Marathon Blog #1:

This is an overview on:

• How we will help support you
• Dates to clear
• Products to put into your toolbox

I had the pleasure of meeting Anne Zorran when she walked into my studio to become a Pilates client. Anne was a pleasant surprise to me. You see, every client at Mind Body Balance is a gift. We believe those that are ready for a life change will find us. We know that while each client is a new challenge, they will touch our lives in an unsuspected way and we will learn as much as they did. Anne shared her story with me and inspired me to take it to the next level.

We have helped several athletes over the past year accomplish their dreams of participating in Triathlons.  Nick and I (and then some of our clients joined us) volunteered at some local Triathlons and supported our clients who participated. The energy at these events is amazing and this has to be one of the best volunteer experiences we’ve ever helped with. We will continue to volunteer at these again this year and I hope that more of you will join me.

Now we, as a studio, will compete in our first Marathon. Together as a studio we are going to complete The Detroit Free Press Marathon on October 16, 2011.

We have chosen four races in total and the whole family could get involved with all but one of them. Now, I know participating in a Marathon seems overwhelming! Your eyes glaze over, your heart skips a beat, you immediately get tired and feelings of self-doubt come up.  However, somewhere in there a smile occurs.  The mind starts to think “What if…. you know… I’ve secretly wanted to say that I have completed one.” Well, you can participate in one. You will learn a lot about yourself as you prepare for this event. Usually a training schedule for a Marathon is 20 weeks.  Our training schedule will be about 38 weeks. Each training schedule will come out in 4 weeks blocks so that you can plan that month’s training.

• Your Pilates schedule to help you with alignment, strength and flexibility.
• Your yoga will add flexibility and to help you reduce your stress levels.
• Your on-line nutrition program will help you keep your body fueled properly.

 

A quick overview of the program: 

• We will support you and your training schedule through our various services and partners in the community.
• Your monthly training schedule will appear on Mind Body Balance’s blog along with other support materials.
  • We encourage you to be interactive on this blog. Ask questions, share your self-doubt and share your celebrations so that together as part of the Mind Body Balance community we can offer words of encouragement. Trust me.  If you have a question, others have the same question. 
  • We will also be posting some daily thoughts on Mind Body Balance’s Fan Page on Facebook.
    • There will be days that you don’t want to go out and do your training.  Post this on our Facebook page and maybe you’ll get some inspiration from your other Mind Body Balance community members and/ or find someone who is feeling the same way.  You can meet up to train together that day.
    • Feel free to say, “I train on ‘blank’ days in the ‘blank’ time of day.  Does this work for anyone else?  I’d love to have a partner.”  I’ll be posting mine.
    • The program is being set up so that during the week you can do your training schedule however it works best for you.  The longer training sessions will occur on Saturdays.
      • We will always have a “meet” at the studio (or a location that has been announced) for our group training.  You can choose to come if it works for you, but you are not required to come. As our training times get longer… as we increase our endurance… it is nice to have a group support.  Trust me, not all of us will hit walls at the same time and so someone in the group will be able to take the lead and push us through the hump.
        • Read Gung Ho! By Ken Blanchard and pay particular attention to the “goose” story.
        • We will also have various field trips, running shoes, clothing, and speaking seminars from people who have completed marathons on regular bases.  These field trips have been planned to correspond with our training schedule and to appear when we most need them.

 

I’m asking you to purchase some support materials.

• Chi Running or Chi Walking by Danny Dreyer (about $11 on Amazon or order locally from the Book Nook)
• Your Body Speaks Your Mind by Deb Shapiro (about $13 on Amazon or order locally from the Book Nook)
• A journal that will record your training notes (about $10) and anything that comes up that you’d like to work on in Jane’s workshops,
• A Polar RS300 heart rate monitor ($112 to $200)
• We will have some clothing picked out for us to wear on race day.  You will be asked to cover the cost of this clothing.
• All marathon training from me (and during our Saturday meet-ups) will be free of charge to all clients. 
  •  I think it is important for us to spend this year learning about ourselves and growing our bond as a community at Mind Body Balance (we have amazing individuals to meet),
  • We can set a good role model for our town.
  • It is time to take our training to the next level in a safe way. We are strong.  Let’s not cheat our body! Trust me, while I may be ahead of you in Yoga and Pilates, because of my hamstring injury (that I’ve now procrastinated with) I’ll be starting my cardio over (just as some of you are starting it for the first time).
  • Our overall goal is just to FINISH the race.
    • Our goal is to be done with the race in at least 6 hours.
      • Why?  After this length of time they start opening the streets.
      • This means that we are walking, shuffling, and/or jogging a 13: 45 minute mile or about 4.5 miles in an hour.
      • Please don’t think that we are asking you to flat out run 26.2 miles because we are not.
      • A shuffle is a cross between a fast walk and a slow jog. I think that each of you can participate in some way on this day. If you have concerns please speak to me on an individual bases and I will be candid with you on how I think you should approach this. I will give you a “play it safe” goal and a “stretch for the top” goal. I hope that each of you will pick a “stretch for the top” goal but the choice (as always) will be yours to make and we will respect that choice.

