Go Red for Forsyth County to Fight and Beat Heart Disease in Women! Part 4!

 This week’s spot light is on Sonja Wallace (One of the Ladies of The Fab Five for The Forsyth County Go Red Campaign), I met her right after we were picked for the Go Red Campaign and we were having our pictures done for the campaign and billboard. Sonja was full of life and fun right off the bat. Then it hit me at the Go Red Breakfast, we knew each other, we went to the same gym, Sonja was the feisty Personal Trainer I saw running around the gym. I wanted to get to know her better and hear her story so here it is:

Sonja is defying her family history of heart disease with lifestyle changes.

"Every woman in my family has died from some form of heart disease. My great grandmother died from congestive heart failure. My grandmother died of a heart attack. My mother has congestive heart failure and my sisters are showing signs of following in the same direction. Women in my family start showing signs pretty early in life, like high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high % of body fat. So far I am beating the odds of my genetic history and hope that my hard work pays off."

Sonja is a personal trainer, Group Fitness Instructor, Zumba Instructor, Road Cyclist, Mountain Biker and a wanna be quilter. Sonja is also a fighter, she is fighting to have a heart healthy life, despite her family history, and she fights to help other woman and men change their lives to be healthier and happier.

I am happy to say that Sonja and I have formed an awesome friendship, we are even going to do a relay Triathlon in August. God has given this woman motivation to help those around her, all the while keeping herself in shape and healthy.

I got the opportunity to sit down with Sonja and ask her some questions about being involved with The Go Red Campaign for this year.

How did you hear about The Go Red Campaign?

Sarah Fedele called me about the campaign, she had remembered me from a health fair a few years earlier. God was asking me to step out and I said to her, "Let me pray about it and I will call you back." I did call her back and she nominated me.

What's your goal while serving as a Forsyth Go Red Woman?

To educate, but to have fun while getting healthy. To show you can have the joy of life while taken care of yourself.

How are you maintaining your health?

Since my mother was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, I have started to eat more organic and eat less preservatives. I like to change up my workouts too.

Where do you want The Go Red Campaign to lead you?

I want this opportunity to hopefully help and affect my family, my mom, sisters and my children.

"It's all about the heart that is all about the heart"

Sonja you rock, it's people like you that make a difference in this world.

As Joyce Meyer says, God will use you even if you are cracked: "Many people feel that God can't use them because they’re not perfect—this is a lie. God (the Potter) uses cracked pots (that's us) to do His work. As Christians, we are containers that God wants to fill with His goodness and light. Then we’re to carry that goodness and light to a dark world, sharing it with people everywhere we go."

Thank you Sonja, for being a cracked pot and showing the love and light of God to the world.

Go Red for Forsyth County to Fight and Beat Heart Disease in Women! Part 3!

This week’s spot light is on Jan Smith (One of the Ladies of The Fab Five for The Forsyth County Go Red Campaign), I met her right after we were picked for the Go Red Campaign and we were having our pictures done for the campaign and billboard. Pam was sweet and I felt a connection right away, unfortunately I didn't get to spend a lot of time with her. Then The Lord gave us a rare opportunity to get to know each other. We had a Go Red event and for the first hour it was just Jan and I, we got to talk and share our stories, here is her story:

My name is Pamela Jan Smith and my friends call me Jan. I am 53 years old, a mom to 3 grown children and a survivor. On July 8th, 2011 I had a stroke in the right frontal lobe. Little did I know that the stroke was caused by a “hole in my heart”. Doctors at Forsyth determined a clot formed there and was sent racing to my brain that evening. Tests determined my arteries were clear of plaque which was surprising given my love of southern food. Prior to my stroke, I had lost over 80 lbs. and was feeling the best in my life. My partner and I had recently bought a new home here and life was great. It is amazing how many times I had ignored symptoms that I thought were just in my mind. If I could get any message across, it would be to never ignore your symptoms.

As a teenager I was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse and many doctors assured me this was the cause of my symptoms. Had I pushed further, the patent foramen ovale (medical term for hole in the heart) would have been discovered as I had most certainly been born with it. In September 2011, I had heart surgery at Baptist Hospital. A septal occluder was placed in the atrium of my heart. Hopefully this will reduce the chances of a repeat stroke. Though I continue to have weakness on my left side along with some memory issues and constant pain, I have been blessed. My faith in God is constant and I am thankful for every moment life gives me.

