â¢ Running the Right Way - PhillyFIT Magazine

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PhysicallyFITRunningthe ShowOwner of Salon Norman Dee and marathon runner, TabithaHeit, balances work, play, and family, and discusses the choicesthat we make everyday, which affects our lives.Have you ever heard the expression, “Sometimes life gets in theway”? People use it when talking about things they might wantto do but can’t because they just don’t have the time. “Soundslike an excuse,” says Tabitha, busy preparing her new salon forit’s grand opening in a few weeks. It’s 9:17 am and she hasalready run ten miles, gotten both of her children off to school,and had time to stop for coffee of her way to the new space.For Tabitha, being a positive role model for her children andstaff by living a healthy lifestyle has always been a top priority.Owning a successful salon in Northeast Philadelphia hasallowed her the platform to work with various charities, nonecloser to her heart than the National Down’s Syndrome Society.“When they first told me and my husband we were shocked.This wasn’t part of the plan,” Tabitha says of her now threeyear-oldson, Cooper, who was born with Down’s syndrome andan A/V canal defect, which simply stated means he had a holein his heart. The years leading up to this moment seemed likejust a precursor to what was about to come.Tabitha had always found a way to incorporate exercise into herlifestyle. From her time spent on the track team in high schoolto always being a member of the local gym, staying in shapehas always been a priority. She really got into running after herfirst son Reece was born in 2007. “At first it was all about takingoff the baby weight,” she admits. “And then somethinghappened. I just started loving it, not so much the running, butmore the feeling I was experiencing the rest of the day. I lookedbetter in the mirror, I was enjoying my food more, and my glassof red wine at the end of the day tasted just a little bit better.”From that moment on, Tabitha never looked back. She ran herfirst 5k that year and her first half marathon the following year.It was the Philadelphia Half Marathon and she ran it in 1:45.Well now she was completely hooked. Tabitha was averagingthirty miles a week, and started scheduling a half marathonevery six months. That’s when it happened. “I will never forgetsitting there when they told us. After giving us a detailed explanationof what Down’s syndrome was, they said that we shouldgo home and discuss the option of abortion. My husband and Ijust looked at each other, and immediately both said that therewas no chance that was going to happen.”Cooper was born on February 8, 2010, and after five days in theNICU was ready to go home and begin his new life with Mom,Dad and big brother, Reece. “Right from the start we knew hewas special. I mean what kind of baby is happy all the time.”Three months before his second birthday, it was time forCooper’s heart surgery. “We went in on a Monday morning andwere home by Wednesday afternoon. Then by later on thatevening, we were Facebooking pictures of him laughing whileholding up his shirt and showing everyone pictures of his scar.It was miraculous!”From that show of strength and pure heart from her little oneyear-oldangel, Tabitha was inspired. She and her husbandsigned up for the New York Marathon in 2012. “The trainingwas intense,” she recalls with a sigh. “We were on a sixteenweektraining program with our long runs increasing by onemile every week. I remember thinking how exhausted I wastowards the end of my first fifteen mile run, and how in theworld was I going to do additional 11.2 miles on top of this.”But she found strength in her little angel. “When I look at him,and think about everything he has endured, and how much joyhe gets out of life, I know that there is no goal that I won’treach for and no hurdle that I won’t jump to be the best MotherI could possibly be for him.”So she and her husband persevered by running sixteen miles,then seventeen miles, all the way up until two weeks before the30 I PhillyFIT May/June I 267-767-4205 I www.phillyfit.com
ace when they completed their longest training run of twentythreemiles. “We were ready,” she said with a smile. Then twodays before the marathon was scheduled to be run, the newswas announced that, “Due to the devastation caused in thewake of Hurricane Sandy, the New York City Marathon hasbeen cancelled!”“It was a tough pill to swallow. We had just spent the last fourmonths training tirelessly, sacrificing our time, and pushing ourbodies to their absolute limits for what was going to be one ofthe greatest moments in our lives, and then in the snap of a fingerit was over. Of course I understood why it had to be done.I had tremendous compassion for the people whose lives wereforever affected by this tragedy, and I certainly do not bemoanthe decision to cancel the race in any way. But it stung.”I’m sure it would have been easy to say, “Oh well, sometimeslife gets in the way.” After all, that’s what her husband did, butnot Tabitha. She kept her mileage up throughout the winter, andthis past March was the proud finisher of the Ocean DriveMarathon in New Jersey in a time of 3:39. “It was very emotional.I had goose bumps and my eyes were tearing up,” sheexclaimed when describing what she was feeling when shecrossed the finish line.Fast-forwards two weeks from that moment, and here we are.Sitting in what will soon be known as ‘Salon Norman DeeJenkintown’. Tabitha pauses to call out instructions to the contractorsscurrying busily around the space. They are working inoverdrive to make sure that the salon is one hundred percentoperational for it’s grand opening in early May. “We have beenlooking forward to this for a long time,” Tabitha brightly statesout of what will now serve as the sister location of their wellknown salon in Northeast Philadelphia. “The Philly spot ishuge.” Consisting of 27 chairs and a staff of over 40 to beexact. “The Jenkintown space is going to be give off more of aboutique vibe. The goal remains the same in both locations,which is to provide her clients with a warm, sophisticatedatmosphere and quality of service at affordable prices. “Wesimply want to be the best,” she adds. It is a sentiment sheseems to strive for in all aspects of her life.Today, Tabitha lives happily in Montgomery County with herhusband Jeremy, and her two boys - Reece, five and Cooper,three. “My family is everything to me. I give them all thecredit for everything I have been able to do. I draw strengthfrom them, and just hope that I am able to do the same forthem.”So, any advice for someone who has wanted to adopt a healthierlifestyle, but lets life keep getting in the way? “To quote thegreat Morgan Freeman, from the Shawshank Redemption, ‘Getbusy living or get busy dying’. We make hundreds of choiceseveryday that affect the direction of our lives. Some are conscious,while others have just been automated to the point thatwe don’t even think about them. Do I eat a salad, or a donut?Do I take a jog, or watch a re-run of Friends? Do I play on thefloor with my child, or do I sit in front of the computer onFacebook? What we do with our time, with every decision wemake, we are shaping our quality of life. Of course nobody’sgoing to make the healthy choice every time, but if you couldjust start changing a little bit here and a little bit there. Whoknows, you may just start to love it!”So what’s next on the agenda for Tabitha and company? Sheand her husband have set a long-term goal together to run a halfmarathon in all fifty states. So far they have six down withforty-four to go, quite an inspiration for our readers.Remember, set no limits and accept no boundaries!INDIVIDUAL EYELASH EXTENSIONS50% OFFFirst time clients only. Expires June 30th, 2013.484-318-8438By appointment only.www.t i m e l e s s s a g e .comLocated inChadds Ford, PATherapeuticMassage Program$5700 TuitionThe Institute for Therapeutic Massage& Bodywork, Inc.The Commons at Chadds Ford • 136 Commons Court, Chadds Ford, PAMore Information Contact: Deborah Finley, LMT, NCTMBat 610-358-5800 or email debfinley@itmbchaddsford.comVisit our website at: www.itmbchaddsford.comMay/June I 267-767-4205 I www.phillyfit.comPhillyFIT I 31
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â¢ Running the Right Way - PhillyFIT Magazine