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No, this is not about the race held each summer in Marietta, it’s about literally running for the rest of your life. This past weekend I was in Florida and spent time with my father-in-law, who is 84 years old. He is a lifetime runner, and still runs daily, along with going to the gym to swim and lift weights.

We sit and talk about races, speed work, trail runs, running shoes and training schedules. He hasn’t raced in four years, because he is ticked off that he can’t run the 37-minute 10k’s that he could do when he was younger. He said he’s not going to race until he can get his speed back (I love it!). I did elude to the fact that maybe he should race against other 84-year old guys, not someone 20 years younger than him. But he didn’t want to hear that. Did I mention he was fast? And stubborn?

He serves as a role model to me, and proves that being fit will help lead you to a long healthy life. He is not on any medications, very rare for someone in their 80’s. He’s thin, tan, happy and fit. He gets adjusted every now and then, uses the cold laser technology regularly, has a beer each night, and hardly gets massaged.  Yet he keeps on going.

He’s made running part of his lifestyle and because of that, I believe it is allowing him to move these days. I hear too many people tell me that running will ruin my knees and will not allow me to walk later on, and I must disagree. Lack of exercise in your life leads to the sedentary lifestyle, and will make things that much more difficult when you are in your 70’s and 80’s. Exercise does not slow you down, it keeps you moving.

Do you want to be 80 and sitting in a chair or wheelchair all day, or do you want to be 80 and out there running? While there is never any guarantee, I do encourage people to exercise daily (or close to it), and don’t give up.

That is one thing I love about Get Fit Atlanta, and how the group can encourage others to get out there and get fit. Those of you in the group, stick with it….forever. Those not in the group, think about getting involved to make fitness part of your lifestyle.

The other day I heard my dog coughing and vomiting in the other room, so I went to see what was happening and if she was okay. She vomited up a small rock, I'd guess about a little less than an inch in length. Seconds later up came another smaller rock.

Now if I thought like most many people do, my reaction would be "oh no, she's sick, she's vomiting, something's wrong." But instead, I was thankful her body was working properly and she was getting rid of something that shouldn't be inside her in the first place. I'd certainly rather she throw it up than keep it in, letting it travel through her intestines where we don't know what have happened.

Too many parents are under the belief that vomiting is sickness. Yes, it is a sign that something is going on, but it's your body's way of getting rid of unwanted toxins. That is why it's good when you vomit if you had food poisoning. Why would you want those toxins inside, potentially causing further problems?

When the body is working right, vomiting, fever, coughing are all signs of health (believe it or not). Fever kills the invader in your body, while throwing up and coughing are the body's way of clearing things out.

Our society thinks the opposite is true, but I'm sure glad when my body is working well to get rid of what is going on inside. If the body is working to the best of its ability, if it is free of vertebral subluxation and nerve interference, your health potential is optimized. You never know how good you can really feel, and how healthy you can really be, if you have spinal problems and subluxations. Chiropractic can help. Ask us how.

Injuries – oh no! Now I’m not sure exactly what happened (though my husband would argue that it’s all my running), but my left foot has really been bothering me the past week. Well, maybe it’s been bothering me the past 2 months, but it has gotten worse the past week so I have decided to do something I don’t do much of. Actually, I’ve decided to do two things differently this month. What are they?

First is to take two weeks off from running. I am not someone who gets injured much so I am playing this injury very carefully. I do not want it to get worse and since the past week it’s actually hurt while running, I am going to stop. I’m four days into my “two weeks off” and I’m doing fine, but my darn heel still hurts! I know, for most people taking two weeks off would be easy, but it’s quite the challenge to me. I did go swimming (and will continue to do that), but hopefully avoiding the pounding on my heel will let it heal up. Standing on my feet all day doesn’t really help matters much, but I’ve got some good shoes and new orthotics, so hopefully that will help. And yes, I’m getting my spine adjusted and my foot adjusted as well (of course!).

The second thing I’m doing is a 9-day cleanse through Isagenix. I did this same cleanse last year and thought it was a good idea to do it now while I’m not exercising as much and while I’m in between bad holiday eating. Of course the intention is for my holiday eating at Christmas time to be under control, which I feel confident it will be. And this cleanse is good for my system in many ways.

Every now and then I fall into bad eating habits (“bad” by my standards), and doing cleanses/detoxes are a good way to get me back into healthy eating. I’ve done several different kinds over the years and feel each has a purpose and is specific for different people, so if you have any questions about it, please let me know.

So over the next few weeks I’ll be eating less and exercising less, and hoping my heel pain decreases. I have a heel spur that is slightly inflamed, so I am resting it, icing it several times a day, using Traumeel daily (homeopathic anti-inflammatory that we sell in the office), using cold laser on it whenever I am in the office, and am stretching my calf muscle more regularly. Hopefully all this will help and I’ll be back to running again soon.