Break On Through to the Other Side

My favorite running coach, Jim Bowles, told me once if he told me a thousand times: "Run THROUGH the finish line, not to it."

My husband's favorite golf coaches tell him: "Swing several inches PAST the ball, or your swing will decelerate at the ball."

Your instincts, oh you novice exercisers, and yes you too, seasoned movers and shakers, seem to be telling you to flop to your knees/your hands/your behind/your tried and true slouch, just as you are approaching the halfway point of your last repetition.

Please, don't slouch halfway.  See it through.  Finish what you started with all the great technique and oomph and breath and determination you can muster!


Shall I go on at length about the neuromuscular sequencing, motor learning, and proprioception benefits to a strong finish?  No, I shant.  Are you more likely to take it from me given my use of those five dollar words?  You probably shouldn't but I'm kind of hoping so....


Let's insert a slight re-framing.  A strong finish is good for your self esteem.  Do your very best, with a significant -- even uncomfortable but not painful -- effort, and you will feel better about your movement and more confident in your ability to repeat your fine performance in the future.  You will also feel confident transferring your stick-to-it-ive-ness to other demanding tasks.


Follow through.  Go beyond.  That's the spirit!


May blessings surround you at the holiday season and then some -- Be Well!

If you weren't already thinking about food....

It's the holidays. It's visits with friends and families. It can be wonderful... it can be taxing... it can cause toxicity, inflammation, and excessive weight gain!

Listen, food is a big part of nearly every cultural celebration this time of year.  OK, check that, ANY time of year.  We break bread together, we eat and talk, we do lunch, we get together for a drink... and that nourishment is emotional, physical, spiritual.  But does it really have to be over-the-top overindulgent?

I've been a personal trainer for 20 years now.  Every year at holiday time, one or several of my clients starts baking, or shopping, to distribute confections for gifts.  Thoughtful, yes.  And no. Baffling, it is. I have to admit, there were some instances in which I received some really decadent, rich, truffle-ly gift and thought there might be a sinister, passive-aggressive motive behind it.  Probably correct only half the time on that score, though. 

Over time I have come to take myself less seriously, and thus take less offense at these gestures.  But if you know someone who doesn't eat a lot of sugar/butter/cheese/chocolate/cream/sugar/shortening/sugar/flour/sugar for a reason, wouldn't it be more considerate to go the extra mile to present something delectable without all those ingredients?  The fresh fruit basket thing is AWESOME, really it is!  The cake or the cookie platter is going to go to waste.  Will I eat one or two servings?  Sure will, if it's there I'm going to taste it.  But eating more than one or two will make me feel sick.  See, it's not a guilt thing, vis-a-vis, "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips."  Frankly, I exercise a lot, for a living and for a lifestyle, so I doubt the cookie will be camping out on my thighs. 

But people who eat sweet/rich stuff regularly don't feel sick from it.  People who don't?  It's going to mess up my digestion, make me grumpy, give me a headache, increase my sinus congestion, make my hormones act up, interrupt my sleep patterns. 

How about your friends with diabetes? Or arthritis? I hear more friends and acquaintances being diagnosed every day, it seems.  Even if they are on medication to control their symptoms, the rich/heavy/sweet stuff will exacerbate their conditions so they'll need more medication to feel alright.  Not to cure the condition, just to feel alright with the condition.  A considerate treat would be...an herbal tea sampler? An organic nut tray? 

You get the idea.  The generosity is appreciated.  The indulgent taste is definitely flavorful.  But the lingering effects have room for improvement.  Does health take a holiday?  Sometimes.  But there's a price to be paid for it.  If the holidays put you in more of a "pay it forward" kind of mood, then make the choice of treats healthier.  You and your recipients will feel so much better inside and out, physically and emotionally and spiritually.

Be Well, and Happy Healthy Holidays!

