Author Archives: Lisa Pozzoni

Win money while losing weight?! (or maintaining)

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

It’s been awhile since I’ve promoted Krowdfit…mainly because I wasn’t really crazy about the Body Media device they used AND because you had to download your info every night rather than it being blue tooth and giving immediate feedback…

WELL THAT HAS ALL CHANGED and it couldn’t be easier now to be a member.  As I’ve stated before, there are no gimmicks to this.  I won $5000 last year (read that blog post or watch my 1 min video keeping in mind this was with the old Body Media device) and half the people on my team have won anywhere from $75-$250 for sleeping, taking steps and logging their food.

Basically it’s a membership site and if you are already doing these things with a Fitbit or Jawbone (or want to), you might as well pay the membership fee since it could win you money.  You will get sweepstakes entries for doing specific things. Instead of me sharing these details, click here to find out more…trust me, it’s worth at least checking it out.

As a fitness trainer, I’ve been approached by so many people with these multi level marketing companies that have products that are supposed to help you lose weight: from Isagenix to some type of chocolate that’s supposed to help you lose weight. I have no issue with the “pyramid” system SO LONG  as the product does what it says it does. THIS IS THE ONLY product that I’ve found to be true.  There is no magic potion or chocolate to help you lose weight: it boils down to eating less, and sleeping and moving more…..and Krowdfit encourages this behavior via the devices they use.

I just got my Jawbone UP24 and LOVE IT!  I can’t believe how much feedback it gives me immediately.

If you already own a Fitbit or Jawbone, it’s only $12.99 a month! (I’d give up 3 Starbucks coffees for the money and the extra calories!)  That’s totally worth trying to meet all my daily food and fitness goals…with some of them, the more you do, the more entries you get!

If you don’t have one of these devices, you can purchase one and pay it as part of your monthly membership.

Yes, I am a KREW member and I’m not trying to hide that this is a wee bit of passive income for me but that’s not why I’m doing it…I TRULY BELIEVE IN THESE DEVICES AND THIS IDEA OF BEING MOTIVATED TO WIN MONEY.  I don’t gamble because I work too hard for my money but knowing there is a way that I can do healthy things daily to lose weight (or maintain and keep me on track) and possibly win money for it…SIGN ME UP!  I do have a secret facebook page for my Krew members and they do get fitness/health advice from me as well. (By the way,  If you think you can get 6 people to join you, you should sign up as a KREW member (once you get 6 people, your $22.99 membership is free))

If you decide to join my team, please make sure to click here to sign up and be on my team.  Make sure to also send me an email at Lisa@therunninguniversity.com so I can be sure you are on my team!

I can also sync my Jawbone phone app with Fitness Pal (where I track my food) and there are several other apps you can sync with so you don’t have to do double duty!)

Here are just a few images from my Jawbone from yesterday and today:

stepsshot

I was so tempted to go walk outside last night to get to my 10,000 steps in but didn’t ;( but that’s how motivating this can be!

sleepshot

Love all this date I get from my sleep patterns!

 

Here are the emails that I saved when I won and some of my team members:

Lisa wins for completing vigorous activity!

Lisa wins for completing vigorous activity!

Amy wins for sleeping 8 hours!

Amy wins for sleeping 8 hours!

Anita wins for sleeping 8 hours!

Anita wins for sleeping 8 hours!

 

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Blog Series #3: Cross training – Barre

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I remember when I was 6 or 7 years old, my Mom signed me up for Ballet class. ….and it lasted about 1 day.  I HATED it!  Not sure why, maybe it felt too girle for me (I’ve always been a bit of a tom boy…I blame my male cousins for that). I enjoyed swimming, gymnastics and ice skating as a kid but ballet was not on my list.  Thankfully, she didn’t force me to take it and I never went back.

Fast forward to 2015, I’m dealing with my injury and finding ways to cross train.  I always recommend changing up your fitness routine…not just for a mental shift to try some new stuff but your body gets used to doing the same thing and you need a change.

