Taper Twitches and Business Niches

First... Business Niches.

Although I hate to admit this publicly....my husband is a brilliant man. We had a really great conversation last weekend about me becoming a personal trainer and how that means I am "opening my own business". We talked about marketing, accounting, and what services I would offer. He suggested I write a business plan if this is really something I want to do. Since I am not taking out a loan, I initially thought he was an idiot...kind of my gut reflex (sorry babe).  BUT...I decided to humor him and boy am I glad I did! Writing up a business plan really made me think hard about start up, promotional marketing, revenue, cost analysis....all of those things a social worker gets to skip over in college. I feel much more secure in the "business" side of things now. I feel like I have a better laid out plan and have better knowledge of what I need to get taken care of in the next month!

Since deciding to become a trainer I have been fortunate to be given some cool opportunities. First come through an alumni of Team In Training. He and his wife run their own personal training studio and allow outside trainers to utilize their studio for their own clients, obviously at a charge, but it seems very do-able! Plus he has also offered to give me some hands on assistance as well! Pretty cool in my book.

His studio sets up a booth at this "women's night" which occurs in a couple weeks. He and his wife will be out of town and he has asked if some of the trainers who work out of his studio would like to work the booth and hand out their own personal training info. to help each trainer drum up their own business. He asked me to help out. Seems like a win-win. I get new clients, he gets people to utilized/rent his studio.

My brother-in-law has been super helpful too! I asked him about building me a website...which is under construction as I type. But he also designed a logo....

AND business cards and a brochure!

How cool is that!

I am pumped! I'd like to start working with clients after Memorial Day!

Second....Taper Twitches.

While on a taper this week and not working out hard...if at all. I have developed twitches. When I lay down to go to bed...I twitch. My legs, feet, arms, head....I twitch all over....like a crack-whore. The Hubby said that when I got into my bigger miles while training for my last marathon...I would basically run in my sleep, my legs were constantly moving.

Not sure what this twitching is all about...but I am ready for it to be done!

RACE DAY IS SUNDAY!!! 

Taper week

Hope every-bunny had a good Easter Weekend. Personally....I ate waaaaaay to much...and enjoyed every minute of it.

Wes was incredibly excited for the Easter Bunny to come to our house. We searched for eggs, went out to breakfast, lunch at my in-laws, and dinner with my laws aka Mom and Dad. We ate a lot of ham.

I am really excited how becoming a personal trainer is all starting to work out! I have been given the opportunity to train out of a private studio and have already gathered some interest! My brother-in-law is building me a website,  my Dad is going to look over my business plan and I had a great conversation with the hub-ster about running "my business" Dave had some great input and is willing to help me out on the technical side of things. Plus, my best girlfriend is willing to be a guinea pig for me for the next few weeks before I am "open for business". 

This week is a taper week in our training. The Lincoln Half Marathon is on Sunday, so minimal workouts this week. I am planning a swim tomorrow and I teach a spin class on Wednesday. That is all I am doing pre-race. I have to say....I am already going a little stir crazy. My body just feels antsy without a workout. I just feel icky and achy when I don't hit the gym. I know it's for the best and I know it will help on Sunday.

Who would have thought that not working out would have been the hardest part of training???

My Next Marathon

 As many of you already know, I train for and run marathons with TEAM In Training.  I raise money and run each race in memory of my youngest son, Eric. I ran the Des Moines full marathon in 2010. This year I am helping out the TEAM by mentoring newbies!I am running the Lincoln National Guard 1/2 Marathon May 1 2011 as a TEAM mentor.  Now, I am training for and mentoring for the Nike Women's Marathon October 16, 2011 

So last night, TEAM In Training had their second annual Nike Women's marathon soiree. It is a kick off party and recruiting event specifically for the Nike race!

It was incredible!

The night consisted of being served incredible, local wines from tuxedo clad firefighters! There was a chocolate fountain, fine cheeses, and massages all available to the awesome women who were signing up to join the team as well as those already a part of the team! Incredible giveaways! Incredible company! I literally had cupcakes and wine & cheese for dinner last night!!!

The Nike women's marathon is an entire race geared totally for women. Men can enter and run the race, but they can't win. Last year of the 20,000 participants....only 900 were men. This whole race is all about GIRL TIME! Pre-race expos involve free manicures, pedicures, and massages....with mani and pedi stations all along the race course!

Here's the best part.....

The finish line is a red carpet lined with the San Francisco Fire Department all wearing Tuxedos who hand you a Tiffany & Co. finishers necklace.

Not medal....Necklace

Tiffany & Co. specifically designs a necklace every year for finishers of the Nike Women's Marathon.

I can not wait! I am so excited for this race, so excited for a girls weekend, and so excited to run another marathon with the TEAM!

Taken under his wing.....his strong, incredibly ripped wing.

 Through TEAM In Training, I have met some amazing people. Actually, just even mentioning TEAM In Training has put me in contact with some amazing people! Today was no exception.