 

Here are some dates to clear on your calendar:

• Saturdays at 3p.m. (unless you are going it alone for the long training days),
• March1 3, 2011 –Shamrocks and Shenanigans 5K run and walk in Ann Arbor (5K run, 5K walk, kids run)
• April 2, 2011 –Martian Invasion of Races Dearborn (5K Run, 10K Run, Kids Run, Half, Relay and Full)
• June 5, 2011 –Dexter Ann Arbor (5K Run, 5K Walk, 10 K Run, 10K Walk, Kids Run, Half)

Then our main event!

• The Detroit Free Press Marathon, October 16, 2011
  • Everyone can participate, including your friends and family if you wish. (5K walk, 5K run, 10K run, Half, Full, Kids Run). Don’t panic this sounds like a lot but I paired up these smaller events with our long training schedules to prepare us for what race day would feel like. We aren’t over training, we are just doing some of our longer sessions in an actual event form.

I will be printing out applications and rules for these events and have them at the studio for you.

Our next blog will cover topics like, What is a marathon? How do I choose my event? How do I decide to participate?

We are also adding more helpful components to our list this year to help you further your training experience.

• Jane V. Lutz, MSN, RN will be here to guide us through some self-growth and interpersonal development. She has been involved in holistic study and healing since 1985. She has taught psychiatric nursing, a variety of holistic classes and meditation. She offers individual and group education sessions and her writings about spirituality have been published. She has been a Mind/Body: Balance client for over a year now.  As we go through this journey you will learn a lot about yourself physically and emotionally.
  • These classes will be held on the 4^th Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m. for 90 minutes for $25 at Mind Body Balance.
  • Holly Cramner is a registered craniosacral therapist and creates a warm and open atmosphere in her office where you can really change your health and your life.  Holly is also a client of Mind Body Balance and is participating in the event with us.  Using a holistic healthcare approach, breathing/ visualization classes and homeopathic remedies along with craniosacral therapies, Holly has helped many people cure their ailments, relieve their pain and increase their emotional well-being. She will be holding some breathing classes. As you know, with any movement, breathing is paramount and we need to strengthen this area of our body in order to make it through our events with ease.
    • These classes will be held on Saturdays at noon at Mind Body Balance for $70 for a seven week series or a $12 drop in.
  • Sherri Eby is our Naturopath;  so if you start feeling run down or a little funky, Ask Sherri Eby for natural health information.  She is a Natural Health Educator and body worker, currently training as a Naturopath.  You can get insight on several natural health topics and understand how to apply them per your needs.  Information that she can help you with includes nutrition, herbal supplements, essential oils, body work and homeopathies.  Remember, Sherri is participating in the marathon training and will be encountering some of the same issues that you might be faced with. You can call her for a consultation and she will also be writing an article that you will see in our monthly newsletter “Balancing Act” to give us food for thought. Sherri is also a client and participating in our event with us.
    • Sherri is having natural health education sessions on the 2nd Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. and the 3rd Saturday of each month at 1:00 p.m.  Please check the Mind/Body: Balance web site for specific dates and topics.  Each session is an hour long for $10 drop in or $35 dollars for a four session series. 
  • We have a list of five massage therapists each specializing in a different area so when you need body work (please be proactive with this) we have you covered Sherri Eby (Mindful Massage on Monroe St), Holly Cramner (The Resolution Center on Monroe Street) , Dawn Bellino (Divine Balance Therapeutic Massage on Telegraph Rd), Lisa Mannosco (located in Zinnen on Telegraph Rd), Rachael Gardner (Mindful Massage on Monroe St).

 

Our local Healthy Food Store “Health Matters,” is owned and operated by Maurine Sharp R.N. ~ Natural Nurse.  In 2004 Maurine’s vision of educating and helping people with health issues became a reality with the opening or her store:

Health Matters Herbs & More
17 E. Second St.

Located in the downtown district of Monroe, MI .

Maurine is a registered nurse, graduating in 1970 from Henry Ford Community College. She has worked in many facets of the nursing field including, hospitals, nursing homes, a doctor’s office and 14 years in mental health working with the developmentally disabled and those with mental illnesses.  Her passion for growing and using herbs began her journey into the field of natural health. Her accreditations include medicinal herbal education with Clayton College Of Natural Health, hands on herbal training with Linda Diane Feldt, a practicing herbalist in Ann Arbor, MI. and continued training.   

  Maurine’s services include personal health consultations, classes on vitamins and herbs, muscle testing, field trips and also a lending library that features a vast array of books on health issues including nutrition and disease.  She is also a great resource for us to pick up quality food for us to fuel our bodies.