Rough-Fit June Newsletter

We started off summer with our Rough-Fit Rumble Rewards 5K and breakfast. This latest incentive program yielded some great results so be sure to check it out.

We have lots of great races coming up so sign up and mark your calendars.

Also, for a good cause while you're doing something good for your body, read about our Miles of Smiles incentive where you can help raise money for Patience's house in South Africa.

If you have any feedback, please e-mail us. Enjoy the wonderful summer weather and have a great 4th of July!

In May, Marc and I participated in the annual Wildflower Triathlon up in central California. We did the Olympic distance (1.5k swim / 40k bike / 10krun) which was well within our capability, although we are pathetically slow on the bike. Wildflower is one of the hilliest courses on the Tri circuit. For the past several years we’ve mostly done marathons together and they are very much a social event for me. I rarely have time goals - mostly I just to want to finish in good enough shape so that I can enjoy a nice meal afterwards. The other goal of my marathons is to have a fun story to tell of the journey. Wildflower is a 3 day festival where there are a wide variety of athletes. You have those internationally and nationally ranked competitors that are super serious and then Marc and me. My friend Bob is “one of those”.  When I first moved to CA, I worked as a recruiter in the day and waitress at night at Waters Restaurant in Irvine. Bob owns Waters and he was a huge inspiration to me and anyone who worked at Waters. I was a runner but he got me into Tri’s 17 years ago. Since Rough-Fit I’ve mostly focused on running. This year Marc and I decided to mix it up a bit and so we tossed in a few Tri’s - note I said a few because these puppies are expensive at about $175 a pop.

I’m fine in the water but when I get on the bike people start whizzing by me even though I think I’m doing great. While this would not bother me in a marathon, it is somewhat disconcerting when you can see the age of everyone(on their leg) who passes you at the speed of lightening! I’m in awe of the others but it’s definitely much more of a head trip getting my butt whipped by someone 20 years older than me.

After Wildflower, Marc and I decided we were ready to put the training in for a ½ Ironman. The catch is that there is a time limit and in order to meet those time constraints we both needed to get better on the bike. Enter my friend Bob again! Bob will more than likely compete at the International Tri Championships in Australia later this year – he’s generally in the Top 3 of his age group and is nationally ranked. He’s a machine and an unbelievable motivator. Less than 2 years ago Bob discovered he had cancer. At the time he had cancer I would go out and run and if I ever felt despondent I would think of when I saw Bob on the bike a day after he’d had chemo. He said, “Today is an easy day – only 20miles!” He is always positive and at Wildflower encouraged us to start riding with him and his wife again.

So we did – our Tuesday nights are now spent doing hill repeats off Newport Coast drive in Pelican Hill or close by. I’m dead last and am barely able to breathe up the hills. Seriously, I ruin people’s ride because I’m gasping for air. My friend Jody who’s nearly 60 doesn’t stop talking the whole time and sometimes I can’t even hear her because my breathing is so loud. It never seems to get easier despite the fact that Bob says it will. On the odd Tuesday Greg shows up and breezes by everyone with a grin on his face. He’s a monster on the bike too. I’ve considered not going on a Tuesday because it’s pure torture for me – seriously I’d rather run an ultra. But I figure if I’m going to get my money’s worth from my registration fee I need to be able to complete the ½ IM plus the views are sometimes pretty spectacular on Tuesday nights. So I return with the hopes that I won’t feel like my heart is about to burst out of my chest. I return because I remember the artificial legs from a physically disabled athlete that were “parked” in the staging area behind me at wildflower. (I’m fortunate enough to have two healthy legs – particularly some healthy hips and thighs!) What a waste if I didn’t use them to their full capability. So I remind myself to be grateful despite the fact that my lungs won’t cooperate, I have two very healthy limbs that will. What’s the worst that can happen if I keep going on Tuesday’s? They have to wait for me… AGAIN! Not so bad. I’m last? Doesn’t bother me! Really, I could get hit by a car and then I’d have to get some legs to help me ride the hills. So with a sense of humor and a new saddle I will head to the hills on Tuesday with the hope that they will indeed become my friends…..someday.

Back to Top

Wow - the results tell it all! POG’s are POWER! We recently updated our POG acronym definition to PLAN OF GOALS. It’s all good and well to have a goal but if you don’t have a plan of steps to get you there the odds are it will always just be a goal. So we encourage you to use the program for your own unique goals. If you’d like to get more details on the science or tips on how to best get there, please access the user guide that will provide you with all the info you need to map out a successful plan for your wellness.

Remember you can’t change what you can’t measure and POG’s provide you a tool to measure your change.
Congratulations to EVERYONE who participated - your results were compelling:

• 1000 steps: 100% improvement - Average time cut off by the group: 3:17
• Obstacle course: 73% improvement
• Weight loss: 85% lost weight (that's not counting maintenance)
• 5K: 19 people had faster times - that’s a 90% improvement!