I joined Flip’n Fit last month and have been enjoying some fun new fitness experiences.  I also like to push myself out of my comfort zone and this has worked well so far…

Yesterday I finally decided to sign up for a Barre class at Ten Pointe5 Tempe.  This is the description on their website:

“TenPoint5℠ is based on the philosophy that the human mind is the strongest “muscle” in the body—and that peak physique is achieved only by the belief that true transformation happens after fatigue.TenPoint5℠ incorporates classic ballet, core, pilates and yoga strengthening techniques.
The class blends resistance training with stretching exercises to achieve long lean muscles—and is set to choreography that strategically accelerates muscle conditioning and sculpting.”

I admit I was a bit nervous to go…also because I went alone. There were only 2 other people in the class.  Here was my set up:

Barre Set Up

Let me tell you, the warm up kicked my butt.  I can’t describe to you everything that happened but I can tell you right now that muscles I did not know existed are talking to me today!  Krista, the co-owner and instructor, was very attentive to me knowing that it was my first time and I really appreciate that in a fitness professional.  I have to say, I liked it more than I thought. Great cross training for runners!

First of all, I had to be very mindful because the movements were small but very effective.  I wanted to make sure I was working the right muscles. Krista did a great job of cueing us on where to feel it.  Another great thing I appreciate from a fitness professional.  There was quite a bit of glute and core work.  Both of these muscle groups are crucial for runners.   I also loved the focus on posture.

My body was already a bit sore from the strength training workout I did the night before but I can tell what muscles I worked yesterday!

All in all, it was a great experience and I would go check it out again!  I’d recommend anyone to try it at least once 😉

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

2014 Major Celebrations: Mind, Body & Spirit

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

It’s been a few years that I’ve decided not to make New Year Resolutions anymore. There are all sorts of statistics about the % of people who make them and who keep them.

I do believe that this is a great time to reflect on last year and set new intentions for the upcoming year.  I’m combining this all together over 3 blogs posts. My hope is to inspire you to do the same. Today I’m reflecting on my major accomplishments in 2014.  My word of the year was Celebration and my song for this year is Pitbull/Cristina Aguilera’s Feel This Moment (see more in Vision Board section below) When I look back, I like to focus on what I accomplished…maybe a better word is what I CELEBRATED. In the next few days, I’ll write about my major lessons learned in 2014.  I’ll focus on my intentions after taking my next Vision Board class with Sacred Harts.

“If you nurture your mind, body, and spirit, your time will expand. You will gain a new perspective that will allow you to accomplish much more.”
Brian Koslow


2014 Accomplishments
Mind

  • Completed my Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). This was huge for me because I’ve been working on it for the last 10 years.  I know people that have completed it in 2 years but that’s one of things I love about Toastmasters is that you can move at your own pace. I can’t say enough about this organization.  I’ve been meaning to write a blog about the similarities of Toastmasters and running 😉  coming soon….
  • Completed my Corrective Exercise certification.  I didn’t need to do my CEUs for my fitness training certification yet so I was happy to get ahead of the game.  This was a challenge for me as it’s been awhile since I’ve immersed myself back into studying anatomy.
  • Completed 23 blogs posts. This has been a tough one for me but I’ll be working more on this in 2015.

Body

Spirit

Before I tackle spirit, let me tell you what this means to me. I’ve probably had my biggest growth happen in the last year in this area. This picture sums it up:

We all have a purpose in this world. When I have experiences that bring me true happiness, I know I'm getting closer to my true self and soul.

We all have a purpose in this world. When I have experiences that bring me true happiness, I know I’m getting closer to my true self and soul.

  • Completed three 21-Day Meditation series from Deepak Chopra. These are free and I love them.  I started doing these in May of 2012 and this probably the #1 thing that has changed my life in so many ways. I have 67 pages of journaling from this process. This year I completed the following series: Find Your Flow, Expanding Your Happiness and Energy of Attraction. I can’t recommend these enough.  Find out more on their website and facebook page.
  • Completed my first Vision Board in January 2014.  I’ve always wanted to do these but never got around to it.  I can’t say enough about the workshop I took with Lisa Hecke from Sacred Harts (as a matter of fact, I’m signed up for her next one on 1/11).  I’m a big believer in setting intentions because I’ve manifested amazing things in my life through this process….so I’m interested in anything that will deepen it.  Here is a picture of 2014 Vision Board.  I have this hanging right in front of my computer so I see it every single day.  I even took a picture of it on my phone so I had it handy when I wanted to focus on it.  There were mornings that I would get in my car, look at the photo and blast my song.  As I was doing this, I really stayed present and focused on my vision board intentions.  When I look at all my celebrations for this year, a lot of it was right here in my vision board.  Here is a picture of it:

