And no I don't mean bicycle gears!

Over the last couple of months I have been slowly switching my gears from promoting our awesome Women's Woodstock Cycling Grand Prix road race to a more family centric take on exercise.  Reason being I just had a baby!

During the last few months of my pregnancy I really got into providing prenatal and family exercise on a whole new level.  And I love it!  Being able to literally grow with some of my prenatal clients and talk about all the ins and outs of pregnancy was wonderfully reassuring for both sides.  Teaching Mommy and Me classes with other toddlers gave my older daughter and my clients kiddos something fun to do while mommy got her workout on.  You haven't seen cute until you've seen a couple of two year olds playing peekaboo or singalong to each other's toys over video chat.

So, for the next few entries I'm going to talk about fitness and the family.  Sure, it will have a mamma centered approach but that doesn't mean dad can't jump into a class with his kiddos too!

So, yesterday I took my daughter up to Woodstock for our last official pre-race meeting of this year.  The goal was to get the safety team and course team all on the same page and geared to go next weekend.  

It was pretty intense.  The amount of thought, care and planning that goes into a race like this is pretty amazing.  Three towns are involved, local and state police as well as a fire department or two!  To see it all come together is just awe inspiring.  

So is the course.  It's awe inspiring and from the back seat of a car at the tail end of an energetic caravan it will twist and turn your stomach into knots until the stunning distraction of the epic scenery is nothing in comparison to what you would give for a good ruben and greasy fries just to settle your stomach!

This course is crazy. CRAZY I say!!!!  It's crazy beautiful, it's crazy long, it's crazy technical and it is CRAZY hard.  And you know what?  We have over 70 crazy brave and awe inspiring women already signed up!!!  Now THAT is amazing.  It keeps being said that grown men, avid cyclists have given up on the hills of this course and yet these women are coming back for a SECOND time to show us what they've got and through tenacity and training they WILL CONQUER THE CATS!!!!

So, whether you cycle or not, are into women's sporting events or not, love the scenic Catskills or not, this event what it represents, and these women deserve our respect and our support.  Because this is epic!  These women are epic for being amazing racers, the donations we will be able to give to the Hope's Fund for women is epic, and of course... this course is EPIC.

www.WWCGP.com <---- Check it out and join us this Friday and Saturday!!!

So, this year I am lucky enough to be involved in America’s only women-only cycling grand prix!  How amazing is that?!  Not only that I get to do something super cool but more importantly that we Women now have our own Cycling Grand Prix race!

The race takes place in beautiful upstate new york and is between 32 and 65 miles depending on which category you sign up for (Pro 1-2, Cat 3 or Cat 4).  The Pro 1-2 is no joke if you are familiar with the formidable hills of upstate New York you know what I'm talking about.  

Another beautiful thing about this race (apart from the scenery of course!) is that this event will help to raise funds and awareness for HOPE’s Fund; which I was also lucky to enough to be a part of at the very beginning of my entrepreneurial adventures.  The HOPE's Fund and affiliated projects helped me to gain the confidence, education and other tools for success under my belt.  They are largely the spring in my first steps that allowed me to make the leap into my own practice as an Exercise Physiologist and Personal Health Coach.  For this I am so proud to be a part of an event, like Woodstock Women's Cycling Grand Prix, which gives back to such an enriching community of Women for Women. 


We would love to have you there as an athlete, a sponsor a spectator or volunteer.  Join us in spreading the wealth of Women for Women in athletics and beyond.  

Thankfully, our calendar tells us that SPRING is finally here!  Now we just have to wait for Spring to actually get here...

In the mean time may I suggest getting in the swing of things?  It may feel a bit premature but the warm weather will soon be here and so will summer.  At that point you'll be left feeling like you missed the boat!  Like two years ago when I thought I could plant my garden in July and have fruits and veggies before it snowed in November.  It just isn't going to happen!!!

So don't let the cold spring weather trick you into thinking you might actually have more time to get bikini ready or prepared for that race/event you've been mulling over in your head all winter long.

Get going now, start making a plan.  Do you want a trainer who will be with you during every workout to make sure you're form is correct?  Do you want a coach who will give you an exercise plan and meet with you every other week to make sure things are going smoothly?  Do you have goals to lose a whole bunch of weight and the desire to run your first 5k?  Are you finally brave enough to mount your bicycle or lace up your running shoes without the worry of poor drivers and fearsome snowbanks?  Do you want to try your hand at a Triathlon this year or simply survive the local nursery school's 5k run to raise money for colored pencils and glue?

Whatever YOUR goal is, get on it!  It's spring!!!!

Ok, so I'm a little late for the actual New Years celebrations but that doesn't mean I can't help you to make a fresh start!

I have a whole bunch of tools in my treasure chest and many of them are here just for that reason.

