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I’m Ready for Fall Running…How about you?

August 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment
My happy place in Maine, where late summer running is bliss...if it weren't for the darn hills.

My happy place in Maine, where late summer running is bliss…if it weren’t for the darn hills.

I’m up north at Lovejoy Pond (it’s really a lake) in Maine for the last two weeks of summer.  Fall has come a little early to this quaint part of the country.  Waking up to the singing loons and 50 degrees is a refreshing change from the heat and humidity of Charlotte in late summer.  With the exception of the extreme hills, this is my favorite place to run.

Running in Maine is a wonderful foretaste of what is to come in the fall to North Carolina.  I, for one, am excited!  The greenway near my house will be full of runners training for the many races in various parts of the country from October – December.  Cross country runners will be lining up at high school 5K races. Many of those summer treadmill runners will hit the pavement when the air gets colder and the trees start changing. Running is contagious in autumn.

Where will you be running this fall?

Filed Under: Family Life, Running Tagged With: , ,

Paddle Boarding …. And Other Fun Summer Workouts

June 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Me on the paddle board in Maine!

Me on the paddle board in Maine!

Looking for a new kind of workout this summer? Try stand up paddle boarding. I discovered this workout a few summers ago in Maine when I nice gentleman offered his paddle board to our family while we were staying on Lovejoy Pond.  I was amazed at how easy it was to get up.  Staying up those first few minutes wasn’t as easy.  However, after about 10 minutes I got the hang of it and ventured out onto the lake for my first paddle board workout. [Read more…]

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13 Great Tips for Healthy Eating

May 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Eating shouldn't be complicated. It should be as easy as riding a bike!

Eating shouldn’t be complicated. It can be as easy as riding a bike!

My good friend, Alan Tyson, physical therapist and owner of Architech Sports, posted the following healthy tips for athletes.  I believe they make sense for all of us!

Tip #1 Turns out mom was right…EAT BREAKFAST (within one hour of waking up).

Tip #2 EAT OFTEN (about every three hours).

Tip #3 Have a source of PROTEIN at every meal or snack (meat, fish, eggs or egg whites, yogurt, etc.).

Tip #4 Get 20 oz. of PROTEIN after your workout (not the carb-heavy stuff).

Tip #5 Drink H2O!  At least 63 oz. (or more) every day. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, Nutrition Tagged With: , ,

Finally a Green Smoothie I Can Handle

April 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Not bad! That's saying a lot!

Not bad! That’s saying a lot!

My brother-in-law is staying with us.  He decided he wants to start drinking a green smoothie everyday.  Since he had never tried one, he said to me, “How bad can they be?”  Well…pretty bad, actually.  Warm and fuzzy are not emotions that are stirred up in me when the word green smoothie is mentioned.  I’ve tried my share.  When two years ago my husband was diagnosed with cancer, I started making green smoothies for him.  I wanted the healthiest variety.  And he couldn’t eat fruit because his throat was subjected to radiation treatments and was incredibly sore.

We tried many different varieties containing lots of kinds of greens… wheatgrass, kale, spinach, collards, celery, cucumber, etc.  None of them were particularly palatable.  Some people would say it just takes time, that your taste buds get used to things.  Not mine. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, Nutrition Tagged With: , , ,

These Are a Few Of My Favorite Things…Three Fitness Picks for 2014

January 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment
There are so many ways to do a push up....a great body weight exercise!

There are so many ways to do a push up….a great body weight exercise!

These are a few of my favorite things that I will be doing lots more of in 2014…

1.Body Weight exercises

What it is: Body weight exercises are strength training exercises that do not require equipment; your own weight provides the resistance for the movement. Movements such as the push-up, the pull-up, and the sit-up are some of the most common bodyweight exercises.