    visionboard

    Left half is my personal life and right half is my business life

  • Niched my business from general fitness (Easy Fitness Solutions) to The Running University.  I realized that my passion was to see people cross finish lines and accomplish goals they never thought possible whether walking or running. This included a new website, my free ebook 15 Simple Steps for the Beginner Beginner™ Runner, new facebook, twitter and You Tube page.  Running has changed my life in ways I can’t list here right now and I know it can do the same for others (I know all my friends that were non runners would say the same exact thing)
  • Became a ChiRunning/ChiWalking Master Instructor.  I remember when I first became certified to teach and NEVER thought that I would want to or could be one.  I assisted/stalked Danny Dreyer, the founder of ChiRunning by assisting him with several classes in the last few years. I was/am a sponge and who better to learn from than the guru himself. I say that running has changed my life but it’s really ChiRunning.  There are the obvious benefits of decreased chance of injury and learning to make running effortless but it’s really about a lifestyle choice of living intentionally and mindfully.

I’ve been working on this post for 3 hours!  I’m not saying you have to take this long (although it’s leaving me with a great feeling of accomplishment to look back) but maybe take a few moments and look back at 2014.  You can categorize them this same way (Mind, Body Spirit) or however your heart desires.  Whatever way you do it, write it down so you can see just how much you accomplished and celebrated this year!

PLEASE share any of your accomplishments or celebrations in the comments!

P.S. This deal is only good through 12/31.  I recently discovered Flip’n Fit.  Basically you pay a monthly membership fee and have access to 35 different studios from RealRyder Spinning to Pilates to Yoga and now to some of my group classes! They are offering a special deal to my peeps…you need a facebook account though 😉  Pay for one month ($99) and get the next month FREE.  $50 for each month with access to up to 200 classes a day!  Here is the deal:

1) Share this post about Flip’n Fit on your page
2) Like their Facebook page
3) Purchase on or before 12/31 to get your second month FREE! (membership is $99)

I’ve been using them for the last month and love it…I’m now doing RealRyder spin classes 2-3x a week and tried Dahn Yoga which I’d never done before…excited about Barre and Pilates in January too!

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Blog Series: #2 Cross training – Real Ryder Spin Class

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

What happens when you eat the same amount of food as you were when you were running 30-40 miles a week?  You know it…the pounds start creeping back up….add a little depression and self-pity because you can’t run and at some point you have to snap out of it and get with the program.

After stepping on the scale, I knew I had to figure out a way to get more cardio in since I’m not not running and I need to stay off my feet as much as possible.  One of the things I love about Flip’N Fit is that you get to sample a variety of classes at different studios.

I used to love to spin a long time ago but haven’t done it in a few years.  I had heard about these Real Ryder spin bikes but never been on one. Real Ryder bikes are unique because they tilt and lean, almost like a real bike. It engages more muscles groups including your upper body and core.

You can't see it's tilt functionality here but trust me on it ;)

You can’t see it’s tilt functionality here but trust me on it 😉

So, I got the courage a few weeks ago to sign up for my first Real Ryder class at My Fitness Studio.

As always, I’m a bit intimidated to go somewhere new by myself but I sucked it up and went for it.

What a great experience!  I’ve been to 5 more classes since my first time.

Honestly, I enjoy the outdoors a lot (hate treadmills) so I wasn’t sure I was going to like being inside on a bike…but I love it.  It’s been great for me because I am working on my cardio and working my core in different ways which I know will help me with my ChiRunning.

I also really enjoy the variety of the work out: sometimes we are going uphill in harder gears, then downhill super fast, then on rolling hills, biking in simulated sand dunes, etc.

Having great music and a dark room lit up with Christmas and disco lights add to the experience as well…and last but not least, the instructor makes all the difference.

Terry, Donna & I

Terry, Donna & I

Donna (on my left in the photo) is the owner of My Fitness Studio and taught several of the classes I took.  I love her style and she says the same thing as I do: “I love kicking my own butt!”.  We started talking and I’m going to be doing one of my ChiRunning clinics there in January! Terry just started teaching there and she is a machine!  She has all kinds of certifications and was also the first woman in the US to run a USA Boxing Gym.  She is high energy and Italian!  You know I love my Italian paesani!

