I found out some information regarding how to handle matching gift programs that I'd like to pass along. If your company has a matching gift program (check with someone in HR if you are not sure), please be sure to take advantage of this program as it will effectively double the impact of your contribution!
Somewhere on the matching gift form be sure to specify the following information - you are contributing to Children's Hospital Boston, and you need to additionally specify somewhere on the form (they differ from company to company, so I can't give any more specifics here...) that you are supporting Michelle Spina / Boston Marathon.
Then send the form to:
Thanks to everyone who has already supported my effort! It's exciting to see my little "runner" progress bar get closer to my goal. I appreciate your generosity.
My Fundraising Progress
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
My Latest Fitness Obsession: Kettlebells!
I'm sure you are all aware of the importance of strength training for overall fitness, but it's also extremely important to keep up a solid strength training routine while focusing on endurance events (like the marathon!) as well! Strength training can reduce your risk of injury, repair muscular imbalances caused by running, and improve running efficiency. All good stuff.
The key is to train in a functional way - multi-joint movements that require you to stabilize your core while you lift. While I definitely love the "traditional" gym style methods of lifting (think about isolated moves like bicep curls and leg extensions), it's time to move toward a more functional way of training. I'm finding that the absolute ULTIMATE in functional fitness is kettlebell training! This funky thing on the left here is a kettlebell - my husband calls mine a cannonball with a handle, which pretty much sums it up! They come in a variety of sizes (I have a set of 3 - 15#, 18# and 26#). You work out with them in very active ways - a key move in kettlebell training is the swing, where you hold onto the handle with both hands, and force the bell to swing up to shoulder height by quickly and powerfully snapping your hips as you come up to a standing position from a squat. Sounds easy, right? But when you perform the move with a heavy bell repeatedly - look out! It's an awesome, highly efficient workout.
I've been doing plenty of fairly heavy duty weight training over the years, but kettlebell training has taken me back to a beginner level again! It takes balance, coordination (yes, you probably SHOULD be fearing for my safety given my lack of coordination!) and overall strength. It's also just a HECK of a lot of fun. Seriously, what's not fun about swinging a cannonball around?
Luckily, there are a some workout DVD's out there that are amazing, so I can easily do this at home. I started with the "Kettlebell Goddess Workout"which in addition to having a cool name (with workouts included titled "Nike," "Athena," and "Callipygos" - how fun is that???). I'm now working my way through the Art of Strength series, which is a fairly serious step up in intensity.
I have a personal training session with an instructor in two weeks. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes, and if I come home with the 35# bell I'm just DYING to get next!
Let's see if this can help get me to the starting line in Boston fast, and injury free!
The key is to train in a functional way - multi-joint movements that require you to stabilize your core while you lift. While I definitely love the "traditional" gym style methods of lifting (think about isolated moves like bicep curls and leg extensions), it's time to move toward a more functional way of training. I'm finding that the absolute ULTIMATE in functional fitness is kettlebell training! This funky thing on the left here is a kettlebell - my husband calls mine a cannonball with a handle, which pretty much sums it up! They come in a variety of sizes (I have a set of 3 - 15#, 18# and 26#). You work out with them in very active ways - a key move in kettlebell training is the swing, where you hold onto the handle with both hands, and force the bell to swing up to shoulder height by quickly and powerfully snapping your hips as you come up to a standing position from a squat. Sounds easy, right? But when you perform the move with a heavy bell repeatedly - look out! It's an awesome, highly efficient workout.I've been doing plenty of fairly heavy duty weight training over the years, but kettlebell training has taken me back to a beginner level again! It takes balance, coordination (yes, you probably SHOULD be fearing for my safety given my lack of coordination!) and overall strength. It's also just a HECK of a lot of fun. Seriously, what's not fun about swinging a cannonball around?
Luckily, there are a some workout DVD's out there that are amazing, so I can easily do this at home. I started with the "Kettlebell Goddess Workout"which in addition to having a cool name (with workouts included titled "Nike," "Athena," and "Callipygos" - how fun is that???). I'm now working my way through the Art of Strength series, which is a fairly serious step up in intensity.
I have a personal training session with an instructor in two weeks. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes, and if I come home with the 35# bell I'm just DYING to get next!
Let's see if this can help get me to the starting line in Boston fast, and injury free!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Amazon Store / Fundraising
You have probably noticed the Amazon store links over on the right side section of this blog. I've got a store that I had put together a while back as a pet project, which is chock full of all of my favorite training tools. I've got everything from my favorite nutrition products, favorite electronic training aids to workout DVD's listed. If you can't find something you are looking for, use the Amazon Search box provided just below the store link to search the entirety of Amazon.com.
To encourage you all to use the links here on my blog for your upcoming holiday shopping, I'll be donating all the proceeds from purchases made via this blog to the Miles for Miracles fundraising effort!
So please, purchase away! In addition to getting the great stuff you were going to purchase ANYWAY, you'll be helping to raise money for a great cause.
Both Children's Hospital and I appreciate the help.
To encourage you all to use the links here on my blog for your upcoming holiday shopping, I'll be donating all the proceeds from purchases made via this blog to the Miles for Miracles fundraising effort!
So please, purchase away! In addition to getting the great stuff you were going to purchase ANYWAY, you'll be helping to raise money for a great cause.
