First Expedition!

Old Town Running Club!

January 21st marked the first annual run for the newly established Old Town Running Club. In a previous post I discussed what, when and how the running club would be meeting and on January 21st we left The Club at Old Town Fitness Center located off Linden in Old Town Fort Collins for our very first run!

I hope to see new faces each week and this last Friday was no exception. As you can see from the picture above we had nine people join us for our first expedition of approximately four miles out and back. The club is open to all levels and abilities and was mainly established to help provide community as well as accountability to veteran and new runners alike.

We hope to expand the club especially as the beautiful weather here in Colorado gets more conducive to outdoor activities. If you would like to join us please feel free. We meet every Friday at The Club at Old Town Fitness Center, 351 Linden Street Fort Collins, CO at Noon.

Great Job Crew look forward to many more miles with you in the future!
Until next time happy Trails
Josh

Old Town Running Club!

OLD TOWN RUNNING CLUB!

HOSTED BY EPHRAIM MAMMO

&

JOSH SLATTERY

WHERE: THE CLUB AT OLD TOWN FITNESS CENTER

WHEN: EVERY FRIDAY STARTING JANUARY 21^ST 12:00PM-1:00PM

WHO: ALL LEVELS ARE WELCOME, INVITE A FRIEND NON-MEMBERS WELCOME

COST: FREE, FREE, FREE!

Questions contact: Josh Slattery

970-481-3698

15.5fitness@gmail.com

New Year New Look

Change is not always easy or exciting, but for me the New look for the New Year is a very exciting change. 15:5Fitness is now SynerStrengthFitness thanks to the crew at Onetribe creative! With the branding of a new identity comes a new logo, slogan and website! I have big dreams for SynerStrengthFitness all of which I hope to someday realize. Feel free to check out my new website at synerstrengthfitness.com. Currently synerstrengthfitness.com is a landing page with more to come. In the future I hope to move my blog to synerstrength as well as have an array of other links and information for your browsing pleasure.

Training for the last two years has been something that I greatly enjoy. I am looking forward to the New Year and my final semester in school. As with every year I encourage you to take a look at the past year and reflect upon what you enjoyed and what you could have done better and set some new goals for the new year and possibly even beyond. Pastor John Smith from Crossroads church gave an amazing sermon this morning about the importance of deciding on change, setting some goals, taking action and praying for God's power in accomplishing said goals. Here's just a few highlights and points from John's message.

1. Decide on change (make it happen)

• Principle if all you do is what you've always done you'll always be where you've always been!

2. Set a Goal!

• Principle nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific

3. Formulate a Plan (strategy)

• Principle if you fail to plan, you plan to Fail!

4. Make the start (TAKE ACTION)

• Principle After all is said and done, we have to ACT.

5. Pray for God's Help

• Principle things work better when they're plugged in.

If you've never set goals in the past now is a great time to start. It's amazing the difference having direction and purpose can make in your day to day life. Of course there is always the stuff that we deal with on a day to day basis, but having dreams and goals provides a greater purpose and satisfaction than simply just the day to day.

Helping you to realize your potential

Josh

Denver Rock n' Roll Half Marathon

Denver Rock n' Roll Half-Marathon

October 17th marked the inaugural year for the Denver Rock n' Roll Marathon and half-marathon. Not only was it the first year for the Denver marathon to be added to the long list of Rock n' Roll races found all across the country, but it marked Lyric's first half-marathon. Lyric began her training with me in April of this year with the intention of lifestyle change. Since we started training in April Lyric has competed in a number of 5K's and 10K's and added her first Half-marathon. With improvement every step along the way. On October 17th Lyric finished her first half-marathon on the streets of Denver in record fashion. Running 13.1 miles in 2:37:29.

Nice Job Lyric!

The best part is that Lyric was not the only member of my team to complete her first half-marathon. I have mentioned in the past my Tuesday and Thursday morning group, and in that group I had two ladies who finished their first ever half marathon. Denise Corliss and Heather Artt both participated in and finished their first half marathon. Cori Lopez and Heidi Lukowski also competed in the Half Marathon adding yet another half to their growing lists.

From Lt: Heather, Denise, Cori and Heidi post Rock n' Roll! Nice job ladies!

My wife and I also ran the Rock n' Roll and I am proud to say that we both set PR's at the race. Kristin and Beth ran the half in sub two hours finishing in 1:56 four mins less than their anticipated goal of 2 hours! I finished in 1:29:15 placing me in the top 20 in my age group. All in all I would say this was a successful race and a fun one to say the least. Looking forward to many more!

Eat Food

Seems like a simple concept right? Well unfortunately the definition of "food" has changed drastically in the last twenty years. The things that our great grandparents purchased in the grocery store (when they didn't grow it themselves) is very different from most shopping carts today.

