Padded cycling shorts, foldable tire tubes, CO2, custom fit road bike, sunscreen, headband…and more. If you like buying “gear” and “gadgets” you’ll love road biking!  Not only that, but the health benefits of cycling on a regular basis include greater cardiovascular strength and strong leg muscles.

Always ready to try a new sport, especially that I’m now “of a certain age”, you must know my bike riding track record is no more than what it was when I was six years old…down to the penny candy store and back.  Yet,  once I found out that not all people with leukemia are as fortunate as my newly-diagnosed dad,  I figured…the worse that can happen is that I am humiliated on my first hill and have to jump in the sag wagon, a version of a van taxi on a mountain.

The “give it a try” was instigated also by my sister, Kara.  Her reasoning was that we can’t cure dad’s chronic myelogenous leukemia,  but we can help find a cure or at least advance medical research.  Because thankfully, he was one of the lucky ones.  CML can be treated these days with a drug called Gleevec but that’s only been made possible because of fundraising championed and organized by patient advocacy and fundraising organizations like the  Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

So, we decided to do a Century together around Lake Tahoe…”America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride”.

We trained for over 14 weeks to strengthen our legs, lungs and heart for this “century” ride.   The bottom line is that I learned so much from the coaches support, knowledge and experience with endurance training – as well as from their unrelenting attitude that we bikers were the engine behind the research – and the thousands of other novice, intermediate and advanced bikers who decide they can make a difference by fundraising money for this ride.

With the $4,500 I raised by reaching out to receptive and generous friends and donors,  LLS paid for my roundtrip airline ticket to Lake Tahoe, as well as two nights hotel.  The real gift is this: they also provided me with top rate bike coaching for the 14 weeks that we trained for this event.  Since I live in Connecticut,  our training rides consisted of  riding 25-65 mile routes on early Saturday mornings from March through May.

It’s really true what the coaches say “if you can bike the routes we plan for you…you’ll be prepared for Tahoe!”.

Together, my husband, Julien,  my sister, Kara, and I rode the hilling, windy, hot and oxygen-light terrain with 2,000 other LLS bikers on June 6th starting from near the Embassy Suites Hotel.   In total, just the three of us raised 13,000.00 for LLS – a mere drop in the bucket for research purposes, but, the collective LLS riders  in Tahoe raised over $6 million!  More than 75% of money raised goes to drug research and patient care for the many types of blood cancers for which there is STILL no cure.

Does this interest you at all?

I would recommend charity bike riding to mid-life women and am looking to establish a group women nationally – with the LLS as our coaches and supporters. Their superb organizational and coaching skills are unsurpassed and their dedication to finding a cure is contagious!

The benefits?

The benefits included getting stronger legs and a stronger cardiovascular system.  The biggest benefit for me was knowing with every ride that I was giving hope to a cure for the millions of patients and future-patients with blood cancers.  I get a knot in my throat when I think about the stories of patients.  And, I am grateful that bikers, years ago,  were able to fundraise so – today, my dad can just pop a pill to manage his condition.

I also have a myriad of new friends who shared an adventure with a common and elusive goal.

Kelley’s well care tip:

“how not to feel old..on a bike!“

From Healthcare 2.0, to summer sun and skin cancer prevention, to sleep and sex, to a 6-time Olympic winning Guinness World Record holder….Real Women on Health! May 19^th radio show runs the gamut of guests and conversations.

The health consequences of sleep deprivation are already known, how cheating your body of the R&R it needs can make you more prone to illness, stress, traffic accidents and even weight gain.   Arianna Huffington believes getting enough shut-eye is the next feminist issue.  After all, women have already broken glass ceilings in politics, sports, business and the media – just imagine what we can do when we’re fully awake.

Can’t get to sleep?

You’ve heard wrong.  Sex is exercise and a way to get yourself to sleep.  Too tired to do much of anything?  Listen in for some solutions that can help you in this area.

Lastly, you’ll get a taste of the inspirational this week with Anne Abernathy, a Guinness World Record holder who’s the oldest woman ever to compete in the Winter Olympics Games.  Tune in to Real Women on Health! blogtalkradio at 12:30pm EST on Friday, May 21st to learn more about how she took up lugeing at the age of 33 (“the ski slopes were crowded”) and overcame multiple health issues to now become a women’s health advocate especially around bladder control.

Please join Kelley and Cassie hosts of  Real Women on Health! and their guests this Wednesday, May 92th at 8 pm – 9 pm EST streaming live on your computer. Or, if you’re near Fairfield County, Connecticut,  its 1350 or 1400 on the AM dial!

