Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

This post was written in collaboration with ConsumerSafety.org.

Did you know that September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month? Here are a few facts about Ovarian Cancer.

I was really surprised by the numbers affected by ovarian cancer. Not only does it rank 5th in cancer deaths in women, but women have a 1 in 75 chance of developing ovarian cancer in their lifetime.

Because of where it is in the body, it's a more difficult cancer to diagnose, which is why only 15% of ovarian cancers are diagnosed in stage 1.

Are You At Risk?

Wear RED Selfies

Happy Friday and Happy National Wear Red Day!

National Wear Red Day is in its 11 year. Wow! I first heard of it back in the beginning years. I can't remember which year, but there was a big deal made about it on General Hospital (one my of guilty pleasures that Jeff doesn't share). That year, all month long they focused on heart disease awareness. Well, focused might be a strong word, but it was mentioned a lot. :-)

That's honestly when I first started becoming aware of the problem of heart disease. Crazy, right?

So, today I'm wearing red.

Why?

#1 - Red is one of my favorite colors. So bold. So powerful. Oddly, I didn't have much red in my closest, so I went shopping last night for something new. What do you think?

#2 - Heart disease is still the #1 killer of women. Too many women are unaware of their risks and the facts. By wearing red, I can help by raising awareness and starting the conversation. Plus it gives me something to blog about.

I don't really have a great story. I don't have a history of heart disease in my family. None of the women in my life have been affected by heart disease, to my knowledge.

That doesn't mean I'm risk-free and safe. It doesn't mean my loved ones are either.

I'm wearing red to remind myself to make healthy choices. And hopefully inspire others to take their health into their own hands as much as possible.

<a href="http://www.enjoyingthecourse.com"><img border=”0″ src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqzWPWg0I0kJ6PlpFwAk8uKvdy28GsBKs47EJ7gS2EoDAcy4MzLMz0THLygyh5PBc25KnqnIyxvWWeTLg0WK2l-B3wlZCKLmos6cKbUqyRzivtfrQ0BQOPOEqL0lR-IIVe8QSKK0iKzuj/s1600/national-wear-red-day.jpg"/></a>

Don't have a blog? Just want to share a picture instead of a whole post? You can still join us for Wear Red Selfies. Just upload a picture to your favorite social media platform using hashtag #wearredselfies. Then come back here to add your photo to the linky. Most likely the linky won't be able to pull the image from the URL of your photo, so you'll need to either upload your image or enter the URL of the image (not the post). Let me know if you have any questions or have issues adding your link/image.
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Three Things Thursday 2/6

This week seems to really be flying by! I can hardly believe it's already Thursday. Yay!! Almost Friday. :-)

I've got a few exciting things to share!

1. I ran the first race for this round of #5bythe5th virtual race series and GOT A PR! I waited until the 5th to run it because I had a tempo run on schedule for the 5th and thought that would be perfect! Turns out it was! It was only in the 40s, so I wore my new Crazy Compression sleeves and a LS shirt. I was still cold, but I think that made me run a bit faster. I was listening to one of my favorite Rock My Run mixes - Grrl Power. I tried to use the music to push me faster instead of just singing along. Whenever I was tempted to sing, I thought, If you can sing, you can run faster. So instead of singing, I'd run faster.

Here are the numbers:

Total Time	27:04
Avg Pace	8:49 min/mile
Mile 1	8:38 min
Mile 2	8:45 min
Mile 3	8:41 min
3.1	:59 min

I was pleasantly surprised - not only with the PR, but with actually pushing myself to run a tempo run. This is probably one of the few races I feel like I actually raced. With a goal of getting a sub-25:00 5k, I need to keep up with the tempo runs (and other speed work), but I feel like I'm heading in the right direction.

2. Don't forget that tomorrow is National Wear Red Day! Katie at From Ice Cream to Marathon and I are co-hosting a little linky party to celebrate - Wear Red Selfies. Be sure and stop back by tomorrow to share your selfie and why you're wearing red. For more information on heart disease and National Wear Red Day, visit goredforwomen.org.

Feel free to snag this little button for your post.

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If you're not a blogger and still want to link up with us, you can still link up. I'll tell you how in tomorrow's post.

3. Jeff and I have some exciting plans for this weekend! I posted a teaser pic on Instagram last night. Can you guess what we'll be doing? Hint: I has nothing to do with the bikes in the background of the picture.

What's exciting you today?
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Celebrate American Heart Month

Did you know that February is American Heart Month? I've always found that to be so fitting for the month of LOVE. :)

Here are FIVE easy ways to CELEBRATE this month.

Educate yourself. There are a lot of resources out there to help you better understand disease and how to reduce your risks. I wrote a couple helpful posts last year (here and here) and hope to have a few more out to you in 2014. Check out these websites for lots of great info and tips:

• American Heart Assocation
• National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
• Go Red For Women
• Women Heart
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Wear Red Day. This is the first Friday of every February. Feb 7th this year. It's been going on for more than 10 years now. Visit goredforwomen.org for more info. It's really a small thing, but it can help start a conversation about heart disease. Macy's is actually a pretty huge sponsor of Go Red for Women. Check out their page for tips and, of course, a Go Red Sale - complete with a 20% off coupon.

#MyHeart28. Join The Heart Truth for 28 days of challenges to help you reduce your risk of heart disease. Check them out on Facebook and Pinterest for the daily challenge + more tips and inspiration.

Taken from their Facebook page

Heart of Style Tour. Women Heart and Burlington Coat Factory have teamed up for a Heart of Style Tour. Check their calendar to see if they'll be stop in a city near you. The tour starts in February and runs until the end of March. They're not coming to Vegas, so I'll be following along on Facebook and Twitter: #HeartOfStyle

Be active. Walk, run, bike, hike. Ski, snowboard, snowshoe. Just get outside and get moving. Go on a Healthy Challenge Scavenger Hunt. Laugh. Play. HAVE FUN!!