Dear CEO of American Express:

I just sent this email to the CEO of American Express. If you have had a similarly ridiculous "customer service assistance" experience, please feel free to share with your friends. And encourage them to share with their friends. And so on, and so on, and so on....

Dear Mr. Kenneth Chenault, CEO, American Express:

I wasn't furious about Monday's attempted AmEx gift card transaction until after I called your toll-free assistance number. Now I hope to share my indignation about your "procedures," as the customer service representative put it, far and wide.

A couple of weeks ago, I was the happy recipient of an AmEx gift card. Yesterday, Cyber Monday, I decided to make an online purchase of a pair of athletic shoes. But the transaction would not process, even though the purchase price was well under the value of the card.

I called the merchant, as suggested on my screen. The merchant's rep stated my purchase was not processed because my gift card did not reflect a billing address for payment validation. She also mentioned that there would likely now be a hold on the gift card, in the purchase amount. She recommended I call AmEx to get the hold lifted, then call back to resume the ordering process.
Since there were only two pairs of the sale shoes left in my size, I called immediately.

The AmEx automated card balance system confirmed the diminished value of my card, reflecting the exact amount of my failed purchase.

The living AmEx customer service representative also confirmed the hold was in place, but would happily be lifted. The process would take 8 days.

He informed me that if I had registered my card prior to making an internet purchase, then a billing address would have been linked to the card and prevented the purchase hang-up.

I grasp the value of the process of registering and assigning ownership with a valid address to the gift card. However, there is nothing on the gift card packaging, and no mention in the enclosed Cardholder Agreement insert, regarding card registration. Nothing. Nowhere to be found. I re-read the documentation while I was parked on hold by the CSR, who was checking to see if the hold on
the card could be lifted any sooner. Writers are notoriously good readers, but still I wanted to make sure I didn't miss something in the fine print or the FAQ section. Especially in the internet purchases section.

CSR reported that the hold could not be processed any sooner than 8 days. If I had performed a retail POP transaction, the hold could be removed right away. But not for an internet purchase. So I asked him why there was no mention of registering the card on the literature accompanying the card? Why was I, in effect, being penalized for not following a procedure about which I was not
informed prior to the transaction?

The CSR said there was no further alternative. I asked to speak to a manager. He said he had spoken to a manager and nothing more could be done. I asked him if he had explained the situation to the manager in the exact same manner as I had.  He said the only procedure available had been followed.

I demanded to speak to a manager. He asked if I could wait on hold again for 2 minutes. I said yes. Twelve minutes later, still on hold, never speaking to a manager or the CSR again, I hung up. This, I assume, is exactly what the CSR hoped I would do.

I wonder, did your CSR follow the proper procedure for handling the request of an unsatisfied customer to the letter of the AmEx customer service representative procedure manual?

And how is it in the least bit sensible for a gift card holder to learn of a card registration procedure only AFTER a transaction has been refused by an online merchant? Only AFTER a hold has been applied to a card balance?

It is a disincentive to using an AmEx gift card for online purchases. Effectively, it is a restriction, and one which is not listed on the Cardholder Agreement.

And so I, the consumer, get to pay the price for your error of omission. The cost of my wasted time on the phone, and on hold, with your customer assistance staff (now, there's a misnomer). He had ample opportunity to make some good come of my phone call, and he chose to duck and hide. Exemplary customer service training.... The cost of 8 days waiting for the hold to be lifted from the gift card. The cost of my time in firing off this letter to you and the U.S. Consumer. The cost of my aggravation at tripping over your extremely sloppy online purchasing procedure - or better stated, your lack of a clearly communicated online purchasing procedure.

Communicate. Inform your customers. Train your staff. Incentivize online purchases.

How can you possibly afford to have a bumbling gift card program?

With AmEx it's been my experience that cardholders have to ask ahead if merchants accept it. Why is that?

