Hi Everyone!
I've been in Los Angeles for the past couple of days to spend some serious quality time with my friend Paulette. I love Los Angeles. I open the front door and I am greeted by blue skies, sunshine and palm trees and I always yelp, Hello World! It just puts me in such a good mood, every time. Our time together is spent laughing, catching up, having great food, watching American trash TV, meeting and greeting new and old friends, BBQ's, reading by the pool, shopping, and of course, working out. I've been for a few runs and walks, we've been doing some Pilates as well. I feel absolutely great, physically. I have a 10K coming up in June in Leeds that I'm training for.
I have a few more days to go in Los Angeles and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.
Radiantly yours,
Kate
A run on Easter Morning in Belgium
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Crazy Sexy Diet
Hi everyone!
During one of my trips I picked up the book, Crazy Sexy Diet. Not many people know this but Kris Carr made a movie Crazy Sexy Cancer after having been diagnosed with cancer on the 14th of February. (I know it’s a funny title, but hey why not?) It was an incurable form of cancer. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she turned to nature to see what’s out there that she could do to stop the cancer from developing further. It’s a really good documentary and I highly recommend people to look it up. Needless to say, the cancer, while still in her body, has stopped growing.
Well, Kris has now written a book called Crazy Sexy Diet and it’s all about her lessons learnt to be far healthier. She inspired me to look deeper into my eating and drinking habits and make better choices. This weekend I bought a juicer and when I’m home I drink fresh juice in the morning, all morning long (spinach, cucumber, carrots, apple, pears, you name it). It makes me feel great! She has a 21 day cleanse, which means no coffee, no sugar or anything processed, no alcohol, no gluten, no meat or dairy, lots of vegetables and juices. I started last Sunday and I feel GREAT! People who’ve done it feel more energetic, focussed and healthier. All this will contribute to my running, I’m sure.
Radiantly Yours,
Kate
Sunday, February 6, 2011
I met Dr Magee , Founder of Operation Smile
Hi everyone,
I've been sick for over a week, so I couldn't stick to my running schedule. I went once last week. Today I started again with week 5. Good news is that I scheduled my first race this year on June 19th in Leeds, a 10K that I will run with my dear friend Jane Salsbury.
When I started this challenge, I had no idea I would actually meet the Founder, Dr Magee. What an amazing man, husband, father of 5 children, doctor and founder of Operation Smile.
We invited Dr Magee to introduce his charity to 1200 people. Dr Magee is one of the best speakers I’ve ever heard. He truly gets that it’s not about what you say but how you make people feel. After 30 minutes, half the audience was crying and the other half was pretending not to.
During our Sales conference in Barcelona, we organized a game where we raised funds for Operation Smile. Our company is donating €36,000 to the charity, which is an amazing contribution.
Radiantly Yours,
Kate
Saturday, February 5, 2011
One child at a time - the generosity of a stranger
When I was in NYC during the first weekend of January I shared the challenge I had created for myself in 2011 with a total stranger. I shared that I was looking for a way to stay disciplined around running. I have been running off and on for the past, say 10 years, and I thought that committing to running a marathon would help me running for at least a whole year. I told him that selecting a charity to run for reminds me every run, who I am running for, 1000 children.
Do you want to know what he did next?
He pulled out a check and wrote me a check for $240 to go to Operation Smile. That is one smile taken care of. Just like that, in 5 minutes.
I vow to not be stingy in my sharing with people.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year! Here's to a brand new year of MIRACLES!
Hi everyone,
How did you spend New Year's Eve? Did you spend some time thinking about 2010? Do you know what your goals are for this exciting new year?
During my holiday break I read a few books, and one of them is called 'Delivering Happiness' by Tony Hsieh. This book has been recommended by my boss for a few months now but I finally stumbled upon it at a bookstore in LAX last week. I read it in a matter of hours and LOVED it. I added the 'I'm Delivering Happiness' logo to my blog and my email signature :-). For those who have never heard of the book, it's the story of the creation of Zappos.com as we know it today, written by its CEO, Tony. It's such a funny and honest story which left me inspired and energized. I googled everything I could about Zappos.com (never cared about it too much before, don't take it personally Tony!) and checked out the delivering happiness website. Quite fascinating and I highly recommend anyone to look into it! I highly recommend anyone to start Delivering Happiness. (http://www.deliveringhappinessbook.com/ and http://www.zappos.com/)
I'm always excited about a new year. I really see it as an opportunity to recreate what my life is going to look like for the next year. As most of you know, I'm quite goal-oriented so I have a couple of new ones. Needless to say, completing my first marathon and raising money for 1000 children are high up on the list. Other things are creating a true, inviting home in Richmond, treasuring a life/work balance, exploring raw and vegan food to become healthier, see 'Clean for Good''s website come to life, go to Kenya, feel like a sexy woman and find a great soulmate. I will be open to try out new things. All of this will require a bit more organization and I will pay for support where I need it most. Due to my busy work/life schedule, I don't always have time to clean my apartment, so this year, I'm going to get a cleaning lady. The time not spent cleaning can be spend running, with friends, catching up on reading, going for a walk etc...