My family has an extensive history of heart disease, especially the females. I am happy to say that my children have been advised of their genetic history and they strive to live heart healthy. My oldest daughter is a RN with a cardiac office in Wilkes County and my son is in his last year of pharmacy school at Chapel Hill. My partner is a nurse who makes a difference in lives every day.

I challenge myself to continue eating healthier foods and drinking water instead of soft drinks or tea. I stay active with yard work and hobbies. As caretakers, women often take care of themselves last…I would say As Women, let’s take care of ourselves first so that we may continue to take care of those we love with ALL our hearts!

I am happy to say that Jan and I are great friends, we go to the same Church and share our lives wanting to help others defeat this disease. I got to sit down with Jan and ask her some follow up questions.

How did you hear about the Go Red Campaign?

I saw it on the Forsyth Novant website/ FaceBook Page.

What's your goal while serving as a Forsyth Go Red Woman?

I want to make a difference and reach out and help someone. I want to help women to take control of their health instead of relying completely on medical personal. I want to help women to learn to listen to their bodies so they can take control.

How are you maintaining your health since your incident?

I have increased my physical activity. I push mow our lawn instead of riding the lawn mower. I do more physical activities at home. I walk. I also park further away in parking lots so I have to walk to my destination. I am eating better and I drink water, drink water, drink water!

Where do you want the Go Red Campaign to lead you?

It has already led me to new friends, to hearing new stories and to new experiences.

I ask God. "OK, God who am I going to touch?" He will lead me and He will give me those opportunities I have to do!

Thanks be to God! He allowed this wonderful woman to survive and has given her the drive to make a difference. Jan you are doing it, you are making a difference and touching lives. Thank you for fighting to help beat this disease.

Go Red for Forsyth County to Fight and Beat Heart Disease in Women! Part 2!

This week’s spot light is on Paula Hinkle (One of the Ladies of The Fab Five for The Forsyth County Go Red Campaign), I met her right after we were picked for the Go Red Campaign and they were doing an interview for Go Red Month on the news. I liked Paula right away she was friendly, very talkative and outgoing. Her story was so interesting and heartfelt; I thought right then and there I want to put her story on my blog. So here it is:

It was the early morning hour of Nov. 11, 2007. It was exactly 1:38 AM Sunday morning because I looked at the clock thinking my head just set off fireworks!! Realizing this might be a real bad headache, I got up and took some ibuprophen and lay back down, but suddenly my chest felt like it was being crushed, I couldn't breathe very well either. I got up and tried to be quiet so not to wake up my husband and get myself comfortable but after approx.10 min. that didn't happen so I woke him up and tried to explain what was going on. I had no other symptoms and I was extremely healthy (my primary doc had just told me I was so healthy I would never die of heart attack or stroke) that I never thought about my heart. After approx.40 minutes the pressure seemed to subside so we went back to sleep. Yup, we did but two hours later, I suddenly woke up with extreme chest pressure, both of my arms were numb and tingling and we knew we had to make a decision. Again, never did heart attack occur to me. We quickly got in our car and raced off. Yes, that was not the right thing to do because of all the serious things that could have happened. We arrived at Forsyth around 5:30 AM and we were quickly taken in just at the mention of chest pressure. After drawing blood, checking my vitals and running a EKG, it appeared that the team was stumped because all seemed to be with normal range. Doses of nitro and morphine were given, more blood drawn and a cardiologist came to visit, but nothing I remember about a heart attack. Approx. 5-6 hours later the doc came back to inform us that cardiac enzymes had appeared in my blood work and I indeed had had a heart attack!! Shocker!! I was teaching Pilates at the time, working out about every day. All my numbers were great BUT my family had a history of heart related issues!! At 57 yrs. young, it was my turn!!  My doctor said we would remain at the hospital until the next day, since it was Sunday, and a stress test would be done. We settled in, called the kids and my chest pressure was managed by meds until around 5 PM that afternoon when my nurse said that my heart rate was dropping steadily so the doc was summoned and he decided this couldn't wait. He explained the cath. procedure since I would be awake and off I went to surgery. My faith in God is very strong so really at no time was I fearful of what was ahead. I just said ,"Let's go!" In surgery, it was determined that I had one artery that was 100% blocked and had been a long time so nothing was done there .Another artery, however, was 80% blocked so a stent was inserted. My third artery was pretty clean! My recovery was great and my rehab was a blessing from God as I met so many wonderful, yet scared people who had heart issues as well. My diet wasn't really bad, my exercise routine was good, but my genes were bad. Here I am today, turning 62 soon and feel great. I continue to meet amazing people like Robin through this experience and I am a better person because of it.!!

