With the kickoff of spring registration, we wanted to take some time
today to clarify some details on the new MOTR program improvements and structural changes that you will see this year, as well as provide info on obtaining financial aid.

At Moms On The Run, we have been busier than usual in this off-season
getting ready for a fabulous 2012. We have taken your 2011 survey
feedback very seriously in deciding what things to keep the same and
where we need to make program improvements. We know there have been growing pains with the fast expansion in the past couple years, and we now have year-round customer service and administrative help to meet the needs of our valued customers. In addition, corporate MOTR will not be personally operating and managing new locations. Instead we are transitioning to franchise ownership over the next few years and will even begin to transfer ownership of some of our existing locations.

This will be a process, but by reducing administrative burden and
costs we will not need to raise program prices as much each year and
we will be able to have a higher level of service and personal
attention available to each of our valued customers.

We are excited about the changes coming in 2012, including extra
training for our coaches and instructors, a FREE 10k training program,
an additional optional run each week focused on distance, a new
“instructor meet and greet” before the class start date to minimize
the first class paperwork process, and more incentives to keep you
motivated.

We are able to offer a higher level of customer service and these
various program improvements while increasing the price only 5-10% of
our previous 2x/week pricing. There is one major change that is making
this possible, and that is that we will be moving to a single MOTR
membership price that includes up to three classes per week!

The class structure will be very similar to last year two of the days,
and a volunteer coach will facilitate a third workout which focuses on
adding distance for those who are looking for that. We encourage even
the women in the learn to run program, or those who aren’t interested
in distance, to still come that night and workout at their own
preferred level and distance.

This decision to transition to an unlimited class pricing structure
has been made primarily due to the following reasons:

~Our participants who are enrolled twice a week have a much higher
satisfaction level and have significantly better success in the
program. Every mom has her things that will come up such as weekends
away, kids’ sports activities and vacations, but we want a structure
in place that encourages all of our women to get to class as often as
they can.

~We are offering 3 runs per week next year, so that the majority of
our members will be able to make at least two of these workouts. We
certainly don’t expect anyone to regularly commit to 3 meetings with
us. We all know that a minimum of 2 workouts per week are essential
for success anyway (ideally 3), and we also know that it is a lot
easier to get these in with the motivation of meeting up with your
team!

We are enthusiastic about the new membership structure we are
introducing this spring. In each location, we will have an
“all-season” pass that includes not only the 3 workouts a week in your
own city, but members will also have the ability to make up a class at
any of our locations at any time! This includes weather cancellations,
holidays, and your personal schedule conflicts.

We know that there are women in our program that may only be able to
commit regularly to once a week, but we are confident they will find
their membership and the opportunities it affords to be an increased
value this year. For women that are only able to attend once a week,
they will find the price to still be very competitive with other
private fitness programs.

At the same time, we realize that any price increase is difficult in
this economy, and we want to stress that scholarships and financial
aid will continue to be available! Our aid application for 2012 is
available on our website, as well as various discounts that you may
qualify for. This information is all found on our more details and FAQ pages. We do not want finances to be a prohibiting factor for anyone who wishes to participate. Please contact us if you need assistance and we will be happy to work something out.

Thank you! Looking forward to a great spring!

What if we were to loosen our grip on the word "Resolution" this year in favor of a new concept that actually stands to get us results? Introducing: SMARTER goals.

Yes these goals are intelligent - they include the plan in place to accomplish the desired outcome. What are SMARTER goals?

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Trackable/Time-Sensitive
Evaluate
Reevaluate

It's the difference between saying "I'm going to lose 15 pounds by summer" and saying:
"I'm going to lose 1/2 a pound a week by cutting out sweets at night and adding 2 3-mile runs to my routine each week between now and June 1st."

And the difference one month from now in saying "Only one pound! This isn't worth it! Where's the ice cream?!" and saying, "4 weeks and I'm down one pound instead of two. Do I need to start tracking what I'm eating to make sure I'm burning more calories than I'm consuming each week?"

Grab a friend this week and discuss your SMARTER goals. Evaluate together. Reevaluate together. And don't forget to pick out for yourselves some rewards!

So… red and green tin foil wrappers make chocolate consumption mandatory in the name of being festive, and a workout is hard to squeeze in on a day that already holds a preschool concert, dance recital, and family holiday gathering… all at the same time! I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it a little challenging to keep focused on health this month. How about a fun facebook contest to hold each other accountable?

Here’s how to participate:

Step 1: Record your weight on December 5th or whatever date you start. This is for your information only. Your goal is to earn points for healthy lifestyle activities and to maintain this weight over the next three weeks. (Let’s get real and save those weight loss goals for January!)

Step 2: Find the Facebook post announcing this contest and share with the world that you want in!

