Happy New Year, Everyone!! Let's Get Fit!

Check out the "new" fitness tools that have been uploaded to the "Get Fit" section on the right of the blog! Click on the links below and give 'em a try:

How Much Sleep Do You Need?
Assess Your Muscular Strength
Test Your Flexibility
Assess Your Balance
What's Your Ideal Body Weight?
What's Your Body Mass Index (BMI)?

Hey, I've run more than 100 miles so far!

...although it took more than a year to do so! I'm proud of me for stickin' with it! : ) (Click on the pic to see my certificate from Nike+)

Antidotes for Aging Parts

Check out this informative "quick-read" on things you can do to counter the effects of aging and the toll it takes on our bodies: click HERE

Seven Foods to Keep You Young!

According to MSN Health & Fitness, these are the 7 foods that will help keep you young: Olive Oil, Yogurt, Salmon, Nuts, Chocolate, Wine, Blueberries.

Click HERE to find out the details.

Running Notes: 12.22.027

I'm so excited! I trimmed more than 2 minutes off my previously fastest 10k time and my pace was virtually identical to my usual 5k pace! Even though the pathways are still not all cleared (most have slush), I managed to speed up a bit by pushing myself whenever I came upon a "dry" patch of sidewalk or pavement. The last few kilometers I had to run in the street against traffic on Western (because some of the stretches of sidewalk were impassable) and on the sidewalks directly in front of Harvard in Cambridge. Here's the graph of my run:

Cool New Device to Help You Push trough Your Workout: BodiBeat by Yamaha

Powering up workouts just got easier. The Yamaha BodiBeat MP3 player analyzes your playlist by beats per minute and then matches songs to your speed. It can even track your pulse to keep you at a heart-healthy level by playing faster songs if you're losing momentum and slower ones if you're pushing too hard. For intervals, up-tempo music cues you to pick up the pace, while mellow tunes tell you when to slow down. ($300; yamaha.com)

running notes: 12.15.07

It is SO cold outside! After Thursday's big snowstorm, many of my usual running trails and sidewalks are either unplowed or treacherously icy, which makes my long run quite the adventure! As you can see from the graph of my latest run, there were lots of slow spots where I basically had to tip-toe and leap onto as many spots on the sidewalk without ice as I could or risk taking a nasty fall. Surprisingly my overall time was not as bad as I thought it was going to be: less than a minute off my best:



To keep my face and ears from going numb in these freezing temps, I wear this hood thing that fits snuggly over my head (leaving an oval shape just large enough for my eyes to peer out of) and loosely around my neck area. I also bought some running tights (?) to keep my legs warm and some glove liners for my mittens, which keep my hands and fingers nice and toasty! To complete my winter ensemble, I wear a t-shirt, longsleeve running shirt, a light running jacket, and two pairs of socks. Even though it was only 17 degrees outside, I got pretty warm during the run and occassionally took off my mittens or pulled down the opening of my hood/mask to cool off a little bit. Although I'd prefer to run on iceless paths in 50 degree weather, I'll take the layers and slippery icy spots any day over running on the treadmill for an hour at the gym! Has anyone else ventured out into the cold to run this winter?

So Long, Muffin Top: A fat-burning, belly-toning routine that’s guaranteed to whittle down your middle.

Are you noticing more ab flab with each passing year? An estimated 50 percent to 60 percent of the amount of fat in your midsection is said to be dictated by the genes you inherit. But how you live and changes that your body goes through as you age also play a major role in increasing in waist size. Too much stress, too little sleep and eating too many calories can contribute to belly bulge as well. Click here to find out more: MSN Health & Fitness site .

Today's Question: What can we do to make this blog more useful for YOU?

Hey everyone,
Thanks for all the positive feedback about the Fitness Day-to-Day blog! Now we'd like to ask for your input on how we can make this site more useful/helpful to those of us looking to get into--or stay in--shape.

What would you like to see more of? Should we focus the blog exclusively on fitness/exercise? emotional support? running? We defer to your collective wisdom because we know that all you smart folks out there got some big ol' brains with tons of brilliant ideas to spare! : ) Seriously, any and all suggestions will be most appreciated. Thanks, in advance, for your help...

Kev & pdw

Question of the Day: What fitness-related stuff would you buy if given $1000?

Ok, so Santa's coming soon and assuming we've all been good little boys and girls, we'll all get what we want on the 25th, right? Well, what if Santa's on a health kick this year and the only gift he's giving is a magical $1000 debit card that can only be used to purchase exercise- or fitness-related paraphernalia? What are YOU going to do with your $1000?