Ben, a TEAM alumni, is a personal trainer who recently opened his own personal training studio with his wife. They met up with TEAM an offered to do free strength clinics for TEAM participants. Fast forward a couple months and a few TEAM-ers have hired Ben to be their personal trainer and they now have group sessions that happen to be TEAM-er friendly.

 Quick side note: Ben is training to do a half ironman with the TEAM! He kinda rocks!

Second Side Note: Ben's wife, Krystal, was a competitive body builder. Holy rock star couple Batman!

Now....fast forward to this week. Ben offered to have me out to his studio, as a newbie certified trainer, to kind of show me the ropes. He actually had me come out to an initial session with two new clients.

We chatted about how he got started, working for big gyms, liability insurance, initial assessments, yadda, yadda, yadda. He ran through his whole initial meeting with the girls and explained everything to me while he did it. We went through a whole initial assessment process; calculating VO2 Max, push-up test, plank screen, and  a push-pull assessment. He stood be me and we chatted about what we saw and what sort of program implementation he would use based on these assessments. Talk about one on one job training! It was awesome!

I am confident in my abilities to progress someone in their level of fitness. I am confident when working with runners or people who work out on a relatively regular basis. It's working with new clients that intimidates me right now. 

Spending those couple of hours with Ben helped a ton! He even offered to let me use his studio to begin training folks if I want to! How cool is that!!

THANKS BEN AND KRYSTAL!!

If you want to check out Ben and Krystal CLICK HERE

A Gel Review and Fun Times Too!!

The world of endurance running has introduced me to a few things; toned legs, runner's trots, chaffing, the need for moisture wicking material, a runner's high, 26.2, and so on. I have got to experience some amazing things as a runner, whether they were pleasant (the finish line) or not so pleasant (the trots) 

Something that plagues all runners is on the fly nutrition. I have tried a wide variety of things....shotbloks, sports beans, gels, gummies, gatorade, cytomax, and on and on.

During my first marathon I chose to go with Luna Gummies and sportbeans.. Easy to chew, taste good, easy to carry. My grocery store stopped carrying those, so I had to start over for this race season. Time to research.

The results of my research:

I liked that taste of Shotbloks but the packaging makes them difficult to keep on your person, especially in the standard tight fitting running gear.

So I moved on to Gels. I tried both Powerbar Gel and Clif Shots

I decided to start with the recommended Chocolate flavors. I tried chocolate, java, and mocha.

The result:

PUDDING MOUTH

Wes, a couple years ago, having his first oreo!

Not-A-Fan. The thick chocolate coats your mouth and won't go away. It plagues you for the rest of your miles. So I moved on to citrus, strawberry and "razz".

The Results:

 Clif Shot's Razz is awesome...

 Why???

Because it really tastes like this...

Yes...a Jelly doughnut. It honestly tastes like the inside of a jelly doughnut. It doesn't coat your mouth and requiring the lip smacking that the others did. I actually LIKED this gel!

So I did further research into the Clif Bar Company. CLICK HERE 

I'm impressed. I think I can like the company as well!

Saturday the Lincoln Marathon TEAM had our graduation run!

It went great! We rocked our 10/20 miles and enjoyed a feast of carbs afterwards! This picture is deceiving. It was sunny but it was 35 degrees with 20 mph wind gusts. It was a tough run day! Our great TEAM In Training Coaches got us through and we are stronger because of it! It was nice only having 10 miles on graduation day, my second graduation!! My third graduation will be a 20 miler...I have committed to TEAM In Training to run the Nike Women's FULL marathon in October. I've already started fundraising!

Tri Heavy Training Week

 I busted out my new Tri suit and did my first "brick" of the season. I did 1,000 yard swim followed by a 5K run on the good ole treadmill. Dave got me the tri suit for Christmas and I avoided trying it on because I thought it would be too tight. When I finally decided to try it on, it was actually a little on the loose side. I was nervous there wasn't going to be enough support in the chest for a run. It turns out the suit works great! It is a little loose in the hips but I think it will work fine in the bust. I will say that I felt incredibly naked in the suit!! It was very weird not to wear anything over or under the suit. I know that is what it is designed for....but it was wierd nonetheless.

 This Saturday is our graduation run. It is the longest training run before race day, for me that is 10 miles since I'm doing the half marathon! I am pretty pumped, I think I have the hubby talked into coming out to the lake to make pancakes for the team too! Such a lucky gal!

I ended up teaching 3 spin classes for this week. Not typically what I would do for graduation run week, but I feel pretty confident since I'm doing the half marathon as opposed to the full.

I subbed for a morning spin class this week. It was wierd being a teacher that early in the morning! The mic was broken too, so I had to yell. I do not have the sexiest morning voice either.....I actually apologized to the class prior to starting!

Two TEAM In Training coaches ended up being at that morning spin class. One the Triathlon coach and the other one of my coaches. It really made me nervous. Two reasons:

1. Subbing always makes me nervous. PLUS....The way I teach is totally different than the way the regular teacher runs her class.