Step 3: Post a comment each weekend with your weekly points under the challenge check-in post. Watch for these December 9, 16 and 23.

Step 4: Post your total points the week after Christmas. Everyone who made it to 75 points will be entered in a drawing to win a MOTR prize pack including an embroidered gym bag and $50 MOTR gift certificate. Additional prize to our top scorer! MOTR coaches are welcome to participate. I will participate too, and if I win somebody owes me a prize. :)

Here’s how to get points! The following activities are all worth one point each:

10 minutes of cardiovascular exercise (this could be a brisk walk, gym machine, run outside, etc.)
10 minutes of strength training
5 servings of fruits and veggies in a day
Make it through a day without sweets.
8+ glasses of water in a day
7+ hours of sleep in a night

Add 10 points at the end if you maintained your weight!

Who’s in?! www.facebook.com/MomsAreOnTheRun

We are celebrating the kickoff to the holiday season with gift certificates that offer our loyal customers a discount on pricing for our 2012 program. 2011 prices through Dec 31! For more info on our 2012 program structure please see the post below.

In addition, all gift purchases on Friday or Saturday will come with both a tank and a tee for their 2012 registration.

http://www.momsontherun.com/giftcertificates.html

We are taking this very special holiday week to thank our customers and to introduce some new MOTR program improvements and structural changes that we have created just for you.

This Thanksgiving we want to thank all our loyal customers for their continued support of our organization and their dedication to their health and fitness. We love when you share your successes with us, let us know where we are doing well, and what we need to work on.

At Moms On The Run, we are busy in this off-season getting ready for a fabulous 2012. We take your 2011 survey feedback very seriously in deciding what things to keep the same and where we need to make program improvements. We know there have been growing pains with the fast expansion in the past couple years, and we now have year-round customer service and administrative help to meet the needs of our valued customers.

We are excited about the changes coming in 2012, including extra training for our coaches and instructors, a FREE 10k training program, an additional run each week focused on distance, a new “instructor meet and greet” before the class start date to minimize the first class paperwork process, and more incentives to keep you motivated.

We are going to be able to offer a higher level of customer service and various program improvements while increasing the price only 5-10% of our previous 2x/week pricing. There is one major change that is making this possible, and that is that we will be moving to a single MOTR membership price that includes up to three classes per week!

This decision has been made primarily due to the following reasons:

~Our participants who are enrolled twice a week have a much higher satisfaction level and have significantly better success in the program. Every mom has her things that will come up such as weekends away, kids’ sports activities and vacations, but we want a structure in place that encourages all of our women to get to class as often as they can.

~We are offering 3 runs per week next year, so that the majority of our members will be able to make at least two of these workouts. We all know that a minimum of 2 workouts per week are essential for success anyway (ideally 3), and we also know that it is a lot easier to get these in with the motivation of meeting up with your team!

We are enthusiastic about the new membership structure we are introducing this spring. In each location, we will have an “all-season” pass that includes not only the 3 workouts a week in your own city, but members will also have the ability to make up a class at any of our locations at any time! This includes weather cancellations, holidays, and your personal schedule conflicts.

We know that there are women in our program that may only be able to commit regularly to once a week, but we are confident they will find their membership and the opportunities it affords to be an increased value next year.

At the same time, we realize that any price increase is difficult in this economy, and we want to stress that scholarships and financial aid will continue to be available! Our aid application for 2012 will be online soon.

Why are we telling you all this now? Because, by request, we are offering gift certificates this week beginning with Black Friday. And yes, you can get a gift for yourself! All gift certificates bought before Dec 31 will be available at 2011 prices! In addition, to celebrate Small Business Saturday, we are offering all Black Friday and Small Biz Saturday purchasers both a tank and a tee with their class registration!

Please see http://momsontherun.com/giftcertificates.html for more info and a flyer you can print out and share with your personal Santa! Let him know what you really want for Christmas: better health, more energy, time with your girlfriends… Moms On The Run!

We want to wish all of our customers a joyous Thanksgiving celebrating with family and friends. We are thankful for you!

This article was published in the "Great People, Great Places" edition of the NE metro Press newspapers this week.

When people ask me about the phenomenal growth we are experiencing, I can’t explain it well. What I do know is that women’s lives are changing. More than running, we promote nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices. “Moms” are getting in shape again and accomplishing athletic goals. “Moms” are making new friends. “Moms” are getting the social outlet they need and having FUN breaking a sweat.

To hear the testimonies of lifestyle change resulting from our program has been a complete blessing. I am inspired by the cancer survivors pursuing new healthy habits in their recovery programs. I am moved watching women from the deaf community embrace an opportunity that has no communication barriers, running alongside new friends. I am motivated by the stay-at-home moms who begin to realize the need to take time for themselves. I am encouraged by the working women who are finding healthy ways to burn off stress.

