Staff photo by Armando Rios

Road Warrior

Ida Warshay at work at the
Providence Health Foundation.
"You have to get your heart
moving every day," she says.

Distance runner strives to keep mind and body strong and invigorated.

Robert A. Sklar
Editor

- I da Warshay, a regular exer-
ciser who started running
on a treadmill a year earli-
er, sought a way to deal with the
pain and grief of her mother's
sudden death in April 2005. So
she took her running outside
one morning to clear her head.
And the Oak Park resident
hasn't looked back. The Detroit
native will run her first half-
marathon on Sunday, Oct.
29, when she laces up for the
Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank
Marathon & New Balance Half
Marathon. It'll be her first try at
half of the 26.2-mile marathon
course, which crosses interna-
tional borders — once over the
Ambassador Bridge and once
through the Detroit-Windsor
Tunnel.
"I absolutely love running
outside," she said. "This alone
time allows me to think through

40

October 26 • 2006

problems at work or at home .
and to come up with very cre-
ative solutions!'
Running has given her the
strength to make decisions that
in the past would have seemed
too complicated. A good, long
run always seems to simplify
matters, she said.
Warshay, senior development
officer at the Southfield-based
Provide-ice Health Foundation,
enjoys aerobics, swimming,
indoor cyding, kick boxing,
weight lifting and step aerobics.
She and husband, Nathaniel,
have three young children at
Yeshivat Akiva in Southfield;
but she's up every morning at
4:30, except on Shabbat, to run.
Armed with a reflective vest that
her kids got her for Mother's
Day as well as identification and
her iPod, she takes to the road
as hard core as they come. "I
love the quiet time in the morn-
ing," she said, "and the darker
the better."

Nathaniel said his wife puts
her full mind to whatever she
undertakes — running, family,
career. "They are all based on
teamwork for success," he said.

The Strategy
Ida Warshay averages 38 miles
a week, running between 5 and
12 miles through Oak Park,
Huntington Woods and Royal
Oak, regardless of the weather,
year round. She lifts weights
twice a week for at least 30 min-
utes. She competed in two races
this past spring: the JN Race for
Hunger in Farmington Hills and
the West Bloomfield Rock and
Road 10K.
Healthful eating and regular
exercise invite wellness, Warshay
said. 'Any step you take, no mat-
ter how small, can add years
to your life, and they will be
healthful years."
But you have to take the time
to create the right environment.
"I don't like getting up at 4:30,"

she said, "but I know that if I
don't, I won't be able to run that
day. You find the time."
Don't be fooled if you are thin.
"You can still be unhealthy," she
said. "You have to get your heart
moving every day, whether it's
parking at the last space in the
Target parking lot and walking
with your kids to the store, or
choosing a salad for lunch with
some protein in it rather than
that huge corned beef sandwich
and potato chips."
Deviating isn't in the cards.
"I don't feel the same if I don't
rim," she said. "The sense of
accomplishment and happi-
ness is just too great not to do it
every day."

You Can Do It!
You don't need to be a long-dis-
tance runner to take up running.
"If you can walk, yo'u can run!'
Warshay said. "Try it. Go for a
walk today. Fifteen minutes into
the walk, break into a run for at

least one minute. There, you are
now a runner."
Break up your walk with 1-2
minutes of running every day.
Gradually decrease your walking
until you are running for about
10-15 minutes, she added.
Before you stride it out, go to
a local running store and get
properly fitted with shoes. "The
salespeople are all runners and
even though you may be doing
mostly walking," Warshay said,
you can still benefit from a
proper shoe!'
"And as always:' she added,
"check with your doctor before
you go out, just to make sure
there aren't any underlying
problems with your healthy"
Active at Young Israel of Oak
Park, Ida Warshay believes in a
mind-body connection. As she
put it, "Just as we take care of
our minds and souls by daven-
ing every day, we should take
care of our earthly bodies just as
fervently"

"

