From One Mother To Another + Fitness Challenge Winner

FitFluential is an amazing organization filled with amazing people that inspire many of which are moms like me and I think they are so great I want to introduce to you them.  First up is Michele Gonzalez. She blogs over at NYCRunningMama. She is a momma to one and one on the way and her ability to stay fit and maintain a balance is inspiring to say the least.  I hope you enjoy getting to know her as much as I have.

Family:
Tell me a little about you and your family: My husband, Paul is from Anchorage, Alaska. We both attended the US Military Academy at West Point and were in the Army for over six years. We have an 18 month old son, AJ, and are expecting our second (sex unknown!) at the end of September!

How did you meet your husband? We met in the Army when we were stationed at Fort Hood, TX in the same unit, but didn't really become friends until we were deployed to Iraq for a year (2005-2006). We became workout and run partners - you get to know someone so well when you are running with them 5 days/week!

Where do you currently live? We just purchased our first home together on Staten Island, NY - where I was born and raised.

Outside of fitness, what are your favorite things to do? Reading, spending time with my family, watching Top Chef (LOVE this show!)

Blogging:
How long have you been blogging? I started blogging in October 2011. I was participating in the 2011 NYC Marathon Foot Locker 5 Borough Challenge. One of the requirements was to start a blog as a way to share our experience in the competition. I didn't realize how much I would enjoy writing and sharing my running stories.

Has it always been about running? Yes. It's mostly focused on running with a little family/motherhood/pregnancy posts thrown in.

What has been your biggest blogging related accomplishment? Being selected as Fitness Magazine's "Fit Blogger We love" and Women's Running "Blogger on the Run"

Fitness:
What are your current runing goals?

• Short-term (next 3 months): To continue running until baby #2 is born
• Mid-term (3-6 months): Run the 2012 Philadelphia Marathon
• Long-term (spring 2013): Run sub-3:10 marathon

Outside of running, what other fitness activities do you engage in? I love biking - I was beginning training for my first Ironman when I found out that I was pregnant with baby #2 (IM may be a summer 2013 goal - TBD).

What's your favorite run length? Definitely the marathon. I love knowing that to do well in this race, it takes weeks of preparation and hard work. I like putting in the time and effort to reach a goal.

What is your favorite run route? Before we moved, it was the Staten Island Boardwalk - it's a 2.5 mile long route that I would do most of my easy and long runs on (totally flat). I'm still learning the area around our new house, but so far, enjoy running along a road just up the street from our house. It's anything but flat - and I hope to get stronger on hills because of all my runs that will be taking place on it!

What has been your biggest running related accomplishment? Winning the 2011 NYC Marathon Foot Locker 5 Borough Challenge.

What are your biggest fitness challenges? Fitting in the time to train for a marathon and ultra marathon while being a stay-at-home breastfeeding mom. It required early morning wakeups (some days as early as 4am to get my long runs in) and planning ahead (pumping and having bottles for my son for when he woke up).

Do you have any advice you can give to new runners? Don't get discouraged if you have a bad run - or string of bad runs. We all have those periods where runs are not enjoyable, painful, and just plain suck. These runs are temporary. The trick is learning how to force yourself to get out the door again. Don't give up on yourself.

So what do you think?  Don't you love her?  Keep watching, we'll have more winners coming up!  Any other questions you want me to ask of our inspiring Moms (& Dads)?

Side note- We have a winner for our Fitness Challenge...Comment #1 - Christine!  You WON!!  send me an email and I'll connect you to RunShepRun to get your shoes!!  Don't forget to register for the Cottonelle NameIt Giveaway!