While processing and refining has greatly expanded our food supply it has also complicated the selection of "healthy" foods. So, in an effort to help you decipher those confusing food labels found on all products I found an insightful article. The recommendations are ones to try and live by, but understand they maybe difficult because the will alter your selection of "healthy" foods. Happy reading!

1. Eat food. Seems simple enough right? Depends on what you classify as food. Try this instead don’t eat anything that your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. More than likely this will eliminate several foodlike items in your local supermarket (go-gurt? Breakfast-cereal bars? Nondairy creamer?).
2. Avoid foods that make health claims these foods tend to be heavily processed and the claims are often dubious at best. Think about this the American Heart Association charges food makers for their endorsement. Oh yeah and margarine which was developed as superior to butter still gives people heart attacks.
3. Can’t pronounce it perhaps you shouldn’t eat it. If ingredients are unfamiliar, unpronounceable, contain high fructose corn syrup or have more than five ingredients these should be avoided if possible. None of these are particularly harmful in themselves, but instead indicate that these foods maybe highly processed.
4. Get out of the supermarket! Become a member of a CSA (community supported agriculture) or attend your local farmers market. Guaranteed you won’t find high fructose corn syrup or unpronounceable ingredients there. Maybe you’ll get the opportunity to meet the farmer that raised and picked your produce for the week. Think about this the average produce travels more than 1500 miles to reach your supermarket how fresh can that really be?
5. Pay more, eat less. Americans, on average, spend less than 10 percent on food down from 24 percent in 1947 and drastically less than citizens in any other nation. Not everyone will be able to spend more, but the majority of us can and should. Supporting the farmers who are using reduced pesticides is not only good for our health, but is good for the environment and the communities where that produce is grown. Organic growers incur a substantial cost to switch from conventional production to organic and the only way they recover that cost is through us purchasing their products.

Pollan, Michael (2007). Unhappy Meals. The New York Times, January 28,2007. 1-16.

Fueling

Fueling for Life and Sport:

Proper fueling for life as well as exercise can be a difficult task. It is the most frequently asked questions that I get. Although proper nutrition and fueling maybe a difficult topic it is one that is well worth the investment. In a effort to help, below you will find some common foods compared to their "healthier" alternative. Some may go without saying, but I think you maybe surprised by others.

Peanut butter
*vs*
Almond butter

Both of these make a healthy snack when added to a banana, celery or apple. However, almond butter takes the prize for "healthier" of the two. Both butters have about the same amount of fat, Almond butter has more monounsaturated fats which will help in reducing LDL levels decreasing Heart disease and stroke risk. Almond butter also contains more magnesium and calcium commonly lacking in the runner's diet.

Where to use: add almond butter to your bagel in place of peanut butter, mix in your post/pre workout shake or add to your morning dose of oatmeal.

Spinach
*vs*
Kale

I will never complain about a client eating either of these especially when veggies are lacking in almost any diet. If your looking for a palate change from spinach kale is a great option. Kale is a "super food" in every sense of the word. With 4 times as much Vitamin C as spinach and one and a half times the amount of immune boosting vitamin A and K. Vitamin K is essential to blood clotting and building strong bones. Kale also contains antioxidants that are important in the protection of eye health.

Where to use: blend kale in with your pre/post workout shakes. Remove stems and roll like a cigar, dice and saute with a little onion balsamic vinegar and brown sugar for a healthy side dish (easy on the brown sugar :) Or make some healthy chips cut bite size pieces and lay flat on a baking sheet spray with olive oil, salt and bake for 15 mins or until crisp.

Greek Yogurt
*vs*
Regular yogurt

Besides the amazingly creamy taste of Greek yogurt there is twice as much protein compared to regular yogurt. One would assume that would come at a caloric trade-off not the case. Typically Greek yogurt is very comparable to regular yogurt in calories. The increased protein content will provide a feeling of fullness longer, and provide the body with the protein needed for muscle development.

Where to use: add Greek yogurt to your pre/post workout shake. substitute Greek for you regular yogurt at snack time or breakfast. Use Greek yogurt combined with pesto to make a healthier version of a pizza sauce. Spread on pizza crust add toppings and bake. Not all Greek yogurt tastes the same my favorite is brown cow and can be purchased at king soopers or in a family pack at Sam's blueberry and strawberry.

Colorado Marathon

Mother's Day weekend marked the 7th running of the Colorado Marathon, and a proud moment in my training career. I know I have mentioned several times my Tuesday and Thursday morning class in which I have 6 very loyal patrons all of which ran the course. Congrats to all those that participated it was exciting to have the opportunity to cheer you on! Cori, Heidi, Doug and Arlene all took part in the 1/2 Marathon. While Heather and Denise ran the 5K version. It's official Denise is hooked on running with her very first 5K under her belt. Nice job guys proud of you and look forward to many more :)