Praise be to God,

Paula Hinkle.

I have had the pleasure of spending some time with Paula, whom I really like a lot, she is an awesome Lady. I recently sat down with her and got to ask her some questions about her participation in The Go Red Campaign.

How did you hear about The Go Red Campaign?

I saw it on FaceBook and sent in my Story.

What’s your goal while serving as a Forsyth County Go Red Woman?

To educate woman like me so that they know that this disease can happen to them due to family history and raising awareness about the dangers of this disease to fight it.

How are you maintaining your health since your incident?

By going to the gym on a regular basis, eating a healthy diet (both help to keep me young also), I make sure to do cardio like the Stairmaster. I also build and maintain my muscle tone with free weights and machines.

Where do you want The Go Red Campaign to lead you?

I want to make sure I use this opportunity to be more active to get more people involved.

Thank you Paula, for your time and involvement, I am so glad you fought and survived this disease, because you make my life more meaningful with you in it. 

Go Red for Forsyth County to Fight and Beat Heart Disease in Women!

Over the next few weeks I will be spotlighting some amazing women; women who have fought the good fight and have won against the number one killer of women in the US, heart disease. I started this blog to share my journey of surviving this killer and then standing up in the fight and making an effort to beat and help others beat heart disease as well. Now I want to share with you some amazing stories about some amazing women, their fight and victories.

We start with Sarah Fedele, she is the major reason I am involved with AHA and this Go Red Campaign. Sarah has given me so many opportunities to speak and share my story, she is my advocate in this fight to help women learn and start to fight this killer. I am proud to say Sarah is my friend, and I am so excited I get to introduce her to you.

Sarah is the Director of Communications for the American Heart Association in the Triad, coordinating media, marketing and community outreach efforts throughout the Triad and surrounding counties.  Sarah has worked for the American Heart Association for six years in North Carolina and in Syracuse, N.Y. She enjoys working with media outlets, corporate and community organizations to spread awareness of the prevalence of heart disease, raise funds for vital heart disease and stroke research and help Triad residents learn how they can prevent heart disease. Sarah’s professional communications experience has also included other non-profit health organizations, recreational/tourist organizations, and public relations and marketing firms. Sarah graduated from Oswego State University in New York with a degree in public relations and a minor in writing. Sarah resides in Kernersville with her husband, JJ, and her two children, Jake and Roslyn.

I got the opportunity to sit down with Sarah and talk with her about this campaign and her job (which I was happy to find out is more than just a paycheck to her).

Why did you choose a career with The Heart Association?

It started out as a good position in New York, but relocated to NC once here I pushed to be involved with the Heart Association because of my family history.

What excites you about the Go Red Campaign?

Getting to meet all the Amazing Women and people that lead to helping to change lives. Also creating a connection with these women, it’s a sisterhood that forms into a close family.

What is your goal for the Go Red Campaign?

For every woman above the age of 15 years to know what heart disease is, to know what the issue surround heart disease is and that yes it is an issue.

Where do you want the Go Red Campaign to lead to?

I hope that this campaign will lead to healthier stress management.

I want to thank Sarah for all her hard work and dedication to this fight against this number one killer in women. She is Absolutely Fabulous!

This is the Go Red Campaign:

"In celebration of the 5th year, that Winston-Salem, NC has Gone Red for heart disease in women, the Office of Mayor Joines, local Go Red For Women sponsor Forsyth Medical Center and the American Heart Association, held a search to find five amazing women from Forsyth County that were either heart attack survivors, heart disease survivors or have made lifestyle changes to prevent heart disease. These women will be the Faces of Go Red in Forsyth County for the year, helping other women in our community prevent and fight heart disease in women!”

Putting Weight Back On! Depression, Anger, Acceptance to get it off again!

I have been on a roll, losing, losing and losing weight. Getting healthy and increasing my running distance, time and pace. Then it happened, I got hurt, I got sick and I lost some willpower to stop snacking.