For me, I would purchase: 1) the new "Nike Amp+" watch/iPod remote cuz it looks cool and is a great idea!; 2) the "Nike+ Runner's Gift Pack" which comes with an 8G 3rd generation Nano with video and some other cool stuff; 3) a pair of Nike Air Max '97 360's ($200); and with whatever's leftover, I would use it to buy 4) Nike running gear/clothes. Oh, btw, did I mention I like Nike stuff? : )

Today's Question: What are your top 3 (5, 10,...100!) excuses or reasons for NOT going to the gym/working out/running/exercising?

Ok, so you get home from a long hard day at work and as you drape your clothes over your dusty old Bowflex/Alpine Skier/Thigh Master, etc., you notice your workout/running shoes and gym bag with your shorts and t-shirt or cute little spandex unitard. What are some things that run through your mind on those days that you just don't feel like exercising? Some of my excuses are:

1. I'm too tired
2. I'm too busy. I'll run AND workout tomorrow...
3. America's Next Top Model is on tonight and I simply HAVE to know who's gettin' kicked off this week!

Nominations for your song(s) that motivates you

Thanks, everyone who replied to yesterday's question of the day. We had a great discussion about how music can really make a difference in your performance and will-power. For those of you who are interested, click on the "comments" button to read the dialogue and/or to let everyone know what keeps you moving. So far we've heard from Kath, who says that "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani gets her across the finish line. Hey Kath, I agree! "This [song] is bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s!" : ) We also heard from pdw, who said that one day she realized that her mood has nothing to do with whether or not she could still move her...(well, I'll let you find out for yourself!), so pdw decided to put together different mixes to fit her mood, regardless of what it is. Now, pdw just assesses her mood and picks mixes that will make her even more cranky, happy, sad, etc. so that her music provides whatever she needs to hear at the moment. Bottom line: She STILL goes to workout! What a great idea! Thanks for the tip, pdw!

Question of the Day: What's your favorite "Power Song" (e.g., one that helps you continue/finish your workout)?

We've all been there: "just 1 more mile to go" or "5 more minutes on the elliptical machine," or "1 more set of 10." Is there a song(s) that gives you that extra boost that you need to finsih what you've started and complete your workout? Here's a few (in no particular order) that help me out when I need it most:

1. Best of You - Foo Fighters
2. The Bodypopper- Deekline & Wizard
3. Keep On Risin' - Jay-J f/Latrice
4. Last Resort - Papa Roach
5. 'Til I Collapse - Eminem & Nate Dogg
6. Gotta Get Thru This - Daniel Bedingfield
7. Reach - Clubworld
8. Headstrong - Trapt
9. Looking Good/Feeling Gorgeous - RuPaul
10. Revolution - Kirk Franklin

running notes: 12.9.07

Ok, so today was my "short run" which now means 5k. I didn't get outside until 4:00 and it was pretty darn cold out there! I noticed that I felt a little stiff this time, probably because of yesterday's 10k so I decided to try doing some easy running combined with sprints. You can see by how my run dips and peaks:



Some of the deeper dips occur when I come to a red light and traffic is too heavy to cross so I have to fumble around with my thick mittens on (or trying to get them off) so I can pause my workout. My time today isn't my best 5k (which is 22'11") but pretty close. My goal is to consistently be able to run at less than a 4'00" pace per kilometer so that my times will be a little more competitive. I've only looked at a few winning times for a 5k race and they appear to be around 17 minutes or so. This means I have to shave off about 5 minutes off my time if I ever want to finish in the top 5. That's not too bad if I think about it in terms of just having to run a little bit faster per minute, per kilometer (e.g. 3'55" per kilometer vs. my average 4'15"). I think this is doable! : )

running notes: 12.8.07

So, it's Saturday, December 8th, 2007, 5:58 p.m. and it's dark as heck outside already! I hate that it gets dark out so early this time of year cuz it forces me to run in the morning or afternoon (neither of which I prefer) or risk slipping on some unseen ice and falling on my butt and breaking something again. My new thing is to run 10k's instead of my usual 5k's. I did my third one today and now I find that I love this distance! I especially love the path that I take around the Charles. So relaxing, so refreshing, so beautiful! Here's my results from today:



Not bad, huh? Here's the route that I run along the Charles River (click on the map to go to the Nike+ site):