Dates Announced: 3rd Annual FREE Running Clinic

Running has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. One of my favorite parts of being a Certified Personal Trainer is helping people to learn that running can actually be really fun. Because running is both efficient and social, it’s a great component for an exercise program for busy people. I will be hosting my 3rd annual four-week running clinic on Wednesday evenings from 6-7pm, starting September 15th. This free clinic will be held at the pavilion in Perry Park, adjacent to Highland Park Elementary, 4900 Fairview Drive, Austin, TX 78731. Men, women, and teenagers are welcome to attend.

Each clinic will consist of warm-up and cool-down jogs with agility drills and strength or speed conditioning exercises. Each week will focus on a different aspect of running training: the basics of form and staying injury-free, hill training, interval training, and pace running. At the conclusion of each week’s workout, there will be directed stretching and time for questions and answers. The clinic is open to all ability levels, from joggers to seasoned runners. I promise that workouts can be modified to be made suitable for a wide range of participants.

The timing of the clinic serves as a great base for those who want to run the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Sunday, November 7th. As the daughter of a breast cancer survivor, I am motivated to help find a cure for this disease. Join other Austinites starting on September 15th to demonstrate that running builds both good health and strong communities.

Contact Karen of Balance Personal Fitness Training for more information: karen@balancepft.com

Pushing the Reset Button

One of my favorite weekends of the year has just come and gone. Each November, I meet up with girlfriends from all over the country for a weekend of friendship and fellowship. We choose a different location each year, and this year we enjoyed the hospitality and gorgeous weather of Beaufort, SC.

While this may seem an odd location for a get together, it is home for one of my girlfriends, and it is near to Auldbrass, a plantation that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Auldbrass is owned by Hollywood movie producer Joel Silver, who has spent the past two decades restoring Auldbrass to the vision set on paper by Wright in the 1930s. Silver opens his home to the public every five years as a way of supporting the Beaufort County Open Land Trust. My girlfriends and I were keen to take the opportunity to tour the home and its amazing grounds.

In addition to having a geekfest at the plantation, we had plenty of time for chatting and laughing and eating. (We even ate multiple meals at restaurants– with no crayons!) Sitting on my girlfriend’s front porch, watching the snapping turtles in the pond in her front yard, and sharing stories with friends allowed me to breathe deeply. Although we see each other en masse only once per year, the familiarity of our friendships are comfortable and comforting.

My girlfriend’s neighborhood, Habersham, is a neighborhood designed using the principles of new urbanism. Going for a few long runs in a neighborhood made up of well designed, thoughtful homes was such a treat. There are also boardwalks going over and through the marshes of Habersham that made for exotic running adventures. And the sunny, warm weather only made the runs more enjoyable.

My annual parole (as me and my fellow mama girlfriends refer to it) is like pushing my reset button. And any weekend that contains friendship, geekdom, running, and sunshine is a good one.

High-Flying Friends

Last Sunday, I had the joy of watching one of my oldest and best friends take her first trapeze lesson. M was a willing participant, but she admitted to me on the drive to the Trapeze Experience rig that she was a bit nervous. She was in good hands, though, as our facilitators Russell, Spencer, and Gary are fantastic with new flyers. While M took her ground lesson, I headed up to the platform to being my swing and layout practice.

M struggled a bit on her first attempt at the knee hang, but by her third try she had it perfect. Shortly thereafter, Gary climbed up into the catchtrap, and the next thing M knew she had successfully completed her first mid-air transfer on the flying trapeze! It was so exciting for her; it was also exciting for me, though, to see her feel the thrill of flying. After several other successful catches, M learned a new trick on her very first day.

To make the experience even better, our class was the final session at which “Uncle Tony” Steele was facilitating. A legend in the trapeze world, Uncle Tony has been flying since he was a child. He is the greatest living trapeze artist, having trained people from everyday folks like me to circus performers to celebrities to stuntpeople. Uncle Tony told some pretty corny jokes, but his enthusiasm for trapeze– and sharing his knowledge with others– was infectious. It was also pretty amazing to see him, at age 74, still throw a double back flip.

My lesson for the day came not so much in my work on the trapeze– it was a rather poor day for me, actually– but in my head and heart. From M I learned how fulfilling it can be to watch someone learn something new. Certainly I get that lesson regularly from my kids, but to see an adult tackle a new challenge is equally rewarding. And to see Uncle Tony still doing what he loves with such grace and power and fun is inspirational. It was a full body-mind sense of happiness, completeness, and exhaustion at the end of the lesson.

Is there anything better than sharing something you love with someone you love? I think not.

