www.lynngrieger.com

Girls on the Run is one of my favorite organizations, and I’m thrilled to be involved with a new 5K event in Rutland this year.

In 2012, GOTR Vermont:

• had 462 coaches working with 2450 girls
• contributed over $140,000 in scholarships to make sure every girl can participate
• had more than 7000 participants in two 5K events

Several of the women in our running group coach GOTR in their schools. We’ve had local GOTR groups enthusiastically volunteer at water stops during the Shires marathon. I know parents who started running because their girls encouraged them.

Learn. Dream. Live. Run

I decided to run my first marathon right before I turned 40. Running had been a part of my life since I was in ROTC as an undergrad at the University of Vermont, and I quickly learned to enjoy the stress relief and accomplishment I felt from running. For years I ran to have fun, to tune out the noise of the busy world around me, to breathe fresh air, and to stay strong. As I neared 40, perhaps as a way of thumbing my nose at middle age, I decided to run a marathon.

I didn’t tell anyone except my husband, afraid that I’d fail. Runner’s World magazine provided training plans, guidance on what and when to eat, and tips for race day. Before I started marathon training, my longest race was a 10K - 6.2 miles. A marathon is 20 miles longer, but I figured it was just more steps forward, for a longer period of time.

I lined up at the very back of the crowd at the Vermont City Marathon in Burlington, VT. The folks at the back are usually friendly and helpful, and I was encouraged by their enthusiasm. Mike took a picture of me at about 4 miles into the race, with a big smile on my face. The smile later turned into concentration, then grimaces (blisters), despair (would I ever finish the race?), determination (my parents taught us to never give up, and if I didn’t crumble during Army boot camp, I certainly wasn’t going to let a marathon stop me), and finally relief and joy.

I ran my 32nd marathon this past weekend in Milwaukee, state #28 on my quest to run a marathon in every state. What started as a way to prove to myself that 40 isn’t old and washed up became an integral part of my life over the past 14 years. I purchased one of my favorite shirts at the Marine Corps Marathon:  “The few, the proud, the Marine-athoners”. Only .5% of the US population has completed a marathon. It doesn’t matter if you win the race, place in your age group, or come in last. When you cross the finish line after 26.2 miles, the enormity of what you just accomplished slams you square in the chest. You logged hundreds of miles in training, learned to tolerate or even like the taste of sports drinks and gels; delt with blisters, sore muscles, frozen eyelashes, drenching heat; understand the terms ‘interval training’, ‘hill work’, and ‘taper’ and have come to love a device called simply ‘The Stick’. You gave up family outings, rescheduled work meetings, got up 2 hours early to fit in a run, and changed your eating habits. You learned that you’re stronger than you thought, both in body and in spirit.

For the past two years I’ve led a women’s marathon training group, encouraging other women to take up the marathon challenge and meet it head on. Training for and running a marathon with other women multiplies the fun and the emotions. You’re excited to see your family at the finish line, and you also search for your running buddies, the ones who got you through the training miles and would never let you give up. Together, you’re marathoners.

If running a marathon is on your bucket list, join us as we start training November 17th for the Shires marathon on May 19, 2013. Contact me at lynn@lynngrieger.com  for more information, and check out our training group Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/TrainingforMore

Be part of the .5%.

40 women from our 5th Training for More group finished a half-marathon on April 1st in Westfield, Massachusetts. Whether this was their first half-marathon, or one in a string of many distance races, everyone loved the experience.

Why train through the cold winter months for a half-marathon? I’ll let the women from the group speak for themselves:

Nancy:  What a wonderful group. The girl I walked with was amazed. Every person from our group made a positive comment when they passed us walking.  

Sarah:  I was a bit over 3 minutes faster than my 2nd half marathon, and nearly 10 minutes faster than my first.  I am totally psyched!  Thanks to you all for the inspiration, guidance and camaraderie!  It has been a real eye-opener for me during this process - figuring out what motivates and sustains me.  I can’t wait to see you again soon.

