On Saturday August 9th in Couer de’ Laine , Idaho, Shannon Van Oppen completed her first triathlon, Olympic distance, in 4hours and 1minute! Shannon has been training at The Exercise Space for just over a year now and has made amazing gains in transforming herself back into the athlete she once knew herself to be. Wanting to keep Shannon company through this journey I joined her in the triathlon. We rose at 4:30am Saturday morning to make sure we had enough time to pour ourselves into our so small wet suits…double checked our transition area, and headed to the water’s edge for our 7am start time. Just before entering the clouds let loose and the biggest rain drops I have ever seen bounced off of us. Then in we went - what a surreal experience with the rain splattering the water’s surface and swimming with 1400 other bathing cap clad people. A kick in the face, or a head in the side is very common when sharing water space… all heading to the same buoy. No worries, the swim was over before we knew it, in 33 minutes! We dizzily trekked back to transition to peel off our wet suits, grab our sneakers, and onto our bikes we were for the very hilly 25 mile bike ride. Luckily we were often distracted from the hills by the generous views of the lake along the way. Shannon made it up every hill, and did not stop or walk once. 2 hours later we were back in transition ditching our bikes and heading out for the 6.2 mile run. Although Shannon’s knee was not cooperating she still managed to finish the run and complete her first triathlon ever! An amazing experience for me to watch her accomplish this goal, as words cannot describe how proud of her I am. Shannon, you rock!

Are you getting bored with your routine, feeling yourself losing motivation for your workouts? Then sign up for a unique class that is both interesting and physically challenging. I recently joined two of my clients for a Trapeze aerial dance class through the South Seattle Community College. See for yourself from the photos, they had a lot of fun and it was quite the shoulder and core workout! Seriously. A trapeze workout will build you up physically and mentally as well as develop your balance and timing…not to mention lots of laughs and letting lose to the music! So, go ahead and try something new - like belly dancing, martial arts, kickball, dodge ball, BodyWalk, or trapeze!

For more info on taking this class go to : trapeze class info

You’ve heard it a million times before…what we feed our body reflects in how our body behaves. If we eat fast food and drink soda all day, chances are we will feel a little sluggish. If we eat fresh fruits and veggies and lean organic meats, we will most likely have more energy. Often one might think they eat ‘good’, but when really forced to look at each meal and dissect it, there are many ways it could get better. Read More »

“I have been working with Dawn for a little over a year. I am more fit and healthy than I have been since high school. She does more than just train me; she has caused me to change my lifestyle to a much more healthy one. She has even taught me to hula hoop! I would recommend Dawn highly.