Page 77 - HCPVitalityChronicles

Teammates and Vitality Members Ana Avalos and Lisa Cederblom, NP,

Complete First Half Marathon Together

Sometimes, even when you are doing well Avalos, who has been with HCP for 17
in your overall health, setting a new goal years and joined Vitality in 2012, re-
can help to jumpstart your enthusiasm. membered the first mile was hard be-
Such was the case recently for Lisa cause it was cold in the morning.
Cederblom, NP, HCP Carson. She urged fel- “After I crossed 10 miles, I knew I
low teammate Ana Avalos, Patient Liaison, could do it,” she said.
HCP Carson, to join her in preparing for a
half marathon. The two of them completed The success has inspired them to set
their first half marathon in Glendora on No- new goals. Cederblom plans to do an-
vember 15, 2014, and the feeling of accom- other half marathon in February 2015
plishment has inspired them to continue to in Ventura, and Avalos plans to do a
set new goals. mud run with obstacles in April.

Cederblom found a 12-week training course Day to day, they both use MapMyFit-
that the two of them completed in prepara- ness to log and receive Vitality points
tion for the event. In May of 2014, she had for their physical activity. Cederblom
run a 5K. “I decided I needed something to also gets Vitality points for going to
work toward,” she recalled. For Avalos, it Lisa Cederblom, left, and Ana Avalos at the gym, and Avalos participates in a
the end of their first half marathon.
was a brand new adventure. “I had never lot of employer-sponsored walks, in-
done anything athletic in my life,” she said. “I always liked cluding the more difficult Warrior Trail. The Amazon cards
going for walks, with a little bit of running, but my longest they get with their points have allowed them to get new run-
runs were three miles. Increasing to five, six and seven miles ning gear—Cederblom loves the bright yellow running shoes
was initially very challenging for me,” Avalos said. she purchased on Amazon.

But the two motivated each other to persevere. They ran The confidence of completing their first half marathon is evi-
five to six days a week, with progressively longer runs on the dent. “It’s the best feeling setting out to achieve this goal
weekends, and added a couple of days a week of cross train- and finding the internal support to do this,” Cederblom said.
ing. Avalos concurred. “It was a great feeling, to prove to other
people that you can do it.”
All of their hard work paid off. “The second we took off, I
thought, ‘I can do this,’” said Cederblom, who has been with And everyone can take steps toward self-improvement,
HCP since November 2013 and joined the Vitality program in Cederblom said. “Small goals are achievable,” she said.
January. One mile was all uphill, but she stayed the course. “I “Everyone has the ability to make some personal goal or pos-
came in 500th and it felt like first place,” Cederblom said. itive change. Treat yourself with loving kindness while you
are working to achieve them. We are all works in progress.”

All information in the Vitality program is HIPAA protected. Members have chosen to share their personal health accomplishments.
For more information about Vitality, visit www.powerofvitality.com. Contact Janet Galli for further program information.