Sincerely,

Jane Ogle

It has been 9 calendar days since the Inaugural Savannah Rock 'n' Roll Marathon & 1/2 Marathon race.  Yes, I could have written about it sooner but for some reason I paid attention to the instinct that said, "Sit, rest, let it ferment a little before you write much more about it." 

Sitting and resting was the order of the week following the race, just to give my tired and sore achilles tendon another healthy dose of non-vigorous function.  My brain and the rest of my musculature weren't too enchanted with all that rest.  I think I just did one Pilates routine all week and besides some stretching and the usual routine of demonstrating client exercises, that was really all.  My brain function and my sleep patterns are certainly much better in the presence of vigorous activity.

Prior to all that sitting and resting there was a spectacle beyond all imagination!  About 20,000 excited, chilled runners made it to the start line on Saturday, November 5.  The energy was high and buzzing and wonderful!  Nerves were jangling, flash bulbs popping, folks hanging out the hotel windows cheering, what a party atmosphere!  The half marathon was like that from start to finish, densely packed runners having a terrific time, dancing to the music, high-fiving folks standing streetside to cheer us on, what a super fun scene!  I am definitely wearing a boa for next year's race.

Amazingly perky, goofy, wonderful co-coach of the morning marathon CREW, Carol Ann, made up a couple of cheering pom-poms on broomstick handles for the two of us to carry so our CREW-mates could find us before the start in our designated corral.  Her pom, with a little help from our friends, made it the entire length of the marathon.  My pom made it to about the 5 mile mark, when I handed it off to a couple of little boys and their dad to enjoy.  Turns out they were spotted several times along the marathon course cheering with it... scored with that handoff!

Each and every one of our half-marathon and marathon trainees who made it to the start line made it across the finish line on race day.  What a great day for them!  And a great day for us coaches, we were absolutely bursting with pride for their efforts.  As difficult as it was for me to watch my comrades peel off at Anderson Street to head south for the full marathon route (we were having so darn much fun together!) it was beyond thrilling to watch them charging toward the finish line a couple of hours later.

Once I finished the half, had a snack, took a hot shower, and iced my feet, I had to get on my bike and head back out on the course to cheer on my CREW-mates.  My achilles would not have been happy if I stood at the finish line waiting for them, and they were all quite used to me biking along with them on their training runs, so why not do it again?  And here's what I knew ahead of time:  The Truman Parkway section of the course, being miles 21 through 24, was going to suck.  Suck is too tame a word for it, but that's as far as I'll take it in writing.  Marathons are hard, we all know that.  But honestly, putting THE WALL together with a desolate stretch of highway with no cheering friends/residents and no shade was just the stupidest idea ever.  Really, ever.  Weather, you can't control.  Highway?  At Mile 21?  That you can fix.

So across the barren highway I rode in search of glycogen-depleted CREW runners.  A runner at that point in a marathon is either riding the edge, or up to their armpits, in a blood sugar crater.  Any shred of energy, any glimmer of a hopeful, happy face will help.  So I helped.  (HINT HINT You can help, too.  Anyone can.  Just be there :-)  I cheered for all the runners, but especially the CREW-mates.

Here are the things you curse when you hit THE WALL in an endurance event at mile number (---), maybe it's 10 or 15 or 18 or 22 -- you curse the landscaping in the park you just went through.  You curse the color of the bricks on the houses you can barely see through your wavering and/or tunneled vision.  You curse the friends and family you told about the race, who are all now expecting you to finish the darn thing when they haven't the slightest notion of how much it hurts to do!  You curse yourself, "Why did I think I could do this?  This is hell, why did I want to put myself through hell?" 

Then there's the friends who are with you, who have trained with you and encouraged you all along the way, and the writers in "Runners' World" who said you could do it, they get cursed too.  And the volunteers who keep yelling, "You're almost there!"  You try not to curse them out loud, but for heavens' sakes, you can't see the finish line nor cross it at that precise moment -- so you're not almost there -- and almost isn't really good enough dammit -- you want to BE DONE NOW -- and you're not!  You see, THE WALL is a nutty, not nice place.

