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Yesterday was the 40th running of the Twin Cities Marathon - The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America! If you are like me, you stop everything to take it all in. Marathon Day is one of my favorite days of the year! A happy place! So much goodness packed into one perfect fall day! And yesterday was no exception! 34 years ago my friend and I were curious. What is the marathon anyway? It was hard to visualize people running 26.2 miles from the Metrodome in Minneapolis to the Capitol in St. Paul. So without the assistance of Google maps, runner tracking apps or cell phones, we headed to St. Paul to "find the marathon." We rolled down our windows, drove up the Snelling Avenue hill and listened for people cheering. Sure enough we found it!

The key to a successful fitness routine is finding the right personal fitness trainer. A good trainer will help you stay motivated and meet your goals, while a bad one can leave you feeling frustrated and uninspired. So, what should you consider when looking for a personal fitness trainer? We at Puravida Fitness want you to achieve your fitness goals and be the best version of yourself. This is why we have written down the top five things you should look for in a personal fitness trainer.

This is a sign that hung in my college football weight room. It meant a lot to me. It's what motivated me to put in extra work and ultimately become a scholarship athlete and starting offensive guard on the football team. It wasn't always like that though. My life could have been drastically different - and not for the better.

Today marks Day 11 of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Ever since I was a kid, these games have been awe inspiring to watch. In second grade, I was so inspired that I wanted to be just like Nadia Comaneci. I begged my mom to sign me up for gymnastics. Aside from some random cartwheels on the playground, a failed attempt at the uneven bars was my first and last stab at gymnastics! Since then, the closest I've ever come to being in the Olympics is running a marathon.

Ever hear the saying "your mind is a battlefield?" It's so true, and something we all fight everyday. I say, win the battle in your mind and you'll win the battle with your body. Those thoughts that keep you stuck from achieving the health and fitness results you want are really mental strongholds. A stronghold is a secure place where armies can plan, strategize and attack then retreat back to their safety. Your negative and self-limiting thoughts camp out here and attack you every time you try to move forward and succeed. Unfortunately, we allow these strongholds to control our lives. But in reality, we have the ability to overcome them.

Inflammation is not always bad. We need some inflammation Inflammation is actually a process that helps the body fight things that could cause harm like infections and injuries. It's a healing process that is completely normal and healthy. However, too much inflammation over time keeps the body in a constant state of alert and can begin to negatively impact organs and tissues. Like many things, inflammation is good to a point and when it crosses the line and becomes chronic and excessive, you now have a problem.

Too often people sell themselves short or let limiting beliefs stop them in their tracks. I love this passage from Proverbs 18:21: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." As you put limitations on yourself, you are really speaking death over yourself.

One of my favorite teachings in the Bible is from Jesus's legendary sermon on the mount. In Matthew 7:3-5 he says "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's" Just look at our society. Criticizing and ripping others to shreds is a national past time. It is even celebrated. Sadly, there are whole shows based on this.

Proverbs 22:13: The lazy man says, "there is a lion without, I shall be killed in the streets." Too often we let the imaginary "lions" in our life keep us in the "playing it safe" zone. Playing it safe is one of the riskiest things we can do. I can't think of many worse things than being 3, 5...10 years down the road and seeing ZERO progress in life.