Week 18: Excellence!

 “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. 

We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”  - Aristotle 

Countdown 12 Days

"Picturing" myself on The Great Wall

“No man ever reached excellence in any one art or profession without having passed through the slow and painful process of study and preparation” -  Horace

    In November 2010, I saw the advertisement for this wonderful opportunity presented by The Arthritis Society. I thought to myself...I can help make a difference while pursuing my passion for health and fitness. I knew this task was not going to be easy but I was ready to put my mind, body, and spirit into challenging myself and helping millions of Canadians.

*My"Fight Against Arthritis" has been featured in SNAP Newspaper*. Click Here!

I came across many speed bumps and detours along the way. My biggest challenge of all was fundraising. How was I going to raise nearly $8,000? I was shy at first and didn't know how to approach people and what their responses would be? I kept reminding myself that "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm" (Winston Churchill). All I knew was that I believed in fighting for a good cause. 

Elise treating an Arthritic patient

I am very thankful for the positive responses from people and their support to achieve my dream! They helped make all my road blocks fade away and strengthen my journey!

 

"Life is a journey, not a destination" - Steven Tyler.

    Being a member of the Joints In Motion Training Team has truly been a journey. I have learned more about Arthritis, the importance of giving and how to prepare for The Great Wall Marathon. When I signed up, I did not know what I was going to be faced with. Just as the quote states above it was a "slow and painful process of study and preparation!"

"I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost

In Chinatown  -  Chinese Souvlaki

    Count down! One week to go before I depart for Beijing. I pretended to be a tourist in my own city and explored Chinatown! The streets smelled like fish, covered in red and yellow banners and plenty of Chinese people. 

I saw this food stand and had no clue what kind of souvlaki it sold until I read their business card...it was lamb. From looking at this stand the only information I could understand were the numbers. The year this Chinese souvlaki may have been invented (1661) and a phone number with out the English name of the stand. Maybe I should start learning Chinese?  : )

Thankfully they had an array of pictures to choose from! 

Steamed dumplings anyone?

Thank you again for all of your support!

I am still fundraising and please donate what you can.

Need to raise $1,160 more!

Week 17: Go for the Goal!

"Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world."

- Johnann Wolfgang von Goethe

18 Days - 439hrs - 26346mins - 1580816s

I set out to run 20K this weekend and completed 17K. I covered more distance than last week in the same amount of time (2 hours). Very happy!

I am running for people who have discomfort with movement.

I am fundraising to improve Arthritis research and quality of treatments.

I am traveling to the Great Wall to witness what thousands of slaves were sacrificed for the completion of this ambitious endeavor.

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” - Napoleon Hill

“Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.”

 - Dale Carnegie

 

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!

- Audrey Hepburn

What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?

- Robert H. Schuller

THANK YOU 

FOR 

YOUR SUPPORT!!

Week 16: Take the Risk

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin

25 Days, 608 hrs, 36507 mins, 2190430s

My first ever 15K run (2 hours)

With 3 more weeks till departure, I set out to test my physical ability to increase my running distance from 13 K to 15 K. I had been preparing all week by climbing 120 floors of stairs (2400 steps),  and running shorter distances 8 K and 6 K. I would have thought I would have been tired by Sunday, but I my legs were asking for more!

Found a beautiful set of steps along my run

 
Running longer than an hour requires proper hydration and refueling to avoid hitting the wall. Hitting the wall is when your body has used up your second long term energy storage, glycogen, which is stored in the liver and muscles. Hitting the wall leads to fatigue and loss of energy. I have experienced this once through out my training. Out of nowhere my legs stopped running. My mind could not push it any further if it wanted it to.

At the top

I drank water, E-Load (electrolyte drink), and GU Chomps (gummies) along the way. After an 1hr 30mins of running I started feeling a significant demand of energy from my working muscles. My thirst increased and began drinking more frequently. Surprisingly, my muscles were not tired or sore, and the only the only limitation I was faced with was refueling. I needed more nutrients!!

• Eating and Training: How to time it right (Runner's World)
• How to eat before, during and after ready-set-go (National Post) 

Take the Risk

Home Stretch

"Opportunity always involves risk. You can't keep your foot on first and steal second base. If you don't take the risk, which is very important when trying to attain your goals, you can't take your game to a new level. Calculated risk is an essential part of the game.

By taking action you are never wondering what happened. By taking action you are making things happen. Don't sit on the bench or in the crowd too often. If you get the chance to sit it out or dance...dance!"

 - Tim Cork, "Tapping The Iceberg" 2007.

