Nadia Gale

About seven years ago I discovered mountain biking on Vancouver’s North Shore.  I started out knowing next to nothing about sport and physical fitness.  My first bike was an old hard tail and I rode Fisherman’s trail over and over!

I started ride leading with Pedals and Pints in 2006 and continued on with NSRide as a ride leader and club coordinator.  This is where I met Monika, who was also a ride leader.  I immediately recognized not only Monika’s phenomenal riding form, but her ability to coach and foster a love of sport in others.  When I heard that Monika was training, I was in!  By this time, I had started running and road riding, as well.  I’d done some downhill racing and decided it wasn’t for me and was looking for another venue to feed the desire for development of my physical self.  With Monika’s help I’ve gone on to run half marathons, cycle in the Ride to Conquer Cancer and Whistler Gran Fondo and have become the strongest woman I can be.

Last year, at the age of 39, I decided to give fire fighting a shot.  I knew this would be my last chance.  I was confident that I had the mental fitness, but the physical fitness testing challenged me beyond what I was capable of.  I went from failing miserably to being able to complete the Combat Challenge, although not in the required time.  Even though my quest may end without having come to fruition, I can say I truly gave it my all and was given the gifts of strength and clarity in my future goals.  If you had told me five years ago I would one day be able to dead-lift 185lbs, I never would have believed it!

I came to realize that I receive the most fulfillment by helping others achieve their targets.  To this end I’ve chosen to spend much of my free time both training and fundraising as the captain for my team for The Ride to Conquer Cancer: Team OvCaRe.  We are a team raising funds for ovarian cancer research.  Not only that, we are dedicated to helping each and every rider with the RTCC to reach their cycling objectives.  Marx Conditioning sponsored our team last year to help us reach our cycling potential so that we in turn could pass on that on to other riders.  We’re looking forward to expanding our relationship with Marx Conditioning for the future and what 2012 has in store for the team.

WHAT'S YOUR DAY JOB?

I work full time as a laboratory technologist at the BC Cancer Agency.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOAL EVENTS FOR 2012?

For now, I am training for the Fall Classic half marathon where I hope to cross the finish line in less than 1hr55min.  For winter I’ve gone back to doing yoga about three times per week, which simply helps every aspect of my well-being.  I’m also training with Monika in her women's only group classes twice per week. 

My plan for 2012: keep running, keep riding, keep my body and mind strong and do whatever I can to help those around me reach their goals.  And what keeps me motivated?... knowing that I burned off enough calories to earn that beer at the end of every ride, run or work-out.

WHY ARE YOU TRAINING WITH MARX CONDITIONING?

Without Monika, I would not have built the foundation I have now to enable me to run 2-3x/week, do yoga 3-4x/week, strength train 2-3x/week and fit in all the other fun stuff on top of that  like cross country skiing or hiking.