Monday, July 22, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
KAISER PRESENTS 2nd ANNUAL CITY VERSUS CITY COMPETITION FOR HEALTH
SOFITCITY BUILDS A FITTER CITY
Kaiser Permanente Presents 2nd Annual County Race
SOFITCITY welcomes rival cities to compete for the largest number of
finishers to win. New this year is an Armed Services Challenge, Police versus
Fire Department Challenge, a Mayor’s Cup award and a costume contest. In
addition to live music, 5K and 10K Finishers can look forward to finisher
medals at the conclusion of the race.
“What’s great about this concept is that it’s inclusive,” says
race director, Todd Rewick. “It’s a party for folks who like live music and
dancing, it’s a kid’s event for children fundraising for their schools, and
it’s a championship event for runners here for the medal or seeking a title.”
“SOFITCITY was so much fun last year,” said Dilenna Harris, Kaiser Permanente Public Affairs Manager. “And we are proud to support the SOFITCITY mission to build a fitter Solano. We believe community-partnerships are the essence of a fitter community, and SOFITCITY is one of many local prevention-driven programs that we support.”
Funds raised from registration benefit the Solano County Library
Foundation and other area nonprofits that promote fit minds and fit bodies for
a fitter community.
MEDIA CONTACT
Elicia Stewart
SOFITCITY Captain
elicia@sofitcity.com
707.929.3565
Thursday, July 18, 2013
FREE TALK ON TRAINING, BIOMECHANICS AND FOOTWEAR
FREE TALK ON TRAINING,
BIOMECHANICS AND FOOTWEAR
Date: Wednesday July 31,
2013 at 5:30 PM
Location: Fleet Feet, 354 Merchant Street, Vacaville, CA
The countywide SOFITCITY
5K/10K Run. Walk. Party! presented by Kaiser Permanente, is set
for Saturday, September 28, 2013. The event is part of a strategy to create
more walkers and runners throughout the county in order to build community
habits around health.
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| REGISTER NOW AT WWW.SOFITCITY.COM |
Wednesday, July 31, Fleet Feet Vacaville and
New Balance will host a free shoe talk clinic, educating residents on the
launch the SOFITCITY NO BOUNDARIES Training Program.
The program will guide runners through an 8-week
orientation and 5K training program in preparation for a fun and confident
finish at the SOFITCITY 5K/10K Run. Walk.
Party! this fall.
Vacaville team captain, Carol Gilpin, owner of Fleet Feet
Sports in Vacaville, will conduct the trainings, starting in two Solano
locations, with hopes of expanding throughout the county. Carol, who is also a Registered Dietitian,
wrote the program for New Balance in 2006 and has since seen the program
expanded throughout the nation.
 |
| Carol Gilpin, Fleet Feet Vacaville |
“We strongly believe in specific programs that guide new and
current runners to a healthy lifestyle,” says Carol. “Fleet Feet Vacaville has
been in the business of educating and inspiring runners for a long time, and we
are excited about helping everybody get ready for SOFITCITY.”
You are invited to Carol’s free clinic to learn about the SOFITCITY NO
BOUNDARIES Training Program, Wednesday, July 31, 2013, at 5:30pm, at the
Vacaville store.
SOFITCITY NO BOUNDARIES begins
August 5, 2013.
SAVE $10 on the Training with the code "SOFIT"
CLICK HERE to Register for the 8-Week Program today at www.Fitvil.com!
SAVE $10 on the Training with the code "SOFIT"
CLICK HERE to Register for the 8-Week Program today at www.Fitvil.com!
For more information on locations and times, please call Fleet Feet
Vacaville at (707)
449-9266.
###
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
NEW RUNNERS START HERE
SOFITCITY encourages first-time 5K'ers
Original Posted: 07/15/2013 01:03:19 AM PDT
"NorthBay Healthcare believes in compassionate care close to home, and we understand how daunting a first timed event can be," said Brett Johnson, president of NorthBay Healthcare Foundation. "By celebrating new runners and walkers in their first 5K, we hope to motivate residents everywhere to even greater health and fitness success."
Event organizer Jessica Adele echoed the sentiment, remembering her first 5K. "I was nervous and excited. ... I didn't feel fit enough, or even ready, but I did it!," she said. "It would have been nice to receive a medal, but many of these events award only the half or full marathoners, so we are incredibly grateful to our 2013 sponsors and NorthBay Healthcare for celebrating brand-new runners with us!"
Along with crowning one Solano County city as the "Fittest City," the competition will feature challenges for first responders, the Armed Services, and a new Mayor's Cup Challenge.