I had some sort of stomach bug, perhaps food poisoning, last Wednesday and it's knocked me out for about 2 days. This meant I didn't have the strength to work out on Wednesday or Thursday, but I got right back on track on Friday. Tomorrow I'll be completing my second week of running and my third week of other exercises (pushups, situps and squats). I ran next to the Thames on Friday, the last day of the year and it was gorgeous and peaceful. On the first of January, today, I spent most of it cleaning and organizing and I think I have about 30% left before I can say I'm done. The goal is to do that tomorrow, so that I'm off to a 'clean' start on Monday. Tomorrow, at 11:30am I'll be taking my first British Military Fitness class in over 3 months, (http://www.britmilfit.com/) which is like a bootcamp class. Oh boy....
Happy New Year!
Radiantly Yours,
Kate
How did you spend New Year's Eve? Did you spend some time thinking about 2010? Do you know what your goals are for this exciting new year?
During my holiday break I read a few books, and one of them is called 'Delivering Happiness' by Tony Hsieh. This book has been recommended by my boss for a few months now but I finally stumbled upon it at a bookstore in LAX last week. I read it in a matter of hours and LOVED it. I added the 'I'm Delivering Happiness' logo to my blog and my email signature :-). For those who have never heard of the book, it's the story of the creation of Zappos.com as we know it today, written by its CEO, Tony. It's such a funny and honest story which left me inspired and energized. I googled everything I could about Zappos.com (never cared about it too much before, don't take it personally Tony!) and checked out the delivering happiness website. Quite fascinating and I highly recommend anyone to look into it! I highly recommend anyone to start Delivering Happiness. (http://www.deliveringhappinessbook.com/ and http://www.zappos.com/)
I'm always excited about a new year. I really see it as an opportunity to recreate what my life is going to look like for the next year. As most of you know, I'm quite goal-oriented so I have a couple of new ones. Needless to say, completing my first marathon and raising money for 1000 children are high up on the list. Other things are creating a true, inviting home in Richmond, treasuring a life/work balance, exploring raw and vegan food to become healthier, see 'Clean for Good''s website come to life, go to Kenya, feel like a sexy woman and find a great soulmate. I will be open to try out new things. All of this will require a bit more organization and I will pay for support where I need it most. Due to my busy work/life schedule, I don't always have time to clean my apartment, so this year, I'm going to get a cleaning lady. The time not spent cleaning can be spend running, with friends, catching up on reading, going for a walk etc...
I had some sort of stomach bug, perhaps food poisoning, last Wednesday and it's knocked me out for about 2 days. This meant I didn't have the strength to work out on Wednesday or Thursday, but I got right back on track on Friday. Tomorrow I'll be completing my second week of running and my third week of other exercises (pushups, situps and squats). I ran next to the Thames on Friday, the last day of the year and it was gorgeous and peaceful. On the first of January, today, I spent most of it cleaning and organizing and I think I have about 30% left before I can say I'm done. The goal is to do that tomorrow, so that I'm off to a 'clean' start on Monday. Tomorrow, at 11:30am I'll be taking my first British Military Fitness class in over 3 months, (http://www.britmilfit.com/) which is like a bootcamp class. Oh boy....
Happy New Year!
Radiantly Yours,
Kate
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas!
Hi everyone,
Most runs this year will go down as uneventful or even boring. Some runs however will be special, like the one this morning. Last week I was walking on a Mexican beach at 25 degrees Celsius, this morning I ran at a temperature of -5 degrees Celsius. Belgium is covered in snow and because my parents live in the countryside (more or less anyway), it was particularly quiet on this Christmas morning at 9 am.
As I'm running, a lonely cyclist passes by and yells at me, "come on, don't give up" and that made me smile. It encouraged me to go on, no matter how cold I felt or tired from jetlag. There's something really peaceful about a landscape covered in snow.
This week I completed my first week of running on my training schedule and the second week of the 6-week training program (100 pushups, 200 situps and 200 squats). All is going well so far. In the morning, during my first couple of steps, my right achilles acts up a bit, but after stretching, the soreness subsides.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Radiantly Yours,
Kate
Most runs this year will go down as uneventful or even boring. Some runs however will be special, like the one this morning. Last week I was walking on a Mexican beach at 25 degrees Celsius, this morning I ran at a temperature of -5 degrees Celsius. Belgium is covered in snow and because my parents live in the countryside (more or less anyway), it was particularly quiet on this Christmas morning at 9 am.
As I'm running, a lonely cyclist passes by and yells at me, "come on, don't give up" and that made me smile. It encouraged me to go on, no matter how cold I felt or tired from jetlag. There's something really peaceful about a landscape covered in snow.
