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Five Blogs I Have Recently Enjoyed

February 17, 2012 by 2 Comments

It's Friday!

It’s Friday and I am posting links to five websites I have recently read and enjoyed. Do you have any others you want to share?

1. Run Blogger. This site is about all things running and since the author has a degree in anatomy, it also has some great information about the benefits of running and a fitness lifestyle. He also writes a lot about gear, especially running shoes and most recently wrote a post about the minimalist shoe movement in running. Interesting stuff…check it out! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, Motivation, Running, Women's Health Tagged With: ,

Sometimes Life Trumps Fitness

February 15, 2012 by 3 Comments

It can be slow getting back to fitness after a break

When I think about my life of fitness, I don’t necessarily think about what I do each day, but the accumulated whole. If I thought about the daily doses of exercise, I think I would drive myself crazy trying to fit something in each day. It’s the big picture that is important. Sometimes life gets in the way of the daily stuff and we just can’t get it done. The last few days have been like that for me. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, Running Tagged With: ,

In Memoriam of One Who Lived to Serve (and a Quote of the Week)

February 9, 2012 by 10 Comments

Quote of the Week:
Lives of great men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, “A Psalm of Life”

I am struggling with confusing emotions today, and so at 9 Kid Fitness I want to write about someone who inspired me by his life. I am sad because I mourn the death of my father-in-law, Charles Hetzel, who passed away this afternoon. Yet a life such as his can really only be celebrated.  When people die  it is easy to put them up on a pedestal, and I think that is a fine thing to do.  But today there is no need for a pedestal.  Charlie lived his life truly and unbelievably for other people.  I don’t think he knew any other way.  When so many of us are selfish and focused on our own lives, men like my father-in-law seem to be from another time and place when people lived to be of service.  That is how I remember him.   [Read more…]

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Looking Back on 9 Kid Fitness in 2011

December 31, 2011 by 2 Comments

Finishing up our first year at 9 Kid Fitness, I want to thank all of you who have visited our site, contributed with comments, and just checked in with us via Facebook and Twitter. Launching last March, my hope was to engage with others who are trying to make fitness a priority in their very busy lives. Thank you for being a part of the 9 Kid Fitness community, and I hope that we will continue to find support and encouragement from each other in 2012! Today I would like to look back over the last year and highlight nine of the most visited posts at 9 Kid Fitness:

1. Me vs. Victoria’s Secret I take on the image of women that Vicoria’s Secret portrays in their holiday commercials (among other things).

2. When I Run I Feel His Pleasure Many of us Feel God’s presence when we run, and in this post I talk about how it felt for me. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, Getting Started, Motivation, Nutrition, Pelvic Floor, Running, Strength, Women's Health Tagged With: , ,

It’s the New Year, Stupid (and a Quote of the Week)

December 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Quote of the Week:

Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
or what’s a heaven for?
Robert Browning

With January 1st just around the corner, New Year’s resolutions are on my mind. I love resolutions.  Maybe it’s because I love the chance to start again, and I always think this time I’m gonna stick with it.  I realize not everyone feels the same way.  The other day while I was in a long line at Starbucks, I overheard a conversation between three people who all agreed that New Year’s resolutions are overrated, unrealistic, and just stupid, really. None of them were setting any resolutions for the new year, because they knew they would never keep them.  I thought about this as I left Starbucks and I decided I totally disagree. The point isn’t whether or not we keep our resolutions, but that we make them at all. [Read more…]

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A Funny Thing Happened on my Run This Morning!

December 16, 2011 by 3 Comments

A funny thing happened this morning on my run.  I had met my friend, Susan at about 5:40 and we ran six and a half miles, mostly in the dark.  When we parted ways, the sun was just coming up and I had about a half mile left before I got home.  I love this time of morning when it isn’t still dark, but it’s not yet light, either…things appear shadow-like.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, Running Tagged With: ,

Me vs. Victoria’s Secret

December 6, 2011 by 21 Comments

Shame on us America. We have allowed Victoria’s Secret to dictate what is an attractive image of women. This occurred to me the other night when a commercial (for the Victoria’s Secret 2011 Holiday clothing line) came on at about 9:30 pm. (a time when many teenagers are watching TV). We are so inundated with sexual images that most of us don’t even recognize them immediately. When this ad began, it took me a second or two before I fully opened my eyes to what I was seeing. But when I came to my senses, I watched the end of the “holiday” commercial and was disgusted by the barely-clad women slinking around in lingerie saying, “Tell me you love me“, “Delight me” in an obviously sexually-intended manner. Why is this on prime time?! [Read more…]

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Nine Great Christmas Gifts for the Fitness-Minded

December 2, 2011 by 3 Comments

1. Personalized Water bottle. Whether we run, swim, do yoga or lift weights, we all drink water before, during, or after we workout…so a water bottle is something most fitness lovers always need! And buying bottled water is not a cheap way to go. Stainless steel bottles work well because they can be put into a dishwasher to clean and they are very durable. Try the Sophiefont water bottle from the Catholic Company (of course I am going to put a plug in for our company…but these are really good looking and totally unique)!

2. Garmin Watch. These are not cheap, but are great for the runners on your list, especially if they might be training for a race soon. I don’t have a Garmin, but most of my running buddies do and they love them (maybe a little too much) for keeping track of splits, mileage, and average pace per mile. Although I have always fancied myself as a purest who doesn’t even wear a watch much of the time, I have to admit to asking my friends for all the data their Garmins have collected on a run. [Read more…]

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

How to Have a Healthy Thanksgiving

November 21, 2011 by 1 Comment

For most of us, Thanksgiving is a time to splurge a little; and to forget about healthy eating for a day. However, it is possible to have a healthy Thanksgiving. The following are nine ways to make your day nutritious and tasty, while not giving up on the Feasting.

1. Remember that the purpose of Thanksgiving is to be grateful for all that we have. It is primarily a day of thanks, not gorging. Food is only one of the many things we have to be thankful for; don’t make it the focus of the day. Begin the day with church or with a family turkey-trot (most cities have them). Our family always plays a big game of football at a nearby field with other families. It’s a way to get outside, exercise and have a good time. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, Nutrition Tagged With: ,

Movie Review: “The Way”….and a Quote of the Week

November 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Quote of the week: “You don’t choose a life, Dad…you live one.” From the movie, “The Way” (Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen)

If you are thinking about seeing a movie this holiday, I highly recommend “The Way” with Martin Sheen. It is actually a collaboration between Martin Sheen and his son Emilio Estevez, to honor the pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago. The Way of St. James is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried. Depending on where a person starts on the Camino, it can take a few months to travel “the Way”. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Family Life, Spirituality Tagged With:
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