2. They are my coaches. I felt like I hard to work hard....not push the class hard.....push myself hard. My coaches were watching.

It was still a fun class! I was dripping sweat and had a scratchy voice from yelling but it was fun.

From Runner to Personal Trainer

It is official!! 

I Passed my exam!!!

I am now a certified personal trainer!!

I am Pumped!!

Working Weekend

 I worked way too hard this weekend. I got the car washed....that is actually a picture of me....I always wash my car in a bikini and high heels!

 I officially got my 26.2 sticker added to my car, I picked up the sticker at the Des Moines Marathon expo last fall. I lost if for several weeks after I tucked in into a book that I was reading.....obviously I need to read more. BUT I found it and it is sprucing up my '03 Hyundai!  Let's be honest...the car needed a little sprucing!

I took the boys to the zoo for a couple of hours on Sunday. We had decent weather and we needed to get outside for a bit. It is nice to have a world class zoo only a few minutes away!!

The boys did a good job at the zoo! Wes was a trooper. He talked the whole time!! 

And I mean the whole time.

After taking the boys to the park and seeing Wes interact with others....we have decided it is time to teach him about Stranger Danger. He walked up to a mother and her two boys and proceeded to talk their ears off. It is nice that he is so personable and friendly....but going up to adults who are complete strangers makes me nervous. I have worked for Child Protective Services for too many years to be naive.  We've gotta find a happy medium....teach him about friendly versus creepy people, instill a little caution, warning signs, etc. Do all of this while still maintaining his innocence and friendly disposition. Sigh....parenting is tough work!


Thank you to everyone who took the time to look at my TEAM In Training page. Another big thank you to those who donated. Your support means the world to me!

Why I am MOM ON A MISSION:

 The vast majority of you know that in October 2009, Dave and I lost our youngest son to a “mystery diagnosis.” Eric was only 15 months old. Before Eric, I did not know the special heartache involved in caring for a loved one who was ill. I know that heartache now and know that I am compelled to act. While there are no organizations raising community awareness and research dollars for “mystery diagnosis” treatments, I have come to realize that Eric underwent treatments very similar to those treatments that kiddos who are fighting cancer go through: chemotherapy, immune suppressive therapy and bone marrow transplants. I found the Leukemia and Lymphoma’s Society TEAM In Training and decided to take action. In October 2010, I ran my first marathon in Des Moines Iowa while proudly wear Eric’s name on my bib.

 Through Team in Training, I train to run marathons in Eric’s memory. I log numerous miles and spend countless hours hitting the trails or cruising on a treadmill. It can get tedious and lonely. But I am never alone. I run with many people in my heart. I run with Wes and Dave always in my thoughts, but there are several others that frequently come to my mind. I run with Dr. Ted Denson, GI; Dr. Stella Davies, BMT; Dr. Hector Wong, PICU; Dr. Jack Bleesing, Immunology; Anna Lee, nurse; and my other teammates who run in honor of their loved ones. Most importantly...I run with Eric.

I am training to run the Nike Women's full marathon this October. I need your support.

Please go to my training page and make a donation.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ne/nikesf11/nkendall

With Deepest Gratitude,

Nikki Kendall

Running, camping, and kiddos

 We decided to be brave and go camping this weekend....yes the first weekend in April!! We packed up and joined the Carter Family, Jenn, Pete, Ben, and Sam; and decided to risk it.  I packed long sleeves, hats, and gloves afraid it would be cold because that is what the weatherman predicted.

Boy was he wrong! It was sunny and 70 on Saturday afternoon!! I took off from the campsite Saturday morning and got in a great 9 mile run with Team In Training and then headed back to the campground! I actually ended up with a slight sun burn. I am now officially rocking a farmer's tan!!

We had a great weekend! 

Wes learned how to fly a kite!

 It was his first kite flying experience. Jenn & Pete got Wes and Ben, their 5 year old, kites for the weekend and those 2 boys got a lot of use out of them!!

Ben learned to ride a bike without training wheels this weekend too!

I successfully roasted the first perfect marshmallow of the year! It was perfectly dark, golden brown with warm gooey insides! I admit I ate way too many...but I swear the first s'mores of the year are the best!

The Crafty Carter Clan showed us a fun new trick for campfire treats! You can take a hunk out of a cheese stick, just a regular mozzarella cheese stick, put it on your marshmallow stick and roast it like you would a marshmallow. The cheese stick stays in tacked while you get the outside a crispy golden brown and the inside turns gooey. It is amazing!!! Warm roasted cheese....who knew?!?!

We finished out our weekend having dinner at one of our favorite pizza places celebrating with Team In Training for an awesome recomittment for spring's events! Both boys did a great job at the restaurant and I got to chit chat with my Team-mates. Dave has volunteered to help out Team In Training at my Lincoln race this year too! I am very proud of him!