]]> http://realwomenonhealth.com/2010/05/16/better-sleep-the-next-feminist-issue/feed/ 4 http://realwomenonhealth.com/2010/05/10/boomer-women-fight-frump-and-give-back/ http://realwomenonhealth.com/2010/05/10/boomer-women-fight-frump-and-give-back/#comments Tue, 11 May 2010 00:56:46 +0000 admin http://realwomenonhealth.com/?p=1058

How do women find the time to “do good” these days and have fun?

Enter Mary Jo Wallo.

Mary Jo Wallis is your basic renaissance woman.  In addition to surfing, snowboarding and running her own investment company in San Diego she has taken on the mantle as a national leader to Fight Frump (and Give Back!), or do “Altruism with Attitude!”  How, you ask?  Yes the sports play a role but there’s also her vision as co-creator of The Blue Thong Society, a national social and philanthropic women’s organization that’s grown since its inception in 2006 to 300 chapters and 5000 members.

Mary Jo joins Real Women on Health! as our featured guest this week, where she’s going to talk about The Blue Thong Society, give tips on what women can do to “Fight Frump!” by finding like-minded women and giving back, and tell us how BTS  was born.  A hint: it all started at her 50^th birthday when a friend noted that it could be time for the gift of a red hat.  Mary Jo laughed and said a blue thong was more her style…..and the rest, as they say, is history!

We’ll also hear from clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine and private practitioner in New Haven, Connecticut.  Dr. Mary Jane Minken, widely known in the field of gynecology and as a leader in women’s health education both inside and outside the medical community, is giving a couple of minutes of her time to talk to us about powering your pelvic core….

Join Kelley Connors, host, Real Women on Health! with Cassie, Mary Jo and Dr. Mary Jane Minkin,  this Wednesday, May 12th at 8 pm – 9 pm EST streaming live on your computer or, if you live near Fairfield County, Connecticut  listen “on the AM dial” at 1350/1400.

Our show is sponsored by Zestra, essential arousal oils, a patented blend of botannicals that is clinically proven to improve desire, arousal and satisfaction for 70% of women.  Check this out and use promo code ZPASS5 at check out!

Have you ever wondered why anybody these days would need a muse?  They don’t pay the bills, they don’t find you a job, and they don’t take care of your awfully well-behaved teenagers.  They’re well…just pure inspiration.

Boy, do I have a muse to share with you…actually, I have more than one!

It all started last year on the wowOwow web site when our friends June and Kath answered a blog post created by their now “uber-muse” Allegra Huston called “What is It About Adam Lambert?”.  That blog, which has prompted 20,000+ responses (and counting!) included two prolific writers, June Kinoshita and Kath Hollinsworth. The process of their self-discovery – as they blogged through the summer – created a serendipity that transformed their lives and resulted in the publishing of their just-released book, “On the Meaning of Adam Lambert”,  which is analytical, entertaining and downright funny (but don’t take our word for it….see reader reviews on Amazon and Juneau and Xena’s blog).

As June said, “Life has a way of stuffing you into boxes. I was happy and fulfilled with the roles I was playing, but this Adam experience made me break out of my mold and tap into a creativity and passion I’d kept on tap for years.”   Clearly, their inner-Adam has been lit through writing about him and connecting other women who have also experienced a shift in their lives and relationships through the “glambertinas” and On the Meaning of Adam Lambert.

This week, we’re thrilled to be the catalyst to bring together Allegra with June and Kath in an online  dynamic and empathetic conversation that will help you find  your own muse…and tap into your passions, in unexpected ways….in our upcoming one hour Real Women on Health! radio show on “Finding Your Muse,” April 7th at 8:30 pm EST.

What will we talk about?

Ideas for “how to” release the energy that helps you find your muse, your spark.  How to ID the passions that have lain dormant and are ready for the light of day.  Stories from June and Kath’s  book… you won’t believe it but Scrabble will never be the same!  And you can call in and share your tips and stories of how you climbed out of your box.

Just so you know… If the name Huston sounds familiar you’re right on.  Allegra has no interest in name-dropping so all you have to do is pick up her acclaimed memoir “Love Child”. soon available in paperback, to find out more.  And check out her upcoming movie, “Good Luck, Mr. Gorski”

Don’t miss this one!   Join us on April 7th at 8:30 pm EST.

My 5 foot ten inch frame has always seemed more naturally built for basketball, yoga or cross country running but I found a sport 30 years after those dreadful high school phys ed classes that is absolutely perfect for me at this point in  my life.