It was a success story in the making, all my friends and family watched on Twitter and Facebook as I got healthy, lost weight and was doing wonderful things in my life. Then God said, I need you to slow down just a bit, I asked why? His response as always, I have something in mind and I need you to slow down. I didn’t listen then it happened. He allowed events in my life to cause me to slow down. I hurt my knee, I got sick (after two years of not even having a cold), and I continued to eat like I was still exercising. Due to these events, I put some weight back on. I refused to weigh myself, but I had a doctor’s appointment and I knew they would weigh me. Sure enough, “Get on the scales please.” I didn’t look, I asked the nurse not to tell me the weight. I knew there was gain.  But as I was leaving the office, they gave me my workup sheet and there it was my weight.

13 POUNDS!   Let me say that again 13 POUNDS!

I was horrified, I went home and cried. I kept it to myself, and I ate through it. My biggest addiction, food, but I didn’t eat the bad, I ate the good, this helped, but not enough. I needed to get back on the road. I needed to be running everyday.

So I got angry, why did this happen, I still don’t know, other than God wanted me to slow down for his purpose. I let the anger go, He is in control and I didn’t listen. So I then accept my “break” and wait for Him to allow me to get back on the road.

I finally got rid of the sickness, the knee pain and hit the road. I have slowly brought myself back to my running distance before the injury. During this time, I get an opportunity to get more involved in my work, to learn my family business. I also get to continue to help others with their struggle of weight loss. I realize I must “Balance” God (I am going to church more, making new friends and getting more involved there), health (it’s not all about the gym and workouts), family & friends. I was pushing myself to run, run, run, and neglecting other things in my life, things God wanted me to experience as well as a healthy heart and life. 

Those 13 pounds will be gone soon as will the rest of the weigh I need to shed, but I will take it in stride as I allow myself to “live” my life too. 


Starting next week I am very excited to present the Forsyth County Go Red Women "The Fab Five" interviews. I will be doing a blog on each Lady involved in this Campaign of 2013.

The 2nd Annual NC Charlotte Motor Speedway Half Marathon

The second time around should be fairly easy, Right? Wrong? I was so going to be ready for this race, be prepared, ready to kick some asphalt this time around. But with a knee injury healing and being sick, I almost missed this race… ALMOST!

I decided my knee was healed enough (and it was), and I felt pretty healthy (enough to run) so I decided not to forfeit my $75.00 and run the half at The NC Charlotte Motor Speedway.

I got up to a cold and windy morning, getting ready I felt pretty good. I had taken heed of previous races and eaten the correct foods for fuel and to keep my stomach from giving my problems (or I thought I had). I got in my car and headed to the track. As soon as I got there I had to go to the Bathroom, and my food choices were not correct (so lesson one learned for the next race).

It was raining heavily when I arrived and people were not happy.  We crowded into the car garage (where during a Nascar race all the cars are worked on and get ready for the race) to stay warm and dry. Then 30 minutes prior to race start time, they asked to go stand at the start line. What!?! It’s raining; well I will go to the bathroom one more time. The line was about 400 women deep, Dang it, where is the other bathroom, across the way in the other car garage. I headed over to that bathroom. That was a little better, only 100 women deep. I used the facilities, praying that I was “cleaned out” and ready to run. As I made my way to the start line, God smiled on us 1244 participants, He shut off the tap. No rain as the gun went off for us to start running. I always love the start of a race, the nervousness, the adrenaline, it’s a rush. As I got into my grove my knee was holding up very well and I could breathe. We did our first full lap on the Track then headed toward the outside of the stadium for the long trek of the race. As I was finishing my 5K (3.1 miles) I saw the winner coming back into the Stadium to finish his half marathon. I was on 3 miles at 45 minutes and he was at mile 9 with 4 to go to win and finish this race. As we were at the back of the herd, we cheered on the leaders as they were going to finished in about 20 minutes and we knew we had a couple of more hours to go.

Then we rounded the area away from the stadium to run around the Dirt Track, and down into the “hole” to get that extra mile and a freaking long hill added into the race. This brings us back into the land of Racing and over to the Drag Track. God has a huge sense of humor and it’s said what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, well on this Day God was laughing pretty good and I became so strong I should have Wonder Woman written on my chest; because as we entered on to the Track, God opened the faucet again and He turned it on full.

