Meet Isabelle

 By Isabelle Privé

"Only 2 years ago..."

Hello to everyone who's following our Kilimanjaro adventure.

My name is Isabelle. If you'd told me 2 years ago that I'd be joining such an adventure, I expect I'd have looked around to see who you were talking to!

At that time, I was smoking a packet a day, eating badly and didn't get much exercise.

On October 14, 2009, my life took a turn for the better when I stopped smoking, And that soon turned into an upward spiral towards better health.

Giving up smoking also means putting on weight so I realized that I had to do something about my diet. I was lucky enough to be able to attend sessions with a nutritionist put on by my employer. That too changed my life.

.

So - give up smoking and start a healthier diet.

Always thanks to my employer, I decided to participate in the 10km Montreal Marathon in 2010.
I wanted to walk....I ended up running 7 km out of 10! I had fallen in love with jogging! And I'm still in love with physical activity. I've developed a passion for jogging, yoga, zumba, Pilates and I'm hooked on the feeling of wellbeing that comes with a good workout.

To repeat: give up smoking, eat well, get more exercise.

So, last December, when I read, on the office electronic notice board, an invitation to join in an adventure and climb Mount Kilimanjaro, I only had one question:

"Will I be sorry if I don't do it?"

And as my reply was "Yes", I decided to go for it (in spite of empty pockets!) and rise to the challenge.

And up to now, I have no regrets. I've found a wonderful team - each member more motivated that the rest. What I love is that we're all "ordinary people" with a job and a family. No Olympic champions or millionnaires. We'll all have to work very hard on the fund-raising activities necessary to make our dream come true. We'll all have to train really hard to get to the fitness level required to reach the top. And I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.

Do you get the feeling that I'm somewhat carried away with excitement?

Translated by Pamela Gauvin