This week I completed my first week of running on my training schedule and the second week of the 6-week training program (100 pushups, 200 situps and 200 squats). All is going well so far. In the morning, during my first couple of steps, my right achilles acts up a bit, but after stretching, the soreness subsides.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Radiantly Yours,
Kate
Monday, December 20, 2010
First day, first run!
Hi everyone!
I was supposed to leave Los Angeles on a Virgin flight on Sunday the 19th. When I checked the flight status the day before I saw that my flight to London was cancelled. After spending over an hour on the phone, on hold with American Express, I found out that the earliest I could go home is the 22nd. While this is somewhat bad news, it's great to be able to spend a few extra days with my friend Paulette.
It's been raining cats and dogs since Friday. We just got back from a week's holiday in Los Cabos and the weather there was unbelievable. Temperatures were mild and our days were sunny, turning it into one of the most relaxing breaks I've ever been on.
The rain makes us stay inside and watch movies. We've seen Wild Grass (a French movie), You don't know Jack (with Al Pacino) and Black Swan (with Natalie Portman - highly recommended by the way!). We've also been watching some great trashy American TV, you know what I'm talking about, Bridalplasty, Tabatha's salon takeover, Bridezillas, etc...
On Sunday, Paulette and I went to a Raw Food Cooking Class. We learnt how to 'cook' Sticky Buns, Tropical Buckwheat Granola, Yoghurt and Fruit Parfait, Cheese and Onion tart and Orange Ginger Fizz. We've both been trying to eat healthier by reducing animal derived products (meat, milk, etc). Some of you already know that I'm trying to learn more about Vegan and Raw food. It's helped me reduce my heartburn and feel great after having a meal, instead of feeling stuffed and unhealthy.
Over the past 2 weeks I have started walking for an hour almost daily. Since I haven't really done any serious workouts since the end of September, I thought it would be important to start slow with my marathon training. By walking for an hour for about 2 weeks, I wanted to loosen up my muscles and get the juices flowing again. Today, however, was the first day of my Couch to 5K program (for more information: http://www.c25k.com/)! I was excited to getting my running shoes back on and starting my very first training day.
One thing I will do differently this time around is stretching. I know it's not right (at all!) to not stretch before and after running, but I never had that habit in the past. Now I'm stretching before and after my runs. I know this will help me stay injury-free.
I've also started a couple of six week programs to build a stronger core which will help me with my running. Go to http://www.hundredpushups.com/ to check out a program that teaches you how to build up to do 100 pushups, 200 squats and 200 situps in 6 weeks. Today was the first day of week 2 and it's going great as well. Check it out!
I'm feeling great and feeling healthy! Stay warm and safe everyone!
Radiantly Yours,
Kate
I was supposed to leave Los Angeles on a Virgin flight on Sunday the 19th. When I checked the flight status the day before I saw that my flight to London was cancelled. After spending over an hour on the phone, on hold with American Express, I found out that the earliest I could go home is the 22nd. While this is somewhat bad news, it's great to be able to spend a few extra days with my friend Paulette.
It's been raining cats and dogs since Friday. We just got back from a week's holiday in Los Cabos and the weather there was unbelievable. Temperatures were mild and our days were sunny, turning it into one of the most relaxing breaks I've ever been on.
The rain makes us stay inside and watch movies. We've seen Wild Grass (a French movie), You don't know Jack (with Al Pacino) and Black Swan (with Natalie Portman - highly recommended by the way!). We've also been watching some great trashy American TV, you know what I'm talking about, Bridalplasty, Tabatha's salon takeover, Bridezillas, etc...
On Sunday, Paulette and I went to a Raw Food Cooking Class. We learnt how to 'cook' Sticky Buns, Tropical Buckwheat Granola, Yoghurt and Fruit Parfait, Cheese and Onion tart and Orange Ginger Fizz. We've both been trying to eat healthier by reducing animal derived products (meat, milk, etc). Some of you already know that I'm trying to learn more about Vegan and Raw food. It's helped me reduce my heartburn and feel great after having a meal, instead of feeling stuffed and unhealthy.
Over the past 2 weeks I have started walking for an hour almost daily. Since I haven't really done any serious workouts since the end of September, I thought it would be important to start slow with my marathon training. By walking for an hour for about 2 weeks, I wanted to loosen up my muscles and get the juices flowing again. Today, however, was the first day of my Couch to 5K program (for more information: http://www.c25k.com/)! I was excited to getting my running shoes back on and starting my very first training day.
One thing I will do differently this time around is stretching. I know it's not right (at all!) to not stretch before and after running, but I never had that habit in the past. Now I'm stretching before and after my runs. I know this will help me stay injury-free.
I've also started a couple of six week programs to build a stronger core which will help me with my running. Go to http://www.hundredpushups.com/ to check out a program that teaches you how to build up to do 100 pushups, 200 squats and 200 situps in 6 weeks. Today was the first day of week 2 and it's going great as well. Check it out!
I'm feeling great and feeling healthy! Stay warm and safe everyone!
Radiantly Yours,
Kate
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