I’m getting ready to head out for Princess Half Weekend. Yippee! Just last month I was running my first marathon at Walt Disney World. Marathon Weekend has such an electrifying energy. I was able to participate in a Cigna Blogger Meet-Up and fangirl two awesome Telemundo stars. Not only did I have a lot of fun, but I learned the importance of my numbers. What numbers? Good question.

I’m one of those people who tends to take really good care of my children, but when it comes to my own health, I usually wait until something’s not feeling right to visit a doctor. This is no bueno, friends. Just like our children get yearly well-checks, we need well-checks, too.

I arrived a little late to the event since I was given the incredible opportunity to interview Laura Flores and Aaron Diaz, both stars of the Spanish-language television network Telemundo. Let me tell you how excited I was, because I have dreamed, I mean dreamed of being a telenovela star since I was a girl. My gringa accent would never take me far, but oh how I’ve dreamt of it.

I loved meeting with the two of them, because, they were both so incredibly nice and gracious, (and good looking!), but they also are big proponents of health and wellness. Both being active in sports and running, they were part of Team Cigna and ran the Family Fun Run 5K a day earlier with girls from a local Orlando chapter of Girls on the Run, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams. Don’t you love that mission?

Laura Flores

Laura is a fellow Texan, y’all. Well she has a house there, so we claim her. Laura loves to run! She lives in Western Florida where there are a ton of runners. I asked about crocodiles. She gave me the side eye and said if there’s a crocodile, then he is exercising! Yoga and running are her main sources of exercise. “I feel happy, I feel healthy,” she said when talking about her exercise routine. “I’m 52, I have to keep up with my kids.”

Laura is a mother runner, and so am I! She has 4 children, and I loved the passion she spoke with when talking about her experience with Girls on the Run and runDisney. She had a fun 5K walk with her new friend, and they stopped and took pictures along the course. Hmm, that sounds familiar. Character photos rock!

Laura also ran the Walt Disney World 10K presented by Cigna. You go, girl!  I asked if she would ever do another Disney race. She replied, “Heck, yeah! I love being with people who want to have fun and want to keep up with their health. We are giving the world a great message. If we don’t love life, then what’s the point?” I agree 100%, Laura!

She concluded, “We need to give the world hope and give positive messages.” That’s why she loves Girls on the Run. “The only thing I regret is not bringing my children. The next run, I’m running with them!”

Aaron Diaz

Aaron was so fun to chat with. His energy and love of life and his work shone through. He said, “Cigna is incredible to be doing this. They hooked me up with a girl named Julia [9-years-old] with Girls on the Run.”  He loves Girls on the Run, because it encourages kids to be healthy. I was laughing while he was describing Julia. “She was like Speedy Gonzalez. When the race started, she started running, and I was running behind her. We only stopped once to take a picture with the character. She wanted to prove a point.” I love the two experiences Aaron and Laura had with their girls. There’s no right way to run. The point is both are out there exercising and moving. It reminds me of why I love the runDisney community so much. All different runners and paces, but one common goal. Run your race.

Aaron said, “I didn’t know these races existed. It can’t get any better than this. It was a great experience; I’m definitely coming back.”  runDisney has that effect on people. Ahem. I’m proof of that. You can’t ever just run one.

Aaron has 2 little girls, so we talked about the joys of parenting girls, and then I talked to him about his career.  I asked if he enjoyed playing the good guy or bad guy better. “I like playing whatever people want me to play, but the bad guy is fun to play. What I do like is for the character to be different than any other character I’ve played.” Aaron described the process on how he decides what’s next. He said he takes his time to decide on his roles to make sure it’s good for his career. “An artist wants to be creative and express himself.”

Aaron pretty much does it all. He’s an actor, an artist, he sings, he dances. He said, “The incredible thing about being an artist is that there’s no limit to expressing yourself. I don’t see myself doing the same thing over and over again.” I love that attitude, and it resonated with me, even as a blogger. There is no limit in expressing yourself. Those are words I will take to heart.

Aaron promised he’ll be back. He said next time he was going to try to do the half marathon or the full marathon. Well you better start training, Mr. Diaz. Respect the distance 😉

I was on cloud 9 after speaking with them, but I was late to the blogger event, so I briskly walked through Epcot to get to my destination. I walked into games and laughter! Our knowledge was tested, we were educated, and we were active. My kind of event.

The numbers I was talking about earlier?

Body mass index: Less than 30

Cholesterol: Less than 240

Blood pressure: Less than 140/90

Fasting blood sugar: Less than 100

These numbers are important, and we should know them. Many health problems – and related costs –can be avoided by meeting the goals above. Getting health screenings help us know what our numbers are and address health risks in a timely manner. I appreciated the reminder, because my grandmother has diabetes.  According to the Centers of Disease Control & Prevention, 25% of adults who have diabetes don’t know it. It runs in the family, so it’s important that I keep checking.

Let’s stay healthy friends and take care of ourselves! A HUGE thank you to Cigna for inviting me to the blogger meet-up and providing me with an opportunity to interview Laura Flores and Aaron Diaz. It was incredible!

Health doesn’t have to be boring. Start off small, and then take off big! If stars like Laura and Aaron can find time to exercise, so can we. It’s all about having fun while doing it. Love life, but most importantly love YOUR life, and take care of yourself. I never thought in a million years that I’d be able to run a marathon. Well I did, and it was the most amazing feeling ever crossing that finish line.