Week 15: The Great Wall Marathon

My First Half Marathon

Sat May 21, 2011

Countdown: 32 days, 775 hours,46557 mins, 2793464 seconds

Hello! 

    I have been training to run a half marathon (21K) for 3 months. Running 3-4 times a week, climbing stair cases, swimming, playing soccer and stretching. Each training session is a challenge to complete my mini-goals of the week which will prepare me for the my ultimate goal. 

   This week my goals include cycling, climbing 92-100 flights of stairs, run 8km, 6km, and then ending the week with 15km.

It is very difficult for me to train 5 days a week and usually get in 3-4 days. I try my best and do as much as my body allows me while minimizing risk of injury. As much as I train, I take days off to rest. Recovery is just as important as training for improvements in overall strength and endurance. 
 

    In addition, my eating habits have improved. I always make sure I have a big breakfast to start my day with plenty of fiber and fruits. I eat more fish, smaller portions frequently throughout the day and drink water over juice. Also, I have reduced my fast food intake by preparing my meals ahead of time and curving hunger attacks with fresh fruit and snacks.

  
 Start the Race! 

   "You have just heard the starting signal and you will be passing this particular stretch of 0.8 kilometres 3times in all. The first time is NOW. The second time you pass you will be heading in the same direction just after descending the Wall. The third time you are on this stretch, it will have changed into the homestretch! "

The excitement condenses

"It all starts at 3 a.m. Saturday morning – at least for the large part of runners who are staying at hotels in Beijing. They then have three hours of contemplating their awaiting task while driving further and further up into the Chinese hills and closer to the Great Wall. At 6 a.m. the first runners start arriving at the start area. Eyes filled with excitement, anticipation and just a hint of panic stare up against the steep wall hovering in the horizon as restless legs cross the big Yin and Yang sign decorating the start and finish area. As time goes on, the endless line to the bathrooms grows smaller, people are getting in sync with the energetic warm-up girls, and before you know it, the first marathoners are on their way.

Off to the Wall

The race starts off headlong with a five-kilometer uphill run. Then the second big challenge waits: 3 km of steps, steps and more steps on the Great Wall. After stepping down the last rugged step – for now – a stretch of both paved and unpaved roads takes the runners through several villages and serene Chinese nature. The villagers in this remote part of China hardly ever see visitors, and always serve as enthusiastic and encouraging marathon spectators. After some kilometers of being cheered and clapped by happy, high-fiving children, the half marathoners run straight to the finish line, while full marathoners have a second meeting with their new best friend, the Wall. The very last part of the marathon course is another 5 kilometers of steep hill, but this time downwards.

A new course record (2008)

Margaret Hagerty

While some runners kick back in the massage chairs or just sit down in astonished wonder over what they have just accomplished, others, i.e. the marathoners, take pride in their own toughness as they run past their relaxing co-runners for another trial at the Wall. In the next few hours hundreds of runners cross the finish line, including the youngest and the oldest runner. 5-year-old Signe Jensen from Denmark ran her 5 kilometers of uneven steps in 2 hours, 9 minutes and 15 seconds. And about an hour later, the oldest person to have ever run the Wall gets her medal. Margaret Hagerty from the US, who at 85 has run the Great Wall 10K in 3:14:31, is also a Guinness World Record holder for being the oldest person n the world to have run seven marathons on seven continents. A few minutes after this Great Wall senior, the very first marathon runner throws his arms in the air and even earns the right to call himself a new course record holder. 3 hours, 18 minutes and 48 seconds was all that 37-year-old Romualdo Sanchez Garita from Mexico needed to finish his first Adventure Marathon."

 - Wellsphere: Health Knowledge Made Personal

My Hero: 

The Great Wall Marathon Info

Week 14: Movement is Medicine

"Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional, and mental states."

-Carol Welch 

 

      If ever there were a perfect excuse not to exercise, arthritis pain would seem to be it. In fact, research shows quite the opposite: A properly designed exercise program can not only decrease your pain, but also increase your flexibility and overall fitness. 

Did you know you're 'feeding' your joints when you're active? Cartilage - the tough gristle that protects the ends of bones - depends on joint movement to absorb nutrients and remove waste. Activity actually helps keep joints healthy. 

"Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it."

-Plato

Exercise is meant to be a healthy habit, like brushing your teeth. Once you've got your therapeutic and fitness routines solidly ingrained into your life, and you feel ready for more, branch out into recreational activities that give you real pleasure.  

And if you feel up to it, try reclaiming some of those household chores that just got to be too much because of your arthritis.

