Vital Signs: The 9Health Fair

Helping me to keep the remaining blood in my body
at the Nederland 9Health Fair.

At the onset, my expectation in training for the BolderBOULDER was to develop a weekly routine, but it has unintentionally increased my awareness of other health and wellness aspects which may include annual routines as well.

Deciding to focus on health last year, I made the commitment to come to the 9Health Fair at the Nederland Community Center.

For the town to provide this venue, is a tremendously convenient resource for mountain folks in the entire Peak to Peak region.

This year's event was postponed for a week due to last week's four foot snow storm. I came back to get the same screenings, and see if the exercise program (that I have been on for the past year) has improved my well being from the inside out. The 9Health Fair is an ideal chance to get a blood screening to see what is going on in my bloodstream.

Last year, I also began inputing vital statistics into the Apple Health App. I started with the basics, and even moved on to find out my blood type for the first time in fifty years. So, if I ever get run over by a bus (even though I'd more likely be inside the bus) but as the expression goes, if I got hit by a bus, I'll feel better knowing that the paramedics can access the Health App, and know my blood type.

Nederland is Now a HEAL Town – Just Do It

Julie George from LiveWell Colorado discusses
the HEAL Campaign with Mayor Joe Gierlach

Part of documenting my training for the BolderBOULDER is incorporating the HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign through LiveWell Colorado. I'm inviting anyone in Boulder County to adopt my Training Schedule, and encouraging all the municipalities in Boulder County to adopt HEAL Cities & Towns Resolutions.

HEAL stands for Healthy Eating and Active Living, two critical components to a healthy lifestyle and the focus of LiveWell Colorado in its effort to prevent and reduce obesity throughout the state.

On March 15, 2016, the Nederland Board of Trustees unanimously approved Resolution 2016-07 Declaring Nederland a LiveWell HEAL Town, and Setting Forth Nederland’s Commitment to Obesity Prevention. Colorado municipalities that adopt similar resolutions with goals to increase access to healthy eating and active living are eligible to become a HEAL city or town, and receive free technical assistance, education, and marketing resources. Joining The Campaign designates Nederland as a leader in promoting healthy eating and active living among Colorado municipalities. I'm proud to say that the next action that the board took that evening was approving a full water fee waiver for the Nederland Community Garden which will be revitalized this summer.

For the past several years, we had incorporated LiveWell ideals into our town's goals, but due to limited resources, those goals were placed on the back burner by town staff until they found 'free time'. Similarly, I also had the desire to adopt a healthy lifestyle someday, when I had some free time. I realized that the only way to make this happen was to 'Just Do It'.

My Top 10 Kilometers of BolderBOULDER

Training for BolderBOULDER on a brisk day

Part of documenting training for this epic 10K, here's a link to My Top 10 Kilometers as it appears in the BolderBOULDER blog, but I'm also re-posting it below for posterity:


As I'm visualizing how race day will go, I'll post this now, and I can refer back to it as we get closer to the end of May to get pumped up for race day. I call it my Top 10 Kilometers.

1K - Chilly/Brisk Morning

I wake up at 8,400 feet above sea level, and on the last weekend of May, it will still be a chilly, brisk morning, with a refreshing smell of pine forest. The sunrise will be 5:35am, and I'll be going to the RTD lot in Ned. You can take the RTD RunRide on Race Day which brings people in from Park-n-Rides from all over the metro area. In 2014, over 6,100 people chose to walk or ride their bikes to the starting line, and almost 10,300 people rode the RTD bus – 38% rode the bus, biked or walked to the start. I'll need to wear some type of sweat pants as I descend 3,000 feet to Boulder.

2K - Transformed Urban Landscape

Around 6:30am I leisurely ride the B-Cycle from the bottom of Boulder Canyon through empty streets that have been closed off. Similar to the effect that the artist Cristo creates when he and Jeanne-Claude, wraps bridges, or buildings with cloth, to bring a new perspective to everyday sights, the quiet stillness of the morning ride through town, with the roads blocked off, all the cars gone, and not many people coming from the base of the canyon, is peaceful, contemplative, perhaps a bit of pre-race butterflies. The buildings seem to offer a fresh new presence.

As I get closer to the starting line-up, the activity, number of people, and energy increases. I'll need a place to ditch my sweat pants where I can pick them up later. Hmm, who do I know that lives near 30th in Boulder? Or, I can use BB Mobile Locker. (an option when you register for the BolderBOULDER on line for $3. Well worth it.)