About
Paige and Kelly here, and we’re the co-contributors of the DIY Fitness Blog. We’ve been talking about creating this blog for almost a year now and we’re thrilled that it’s finally coming together! Our purpose for the blog is to bring you real stories about fitness – our challenges, our triumphs and accomplishments, our favorite gear, our race stories, and more. Fitness is DIY – no one can do it for you – but there’s no reason we can’t come together and help each other out! We hope that you’ll find camaraderie here within our website and that you’ll be inspired to begin or continue your own fitness journey.
Kelly’s fitness journey: On December 31st 2010 I made a New Year’s resolution to start running. Throughout childhood and early adulthood I was never very active. I was naturally slim, so no one ever gave me a hard time about getting into shape, so I didn’t! After graduating college, though, I decided that I should probably make an investment in my long-term health and start exercising. I wanted something I could do by myself and on my own time, I liked the idea of working towards a tangible goal, and I’m a sucker for competition – so running seemed like the best option.
On New Year’s morning 2011, I put on some old sneakers and ran 1 mile around my apartment complex. Over the next few weeks, I slowly learned to run. I participated in my first 5k that Valentine’s Day, run/walking for a finish time of just over 35:00. I did two more 5ks, a 10k, and my first half marathon that very summer. I was hooked! I’ve been running ever since and so far have completed 3 half marathons and what feels like a million 5ks.
I thought I had found my passion – and then I signed up for my first Tough Mudder. The Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile long race with 20+ obstacles sprinkled in, some of which include mud, ice, and electrical shock. To prepare for the race, I started working with a personal trainer who promised to increase my upper body strength so I could hoist myself over those walls. When race day came, I took to the course with my aunt’s team of friends and co-workers in Colorado and I absolutely loved pushing myself to my physical limits! I had never experienced so much camaraderie on a racecourse before- it’s hard to even put into words the amount of helping, encouragement, and fellowship during that race! My love for road running was dwarfed by my new found passion for obstacle races.
Tough Mudder showed me something I didn’t know about running before though – it’s really fun to run with other people. So when a mutual friend introduced me to Paige and told me she was trying to learn how to run, I quickly recommended we start running in a local “pub run” together. It’s because of Paige that I didn’t fall back into the same trap that I usually do – not running at all in between races, and thus, having to start back at square one when it’s time to train for the next race. But this year Paige and I ran all winter and all through the summer together and I feel stronger and faster than ever! We also started working out at the gym together, joining running groups, and finding other people with a passion for fitness.
So nowadays, I run a weekly free outdoor bootcamp class, I am a mentor for the Fleet Feet ½ marathon training program, I still work with my personal trainer once a week, I’m a member of the local rock climbing gym, I workout with Paige all the time (often in non-intentional coordinating colors), and we’re about to start this fitness blog together. And I’m loving every minute of it!
Paige’s fitness journey: I moved to the Triangle area in June 2012 and had a difficult time meeting people due to a hectic work schedule. A mutual friend introduced me to Kelly on Skype and we made plans to meet at our local Fleet Feet. Lucky for us, Fleet Feet was hosting its first annual Luau. Kelly and I selected the shortest route (3 miles) and ventured out on our run. Prior to that, I had never run more than 1.5 miles (jokingly called a “Paige-a-thon” by our friend). I didn’t even know I was capable of attempting to run 3 miles in one go. Kelly helped to motivate me through the run (there was walking involved) and we finally made it back to the store for some well-deserved luau-themed grub. From that point on, Kelly and I began to meet up after work on Thursdays to run at the local community center. In January 2013, we began to include the gym in our routine so that we could use the weights for strength training. We started swimming, too. At the end of January, I ran 3 consecutive miles for the first time without stopping and haven’t looked back since. Now that I could run 3 miles, Kelly encouraged me to sign up for my first 5k. I selected the Shamrock ‘n’ Roll at the end of February. Though it rained on race day, we kept our spirits up by wearing fun St. Patrick’s day-themed apparel.
From there we committed to run the Ninja Challenge 5k in May, which scared the heck out of me. Sure, I could now run the distance, but would I be strong enough to tackle the obstacles by race day? Kelly and I continued our weight training at the gym and we began running more often as Kelly trained for her half marathon in April. On April 1st, I hit a new milestone – I increased my longest distance to 6 miles. I felt so proud; I never thought that I could run that far, and I felt like I could have kept going! Kelly and I completed the Ninja Challenge in May. We made it through, though it was quite eventful! I’ll save that story for a later post.
We are currently training for a half marathon in October and the Tough Mudder in November. I have never been in better shape, though I am still nervous about tackling the Tough Mudder. Despite the nerves, I have to say that I am also very excited. There is still lots of work to do, but I am looking forward to sharing my fitness journey you.
