In hectic lives it can be difficult to make time for yourself, but for Roxanne Moreau of Bellegarde being active has become a regular part of her day. She has developed a love of running and has used exercise to overcome and alleviate the pains of various health issues throughout the years.
“Fitness and running, those are my passions,” Moreau said as she spoke to The Observer. “It came about when I was expecting my first child. Through high school I was not an athletic kid, but I find you have to remember to make yourself a priority when you have kids. A large part of life is about balance and that’s important.”
Moreau decided to begin cycling after her kids were born, she could take them while they were napping in a wagon behind her bike. Once her children grew, she needed to change what she was doing as the wagon’s limit was 90 lbs.
In the winter she would cross-country ski and one day decided to see how far she could run in the cold: “I ran about two minutes before I couldn’t breathe, so it became a challenge. I thought, ‘I can figure out how to do this.’”
She began doing intervals walking for a short distance, then running, then walking again. As she got better at running, Moreau would walk less and less.
Running actually became a release, it was her personal time, and after giving birth to her second child was struggling with post-partum depression. It was running that helped her lift the cloudy haze she felt she was in.
Additionally, she struggles with seasonal affective disorder in the winter. The disorder is a type of depression which occurs when seasons change. This cloud, Moreau also found was alleviated by becoming active.
“Being active has a huge impact on your health,” she stated.
Moreau explains that running is something that has become part of her daily life, calling herself a “run streaker” having run every single day for six years.
“It was -40 out [on March 3] and I was out there, I ran 10 miles,” Moreau stated. “I like to believe I’m inspiring actions when I’m out there doing it. People see me, and kids will be in cars waving to me because ‘There goes Roxanne.’ And I like to think I’m setting a good example for them.”
Being a good role model is something that is important to Moreau: “When I was younger I struggled with an eating disorder, but I discovered that fueling your body properly let me see the strength that I possess. I’ve taught a learn to run program at the school before to try and empower other girls with fitness, so they don’t fall into an eating disorder because of the feelings they have around body image and peer pressure.”
“Running I think develops a mental toughness because you’re pushing yourself through it, there’s times when it hurts. But it teaches dedication and perseverance. Today there are so many quick fixes, shakes and that, but you need to have a goal. The goal is the icing on the cake, it’s the journey throughout that changes you and becomes a lifestyle. And it’s the journey that people need to focus on, not that they need to lose 10 lbs, but to focus on making a healthy change and to not be trapped by the diet industry.”
Though it can be difficult for her to go out for her runs in the dead of winter, whether one mile, ten miles, or a marathon, she explains, “I love the way I feel when I’m done. I feel stronger mentally. I have someone on call so I won’t freeze. I am smart about it. The other day [March 3] the wind was from the northwest so I had my husband drop me off in Redvers and I ran the just over 10 miles home with the wind at my back.”
The idea of being stronger than your excuses is something that she embodies as she was born with a heart defect: “I have a bicuspid valve where you should have a tricuspid valve…” Moreau said. “It makes me special to do what I do. I’m off the charts for someone with a heart defect, I am tested often, and I’m off the chart for someone with a healthy heart too.”
Additionally she has overcome injuries sustained while being hit by a truck while cycling: “Fifteen years ago I was hit by a truck while I was riding my bike. An elderly man was driving and didn’t see me on the side of the road, he likely wouldn’t have known he had hit me expect the mirror crashed into the passenger window. I still have rubber in my leg from being run over as well. I went through months of therapy and it was excruciating.”
Her injuries from this collision, which SGI determined to have affected 48 percent of her body, still flare up, but are worse if she is inactive.
“As long as I stay moving, I feel better,” Moreau stated. “The more I sit around the worse it is, so I can see why people who are inactive are in a cycle. They don’t feel good, they hurt so they don’t want to be active, but the more they sit the worse it becomes.”
So, although she understands how difficult it can be to motivate oneself to go for a run, cycle, walk the dog, or join a fitness class Moreau says she is rather intolerant of people’s excuses because she knows if they simply make the effort they will realize a difference in their quality of life.
“Just pick something and do it,” Moreau smiled. “Oftentimes people will say, ‘Well that didn’t work.’ And I’ll ask them how long they did it for, ‘Oh just two times or so.’ That’s not going to work, you need to find something to do every day whether its walking your dog, playing with your kids, signing up for a fitness class, there are so many things out there to do.”