Now the rain was not really the problem, rain I don’t have a problem with, in fact I laugh in the face of rain, I run in rain all the time. The problem was the track, because it was a drag way it was completely flat, so the rain hit the track then bounced up and hit us, so we were getting to hit from above and below. Then as the water had no where to run off from the track, we were also running in about an inch of standing water. Fun, Fun, Fun, NOT!

So after that hell on earth run of a mile we came off the track and got a little bit of relief from the rain and water. It started to ease up and the rain was a drizzle. I however could have added about 2 gallons of water to the race, but no bathrooms were available to use. I just don’t understand the reasoning behind not having enough bathrooms for runners during a half marathon. Don’t they know when you run things get jostled and a lot of runners have to “GO”; then I see a bathroom facility on the back part of the race, go over to use it and it’s lock. WTF! Are you serious? This is ridiculous didn't I go through this last year? I even asked if they had added more porta-pottys for the race and was told yes. I saw 7 extra, but not where they were actually needed. So I move on and try to hold until the next set of bathrooms.

It’s at mile 9-1/2, I make it to the facilities and I am so cold, wet and tired I can barely get my gloves off to get my clothes off to go to the bathroom. I make a decision; my car is parked about a mile away, when I get to the lot I’m going home. I don’t need any medal; I just want the heat of my car and to go home. As I finish and struggle to get my clothes and gloves back on, I pray; “God, Help Me, Please!”

So I come out of the warmth and dryness of the bathroom into the cold and light to medium rain. I am cussing up a storm every time the wind blows because I am soaked through, every part of my body is wet, cold, numb and in pain. I am blindly following the course as two women come up behind me. They ask if I am all right. “I will be in about 10 minutes, I am going home, enjoy the rest of this race and your medal, I’m done!”

“Oh don’t say that, we only have a 5K to go 3 little ole miles, finish this with us.”

As I turn to look at the women talking, I see the one next to me, no sleeves on her shirt and a half of a garbage bag to keep the rain off her (she is colder than I am) then it hits me I asked for Help and here it is, two angels here to get me to the finish and accomplish what I set out to do 2 hrs and 50 minutes ago. So I agree and run/walk with them. We pass my car, I look at it longingly. But I am determined to finish this. I introduce myself to Trish and Melissa; we become fast friends bonded over will power, rain, cold and being runners that don’t need to win, but to at least finish.

Left to Right: Angel #1- Trish, Me, Angel #2- Melissa

I cross the finish line at 3:26:24, which is worse that the previous year of 3:14:04, I take into consideration; I walked the last 4 miles of this race (the first year I ran the whole thing). I was injured and finishing up fighting a cold. It was also raining and freaking freezing that day. But God is great and He taught me a valuable lesson, you can run by yourself, you can win be yourself, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to by yourself, but when you are hurt, in pain and need help if you ask and accept that help you are unstoppable as to what the future will hold for you. Always listen and look for those “Angels” God sends to help his children. 

Soccer a New Season… 25 Years Later!

Two years after my heart attack, over a 100 pound weight loss and being in the best shape of my life because of running, exercise and eating healthy, I got an itch, that itch was soccer. I played as a child and fell in love, In Jr. High School I was moved to the goalie position and fell deeper in love. I played Keeper and Sweeper/Stopper during my two years in HS, I even coached that position. I remember getting into “shape” for the season of play I would complain “Why do I have to run… I am the goalie I don’t move out of the goal box?” I was told “You need to be in shape and have endurance just like the rest of the team.” So grudgingly I ran and I hated it.

So 25 years later, I have fallen in LOVE with running, I am miserable if I miss a scheduled run. So God in His infinite wisdom says to me, quietly, “Robin now you are in “Shape”, you can play soccer again”. At first I was taken aback, no He really didn’t just say that. “Yep I really did, find you a league and get out there and play”. So I went on the internet and found PASL, Premiere Adult Soccer League of Winston-Salem, I contacted them and was assigned a team for the Spring Season of 2013. I was ready… wait I needed equipment, I was in heaven at the sporting goods store, buying soccer balls, socks, goalie clothes, shoes, shin guards, goalie gloves… you name it and I bought it.

Then as I got home and started to put away my new soccer equipment, it sunk in… 25 year, 25 YEARS… 25 LONG YEARS since I had even held a soccer ball. What have I done?!? So I put the fear and dread to the side and focused on my running, it calmed me.

