise I ran that race faster than I’ve ever run and came in 2nd in my age group.
The other day a woman who has been taking my classes weekly for the past year approached me with her story….On Thanksgiving she decided to run in the “Turkey Trot”–which is a local 5k or 10k race on Thanksgiving morning. She used to be a runner, but had since switched her exercise routine and take group exercise classes. She’s a consistent participant in all my classes, which are interval based/cross-training formats. She wanted me to know that she ran the race with no expectations since she had taken such a long hiatus from running. She was shocked at how she felt during the run, and even more taken aback that she had shaved 2 minutes off her previous time!!! She credited the interval training and lower body strength exercises we do in class.
I was so happy to hear her story! I encourage the die-hard runners to try and add a strength session or interval training class to their regiment. They might see a drastic change in their speed and comfort during their race 
If you have a similar story…don’t be afraid to share it with me
