NYC Marathon -- Training Update

It's hard to believe that the marathon is just 8 weeks away -- yikes!! I've been doing really well with my training. Last weekend I ran 17 miles and I'll do 20 this coming weekend. And that will be my longest run until marathon time (woohoo!!). I'll be doing my annual 18-mile LBI Run, which I highly recommend for anyone who has done a half marathon. It's a great race if you want to eventually do a marathon -- very fast and very flat. Although the weather at that time of year can be tricky. One year it was 90 degrees and one year it was 70 -- go figure!

In regards to fundraising, I'm at 61% of goal pr $2,165. I need to raise $3,500. I think raising the money is way harder than doing the training! If you'd like to make a donation, please visit www.fredsteam.com and enter my name (Allison Jackson) and ING NYC Marathon. I'm running for Fred's Team, which benefits Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The group was founded by Fred Lebow, who founded the NYC Marathon and courageously battled cancer himself.

For those who make a donation, you can send me the name of someone you'd like to honor who has valiantly fought cancer and I will add their name to my race shirt. I'm running for all of those men, women and children who have battled cancer.

Is there a charity that you support through your fitness endeavors? I'd love to hear about it!

NYC Marathon Training & Fundraising Update

Whew, I'm not sure which is harder -- training for a marathon or fundraising for it!! I'm up to 16 miles, which I have to run tomorrow morning. Last week I did 14. It takes some time and motivation, but it feels great to finish. I've been trying to make sure that I'm adequately hydrated and take some energy gels every hour or so.

In regards to fundraising, I'm at just over $1,500 and I need to get to $3,500 by Nov. 1. No small task. I've sent emails, posted Facebook updates, sent press releases, blog posts -- you name it, I've probably done it. I'm so incredibly thankful to my friends and family who have made donations. As I mentioned before, anyone who donates can send me the name of a friend or family member who has battled cancer.

Help Me Make a Difference in the Race Against Cancer
I'm running in the 2011 ING New York City Marathon with Fred's Team to raise funds for crucial cancer research, and I'm asking you to help me by donating to my run.

How You Can Help
Please make a gift to my run today -- any amount helps -- and bring us one step closer to a world without cancer. Your support helps fund new research and new treatments that bring true hope to countless men, women, and children.

If you'd like to make a donation, please visit my personal page.

Review: Valley Boot Camp

I've been dying to try a Valley Boot Camp session and I finally got the opportunity to do it this past week. Now I wasn't thrilled about dragging my butt out of bed at 5am to be on the Ramsey High School track by 5:30am, but I was in good company as there were nearly 20 other ladies who also rolled out of bed. It's also helpful to note that you will be churning out push-ups if you showed up late. No slacking here!!  (As a side note, there are later classes you can choose from. The earliest class just happened to fit my schedule best.)

With our lovely heat wave, it was a steamy 80 degrees by 5:30am, but that didn't stop instructor Chris Doran from giving us an incredible workout. (Although it made me nervous to hear her say she was "going easy on us" due to the heat. If this was easy, I'd hate to see what hard is!)

The workout started with running the bleacher stairs and evolved to walking lunges, planks, push-ups, mountain climbers, and lots of other tough exercises. By the end of this one-hour workout, I was coated in sweat. By the time I got into work, I could already feel the soreness in my legs. By the next day I was really sore.

Not only was Chris very motivating and supportive, but everyone in the session took the workout very seriously and pushed each other. There was no such thing as "I can't" -- mainly because you would be subjected to extra push-ups . LOL!!

All in all, I highly recommed trying a session. You won't be disappointed! Learn more about Valley Boot Camp.

Ever Hear of Arbonne?

A few years ago I was invited to an Arbonne party. Arbonne is essentially a skin care, wellness and health company. They've been in business for more than 30 years and they tout high-quality products that are environmentally friendly.

Fast forward to this past month where I was once again invited to learn about Arbonne by a friend. However, this time I was presented with the Arbonne business opportunity, which is involves network marketing. Basically, it's about marketing peer to peer and leveraging your network of friends and family. Now I used to sell Cutco, so I'm familiar with how this works. While I swore I would never get involved in something like this, here I am, a new Arbonne Independent Consultant (ID: 19348436). Here's the kicker, I've never given much thought to my skin care. But as I approach middle-age (as my husband fondly reminded me the other night), I'm beginning to think more about anti-aging and the appropriate products to use. Enter the Arbonne RE9 Advanced Set, a comprehensive anti-aging skin care regimen for a youthful appearance; the set offers all six products (cleanser, toner, serum, eye cream, day/night cream) for face, plus a complimentary travel-size Age-Defying Neck Cream.

After using the kit for a few days, I was hooked. I could feel and see a difference in my complexion. Not only that, when I went on vacation to Europe recently, I really missed the kit. (Note: I didn't want to pack the set for fear that it would be confiscated...which is what happened to my favorite hair gel.)

Not only am I impressed with Arbonne's products, I'm really excited about how they've expanded their line. In addition to beauty care (cleansers, creams, oils, etc.), they offer a line of products for men, teens and babies. Plus, they have dietary supplements, including protein shakes and vitamins. That's not all, Arbonne also has a full line of make-up products.

Why am I telling you all of this? For two reasons.

1) All of Arbonne products are considered green. They're high on quality and low on chemicals. Best of all, they offer products for women, men, teens and children, enabling you to provide safe products for your entire family.

2) The business aspect of Arbonne is a great way to make some extra money on the side, especially if you're a stay-at-home mom or even if you work full-time outside the home. Learn more.

