Build a Community

What do you think of when you think of the word community? Most of us probably think of the neighborhood we live in, the stores in close proximity, perhaps school districts. In the geographical sense, community is a big part of our lives, but I want us all to focus on the word in more of a lifestyle. Sometimes in order for us to feel a more conceptual wholeness to our being we need to go out and  build our own personal community. You know the saying "it takes a village to raise a child?" In this sense you are the child, and you need to surround yourself with people to help raise you up. Supportive people who want the best for you, make you stronger, and  catch you when you fall. You can have multiple communities. Each will bring a firmer sense of self when combined and intertwine themselves in your world. Great advice I often tell people who are looking to get healthier and starting to get into the gym...Talk to people!!! You will be amazed how quickly bonds form when people are all trying to accomplish the same thing. Get to know your  instructor, introduce yourself. These people are usually a wealth of knowledge and they want to help you succeed. When I first started running, I knew nobody. I ran mostly alone. Luckily my neighbor got inspired and I finally had a training partner. My community was building.  One day I decided to go on a training run at the local running shop (shout out to Sayville Running Company) for an upcoming race they were hosting. I began talking to another runner who was fairly new to the scene too. Just by opening up those lines of conversation I learned that she too was a nurse and that there was a group that ran a bunch of "hills"  weekly.  I began running those hills and fast forward a couple of years later- my personal community is flourishing. I know that when I am surrounded by my athlete family, I have unconditional support, motivation, and most importantly friendship, ( and I can't forget laughter, ohhhh we laugh alot!!) This idea of building a personal community does not have to be athletic centered, moving your mind is just as important. If art is your thing, find a local art class, join a book club, an environmental organization. Intertwine your community, take a running friend to an art show. Take a book club member running. Your life will be fuller, I guarantee it. Take chances, get out there, try something new. Build your personal community and be a proud member. -k

RUN 10 FEED 10

MARK YOUR CALENDERS! RUN 10 FEED 10 is Coming to NYC Sunday, September 21, 2014!!

What is RUN 10 FEED 10?: 

"Run. Influence. Change The World

ABOUT RUN 10 FEED 10
Right now, 50 million Americans are going hungry—they don't know when they will get their next meal. The reality is there IS enough food in the world today for everyone to get the nourishment they need for a healthy and productive life.

HUNGER IS THE WORLD’S MOST SOLVABLE PROBLEM.
It's something we can do something about. Together, we can make a huge impact in a very simple way. All you have to do is RUN!

This fall, Women’s Health will once again host our run with a mission. Run a 10K with us, and you will instantly provide 10 meals for those going hungry in your local and surrounding communities. You can join us by racing in New York City, Chicago or San Francisco, or you can join us at Fun Runs nationwide. If you don't live in one of our host cities - you can still participate! Sign up to run your own 10K. The money from your registration and fundraising efforts will go to those metropolitan areas nearest to you."

MORE INFO TO COME SOON! STAY TUNED TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Look Good, Feel Good, Run Hard! Heidi Klum for New Balance

One of the great things about being a Women's Health Action Hero is the ability to try out new products that represent and inspire a happy, healthy, and active lifestyle. I was lucky enough to receive some of the great looks from Heidi Klum's new line for New Balance. Now, I have been known to race wearing my favorite red lipstick, because you want to know why? It makes me feel good, and when I feel good, I perform better!! Nothing wrong with that!! So what do you get when you take Heidi Klum's fashion sense and combine it with New Balance's reputation for awesome athletic apparel and shoes...you get fabulosity!!! I knew some of my other Action Hero girls received capris and tanks, and I was so excited to open my box and find running shorts and a sports bra- perfect timing since that weekend I had an important 5K that I really wanted to perform good in and make my new training team, Champion Performance Racing Team, proud.

The shorts were totally feminine with a gorgeous, silky feel that I never felt in running shorts before. With a silver piping along the edges, it gave an edgy feel that was totally me. The pocket in the back was the icing on the cake, I wish ALL running shorts had this, it is so needed to stash a key/ money/ or ten thousand tissues like I need with this darn weather! The inner shorts were more than just your standard running undies that are usually attached, this had a little more length and substance to them making the "lady parts" feel a little more protected and happy! The sports bra was so much fun, the back with the criss crossing and the foam green color amongst the black was the perfect color combo. Again, just like the shorts, the texture of the material was top notch, totally smooth yet moisture wicking like a good sports bra should be. Most importantly the "girls" were happy, and even though the "girls" are little, they still don't like a good bounce, and they were perfectly at peace while I jostled them around for a hard three miles!