Then the day came… It rained, to wet to play… have to wait till next week. Then the day came… fields still wet, we may not play… they are moving us to another set of fields. I so don’t want to play I have injured my knee (see previous blog entry). Ok so the day has arrived, I put on my clothing, equipment and head out. I make a decision, I will play and if my knee starts to hurt I will pull out. I get to the fields, I know no one. I meet the other team; my team is not there… 25 YEARS, OMG! What have I done? As my team starts to arrive, they are girls, 18 to 30 years old, I’m a 42 year old, injured, slightly still over weight, heart attack survivor! What have I done?

Ok, I talk to the captain we decide I will play, but if my knee hurts I call it and they take me out.

The game starts and WOW, why are they all down here at my end… For an hour and a half (45 minutes each half of play) the other team ran all over us. They out numbered us and had two reserve players they dominated the field.

As I stood there in awe of the fact that I was diving, jumping, sliding and blocking the 500 (really it was more like 20 shots on goal) shots taken at me, I was impressed I didn’t have another heart attack, die or break any bones. I was never winded and I kept up with the younger girls on my team. I stopped all but 8 shots on goal and lived to tell this story. The girls on my team are hard working and never stopped, hopefully the rest of this season will be with fewer shots on me and more on the other goalie of the other team, either way I am having a blast just to be on the field again. 

Injury Free is an Oxymoron!

All runners know that at one time or another you will have an injury or be sick. I have braved the running world head on into all extreme weather conditions: Rain, Ice and Snow also as of late pelting freezing rain with high gusts of winds. I have had a cold from the sniffles to the flu. I have braved it all and have been very, very, very careful not to fall or injury my body that it would cause me not to run. I was going to make sure I didn't have to worry about a bodily injury forcing me to stop running.

Then it happened… an incident at work where you would never think you would injury a part of your body that you actually need to run. I was doing some photography of product for a new brochure and sat back on a bucket I was using as a seat so I could get better angles of the product and missed the bucket. I fell on my ass and left side hip, but when I fell I must have also used my right heel to catch myself and I twisted and slammed my right knee too. Causing pain when walking and I knew I was not going to be able to run.

WTF! I have a half marathon in less than a month; I am starting Soccer in less than a week. You have got to be FREAKING kidding me!?! Now what?

I was mad, I was pissed and I was scared, I thought I am not going to be able to run, my heart started to race, I got cold sweats…. “Wait, just wait, you have been running and preparing yourself for something like this for two years, you will be OK.”

I love when God just says it like it is. OK God, I have to rest. I have to heal. And I have to be patient.

I have been doing what needs to be done to rest my injured knee and I am resigned to take it easy as many days as it takes to get back out on the road. This is a test, I feel like I am in a movie and the climax for the ending where I battle all the odds and win is right around the corner. But I have all ready done that, I did that when I beat heart disease. This is a test to see if I can be patient and allow my body to heal and then I can go again. I will pass this test and I will finish my half marathon and I will excel at Soccer.

The Fab Five Ladies for Go Red of Forsyth Co., NC.

The Fab Five for Go Red of Forsyth Co. are:

Robin Brickey, Paula Hinkle, Jan Smith, Julie Taylor, Sonja Wallace

"In celebration of the 5^th year , that Winston-Salem, NC. has Gone Red for heart disease in women, the Office of Mayor Joines, local Go Red For Women sponsor Forsyth Medical Center and the American Heart Association, held a search to find five amazing women from Forsyth County that were either heart attack survivors, heart disease survivors or have made lifestyle changes to prevent heart disease. These women will be the Faces of Go Red in Forsyth County for the year, helping other women in our community prevent and fight heart disease in women!”

For the past 2 years since surviving the heart attack that almost took my life (which I allowed to happen) I have lost over 100 lbs., having about 60 lbs. more to go, have stopped smoking, have starting eating healthy, run 6 miles a day and have completed 3 half marathons. But the biggest accomplishment I have under my belt since God told me to get up off my butt and to get moving and get healthy has been working with my local American Heart Association.

Sarah Fedele, Director of Communications & Marketing for American Heart Association Mid-Atlantic Affiliate has been my contact and biggest promoter. I told her I wanted to help educate people on getting rid of and preventing this disease from killing or  hurting any one else. She took me up on my offer and has put me to work, getting my story out to the public. She calls me when she needs a speaker for a group meeting or a warm body to put on the news (twice already) 2012 Go Red Day: See here. Also a story on my heart attack and running 2013 Go Red Day: See here.

