Age: 40
Residence: Charlotte
Family: Significant other, Jack Pilla; sons Charles, 13, and Philip, 11
Occupation: Personal Trainer and Running Coach
Primary Sport: Running
VS: You completed your first 100-mile run this autumn. How did it go? What were the highlights?
KW: Fabulous. It was the Iroquois Trails 100 in Virgil, NY. The highlights were that I finished. I really wasn’t too worried about that, though. I did it in 24 hours and 38 minutes. I wanted to get under 24 hours. Still, I was really excited for my first 100-miler. I finished third overall and was the first female.
VS: Was there anything about the race that was different from what you expected?
KW: No, not really. I pretty much knew what to expect from being crew for Jack so often. I guess if anything, it wasn’t knowing how I was going to do. The most I’ve done is a 50-miler. I have four under my belt. Making the jump from 50 to 100 was pretty big. Was I going to get so tired I wouldn’t be able to keep going? But I feel like I never went that low.
VS: How did you feel when you finished?
KW: Good. I was actually able to do some run-shuffle across the finish line and not walk or crawl. I was glad to be done. But if I had to keep going, I probably could have kept going. It would have been a walk. I walked the last 10 miles, because my IT band tightened up.
VS: Do you want to do another 100-miler?
KW: Oh, definitely. I’ve got 38 minutes to cut off to get under 24 hours.
VS: What’s a favorite long-distance running route?
KW: The route for the Charlotte Covered Bridges Half-Marathon. We leave from our house and do that loop, so it’s 17 miles for us. For trails, we spend a lot of time running at the Catamount Outdoor Center. One of our training runs might be a bit much—we start at the Stevensville Road parking lot at Mount Mansfield and take the Stevensville Trail up to the Long Trail. Then we take the Long Trial north all the way to the Toll Road by the Visitors Center at the top of Mansfield. Then we run down the Toll Road to the bottom. Then Jack will add some and run over to the “chin” and back, because he likes saying he’s at the highest point. He likes to hit that marker.
VS: What do you think about when you are on long runs?
KW: I never run with music so I think about a lot of family things, clients, visualizing upcoming events (it rained the whole week before the Jay Ultimate XC Marathon, so I was wondering how deep the river was going to be) and following the trail. I also train by heart rate, so I spend a lot of time tuned into me.
VS: How have you avoided injuries?
KW: I believe I’ve been able to stay healthy by switching to trail running. Trails are softer, and I have to change my gate in response to the terrain. Training for ultras, I walk some or most of the hills, so that’s a little relief from the pounding. I think I’ve also avoided injury by consistently weight training—I lift heavier in the winter and lighter during race season. It’s my cross-training, since I put a lot of hours into running.
VS: You’re a coach for Girls on the Run (a program for preteen girls where the goal is to run a 5K). What do you enjoy about it?
KW: The satisfaction of seeing them accomplish something that they probably don’t think they can do. When they start, they don’t have any concept of how long three miles is, and it probably sounds like 100 miles. We take 12 weeks, and build them up from zero to three miles. At the end, I’ll only have one or two girls who will be able to run the whole way. Some take walking breaks. But they get satisfaction when they all cross the line, and they get a medal and they all get a bib that says number one. Hopefully, in the end, I’m inspiring them to continue exercising and continue running. I say, “Now we’ve got three miles. Don’t let it go to waste!”
VS: What are some obstacles that are in the way of fitness for young girls?
KW: Sometimes it’s family and lifestyle. If they don’t come from a particularly active family, taking a hike or going for a run is not going to be one of the first things they choose to do. Most of the parents don’t run that far. And like the rest of us, time is an obstacle. They have school work, other activities their parents have them involved in, family obligations, and homework.
VS: Do you find that parents become more active when their daughters participate?
KW: Last spring I had one mom who would come and run with us. While she was waiting to pick up her kid, she would go and do laps herself. I feel like a lot of people need that group support.
VS: What type of personal training do you do?
KW: Setting up weight resistance training and helping my clients do it. I show them how to do it and hold them accountable. I keep track of it all, and hopefully I see that they are doing it on their own between our sessions. Right now I’m trying to build a clientele.
VS: What is the biggest thing people hope to get out of personal training?
KW: Usually just for help to lose weight, or be fitter, or stronger for doing the other things they want to do. Lately, I’ve been getting people who have fallen out of their exercise routine and are trying to get back into it. Or people need to get in shape because they’ve been putting on the pounds over the years, and they’re not coming off as easily as they used to. For the late 30s, early 40s crowd, metabolisms are changing.
VS: What do you find rewarding about your job?
KW: Seeing, hearing, and sharing in my clients’ successes, no matter how big or small. I’m always able to find a positive outcome, even if my client hasn’t reached his or her goal.
VS: I understand you are interested in becoming a physical therapist.
KW: I’m taking an online anatomy and physiology class to make me a better personal trainer. If I don’t get a strong enough clientele built up to make a living, I’m contemplating going that route to pay my bills.
VS: What are your boys up to these days?
KW: The older one is wrapped up football season. And then my younger one finished up with the Charlotte School soccer team. He’ll move onto Synergy Football Club, a soccer club, and they both snowboard. I’m a part-time ski instructor up at Stowe. Both boys are avid and very good snowboarders, and they both play lacrosse. And we do the Tuesday night 5K running races at Catamount.
— Sky Barsch
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