Jan 4- Bicycle Around the World Day

I just looked at my calendar and noticed two things. One is that it says "Bicycle Around the World Day" on Jan 4th and the second that I hadn't blogged since the New Year began.
Not really sure what Bicycle Around The World Day is but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to participate in it. I did participate in Run Around The Park Day today though, hopefully it's in the same spirit!
I started the year with a little sugar in my gas tank. Uncertain news about my health that could be nothing or could be something, either way I'm trying to stay positive about the whole thing. And how do we do that? By staying busy as hell and creative in the studio.....and by running around the park! Started the week off with Pilates and strength training at the gym along with my usual elliptical training. On my off days from the gym I'm tracking my mileage with neighborhood runs, in the cold, in the sun...I am there, running!

I'm adding Yoga to my schedule this week and also the first hike of the year this weekend with the Texas Trail Trekkers. Texas Trail Trekkers is a hiking group I organized because I LOVE being outside. It's a total inspiration, refresher, recharger for me. So very physical week for me and feeling great about it.
Cleaned the studio right proper and regained my working table from the clutter monster. Working on some boxes today and some records if time allows. Busy bee me.
Hope everyone is enjoying a creative start to the New Year as well. If you're interested in the Trail Trekkers click the link!

Float like a Butterfly

Sting like a bee!
I'm back in the gym doing my Operation Bruce Lee. What is Operation Bruce Lee? It's basically me being a geek. I'm a big fan of Bruce Lee and am using him as my motivation and inspiration to get fit. I have a picture of Bruce Lee by my bedside to remind me first thing when I wake up, a pic of Bruce on my fridge with the words "don't eat junk!" written above his head and then he's tacked to my bulletin board at work- where I eat and can see him and feel guilty if I happen to be eating a cheeseburger.
I may update from time to time on my Operation Bruce Lee project. I also like Muhammad Ali and his funny quotes- hence why he gets photo space today.

Just Do It...ghetto style

Today I did my first run with my Nike Sportsband. Let me just say- I don't have the running shoes that are "compatible" with the sportsband but as my sister can attest- there are ways of getting around that. Unfortunately I didn't know the proper "way" and cheated myself out of a mile or two I'm almost sure of it!
The sportsband comes with a small sensor that you are supposed to slip down into the Nike compatible shoes. My sister said she took an xacto and after tracing the sensor shape she cut into her regular non Nike running shoes and made a hole for the sensor and then put her shoe insert over it. Easy.
But I just got my pair of New Balances not too long ago so i wanted to see how it would work without cutting a hole and just sliding it under my insert. I couldn't feel the sensor after about two minutes but I'm fairly certain I placed it in the wrong part of my shoe. ;-/
This was further confirmed after I went to the sportsband site and saw the sensor going in...in...up to the ball of the foot part, not the heel as I had thought.
Call this a ghetto experiment. I can't afford Nike runners right now. I may be busting out the xacto just like my sis did.
Did a test run at the park and came back, slipped off the interface and slid it into the USB and now chilluns- you can see what a lame duck I am....I burned all of 49 calories in about 30 minutes! Like I said- I had the sensor in the wrong part of the shoe. At the gym on the elliptical- 30 minutes is just shy of 3 miles for me.
Loving the sportsband- just need to do it the right way next time....

The sportband logs your runs and even has an easy way to share your graphs with your friends on myspace. It tracks your miles, your pace and the calories burned. Which in my case today- was like...one cup of coffee. One...small....small....cup of coffee. ;-) Wanna keep up with my sister on the run? Check out her blog here for inspiration by the Bay...
run rene run

Park Life

I'm steady on my goal of dropping 5 more lbs, this is in conjunction with the 8 I already lost. Some things you lose and don't ever want to find again. So it's back to scribbling what I ate that day, buying healthier choices and rearranging my days to fit in 30-60 minutes of exercise. I've started using a step counter and my goal is 10,000 steps a day. It's actually not that easy to make that goal unless you really focus on it and don't cut corners. I feel at my peak in the energy department though, and that's a far cry from the depressing sadness and pain and ill health I was in before. Everything is all tied in together, your creative spirit, your health and the way you view the world and your actions. So if I'm cleaning up this aspect of my life I'm also cleaning up all the others.
I love being able to walk to the park on the weekends and get a little nature in while I run and walk. It's much more enjoyable than the gym. I am constantly mouthing the words "EW!" when I see some beefcake leave the machine all wet and sweaty or give it a cursory towel down with his already sweat soaked towel. Um, dude? That's not really helping. It's time to start planning my next hike out!