Father’s Day and Fitness

To say that my father influenced my passion for fitness is an understatement.  My childhood was colored by growing up in the subculture of distance running; my weeknights were spent playing in the long jump pit while Dad ran a track workout; my weekends were spent at road races; Summertime meant travel…..travel all over the US, but always to a race.

It was a fantastic way to grow up.

I was surrounded by people who loved running (somewhat obsessively, to be honest).  They also loved seeing each other and competing with each other.  It was a supportive community, and children were always encouraged to participate in the fun.  From staffing aid stations during the race to running in the kid’s K races, I always felt like I was an important part of the action.  A highlight of being in the “inner circle” was being allowed to hold the winner’s ribbon at the end of the 1984 Dallas White Rock Marathon, of which Dad was the director.  Is there a better way to make kids want to be active than to make them feel involved and important? 

As I grew up, my dad continued to shape my athletic interests.  I ran cross-country and track through high school, and although I was never a top contender, he encouraged me to do my best.  I began to understand that running with others *was* a lot of fun, and going to meets was good socializing.  I continued to run through college, always getting in a run or two with Dad when I’d come home for a visit.

I ran my first marathon in graduate school.  My most memorable marathon, however, was my third marathon: the 1999 Boston Marathon.  Dad flew up from Dallas to run it with me.  It was his 60th marathon, and it was his slowest ever.  But we did it together, and it was a priceless experience despite my having a bad running day.

I continue to run with my dad when we see each other.  Even at 62, he’s still faster than I am.  But he’s also still nice enough to slow down and enjoy the run.  Happy Father’s Day, Dad. 

May the road rise to meet you.  May the wind be always at your back.

Finding your Mama tribe

Shortly after I moved to Austin with my husband and then 18-month old son, I embarked on the adventure of creating a life that would satisfy me and help my child to thrive.  I was blessed by finding the Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group at St. Louis Catholic Church in Central Austin.  Not everyone in the group (including me) were members of St. Louis, and not everyone in the group was Catholic.  But we shared the common bond of motherhood and its especially intense challenges of being mostly stay-at-home moms to young children.  The women I met in this group became dear friends, and for more than two years I enjoyed their company, wisdom, and friendship.  I knew that once a week, I had a place to go (with babysitting provided!!) where I could be myself for two hours.

Although I haven’t participated in the group regularly for more than a year, I still see my friends on mom’s night outs and other celebratory occassions.  I was honored when they asked me to speak at their end-of-year Open House.  I am going to talk about “Functional Fitness for Busy Moms,” a topic that I know is relevant to my friends– and pretty much every other mom, too!  If you would like to join us and find out more about the group, the meeting is from 9.30-11.30 tomorrow, May 27th.  The group meets at St. Louis Catholic Church on Burnet Rd., just south of Anderson Ln.  Childcare is available free of charge in Wozniak Hall.  Just email me and let me know to look for you.  Open arms and hearts await.

Happy Sigh

I spent last evening in the company of some amazing women.  I knew going in that it would be an evening of amazing women; after all, the title of the evening was AWE: Amazing Women’s Evening.  And it was.

First were the wonderfully creative artists who were represented.  Curlin Reed Sullivan, who utilizes bits of nature in her wonderfully humanistic figures, is an equally delightful person.  I had seen her name around town and knew her charming work, but I had never met her before.  Anyone who wears a sunny yellow jacket and smiles broadly is a friend of mine.  Quite different in style from Curlin is the work of Elaine St Marie, a counselor and artist and coach and more.  Her abstract expressionist works present color and motion and depth.  Listening to her speak about commissions she takes on– intuitive pieces where she works with the client to create personal, meaningful works of art– was inspiring.  If only everyone were bold enough to commission an artwork and then be brave enough to honestly accept the product…

The main event of the evening–and the main reason for my wanting to go in the first place–was a  reading by Jeannie Ralston  from her memoir The Unlikely Lavendar Queen.  I had seen a newspaper article about Jeannie and her adventurous life as a lavendar farmer about six months ago.  She seemed to have an enticing balance of wit and kindness, which is especially difficult to pull off in print.  I’m pleased now to know that her personality is filled with an effortless grace, as she is simultaneously respectful of both her power and her humility.  Listening to her read snippets of her memoir was captivating, and I look forward to reading the book in its entirety soon.  As someone who has moved frequently and built relationship communities repeatedly, I feel a kinship with Jeannie’s “bloom where you are planted” philosophy.  Her reading filled me with confidence and inspired me to work hard for my dreams and not fear where they will lead.

Many thanks to Soul Coach Marianne MacKenzie for organizing the event and to the women of Soma Vida for hosting.  The evening was a much needed reminder to me of how one short evening can transform a group of strangers into a community.