Have you tried Arbonne? What did you think?

If you're interested in learning more, whether it's hosting a party (they offer great host gifts and perks), learning about the products or the business opportunity, just shoot me an email.

5 Sure-Fire Ways to Unplug from the Commotion & Clutter of Modern Life

Ever feel like you're constantly multi-tasking? I can be on the phone, on my computer and watching TV all at the same time! It's exhausting to be constantly overloaded with information. What's a Fit Mom to do? Check out this great guest post from Park Wilson:

Win Back Your Freedom!

Today and every day, you are bombarded with some 5,000 advertising messages. That’s nearly 2 million ads per year, every year of your life – and the volume is accelerating daily.

Not to mention, your neurons are being overloaded and overrun by a growing variety of modern gizmos and gadgets: mobile smart phones, computer tablets, apps, and much more.

Yes, all five of your senses are under siege from a noisy, over-communicated world; a world where there seems to be no method of escape...no way to unplug from the overwhelming, far-reaching grid of modern life.

So how do you break free from life’s commotion and clutter? How do you recharge your soul and relax your senses?

Getting unplugged cannot be achieved simply by “cutting back” on technology. Your modern life is too connected for this strategy to work. And long-lasting relief won’t come by visiting some plastic-coated theme park or run-of-the-mill vacation hotspot that’s overrun with sun-drunk tourists. Not gonna happen.

So what’s the solution? How can you truly break free? 

The solution becomes clear when viewing the work put into the Emerging Terrain’s Boca Chica Island project in Panama. My partner Josh and I had both become disillusioned with the world around us. The mundane and overbearing aspects of life forced change.

I realized that in order to facilitate growth within myself I needed to reach beyond the cookie cutter aspects of modern residential properties, those carbon copy dwellings stretching far and wide inducing a coma of routine.

Our journey took us straight into the heart of Latin America. We visited hundreds of properties, riding horseback along Costa Rica’s lush jungle trails and boating off Panama’s southeast coast near Chiriqui Gulf National Marine Park.

The end result was a unique experience that inspired us to relocate our families to the area

— a place free of the hectic schedule of an overly connected world.

Boca Chica Island is one such area, the perfect place to wind down while leaving behind the overbearing daily routine. It is absolutely amazing to see the positive changes in those that own property on Boca Chica; we have come to agree that relaxation in the natural setting is unlike anything else.

There is undeniably a recipe for finding this “peak level of relaxation.” A level of relaxation unlike any other, finally free from the trials of the modern world. However, there become certain steps you must take to fully wind down from the stress of the everyday.

Here are 5 surefire steps to unplug from the commotion and clutter of modern life:

1.) Go naked. No, I’m not suggesting you undress and discard your clothes...I’m simply suggesting that you ditch every tech device you own. At least temporarily.

Think about it. How can you possibly hope to unplug and unwind with a smart phone practically sewn to your ear?  

You can’t. The temptation to check voicemail and respond to email will overcome your sensibility. And it only takes a single, loose stone to burst open the entire dam.

2.) Unplug your alarm clock. If you’re like most modern mortals, the demands of modern life have left you sleep-deprived. No – sleep-starved. And lack of sleep may be affecting your work performance or relationships at home.

Allow yourself to fall asleep and wake to your natural sleep cycle. Doing so will help you fall into a normal rhythm, and you’ll awake feeling refreshed and energized.

3.) Spurn the masses. No roller-coaster rides at Disneyland. No beach-bathing in Cabo San Lucas. No double-decker bus tours in London or Rome. 

As I previously mentioned, it’s impossible to break free when you’re steeped in some sterile, plastic-coated tourist destination that’s overripe with crowded beaches and bars, faux costumes and customs and cheap souvenirs and trinkets. 

4.) Revisit nature and embrace the natural order of things. Allow sounds and skies of nature comfort and cleanse you as you lie in your hammock and sway between two coconut trees. Chop wood with nothing but a sharp ax and your bare hands. Fish and catch “The Big One” from a sandy seashore. Cook dinner over an open campfire.

Return to a simple life, and do things as they were done in ancient times – no matter if it’s only for one or two weeks out of the year.

5.) Push past your boundaries. A daily routine brings focus and clarity to a chaotic life. These reoccurring patterns of activity help you organize and complete tasks with efficiency. Without a routine to add structure and to guide you, very little would get done.

But instability results from too much of one thing – good or bad. And strict adherence to a routine wilts creativity and withers inspiration. Achieving balance requires that you break from your routine, temporarily, in order to recharge your creativity.

So try something new, exciting and different. If you’re not pushing past your boundaries then you’re operating in “robot” mode, and you will be truly unable to break free.

Truth be told, just following one of the aforementioned steps will help you recharge. But hands down your greatest chance of success – the secret sauce of unplugging from life’s commotion and clutter – comes when you adhere to all five steps for a minimum of one week straight, a formula made possible on Boca Chica Island. Only then will you reach a point where you are ready to plug yourself back into the grid of modern life.

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About the Author: Park Wilson, co-founder of Emerging Terrains, has been living and actively investing in the Latin American real estate markets since 2007. His boots-on-the-ground approach to scouting and choosing properties has led to more than $8 million in real estate transactions. Park spearheaded projects on more than 200 real estate transactions in four markets, and has consulted on similar projects in yet another three markets. To reach Park Wilson, please e-mail him at info@emergingterrains.com or learn more by visiting the Emerging Terrains website at http://www.emergingterrains.com.