Fitness

Living Vibrantly

Neon VibeTraining is getting back on track this week and can’t wait! Heel injury has been discouraging and hated having to stay away from the treadmill, but this week I’m getting back at it. I’m less than three weeks from the Dayton Neon Vibe and I’m afraid to think of how close the Pretty Muddy is getting, so it’s time to get down to business in a BIG way.

With the damage done by cancer, I NEED to keep my knee moving! If I take time off or even sit for too long, I get stiff. There’s nothing quite like standing up and walking like a 90 year old when you’re only 47, but that’s how I start in the morning. Once I’m up and moving, I’m great and can kick some serious butt, but those first few steps are always a challenge. If this is the worst cancer has dished out to me, I’m GREAT! So you can imagine how hard it’s been to be inactive for a couple weeks…

Tonight will be my first two mile night, so I figure I’m starting slow. I want to be back to three miles regularly by the Vibe, so will be pushing just a tad… BUT for this party, I WILL ROCK! I came this far for a reason and I’m not going to stop now!

So, what is the Neon Vibe??? It’s a dance party. It’s a 5k! It’s VIBRANT! We’ll be living in full color that night, dancing, running and just having a fantastic time for a great cause… Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals! It’s a Win/Win, no matter how you look at it!

Check out the site to get a feel for what the night will be like… The Neon Vibe

I’m all about color and living to the fullest… Let’s live vibrantly!

You’ll see just how vibrant I can be in the weeks ahead. 

Urgency and All That Jazz…

iStock_000009490162_ExtraSmallThe past two weeks have been difficult for my family. My younger brother passed away and though his health was bad, it blindsided everyone. Seeing my parents hurt has been the hardest part. I’m a “fixer” and I’m used to being able to fix everything and this can’t be fixed. It’s going against all that I’ve believed about myself and what I can do and that is hard to live with.

Besides that it has created a renewed urgency in my life that I had nearly forgotten. In that sense, something good has come of the bad. I had become a bit ambivalent about my health, my life, and my goals… Okay, I admit it, I got lazy. I’ve always known that I was going to achieve amazing success, but just started sitting there waiting for it to just show up (like that would happen). Now, I feel that I have to act fast if anything is to happen at all.

My determination to get more fit than I’ve ever been has exploded and suddenly I’m aware of everything I eat and do to my body; which is long overdue. I feel like sponge, taking it all in and focusing in ways that I never thought possible. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m NOT giving up chocolate or ice cream, but the way I look at food as a whole has changed. I eat because I’m hungry, not bored or depressed and I don’t eat just because everyone else does (I’ve never got the whole must have three meals a day thing… I’m just not that hungry).

I’ve officially registered for the Pretty Muddy event in Columbus for September and am in the process of getting registered for two other events in March and April. So now it’s a matter of building my endurance back up and learning more about trail running, which is something very new to me. I’m excited in ways that I’ve never been before about fitness and ways to stay strong over forty (Age is also playing into this, as I see others my age looking and acting twice our age… Which should be a crime!).

So, now to move even more aggressively toward what needs to be done to stay healthy and hang around to torment those around me (and I’m planning on doing that for MANY years to come… Go ahead, be afraid). My advice to you is not to wait for the death of a friend or loved one to give your life a sense of urgency, take care of yourself now because I can tell you one thing… It doesn’t get easier with age.

Have a great week and get to work on you and your future.

Hugs!

“The idea is to die young as late as possible.”  ~Ashley Montagu

 

Baby There’s an App for That!

My training has begun and I have to admit that some things don’t get easier with age… My glutes are screaming with quite a bit of consistency and my calves seem to be barking back, but it’s going to be worth it. Five miler by Thanksgiving and a half marathon next spring/summer are lofty goals, but my goals nonetheless and I’m committed (or should be committed) to making them a reality; hopefully helping and inspiring others along the way.