These are just a few of the things I've found this morning with a couple quick Google searches.

What's your favorite way to celebrate American Heart Month?
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Note: This is not a sponsored post nor does it contain any sponsored links. Macy's and Burlington Coat Factory have no idea I'm writing this nor do any of the other organizations mentioned in this post. All information was gleaned from what I could find on Google and then visiting websites and social media.

Blog Your Heart Out

Where did February go? I can't believe it's already the last Friday of the month. It seems like it was just last week that I was wearing red for National Go Red for Women Day.

My month was filled with lots of fun, but it didn't quite go according to plan.

I'd hoped to consistently ride my bike to work everyday.

But then it got cold again I got lazy. 

I'd hoped to share random facts about heart disease at the end of every post.

But then I always seemed to forget until after I'd hit publish.

While I still won't likely ride my bike into work this morning, I can take a few moments to share some things I've learned about heart disease since today is...

I may have had some family member suffer from heart disease, but no one instantly comes to mind. I think that can be the scariest thing about heart disease - while it is somewhat hereditary, it isn't entirely so.

Even if you’re a yoga-loving, marathon-running workout fiend, your risk for heart disease isn’t completely eliminated. Factors like cholesterol, eating habits and smoking can counterbalance your other healthy habits. You can be thin and have high cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends you start getting your cholesterol checked at age 20, or earlier, if your family has a history of heart disease. And while you’re at it, be sure to keep an eye on your blood pressure at your next check-up.

Personally, my eating habits aren't exactly where they should be. I know I need to work on this. I know that leading an active lifestyle is really only part of the equation of being healthy, but I've found that changing my eating habits is much, much more difficult that changing my activity level.

You can start small. Here are a few tips. I hope to try harder to incorporate these into my life as well.

Stock up on heart healthy fruits and vegetables. And if fresh doesn’t work with your schedule or habits, remember you can get frozen or canned. Just be sure to rinse canned fruits and vegetables, as they may contain added salts and sugars.

Eat seasonally. Good for your budget and waistline, eating seasonally means you are getting food at its peak performance and flavor level.

Drink more water.

Eat more fiber. Whole grains are filled with fiber, which makes digestion easier and helps you feel fuller when you’re done eating – both key factors in weight management.

If you're reading this, you're likely someone who is at least interested in running or maintaining an active lifestyle. You probably eat relatively well, too. Or least better than most Americans. As hard as I am on myself for my eating habits, I know that I am better off than most. I just know I can do better. Where I'm going with all this is we're probably at a lower risk of heart disease in general because of our lifestyles, but, as mentioned previously, it doesn't mean we're in the clear.

90 percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease. Heart disease is a killer that strikes more women than men, and is more deadly than all forms of cancer combined. While one in 31 American women dies from breast cancer each year, heart disease claims the lives of one in three. That’s roughly one death each minute.

Spreading awareness is a great way to try and help lower that statistic. So, let me ask you. What is the first thing you think of when I say heart attack?

Raise your hand if you thought extreme chest pain.

That's because that's so often what is portrayed in the media, but in reality the symptoms can look a lot different in women.

Women are somewhat more likely to experience shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain. Other symptoms women should look out for are dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting, pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen and extreme fatigue.

Wow. I really had no idea!

I know there was a lot in this post, but I hope you made it through. Please join me in the Go Red for Women movement, and remember to take time to STOP.

S: stop what you are doing,
T: take a few deep breaths,
O: observe your body and smile,
P: proceed with kindness and compassion.

If you learned even one thing in the post, please share this with your loved ones. Or just click that little Tweet button and help raise awareness on Twitter.
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All quotes and statistics are from the goredforwomen.org website.

Go Red for Women + Getting Back to It

It's Friday!! It's February!!! Whoo hoo!!!

TODAY I'LL BE WEARING RED.

Red to raise awareness of the risk of heart disease. It's the #1 killer of women, and so many women myself included aren't really aware of the risks and the facts.

Today marks the 10-year anniversary of National Go Red Day. Visit the GoRedforWomen.org website for more information on heart disease, your risks, tips for living healthy and how to get involved.

Throughout the month, I'll also be displaying this little badge in my left sidebar linking you to the GoRedforWomen.org website.

If you're a fellow blogger, please consider joining me for BlogYourHeartOut on Feb 22. Throughout February, I'll share random facts to help increase awareness and tips for prevention at the end of each post.

In the meantime, I need to get back to it. I haven't consistently commuted by bike since Nov, and I need to get started again. What better time to start than NOW!

The weather forecast has the temps around 45°F, 0% chance of precipitation, and a 3MPH W wind. A little chilly, true, but the rest seems pretty ideal.

I'd really, really like to bike every day to work throughout February. I've missed riding the past 12 weeks, but I've gotten so used to that extra half hour in the mornings. Have I luxuriated in extra sleep? Well, yes, but mostly I've been sucked into social media or writing a blog post.

There are so many more important reasons to use that half hour to bike instead of sitting in front of my computer.

• Save gas and wear/tear on Liberty (our van)
• Bragging rights at work for riding. Period. Bonus points for riding in the cold.
• Great stress relief + increased endorphins
• Guaranteed cardio 5 days a week and all those health benefits

In addition to biking every day, I need to get back on track with my other workouts and healthier eating. I need to make a plan. 

BUT first, I need to get ready for work, so I don't run out of time and end up driving instead of biking.

FACT: Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, and is more deadly than all forms of cancer combined.

TIP: If you can't bike to work, like I do, try parking further away from the office, choosing the stairs, taking a walk after lunch and standing up every hour at your desk to stretch. 
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