Spotlights

Mary Eilleen Lyon

Mary Eilleen Lyon

Committing to daily or weekly exercise can be challenging, but Mary Eilleen Lyon, associate vice president for University Communications, makes it work.

Her days and even nights are busy with work and family, but she makes staying fit a priority.

“I feel better when I exercise, both physically and mentally.”

Lyon said, “I’ve always been an active person, but it was in the early ’80s when I started exercising regularly, four to six times a week.”

Over the years, Lyon has done everything from running the 25K Riverbank Run to group exercises to most often doing work outs at home.

“I try to exercise first thing in the morning, before the busyness of work and other obligations eat up the entire day,” she said. “But, if that doesn’t fit with my schedule, I think all day long about when I’m going to be able to work out. I really believe that being active and physically working hard makes me feel better and, frankly, saves my sanity!”

Lyon said variety is the key to a fit lifestyle.

“Any routine can bore me, so I’m always looking to spice up my exercise routine with variety,” she said. “I love some of the DVD routines offered by BeachBody. After using ‘Insanity’ for a long time, I’m now onto ‘21-Day Fix Extreme,’ which I’ve been doing since April — just a tad longer than 21 days.”

Saving your sanity by doing “Insanity.” Makes sense to Lyon and her four children who know when they can’t find mom, she’s likely in the basement working out or running or jumping or sweating somewhere.

And, her colleagues know that while her busy schedule might have her running in circles, she slows down enough to hop on the mini-elliptical she keeps at the ready under her desk.

“I like to eat, so I figured out a way to burn some calories!”

Share this spotlight

Return to the listing of spotlights.



Page last modified October 13, 2015