In reality, we have to make time and shuffle our schedules to accommodate all of our responsibilities:

• Kids and family
• Work and professional obligations
• Social events
• Sleep? Maybe?

It's no easy feat to train well, work, have a family, and find some free time to read or have fun.

I remember back to one of the most challenging times of my life: the year after college when I had a 75-minute commute and a 9-hour work day.

That meant I was running 80-85 miles per week at 5:30am in the dark, in the freezing winter of Massachusetts. I had no time to do anything besides work, run, and ensure I slept 8 hours a night.

Now that I have a family, that's not a possibility. Hard decisions have to be made...

To help with those tough decisions, I want to introduce you to Keira D'Amato.

She was a 4-time All-American at American University in Washington, DC, specializing in events ranging from the 5k to cross country.

After college, she worked for years as the marketing director for Potomac River Running and today she's the "running realtor" for the northern Virginia and DC areas.

But she never quit running. Just last month, she won the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Washington, DC.

Keira is running after the Olympic Trials marathon standard of 2:45 - and she's close with her 2:47 PR!

Oh, and she's married with two kids...

In this conversation, we discuss:

• the many roles she's had in the running industry
• what she's learned about runners from being so involved in the sport
• her marathon progression from nearly 4 hours to 2:47 (!!)
• how her current training has gone and her strategy to get the OTQ
• how she manages to train at an elite level with a job and a family