Funds raised from registration benefit the Solano County Library Foundation and other area nonprofits that
ADVERTISEMENT
For more information on this year's event, visit WWW.SOFITCITY.COM
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
TALE OF TWO COUNTIES: NAPA AND SOLANO
Solano and Napa high in obesity rate
Originally Posted: 04/03/2012 01:01:18 AM PDT
The newly released UCLA Center for Health Policy Research's Adults Health Profiles also reveals that Napa County's obesity rate is the highest in the nine Bay Area counties, and that obesity is also significantly higher in Solano County than in the rest of California.
The center compiled the report, providing data on key health topics on all California counties, including on the estimated 301,000 Solano County adults and the 97,000 or so in Napa County, center officials said. The information is based on the 2009 California Health Interview Survey, they said.
The report shows, for instance, that fewer adults live in poverty in Solano (33 percent) and Napa counties than the 34 percent state average. The data shows that nearly 33 percent of Solano County adults and nearly 26 percent of those in Napa County earn an income less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
On the other hand, fewer people are uninsured here than statewide (just over 19 percent for Solano and about 23 percent in Napa, compared to more than 26 percent statewide).
It also shows that a higher percentage of people in Solano County (21.6 percent) delayed seeing a doctor or getting needed medication in the past year, than the state average of just over 20 percent. Napa County's figure nearly matches the state's.
Health officials
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"We know, for instance, that we have a higher rate of smoking and that reflects our socioeconomic and demographic mix in the county," Solano County public health officer Bela Matyas said. "Solano is the only county in the country where all four major racial/ethnic groups are represented by more than 10 percent of the population."
In other words, more minorities and poor people smoke and have more limited access to healthier foods. They therefore, have correspondingly higher rates of obesity, diabetes and other chronic health conditions, he said.
"Smoking is more prevalent among African Americans and Hispanics than among Asians and Whites," Matyas said. "But we're working on these issues."
County health officials focusing on more specifically targeted outreach he said.
"People have a lot of other things to worry about in this economy than eating right and exercising," he said. "We feel it's more effective to target messages specifically -- like to focus nutrition on children and hopefully develop life-long habits."
Napa County health officer Karen Smith said that while comparing a smaller, rural county like Napa to the rest of the Bay Area can produce misleading statistics, the problems the data reveals are well known to local health officials.
"We've known for some time our obesity rates are higher than we like them to be and the binge drinking issue has come up before," Smith said. "We've been working on underage drinking with some success, and we passed a social host ordinance law last year."
Napa County is also set to launch a new strategic plan that includes addressing these issues, including childhood obesity, which she said is growing here.
"We have a project with public health and our social services division and with CalFresh, which is what the food stamps program is called now," Smith said. "It's a large endeavor we're rolling out, that covers things like how to cook well on a low income. And we have a local food advisory council that's working on a variety of strategies so that every one in Napa has access to local healthy foods."
Napa County is also launching a community nutrition action plan, hopefully by September, she said.
Monday, July 15, 2013
The Difference Between Fit and Healthy
Looking “Fit” Doesn’t Mean Being Healthy
Jen Comas Keck
Jen Comas Keck
What is healthy?
The word “healthy” is a lofty one. Ask 10 people what being healthy means to them, and I can guarantee that you’ll get 10 different answers, ranging anywhere from blood work data, to inflammation, to the ability to run a mile in under 8 minutes. So what exactly does healthy mean? Spoiler: I’m not entirely sure either, and my definition admittedly changes frequently. However, I am certain of one thing: Looking fit doesn’t always mean that you are healthy, and being healthy doesn’t always mean that you will look fit.
Huh?
Never Judge a Book by it’s (Pretty) Cover
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A few years ago I prepped for my first Figure show. When I started out, I was sort of skinny-fat. Nothing extreme, but not lean by any stretch of the imagination. However, I was a pretty happy camper. I was always laughing (anybody that knows me can attest that I am a gigglebox) and bouncing off the walls. Once I embarked on an 18 week show diet, that all changed. Granted, my body had never looked better and it got more ridiculous with every day that passed. People kept commenting on how amazing I looked, asking what I was doing to make such great progress, and could I help them do that, too?
But what they didn’t know was that I felt like total shit. Day in and day out, I was miserable. I was so tired that I could barely handle life. I was the grumpiest chick on the planet, and I still feel bad to this day for some of the people that had to endure my mood swings for those 4+ months. I was weak, tired, and irritable. My skin was dry, I was always freezing, and simply put, I never felt good. My digestive system was in shambles and I was an emotional wreck, however I persevered, chalking it all up to the “prep experience” and telling myself that these are sacrifices we have to make in order to get to our goals.
