11.10.09: Kenyan Tea Time

Each morning I drink a cup of Kenyan tea.

I fell in love with this tea two years ago on Mount Kilimanjaro. It was the way we started our day, sipping it while still snug in our sleeping bags. It was a way to wake up for the work ahead.

I drink the tea each morning, thinking about the trek to come -- which is now less than two months away. The tea helps me put my mind back on the mountain.

When facing a task so awesome, it is important to have gentle, positive mental reminders that make you think of success. What little things can you add to your routine to help you on the road to achieving great things?

Speaking of great things. Please help me raise $10K for AIDS orphans in Africa by World AIDS Day (Dec. 1) Every donation makes great change:
http://www.globalallianceafrica.org/personal/savetheworlddiet

11.08.09: How Hiking As a Family Makes You Stronger

I have done some of my training hikes with my family -- such as the awesome Halloween hike at Jockey Hollow and today's two-hour trek at Pyramid Mountain.

I love taking my daughter outdoors -- she loves finding leaves and naming all that she sees: tree, leaves, rock, plane (OK, so this is hiking in New Jersey). Today she got to see a real live bear, and fortunately he was a kind bruin and let us live to tell about it.

Sometimes our daughter likes to walk, jumping off little rocks and logs on the trail, crunching her feet down in the leaves. Most of the time, we carry her in a hiking backpack. Hiking with a child on your back makes the going a bit slower -- but there is some added weight resistance in there. You have to work harder for every step. Fortunately, I get to share the load with my husband.

Whenever I gave him the backpack, I would marvel at how much faster I could move, and how much more comfortable I was without 30 extra pounds on my back. Oh yeah, that is exactly the point. The more I exercise, the more weight I will lose, and the better I will feel.

Only eight more weeks until it is time to trek up Kilimanjaro, here is how you can help:
http://www.globalallianceafrica.org/personal/savetheworlddiet

11.03.09: Exercise Your Right To Vote

In a few minutes I am heading out on a hill walk to do a little Kilimanjaro training, and will end it with one of the best exercises of all: voting.

Election Day is always a busy (and late) day for a newspaper reporter like me but it is important for me to both get my exercise, and to cast my own vote.

So get out there, get moving and having your say in your community. Vote!

www.fatwomanonthemountain.com
www.globalallianceafrica.org/personal/savetheworlddiet

11.01.09: Tune In For Inspiration

While I was at the gym this morning, I looked up from my treadmill panel to find live coverage of the ING New York Marathon. It was two hours into the race and a pack of women were well on their way to the finish line.

I found myself punching up the speed on my own treadmill, working a little harder. If they can do 26.2 miles, the least I can do is sweat in their honor.

I admit I workout harder after watching the Biggest Loser. My grandest athletic aspirations are set when the Olympics are on. Who can come away from an episode of Ruby and not want to follow her path of good health?

Tune in to inspiration where ever you can find it.

www.fatwomanonthemountain.com

10.19.09: Enjoying Exercise

As I was making my way up Oak Ridge Road, a man doing yard work said to me, "It's a long hill, isn't it?"

"The longer, the better," I said, after walking a few blocks of up. "I am training to go up Kilimanjaro in a few months.

He pointed to another hill just around the corner. "That one over there is terrible."

I looked down what felt like a ski jump and said, "It looks like a good workout."

As I walked away it occurred to me that my perspective has changed dramatically over the last several months. I am not just enduring exercise, I am enjoying it.

Instead of just slogging through a workout, I enjoy the crunch of leaves under my shoe while out on a walk. I actually want the treadmill to go a little faster, because I can go a little faster. Tomorrow I will head out on a hike -- and I can't wait to get out there in the woods.

www.globalallianceafrica.org/personal/savetheworlddiet

10.10.09: Nothing But Stairs

Now that I have the Tour De Pink under my belt, it's time to focus on my final Save the World Diet Challenge: A Kilimanjaro climb to benefit Global Alliance for Africa's AIDS orphans programs.

I have done it before, so I know that the next three months are going to be hard and heavy with trainings. Everything I do from this moment will affect my trek up the mountain. So if it's a choice of an elevator or stairs, I better choose the stairs. My diet is getting more streamlined because every extra pound on my body is a pound I have to carry to 19,343 feet. I've even started to ween myself from coffee.

But it's all worth it. I am doing this for kids in Africa left behind by the AIDS crisis. Who am I to back down when they need fresh water, an education, a chance.

So the coming months will be hard -- juggling my schedule with fundraisers and training, and eventually my trek up the mountain -- but it is so worth it.

Come hike with me:

Fundraising Halloween Hike, 10 a.m. 10/31 Jockey Hollow, (Harding, NJ)

Support my climb:

www.globalallianceafrica.org/personal/savetheworlddiet

10.04.09: Small Favors on a Big Ride

I parked my bicycle next to another one this morning on the train. I wasn't sure if it would stay up on the ride from Metro Park to Trenton, but it was the only way I could figure how to get down to the Tour De Pink, a charity ride for young breast cancer survivors.

Then a guy said, do you have a bungee cord for that? I turned around to see the owner of the other bike, as he pulled a spare cord from his small bag containing many bike things.

I said no, and explained that I was rather new to this bicycle thing, and was feeling ill-prepared and ill-equiped. In fact, until I was on the train that morning I wasn't quite sure I was going. But I told the guy, who later introduced himself as Steve, that I was heading to a charity ride for young breast cancer survivors and that I had to go.

He looked down and said, "My mother had breast cancer." His voice trailed off at the end.

He fastened my bike to his, and told me to keep the cord as he exited in New Brunswick.

These small random acts of kindness kept me going during what was a great day for cycling. Whether it was people on the SAG bus filling up a water bottle for me, or a fellow rider pushing me up a hill. Throughout the day women -- especially those from the Giant For Women team -- gave me tips to keep going en route from Trenton to Bridgewater.

The Tour De Pink was a challenge, but a terrific experience. My heartfelt thanks to all those who helped me along the way for such a great cause.

www.fatwomanonthemountain.com