Troy:  As I reflect on the last two years  when this all started for me, it continually amazed me how I have grown as a runner as well as a person.   Goals that I would have never have dreamed of have been reached or expanded in my quest for  “I can do more”.  In running I have found a tranquility and a great group of new friends, some of which I have grown to know more than others, but all of whom I am lucky to know. I have found pride in myself, as well acknowledge and support from people who have entered my life thru running, as well as my family and friends that have supported my new venture in life.

Kate:  This run wasn’t just about finishing a race for me. It was about a 2 1/2 year struggle for shedding a lifetime of feeling uncomfortable in my own skin, reaching high personal goals, believing in myself and over coming injury…just to name a few of the ingredients in my own personal emotional cocktail. It was a HUGE success and accomplishment for me that I was able to reach because of you. Thank you for grabbing me at the finish and weeping tears of joy with me! It was a big honking deal for me.

Andrea:  I learned that we should never sell ourselves short. I’m a conservative runner who’s always fearful of hitting the wall. But when you train properly and get the right sleep and pre/post-race nutrition you can achieve more than what you think you’re capable of.

Carol:  The whole experience was so positive, uplifting and energizing. It leaves me to definitely want to keep ‘Training for More’! 

 

2011 Shires marathon training group

Are you ready to train for a marathon? Join our training group for the 2012 Shires marathon on May 20, 2012 from Bennington to Manchester VT. Group training will start November 12th for any woman who has been running 3-4 miles a minimum of 3 times per week for at least 6 months. I provide a complete marathon training plan, information on gear, nutrition, hydration, stretching, and strength training. We’ll run together every other weekend on the course, gradually increasing your mileage so you feel confident about covering the 26.2 mile course on race day. Interested? Contact me at lynn@lynngrieger.com

Think about it:  how much time each day do you spend sitting? We sit while driving, at work, at home watching TV, eating (sometimes), talking with friends, using the computer, watching movies. If you sleep for 7 hours and exercise for 1 hour - that leaves 16 hours throughout the day that most likely are spent sitting.

Many people have bought into the thinking that daily exercise of 30-60 minutes is all it takes to improve our health and maintain a healthy body weight. Unfortunately, there’s growing evidence that the time we spend sitting is at least as important as the time we spend doing purposeful exercise.

I’ll be honest with you. Even though exercise is a part of my day, the rest of the time I’m primarily sitting. In fact, I’m sitting right now as I type! The challenge is to figure out how to decrease sitting time, and instead stand or walk around. Here are some ideas to get you started thinking about changing your enviornment and decreasing your sitting time:

-  Stand up whenever you talk on the phone. Even better, walk around while you’re on the phone, even if it’s walking in place.
-  Put your computer on a stand, or adjust the height of your desk so that you can stand while working.
-  Put a treadmill or stationary bike in your office, and use these whenever you’re on the phone or reading. Even better, rig up a desk so that you can walk on the treadmill or ride the stationary bike while working on your computer!
-  Place a treadmill or stationary bike in front of your TV. If you don’t have room for both a treadmill and a couch - get rid of the couch!
- Plan activities your entire family can enjoy. Instead of watching TV together, go outside and kick a soccer ball, rake leaves, or take a walk. When bad weather keeps you inside, play Twister or games on the Wii to keep moving.
- Instead of meeting friends for coffee, go for a walk, ride bikes together, or go snow-shoeing through the park.

Here’s the challenge:  decrease your sitting time by 30 minutes every day this week. Next week, aim to decrease sitting time by 1 hour per day, every day. Give yourself at least 6 weeks to make these new, active non-sitting habits part of your daily life and you’ll have more energy and feel great.

Most of the time when I meet with clients, they tell me that they want to be more active, or to exercise more often. These are broad, undefined goals which actually are extremely difficult to reach. If we don’t know exactly how much exercise, or what type of exercise we want in our life, how will we know when we’ve reached that goal? Even more important:  why is exericse important to you?