In 2007, I was quite content with my part-time personal training business that allowed me to stay home with my 3 kids. The only problem was I no longer had time to exercise! It was at this point my career path changed when I truly understood the "no time" excuse I heard over the years from my "mom" clients.

That next spring, Moms On The Run kicked off its very first 18 week training program with 26 women in Forest Lake. It was designed for all fitness levels, but it was especially created to move even the most inactive woman towards lifestyle change and the ability to complete a 5k race. When women drove from up to an hour away to join us, I realized there was a need beyond my own community, but I never imagined what would become of this excited group of ladies!

In 2011, we had 453 women (not just moms) in 10 cities around the metro. We have beginning runners, intermediates and even walkers in some locations. I receive emails from around the country from women who are looking for a program like Moms On The Run, so I know we aren’t done growing yet. At this time, I don't have the capacity to open additional locations, but we are working on establishing a national franchise structure.

Moms On The Run is committed to changing the lives of more than just the women in our programs, believing it is our responsibility to share our success with the greater global community. As long as there are children in this world with greater needs than my own, I will continue to give at least 10% of our proceeds to Feed My Starving Children (www.fmsc.org).

Although our main program is our spring and summer 5k training, we offer opportunities in the off-season as well. Check out our website today and stay updated by signing up for our mailing list on the homepage: www.MomsOnTheRun.com. Join us on facebook as well! Facebook.com/MomsAreOnTheRun

Moms love to say they put their families first… but forget that they are part of the family! Feel better. Do better. Your kids are watching you and the example you are setting for a lifestyle of health and fitness. If you are a woman who is too busy, too stressed, too tired…join us next spring. You’ll find a supportive community of women eager to encourage you toward your health and fitness goals.

Welcome! Thank you so much for making it out on the night before your big race. I’m going to get my little speech out of the way right away, and then we can get to the carbs! This is so exciting tonight. It’s always fun for me to have you all together. A night like this in celebration of a 4th season certainly wasn’t in my imagination 3 years ago when a group of us gathered at Mansetti’s in Forest Lake the night before our race in 2008. Some of you are here tonight.

It was your excitement and dedication that inspired me to pursue the thought of bringing this chance at fitness to women all around the Twin Cities area. At the time I was building a pretty nice personal training business, but isn’t it funny how God seems to have this way of laughing at our plans, and turning them upside down… to make something even better!

The funnest part of my job this summer was getting out to the classes to meet you all. I don’t get RoxAnn and Rodell mixed up any more, the sisters from White Bear Lake…and I no longer call Melissa from Blaine Kristen! I regret that I was NOT able to learn everyone’s name this year, but I guess I have to be okay with that. I loved being anonymous and surprising people who had no idea who I was by being this over-friendly stranger introducing myself to everyone on the trail. I was asked often if I was visiting from another class. I got a good laugh at myself too, because in my personal life I am quite the opposite – the shy one who never says a word in a group setting.

I especially loved running an entire class anonymously even in my home location of Forest Lake…When noting how many friends I had in the class, someone asked me about my spotty attendance record and said she hadn’t seen me in a couple months.

I love to hear the stories about your kids and their encouragement for your running, or their excitement when they see another Mom in a pink shirt. Some of them are starting to figure out that Mom is happier when she runs. I enjoyed running into Christy once from White Bear to learn how her daughter Ella has been training like mad in a local park for the Daisy Dash tomorrow. I love the comedy of a 9 year old boy who asked why our logo is a stick woman, to which his mom Melinda replied “Because we all want to be skinny.”

I’m questioning now if we need a new logo – a strong mom with a baby on her hip, a smart phone in her hand, her to-do list spiraling out of her head, and her running shoes ON.

Thank you for working hard this season. For not giving up when it was 100 degrees. For running in rain, and hanging out in shelters waiting for lightening to pass. You inspire me every day. I love to get your encouraging emails and your fun notes about your excitement in the mail when I get your checks.

You keep me going on the hard days. There have been a lot of growing pains this season. Next year I will not be opening any new locations myself, but focusing on creating a better experience for our participants in our existing location. A franchise opportunity has been created to help women start their own program and in certain cities we have a customer base ready to go when the right person comes along. I have hired more help for all of this, just yesterday in fact. Angela, will you please stand. As a team, the three of us, Melinda, Angela and I will be able to better meet the needs of our growing group of women.

I know that those of you who are here tonight are some of the most enthusiastic in the bunch. I thank you for your support of this program, and your contagious excitement that helps it to flourish. Tomorrow many of you will be accomplishing new goals and breaking old records. Many of you will be running a 5k race for the first time. If tomorrow will be your first race, or you experienced your first race during this season of Moms On The Run, will you please stand? {We had DOZENS of women standing!!} Yes, they definitely deserve that round of applause.