Both Children's Hospital and I appreciate the help.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Gear Hound
Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE the latest gear gadget. I simply need the latest training tool / item of clothing / shoe / whatever-the-rage-is! It's an illness, really. But all in the name of fitness, so it's perfectly justifiable! That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
My latest obsession is a new running shoe, the Newton. The theory is that the shoe puts you in a position to encourage a forefoot strike, rather than the more injury-prone and less efficient heel-strike. On top of sounding like pretty cool technology and high praise from regular folks as well as pros (who am I to question Ironman Champion Michellie Jones???), it's wicked cool looking. Seriously, take a look at this beauty:
So, if it doesn't make me actually run any faster, it will at the very least, make me look like a total stud while I'm plugging along at my usual pace. I'll take it.
I'll provide my review of the shoe when it arrives (yes, I actually ordered a pair, ridiculous price aside!) and I take it for a spin.
So, if it doesn't make me actually run any faster, it will at the very least, make me look like a total stud while I'm plugging along at my usual pace. I'll take it.I'll provide my review of the shoe when it arrives (yes, I actually ordered a pair, ridiculous price aside!) and I take it for a spin.
Friday, October 26, 2007
The Road to Boston!
OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!
That was my first thought as I opened the email from the Children's Hospital Boston Miles for Miracles Team. I was chosen!
Let's go back a ways..... I've been a runner, for, well, forever really. I didn't ever give much thought to running a marathon until recently. I was perfectly happy with my usual 4-5 mile runs, and when I did work up to a 10 mile long run I felt like that distance was a major accomplishment. More than double it? Crazy talk. Then I started training with a wonderful bunch of folks in town, and the questions began: "How long have you been running? Have you ever run a marathon? Do you want to?" Well, you hear those questions over and over again, while you watch people who seem quite normal, with lives and jobs and children, who have run not one, but MANY marathons, and you think it's not such a nutty idea.
"I'll run Boston someday."
The Boston Marathon is typically 1-2 weeks before my birthday in April, so at some point "someday" turned into "the year I turn 40." I thought it would be a fun way to basically thumb my nose at the whole turning 40 thing: "Who cares? I just ran a marathon! I am all that and a bag of chips!" What a GREAT idea, I thought, when I was in my early 30's and the big year was so very far away. Yes, it's a great idea, and I will do it.
It's here. The year I turn 40 is HERE. And with it comes a vague memory of a thought I had many years ago. "I'll run Boston the year I turn 40." Well, crap. What have I gotten myself into? I'm happily entrenched in triathlon training, which I started just a year ago, and I had a great first season. I can't possibly derail my tri training with this silly proclamation I made years ago, can I? So I begin to push the memory back from where it came, and was going to dump the idea. Or at least modify it. Yeah, running the year I turn 43 or something isn't nearly as snappy as the big four-oh, but it'll have to do.
But the niggling thought wouldn't go away. It was too perfect, really. The race is exactly a week before my birthday this year. Then I started chatting with a friend about her experience running Boston a few years ago, and find out that she ran with the Miles for Miracles team put together by Children's Hospital. I was a goner. Our family has strong ties to Children's Hospital, as our daughter had open heart surgery to repair a heart defect there when she was 4 months old. I'd happily give them my left arm if they asked for it, for all that they did for us. Run a few miles, and raise a few dollars? That would make them happy? Count me in.
So I filled out the application, spent a lovely hour on the phone with the coordinator of the team, and I waited for 2 weeks until the email came.
OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!
Now, here I am, taking a few weeks to recoup from my recent 1/2 marathon last weekend before I start training for Boston.
Wow.
That was my first thought as I opened the email from the Children's Hospital Boston Miles for Miracles Team. I was chosen!
Let's go back a ways..... I've been a runner, for, well, forever really. I didn't ever give much thought to running a marathon until recently. I was perfectly happy with my usual 4-5 mile runs, and when I did work up to a 10 mile long run I felt like that distance was a major accomplishment. More than double it? Crazy talk. Then I started training with a wonderful bunch of folks in town, and the questions began: "How long have you been running? Have you ever run a marathon? Do you want to?" Well, you hear those questions over and over again, while you watch people who seem quite normal, with lives and jobs and children, who have run not one, but MANY marathons, and you think it's not such a nutty idea.
"I'll run Boston someday."
The Boston Marathon is typically 1-2 weeks before my birthday in April, so at some point "someday" turned into "the year I turn 40." I thought it would be a fun way to basically thumb my nose at the whole turning 40 thing: "Who cares? I just ran a marathon! I am all that and a bag of chips!" What a GREAT idea, I thought, when I was in my early 30's and the big year was so very far away. Yes, it's a great idea, and I will do it.
It's here. The year I turn 40 is HERE. And with it comes a vague memory of a thought I had many years ago. "I'll run Boston the year I turn 40." Well, crap. What have I gotten myself into? I'm happily entrenched in triathlon training, which I started just a year ago, and I had a great first season. I can't possibly derail my tri training with this silly proclamation I made years ago, can I? So I begin to push the memory back from where it came, and was going to dump the idea. Or at least modify it. Yeah, running the year I turn 43 or something isn't nearly as snappy as the big four-oh, but it'll have to do.
But the niggling thought wouldn't go away. It was too perfect, really. The race is exactly a week before my birthday this year. Then I started chatting with a friend about her experience running Boston a few years ago, and find out that she ran with the Miles for Miracles team put together by Children's Hospital. I was a goner. Our family has strong ties to Children's Hospital, as our daughter had open heart surgery to repair a heart defect there when she was 4 months old. I'd happily give them my left arm if they asked for it, for all that they did for us. Run a few miles, and raise a few dollars? That would make them happy? Count me in.
So I filled out the application, spent a lovely hour on the phone with the coordinator of the team, and I waited for 2 weeks until the email came.
OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!
Now, here I am, taking a few weeks to recoup from my recent 1/2 marathon last weekend before I start training for Boston.
Wow.
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