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What would you do if you could eliminate all of your current physical or financial or emotional barriers and do ANYTHING? Forget the fact that this is a Tummy Safe™ fitness site, and that you may have a diastasis. Put EVERY injury, every ache, every pain aside for a moment.

Maybe you’ve always wanted to downhill ski, but “It costs too much and I’d look ridiculous, and they probably don’t make bibs in my size!” But again I ask, what athletic feat would you strive to accomplish if you had the strength, the stamina, the patience, the fearlessness, your pre-pregnant body, the drive, the motivation TO DO IT? Here’s what some of our facebook fans had to say:

Blair –>Climb every mountain in the northwest!

Teresa–>Run for miles along the ocean and breathe in the cold misty air

Becky–>Go rock climbing! I have always thought that was so neat. Also, snow boarding!!!

Iyesha–>I’d be hiking up a tremendously tall mountain and running off it with a hanglider!

Dawn–>Triathlon!!!

I talk to a lot of people who say “I can’t.” But in my mind the word “can’t” is a dirty four-letter word that is far worse for you mind and body and soul than F*** or Sh** … My mom would add “damn” to that list because she’s sweet like that. If you have told yourself that YOU CAN’T do something because you are scared or you body is too big, too small, too weak, too fat, then you are lying to yourself and YOU are your own worst barrier to chasing the dreams that your creator has given you. Let me encourage you in this short video, but grab your kleenex first.

fit2b video blog | If you could do ANYTHING? from fit2b.us on Vimeo.

God made this world for us to explore and enjoy. His plan is NOT for you to fall apart as you age but for you to stay strong, healthy and fit. Just because you’ve been pregnant, you don’t have to settle for stress incontinence, diastasis and a weak core. Just because you had knee surgery, you don’t have to settle for never hiking again. Just because your hips are full of osteoporosis, you don’t have sit in a chair the rest of your life. In fact, the opposite is true, and you are DESIGNED to heal!!! So if you could do ANYTHING, what would YOU do? Comment below!

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

Last week was a hot one here in Camas.  Specifically last Wednesday, the 7^th at 4:00 in the afternoon on the Captain William Clark trail in Washougal.  On that trail it was about 95 degrees with little to no shade.  Somewhere during the day I thought this would be the best time to go for a 5 mile run.  I think someone slipped something into my water bottle for me to believe this was a good idea!  Oh, did I mention that I also thought it would be a great idea to wear all black?  Yeah, I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Jenn runs up a nasty trail

I made it 2 miles before the light headedness kicked in and another half mile before my vision was impaired with bursting stars appeared.  They were extremely pretty.  As I tried to run the last 2.5 miles all I could think about was the scripture “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  And boy did He strengthen me that day!  I do not believe that I could have made it back to my car without His gentle hand guiding me and taking my pride down a few notches.

I really wanted to run the whole 5 miles, but Christ made sure I knew that if I tried to finish the last 2.5 miles running I might not make it back at all. He also seemed to remind me that He didn’t bless me with a 187 pound weight loss for me to kick it on a dirt trail along the Columbia river.

Jenn's daughter standing in her old pants!

So, as I walked back to the car, kicking myself for not hydrating better during the day, choosing a really bad time to run, wearing all black in some of the worse heat Camas/Washougal has experienced this year and sweating like I was in a sauna, I realized that Christ really does have more for me to do and that walking was the only way I could get there. Running would have given me heat stroke.

Giving up doesn’t seem to be something I do easily.  I didn’t have a boat I could use.  I didn’t have a bike to ride or a skate board to use.  All of the above forms of transportation would have gotten me to my goal (my car and the air-conditioning it provided) but I didn’t have them as an option or the option would be detrimental to my health.  The only option I had in front of me was the slowest, yet healthiest and safest.

As you look to improve your health don’t expect your transformation (physically or mentally) to happen overnight.  Don’t expect to wake up the day after making your decision to gain back your health with everything figured out and all problems fixed.  Expect that some days the option you need to choose is going to be slower than others.  Expect that some days you make a bad decision and that you will learn from that decision.  Expect that some days you will have to chant “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Just expect to be human.  Love yourself for being human.  Embrace being human.  You only have one chance to be human so make the most of it!

