A Mom Club Of Olympic Proportions

I've been watching the Olympics all week and I am totally inspired.  I just love the spirit of the Games and savor every second I can get.  Many of this year's Olympic athletes are moms too.  Check out this great Redbook article about captain of the U.S. women's soccer team Christie Rampone, WNBA All-Star and U.S. women's basketball forward Candace Parker, and NCAA champion and marathoner Kara Goucher for more on these elite athlete moms.  The Huff Post Parents Blog also has an article about Olympic athlete moms with beautiful photos of the athlete-moms and their children.  Also check out the corresponding Olympics 2012 Mom Video project.  And have you heard about mom-to-be Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi?  Not only was she the first Malaysian woman to compete for her country in shooting, she did so while pregnant with a daughter, who is due to be born this September!      

Running Resources in the LV

Hope you had a chance to get a run (or two) in this weekend.  Hubby, baby, and I took the jogging stroller out for a spin yesterday and tackled one of our neighborhood hills.  What fun!

I also had a bit of down-time so I curled up with my latest issue of Runner's World magazine.  This is a great resource for runners that contains info about all things running, including training plans and tips, advice on how to keep injury-free, reviews on the best running gear out there, and more.  Why would I entitle this post "Running Resources in the LV" you ask?  Runner's World is a product of Rodale, Inc., which is based  right here in Emmaus.  Their motto:  "We inspire and enable people to improve their lives and the world around them."  Good stuff.            

P.S.  Check out their website for tons of info on healthy living @  www.rodale.com .

Mom Run ... 7.22.2012

Hey moms!  Our next Mom Run is Sunday, July 22, 2012, 10 a.m., Trexler Park.  Meet just inside the main entrance (Springhouse Road).  Hope you can make it!

Until then, I wish you happy running.  And for your down time (because you have so much of it!), here are a handful of blogs that I'm following.  They're all authored by moms or moms-to-be so they're extra special!

Lehigh Valley Transplant - This local blog is full of great info on all things in the Lehigh Valley - restaurants, fests (there are many), music scene, interesting LV groups, and interesting LV people are just some of the topics covered.  As you might suspect from the title, it's geared toward "transplants" who have moved here from other places, but it's really an all-around great resource for anyone who is looking to know more about what's going on in the LV.

P.S.  I'm forever grateful to Lehigh Valley Transplant author/mom-to-be Megan who just did a post on LV Mom Run.  Thanks Megan!

A Country Farmhouse - Oh, to live in a country farmhouse!  Blog author Trina, who is also mom to boy/girl toddler twins, has captured the essence of simple country living and put it in her blog for all of us to share.  Her story about her journey to becoming a mom is also very touching and a must-read. 

Pure Style Home - Blog author Lauren Liess is mom to three little boys, one of whom just made his entrance into the world only a few weeks ago - congratulations!  She's an amazing interior designer who owns her own business and blogs about everything from design projects to recipes to her lovely family.

Kayce Hughes - Another super-mom/business owner/blogger that I follow, Kayce Hughes is mom to seven and owns and designs her own clothing line.  Classic and totally charming, Kayce often shares her favorite things with her readers.  I just love her vintage style!   

  

A Fresh Perspective ...

... Sometimes we need to consider things from another perspective.  That's why I've asked my sis-in-law-extraordinaire Jaime to add her two cents to this blog.  Jaime is a certified holistic health coach who is full of great advice about healthy living.  Here's what she has to say to busy moms about running:

The Case for Running:

We all know that exercise is good for us; it boosts our endorphins, improves our circulation, increases immune function, helps us maintain healthy blood sugar levels, keeps us in shape, reduces our risk for disease, and even prolongs our life. But sometimes when life gets hectic, like when we have kids, it drops on our list of priorities. 

Here's the thing- exercise is more than just the sum of its health benefits.  Exercise is a 'Primary Food.' Primary foods are those things that nourish us in life but don't come on a plate, like relationships, career, and exercise. The idea is that when your primary foods are in balance, it makes what you eat secondary. In other words, there is way more to exercise than just exercise! It literally feeds you and nourishes you, just like food does.  Exercise is food for our soul; it's a nutrient as important as Vitamin C.  It may offer you some time to breathe deeply, to process stress, to have some alone time or to be social, depending on what type of exercise you choose. For many parents, it offers a form of 'me-time;' something you are doing for just yourself. When you're in a care-giving role, sometimes it's easy to forget to take care of you too. 

What's particularly great about something like a runner's club, is that you are also getting the primary foods of community, relationships, joy, and fresh air. Plus there's built-in motivation, support and  accountability to boot. To help motivate you to put exercise back up on your list of priorities, consider the important ways that it feeds you, then add it back onto your weekly menu!