With that, we have a race to get ready for, so let’s get to those carbs!

1. Don’t sleep in. Allow plenty of time for a small meal in advance of the race (see “nutrition before and after” blog) and for your extra bathroom visits you may have due to extra hydration or nerves. Certainly allow for extra time for the LINES that may exist for the toilets right before the race.

2. Review your mental game. See the “Winning the Mental Games” blog for ideas on getting through the mental challenges of running. Visualize yourself staying strong to the end and having a successful race. How much of your strength and endurance is in your mind?

3. Double knot your shoes for convenience and safety. You won’t want to stop during the race when the laces come undone.

4. Get in a proper warm-up first. Beginning runners can just walk for a warm-up and then ease into the run at race time. Intermediates with a time goal who are going to start right out at that race pace need to be jogging a little a few minutes before you line up. Getting the muscles warmed up will also give you a chance to stretch before the race while you’re in line to go.

5. Line up with those who you believe are about at your level at the start. Don’t line up in the first half unless you really expect to be in the first half of the finishers. Allow plenty of space for the elite athletes to have their top spots, for courtesy and for safety. Many races will have pace markers to help you line up, but when this doesn’t exist you can ask those around you their mile pace to get an idea of where you should be.

6. Don’t start out too fast. This can be a challenge as you get caught up in the excitement of the starting line push. Know your pace and if you are questioning if you can go harder tell yourself that you can always speed up after you hear the first split. (Many races will provide your time at the mile marker.)

7. Three Quick Steps! 1 2 3! This is my favorite racing tip from my cross-country days. Anytime you are coming off the top of a hill or have just rounded a corner it’s really easy to allow your pace to slip instead of picking back up to the pace you were at just seconds before. Anytime you have slowed, try telling yourself to just take 3 quick steps and see if you don’t naturally fall into that new pace. We would count “1 2 3” in our heads or chant a key word out loud such as “pow pow pow” as we cheered each other on.

8. Bring your support team! You will love to see a familiar face cheering along the route. When you are finished, stay along the course to cheer your fellow MOTR.

9. Have fun! Relax into your stride and breathe evenly.

10. Record your results online! You can note the distance, time, weather, and even rate the workout and include notes about it in your personal account on the MOTR website or using the new Android or iPhone apps.

I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t always been faithful to a proper warm-up and cool down. I think this becomes more challenging to stick with as an experienced runner who doesn’t feel a “need” to walk, and also as a busy mom who is trying to get the workout checked off her list. But let’s take a little closer at why we want to give these workout components the time they deserve and how to do them effectively.

The warm-up eases the whole body into the workout – your heart, lungs, joints and heart. It gets the blood flowing properly to increase oxygen delivery to the muscles and minimizes the stress on your heart when you start to run. So not only are you easing the joints into the workout to prevent injuries, but you are increasing the effectiveness of the workout as well! Oxygen in the muscles = better results. Your flexibility, elasticity and range of motion will all be increased.

A proper warm-up for running regardless of your fitness level is to begin with a walk, picking up pace as you get closer to the run. 5+ minutes is sufficient but I’ll give the green light at 2-3 minutes of walking for more experienced runners.

The cool-down keeps blood properly circulating as your body slows. Stopping suddenly can cause light-headedness because your heart rate and blood pressure drop rapidly. If you stop running suddenly with no cool down your blood will "pool" in your muscles and veins, causing swelling, pain or dizziness.

Brisk walking is appropriate after a run. Whatever you do, don’t stop moving! The finish line should mean it’s okay to slow down now… but not okay to stop. After the cardiovascular cool-down go right into stretching or your strength exercises (and then immediate stretching) – I recommend at least stretching the hamstrings good before going into strength. You want to take full advantage of the increased flexibility of those warmed-up muscles.

Here they are, the Top Ten Reasons you don't want to miss the banquet...

10. Packet Pickup! This just in! We will have race packet pickup from 5:45-6:15 p.m. so you can avoid the race-day lines!
9. Carbo-loading for the big day
8. Fun Prize Giveaways
7. Inspirational awards
6. Find out what your instructor REALLY thinks of you :)
5. Laurie Kocanda (ultra-marathoning MOM! and local co-author "Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: 5 Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom"
4. Kara Thom (triathlete mom who writes for multiple fitness publications, and co-author of "How (Sweaty) Mamas"
3. Hear an update from Jennifera Silvera LINDEMER on her new life since last year
2. You will receive a free gift valued at higher than the price of your ticket.
1. Did I mention Packet Pickup? Pre-register for the race NOW to ensure they will have your number there! Register through active.com or download a form at shawnsilvera.org

Hope to see you there!