Our bodies become very efficient if we repeat the same workout all the time.  So go shock your body and try something totally new…like a Real Ryder Spin class 😉

Have you ever tried this class? Let me know your thoughts!

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Blog Series: #1 Cross training- Dahn Yoga

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

As many of you know, I’ve had to take a break from running due to a heel spur.  I blogged about it a few times in  What? The ChiRunning Instructor is injured?? and  My Worst Running Tragedy so far…..  After being a big baby about this, I realized how many silver linings I’ve found for this part of My Running Story.  So I decided to blog about them. First one is: Cross Training.

Thanks so much to Flip’n Fit because if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be having these experiences.  You basically pay a monthly membership but get to try out a lot of different modalities from Dahn Yoga to Spinning to Cross Fit!

Today I had an amazing experience. I signed up for what I thought was a Yoga Foundations class at Dahn Yoga.  They are 8 minutes from my apartment so I figured why not. I love trying new things and always like to see how it could improve my fitness level as well as my running.  I’m always a bit nervous to go somewhere new by myself but that’s part of the process too. If I tell people to get out of their comfort zones, I better walk the talk too!

I honestly cannot explain to you exactly what happened but it was awesome! I’m thankful to be flexible (mentally) so I went with the flow.

I walked in right before the 9:30am start time and participants were in a circle punching their stomachs. I’d heard about this from Qi Gong so I started in with them.  I think we did it 100x?  We just kept counting to 10 and starting over.

The next series of exercises included a few things that I recognized from the ChiRunning body looseners but very small movements that had big impact.  At one point we were doing some movements and trying to balance these plates in our hands while moving and twisting.

Plate balancing while twisting the intestines and stretching!

Plate balancing while twisting the intestines and stretching!

After several standing exercises we moved to the floor and did many reps of chest and belly breathing.  I’m trying to body sense as I write this and not sure if it’s my core muscles or my intestines that are sore…I think it’s both!

The last part of the class included a 10 minute Energy Meditation which I loved.

I remember being so mad at myself for letting my heel spur get to where it is but today I’m very grateful that it happened.  As cliche as it sounds, I truly believe there is a reason for everything and this is part of My Running Story.

Moral of the story:

  • Get out of your comfort zone and try something new
  • Always find the silver lining no matter how hard it seems sometimes
  • Be flexible.  Go with the flow and just allow things to happen as they are supposed to.

Anyone ever try this?  I talked to them after class and looks like on Wed they focus on Tai Chi, Thu is Back and Spine and Friday is Brain Wave Energy work. Decisions, decisions! I have Spin tomorrow too…next blog post about that!

Can’t wait to see how all these things are going to impact my ChiRunning when I’m able to get serious again about running!

There were a lot of neat posters in the room and this one caught my eye...

There were a lot of neat posters in the room and this one caught my eye…

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Take a Gratitude Walk

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I like to have themes for my facebook posts and try to stay consistent.  Usually on Wednesdays I’ll post about WORKOUT or WALK WEDNESDAY. Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I thought I’d share some ideas on just taking 15-20 minutes out of your day today or tomorrow to take a Gratitude Walk.  Here are some ideas:

  • Walk alone if possible and find a peaceful location.
  • Go on a walk and contemplate a question about gratitude like:  Who do I appreciate? or What is different today than it was a year ago that I’m thankful for? (source: 17 gratitude-prompting questions for your Gratitude Journal).  You can just think of these or stop and write in a journal.
  • While you are walking, make sure to be present and pay attention Nature around you.  Pay attention to all your senses. What are you seeing? What are you smelling? hearing? feeling? Be grateful for all Mother Nature has to offer us.
  • Breathe and pause and be grateful for the air you are breathing that is also making your life possible.
  • Use affirmations:  I thank you for____________ or find some quotes and repeat these like a mantra on your walk.

There is so much research on being grateful.  Take some time out of your day daily to express gratitude!

Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. One of the reasons I love ChiWalking is because it offers a variety of walks for you to take. This is from the ChiWalking book.ChiWalking Matrix

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

We placed last at Ragnar!!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Yep!  I didn’t just use this catchy blog title just for the heck of it, both of our teams were 2 of the last 3 teams to cross the finish line at the Ragnar Trail Relay Race held at McDowell Mountain last weekend. Continue Reading →


Completely Exposing Myself….

