This Year's Blog Writer: Alicia Krahe!

This year's blog contributor is Alicia Krahe! For a preview of Alicia's story, watch the video telling her story. Read on for her first blog entry introducing herself!

 "Hi, everyone!

My name is Alicia Krahe and I am your unofficial trainer for this year's Beast on The
Bay😃 If you haven’t heard my name yet in the Beast community, I’d like to take this time and use my first blog post to introduce myself and let you know what awesome things you can expect to read this summer!

Four years ago, I made a decision that changed my life forever. I was a fresh college
grad with no real direction to head -- graduate schools wait-listed me, I had to move back home, and I was about 90 pounds overweight. My weight had always been a very sensitive issue. Going to the doctor was always hard; I knew what they would say every time I was there. "Alicia, I think it’s time to lose some weight." I had tried many, many, times in the past to end my battle of the bulge but with each attempt I was left feeling defeated. The day I stepped on the scale and saw 237 pounds something clicked:  this was not the life I wanted and something had to change. I decided to set a goal for myself -- something I had never done before. I signed up for a race.

Even on obstacles, Alicia Krahe can smile as she works hard.

This was a crazy idea for a girl who hadn’t really run more than a mile in her whole life, but I wanted to change more than I was afraid to fail. So, I started to jog a little at a time on a treadmill in my parents' garage -- glamorous, I know! One day at a time I would run for a couple of minutes, then walk for a couple of minutes, and repeat this for as long as I could stand it. I did this a few times a week in the months leading up to my race, and with time the runs became longer than the walks. Somedays it felt as if I was crawling, but I pushed those moments out of my mind and kept going. When I had completed the race I felt unstoppable! I know what you’re thinking: Okay, Alica, big deal, it was only a 5k," but to me it was the first time I truly felt accomplished, that I was capable of much more than I knew possible.

My weight loss was minimal at the time, but my love for fitness was untamable. I began training for more races, strength training, monitoring my nutrition, and learning as much as I could about fitness and performance. I’m proud to say that I was able to lose 97 pounds and gained a whole new outlook on life and the large part that wellness plays.

Alicia Krahe with members of Best Fitness (now Iron Oxygen)

There is something to be said when a change takes hold of a person, and I’m sure it is different for everyone, but for me it made me want to share. During my transformation I had an epiphany; I wanted help others like myself become healthier, and in turn happier, and so that is my mission. I earned my personal training certification! I am a fitness professional and owner of Motivate Studios. Motivate Studios is a personal training studio that allows me space to train one-on-one with people, get to know them, and guide them to where they what to be. My first Beast On The Bay experience was Sept. 2016 and I cannot put into words how exciting and fun it was! The creators of this race got it right when they dubbed it, The BEAST On The Bay! It is quite the challenge with 10 miles and about 30 obstacles, but the excitement of the participants, volunteers, and spectators makes every grain of sand in your mouth worth it!

Whether you’re reading this for fun, to pass the time, to get ready for an exciting
challenge, or everyone in the office is doing this race and you don’t want to be the sissy that sits at home, I’m here to get you ready to take on The Beast On The Bay🐉.  Weekly, I will be posting tips to prepare you physically, help you with what to wear, and give you motivational tricks to keep you going!

Let’s do this! Let’s slay the Beast!"