The first conversation went a little something like this:

“Hi Mitzi, this is Jill Prueutt. I was referred by a mutual friend to contact you about training. My trainer is moving soon.”

“Hi Jill, I’m sorry to hear that, can you give me some days and times that could work for you and I will see what I have available.”

She sends them to me, and then I say…

“I really don’t think I have any available times that will accommodate you.”

And I’m not sure what I woke up on the other end of that phone but she says, “Oh no, I can work something out. I WILL train with you.”

UHMMMMMMM OK. At that point, I realized I wasn’t getting out of this and she wasn’t taking no for an answer, at all.   Our story begins.

Just as that first phone call, she has proven to be just this hard headed, determined, strong, full of want and charisma, pushes herself to every limit, trusts in the programming, and never on time. I love this girl.

She has grown in strength, stamina, speed and confidence. Her nutrition has come full circle and she looks fantastic. She has heart for a healthy lifestyle and shares that with many others. Her change is changing others.

My client and sweet friend, Jill, thank you for being persistent.

STRONG – M

When Mitzi asked me to be the Athlete of the Week, I chuckled to myself. Athlete… not a term I would have every used to describe myself and am fairly certain no one else would ever use either. However, I am honored to share my journey with you.

Growing up, my Dad was a runner. It was part of his identity. He would try to get me to run with him when I was a teenager.

I absolutely hated it-­‐ I’d just be so hot, out of breath, and miserable. I remember in high school when we had to do the Presidential Fitness Challenge. I’d struggle, feeling like I was going to fall out and die running one lap around the track.

Thankfully, I liked to dance and had a little exercise by being on the dance line, but I wouldn’t say I was fit at all.

In high school, I started to struggle with my relationship with food. I love to eat… like really love to eat, but even in high school never could just eat what I wanted without gaining weight. My senior year of high school, I went on my first diet. To say that I took the “diet” to an extreme is an understatement. That was the beginning of the roller-­‐coaster of fad diets, diet pills, etc. that spanned my 20’s.

In my mid-­‐20’s, I finally decided I would give running a try. I figured my Dad was a runner, maybe I had it in me. I started a walk/ run method to begin. It took a while to build my endurance and I remember being so proud to run one mile without stopping. Several months later, my Dad and I ran a 5K in Shreveport. I hadn’t trained well, but I finished, even if I did throw up in the bushes afterward. When I moved closer home in 2006, we began running together regularly. I also joined another running group as well that would run early in the morning from LC. I loved the community and accountability of running in a group. When the group decided to run the St. Jude ½ marathon, my initial thought was NO WAY! After considering that my Dad and I could run it together and make a memory, I changed my mind and decided to train for it. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

I started training with Mitzi about 3 years ago. She challenges me in so many ways.

Adding in HIIT to my training has made me a better runner and so much stronger. The strong women I have met and worked out with have encouraged me more than you can imagine. Finally, at 40 years old, I finally have a healthy relationship with food. The Paleo and Whole30 plans allow me to enjoy eating and I know that I’m fueling my body for health.

I’m very thankful. I’m thankful to God that he has given me a strong body that I am able to run, lift weights, do box jumps… So many others aren’t so fortunate. I’m thankful for my husband and the strong friends in my life that encourage me. I’m so very thankful that through running,

I have been able to log so many miles with my Dad. These are memories we both cherish. We are currently training to run St. Jude ½ marathon again. He told me the other day that he didn’t know if he would still be running if it wasn’t for me. How ironic-­‐ If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be running in the first place.