Strength Training for Runners
By Coach Alexia
"Run in your own strength." -Coach Alexia
Meet Alexia!
Alexia transformed from a competitive and collegiate soccer player to runner and weight lifter. Her family of eight always supported her in her journey to be the best athlete she could be while encouraging her to pursue what she loves and enjoys – learning, growing, and competing.
ACL Injury Turned Competitive Road Runner!
Her first run outside of the soccer pitch came after a season ending ACL injury in 2012 when she rehabbed her way back to run the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in 2014 – 1:54:02. From here, Alexia ran four more half-marathons with a NYC Marathon qualifying time 1:31:58 in 2019. Alexia has also run five marathons (3:30:00– PR) with two of those marathons being the Boston Marathon (2017 and 2019). She enjoys running 5ks (19:32) and 10ks (41:13) as she feels like it is a great test of her strength and power!
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She believes in science-based training.
Her background is in Kinesiology where she holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree. Alexia is research and evidence based and is not one to follow the trends. She believes in science and understands that every person and body is different. She also believes that strength and conditioning plans should be catered to each individual athlete. Alexia has been in the fitness industry for ~10 years. She has been a certified personal trainer for 10 years and has been writing strength and conditioning programs for eight years. Alexia is fortunate to have been mentored by great strength coaches and professors in her field.
Balance has kept her running injury free!
She has thrived off of having a healthy balance of strength and conditioning while incorporating running (easy, speed, tempo). Alexia is a firm believer that because of her strength and conditioning, she has not suffered through any running related injuries (knocks on wood).
Don't let strength training intimidate you.
Getting into strength can be scary, and she knows support and encouragement is key. "Am I doing this right? Is my form okay? I feel someone staring at me." Do not let strength training scare you. Strength is vital to great running performance– you just need the right guidance and balance. Lucky for you, I know someone who could be a great fit and make a difference.
Okay, okay, she knows what she's talking about.
Is she a real person though?
Alexia is a vanilla gal with a chocolate personality. Aside from running and strength training, she loves spending time with her family and Weimaraner, Stella. Alexia also coaches collegiate soccer (she loves soccer) and teaches yoga. She can eat a roll of thin mints in about five minutes while enjoying cooking/baking dishes and treats.