The Lifestyles of the Fit & Famous

OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS, I will be featuring famous people who have a special fidelity to keeping themselves healthy and fit. I will present the workout, diet, weight loss, lifestyle and success secrets of the healthiest celebrities—and distill it all into relevant advice for real people.

I will interview these celebrities, live on my podcast (www.harrcast.com) and then expand on the material here. These "Fit and Famous" segments will deliver the kind of content that draws you in and inspires you to be a celebrated figure in your own right.

This is not vacuous celebrity gossip. We will feature icons that are famously fit, not merely because they’re in the public eye, but because they’re at the summit of their art. From athlete to entertainer, these are people who are genuinely committed to living healthy and spectacular lives—and who will explain to you what they do to look so good and glamorous at any age and achieve their remarkable success.

We all want to know if there’s a way for us to have what these luminaries do—but we rarely get practical answers to our questions. These "Fit and Famous" segments will give you that highly coveted information—to show you that you can become more than you ever thought possible. These segments will entertain you by embarking on exciting adventures each week to reveal a more authentic, intimate side of celebrities while keeping things fresh, fun and real. We will enable you by uncovering the most valuable, achievable advice from your favorite stars and their trainers. In these "Fit and Famous" segments, we will not strive to worship the unattainable lives of celebrities, but rather to help you realize, deep-down, what is possible in your own life.

When you read and listen to these segments and then take that information and incorporate it into your daily routine, you will feel the surge of confidence and bliss that comes from living at a higher level and inspiring those around you—two reasons we fundamentally admire people in the public eye. Imagine being motivated to live a healthier, more balanced and successful life—and to then be acclaimed by your friends, family, colleagues just as a bonafide celebrity is.

With these exclusive segments, we will redefine what fitness and fame are so that they become tangible goals you can truly experience and understand for yourself.

Stay tuned...

A Proud, Profound Moment...

LET'S FACE it. Sometimes life can feel fairly mundane. As we move from one moment to the next, much of our focus is on dealing with the seemingly insignificant minutiae. Then, we get a wake-up call of sorts. Something happens that forces an epiphany: Those few, precious moments in life when we gain a genuine insight into the reality or essential meaning of something important. It requires us to take stock of what's truly important and, really, what we're doing here in the first place.

These moments of clarity might be precipitated by an acute event like the birth of a child or the death of a friend. I have experienced several of these moments. One of them occurred today.

For my Ironman training, Sundays are allocated to the "long run." This is up to 3 hours in duration. It is analogous to an "insurance policy." These sessions ensure that you can finish the Ironman if/when things go wrong. The idea is that if I can run 3 hours in my sleep, then even if things get terribly bad on event day, I can get through a 3-hour marathon.

Today was like any other Sunday. But this time, while I was preparing for my run, my 5-year-old daughter, Vivienne, asked if she could join me. Now, I am all about the empowerment of women, so I cuddled her and said: "Sure, honey! Let's do it." She said: "Papa, no I want to run the full 3 hours with you." She was serious.

We agreed that she would run "until she was tired and ready to get into the car with mom" (who was following us). She put on her full running regalia -- Adidas running shoes and all -- and we set out. I thought we would make it to the end of our street and she would stop. Instead, she said: "Keep going." We ran all the way to a park near our home (1-mile away) and I was floored. I was certain she would be done. I kept asking her when we might stop.

"Papa, stop asking me. I will stop when I am tired."

We made it into downtown Fairfax. Then out of town into the neighboring town of San Anselmo. The girl was running so strong, so powerfully. I went from befuddlement to profound pride to ... concern about her health! Eventually, I had to physically stop her and put her in the car with a cookie and some cool water.

She and my wife drove to the health club (where I meet them every Sunday; I run, they drive). I was so inspired by Vivienne's present-moment-running and her irrepressible spirit, that I had the best run I've had all year. I averaged 5:53/mile for two and a half hours on a complete floater.

I'm so accustomed to Vivienne being a little thing. But, she is becoming a young lady, and she is more powerful than I ever dreamed she would be at this age. She gives me strength.

I always thought that having kids would take away from my strength and power. But, quite the opposite has happened. I have never been stronger, faster or more mentally tough. Watching Vivienne grow and thrive and blossom is so much better than I ever dreamed it would be. 

And, I am a better, stronger -- and faster! -- man for it.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Book: THE END OF POVERTY by Jeffrey Sachs
Film: THE GODFATHER
Quote: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Ghandi
Moment: Vivienne's Birth (where my wife, Alexandra, endured 36 hours of drug-free labor, making this "Ironman" look like a cupcake.)
Human Beings: VIVIENNE and ALEX
Sound: DAUGHTER LAUGHING
Job: MEDIA DIRECTOR, ORGANIC FOOD BAR (Dr. Jack Singh is the finest gentleman with whom I have ever worked)
Food: (4-Way Tie) - OKINOMIYAKE (Osaka, Japan) / ORGANIC FOOD BAR - WILD BLUEBERRY (Corona, Calif.) / LOMBARDI'S PIZZA (New York City, NY) / WIFE'S TAQUERITOS (Fairfax, Calif.)
Drink: LEMONADE (Cascadian Farms Organic with fresh lemons and plenty of ice!)
Real Drink: MOJITO (Bodeguita recipe)
Place to Get Engaged: VIA DEL'AMORE ("Lover's Path") in the Cinque Terre
Place to Get Married: (Only done it once, but I can't imagine a finer place): Garrapata State Beach, Carmel, Calif.
Place to Honeymoon: UP AND DOWN THE ITALIAN and FRENCH RIVIERA
Place to Ride: (Tough to pick one, so I'll pick five) -- Seefeld, Austria; Kunisaki, Japan; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Penticton, Canada; Hawaii (Big Island).
Place to Run: Bridle Path, Central Park, New York City in Spring or Fall (I know, it sounds crazy. But, there is a vibe there that has always done it for me.)
Place to Swim: THE WAKAYA RESORT, Fiji
Eco-Resort: MAHO BAY CAMPGROUNDS, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Hotel: (3-Way Tie): KONA VILLAGE, Hawaii (Big Island); FOUR SEASONS GEORGE V, Paris; VILLA GNOCCHI, Santa Margherita, Italy.
Clothing: CANALI
Wine: PINOT NOIR, Domaine Romanée-Conti
Car: ASTON MARTIN DB9
Bike: GURU CRONO PK SIGNATURE EDITION
Music: STEVIE WONDER, GROOVE ARMADA
Training Music: GROOVE ARMADA, CRYSTAL METHOD, CHEMICAL BROTHERS, ENIGMA
TV Show: "The Office"

A Child Dies in Africa Every 10 Seconds From Malaria

I just read this statistic, and it left me reeling.  

Malaria is an eminently preventable disease. It's breathtaking to me that there are precious children out there dying from such an easily-preventable ailment.

Truly, this sad statistic makes a mockery of the notion that we value all life equally. If an American child died every month from malaria, we would be appalled. And, we would take decisive action to prevent it.

I will continue to do what I can to help the "bottom billion" that the world has largely left behind.

I hope my quest to raise $1 million by Ironman 2010 will inspire others to do what they can, too.