Bet you can't guess who's back in the “exercise saddle” after a long winter and spring of relative inactivity.
Yes, indeed, my now 80-year-old mother has signed up for the Fort4Fitness Senior Marathon once again, and this time she brought along some friends.
On Thursday, June 27, my mother turned 80 (happy birthday, mom). The same day, she participated in the official Senior Marathon kick-off at Parkview Field. Check out this brief video report on the day to see her spunky, fun approach to meeting this challenge.
About Fort4Fitness
Fort4Fitness is a wonderful organization whose goal is to make Fort Wayne a healthier place by motivating you to get active with a host of wonderful events. The Fort4Fitness Spring Cycle event May 25 motivated some 2,000 cyclists, from "weekend warriors" to professional cyclists, to participate in a number of biking events. The fantastic fall Fort4Fitness event will culminate Sept. 28 in a half-marathon (13.1 miles), 10K (6.2 miles) or 4-mile walking or running event in which some 10,000 people participate in Fort Wayne.
Two of the For4Fitness weekend’s activities are absolute must-see events: the Kids Marathon and Seniors Marathon, both of which will be Friday, Sept. 27. Kids Marathon and Seniors Marathon participants log 25 miles over the summer and early fall using the honor system and complete the marathon (26.2 miles) with a 1.2 mile walk/run in front of a stadium full of people – Jumbotron and all – finishing at home plate. If you need a little motivation to get out and get active, this is an absolute, essential bucket list item to witness. I will be writing much more about the Fort4Fitness events in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
Back to mom!
Yes mom's back after her "long winters nap." Like many of us, staying in the exercise groove has been difficult for my octogenarian mother. Last fall, when cold weather set in and the days began to shorten, her excuses for not exercising became better. The best prescription for chasing those excuse-loving, motivation-killing exercise blues away is to create an attainable goal and work toward achieving that goal.
Mom’s motivational goal is to complete a marathon, just like her crazy son. For those of you who remember last year’s blog on this topic, my formerly extremely sedentary at-the-time 79-year-old mother of six adults morphed into a sort of exercise monster who cast aspersions upon those who were content with sitting on the sidelines and watching. 
The second best prescription for ensuring you stick with your exercise program or active lifestyle is to create a support group by enlisting others to join in your activity, while holding each other accountable for participation.
Well, Mom has this aspect of her motivation covered as well. She has invited (some would say drafted) friends and relatives to come along and do this wacky thing with her. (I also signed my soon-to-be 80-year-old Aunt Mary up at my mother's “suggestion.” But Mary did not make it to the June 27 Senior Marathon kick-off because, she said, “I don't do ANYTHING before 10 am.”) With the help of her friends and sister, Mom will stay motivated to do more than complete her stated goal. She has informed me that she plans to do a heck of a lot better than last year when, “we” came in dead last in the event and she blames me to this day for setting such a horrible pace.
Well, we are indeed back; me with this blog, and Mom with her walking! I encourage you to continue to follow Mom's progress in subsequent blog posts and stay tuned to meet some truly exciting people who I consider true hero's when it comes to understanding the importance of health and wellness. You can have subsequent blogs from this site sent to you your favorite web-based news reader by clicking on this icon 
on the home page of Community.Parkview.com.
on the home page of Community.Parkview.com.
Thank you for reading and I hope to hear from you soon or see you at the Fort4Fitness event in September.