Why I like it:  Using my own body strength, this kind of workout engages the core, utilizes many different muscle groups, and can be done basically anywhere.  From push-ups and squats, to lunges and planks, there is really no end to the variations I can do.  Sometimes I do the workout on its own, and sometimes I will stick a few body weight exercises in at the end of a run.  Here’s my favorite quickie (source:crossfit): [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, Motivation, Running, Strength Tagged With: , , , ,

Nine Goals for the New Year

January 1, 2014 by 2 Comments

IMG_6186I am goal oriented.  I love new beginnings and the chance to start again.  I like to write goals down. Not that I ever go back and look at what I wrote, but the process seems official in some way.  Here are my nine goals for 2014 …. not all are resolutions because some of them I already do… I want to keep doing them.  What are your goals?

1. Get rid of junk.  That goes for the kind in my bedroom closet and the kind in the kitchen pantry.  We have too much stuff.  I want to go through every closet and gather all clothes, shoes, etc. that I don’t need, that my children don’t need, and that our house doesn’t need…and give it  away (or throw it away in the case of stained, icky, ancient) [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, Getting Started, Motivation, Nutrition Tagged With: , ,

Four Simple Ideas to Help Keep Christ in Christmas

December 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

largenativity A little off the fitness topic today…but I love this time of year and so I want to share some of our family traditions.

Many Christians celebrate Advent. Advent is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Its name comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming”.  In Western Christianity, the season of Advent begins on the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas Day, or the Sunday which falls closest to November 30, and lasts through Christmas Eve, or December 24.

There are some wonderful Advent traditions to share with your family. We are all busy, so the simpler the better.  It’s easy to get caught up in the shopping and preparations that can distract from the true meaning of the season.  Children get excited about creating things, and doing crafts or special activities which bring their focus back to Christ is a perfect way to keep them centered less on the  “holiday” and more on  “Christmas”.

Here are four activities we do in our family every Advent to help keep Christ in Christmas: [Read more…]

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Our Day is Full Of Exercise Opportunities…Nine Easy Ways to Fit Fitness into a Busy Day

December 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

time6a00d8341c03bb53ef01348404979b970cI used to believe that if I didn’t have time for at least an hour of fitness, or if I didn’t work up a serious sweat…it wasn’t a real workout.  That was my 30 year-old self.  My 46 year-old self has a totally different idea of fitness.  Basically it can be summed up in the words, “Whatever works”.

There are plenty of days that I wake up and from my too-tired-to-get-up early-and-run vantage point, the day could appear hopeless in terms of fitting in a workout.  But I have learned to see things in another way…I now look at it in terms of the opportunities for fast fitness.  It’s a challenge, and I think it’s fun to see just how much of a workout I can get by the end of these kinds of days.  Don’t believe me?  Let me show you nine ways to fit fitness into an otherwise busy day… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, Motivation Tagged With: , ,

A No-Run, Very Good Day….Happy Thanksgiving!

November 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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My college kids and friends cooking in the kitchen

I can’t remember a Thanksgiving day when I didn’t wake up early to run.  I can’t think of one!  Today was a first.  We have kids home from college and they all came in last night. Some by plane and some by car.  One brought a girlfriend, one brought two friends who live on the west coast and couldn’t get home.  We also have good family friends who come every Thanksgiving.  I was up late greeting them and getting some baking done.  I didn’t hit the bed until well after midnight. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, My Favorite 9 Kid Fitness Posts Tagged With: , ,

How To Have a Healthy Thanksgiving (And Still Enjoy it)!

November 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Click on picture to see a great recipe for Herbed Turkey

Who doesn’t love Thanksgiving?  Food, family, friends… all the ingredients for a wonderful time.  Some people believe it is a day when we get a pass on gluttony, but it doesn’t have to be this way.  Thanksgiving can be healthy and delicious! There are plenty of great tasting, healthy recipes for the big Turkey Day.  I have created a list of healthy alternatives (borrowed from various sources) to create an awesome menu for a healthy Thanksgiving….  Please share your healthy Thanksgiving recipes, too (there are so many)!

PotatoGratinWinter Curried Vegetables I don’t know about you, but I love anything curried.  This recipe from Elisa Bosley (Delicious Living) looks like it tastes great…I love that it is make-ahead too! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, Nutrition Tagged With: , ,
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