Like I said when you look good, you feel good, and boy was I feeling good!! I set a personal record at this race with my best 5k time of 23:56 @ 7:43 mi pace and got a third place medal in  my age group! Shout out to my Champion  Performance Race team who also collected many medals in this race, an awesome morning all around! I think I might  have to wear this same outfit to every single race from now on!! Check out www.newbalance.com/heidiklum for her complete line of gorgeous new athletic wear... all can be mixed and matched and feature footwear, jackets, leggings, capris, and tanks... look fabulous before you work out, during and after...I know I did!!   #HKNB

Climb that Mountain

I didn't know I could climb a mountain.  It all starts with a little idea. That little something in the back of your head, a little voice that says I really want to....(insert a verb here). But there is a mountain. A large, ferocious mountain. Its covered in rocks, ice, sharp trees, and it's steep...ohhhh so steep. You can't see the top. You dont want to see the top. The ground below you is firm, familiar, and extremely comfortable. This is what you don't know: climbing that mountain is hard, its not going to be easy, but the real secret is what awaits at that top...the secret is the downward momentum you obtain as you caress down the other side. Come climb the mountain with me. You can, and then you will climb a second.

So many of us suffer from the mindset of thinking they are not able to do something, they suffer from a case of the "I can'ts". You know what I am talking about , because we have ALL been guilty of this. I had the pleasure of running with a new friend the other day, a seasoned personal trainer named Donna. We got talking about how to get, especially women , to break away from this negative mind frame. She told me how she encourages her clients to set tangable goals. This is the key: setting small goals that you can reach will allow you accomplish the once "impossible". Accomplishing is what it is all about. Nobody wakes up one morning and says "what a beautiful day,  I have never ran before, but 26.2 miles sure sounds like a good number to hit" . Nope, not going to happen -because its not realistic, not tangible. 

When starting any life change, and a health-minded life change is the easiest to explain this with, get specific with your goals. My philosophy of move your body, move your mind, will all come together as you reach the top of that mountain and begin the decent into a more fulfilled world. Its about building the confidence to continue the journey. Running for me has been that catalyst to propel me up that treacherous slope. It's an easy way to build tangible goals for success.

 Lets explore this mountain together: you have that little voice in the back of your head saying I would love to run, but I cant even make it to my mailbox. How many times have you heard someone utter those words? Lets change it to a tangible goal: "I would love to run. I know its going to be hard, but there is a local 5k (three miles)  that some of my co-workers are doing this spring and I want to cross that finish line with them." That is a tangible goal, its doable, and there is a time frame. The base of the mountain has the goal laid out in front of you, now its time to climb. Every day you work at it a little by little. Perhaps today you ran to your mailbox, tomorrow you reach the end of the block, either way you are progressing up this mountain. You might have setbacks, remember that mountain is full of rocky cliffs, treacherous curves and obstacles along the way. But that is ok, mountains are life, and life is not flat. Team work is key. Surround yourself with people you know will give you a hand to pull you up that grand hill, not pull you back down. Maybe you need a teammate, someone who also shares the same tangible goal. A good team should always have your back not leave you navigating alone. Be picky with who you climb with, surround yourself with positiveness. At some point the apex of this mountain comes into site. The day you worked for it actually here, race day. Being that it is a tangible goal, you can touch this summit and feel it, taste it even. That right there, is the power, but the real magic is about to begin. You cross that finish line and you will now have the secret that will propel you down the other side of that once impossible to climb mountain: CONFIDENCE. This is the key, this is the prize. This is the invisible medal you will place around your neck. You , the former doer of the "i cants" is now a doer of success. It's that little spark of confidence that you should ride the coat-tails on as you take flight down the other side of the mountain. Go with it, live it, enjoy it and most importantly use it to pick up speed to prepare to climb the next mountain. Set a new goal, it doesn't have to be a race, try learning a new language, take an art class, explore a new career. Know that you do indeed have the power to make that small inner voice into a loud shout. Remember to make goals that are tangible to build a successful confidence to move you forward with a smile on your face, next thing you know you will be scaling Mount Everest for real! -k

Check out my monthly "Adventure of the Month" page up and running on Active Life = Happy Life!

I have had the great honor to be chosen by Women's Health Magazine to serve as an Action Hero for the next year! I'm so excited to share this great journey with all of you as I get to try different products, share my thoughts and experiences, and help raise awareness and money for the great organization Run 10 Feed 10 (more of that to come later!). Its going to be a great year and looking foward to getting started on this  project with such a great publication! 

It only took over thirty something years to figure out something so simple, so easy, so innate. It also took one loud seamstress at a bridal salon to yell out the size dress I needed to order for a bridesmaid dress to wake me up out of my inactive slumber. So i changed the way i ate. Then I began to move. Simple. With that came of course weight loss, a physicality that made me feel better about myself, but more importantly a mindful clarity that moving my body also moved my mind. Now there is no way I can lie and say after I lost weight my life became this perfect, storybook fairy tale. It definitely has not been. I am a complicated gal with my ups and downs, as many of us experience in our lives. I still eat like a pig on occasion and if I could surrender myself to a padded cell with nothing but ice cream for the rest of my life I would.  I still have my premenstrual moments where my kids and husband put on their ski helmets for protection, hunker down, and hid until the week has passed. I yell, but then I laugh. I move, and my movement has reached me to places I never thought possible. I've moved across marathon finish  lines. I move a paintbrush across a canvas. I've moved words out of my mouth and words into my mouth. I move and it feels wonderful. This is about a journey, how an active life = a happy life. A journey I want each of you to come on with me, because movement with numbers makes the journey that much more full. -k