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Running, Barre Classes, and Strength Workouts Combine to Make a Great Workout Schedule in My Mid-Forties

July 3, 2013 by 2 Comments
In my mid-forties strength workouts are one of the keys to fitness

In my mid-forties strength workouts are one of the keys to fitness

I turned 46 last February.  Wow…I am now closer to 50 than to 40 (but I’m ok with this – really)!  As I look ahead, I realize that I have settled into a routine that is suitable for my stage in life. Running, barre classes, and an at-home strength routine (often including the Lifecycle) …these are the workouts I love.  Of course for a mother of nine the other key to continuing fitness as I get older is strengthening my pelvic floor. [Read more…]

Filed Under: My Favorite 9 Kid Fitness Posts, Pelvic Floor, Running, Strength Tagged With: , ,

We Are What We Do…

June 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Running is one habit I don’t want to break!


“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”  Aristotle

If this is true, and I believe it is, then I am an excellent coffee drinker! I couldn’t help but think of all my negative habits when I first read this quote.  For all the good habits I have acquired over the years, there are many negative ones too, I am afraid.  This thought made me a little too depressed – so I quickly shifted to thinking of the positive habits I have developed over the years (I made a mental note to shift back to the negative ones soon enough…procrastination being at the top of the list). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Motivation, My Favorite 9 Kid Fitness Posts, Running Tagged With: , ,

A Family Run…Priceless!

May 31, 2013 by Leave a Comment
#5, #8, and #9 after our run at the trail. My husband, #4 and #6 had already headed to Starbucks for post-run treat.

#5, #8, and #9 after our run at the trail. My husband, #4 and #6 had already headed to Starbucks for post-run treat.

I was supposed to run early last Sunday.  Although I have developed a policy of not running on most Sundays, we had decided to go to a late Mass and it was a gorgeous morning.  The alarm woke me up, but I was too tired from a recent trip to Italy  to actually get out of the bed.  I lamely texted my running friend and told her I was a no-show.  I kept on sleeping.  When I finally did awake, I noticed #8  (C.C.) and #9 (Sam) in the bed with us.  I heard a few of the older ones already downstairs making breakfast.  It’s always hard for me to head out on a morning run when everyone is home. Typically, I sneak out early before everyone is up.

Sunday, however, it was too late to sneak out. I was just about to hop on my Lifecycle when my husband announced he was going for a run and asked if I wanted to join him.  #4 (Peter) was going and so was #5 (Annie).  It was tempting…I could leave the younger three with their sister #6 (Grace).  Before I could respond, the kids who had invaded my bed started to yell that they wanted to come too.  So much for a nice, long, leisurely run. Oh well. [Read more…]

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

5 Signs Spring is in the Air

April 29, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Spring is in the air!

Spring is in the air!

As a runner, I love the spring.  Some days it’s cool and other days it”s warm, but with every run outdoors it seems the trees grow greener and the sky bluer-at least here in North Carolina.  This spring has been an especially pleasant one in Charlotte where, although it has been cooler than usual, the colors are lovelier than I can remember (also rainier than ever).   I spot certain signs of spring that give me hope for the warmer days ahead…and some signs I don’t welcome at all.   Following are 5 signs of spring that tell me, whether I like it or not, that summer is right around the corner… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Getting Started, Running Tagged With: , ,

If You had to Choose Between Running Hot…or Running Cold, What Would it Be?

February 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment
outside runningmail.google.com

#5 (Annie) and me running after a snowfall. By the way, she would choose a cold day, too!

Living in the south, I don’t get too many opportunities to run in the snow.  However, on Saturday, we got about four inches in Charlotte, NC, and the next day I was definately out in it.  There is something magical about running in the snow.  I would even prefer to be in the white stuff as it is falling, but on Sunday we got to run in the day-after snow. The sky was a brilliant Carolina blue, making for an amazing contrast against the white covered trees, and although the air was a frigid 24…I was in heaven. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Running Tagged With: , , ,

Five Secrets to Life-Long Weight Loss

January 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

In the end, gimmicks are not effective for long term weight loss. Tried and true, these “secrets” are actually simple common sense.

