SparkPeople Member and Certified Running Coach
Nancy Howard has a degree in nursing. Her mission is to help others learn the process of living a healthy lifestyle and to let them know it is never too late to start. An avid runner, Nancy has competed in more than 100 road races since 2006, including 12 half marathons and Hood to Coast Relay--the largest in North America. She has lost 80 pounds--and kept it off--since joining SparkPeople in 2005. In 2009, she achieved two amazing goals: She became a Runners Club of America Certified Running Coach and ran the Chicago Marathon. She wants to inspire the world and let everyone know you don’t have to be an Olympian to run.
Read More of 's Blogs:
De-training: The Need to Keep Active this Holiday Season
Now that the holiday season is upon us with parties, festivities, and shopping excursions abound, many of us curtail our exercise agenda all together until after the New Year when once again we resolve ourselves to a sound exercise program. The problem with this scenario is that the effects of de-training can and will occur if we choose to depart from our exercise routine until after the first of the year.
Posted 11/29/2008 6:00:15 AM By: : 67 comments 7,845 views
Take Time to Give Back
Tomorrow as many of us celebrate the holiday with family and friends we should take time to reflect on the blessings we have received this past year. And as we approach the holiday season consider taking a few hours to give back to your community. Trust me, you will come back with a better appreciation of the blessings we have all been bestowed.
Posted 11/26/2008 6:04:35 PM By: : 57 comments 7,010 views
Don't Fear Change
A few months ago when I was cleaning out my office I stumbled across my old high school yearbooks from days gone by. As I flipped through the pages fondly recalling my life in the late 1970s, a common theme emerged from the odes my friends left --‘don’t ever change.’ I guess we thought once we crossed the threshold into adulthood we were done with our metamorphosis. But 28 years later, I now know otherwise.
Posted 11/22/2008 6:00:05 AM By: : 99 comments 22,922 views
The Great American Smokeout
This Thursday many smokers across the United States will participate in the 31st annual Great American Smokeout. This event held on the third Thursday each November encourages smokers to give up their cigarettes and/or cigars for 24 hours in hopes that this will persuade them to give them up for life.
Posted 11/19/2008 9:10:43 AM By: : 93 comments 13,168 views
Dance Dance Revolution Your Way to Fitness--For Real!
I am sure many of you have been initiated into the Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) or Nintendo Wii Fit craze that has swept through the country over the past several years. If you haven’t been exposed to these games then just ask your kids or grandkids. More than likely they have had some contact with these games at a friend’s house or maybe even at their school. In fact this past year the West Virginia school system has integrated DDR into their physical education curriculum to help kids get fit.
Posted 11/15/2008 6:00:42 AM By: : 98 comments 18,430 views
A New Thanksgiving Day Tradition
What are your first thoughts when you hear the word Thanksgiving? Does it conjure up visions of turkey, stuffing, pies, and special memories with family, and friends? What about starting a new tradition this year?
New York City has the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but many cities across the U.S. are now hosting what is becoming a new family tradition--participation in the local Annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot.
Posted 11/12/2008 6:00:00 PM By: : 111 comments 19,700 views
The Benefits of Massage Therapy
What do you think of when you hear the word "massage"? Does it conjure up thoughts of a day out with your girlfriend at a swanky spa? Unlike days gone by, massages are becoming quite popular among athletes and non-athletes alike.
Until this past July, I was one of the few people who had never had a massage. When I developed a pain in my buttocks from a tight piriformis muscle from running and working tirelessly for weeks to get the muscle to loosen and the knots to release via stretching, foam rollers, etc, my running coach encouraged me to have a deep tissue sports massage.
Posted 11/1/2008 6:01:23 AM By: : 145 comments 20,699 views
The Making of a Habit
I think I can speak for many when I say this journey to a healthier you isn’t as easy as it’s cracked up to be. If all we had to do is eat better, get in some good cardio, do a little strength training here and there, and manage our stress, then certainly we should be at our goal in no time. Right?
Once again it isn't always quite that easy as many of you know. And I think I may have been given a key to the reason why we struggle to get to our goal--it all has to do with one little word--habit.
Posted 10/29/2008 6:41:21 PM By: : 56 comments 17,992 views
Women, You're Not Immune to Heart Disease
Recently I received an email about the Go Red for Women Campaign from the American Heart Association. Reading through the information, I was shocked to discover that more women die from heart disease (heart attacks, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases) than the next FIVE leading causes of death combined, including breast cancer. This in an age where early intervention is the difference between life and death.
Posted 10/25/2008 6:00:00 AM By: : 59 comments 15,291 views
The Lesson of a Late Bloomer
I was a late bloomer to the whole concept of athleticism. I loathed gym class back in junior high so much that in high school I took up band just so that I could use the fall football marching season as a PE credit. Silly as it sounds, the whole thought of donning gym attire and attempting to do what never came natural to me was terrifying. However, looking back after 30 years or so, I wonder why I hated doing what I have come to adore these days--being active.
Posted 10/22/2008 6:30:59 PM By: : 147 comments 24,100 views
So You Want to Be a Runner?
It doesn’t surprise me that more people are running for cardio exercise these days. According to a recent survey by Running USA 49.4%, or more than 4.3 million of all finishers in 2007 road races held across the country were women. This represents a 25% increase from just 20 years ago and an almost 4% increase from just 6 years ago.
Compared to other forms of cardiovascular exercise, running is by far one of the best at burning calories AND it doesn’t cost a lot of money or investment in equipment. Besides a good pair of running shoes and sheer determination, one should be ready to run in no time.
Posted 10/18/2008 6:00:27 AM By: : 59 comments 25,282 views
My Aha! Moment...What Was Yours?
I just recently celebrated my 44th month anniversary on this never-ending journey to become the healthiest me I can be. I say never-ending because in all reality this journey is just that: never-ending with no clear-cut destination but to accept the time for what it is.
If my goal were just to lose weight, well I can honestly say, been there, done that many times (I was a pro at losing weight), only to find myself right back where I started or worse. But this time was going to be different and it has been every step of the way!
Posted 10/15/2008 6:00:59 PM By: : 144 comments 23,591 views
Never Underestimate the Power of a Good Night’s Sleep
I don't know about you guys, but over the past several weeks, I haven't had too many restful slumbers. Between concerns over the current state of affairs, the economic situation, dealing with some overtraining issues, and just trying to cram all that I can in a 24 hour time frame, sleep is the one area in my life that I have come up a little short on.
I have always been one to need good, quality sleep to function. In fact I wonder how I ever made it through college, my young adult years, and yes, even parenthood on so little shut eye. But the older I get the more I appreciate a good restful night’s sleep.
Posted 10/11/2008 6:00:00 AM By: : 74 comments 17,730 views
Does the Scale Really Tell the Whole Story?
We have all heard the phrase “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” Then why is it that we as a society equate thinness to being healthy and fit when in all reality there is a growing epidemic of what researchers are now referring to as ‘normal weight obesity AKA: skinny fat.
How can that be? People, who from all outward appearances seem thin and fit with very little visible fat, can actually be in the same high risk category as many of their heavier unfit colleagues.
Posted 10/8/2008 2:00:00 PM By: : 95 comments 16,361 views
Putting Some FUN in Functional Fitness
If you have been to any gym lately and listened to all the chitchat amongst trainers and their clients or picked up any fitness magazine, you may have heard or read the new buzz phrase floating around these days called functional exercise...AKA functional fitness.
So what exactly is functional fitness and how can you benefit from these activities?
Posted 10/4/2008 8:02:00 AM By: : 54 comments 16,823 views
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