I have officially entered two races!

Hey all, I just thought I'd share with you my decision to (finally) enter some running races. I promised myself that I was going to run at least one race in 2008 so by the end of May I will have kept my promise! : ) The first race is on May 18th in Somerville. It's the "12th Annual Mystic River Herring Run & Paddle" and it's just a 5K. The second run is on June 19th in Cambridge. It's the "Reggae Ramble & Carribean Music Festival" run and this one is 4.2 miles (or roughly 7K). If anyone's interested in either race, just click on the pictures for more information. Wish me luck!

Great Web site for gays and lesbians into sports

Hey all you sports fans, whether you love to play sports or even if you're just an "athletic supporter," there's a cool site I happened upon the other day that at least two of us (me and Pam) will like. It's called "Out Sports" and it has a page just for gays and another just for lesbians. Click HERE for the gay site and click HERE for the lesbian site.

QuoD: Do YOU like sports? Why? Why not?

Soothing Hunger's Savage Beast: Moments of weakness call for smart snacking and thinking. Six strategies to put hunger in its place.

Feeling ravenous can undermine a sensible diet in at least two ways. First, it can make you eat when you don't need any food—sometimes the feeling is the product of a bored or worried mind rather than an actual indication of hunger. Second, it's real enough to send you into an eating frenzy at your next meal. By adopting a few smart strategies, you can make it through those moments of weakness—or prevent them from happening in the first place. Click HERE for the full story.

QuoD: What do YOU do to sooth your hunger's savage beast?

I did it!

OK, so in an earlier comment, I've talked about Lake Merritt, here in lovely Oakland. It's about 3.3 miles in diameter, and there are always people out there running, walking and so on (there are also a lot of geese that poop all over the place, but that's another story all together).

Anyway, I've been talking about running it--all the way around--for several months. I get into spurts, and have done 2/3 of it at most in the past, but today, I RAN THE WHOLE THING!

I wanted to do it before New Years, but I got it done before tax day, so I'm calling it a success.

How'd I get there? Well, Leona and I have been running up in the hills (there's a nice path through the Redwoods about 10 min from our house), and I got to about a 30 minute run up there this week. I figured if I could do 30 min of up and down hills, dodging tree branches and rocks, I could do the (relatively flat) lake, dodging goose poop. Just had to brag... xoxo

Battle of the Sexual Identities!

I created this running challenge on the Nike+ site and have two different "teams" that people can join: the gay/lesbian/bi-sexual team or the straight/heterosexual team. So far only 22 people have joined so tell your friends (with iPod nanos and the Nike+ system) to check it out! Let's go, GLB Team ! : )

Runner's World Report on New Music Phones (part 1)

I love listening to music when I run so my nano is strapped to my arm about 99% of the time when I hit the streets. One of my biggest fears, however, is that I will get hurt or come across someone that is hurt and not be able to call for help. Of course I could carry my phone, too but I'm not a big "fanny pack" fan and holding it is not an option for me. So, my next phone will most likely be an mp3-phone combo. Check out the latest music phones presented by Runner's World:

Runner's World Report on New Music Phones (part 2)

The Best 'Anywhere' Exercises: Just because you’re not at the gym doesn’t mean you can’t exercise!

There are a million excuses not to work out, and when you’re strapped for time or away from home, keeping up healthy habits can be even harder. But just because you’re not at the gym doesn’t mean you can’t exercise. In fact, you don’t need weights, machines, or even a lot of room to get a good workout. Check out some of the exercises you can do while sitting in traffic or even while sitting at your desk, for example. Click HERE for the full story.

QuoD: Do YOU do any exercises while sitting at your desk at work or while stuck in traffic?

11 Featured Nutrients: Why You Need Them

Today's posting details a list of 11 nutrients and what they do, how much you need each day, and the best food sources to get the proper daily amount of each nutirent:

1. Beta carotene, 2. B12, 3. Chromium, 4. Vitamin K, 5. Potassium, 6. Magnesium, 7. Vitamin C, 8. Vitamin D, 9. Folate/folic acid, 10. Zinc, 11. Vitamin E.

Click HERE to see the full story.

QuoD: Is YOUR diet well-rounded and healthy? Do you get your recommended daily allowance of the nutrients listed above?