For starters, I've got some nifty calendars made up to help you set your goals.  If you're a Facebook follower (please do!)  you may have already seen them and hopefully even taken advantage of printing it out and filling it in!  You better hurry up and get over there (to FB I mean) because the next calendar is going to roll out soon!!!  February is around the corner... Yikes!

An even BIGGER tool I have can be found here:  Stop Challenge Choose .  As a personal health coach with Take Shape For Life (another fantastic and life changing program, ask me about it!)  I have access to this totally kick butt 12 Week Challenge.  The best part?  Anyone can do it and it is FREE.  Who doesn't want to kick start their health, receive daily motivational and inspirational emails and get their body moving in the right direction free of cost?  (If you really think about it I'd say no one.)  The whole Challenge is there to help you and you can go at YOUR pace.  It's perfect really.  I'm doing it and not only am I applying it to my health but I am also applying it to my business.  After all, a less stressful more successful business will help me maintain a healthier body right?  Yes, just agree because stress wrecks the body.  (Jump in on one of my stress management classes and I'll tell you all about it.)

If you decide to sign up for the 12-Week Challenge, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!  And be sure to click on the box that says "I Know/Have A Health Coach" be cause you do, Cortney Whitebay and I'll be there for you if you have any questions or concerns.  

Be Well!

So, since I moved back to the beautiful Hudson Valley with my husband, daughter and two dogs I have been trying to get back into my hometown community.  I started out by going for "nap runs" around the neighborhood, going to the park and rail trail with my family and I signed up to compete in a handful of races this spring...  Which also helped me to hold myself to my own fitness goals.

The one thing I never could seem to get around to was volunteering.  Well, this weekend I did it!  I finally made it out to an event (with my husband) to volunteer.  It was a fantastic experience.  We went to the HIITs Triathlon up at Hunter.  It was a beautiful scenic drive and race course.  We even got a little hike in our selves!  

We were happily stationed at the finish line where we clapped and cheered until our voices were nearly gone and our hands/wrists wanted nothing more than epsom salt.  I also had the distinguished job of giving out participation metals and stripping timing chips.  That may sound easy but you try to get a finisher to hold still long enough to do both without jogging past you, collapsing or threatening to hurl...  Then we'll talk ;-)

Overall it was a fantastic experience and I can't wait to get out there again!

Lets face it, it can get pretty hot out there in the summer, even if you aren't in the arid desert and dehydration is no joke when you are out and about for your exercise session.  Whether you are an avid exerciser or not it is important to drink plenty of fluid throughout the day (preferably water) to keep your inner cooling system flowing well.  

Maintaining a state of proper hydration is an ongoing effort, just like eating regular meals, and making sure there is plenty of coolant in your car's air conditioning system.  If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated and if that's in the heat of the day in the middle of nowhere close to a watering hole, you could find yourself in trouble.  So, have a glass of water when you get up, before you leave for work and keep a bottle with you when you're at work or running errands.  

Last time I spoke a little to doing what makes you happy when you set out to exercise.  But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. While I never want to diminish anyone's enthusiasm, I do want to caution those who might have a tendency to "over-do-it" in the beginning.  

When starting most new things it is a necessary tightrope walk between maintaining enthusiasm and maintaining control.  Have you ever heard a friend say, "I've tried and I just can't run!" or " Well, I can run for about a minute but that's it and I'm completely beat."  It's a perfect example of stellar enthusiasm and a not so productive loss in control.  For many individuals this happens because they have not been  taught how to control their pace and they are literally going at it as fast and hard as they can.  I give these friends an A+ for effort  and a little tip for the future--- s.l.o.w. down and enjoy your journey! 

A pretty good way to find your pace when you are not used to running is by taking the first day out as a walk.  Not a comfortable stroll but a brisk walk.  A walk that makes you re-think just how "easy" walking is.  Walk for 20-30 minutes, break a sweat, go home and have a nourishing meal and plenty of water.  If you feel a bit sore the next day, take another walk (you can go a bit easier on yourself).  Do what you can in terms of duration (still aiming for 20-30min) and keep up the routine all week long allowing your self a day of rest every 2 or 3 days (if you are walking hard enough that you have some soreness).  If you're not sore at all keep it going 6 days a week until you're in a good routine.

By starting out slow, giving your body time to heal and rejuvenate between exercise sessions you will set yourself up for success at a long term, feel good exercise routine.

Dear Partner,

You mean so much to me and today is the perfect day to say thank you for everything you have helped me to accomplish.  So, thank you for pushing me to put my running shoes on during the days I just can't be bothered.  Thank you for having the perfect name to pace my stride, especially when I'm feeling alone.  Thank you for always being the one I race toward when I feel like giving up.  Thank you for your joyous and approving smiles when you see me run through the finish line (even if I'm last).  And thank you, dear daughter, for calling me Mommy.

You give me the motivation to begin, the strength to keep going and more joy I at the finish than I ever could have imagined. I love you. ~Mom