“You are stronger than you think.”

That’s the mantra I always tell myself when a training run or race gets really tough. Our mind, our legs, our lungs, our heart, our soul – they all have to be strong to transcend the expectations and limits we set for ourselves.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about where that strength comes from.

Strength comes from the confidence you build when you finish hard workouts.

Strength comes from positive words of encouragement and support from friends and loved ones.

Strength comes from inside when you believe you are capable of more than you imagined possible.

Strength comes from the inspiration of others whose stories light a fire within you.

If you’ve been reading runladylike.com for a while, you know I’m running the Chicago Marathon on MDA’s Team Momentum to raise money to help people fighting muscle disease – people whose bodies are no longer strong, but whose inner strength is beyond measure. My strength has been fueled by so many people during the past few months …

My Team Momentum teammate whose wife was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy just 9 months ago at age 34.

A woman in a triathlon group I belong to who was diagnosed with ALS last month and will still compete in a triathlon before the season ends and before her body becomes too weak to move.

My best friend from college who just learned her husband’s grandfather has ALS.

All the kids I’ve met with muscle disease this year who need 24-hour care and will never get to run.

I find strength in all of these people, and they give me the inner strength to keep going.

To honor them and to continue raising money for MDA – the Muscular Dystrophy Association – I teamed up with the fabulous ladies at Barre3 in Atlanta/South Buckhead to host a private barre class with all the proceeds benefiting MDA. I have been working out here 1 to 2 days a week since July to add strength training to my workout regimen, and I was excited to introduce some of my running and triathlon friends to another way I find strength. (Barre3 has locations across the country. You can see if there is one near you here.)

Our instructor and Barre3 Atlanta owner Katie Schrier had our quads absolutely burning last Sunday. I didn’t think I could do another push-up or core exercise. But we found strength in each other and our greater purpose for moving our muscles. Most importantly, our hour of getting stronger together raised $350 for MDA. Now that’s what I call a workout with purpose.

My love for Barre3 continues to grow, and the selflessness of the studio to support the running community and such an important cause made me love them even more. I asked their owner Katie to share with us how barre class can benefit runners. This is what she had to say.

6 ways Barre3 can benefit runners:

• Classes focus on balanced strength training to bring you closer to your anatomical alignment, which ensures that the body is aligned for optimal shock absorbency in the joints and also maximizes resistance for the target muscles.
• There is a focus on the core muscles throughout the entire class to support better posture, mobility and respiratory strength.
• Classes work to ease imbalances in the body with both active and restorative stretches.
• Concentration on deep breathing and connecting breath with movement throughout class promotes the detoxification process, releases tension, strengthens the lungs and boosts energy for better stamina.
• Working barefoot is a healthy way to reinforce strength in the feet and help with balance and stability.
• Barre3 targets the deep stabilizer muscles in the body which help runners build more endurance.

If you’d like to make a contribution to MDA in support of my efforts to run the Chicago Marathon, you can do so here. Thank you so much to everyone who has already made a donation or attended an event to support MDA and me! xoxo

Have you ever tried Barre3 or another barre class? If so, what did you think? Where do you find your strength when the miles and moments get tough?