We are back at it to kick off 2018 with a brand new 'In the Spotlight' segment. This month, we have Trisha Brown!Trisha recently completed The Healthy Running Program's 6-Week Fitness Challenge. And by completed I mean she did fantastic and came in first place!

Because we had participants from all ability levels, we used a weekly check-in/point system to determine the winner. Trisha completed an impressive 97.37% off all the tasks I gave her. Pretty much this means she only missed one workout in 6-weeks.

If you know me, you know how much I value consistency over everything else. Yes, doing the right exercises and stretches are important to reach your goals. But, if you aren't putting in the work day in and day out then it really doesn't matter. That's why I really wanted to highlight and give a shout out to Trisha for her hard work and dedication.

Without further ado, let's shine the spotlight on...

Trisha Brown

Q: Where are you from?

A: "I am originally from Geneseo, Illinois a small farming community 30 miles from the Iowa border in central Illinois. I have also lived in Iowa City, Iowa (Go Hawks!), Davenport, Iowa, and Moline, Illinois until I finally moved to Kewanee, Illinois the Hog Capital of the World. They have a festival on labor day weekend called Hog Days with a flea market, 4 mile race (Hog Stampede), carnival, and parade. I moved to Nashville in 2014, because I had wanted to move here for 20 years and finally said I had to try it. I didn’t want to look back and wonder what if. I really like this area although housing and transportation issues are a major downfall."

Q: What do you do for work?

A: "I am a teacher and medical lab technician. I currently work in the lab call center at Vanderbilt Medical Center and also sub in Williamson County Schools. I taught 6-8 grade science, social studies and computers and coached volleyball, boys and girls basketball and girls track in Bradford, Illinois. Prior to teaching, I had worked at Metropolitan Medical Lab in Iowa and Illinois for 13 years until I finished my teaching degree. I want to get back in education full-time preferably grades 3-5 and would like to coach again."

Q: When you aren't working, what are some of your favorite hobbies?

A: "When not working I love to scrapbook, watch sports (college football, NFL, college basketball and track) and go to concerts. I have met many of my friends going to sporting events and concerts. My very first concert was Alabama back in the 80’s. Some of my favorites are Kip Moore, Keith Anderson, Keith Urban and Jeffrey Steele. I do enjoy hearing songwriter stories and the insight behind the songs."

Q: What are the top reasons you enjoy running?

"Running clears my mind and I always feel refreshed after a good run. I ran the mile and 2 mile in high school track and was on the schools first girls cross country team. I always wanted to be in the Olympics, however I was not fast enough for that. Since high school I have ran off and on and enjoy doing races. Running brings out a competitive spirit in me, the best part is I compete with myself.  I love that you can always try to improve. I also enjoy being in races and hearing the stories about successes and triumphs from others."

Q: If you could live anywhere, where would that be?

A: "If I could live anywhere I guess it would be here in Nashville. Although I really wish my family were closer and then it would be perfect. Although Nashville is changing I love the weather and overall the people are nice."

Q: When you first started working with Garrett, what were the goals you wanted to achieve?

A: "When I first started working with Garrett, I wanted to get stronger and improve my running. I also wanted to try something different to get myself back to a regular workout routine."

Q: What motivated you to participate in the 6-week challenge?

A: "In 2016 I had some issues with my left leg and then in the fall of 2017 I had a major surgery. In November, my job hours changed for the better so that I could do more things for myself. The timing was just right. During the first group workout I thought what have you gotten yourself into, and I knew that I had to do those 2 additional workouts a week or I would be back to square one every group workout. As the program progressed I did a 5 mile turkey trot and was amazed at how well I did especially with a huge hill at the beginning. This gave me some more motivation to continue."

Q: What are the most notable improvements you've seen so far?

A: "The most notable improvement so far is my improved pace at the turkey trot and the St. Jude 10K. Also when we did the final assessment at the end of the challenge I was impressed with the improvement in the number of pushups, time for split squats, and side plank hold, and rowing. Another thing that I was able to find out was that prior to my surgery and getting back into exercising my cholesterol had increased. After the fitness challenge my cholesterol is going down."

Q: What was your favorite part about the program?

A: "My favorite part of the program was that it wasn’t to easy or to hard. Also everyone that participated encouraged each other. I thought Garrett did a great job motivating everyone in the class, too."

Q: What is the one thing you dislike the most but continue to work on because you know it will help?

A: "I probably dislike the side plank the most, but know that it will make me stronger. I can tell it is better than when I started but still needs improvement."

Q: How do you feel Garrett’s services may differ from other professionals in his field?

A: "Garrett provides an individualized corrective plan for each person in the group. He also provides each person  a copy of the work out plans for home and gym and links to all the exercises with demonstrations. During the group workouts Garrett was great about demonstrating the exercises and if he saw that you needed correction he would demonstrate and explain what correction was needed."

Q: Looking ahead, do you have any new goals/races that you are working towards?

A: "Looking ahead I have a couple of future goals-  I would like to be able to maintain a 10 minute pace and would like to complete races with negative splits. Races that are in my future are 15K hot chocolate and Rock n Roll 1 mile in Nashville, Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon in Louisville, the Soldier Field 10 miler and Big Ten 10K both in Chicago."

Thank you for reading this ‘In the Spotlight’ segment. And, a big shout out to Trisha Brown!! Please feel free to comment below with any questions or feedback.