So I had a young client in yesterday (38 years old I think that is young). She says to me something that I wish I had a $1 for every time I have heard these exact words:

“I never have had these problems before”

Yep, those the words that are the starting block words for the sport of MAINTENANCE.

Every heard of it?

I in my opinion think it should be an Olympic Event and everyone gets a gold medal just for participating.

This brings up another question that people ask me:

“What are you training for? The answer to that is easy and always the same; LIFE

It’s a long term commitment and goal. I guess I feel like if you’re going to be here any ways why not feel the best you can?

Fitness is a lifelong goal. So, you are not going to be looking for immediate and dramatic results, but rather long-term, life-changing benefits. If this is not thrilling to you, that’s ok because as soon as you start on the path (I would say in about a week or two) you will GET IT!

You will have to trust me on this one though – the small steps toward total (mind and body) fitness will bring magnificent benefits in the end.

Key Points:

1. Embrace small changes
2. Minor changes in diet
3. Accept good days (or weeks) with bad. You don’t start over – it is the journey!
4. Visualize success or as Mike likes to say “keep your eye on the prize”
5. Don’t wait because as I like to say “this ain’t a dress rehearsal”

Looks like a great weekend to run the beach, the tide will be great, no wind and sunshine, I promise!

Bring mom!

I would like to address the topic of dressing for running. (And when I say running I mean walking too!)

While running shoes continue to be the most important piece of athletic equipment for a runner, some consideration must still be paid to what you put on the rest of your body. Dress yourself in proper running attire to have a more comfortable run or walk.

Shoes: are designed for a certain purpose, running shoes are for forward motion with momentum, stability and higher impact then walking shoes. Pick the right shoe for the activity! There are a number of really good stores that can help you. I love the folks at the Portland Running Company. (This includes wearing the right shoes for the gym too!)

Legs: So here are you working muscles and joints, let’s keep them warm, they work better that way and it helps to prevent injury when kept warm. Especially the knees! Temperature and comfort control comes from the waist up! Often times you will see a runner out there with a nice running jacket and shorts! Heck I say if you need a jacket to keep warm then you better have something over your knees! If you need to cool off, then take the jacket off not the leg covering. (a short story:, when I was riding on the US Cycling team and living at the Olympic Training Camp, we had a big thermostat on the outside of the coaches building and if you showed up with riding shorts on (or your helmet off), and the thermostat was below 60degrees, you got fined $25.00, no ifs end or butts. At first we all complained but after awhile I loved the way my knees and legs felt and go use to it).

Upper Body: Here is where you get to play with how you personally like it!

Your blood comes closest to the surface at your wrist/hands, neck and top of your head, thus you can control temperature and comfort level by covering or uncovering these areas. It’s easy to tuck a hat into the back of your shorts, pull your sleeves up or down, zip or unzip if you are wearing this type of shirt. I personally love gloves and I have quit an assortment of them!

Clothing material: wow this is the fun part! There are so many cool state of art apparel choices out there and believe me it really makes a difference on how you feel! When you are producing heat and moisture you absolutely need wicking material for temp control and comfort.

You don’t want something on that is going to absorb moisture and get balled up and rub and make you cold! Plus the weight factor, you want light weight breathable, wicking, comfortable athletic wear! Forget buying a new pair of jeans or a summer dress, get some new running clothes!

I personally love Nike’s selection of active wear. There is even a great outlet store up north at Seaside.

REI also has a number of great choices on apparel and they are having their big one year sale starting today!

Okay time for me to head out for some elevated heart rate stuff!

Smiles,

Janice

P.S. FYI: I am going to be doing a column for the North Coast Citizen starting the end of May; it’s going to be a Q and A type of column.

So I am offering it up right now to you guys if you would like me to research and answer any questions you have about fitness, sport, wellness and nutrition I would love to get a head start. I am quite nervous and excited about this! J

Do you really want to slim down? Lean out? Change your body? Reduce the fat percentages in your body composition?

Ready to turn yourself into a lean, mean, calorie-torching machine?

Then got to get pumped!

If you’ve blown off weight training for fear of bulking up, you’re missing out on the fastest fat-burning method known to woman and men!

And a big FYI for you that is coincidentally related to the topic today and is very exciting news!

FIT MANZANITA will be opening this spring it’s the place to go to get fit!

Located 144 Laneda Ave,

(directly across from the spa)

I will keep you all posted and there will be early membership sign up incentives! If you want to be sure to be on that list, just let me know!

Oh my goodness! Is life really this good? Or is somebody playing tricks on us? What a glorious beach run this morning! I think Janice and Mike deserve some sort of award for making our lives this much better! See you next week!