There are typically three types of exercise goals:

• exercise to improve health, such as reduce risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure, or improve blood sugar levels.
• exercise for weight loss
• training for a competitive event, such as running a 5K race or riding your bike in a 40 mile charity event.

First, decide WHY you want to exercise. Be as specific as possible:

• I want to exercise so that I can wear a smaller dress size.
• I want to exercise so that I don’t run out of breath playing with my grandchildren.
• I want to exercise so that I decrease my risk of developing heart disease.
• I want to run the Maple Leaf 5K in September.

Next, figure out how much and what type of exercise you need to meet this goal. The American College of Sports Medicine publishes the latest exercise guidelines. If your goals are related to your health, talk with your physician about the most appropriate exercise program for you. Even 10-15 minutes of activity every day does wonders in improving health. If you need help developing an exercise program, contact me at lynn@lynngrieger.com for individual coaching.

Once you know why exercise is important to you, and the type of exercise program that will help you reach this goal, it’s time to gradually integrate exercise into your daily routine. Start slowly and over time tweak your exercise program until you reach your ultimate goal.  Exercise not only will improve your health and help you reach and maintain a healthy weight, it’s also a fun activity you can share with family, and a great way to meet new friends!

I love this workout! Designed by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), it provides a complete, 12-week fitness program that you can do at home!

• No more excuses about not having enough money to join the gym - do this workout at home.
• Forget about needing expensive and bulky exercise equipment - you use your own body weight.
• Short on time? Do part of the workout in the morning before you take a shower, another couple of exercises in the evening when you get home from work, and finish up before bed.
• You don’t even need to hire me as your personal trainer to guide you through the exercises, because there are complete directions and tips on the website.

What are you waiting for? Join the discussion on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/trainingformore#!/pages/Training-for-More/185394604809438 and let me know how great you feel after doing this workout!

I’m always looking for exercises that work a whole bunch of different muscle groups. These types of execises maximize time, which is always at a premium in our busy lives. Plus, how often do we use just one, isolated muscle? When we perform exercises that require the use of many different muscles at once, we gain strength AND improve our ability to live a full and active life.

Here’s one of my favorites:  inchworms

Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

Here’s one time you definitely don’t want to be aligned with the majority. A recent telephone survey of almost 80,000 adults over age 20 shows that the most frequently reported nonsleep, nonwork activity is….eating and drinking!

I find it difficult to believe that 95.6% of the people in the survey report that they get most of their activity from eating! Not so difficult to believe is that 80.1% have a primary activity of watching TV. We all know we’re primarily a nation of couch potatoes.

Remember this initial statistic encompasses all types of activity. The story gets even worse.

The most frequently reported moderate activity, where you actually get your heart rate up a bit, is: preparing foods and beverages! I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the last time I felt that fixing dinner was moderate intensity exericse. Maybe the time I lugged the 20 pound turkey up the stairs from the basement, but hey - that only happens once each year on Thanksgiving.

Only 5% of the people surveyed said they ever get vigorous activity. Thank goodness that doesn’t have anything to do with chewing and swallowing.  The most frequently reported vigorous activity is using cardiovascular equipment (2.2%) and running (1.1%). They didn’t include data on people who are eating while they run, or who prepare meals while riding their exercise bike.

I’m going to think about this information tomorrow when I go out for a hard, vigorous run.

This year the weekend of August 21-22 is the third annual, nationwide Run/Walk for the Fallen to honor our soldiers killed in the Middle East. The BattenKill Valley Runners are hosting a 1-4 mile free, noncompetitive run or walk in West Arlington at the covered bridge off Route 313 at 9am on Sunday, August 22nd. The group who started this nationwide event is producing a video:  http://www.tothemthatsgone.com

You have nowhere more important to be on Sunday, August 22nd at 9am than at the covered bridge in West Arlington. See you there.