So yes, my body? Bangin’. But I am pretty sure that no matter what your definition of “healthy” is, what I listed above sure as hell ain’t it.
Careful What You Wish For
One day a friend of mine was talking about a Figure competitor that trained at our gym, and she said, “Whoa. I’m so jealous! I wish I could be as healthy as she is.” What this girl didn’t know was that I happened to be friends with the Figure competitor and the extremes she went to for dieting for her shows were insane and typically involved huge rebounds and battles with severe depression after each show. My girlfriend deemed the Figure competitor healthy based only on physical appearance and was envious, even though she had no idea what was going on under the surface, which I dare bet was a deluge of hormonal and metabolic issues that were only exacerbated with each prep. Nevertheless, the competitor’s smoking hot body had women flocking to her for dietary and training advice, saying that they’d give anything for that body.
Healthy > Super Lean.
What about the people that train consistently, eat a balanced diet, and are genuinely happy, but don’t possess the genetics that allow them to get really lean (for the sake of this post, lets say sub 15% for a woman, and sub 8% for a man) without going to extreme dieting and supplementation measures? They aren’t ripped, shredded, diced, or any other silly word that evokes visible abdominal definition or muscle striations, but they feel good - move well, sleep well, enjoy life, strong, happy - and I dare say are healthy.
I believe the majority of the population that trains hard and eats right falls into this group. While getting insanely lean isn’t impossible, the lengths that most of us (including yours truly) have to go to in order to get there are pretty hairball, and they most certainly are not maintainable unless we choose to live, eat, and breathe our diet/training/supplement routine.
Healthy Isn’t Always Lean, and Lean Isn’t Always Healthy
When do we come to peace with the fact that being healthy doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll be really lean, and being really lean doesn’t mean we’re healthy? The majority of the people that love to train and work hard to eat right seem to be forever chasing the dream of being really lean when in reality, it’s typically not conducive with a healthy body for most of us (myself included). And even if your body is able to stay really lean, a lot of people become a mess mentally (again, myself included), obsessing over everything we eat or don’t eat, and end up developing some downright spooky self-esteem issues, even though we’ve never looked better. Is it worth it to chase that unicorn? My friend JC Deen wrote about this topic today in, "When is it Ever Enough?" and it really spoke to me. Been there, done all of that!
I get emails from women all the time that state their goals are to "have visible abs". Visible abs may be gorgeous - though I'm more of a legs girl myself ;) - but they are downright unattainable bymost females. My girl Molly Galbraith explains why perfectly in this post, and I will tell you that Molly is an anomaly in this regard. Most women, in my experience, have to be rockin' a really low bodyfat percentage in order to show any abdominal definition, while Molly has said her abs show even when her bodyfat sits around 20%.
As a nutrition coach, trainer, and health & fitness writer, this industry is a crazy world to play in. It’s a place where, unfortunately, most people’s expertise on nutrition and training isn’t based on how many clients we’ve worked with or the experiences that we’ve had, but rather on that person’s outward appearance.
I will be the first person to admit that I feel the pressure to look a certain way, because people put so much stock in our physical appearance, and I admittedly struggle with this topic. As Basilio just told me yesterday on Twitter:
Basilio Montilla @BMquietPK@JenComasKeck It's becoming all too common to rely on aesthetics to judge a person's level of fitness.
If you knew you could be really lean, but knew there was a good chance that you'd feel awful and potentially cause some health problems, would you still be willing to do it?
Drop me a comment below and lets discuss!
Sunday, July 14, 2013
5 REASONS TO RUN IN COSTUME
by Chantelle/SolanoFit
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Loosen up and Party! Here are 5 reasons why every runner should be in costume!
1. Inspire Your Community
Fun is contagious! When people see you running in costume, they smile, and everybody knows smiling is infectious! What used to be strange is now a great way to have fun with friends and other fun people just like you!
2. Make Minutes Fly By
Who cares about mile markers, when Scooby-Doo and the Mystery gang is running right beside you? Time flies when you’re having fun. Soak up the waves, honks and high fives!
3. Run Faster!
It’s a known phenomenon that we tend to speed up when the attention is on us. How about a cape, large wig, or props to draw maximum attention and speed!
4. Feel Like A Child
Most of us haven’t dressed up in costume in years ... in public that is. Embrace your inner child, or wear a costume with your child! Throw on a ridiculous outfit, and hit the streets!
5. It’s called a Party for a reason! Live it up!
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