10 Tips for Life’s Greatest Challenge: Love Thy Enemy

Although this Blog is not a forum for political topics, I feel today's posting is relevant and warranted because it relates to "mental fitness" and things we can do to clear the clutter (reduce the mind's "fat" if you will) that can wreak havoc on our peace of mind. Please indulge me as I attempt to explain. All of the recent political vitriol in the press has put a "bee in my bonnet" (as Reg and I call it) and over the past few days I have found myself getting upset over things I have no control over and can do very little (if anything) about. Nonetheless, I've been stewing over why I abhor people like George W. Bush, Pat Robertson and Geraldine Ferraro and why their mere presence on the tv screen can make me angry and want to change the channel. I don't really consider these people my "enemy" but I would say they rank in my current top 10 of people who work my nerves! : ) That being said, I recognized that I was expending precious mental energy on "clutter" and reaping no benefit from this futile exercise. In short, I was wasting my time and energy. To equate this nonsense to physical exercise, what I was doing was sort of like eating a greasy, triple-decker cheeseburger with "the works" and drinking a milkshake while walking on the treadmill! : ) Thankfully, I came across this great article on zenhabits.net that helped me to see the many benefits of "loving my enemy." Check it out and see what you think. Click HERE for the full story.

QuoD: What do YOU think of the notion of "loving your enemy"? Can you honestly do it and not just give it lip service (e.g., say you love your enemy but still harbor ill will towards him/her/them)?

Strengthen Your Core: Martina Navratilova's exercises improve control, balance and performance.

I'm posting this article for two reasons: 1) it has some great exercises and 2) you HAVE to check out how incredible Martina Navratilova looks! She wrote the article and appears as the model for all of her recommended exercises. Click HERE for the full story.

7 Steps to Turn Your Self-Improvement Desires Into Reality

We've all done it before and probably more times than we care to admit: make promises to ourselves (and even others) that from now on, we're going to start exercising more or we're going to stop cursing; to learn a new language; to take better care of ourselves; and/or to __________ [fill in the blank]. The author of today's posted article asks the question, "[Why is it that we so often make these promises]...only to have that enthusiasm fizzle away, and all our best intentions come to nothing?" Click HERE to learn 4 strategies to beat "inertia and temptation" and the 7 steps to implement these 4 ways.

QuoD: What are YOUR strategies for beating "inertia and temptation" so that you can accomplish the goals you set for yourself?

New GREEN Cuisine: Delicious, healthy, and sustainable recipe choices using fresh, local, & organic ingredients!

Ok, I have to share with you one of my new favorite sites! It's called, "thedailygreen" and it's billed as "the consumers guide to the green revolution." For today's post, I thought I would share this site's great recipes that are not only healthy but also comprise sustainable, organic, local ingredients. Click HERE to check out the recipes and click HERE to go to the home page of this awesome Web site!

QuoD: How "GREEN" are You in your day-to-day life?

Secrets to Staying Slim Past 40: How to outsmart age-related weight gain.

If you’ve celebrated your fortieth birthday, you probably suspect that your metabolism isn’t quite what it used to be. The bad news is you’re right: calorie burn does decrease with age. But there’s also good news: you’re probably burning more than you think. New research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reveals just how many calories, on average, men and women in their forties, fifties and sixties burn each day. Drum roll… please! According to the study, men aged 40 to 69 expend about 2,900 calories. Women of the same age burn 2,300 calories daily. (These averages vary based on a person’s height, weight and activity). Click HERE for the full story.

QuoD: Have YOU noticed any changes in your metabolism or ability to stay fit as you get older?

cardio & spot training?

hey y'all --

here's something i've been thinking about: for those of us who do a lot of cardio (30+ minutes/day, 3+ times a week) and also weight train, do you spot train the muscles you use for cardio? that is, if you run, do you also do leg presses, ham curls etc. at the gym? and if you do, do you work your legs as hard as you work other body parts that you don't use for cardio?

i alternate between (a) treating my legs like any other body part, and working them hard with weights and lunges and squats and (b) thinking that i use them so much for cardio that my poor knees and thighs and calves could use a break. i can figure out if i'm being (a) neurotic or (b) lazy!

what do you do?