Mt Washington Video

I just posted the PACER (Pro-Activity Conditioning and Endurance Racing) video of our Mt. Washington Climb that took place on July 24th & 25th. Mike Eisenhart did a awesome job creating the video. It was a great experience, one that we will have to find a way to top next year. Post your comments to let me know what you think.

Interested in joining or learning more about the PACER Team? Let me know by emailing me at jbagley@pro-activity.com

Follow Me As I Go

So I am currently training for the Vermont 50 ultramarathon. I usually don't tell many people about my plan mostly because of the awkward looks that I am left with aftward. But I figure some may be interested to see some of my progress or find motivation in what I am doing so I have decided to use "everytrail" to document a few of my runs from time to time. You can find the site by clicking the title of this post (it's hyperlinked) or by scrolling to the bottom of the page where you can see a route map but are unable to see my story. I can't promise they will all be entertaining, I will try, but at least you can learn a little about me along the way. I hope you take sometime to check it out and if you do please leave a comment and or two- I would love your feedback! Happy Trails...

Here is a perfect example of “Do as I say, not as I do!”

The mileage began to creep up on my current pair of running shoes and they started to feel hard under foot, telling me the cushioning was on its way out. So I recently purchased a new pair of running shoes as replacements. I followed my own advice in this department. I went later in the day to account for the normal swelling of feet that occurs throughout the day; I wore a typical pair of running socks to try the new shoes on with, made sure I had a thumb width between my big toe and end of shoe and even ran on a treadmill for several minutes in each of the 4 different pairs I tried on. Everything was going just fine…Until I took them home.

I was like a kid on Christmas morning, I just couldn’t wait to get the new shoes out of the box, on my feet, and out the door for a run! I started with a 10K (6.2 miles) on the first day, on the second I did an easy 2 mile jog and finished up with a 15 mile long run on the third day. What the hell was I thinking? The Result...A nice quarter sized bloody blister!













So now for a little advice to myself…

1. While trying shoes on be sure pay attention to the size of the toe box too! I went a little too narrow on my new pair (on the Left in picture above). We'll see how they break in...
2. Never pull the new shoes straight out of the box and go for a normal length and/or pace run!
3. Wear the new shoes during some low impact activities first, like walking, prior running.
4. Alternate your new and old shoes for a week or two before running full time in the new pair.
5. If you plan to run a race in your new shoes it is best to get them at least 4 to 6 weeks prior to your race in order to have enough time to properly break them in.

Yes, this is very simple and straight forward advice…hopefully it can help you avoid the situation I found myself in. Good Luck & Happy Trails!

What's Your "Real Age"?

How would you go about traveling to a place where you have never been before? Use a map...or now a days a GPS? Let's assume we are still stuck in the dark ages and will have to use an old fashioned map. A key piece of information we need in order to successfully travel to our destination is knowing the point from which we are starting out.

With our own health many of us can point toward the destination we would like to reach, we can tell you what that destination looks like even though we may have never been there before (15% body fat, normal cholesterol, blood pressure below 120/80, endless amounts of energy, run marathons, etc...). However, too many times we are afraid to truly open our eyes and look at the point from where we are starting. If this is the case then in most instances the destination you can see so vividly in your head will remain just that...a vision, not a reality!

So, if we are going to truly explore how we can take steps to improve our health we need to know where we are starting from. An annual physical is a good place to start- ideally you should be able to recite your blood pressure, resting heart rate, cholesterol (Total, HDL, LDL), blood glucose numbers, among others, as easily as you can the Pledge of Allegiance.

With this information in hand check out http://www.realage.com/. This website has a quiz, which based on your answers, will give you an estimate of your "real age" along with some suggestions for actions you can take to make some simple improvements.

Here are some of my results: I am 29.1 years old and after answering the questions it estimated my real age to be 19.4. I thought that was pretty good, but it also gave me some food for thought, areas where I could make improvement. The suggestions included: increase strength training, take a multi-vitamin, floss more often, slow down behind the wheel and to work on increasing my HDL (high density lipoprotein- the good stuff)! So I have some work to do.

I'll let you know how I do, but in the meantime check out the site and see what your "real age" is. And when you do, stop back and respond to my poll about how close your "real age" was or wasn't.

So I am a physical therapist

When I first decided what I wanted to be I just knew I would spend a career working with professional athletes! For those of you wiser than I you know things change. While completing my clinical training in school working in hospitals, acute rehabilitation centers and out patient clinics my mind set began to change. It was tough to watch countless individuals who had suffered massive strokes and heart attacks fight to regain the most basic function that many of us take for granted. It was sobering to take in what families dealt with as they prepared to start hospice services for the 43 year old father of 3 who was dying of lung cancer due to his unfortunate 2 pack per day habit. These things changed me. All of us need special people who can support individuals and families through terrible times like those. Working to return physical function to those who forgot how or even worse those who knew how, but their bodies just would not listen. The hardest part of it all was knowing that so many of these cases could have been PREVENTED. Not with expensive treatments and drugs, but simply with a little knowledge and a few healthy habits. Now with some experience under my belt I have realized this business of "wellness evangelizing" can be pretty tough- its hard to find converts I tell you! So in this, my first blogging experience, I hope to share with you my journey in trying to follow my own advice as well as the experiences of others (with their consent of course). Along the way I hope it can provide some knowledge, motivation and even a little inspiration to those charting their own course. It's a journey well worth the time and effort.