So when my friend Stephanie Tickerhoff sent me a message on FaceBook to go to the local AHA page and submit my story I was on auto pilot, not that I didn't care, I just didn't think I would be picked for this contest. Because I was doing so much already for Sarah. However, God is always in control and He has big plans for me to help others.

After a few weeks, I got a call from Sarah, the first thought was "What does she need me to do now?" But she was calling to let me know that I was one of the five women picked for the 2013 Go Red Campaign for Forsyth Co. I had totally forgotten I had entered this contest. I was floored that I was picked, the fun was about to begin, to start they put us on the news (see above), they put us on Bill Boards all around town, had us rub elbows with The Mayor of Winston-Salem, NC. We will also be doing Fashion Shows (not sure about that) and many more functions and events.  With all that I am very excited to be a part of this campaign. Not only for the opportunity to get our stories out, but to educate and to work with the other four wonderful ladies involved and of course, Sarah, she rocks.

I will be documenting all our adventures during this campaign. I hope to be introducing the other Fab Four Ladies here in this Blog. So stay tuned.

Left to Right: Paula Hinkle, Julie Taylor, Sonja Wallace, Jan Smith, Robin Brickey

Cross Training, Avoiding The Vending Machines & Running in the Snow!

I have not been a very good blogger of late. Personal issues have kept me from being able to concentrate on writing, but never fear, I am here to update you on last few months.

Over the summer I was having a big plateau issue, I reached me goal of 100 lbs. lost and then I just stopped losing, I had upped my workouts, I had upped my running and pace time, I had maintain my diet, so what gives. I go to see my doctor, she said “Robin you have put yourself into an exercise starvation mode. You must eat more food.”

As I sat there and heard what she said, my fat girl inside that was a skinny girl on the outside screamed “NOOOOOO!!!!”

But as always she was right and I upped my calories and my body was grateful I started to lose inches and pounds again.

So let’s see why I was in starvation mode. I had hit my goal of 100 lbs. lost, and then I stopped losing, so I upped my gym work outs. Instead of twice a week at the gym and running 6 days a week, I upped my gym workouts to 5 days a week with running 6 days. Here was my schedule:

Monday morning: Meet with Personal Trainer at the gym

Monday evening: Cross Training on elliptical with weight machines

Tuesday morning: Run 6 miles

Tuesday evening: Cross Training on bicycle with free weights and machines

Wednesday Morning: Run 6 miles

Wednesday evening: Rest

Thursday Morning: Run 5 miles & meet with Personal Trainer at the gym

Thursday evening: Cross Training on elliptical only

Friday morning: Run 6 miles

Friday evening: Rest

Saturday Morning: Run 8 to 12 miles

Saturday evening: Rest

Sunday Morning: Run 4 to 6 miles

Sunday evening: Rest

My running speed and endurance increased exponentially, I went from a 14 minute mile to a 13.5 minute mile in a month. Now I am at a 12.75 closing in on a 12.5 minute mile.

Cross training works, it helps build muscles that you don’t use running, therefore increasing your endurance and speed for running. Just make sure you eat enough calories to keep you running. If not you could end up in starvation mode and gain weight or worse, lose time on your pace.

Another problem I was having was eating out of the vending machines. I mean a bag of chips that is 160 calories is the same as a yogurt with fruit that is 160 calories. Or a Chocolate chip cookie that is 250 calories is the same as Veggies, cheese and peanut butter that is 250 calories, Right?  Wrong! Let me say it again. Wrong! Even though the compared food is the same calories, they do different things to your body. Your body can process yogurt and fruit, easier and faster and use the calories for fuel better than Doritos. The same goes for the veggies, cheese and peanut butter (I mean natural peanut butter) vs. a Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookie. I lost a total of 6 lbs and a whole belt notch because I brought my snacks to work and stopped putting coins in that vending machine.

My actual tracks in the Snow

So with the new cross training and eating habits, I was able to run (willing got out in it) in the snow, with out being of afraid of falling. I read an article about getting out and running in the white stuff, it will exhilarate you and give you a dream like experience like kind of being in a Fairy Tale, and it was like that. I would have liked for it to be during the day, I ran at 4:30 in the morning. But it was still an awesome experience. Every one should try it at least once in their lives. I hope to do it again.