I must say, I’m not in the best shape of my life. In fact, I’m probably in the worst shape of my life.

Do I like it? No. Do I like sitting my ass on the couch? Yes. Do I like eating lots of crappy food? Of course. Do I want to look like David Hasselhoff in his Baywatch days? Yeah, duh.

The trouble for me is motivation. You see, back many years ago, I used to run. I ran like Forest Gump. In fact, many Saturday mornings in the fall, I would run 26 miles straight. Damn it felt good. Not so much at mile 15, but when it was all done. It felt like such an accomplishment. Back then, I could run a mile in under five minutes. I was skinny, and not even a double whopper with extra cheese could keep me down.

Today, not so much.

Back when I ran, I ran in teams. There were many others, who all wanted to run as well. We pushed each other. We secretly competed against each other. It was the motivation that was needed to succeed.

Running, training, working out … all of those things by nature, our individual activities. They can be lonely. And, unless you have the mental strength, they can be easily neglected.

If you’re serious about running a marathon, or participating in a triathlon, find support. The best kind of support is a personal coach. And, guess what, we just happen to know one.

Danielle Pellicano and her company, Pellicano Endurance Coaching is the best triathlon and marathon training in the Twin Cities. And, quite possibly, even beyond. In fact, every one of her athletes (those are her trainees) have set personal records since they started training with Danielle.

This is no over-night success mind you. If you go to Danielle for training, be prepared to train. But trust me when I say that the hard work and dedication will pay off. And, while you’re training, in addition to the hard work, it will be fun. That’s what Danielle is all about — making training fun.

We heart Danielle, and have been working with her for awhile now. Her latest logo, for Pellicano Endurance Coaching is one that’s been in the works for awhile now. In fact, you can go see how it looks on her site.

If you live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and are looking for a swift kick in the ass, Danielle’s your girl. If you’re not from here, maybe you want to consider a three-month vacation to the land of 11,842 lakes for a training getaway. Regardless, it will be time and money well spent.