Finally, as you embrace a full, active life again, remember: Recreational and household activities can't replace your therapeutic exercises, which are designed to correct specific problems your arthritis is causing you. They're the foundation that makes all the rest possible. 

 

 Exercise and Mobility: Use It or Lose It

Joint cartilage thrives on healthy activity. Think of cartilage as a kind of dense sponge bathed in fluid, absorbing food from - and expelling waste products into - the surrounding 'sea.' When you put a joint through its full range of motion, you create tidal currents that wash nutrients over the cartilage surface, and you subject the cartilage to mechanical pressure that squeezes out waste. If joint cartilage doesn't regularly filter-feed like this, it starves and crumbles away. When you go for a walk, play golf or, yes, do your exercise routine, your joints eat it up. 

 

Something else to consider: Cartilage doesn't have any nerve fibres to transmit pain, but the muscles, tendons, ligaments and other assorted soft tissues that house the joint are loaded with them.

If they don't get enough regular exercise, in no time at all you'll fall victim to 'disuse syndrome': Your muscles, tendons and ligaments will shrink, stiffen up and become progressively weaker. Then, when you do move, all the nerve fibres in the surrounding tissues will start complaining fast and furiously.  

That's why exercise is one of the pillars of managing pain.  

In extreme cases, some types of inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis can eventually cause these soft tissues to calcify and become rigid.

Pain relief isn't the only reason to exercise; it's really the icing on the cake. Arthritis robs you of mobility and flexibility.  

 Exercise is a perfect antidote, counteracting the creeping control that arthritis imposes on your life. Less stiffness, more flexibility, better sleep, weight control, greater strength and endurance, regular bowel habits and a healthier heart not to mention an uplifting sense of accomplishment: All are part of the payoff for making the effort. 

Research shows that people with arthritis can perform not only gentle stretching and strengthening exercises, but also more robust endurance activities without any significant risk of harm. Age isn't a factor either;

in fact, the older you are, the more you need to exercise and remain active. Bungee-jumping and para-sailing may not be such a good idea, but a walk in the country might be just what the doctor ordered. Learn More!

 - The Arthritis Society (Ontario Division)

  

 

Arthritis Pain – Treatment Strategies for Pain Management 

April 13th, 2011

7:00 - 9:00pm

Toronto Courtyard Marriott  475 Yonge Street (north of College) Toronto

Cost: Free

SPEAKERS:  Dr. Philip Baer - Rheumatologist
                     Ruth Tonin – Social Worker (The Arthritis Society)

ATTEND THIS FREE LECTURE TO:
• Learn what causes arthritis pain  
• Discover Pain Management strategies including the use of medicatio, self management techniques and healthy living options
• Learn about recognizing the psychological affects of the disease and the Arthritis Society’s programs and resources to help.

REGISTER TODAY at 1.800.344.6926    

Week 13: My Great Wall Training

“Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but what you should have accomplished with your ability.” 

- John Wooden

Take a look at my physical preparation...

Countdown: 

46 Days, 

8 Hours,

14 Minutes,

17 seconds

New Record! Completed my first 13 Km

80 Flights = 1600 steps

 

Monitoring Heart Rate -  68% of my max

Week 12: Persistence...Supreme Effort of Will

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Update!  Elise has currently raised 79%        $5,935.00

Thank you for your support!

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"Failure is only postponed success as long as courage 'coaches' ambition. The habit of persistence is the habit of victory. "

Herbert Kaufman

Tim Cork and Elise

    On Thursday March 24, 2011, Tim Cork (Canada's Networking Guru) spoke about how to "Achieve Straight A's In Life" in support of The Arthritis Society. Tim uses his name as an acronym for his purpose in life which is to Touch, Inspire and Move people.

    "Most people tap very little of their natural potential, leaving many strengths underdeveloped and under-utilized and many opportunities unrealized. If you’re like most people, your greatest talents will remain below the surface, like an iceberg with 90% of its mass under water. Yet this is what must be tapped if you are to realize all the possibilities of your own life.

Straight A students

   "Tim's philosophy has helped me strive towards transitioning my dreams into reality. He has helped me persist through my fears and failures towards my effort to fight arthritis." - Elise

    The question is, how are you going to tap all that strength and potential to achieve your success? I believe  the answer is through the Straight A’s of Attitude, Aptitude, and Action. It is not a matter of understanding or perfecting any one of the Three A’s; it is about practicing and excelling in all three of them in your everyday life. When you have all Three A’s in synch, you will have mastered the formula for success. This book is your guide and coach, providing you with a timeless blueprint for learning and living the Straight A’s approach to life. "    -Tim Cork   

Learn more at www.timcork.com