Ladies…I am keeping my day job but  the sport of  rowing  is one which has grabbed me by surprise and has triggered a new view on “health”.

I made a decision that it was “time”  to reinvent my life, including health, so I could sustain both weight management and fun!  In essence, I had to re-program how I saw health fitting into my life.

Was it just the desire to loose weight and get in my “skinny jeans”?  Not really, but that was a start.

Approaching 50 years old this year, I found that my latent desire for physical competition was brewing like a tempest tea pot and that the creative demands of my marketing consultancy needed more than just sleep to really thrive.  Yes,  not only loose 20 pounds but regain a sense of energy and sustained interest in being more physically active.

Does that sound like you?  Are you looking for more energy and more vitality…and doubtful that diet pills, a new gym routine or new vegan diets will change anything?  Do you see yourself as the midlife equivalent of your high school past?  Does your poor body image still prevail?

I decided to challenge this in myself and so began a more wellness-focused journey that would introduce me to authors like Eckhardt Tolle to Christiane Northrop and Nora Ephron.   (In fact, I became so interested in how wellness happens that I became certified as a wellness coach…but that’s another story!)

I found inspiration and the freedom to enter into a new conversation with  myself through these three ways:

1) DISCOVERY:  What I discovered began on a learn to row vacation I took with my  husband up to Craftsbury Vermont, where the world-reknown outdoor center started over fifty years ago.   I thought it would be a great way to spend time with my husband, who had been rowing for more than 30 years.   Since world class athletes also train and practice at this center, I completely lowered my expectations as to what I could achieve in a week’s time there.  And, because I was open to the experience of being a midlife novice, I was much more relaxed and actually learned much more than if I had pressured myself into performing.

2) ACTION:  When I returned from this vacation, I immediately sought  to sustain my motivation, using the passion for the sport to get into shape.   This meant I needed to both loose weight – initially – and gain muscle mass.    I lost 30 pounds by first joining a spin class and getting into better cardiovascular shape.   I also decided to join a local rowing club, and began a learn to row program within three months of my Craftsbury learn to row vacation.  And, I learned to row with other women who were local – many over 40 – who were, and still are, practicing two to four early mornings each week on the Norwalk River.

Usually I rowed in a “quad” where four women row together – each with two oars.  With my long arms, I was frequently asked by our coach to be in the first seat which is the stroke seat.  It’s fun to be in the lead but it also means there is no one to follow!  All the other rowers are following the stroke so you need to focus and concentrate.  You also need to relax.

3) RELAX I don’t think you can appreciate how important recovery is in our lives today unless you start rowing.  The recovery allows your body to relax and the boat “runs” underneath you, effortlessly.  Of course, that all depends on your ability to technically row.   However, my 20-year long yoga practice came in handy because in order to do well with rowing you must balance “drive” with “recovery”.  These two opposites work well with me, because I use yoga breathing on the recovery, and find that this breathing mechanism simply reduces the feeling of stress in my body.  Even better,  wellness experts do recommend exercise as an evidence-based stress-reducer!

Skinny jeans aside, there’s so much more to health for me today.

We’d love to know!  How Have You Reinvented Health?  Email me at kelley@kc-health.com and tell me your story to be featured on Real Women on Health!

P.S. I have sustained about a 20 pound weight loss for two years now…it’s still a process of discovering new opportunities daily to make incremental changes that make a difference over time!

P.S.S.  Making new friends is the biggest “health” benefit of all!

follow me at twitter@realwomenhealth

]]> http://realwomenonhealth.com/2009/11/20/how-i-reinvented-health/feed/ 4 http://realwomenonhealth.com/2009/09/29/healing-chronic-pain-hillarys-transformative-journey/ http://realwomenonhealth.com/2009/09/29/healing-chronic-pain-hillarys-transformative-journey/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:07:23 +0000 admin http://realwomenonhealth.com/?p=302
Have you met Hillary Rubin yet? She is our featured “real woman” who has committed her professional and personal life to empowering others to transform their troubled past into opportunities for personal growth and healing.

I recently spoke with Hillary and learned about her struggles, her triumphs and now, her determination to help others heal through personal transformation and self-empowerment.  Here is a sneak preview of her story that she will share with us live in our on-line radio show on October 8th at 7:30 pm EST.

The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis initially left Hillary feeling angry, as if she’d been “given a sentence.” But she had two choices—either to be proactive or let her illness control her life. She embraced the former.