This year, my training has been completely solo.  I worked out at the gym by myself, I run by myself, now I work out at home by myself.  It is very convenient.  I can do things on my schedule, move them around as I please, mix and match to fit my travel schedule.  The freedom is nice, I have had a lot of time to spend with my family and the results have been paying off.  But something is missing.  As I read my notes to my wonderful trainer at Alaris Fitness, I realize that all year I have been plagued with lack of motivation.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not the type of person to actually not do my workouts, I have only missed about 5 workouts in about 30 weeks, some of which were exchanged for other activity.  I had fallen into a rut of enjoying the process too much, without something to look forward to, including the positive influence of relationships.  Since NW1/2M training started a few weeks ago, I have more motivation, but my team is still nearly 3000 miles away.

Having community and being a part of a team have been important parts of my life, and those relationships get you through the toughest times.  I personally also have added motivation when you are putting your energy into something that is greater than yourself.  On a recent phone interview, I realized that this is something missing from my life RIGHT NOW!  My training has been for me, and I that is about to change!

After I realized that I wanted to rebuild my community, I decided I wanted something to push me and something to give back to my local community, I joined two teams to fulfill this.

To push myself I joined the team Oiselle Volée. Oiselle is a small company that designs and creates women’s running apparel.  They focus on making a quality product for women’s body.  Which sound like something that all apparel companies should do, but it is surprisingly difficult to find piece of clothing, athletic or business, that I don’t have a complaint about the fit or function.  The team manifesto starts with Build a Sisterhood, and goes on to list ways in which you push yourself to be the best you you can be.  Push myself, check. Added bonus: the team manifesto expresses my feelings towards women’s issues such as eating to fuel performance, expressing yourself, and being fierce in what you do.  I’m sure I will have more to say when I receive my manifesto and start assimilating into the team.

To give back to my local community, I’ve joined the SoleMates, the adult charity running group to support Girls on the Run DC (GOTR).  GOTRDC is a nonprofit whose vision is, “… a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.” BOOM.  So I joined a team of with 11 other local women to fundraise and run the Ragnar Relay DC.  My minimum contribution will cover a tuition scholarship and shoes (and a little more) for a girl in DC to participate in the after school program, which ends with a 5k.

I’m really excited about my new community, and looking forward to meeting and getting to know my new teammates!  Follow for updates on both!