Tagged: Race

Power of Nine Winner – In More Ways Than One

This is a guest post from our gal who works in eCommerce, Amy. She worked directly with the winners from our Power of Nine Challenge and has such been in constant contact with Jamie the Grand Prize winner, organizing her plane tickets to our Title 9K in Chicago. Amy intended to write a piece focused on Jamie and her back story, who she is and where she’s from, how she found Title Nine and the like. But when she got to writing all the facts flew out the window and a description of Jamie as a person, a wonderful person, came to fruition in their place. Enjoy.

I work in Marketing. Behind a screen. Sending out any vibes I can through the tips of my fingers, rapidly pushing on the keys in front of me. Conveying to everyone how happy their excitement and pleasure in our product and our company makes me can be a challenge for a girl with a limited vocabulary. I often find myself at a loss of words and half ashamed to continually tell them they are “awesome, amazing, wonderful, and beautiful”, but in reality, that’s what they are. These women I’ve found myself connecting with are INCREDIBLE women. Incredible. They are doing their part to make the day okay. In any small way they can. Today I received the picture from our gal the Grand Prize winner from the Power of 9 giveaway, and the sight of it brought me to tears. I mean, look at her! 🙂 Her smile was and is, one of the most genuine, gleeful, proud and honestly thrilled to be in the moment photos I’ve seen in a long time. Sheer, complete, truthful joy! The look on her face wearing her new Title 9 t-shirt with a tennis racket, golf club and soccer ball in one hand, is a look I’m certain parents have the privilege of enjoying on their kids on a summer day. She’s beautiful. She’s happy. And to top it off, she had just finished her fastest mile as part of her T9K training program 🙂 She’s a teacher. She has daughters. And she’s enjoying every last moment of her summer that she can. And taking the time that I know she doesn’t have to put on her new shirt, find some props, and talk someone into taking her picture to send to the pesky marketing gal at the home office. Jamie my dear, you are a doll. You put in more than one exclamation point despite it being a grammatical error because dang it, you’re excited. We sign our emails “love”. We address each other by our initials. You’re my long lost Midwestern pen pal. Thank you for reminding me what life is all about and how wonderful it will continue to be… if you let it. If you’re open to it. You are a beautiful gal – there are far too few like you. Rock on JMG – you’re going to be great come that October race day.

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It’s Time for The Title 9K!

Our annual Title 9K’s are coming up in Chicago and the Bay Area and we can’t stop thinking about them!  So much that we thought we’d come up with a run plan for those of you who would like extra motivation or don’t know where to start. You may be wondering, how many miles is a 9K? Well, to be exact: 5.59234073 miles, but for the sake of sanity, let’s call it 5.6. But don’t worry, if you haven’t run at all in the last 5 years, or if you’ve been running for the last 5 years straight, we’ve got a training program for everyone, and we mean everyone – all ladies and their kids, moms, sisters and girlfriends. This race is all about having a good time!

Training Schedules:

Walkers/Joggers

Built for those who would like to walk with a little jog mixed in between, you only work out 4 days a week, 3 walking/running, and one doing cross training. The workouts are written as: 1/1 x 11. The first number is minutes to run followed by minutes to walk. So 1/1 is one minute of running followed by one minute of walking.

Start your workout by warming up for 5 minutes – a brisk march or light jog will do. Bored? Try some squats! Anything to amp up your heart rate! At the end do your heart a favor and cool down for 5 minutes. Finish with stretches holding each one for 15-30 seconds! You want to keep those worked muscles loose and limber!

You’ll need to mix cross-training sessions into your workout. These are extremely important; they balance your muscle groups reducing your chance of injury. Examples of cross-training include: swimming, water running, cycling or spinning, elliptical and rowing! Anything to pump your heart rate and work those muscles.

WALKING TRAINING : Bay Area Title 9K

WALKING TRAINING : Chicago Title 9K

For the Runners

Are you ready to run 5.6 miles!? We’re here to get you there. This plan is intended for those who are already able to run a couple of miles. If you don’t think you’re there, spend a week walking for one minute and jogging for 11. Do this for a few days before kicking into this plan – and once you get started, if you need to break in bouts of walking during your runs, that’s okay too!

If you need to switch days to accommodate your schedule, and swap a run for a rest day, that’s fine. Your EZ runs should be a comfortable pace to help loosen your muscles. The cross training (CT) sessions held once a week are extremely important; they balance your muscle groups reducing your chance of injury. You will also avoid getting bored with running and can continue to train if you inhibit certain injuries. Examples of cross-training include: swimming, water running, cycling or spinning, elliptical and rowing!

RUNNER TRAINING : Bay Area Title 9K

RUNNER TRAINING : Chicago Title 9K

We’ve laid the groundwork, now the hardest part is up to you – getting out there and training! But don’t worry, you’re not alone! If you have a question, are looking for help, or just need to vent about your last run, check out the group pages for both the Bay Area and Chicago Title 9Ks.

Are you ready? Keep us updated on your progress, share your goals, and post pictures below! We would love to hear from you!

Interested in volunteering in Chicago or the Bay Area? Drop us a line at t9k@titlenine.com

See ya’ll soon!

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