Local Ironwoman Mixes Fitness With Fun

Susan Wilson rarely cancels her workouts.

“If I have to be, I’m up at 5:30 in the morning,” said the running expert of her commitment to working out and achieving fitness goals. As she sees it, health and fitness constitute a way of life as much as work, family and friends.

The in-demand real estate broker and mother of two teenagers used to find it difficult to manage time for both socialization and exercise, but she’s adopted a system that makes physical activity her social activity.

“My friends and I will go work out together, and afterwards go out for a glass of wine,” Wilson said of her approach that makes fitness less demanding and more enticing.

Her victory in working out regularly and living healthy has been anything but facile, though. She has had to work amid a packed work schedule, the demands of motherhood, and, to top it all off, “all kinds of injuries.”  

“It’s a challenge,” Wilson, who works her professional job 40-50 hours a week, said, “but I have to tell myself I have time to do it. I make a strict schedule and do at least three things a week.”

Wilson says she tries to find creative ways to get workouts in – in addition to running she enjoys skiing, snowshoeing, water aerobics, and strength training – setting goals for the week and sticking to them, even if she’s tired.

“You always have time to do a 20-minute walk,” she said. “The most important thing is to be consistent.”

It helps that she’s been a fitness enthusiast all her life. She’s run 10-mile races and was a personal trainer, and she currently teaches a water aerobics class at Lifetime Fitness in Minnetonka.

Signing up for organized races helps keep her motivated, too, especially when she signs up with friends.  

Her next race, Women Run the Cities, is in September. WRTC is an annual race put on by Minneapolis Commercial Real Estate Women (MNCREW).

“A bunch of my girlfriends do the race, too. It’s so helpful to have a workout buddy,” Wilson said. “Incorporating fitness into my social life has made such a difference.”

The race’s founder, Meghan Huber, a real estate broker and a friend of Wilson’s through MNCREW, launched the race based on her belief in the importance of physical activity. It’s since grown into a favorite for Minneapolis women interested in running and testing their fitness limits.

“It’s a way for us to encourage each other,” Huber said. “And it’s fun, too. It’s empowering for women to do something that maybe they haven’t tried before.”

Huber has only been running since age 30, but she agrees with Wilson in saying that racing teaches one a lot about discipline and setting goals.

“If you aren’t disciplined, you’re not going to do very well in the race,” Huber said.

Wilson, obviously, has adopted that mentality.

In addition to her training, though, she maintains a healthy diet.

“I am so into nutrition,” she said. “I read every nutrition book out there. I eat five small meals a day, and watch my starch and sugar intake. And I drink a lot of water.”

She said her favorite health book of the moment is The Eat-Clean Diet, by Tosca Reno.

“[Reno] looks so good!” said Wilson. “And it’s important to look good, especially in my business.”

But Wilson maintains a regimen as much for health as for appearance. For her, when it comes to resisting the lull of laziness and getting and staying motivated, committing to an exercise plan, as well as staying above the junk food epidemic, is the most important key to success.