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

Me and my sister Aleta, who just recovered from a bout with thyroid cancer, both did the Portland to Coast walking relay race as part of Hood to Coast for the second time this year. I was on “Toe Jammin” an 8-person womens team, and Aleta was on “Rockin’ Walkers,” a 12-person co-ed team that included her husband, Aaron. We didn’t see each other during the whole race, but ongoing texts between us revealed that we were at the same exchange at St. Helens High School within minutes of each other. I already gave my advice for surviving the world’s longest relay race, but here is what my sister has to say about it: 

Aleta and her husband at far right with their Team Rockin' Walkers

One year ago I joined a team for the Portland to Coast relay. I trained a little, but not too much because I had received the all-clear from a bout of thyroid cancer only about 6 weeks before the race. I just didn’t feel like going all out because if I did still have cancer, I felt like that would make it worse. (I make excuses.) I walked Glendoveer, a one-and-three-quarter mile wood chip path around a golf course, three to four times a week for the month before the race. I had an amazing time during the relay and with my team, but it was hard. Leg 20 was in full sun and leg 32 was pitch dark. It felt like we (the hubby walked with me since he was the driver) were NEVER going to get done with our legs! However, I was intrigued by how my body responded to such effort when it’s latest feat of athleticism was giving birth 7 years before.

Aleta all geared up for safety at Portland to Coast

So, needless to say I really wanted to do the relay again this year, but did I train? No, not really. I took a walking class that was vexed by rainstorms each session but one. I did a little online pilates here and there. I counted housecleaning and laundry as exercise. Oh, and grocery shopping. I homeschooled. I spent a lot of time in my minivan. A month before the race I worked on core stability and stretching. And guess what? My body still kicked in and did the work! Yes, I was more sore and had a nice blister but my point here is that our bodies are capable of doing much more than we give them credit for.

Aleta putting her pilates to use on Pittsburgh Hill

While walking this year, I heard a voice from the past that I’d never heard before. When I was about 10 or so, we were staying with my grandparents and I wanted to go walking with my grandma Burns. Understand this: Grandma was awesome, she almost always said yes, but this time she grumbled something about me not being fast enough. She was FAST. Everyone in town knew it. She didn’t drive so she walked…FAST. Well, Grandma passed away several years ago, but I’m going to prove her wrong and never turn down an offer if a kid wants to walk with me. And, I need to quilt more After I have a walk. I’ve walked 3 times this week already. And actually, it kinda felt fast!

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

When hundreds of relay running teams leave Mt. Hood, and hundreds of relay walking teams leave Portland, and they are all trying to reach Seaside, Oregon in the shortest time possible … well, things can get a little sticky and stinky and FUN!!! Hood to Coast and its sister event, Portland to Coast, have been officially billed as the world’s largest relay race. Listen to me talk about placing 6th and the rest of my 2011 HTC/PTC adventures on Get Fit Now Radio!

With her purple shoes and purple shirt, our first walker Sarah had fun goofing off at the starting line.

Hood to Coast takes place on the last weekend of every August, and people come from all over the world to participate. Teams of runners tackle the 200-mile route from Mt. Hood to Seaside at the same time as teams of walkers go 130 miles from Portland, Ore. The two separate starting lines are well managed and full of excitement. Batches of teams are released every 15 minutes at predetermined times. The routes for runners and walkers are the same for the last 130 miles, but the experiences of each person can be very different!  In fact, every team is different: some are young, some are old, some are elite athletes, some are doing their first event ever! My favorite things about Hood & Portland to Coast is the team support and how people decorate their vans.

My amazing team Toe Jammin'

My team was comprised of eight people and a driver. Eight-person walking teams do three legs per participant while 12-person teams do two legs. Running teams with nine people get four legs each because of the greater distance they have to cover, and 12-person teams do three legs. However, these numbers can be tweaked, and I got passed by a guy who was a two-person team with his wife. They would kiss at each hand-off <3

Photos by Sarah Marie Photography

Here I am taking the baton (orange slap bracelet) from my friend Luci as I begin my first 5.43 mile leg

When one of your team members leaves an exchange and the baton has been successfully handed off, the rest of the team piles back into the van (which might be buried amongst hundreds of other vans at certain exchanges) and tries to get ahead of their walker to be able to offer support if needed. Since every participant does at least one walk in the dead of night and another in the high heat of mid-day sun, this support is crucial. Some argue the necessity for all athletes to carry their own water and supplies, but there are other factors to consider such as fainting or nausea from exhaustion. If a van rushes ahead without checking on their walker or runner, the abandoned participant could be injured.

My team offers at least one support during each leg. Here you can see them chasing me to douse me with water, and give me a bandana soaked in ice water. Each walker gives the items they'll need to another teammate prior to starting their leg to avoid confusion. Everyone has a role to play.

In this next picture, you can see the vans on the right, my team in the middle, and some teams on the side of the road waiting at an exchange. It’s very important to get your van to each exchange and have your walker/runner ready to go. It takes a whole leg for a participant to change clothes, gear-up, warm up, stretch and be ready to go. Near the end of the race, people don’t stand around as much. The runners start catching up to the walkers, and major traffic jams ensue. This year’s last minute addition of hundreds of extra teams resulted in major backups, missed exchanges, lack of van support for athletes on the road, and a lot of frustrated volunteers and participants. Event staff hope to remedy this next year.

