September is Arthritis Awareness Month - Janelle

Let's take some time to learn a bit more about the reason Afton and I are doing all this fundraising and training. September is Arthritis Awareness Month, so what better time than now to spread the word. There are over 100 different types of arthritis. Arthritis means inflammation of the joint. It can keep people from living their lives to the fullest, and a half-marathon virtually impossible. Arthritis is among the top three most common chronic diseases in Canada. Over 4 million Canadians live with Arthritis. One in 1000 children in Canada have juvenile Arthritis, making it one of the most common chronic diseases among children. Exercise is a key part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and studies have shown exercise can reduce arthritis pain, Yoga especially. At Bikram Yoga NW in Calgary, there is a Karma day September 24th. For a minimum donation of $5, you can try hot yoga with all the proceeds going to Joints in Motion. Stop in for a 90 minute session of Bikram Hot Yoga at 8am, 10am, noon, or 4pm next saturday and get a great workout while raising awareness for Arthritis.

Bikram Yoga NW is located at #208-4625 Varsity Drive N.W. I hope to see you all there! Matts and towels are available for rent, so just show up with some comfortable and cool workout gear, and experience the wonders of Hot Yoga!

Now for our usual housekeeping; Training went great! We've picked up our pace AND even tackled some hills. The weather was probably the coldest we have seen yet. I think it is safe to say Summer is officially over in Calgary! 

We have one more session of 5 and 1s before amping up the volume to a whopping 6 minutes running and 1 minute walking! It's hard to imagine two months ago Afton and I were holding up the rear at 3 and 2s. I want to thank Joints in Motion trainer John for believing in us and taking his time with us. He is more than just a traffic controller, even though we like to tease him.

THERE ARE 200 DAYS UNTIL THE HERVIS HALF MARATHON IN PRAGUE! 

We need your help to reach our fundraising goals.

 Anyone who is interested in buying some chocolates please email me: janelle_1_2000@hotmail.com. I will be bringing some chocolate covered almonds to training on thursday, so bring some toonies to help support our journey for Arthritis research. Have a great night, and don't underestimate the power of healthy joints! Keep moving

Check out our fundraising pages to find out how you can help fight Arthritis.

Janelle Lane

Afton Hayduk

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! - Janelle

Another sizzling night. Thankfully, John kept us to the shade. We hit a bit of a hill with our usually buddy Tibor and newly-back-to-running Courtney. We survived another round of 5 and 1s, and managed to not need a lift home. Although the ambulance we passed was very tempting.

Shoes Shoes SHOES! 

Which ones to choose?

Pink ones, green ones, 

orange and blues

No matter the colour, pick a pair that fits

Even if you look great

sore feet are the pits!

Trainer John gave us some great pointers on shoe shopping. Both Afton and I were drawn to the extra colourful shoes, but little did we know our top picks weren't suited to marathon running. John's #1 tip with shoes is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." So since I fit in Nike shoes, I should stick with them. I didn't know how different shoes are, so if you are looking for the perfect fit, speak with the shoe experts. We train from the Tech Shop in Mission, and the guys there really know their feet. Always go by fit, and ask if that shoe comes in any other colours if the pair is really that ugly. Happy running!

Help us reach our goal by clicking on our names.

Janelle Lane

Afton Hayduk

Chocolate anyone? - Janelle

What a scorcher! We hit 26'C while running today, and we weren't the only ones sweating it out under the pulsing rays of mr.sun; our running group consisted of babies to a gentleman in his 70's. Afton and I kept a good pace with our first day of running 5 minutes, walking 1. Afton saw a specialist about her asthma and was given two big thumbs up for her half-marathon training, which is very exciting since we already signed up for the marathon. Today, she even had to push me to keep going. It's like she is healthier than a horse! A good run on a hot day, and even with my week off I kept up Scott's usual fast tempo (mostly).

I've been meaning to start blogging more about our fundraising efforts, so tonight is the night! Last month I ordered 50 cases of World's Finest Chocolates. I was only going to order 10 to try it out, but any orders over 50 don't have to pay shipping and handling, so I was sold. 50% of sales will go towards my fundraising goal of $8500. If you would like some (since I have SOOO many) please let me know! email me: janelle_1_2000@hotmail.com

I work as a guest service agent at the Hilton Garden Inn while in school, and my manager has welcomed my fundraising efforts into the workplace. The chocolates are proudly displayed at the front desk, and I have a whole wall dedicated to Arthritis awareness.

Skully sure knows how to draw attention to the wall. He's been the perfect spokesman for the degenerative joint disease while I'm not working. Remember, if you make a donation over $20 dollars, you get an official tax receipt, making us all winners. Check out our fundraising pages to find out how you can help fight Arthritis.

