Four months ago,  a group of FT clients and friends gathered at Landfall for the annual 5K/10K race. For many of our clients this was the first race that they had ever completed. Just last week our clients, their friends, and some of the trainers reunited on a Sunday morning at the NC Battleship to complete another 5K and half marathon.

In the last 5K, which took place in July, the heat was an issue. This time it was just the opposite. The morning of the race it was 50 degrees (but being by the water it felt like 35 degrees). We had a tent set up and used human huddles to try to stay warm!

Being that this was the largest race of the year, there were thousands of people there. A large majority were competing in the half marathon (13.2 miles). One of our clients competed in the half marathon, finishing in 2 hours and 25 minutes. He did a phenomenal job and kept about a 9 minute mile pace the whole race.

There were many noteworthy performances from our clients in the 5K: one client shaved over 9 minutes off her race time in just 4 months. I am sure she can contribute that to all the hard cardiovascular training sessions and the jump rope routines she has been going through!

Additionally, we had 2 clients finish in the top 4 in their age groups! After the race we had lunch and reminisced about the course. By far, the hardest part of the course was running over the bridge.  The grade on the bridge had to be about 8% and we had to run over it twice. The downhill part of the bridge is actually a little tougher due to the fact that you have to fight your body and hold back as you run down the grade.

In order to increase cardiovascular endurance and to help take off those extra pounds, we are currently holding a cardio competition at FT. The Cardio Race to the Capitol started last week and will run until February. The race is a journey to Washington DC (the fittest city in the United States). The clients are really pushing hard to be the first one to the capitol as we’ll be giving away some great prizes!