--

Jaime Saginor

Certified Holistic Health Coach

Thanks for your insights Jaime - food for thought for sure!  Moms, if you're curious about what else Jaime has to say, check out Jaime's website and sign up for her monthly e-newsletter for more tips and motivation for living a healthy life!

One Of My Favs ...

... CWX VersatX bra is hands down the best athletic bra ever.  Good ventilation and holds the girls perfectly in place.  I'm also loving the adjustable straps.  I never thought much about investing in a good jog bra until recently.  These days, gravity is a force to be reckoned with.    

Some Inspiration For Ya

It was a beautiful day for a Mom Run today!  Our next group run will be Sunday, July 8, 2012 @ 10 a.m. at Trexler Park (meet just inside the main entrance on Springhouse Road).  For now, we'll meet every other Sunday, however I might change it to a weekly event in the near future if anyone is interested.  Also, for now we're sticking with the 1.25 mile main loop in the park.  This may change a bit too depending on interest.  You can email me at lvmomrun@gmail.com for more info.

In the meantime, check out one of my favorite mom runner sites, Another Mother Runner, for tons of inspiration.  Play lists, workouts, and links to women's races across the country are just some of the goodies you'll have at your fingertips.  Authors Dimity and Sarah are refreshingly irreverent and witty.  Thanks ladies!

          

Set a Goal and Support Your Sisters (And Your Mothers, And Your Girlfriends, etc.)

I figure if I set a running goal for myself, it would help me with my never-ending struggle with consistency.  My most recent goal (aside from starting a running club for moms) is to run the Women's 5K Classic on October 13, 2012.  There's also an expo (including health screenings, chair massages, mini facials, shopping, and free giveaways ladies!) the day before the race.  What a great weekend event - it promotes women's fitness, educates about women's health issues, and honors women and their families who have been affected by breast and other female cancers.  Time well spent if you ask me.  Check out www.womens5kclassic.org for more info.

     

It's Time ...

...For the first LV Mom Run group run!  When and where you ask?  Sunday, June 24, 2012 @ 10 a.m. in Trexler Park.  Jogging strollers encouraged, but not necessary - you can also take a break and leave the kids at home with a sitter!  This will be an easy run.  For those of you not familiar, Trexler Park is located in Allentown.   It has a flat, paved 1.25 mile loop that's perfect for running with a jogging stroller. The main entrance/parking lot is found on Springhouse Road between Tilghman and Broadway (the same block as Wegman's).  There are restrooms in the park, but no diaper changing stations (I checked the other day).  E-mail me at lvmomrun@gmail.com if you are interested and I will send you updates if necessary.  We'll meet just inside the main entrance.  Hope to see you there!
      

Lehigh Valley Mom Run ... Not Your Average Running Club!

Hey ladies!  The purpose of this blog is to connect all of you runner moms out there.  It's for the moms who already run, as well as those who would like to give it a try.  In conjunction with this blog, I'm starting Lehigh Valley Mom Run - a running club just for moms.  This running club is intended to be non-competitive, multi-paced, and fun.  Jogging strollers are encouraged (please don't bring a child without one!) or leave the kids at home with dad or a sitter.  LV Mom Run will meet in the Allentown area.  Our runs will take place during on weekends so all of you moms who have work and other commitments during the week can join us too.  Stay tuned for details about our first LV Mom Run ...   

Run Moms Run!

So, here it is ladies ... the first of hopefully many posts.  My goal is to encourage all of you moms out there (myself included) to run.  Run for fun, run for health, run for sanity, whatever.  Just throw on your kicks and go.  

I started running in January 2012 to get healthy after pregnancy.  Severe preeclampsia and HELLP Syndrome had knocked me for a loop and I needed to get my groove back.  At first, I could barely walk around the block because of lower back pain and a sore "undercarriage".  My blood pressure was still high weeks after the birth and I wanted to lose the forty pounds I gained while pregnant.  So, I registered for a local 5K race after my doc cleared me for exercise.  I promised myself a pedicure if I could just finish the race (I had to run the whole thing, no matter how slowly).  At first, it was tough hauling myself onto the treadmill.  I, like all new moms, was suffering from sleep deprivation and still adjusting to being a new mom (maybe more on that subject in a later post).  It was also winter - ugh!  But, with the endless support of my hubby, I ran ... and I ran the entire race.  So, I earned my pedicure and I became a runner along the way.  

I'm not competitive, I'm not fast, I don't log lots of miles per week.  But who cares?  I'm a mom who runs.