This is what happens when we runners tap out the body's energy stores -- we lose our minds.  Energy blocks and gels and sports drinks are supposed to prevent this but most of us get a taste of it anyway.  Then we get a second wind, or a third or fourth wind, some little sliver of hope to cling to.  Maybe the music from one of the bands gets through the evil voices in our heads long enough to cheer us up.  Hearing the finish line crowd a mile or so back... that's very energizing. 


Some struggled mightily, some walked almost as much as they ran, some sailed through the finish line all smiles and pumping arms, but they all put one foot in front of the other for either 13.1 or 26.2 miles and accomplished something very few people ever even attempt.  All the people who came out cheering in Savannah that day, especially those of you who didn't know a single runner, thank you so much for being there and sharing your energy with us!  Next time, Gordonston, please make enough bloody mary's and mimosa's to go around.

Crossing the finish line is an incomparable, ecstatic experience when you have endured so much.  Once across the finish line you say, "That was so fantastic!"  You are just a few hundred meters away from where you lost your mind and your glycogen, and harbored the most heinous thoughts ever to have crossed your mind, but it's such a different perspective from the "done" side of the finish line.  Maybe you gather with your friends after the finish and start planning the next one!  It's extraordinary how quickly you can let go of all that misery.  It has been compared to planning your next pregnancy right after having given birth.

Random observations and intrigue from race:

Sign on W. Gwinette Street: "Rock It Kelley!" Passerby overheard: "Thanks but my name is Kenny!"

Sign on Price Street: "Got Toenails?"

Sign on Anderson Street, Mile 24.5: "F**k it, It's Almost Over."

Reactions overheard regarding the aforementioned pom-poms: "Is she the pacing team?" Coach Carol Ann's standard answer: "I'm the fun team!" Trainer Jane's answer: "I'm the goofy leader!" Also overheard: "What's the pom-pom mean?" Trainer Jane's answer: "It means pom-pom! Lighten up and have a little fun, will ya?"

Overheard: "What's that smell?" Trainer Jane's answer: Welcome to Savannah, The "hostess with occasional halitosis" city.

DJ on Tatnall and W. Liberty playing Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison" -- OMG, lovin me some '90's new jack swing...

While on bike at mile 22 in search of CREWbies: "Can I buy your bike? -- pant -- Oh wait, darn it, -- pant -- I don't have my wallet...."

Jon's favorites: Sign pointing to ground, "you are here." Girl holding sign:  "Don't follow Sarah, she just farted."

Lee Ann's favorite: "Just peel off the layers and push through."

Ashley's favorites:  At the traffic circle in Daffin Park: "Go Total Stranger!" and not far from that one, "Something Inspirational."  One more around mile 25: "Worst. Parade. Ever."

James' favorite: "Wet Willies opens at 11. You better hurry up." But his personal favorite held by one of his friends, "Run like you're 29!"  James turned 30 on race day....

For some, a checkmark on the bucket list.  For the marathon monsters we CREW coaches created, the first but not the last.  Savannah sure can Rock 'n' Roll with the best of 'em.

Be Well, see you at the Bridge Run.

Ready to Rock 'n' Roll, Savannah!

We are three weeks away from Savannah's inaugural Rock 'n' Roll marathon event! 


(Pet peeve alert:  Please take note, event planners everywhere, there is no such thing as a "1st Annual Insert-Your-Event-Name-Here."  Only after you've had the second one can we be certain that a trend has been established.  Cynical, yes, but true.)