The greatest help I’ve found is an app for my iPad called 5K Runner. I know, leave it to me to find a way to find a tech toy to get me active and push me to achieve a goal. You can actually listen to your playlist while the little sadistic voice is calmly telling you when to run and when to walk. You have a choice in the voice of the devil (coach), so you choose your own tormentor. 😉

Beyond my new app, I’m looking at this whole process as my personal science project. Each week adding time and increasing speed, measuring results and making adjustments. Reaching the goal of my best 5k time ever and reaching for a half marathon by fall is no small challenge and I need a devil pushing me to go further than I believe possible.

It’s important that I achieve it because I shouldn’t be able to do any of it and I’m blessed to be able to do it, while so many in my shoes can’t. I’m doing this for everyone that aren’t able to or aren’t able to yet. Anything is possible and training through cancer treatment can be just what you need to keep it together and get through it all.

So if you’re looking for a great way to train, this is an excellent choice. If you do, let me know what you think of it.

Have a great week!

 

 “Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart.”  ~Gene Tunney

 

13.1 Or Bust!

For some of us, life has to now have challenges constantly. I literally must live each day for the next challenge or I feel like I’m wasting this life I’ve been given. I don’t know if all cancer survivors feel this way, but I have a feeling that it’s not uncommon.

I’ve done a few 5K runs/walks and they’ve become easy and though I don’t set any land speed records, I know that I can finish. Now I need something that’s more of a challenge, something that I don’t know beyond a doubt that I can finish. That something is going to be a half marathon, next year. I haven’t chosen a specific event, quite yet, but it WILL happen.

Now I need to start getting rid of the “squish” and become a lean, mean, running machine (cliché sounding as it may be). The only way I can do that is have a serious challenge/goal and this is mine. I’m going to continue to challenge myself beyond that to doing a marathon when I turn 50 and being a fine looking “granny.”

A difficult thing for me is finding healthy food that actually tastes good, so I’ll share recipes that I find. I know that many go crazy over eating the “right” foods after having cancer, but I believe that life is all about moderation and enjoying the life you’ve been given and sometimes good food is just a part of enjoying life.

So brace yourself, you’ll likely be hearing about my antics in training and the new app I have on my iPad for running. I’m starting with 5K Runner and Lose it, as they seem to both to be effective in keeping me motivated, but will keep you informed on how I feel about them for the long run.

So as I titled this post, it’s going to be 13.1 or bust (and I’ll likely end up busting my butt somewhere along the way).

Have a great week and enjoy the life you’ve been given because you just might be the light someone needs to see…

“Jogging is very beneficial.  It’s good for your legs and your feet.  It’s also very good for the ground.  It makes it feel needed.”  ~Charles Schulz, Peanuts

 

Caring for What You’ve Been Given…

For the survivor each day is a blessing or so it should be, but in the beginning we live in fear, worrying about recurrences. After a while we start getting back to “normal” (not real normal, but our new normal) and we promise that we will NEVER take our bodies for granted, again… Time goes by and we get comfortable (another word for lazy) and little by little we often get back to the bad habits we had before cancer.

Why do we do this? We should learn and steer clear of repeating old mistakes, but complacency often returns and we simply get too comfortable. Let’s not allow this to happen… Thirty minutes a day could make a huge difference.

Ideas for 30 minutes that can help take care of what you’ve been given:

  1. Go for a walk because fresh air is good for you, as is getting off the couch (take your dog, too, it’s good for him also).
  2. Take a hike! No, really, just do it.
  3. Dance the night away (won’t even feel like exercise).
  4. Play a game of basketball with the kids (the outside kind, not in front of the television).
  5. Take a class like Zumba and it actually feels like a party (there’s both classes for the ladies and coed).
  6. Get a punching bag and let go (relief on SO MANY levels!).
  7. Play golf (personally, this just makes me angry, but to each his/her own).
  8. Take the kids bowling (have fun and relax)
  9. Join a 5k and whether you walk or run, you’ll likely be helping a great cause and create a habit.
  10. Just get up and move!

Just remember to get a doctor’s approval before beginning any exercise program after being inactive and get moving… You won’t regret it (in the long run).

“Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart.”  ~Gene Tunney