My friend and physical therapist, Alan Tyson, gave me this excellent article.  It is right on the money.Weight loss always seems to be at the forefront of  goals for the new year and there is ample talk about ways to take off those excess pounds.  But keeping it off is the real prize. While many have success for a while with their weight loss plan, often, over time, the pounds creep back.  The real question isn’t really an annual one…it is a forever question… How do we keep the weight off — today, tomorrow, and for the rest of our life? Not even everyone with “lucky genes” can stay slim for a lifetime without the help of a few basic strategies.  I trust Alan’s judgment because he works with elite athletes and with weekend warriors alike, and his focus is prevention through strength and nutrition.  Let me know what you think of the article, and check in later this week for a look at someone who lost 20 pounds a few years ago, and has kept it off. I will talk to her about what she feels is the “secret” to her success.

Five Secrets to Life-Long Weight Loss [Read more…]

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

2013 New Year’s Resolutions

January 1, 2013 by 2 Comments

My family’s experience with cancer last year has a lot to do with this year’s New Year’s resolutions….

Happy New Year!  I hope and pray that 2013 will be a wonderful year for all.  That is what I hoped and prayed for last year as well.  In fact, last year at this time I had no idea what was looming just around the bend.  I didn’t know that in less than two months time my husband of 24 years would be diagnosed with stage IV cancer.  I didn’t know that it would be a year of visits to the doctor’s office and to the hospital…to the chemotherapy infusion room and the radiation oncology facility.  What a difference a year makes. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cancer, Family Life, Motivation, Nutrition, Running Tagged With: , , ,

9 Kid Fitness Year in Review

December 31, 2012 by 2 Comments

Typically I am not one to regularly look back over the past and reassess things for the future.  It always sounds good in theory, but in my world the reality is that I usually just plow ahead, hoping for change in areas that need it… and just as typically doing the same things with the same results.  However, I think this year calls for something different.  So I will try to view the last year, especially in terms of health and fitness, a little more analytically, to see if I can improve on things in 2013. My post today will look back…and tomorrow I will look ahead.  I updated my workouts this morning and took the time to really inspect last year’s fitness regimen.  There were a few things I noticed….some good, some not so good.  I’ll start with the good… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Running, Strength Tagged With: , ,

Cold and Flu Season…How Can Exercise Help (or Hurt)

December 28, 2012 by 2 Comments

Should we exercise when we have a cold?

Should we workout if we have a cold or a cough…or should we lay low for a while? Well, that depends on what the ailment is.  If your symptoms are from the neck up, meaning you have sniffles, a runny nose, headache and perhaps a very mild cough, it’s probably OK to perform a mild workout. The key is to make sure you have no difficulty breathing during or after a workout. Experts agree that going at one third your normal pace might be the best way to proceed and if you feel worse a few hours later – a few days rest are in order.

Fever is the limiting factor, says Lewis G. Maharam, MD, a New York City-based sports medicine expert. “The danger is exercising and raising your body temperature internally if you already have a fever, because that can make you even sicker,”  he says in a WEBMd article. If you have a fever greater than 101 degrees Fahrenheit, sit the workout out, he says.  I don’t know about most people, but when I have a fever of 101…the last thing I want to do is exercise. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Running, Women's Health Tagged With: , ,

Go For an Early Morning Run to Quiet the Noise

December 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I met my friend Stacy this morning at 5 am at the pool where our kids have morning practice every Monday.  It was dark and never got light until well after we returned from our hour and a half run.  The temperature was a little warm for my taste (especially for this time of year), and there was a mist in the foggy air.  It was beautiful, though.  Just a few streetlights were on and the Christmas lights on the homes and in the yards we passed presented a soft early morning glow.  And it was quiet.  That is something I long for in these busy December days. [Read more…]

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