If you missed the breakfast, here are some highlights:
(Read the final Rumble Newsletter)

What you did well

• During the week that you had to focus on exercise recommendations by the FDA - nearly 70% of you got this right!
• 67% of you did something fun with family or friends - this is so important for most people. Since stress was an area you wanted to address, this was great news. We had a slightly smaller number - just under 60% - that practiced the relaxation techniques. But we know that the process of change is step by step.

We are able to pull reports that help us see how you’re doing. We could easily assess which POG’s were working for you.

The 5k	Good run!	Tasty breakfast
	Awards and presentation	We really enjoyed the videos

Back to Top

Please check your calendar for all activities. When you log in, on your “Members’ Home” page, the calendar can be viewed from the bottom.

The following are upcoming races we are either sponsoring or highly recommend:

So a race for almost every month to help keep you motivated.

Back to Top

This month we launched the new Rough-Fit Blog - 3D. Long term healthy behaviors are 3 dimensional - they’re complex but certainly achievable. For the next 3 months we chose Debbie Elias, Dee Ann Newman and my sister, Denise, to blog their journey for us. Please feel free to comment and provide any tips that may have worked for you that you think will be helpful. As this Blog is for our clients we will not be commenting - it’s your platform. We will however monitor for any inappropriate content but other than that knock yourselves out.

Discussion group: There is some great traffic on this site, especially as it pertains to hook ups for Saturday Runs.  We also request that if you have any questions or would like to contact an individual, please post on the discussion group. So if you have an injury and need some tips/guidance, post in “Ask the Trainer”. This way if someone else is experiencing the same issue, the info will be there for them too. We created the discussion group so that it is only visible to Rough-Fit members who are logged in - no information is public.

Back to Top

Run for Patience and Happiness to be in a new home by Christmas 2009 and join the Miles of Smiles incentive program

Our next incentive will start July 6th and run until September 30th.  So far this year I’ve done little nagging for people to train for a marathon or half. As we head into the second part of the year so too does the prodding for many of you to step out of your current comfort zone and finish out the year with a long run and make an extra effort to reach that 2009 Wellness POG.

To paraphrase from a newsletter last year - out of the nearly ½ million who ran, 8 keeled over – that’s 0.00002%. You’re more likely to be murdered than die from running a marathon. 25,000 people die A MONTH (that’s 34 people PER HOUR) from obesity related deaths. More than half a million die of cancer each year and coronary heart disease is now the single leading cause of death in the US with nearly a million deaths. You get the picture.

The stats suggest that it is unlikely you will die and that’s the worse thing that could happen if you tried to go out of your comfort zone for one day. (OK, maybe a few months as you train).

So once again, I am encouraging you to participate in Miles of Smiles. For those new folks, you can watch the video of last years Long Beach Marathon training along with the video that tells the story of Patience and Happiness – yes they’re people.

There are two marathons this year that will be Rough-Fit focus: Long Beach and Santa Barbara. SB is fast and reasonably flat with only a ½ mile climb that is worth mentioning!

So, how does it work?

What do you have to do: Complete the training for either Long Beach Marathon/half or Santa Barbara marathon.

How will it work: We will provide you with a training schedule in the Training Calendar section of your POG’s that is specific to the race you select. You can switch the days around with ease with the calendar's drag and drop feature. Complete your training each week and log it accordingly. Complete 80% or more of your training and you will be entered into a drawing every three weeks.

What else? Each week we will provide updates of progress along with a weekly focus area. You will be assigned a POG to help you stay on track and achieve your wellness goals. These will be simple small changes.

Prizes: Every 3 weeks we will select a winner.

Why Patience and Happiness? Rough-Fit/With-U has almost donated enough money for Patience to acquire a house for herself, her children and the two AIDS orphans who showed up on her doorstep.  I am headed to South Africa in early November and would love to be able to help her be in her new home by December.

How can you help? For every 10 people that participate and complete 80% of their training we will donate $250 towards the home. We will donate up to $500 for this part of the incentive. The remainder of the house (approx $750) will be paid based on those who follow through on the commitment. Depending on how many people sign up we will divide the $$’s to represent the numbers.

So by just training for a race, logging your progress and following through on your commitment, you can help a family affected by AIDS be in a new home by the holidays. This, Rough-Fit, is my challenge to you.

How to sign up? $20 participation fee: Click on the link below and complete the paypal transaction – it’s that simple...

Register now

I don’t think I can do the race: ANYONE who can run 2-3 miles can at least complete the half. If you can run 6 miles (yes you can walk in between), you are in good shape to complete the full – especially the Santa Barbara full.

I don’t have time: If you’re doing a half or full for the first time, you will be required to run 4 days a week. In the first half you will be able to get most of your miles in during class. Your weekend long runs will be the only run that you will need to coordinate on your own. (This does not apply to everyone in the evening class.) As the program progresses you will be able to meet your Rough-Fit team mates before or after class to get in the extra miles one or two days a week. While this might seem daunting now, it really is pretty easy once you have a plan in place.

The SB marathon is in December - how will you pay Patience if I’ve not completed the race? We will send any remaining $$’s to her after your race the first week of December. You will receive credit for your training between now and September 30th.

Back to Top