Janelle Lane

Afton Hayduk

Hills, hills and more hills!!- Afton

Well, What a night for a run. The weather was just beautiful, nice and dry, with a hint of a breeze brushing by us. Tonight we ran through mission, everytime I'm there I just admire the alluring houses, the towering trees that line the streets and the magnificent landscaping.

With that being said, John took us up a few hills, everytime I thought the hills would be no more I would see another just creeping around the next bend! All in all I think I did well, I went farther then tuesday and I pushed myself all the way through it. The only time i took a break was on the downhill!! I managed to conquer 6.77 kilometers in 48 minutes and 30 seconds. Excuse me while I pat myself on the back a bit! ;) I wished Janelle was there tonight, Im sure she would have felt the challenge as well.

Until next week, hope you enjoy reading my entry, and I'll be back here on tuesday evening!

Stay tuned next week when we find out if Janelle has been keeping up with her training! As always, help us out if you can. Any donation helps!

Afton Hayduk

Janelle Lane

Let it rain! - Afton

So it was a bit of a soggy day out today. I have to admit I wasn't exactly looking forward to running in the rain but once I got out there I realized it was a much needed change. Comparing it to the 30 degree weather we have been enduring, it seemed a little bit easier to run in. Janelle is missing this week of running with the group due to work, which I can understand but she better be prepping for next week. Rumour has it we are going onto 5 and 1's, EEEKKKK! I decided I was going to run without using my inhaler today to see if I noticed any difference, I NOTICED alright! Within about the third set of 5 and 2's I took my inhaler and felt WAY better for the rest of the run. I ran a whole 6.3 kms in 48 minutes and 30 seconds. The scenery was great as per usual, ran past some beautiful houses along some great tree lined streets. Well that’s all for now, till Thursday, hope you stay dry where ever you are.

Please help us reach our goal to raise money for The Arthritis Society

Janelle Lane

Afton Hayduk

Late post - Janelle

Oh shame on me! Posting the next day....tisk tisk! In my defence I had a long night after running, but first a bit about our GREAT run! WOOHOO!! over 6.2 km, that's not counting all the times we had to check back. That's right, Afton and I were NOT last! In fact, we kept a pretty good pace at the front of the pack. It is crazy to think that just over a month ago we were barely running 5km, and we were usually huffy and puffing the whole way. With just over 200 days left until Prague, I think we will get a pretty sweet time for our half marathon. Last night we ran through the cemetery off Macleod and got a shot by Colonel Macleod's gravestone. Some of those graves are over 100 years old, a slice of Calgary's history.

Afton and I are starting to organize some fundraising events. I purchased over $1,600 worth of chocolates to sell, so if you are interested please let me know! shoot me off an email at janelle_1_2000@hotmail.com. As for my busy night, Sara was nice enough to give me her tickets to Globalfest, however once my cousin got to town and we got down to 17th it was about 10pm. I thought this would be no problem since both the tickets and the website said the fireworks event was going on until 11:30pm. NOT SO! We saw the fireworks in the car and then watched the stampede of people leaving the grounds. Unfortunately we caught the tail end thanks to faulty advertising.

To make up for missing Globalfest, I took my little cousin Brittany (who drive all the way from Red Deer just to see me) to Hot Yoga. Afterwards, I figured we deserved a treat, so we hit up Crave cupcakes in Kensington. If you have never been, it is a must do in Calgary. The gourmet cupcakes are to die for, and after an hour and a half of hot yoga, I figured I could get away with it.

Help us help those with Arthritis. Please donate what you can. Remember any donations over $20 gets an official tax receipt.

Janelle Lane

Afton Hayduk

Any drop offs for the morgue? -Afton

 Wow was it ever a hot day to be running! John totally took it easy on the group tonight, so no hills and there was a definite focus on finding shade; I will definitely not complain about that. We ran through the residential area all the way from tri-it fitness down past the morgue and back, running on the pathway next to the river.

So this was the first attempt at running 5 and 2's, I don't wanna jinx it or anything but I can tell you it felt like my legs would give out before my lungs. I'm pretty sure that I had a lot left in me, which is an awesome sign. Tibor entertained me with a story this evening about running a marathon by accident. I guess it was supposed to be a relay but he ended up on the wrong path, in turn he ran a full marathon and didn't even get a chance to train properly! All I can say is I don't want that to happen to me, so I will be triple checking the map for the right path on my half marathon.

Can't wait for Thursday to see how Janelle fairs with the extra minute tacked on to every interval I'm sure she will do great, she always does. I sure did miss her checking up on me and chatting away like usual. You better get your 6 km in tomorrow morning to keep up!

Help us reach our goal to raise money and awareness for Arthritis

Afton Hayduk

Janelle Lane