I'll be doing the half-marathon this year due to that achilles tendon tear I suffered in August.  A couple of our full marathon trainees in the C.R.E.W. training program will be doing likewise.  Sorry to say a few others will not be able to race this year due to injuries, but with smart rehabilitation and progressive training they will certainly be racing again!  I am not only looking forward to seeing their faces in the cheering section at the November 5th race, but also expect to be running alongside them at the Bridge Run, the Tybee Race Festival, the Shamrock Shuffle, the Komen Race for the Cure, the Savannah Mile, and/or next year's Rock 'n' Roll :-)


Will I be jealous of the full marathoners as they go by?  You bet I will.  But also absolutely thrilled and electrified to be in their presence, empathizing completely with the effort and exhileration at meeting this astounding goal!  And the thrill of it all will seize the day, I know from experience. 


In April, 2000, after 12 weeks of training and just 3 weeks before the Sugarloaf, Maine Marathon I tore my quadricep during my last long training run.  No running for 3 months, but I was able to volunteer at the race as a bicycle safety marshall.  After a good cry at the pre-race pasta dinner, I joined a few hundred runners and a couple of bike marshalls for a very safe and breathtakingly beautiful ride/run down the mountainside.  Even saw a moose.  Probably would have been too tired to see it while running....


In September, 2006, while not training for anything in particular, I experienced an acute greater trochantric bursitis.  It was only 2 months without running that time.  Couldn't bike for a time, too, come to think of it.  Ooh, I was definitely Ms. Cranky-pants from lack of exercise with that injury!  Less than a year later I ran in the San Francisco half-marathon, and I can remember clear as day how elated I was to be running long distance again without pain.  Passing the Giants new ballfield in downtown San Francisco, amidst hundreds of cheering spectators including my husband, brothers, nephew and niece, I felt a surge of joy everytime I spotted a runner wearing a full marathon bib number.  From 3.1 miles to 26.2 and everywhere in between, there's something very special about each and every finish line, unique in its importance from one runner to the next.  I think I cried at the finish line for this one, happy tears for feeling so good.


And I cried tears of pain at the end of 2008's Vermont City Marathon.  Note to all runners:  Do Not, and I cannot emphasize this enough, Absolutely Do Not Spend 5 Days On Your Feet Working A Trade Show In A Convention Center With Concrete Floors The Week Of Your Marathon Race.  Oh lord, that was a painful finish, what a spectacle.  A debacle, really.


Let's leave this section on a high note:  Tears of joy at the Maine Marathon in 2004 when I finished with a Boston Qualifier time!  Even though I had no intention of running with 40,000 people in Boston.  And here we are in Savannah about to host 23,000 runners, it's going to be nutsy-crazy-crowded.


Marathoning brings you face to face with your limits.  Sometimes your limits are not happy to see you.  Sometimes they are.  It is a magnificent boost to your self esteem to meet them with a smile and a tear, when you work that hard to rise to a challenge.  There's nothing quite like it.  


But marathoning could be a metaphor for any challenge you rise to conquer, couldn't it? 


And in these last few weeks before the race, a lot of us runners are praying to stay healthy and strong from now until the big day, so all our efforts will not have gone to waste.  I am here to assure you, people, that even if, heaven forbid, you get sick or injured between now and then, your efforts will not have been in vain because you have already climbed higher and pushed farther than you ever thought you possibly could -- and you can do it again and go all the way!  Even though getting sick or injured now would really suck.  No doubt.  But it's temporary -- what you've already accomplished is within you forever.  And if you want to badly enough, wisely enough, you'll reach new milestones.


Being a coach with Fleet Feet Sport's C.R.E.W. training program has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my running career.  To think of the pitfalls, the exasperation, the trials and errors I could have avoided in my marathon training years ago if I had access to a program like this... on this level, it's very gratifying to save these dozens of runners from making those same mistakes.   In addition, I have established Savannah connections with amazingly energetic, doggedly determined, and wholeheartedly caring people who share my passion for running -- COOL!


No boundaries between the personal and professional here.


Be Well!  See you at the start line on Bay Street on November 5th :-)

Cholesterol Lowering Options

You can take a statin medication.  Doctors have even begun prescribing them, and their patients (some of my clients included) have begun taking them, to prevent a rise in overall blood cholesterol levels where one does not currently exist.