Me in the orange, posing for the camera while we wait for a fellow teammate to finish her leg. Next to me in the pink is my bestie, KG. In the blue is my team captain, Carmen, who was my junior high teacher!

It always feels great to finish a leg, whether it’s your first – knowing you still have two to go – or your last, and you can finally relax. The runner’s high applies to race walkers, too! Coming into an exchange and hearing your team cheer for you makes you sprint those last few yards even if you were ready to die five minutes before that. My legs were 18, 26 & 34 which amounted to just under a total of 15 miles. I got about 8 hours to rest between legs.

Here I am feeling great after my first leg in 90-degree heat! I'm not thinking about my next two legs…

Um … uh, so what do people do if they, uh … need to go while they’re on the road? They use honeybuckets of course! There’s long brigades of blue banjos at each exchange, and they are well-used! A PTC or HTC team can be disqualified if someone is seen “not using” the honey buckets during a race leg. Incontinence on the race can’t always be avoided, though, and this is one of the top complaints from those who live along the race course! Ugh!

My teammate Tina giving a big thumbs up! We follow the rules! Use the honeybuckets or be disqualified!

Our team left the starting line in Portland at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. Our last walker, Karyn, arrived at the beach around 11:45 a.m. on Saturday. At one point we were worried we wouldn’t make it to the beach in time to greet her as she reached the finish line, because Police were diverting vans to shuttle parking lots to avoid congestion in Seaside. The transfer went smoothly for us, but we heard that traffic back up really bad later and several teams got disqualified when their other vans didn’t push through to the finish line. Hopefully, those rulings will be changed.

Karyn, my childhood bestie and our team's final walker, finishes her third leg at Seaside!

Many HTC and PTC teams wait anxiously on the beach for their last walker/runner to step onto the beach. An announcer sits on a high platform where he can see the numbers pinned on bellies and chests and legs. When your team’s number is called, everyone must be present and accounted for as you are ushered into one of four shutes just before the finish line. As your relay race participant approaches, your whole team gets to surround them as you all cross the finish line together!

All of us walking under the HTC finish line together. What a race! Will I do it again next year? Let me work the knots out of my neck from sleeping in the van, and then I'll let you know!

Photos by Sarah Marie Photography

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!

How does one survive Hood to Coast, the world’s largest relay running race that also includes Portland to Coast, a walking relay race? Having just placed sixth with my Team Toe Jammin’ #2100 means we have a guaranteed place in next year’s race without submitting to the lottery … but are all the funny team names and a day at the beach enough to make up for the blood, sweat, tears and traffic jams? Here is what people from my team and several others have to say …

Blair getting ready for her nighttime run!

Blair Hardy, last minute fill-in runner for Team “Limitless” #205 - Put Vaseline on your feet before you put your socks and shoes on, then you will enjoy blister free feet Blair also added that it’s almost better to do the event with complete strangers, because people tend to be nicer to strangers after 30+ hours in a van together than they are to familiar friends. Blair’s team told her to just go slow and take it easy and not hurt herself, and she really enjoyed the whole event.

Health Coach Jenn Bonner, Captain of the “Speed Bumps” - Erase your mind of everything you think you ‘know’ about your friends, exercise and lack of sleep. And then just enjoy the experience and do not get so caught up on doing everything right.

Aaron Sanstrum of Sanstrum & Associates, participant and sponsor of “Rockin’ Walkers” - If you get a hot spot and your teammates have stopped to get you water … go to the van and deal with it. In my case, put on the other shoes…

Aaron only got five or six blisters ….

Luci Smith of Team Toe Jammin' getting some refreshment!

Luci Smith, one of my fellow Toe Jammin’ teammates who also competes with Team in Training said, “Train before the race and bring the right foods. Don’t try ANYTHING new on race day: new style of walking, food or drink.” Luci had to do some extra pre-planning for food due to a gluten allergy, but she always made a point of sharing what she brought. Plus, Luci pushed through a horrible cold to do her third leg!

Kristiana Gaylin of one of my church’s teams “Crosswalkin’ Roadsters” wrote to me and said, “Stay home. No. Keep your feet dry. And only go in and air conditioned van.” She’s right. Temperatures got into the 90′s on race day!

My advice: Make an appointment with your chiropractor and/or massage therapist BEFORE the race for right AFTER the race, because after being in van for 26+ hours straight and working your butt off, you’ll need it!  And test your energy bars and drinks on tough routines before the race lest you barf up the new ones on race day. And never underestimate the power of fresh fruit and olives as a natural recovery food between legs.

Thank you for reading the Fit2Blog today! What are your thoughts about what you read? Please leave a reply or a question, and be sure you’re taking advantage of our amazing TummySafe™ workouts!