This is a first!  Denise is The Best of Everything After 50 “Woman of the Week” for the second week in a row!! 

Why?  Because she decided only a few weeks ago to enter her first race — a 5K — and this week, she did it!

Denise — as I wrote in last week’s blog about her — suffers from fibromyalgia, which can be very painful at times.  Denise had stopped working out, thinking it would be too uncomfortable for her, until she read about the walk/run program in my book, which was created by marathoner, author and Olympian, Jeff Galloway.

After getting a pedometer a few months ago, she decided to give it a try, slowly building up her pace and the number of steps she took each day. Eventually, she got to the recommended 10,000 steps AND incorporated some running into her walking routine.  Denise tells me that her “normal” walk/run ratio is 3 – 4 minutes of walking with 1 – 2 minutes of running, and she’s working toward reversing that ratio.  BUT, she knows that walk breaks are forever if she wants to walk/run — injury-free — for the rest of her life.

Result?  She’s lost weight, gotten leaner, and the most gratifying of all . . . she finished her first race!  Denise used to be annoyed by people who would say “If I can do it, anyone can!” . . . but that has became her own mantra and message to other women over 50.   

In the words of Tom Petty (from one of my favorite songs):

I don’t know what I’ve been told,

You never slow down,

You never grow old . . . 

Yay, Denise!!!!

Best of Everything,

Barbara