I don't think this is such a great idea.  But I'm a fitness professional.  I believe in lifestyle change prior to trying prescription medications for chronic lifestyle related conditions.  With consistent healthy eating and healthy movement, most can keep their cholesterol in balance most of the time.  Not true for all, but certainly most.  The same could be said for high blood pressure, type II diabetes, back pain, arthritis, osteoporosis, and so on.  Is it easier to swallow a pill?  Sure it is.  It is not easier to live with the side effects of a pill, unless you keep blinders on and ignore the tangible and intangible effects you suffer.  So be it.


If you are willing to take better care of yourself inside and out, if you want to feel better AND have better blood lipid profiles AND enjoy the positive side effects of healthy eating and healthy movement, read on.  Here is a link to some research recently reported in the Washington Post about the benefits of adding cholesterol lowering foods to your diet:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-better-option-for-low-cholesterol-diets/2011/08/25/gIQAhKMhnJ_story.html?wpisrc=nl_health

Be Well!  It's kind of up to you...

Turning On The Jets

This is not about football.  Or hot tubs. 

Walking home from work at Strong Gym Savannah this week (ask me how much I love love LOVE walking to work!!), I was happily inspired by a couple of seemingly mundane occurences.

Picture, if you will, Trainer Jane strolling southbound on one of the prettiest streets in the United States: Bull Street, Savannah, GA.  (Get the street view on google maps, going south from 1321 Bull Street, the location of Strong Gym. Hint hint.)  It's a sunny day, close to 90 degrees, but not humid for a very refreshing change. 


Walking northbound on the opposite side of the street I see a young family.  Man, woman, teenage girl, all in casual clothes, and three boys in football uniforms, complete with pads and carrying their helmets.  (Oops, I lied, this is a little about football afterall.)  The boys range from roughly 8 to 14 years old.  They are laughing and talking on their way to Forsyth Park for football practice.  I smile broadly and watch them for about a block.  It's always terrific to me to see people walking from point A to point B.  Especially when it's more than 20 steps. 


Plenty of people walk around here because they can, there are sidewalks everywhere and the weather is pleasant 95 percent of the time.  They have the option to drive but choose to live on their feet instead of inside a box with wheels.  (I assume it is a choice.  If they walk because they have to it remains a very beneficial thing to do.)  It makes me smile that they have access to great recreation programs in walking distance.  It makes me smile to see families enjoying their activities together, sharing time and experiences.  It becomes apparent that I smile at the slightest thing, right?


Just as the northbound family across the street proceeds out of my peripheral vision, I see a young man approaching on my side of the street.  A boy, really, a block away from me.  He's about 11 or 12 years old, I guess.  He's walking briskly.  Then suddenly, he turns on the jets and starts sprinting toward and rapidly past me.  It didn't look as though he was being chased or he was late or he was chasing anyone himself, he just looked focused on sprinting as fast as he could.  And the first thing that popped into my head was, "What's he got to prove?" 


Is he showing off his sprint for one of the football-kids across the street?  Is he proving it to himself that he can launch that turbo charger on a dime and run faster than he felt like he did before?  Is he wondering how winded he gets from sprinting the length of a city block?  Is there a crowd cheering in his head for his performance as he crosses his imaginary finish line?


I must have looked like a grinning idiot to other folks on the street, but I just got so tickled for sprinter-boy.  It's so fun to have the ability to turn on the jets whenever you feel like it and go flashing around under your own power!  As you get older you have to work harder to maintain some percentage of that ability, but when you do the work the results feel almost as good as they did when you were a kid. 


I hope football-family and sprinter-boy continue to have the good fortune that allows them the joy of movement, as well as reaping the benefits of movement itself.  I also hope they inspire other parents and children by their examples.


Be Well!