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

I’ve decided to just go ahead and let it all out!  I debated whether I should do this or not….I’m a true believer in being authentic and I’ve learned that showing vulnerability is not a bad thing at all.

vulnerability-is-our-most-accurate-measurement-of-courage

So here it goes…..

I’m going to share my personal video analysis and Danny Dreyer’s (founder of ChiRunning) critique of my ChiRunning form.  Keep in mind that I started using this form back in 2009, became Certified in 2010 and have been practicing ever since. (Click here and scroll to bottom of the page to see the evolution of my immersion into ChiRunning).

One of the things I love most about ChiRunning is that it’s truly a holistic practice.  We like to say Practice Makes Progress (not perfect) because we are always looking for ways to keep getting better and better at it.  I always tell my students that you get what you put into it.  Even Danny Dreyer has aha moments as he works on “perfecting” his form.

Anyways, here is the video.  Danny gave me specific directions to

“Be pretty nitpicky. This way I can see how good your critical eye is, and also how good your form is.”

The video is 7:37 minutes but note how many “nitpicky” things I found in my own form.

Here is Danny’s email back to me after his review:

“You did a fabulous job of nitpicking your form! Below are some of my comments to add to what you saw.
Foot splay in the flight phase on both feet. Only very slight in the right foot… not enough to worry about. When you were running in a counter-clockwise arc you were pointing your right foot as it swung forward and you were dorsiflexing your left foot as it swung forward. This was accentuated because of the curve and less obvious when running straight.
Landing on the outside of the feet is fine. It creates a natural pronation and makes a midfoot landing softer.
Much of your leg work would improve if your stride were a bit shorter. This would prevent any overuse of your lower legs, reduce over-pronation and help keep your cadence up around 177 where it should be. It’s a more efficient gear for you.
Good alignment and lean
Right calf is pre-firing and plantar flexing for stability but I don’t see it used for propulsion.
Left ankle is dorsiflexing but not heel striking. On both feet you’re landing below your knees, which is great.
Slight upper body rotation: right elbow comes back behind you. Left elbow not as much. I’d say that the main thing you need to work on is your armswing… everything else is very close to right on. With your arms, let your elbows swing in the direction your arms are aligned. When you’re holding an imaginary volleyball your hands are closer to your centerline and your elbows are wider because they’re angled out a bit. The reason why your shoulders rotate is because your elbows are not following the line set up by the volleyball, but instead they’re swinging directly rearward and not rearward at a slight angle to each side… in a “V” shape. Swinging your elbow straight back pulls your shoulder with it. Swinging your elbow in a “V” shape doesn’t.
A small amount of vertical motion is a good thing. If you had no vertical motion, you’d be walking. It’s necessary. But, we teach pelvic rotation just to insure that people aren’t bouncing more than they need to.
I’m happy to go over any of this with you on Skype, so I can demonstrate what’s happening….. You’re doing a fabulous job in many ways.
Keep up the good work.
Danny”

Yesterday I had the privilege of talking to Danny via Google Hangout to discuss my video even further.  We worked on my right arm swing a bit and now I’m excited because I have some more things to focus on when I’m running.

Moral of the story: 

learn

Just because I’ve been teaching and practicing for awhile, doesn’t mean I can’t learn and become a stronger runner.  It wasn’t easy being vulnerable and having the founder of ChiRunning critique my form but boy am I am re-energized and motivated to keep working on it. The better I get, the more I can help my students get better too!

I do video analysis in my 4-hour ChiRunning workshops.  Students tell me this is the most valuable part of the class. There is nothing like making that mind/body connection by seeing what your body is doing so you can correct it.

Although I was pretty nervous about this whole process, I’m so grateful because ChiRunning has changed my life both professionally and personally.  I continue to look forward to helping injured runners change their form so they won’t be injured anymore AND show brand new runners that running doesn’t have to be painful or hard.

“It’s not running that causes pain, but HOW you do it.” Danny Dreyer

P.S  Not sure if you are Ted Talk fan but here is a great one on The Power of Vulnerability from Brene Brown.

