What does it really mean to be INSPIRED??

The spring semester has finally come to an end, leaving me with plenty of time to reflect on the actives of the last month.  I have been luck enough to have been surrounded by some amazing individuals who have reminded me just what the word "INSPIRED" means.

At the end of April I was honored to be asked by Skirt Sports to again help with the Boston Marathon Expo - standing along side owner and founder Nicole DeBoom, assistant Noelle Wilson, and epic marathon pioneer Katherine Switzer.  INSPIRING is being surrounded with three women who define the meaning of #realwomenmove - through their personal accomplishments, promotion of general health and fitness to women of all shapes and sizes, and support of our growing young ladies who are about to join the active lifestyle movement.

I would have to say that the best part of the weekend was watching Katherine Switzer interact with a 3rd grader who wrote a school hero report all about Katherine's impact on female marathon running.  Katherine was so grateful, and took her time to talk to the young lady all about her experiences and what it was like being a marathon runner prior to the 1970's.  Having such a woman leading the way for health and fitness among our youth is one of the reasons I love working in the field of exercise physiology and being an Ambassador for Skirt Sports - I know that we are making a different to the lives of so many women and young ladies across the globe.

After enjoying two days at the expo with my favorite Skirt Sport ladies - it was off to be INSPIRED while volunteering on the Boston Marathon Course on Monday.  Despite the cold rainy weather this year, nothing could have been more rewarding than seeing thousands of runners pass by the tables, 9 miles into their marathon journey.  Among them, those that INSPIRE me the most - the disabled athletes.  Those athletes who have persevered through so much more than just the training for a 26.2 mile run.  The athletes who run with one, or even two, prosthetic limbs; the blind athletes, the wheelchair athletes, all of the athletes who work harder than the typical human to achieve greatness.

I left the marathon experience feeling uplifted, feeling stronger, and feeling humbled.  A clear reminder that no mater the challenge, perseverance, dedication, and determination can lead to achievement.  That achievement does not need to be a 26.2 mile race - it doesn't even need to be a 13.1 mile race - choosing to get up off the couch and make today the day to start the healthy journey towards a new body is achievement enough.  Today's achievement will turn into tomorrow's reward.

Looking for a little more INSPIRATION???  Take a minute to enter to win a basic entry into the Skirt Sports Virtual 13er (this means that you can run from the location you live in - no traveling to Boulder, CO required. Although Boulder is an amazing place to race!!!).  In order to enter - leave a comment below (be sure to add in your email address where instructed so I can notify if you have won) and winner will be selected at random at 6:00pm EST (so you make your entry for your printed skirt!).  Even if you don't win - the virtual 13er is a great way to INSPIRE run a half marathon with friends locally!!

2015 - New Year New Goals

Perhaps being 40 is the realization that although mentally you may feel 20, physically your body will constantly remind you that you are, in fact, not 20.  And on most occasions, your body may actually attempt to force you into believing that it is more like 50 or 60, even though that is completely not true.  So, with this ripe (old) age, I have decided that trying to exercise, lose weight, engage in race training, and recover it can't be done the same way it was when I was 20, or even 30 for that matter.

Part of heading into 2015 was the realization that I was in fact well distanced from my athletic past.  A two year stint on the DL for disk herniation and 4 broken vertebrae had left me beyond my worse for weight gain and inactivity levels.  Perhaps the continued back pain was a correlation between the lack of activity, weight gain, and stress on the joints?  Hmmm.... it was seriously time to stop whining and get moving - even if that moving wasn't what it was a few years ago.

I have started 2015 with some specific and detailed weight loss and activity goals, that are achievable in the correct time frame - healthy weight loss occurs at no more than 1-2 lbs per week, if it is going to stay off and become part of a permanent lifestyle change.  This means that I have to accept that losing 45 lbs is going to take me AT LEAST 22-45 weeks - Hello Jenn - you didn't put it on overnight, it's not going to come off in a month - FACT!

Adding fitness to an unstable back also means that I am going to have bad days - days where I know I have done too much.  This means, that no matter what the workout program may say for that day - I have to accept a day (or even two) off.  Pushing beyond the pain isn't going to make this 40 (really more like 65) year old back feel like a 20 year old back, it's just going to make it worse: ACCEPT it Gordon, you may have to accept the sprint distance as the new half iron distance.

All of these goals are things that are a working progress towards feeling more fit and more healthy in 2015 - getting back to where I used to be before spending too much time on the DL.  These are also goals that my growing ABC's are going to see and realize that they are part of life, no matter the age. That healthy goal setting, eating, and activity are important to bodies of all ages and a skill they are going to need for a lifetime.

With the changes I have for 2015 I have changed the ABC kids blog title to include the more active approach our family is taking in the coming year.  You will see more of our posts about how we are staying active, incorporating health and fitness into our daily lives - especially for a family who has individuals in nearly 3 different centuries - which is going to pose challenges of its own.  Hopefully these stories will inspire you to keep on moving or to stay moving; and to realize that if you are a mom who has put her fitness goals on the back burner while your little ones are getting going, you can get all of those goals back and still juggle it all.  Cheers to our new 2015 :)