Inspiring Member Stories: Helene Cashin
This week we catch up with long term Clann Health member Helene Cashin. Helene's story is a truly inspirational one and one that a lot of people will relate to as she balances raising 3 kids, a full time job with irregular shift work hours all while remaining consistent with her Exercise and maintaining a healthy lifestyle!
Good Afternoon Helene and thanks a million for taking the time to share your story. Tell us a little about yourself, what health/fitness means to you and how it positively impacts your life ...........
Pleasure is all mine! I am 48 years old originally from outside the town of Lisnaskea in Co. Fermanagh. I have lived here with my husband Ciaran for 24 years we are still here with 3 great kids aged 19, 16 and 12. We spent 4 years in New Jersey and the rest have been in Yonkers, New York. Honestly for years i didnt think too much about health and fittness. My diet was decent and i walked everywhere as i cant drive. With a young family I was constantly on the move. Health and fitness did became very important in late 2016 through 2017 when my own health suffered and now i know how important it is to feel well all round. Mentally, physically and nutritionly. None of them can be running on empty. As mothers we tend to put everyone else first. I will" eat the burnt toast "mentally becomes our normal. I also wanted to be a better role model for my children. They had never seen me attempt anything new so this was a big shock. It also meant motiviation in knowing they knew.
“Health and fitness did became very important in late 2016 through 2017 when my own health suffered and now i know how important it is to feel well all round”
Tell us about your most memorable Activity/Race/Event? And why was it so memorable?
Joining Team Aisling in Jan 2018 was a turning point in my life, at that particular time in my life. My body had just broken down completely. I wont lie it was hard to walk through that door of the first meeting. I was middle aged, never a runner, overweight and by nature a shy person. (Or as my father would say in a genuinely caring but matter of fact manner "a bit of an odd ball" 🤣). I am so glad i did as i met women who made me welcome, shared goals & advice, gave encouragement and became some of the most treasured friends i now have. I would say each event was memorable for its own reasons, my first EVER 5k was the Pauline Boylan Coll memorial, the first 10k was the womens mini with my daughter in my first proper race enviroment with Team Members, the Bronx 10 mile i thought i would never finish but my team mate Marie got me over that finish line and even though i couldnt move for 2 days after it i couldnt believe we had ran most of the 10 miles. All leading to the Yonkers Half Marathon Oct 2018 - the end to the goal to raise funding and awareness for The Aisling Irish community Centre a staple with much needed services within our community. The atmosphere that morning and all day was really something so special. I had been warned by my Doctor 2 weeks before the race i wasnt allowed to do it due to high BP. I really couldnt drop out as i couldnt let all those people down who had supported me above anything i dreamed of with their money to complete it and my children knew that. They offered to step in and between the three of them do the 13.1 miles for me on my behalf so no one was let down. We agreed to let me start and see how i would get on and they would be at the race to pick up if i needed to stop. My fathers motto was "do it right or not at all". It kept ringing in my ears. I walked and along the way happenned to meet another lady who was also walking it and we did it together. The kids checking in every few minutes. As we turned down the home stretch i couldnt believe my eyes when i seen those group of women i trained with the previous 5 months all waiting, cheering for me to finish some 60 - 90 minutes AFTER they had finished. That moment will stay with me for life. I came in under 4 hrs and the pride i felt it might as well have been 2 hrs. My kids appeared with flowers and relief i was in one piece. The recent Subway Challenge of 245 miles inside 15 wks is my step back in. It was my goal to myself.
Helene your story is empowering! You are a busy Mom who works irregular hours and Shift Work and you have still found a way to get your Exercise Sessions in and live a healthier life. What advice have you for someone who is starting out or who wants to get started on their running/fitness journey?
I think the best advice I can give is what i have learned from you and Shane. Everyone can and should find 20 minutes in the day to devote to them selves. Consistencey is KEY. Doing 15 miles one week and doing nothing then for 2 weeks isnt going to be productive. Life happens. So i try to commit to 2-3 sessions a week with one of them being a walk/jog. If i can do more i do it but i make sure to get those 2-3 done every week. If i get home late from a long shift and cant i dont beat myself up i just make sure and do it the next day. We are all human. I dont compare myself to any one else any more. I only compare myself to my own progress. Sound familiar Seamus?? That has been a powerful revalation on this journey. Start!!! And set attainable goals. If i can do it anyone can.
“I think the best advice I can give is what i have learned from you and Shane. Everyone can and should find 20 minutes in the day to devote to them selves. Consistencey is KEY. ”
What do you enjoy most about our Clann Health Sessions?
Clann Health really provides it all. Range of exercises, strength training, pilates all offered live or play back with various times and days to suit everybody and is something i would never have had access too before. I could rarely get to Bootcamps due to my work schedules. On top of that the advice, Q and A, nurtrition and cooking demo make it such a blessing for all of us. Not forgetting the Tribe hikes which i will get to soon. So much work goes into providing us with with all this from Clann Health team and the genuine nature for us all to succeed is a rare find indeed.
“Clann Health really provides it all. Range of exercises, strength training, pilates all offered live or play back with various times and days to suit everybody and is something i would never have had access too before”
What's something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?
As i stated i am a quiet person so most people wouldnt know i love to dress up at Halloween. Once a year i get really into it and really enjoy it. I have been everything under the sun the last 16 years from a nun, to Maleficent to Daenerys from Game of Thrones to Patsy From Absolutely Fabulous. How my kids feel about it at this stage i dont know!!
Helene you have been with us right from the start and begun your Fitness Journey with the great Team Aisling when they initially formed, tell us how staying active and staying connected has helped you especially over the past 6 months ….
Clann Health really was the key for me to restart my journey. I didnt jog/walk on a proper basis after the Yonkers Half in 2018. I found it hard to get back in mentally and made all sorts of excuses not to meet up with girls who asked me to join them. I was embrassed i would be too slow and alot of them had become great runners now at great distances. Slainte 2020 really was the motivation i needed in horrific times to get out and do something for people who needed it. Meeting back up with familair faces made me realise how much i missed it all. For mental health and human connection as much as physically with the common goal to give back to our wonderful community and be grateful i was blessed to be able to do so. During Covid -19 in particular we all needed that thread of humanity woven in and out of our community in what ever way we could.
Clann Health provided the missing link to go from helping us train for that to help make us fitter, stronger, more informed and motivatedwalkers/joggers/runners. The benefits are across the whole spectrum of my being. Seamus, Shane and all the Clann Health team are changing lifes. It was the best thing i have ever done for myself. The unexpected bonus was after 10 years of thinking i would never shift weight i gained - 2 and half months of being consistent with the workout sessions my daughter said out of the blue "oh my God Ma i see a difference- its really making a difference. All that huffing and puffing i hear you at in the mornings is paying off" that was like music to my ears!!! I look forward to continuing this journey to see how far it will take me.
“Seamus, Shane and all the Clann Health team are changing lifes. It was the best thing i have ever done for myself.”
