This program is for you if you love running, biking, swimming - love 5ks to Marathons but you're always injured? Fighting IT band pain? Stress Fractures? OR if you're ready to trade your long hours of training for time with your friends/family all while getting FASTER race times.
Read how adding CrossFit and decreasing mileage helped Carrie meet her ultimate goal - qualifying for The Boston Marathon!
"I've always worked out. I've played sports. Gone to the gym. I ran. And ran. And after running, I'd run some more. I started with CrossFit Central to try something new. I had run a few marathons (at almost exactly the same pace) and was getting tired and frustrated with my lack of improvement. I started to dislike and dread running. After a few months of crossfit classes, I got the marathon bug, once again, and started training. This time, something was different. I was keeping up with people I had never kept up with before (and even passed a few). I enjoyed running again. I was stronger and felt lighter and a lot less frustrated. I was faster. My coaches took notice and paired me with faster runners, thus pushing me further. It was starting to seem as if running a trillion miles wasn't the key to gaining speed... I had tried that approach before, and yeah, it got me to the finish line, but it didn't get me there any quicker.
Marathon training progressed. I continued to get in some good mileage in long runs and speed work, but instead of running slow, easy miles on "recovery" days, I went to crossfit. It wasn't easy. The workouts were tough and I was worn out. Marathon time finally came. Was I ready? I ran so fewer miles during training compared to previous races. People I trained with ran more than I did. Race day was hot. I struggled but still knocked 10 minutes off of my personal best. I was happy but knew I could do better. I was hooked on my running/crossfit combo and decided to sign up for yet another marathon. Next thing I knew, race day was here again. It was cold and dry. A perfect day for a marathon. I shaved 7 minutes off of my last PR, qualifying me for the Boston Marathon (my ultimate goal). I ran the second half faster than I ran the first, which was something I had NEVER imagined doing before. It felt amazing. I have put in a lot of work and a lot of miles, but I would not have seen such improvement without the element of CrossFit. It gave me the strength and endurance to reach my goals. I'm stronger and faster now. And I love running more than I ever have before."
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