Introducing.......

Hello Friends,

I am so excited to tell you that I will be updating the blog much more often now AND it will be MUCH more entertaining, all because of a special person.

Last winter, I happened to reconnect with a former teammate. Those of you in the running world may know her name or recognize her from various magazines, as she was an American Track Super Star, her name….Caitlin Chock.

The story of how we reunited is quite interesting, and absolutely fateful, so I wanted to share it with you here (I will give you a very brief summary).

We first met at the University of Richmond, where we were teammates for only one month, before Caitlin left the University to train with the Nike Project in Portland, Oregan. Despite our short time training together, Caitlin and I shared a special connection, however, with the politics of her ‘move’, we were separated and lost touch. We never imagined that, as fate would have it, we would wind up having nearly parallel experiences while living on opposite ends of the continent.

While I had dealt for years with my own injury and its repercussions, as well as mourning the fact that I may never run again, I was called to reality. One March evening, sitting in my hotel room I stumbled upon the blog of Caitlin Chock. I was immediately captivated – according to her blog she had just survived a major car accident, Yes Caitlin Chock, one of the best female runner’s I had ever known as immobolized! The ‘hit and run’, resulted in near loss of her right leg; bones exposed, tendon severed, it took multiple surgeries and plenty of metal to merely close the wound. The doctors informed her that her running days were over.

The ever-positive and competitive-minded Caitlin decided she would not let this accident end her life in athletics. She became a diligent student in all things fitness; integrating what she learned from renowned coaches and experts and competing as an elite athlete she guided her own rehabilitation. From that she has devised methods and techniques that mirrored my philosophy.

It became evident we had both been through our own debilitating experience that would end our elite running careers, but through this we both realized our passion for fitness and ability to go back to it and turn it into something that could help other people.

I immediately called Caitlin that night, and it was like no time had been lost, we have been in constant communication. The majority of our conversations revolve around all things fitness, what works, what doesn’t, the newest thing we’ve tried , our ideas for the future, the ridiculous things we see at the gym, etc.

After much talk, shared passion, enthusiasm and the fact that Caitlin is an incredibly interesting and witty writer, Caitlin will be tag-teamming with me as a contributor to this blog. In the New Year she will also be joining my team at The AR Program as a bi-monthly columnist.

So, with no further ado, I’d like to introduce you to Caitlin Chock (Cait)! I’m so excited to have her on here J