Don

Hey, Janice -

We arrived late and saw everyone leaving the spa, but caught up with Dennis and he told us that you had a muscular issue – it must be your QF – hope it heals quickly! What got me out of that warm cozy bed this a.m. and on the road was your note to all of us about last week……you have an amazing ability to push, encourage, educate and inspire all at the same time in your writing and in person….and what is even more impressive is that very few athletes of your caliber would have the ability to work with novices with as much understanding and patience as you do. Thank you!!

L Eigen

Last week while I was getting dressed to go running with MPS it was down pouring, not just raining but really raining, Mike was thinking “no way” and I was thinking “I have to go, I have a commitment to you and our club and I actually felt like running so what the heck.”  I was able to convince Mike to go by encouraging him and telling him how good he would feel when he was done and that a “little” rain is not a big deal, feels good on your skin and is very refreshing.

There is something about being out in the elements that feeds our soul in a special way.

Of course it does help to wear the right clothing.

If you have any questions about layering and the comfortable way to dress for a variety of weather and temperature conditions just let me know. I love this topic and I have affection for modern fabrics and how they help us be more comfortable, enhance movement and even help us prevent injury.

As nature is so unpredictable when we arrived to meet the other “brave” souls that showed up, the rain stopped and the skies got a bit brighter and we had a great time, in fact Mike said it was the best run he had had this year and felt super.  We also noticed everyone had bright smiles on their faces!

So next time you have an “opportunity” to push yourself past your comfort zone and get outside into what appears to be uncomfortable elements you might very well be surprised by the rewards.!

I highly encourage you to try; you know “just do it”!

This weeks w,j,r is a friendly loop through the golf course trail off of 3^rd street and down to the park.

I noticed that some of the walkers are now jogging a bit and up hill, that is awesome, I am proud of you! So lets all try this a bit, push yourself some either in distance or pace. This week’s courses are perfect for either.

A current photo of the Manzanita Pace Setters, we are sure having fun and getting fit while doing it!

Please join us anytime you feel like it, most of us are either walking or jogging and some are running.
We call it w,j,r!

We meet every Saturday morning at 7:30am, bring a bring food item or a clothing item for the North County Food/Clothing Bank.

Manzanita Pace Setters Valentines Day 2009

Are some of you trying to loose a few pounds and maybe have hit a weight-loss plateau?

I suggest that you start cross training and whatever you do, do not cut too many calories out of your diet, which will only result in slowing your metabolism down making it even harder to loose weight.

Cross-training will burn more calories!

Mixing up the routines is a good way to surprise your body and keep it guessing: that fuels the fire in the belly resulting in higher metabolic rate. This is also healthy for muscle balance and injury prevention from over use.

So try swimming, ridding a bike, hiking hills and strength/core training. If you are not efficient at some of these activities, not a problem, being inefficient actually burns more calories.

Another note on this matter is when you are out there doing your wjr (remember: walk, jog run), do some speed work. When you do speed work you end up burning more calories in a 24 hour period. The short duration higher intensity workout raises your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) over a longer period time, resulting in more calories burned. Cool uh?

All you have to do is work a bit harder for short bouts and be sure to mix it up some.

Another bonus to higher intensity training, (anaerobic) is you get more endorphins that get you high! Cool uh?

Hi Pacers,
Yesterday Mike and I took the food we have collected in just two weeks of Manzanita Pace Setters, it amounted to 65 pounds!
The North County Food Bank is thrilled and so are we, great job. Not only are we all taking better care of ourselves we are helping others and having fun to boot!
What more can you ask for?
Well actually since you ask…
When at the North County Food Bank I had the opportunity to meet Tony, she is in charge of The Norht County Clothing Bank, which also takes other house hold items like pots and pans.
So I am now adding to the collection of food any other items you may want to give to others that are in need. You can now bring with you clean folded unwanted clothing, shoes, or kitchen utensils.
Mike and I are happy to take these items with us to the North County Clothing Bank while we are taking the collected food to the North County Food Bank.
Thank you for you participation and please call me if you have any comments or questions about this program or the MPS club.
warm regards,
Janice

Manzanita Pace Setters Jan 17th 2009

January 10th 2009

Manzanita Pace Setter Charter Group Photo

Hi,

I am so excited the Manzanita Pace Setters are off to a super start.

We had 15 people, including an 8 year old girl Katie that ran the whole 3 miles with her mom.

And two dogs!

Some folks ran, some jogged and plenty of walkers, its all good.

We collected a full box of food for the North County Food Bank and that is the topping on the cake.

The plan is to meet every Saturday morning rain or shine and head out a new course each week that will be approximately 3 miles with optional add-on milage. You can walk, jog, trot, canter, lope or sprint its up to you! Do you own thing!

Yes you can bring:

Dogs (bring a leash in case we do a road thats a bit busier)

Kids

Roller Skates

There  are no rules but you did need to show up and if you can bring a can of food for the donation.

Come join us anytime!