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

Walk and get some fresh energy!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

One of the reasons I love ChiWalking is because it provide’s a matrix with 12 types of walk.  Depending on what energy you need in your life on that particular day, you pick a specific walk to fulfill those needs.  How fun to add some variety to your walking program!

chiwalkingmatrix

Here are some tips on the Chi Gathering Walk:

  • The most ideal place to do a Chi Gathering walk is out in nature, as far away from civilization as you possible. The purpose is to use all your senses to help in this process and you want as few distractions as possible. The Chi in nature is the purest and best form to gather and it’s the most abundant and powerful.

walknature

  • Set aside a few hours to really go out, let go of all tasks and enjoy nature.
  • If you are familiar with the Grounding and Chi Gathering stances from Tai Chi, start with these (not a requirement but will help set the intention to gather Chi)
  • As you walk, be aware of all your senses working one at a time. Cycle through your senses individually at first and then allow an awareness of all of them to work together. Let your eyes watch in all dimensions (nature up close and further away)
  • Pretend you have eyes in your chest and think about taking in nature and it’s Chi as you inhale.
  • Spend as much time walking, stopping, watching, relaxing and just indulging on all the nature around you.

As you finish your walk, feel the extra energy you gathered and bring it with you into the rest of your day!

walkhappiness

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)

A 70 year old, 73 yo and 91 yo go into a bar….

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

….and My Story Runs On….

Just kidding….well, maybe they do go into a bar but only after going for a run!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO START RUNNING!

I sit here and think, I’ve only been running for about 5-6 years and knowing what I know now, I wish I would’ve started before!  But I’m very glad to know that assuming nothing happens to me, I have another 40+ years in me!  Yeah, freaking yeah!  (Knowing this always makes me feel better especially since I’ve had to taper my running down in the last few months to heal my foot).

First of all, have you heard about this new study that says Running 5 Minutes a Day Has Long Lasting Benefits? That’s right, running doesn’t have to be something that you do for 2 hours a day or anything. It’s one of the easiest things you can do and requires very little equipment and expense (I always say a good pair of shoes and a class to learn proper form, like ChiRunning, and you are good to go anywhere, anytime!).

I’m very blessed to do what I love to do and nothings makes me happier than hearing about “older” people that are running.  Just in the last month:

  • I had the honor to have a private session with a 73 year old woman who wanted to learn to run!  Her son contacted me and we worked out a plan and I couldn’t have been more excited to do this!  I’m just waiting for her to decide when she is ready for her first 5K.  She started out with 10 minutes and is working her way up.  She’s an avid golfer, walker and yogi…and now wanted to change things up a bit with some running!  Love to surround myself with people who want to keep growing no matter their age.
  • Do you remember one of my blog posts about Doc Gooding: You’re doing what at 69 years old?  He took my ChiRunning workshop a few years ago and apparently hasn’t been the same since 😉 ! He sent me another email on 8/24/14:

“Hope you are doing well…Just wanted to give you an update.  I competed in the USA Triathlon National Sprint Championships a few weeks ago in Milwaukee.  There were 32 participants in my age group 70-74. I came in 14th in the age group with a time of 1:30 which qualified me for Team USA. That was my main goal…to get on Team USA!  So, I will be representing the USA in the World Championships September 2015 in the Chicago. My time for the race was 10 minutes faster than my previous time for the same distance. A good part of that was improved run time…I have been focusing on getting my cadence up. My pace on the run was 10:03….my previous best race pace was 11:09. I focused on getting and keeping my pace up the whole race.”

  • Last but not least, I was scrolling through facebook and read about the 91 year old who started running marathons at 76. Her name is Harriette Thompson and she broke two records: fastest course time for her age group by 2 hours AND 2nd oldest marathon finisher in world history at the 2014 San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon.  She’s completed 15 marathons  AND she’s battling skin cancer AND had 9 radiation treatments a month before the race AND she raised $90K for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!

All I can say is:

forgetyourage

Too many people use their age as a reason not to do things.  Life is too short to not explore your potential and see how far you can take your body and mind.  I’m looking forward to My Running Story to keep going and going….. What will you be doing when you’re 70? or 90?  I think it’s time to start working on that bucket list……

From My Running Story to Yours….
(if you feel inspired to share your comments, do so below…I want to hear your story too!)