Burn With Us

I wish I could answer Mike’s question about how to keep a routine. I’m not terribly good at it. But I have managed to keep jogging on the elliptical machine several times a week and riding my bike to work. The problem I have is saying, “Well, I rode my bike to work today so I don’t have to get on the machine.” My motivation is the results I’m seeing. I haven’t lost a lot of weight (2 pounds, according to the doctor), but my clothes fit better. And I *feel* better. I like that. I live by an ice cream shop that does a “Doozie’s Run” every couple of weeks during the summer. They’re fun runs, not competitive, and you can choose 1 mile, 3 mile, or 5 mile paths. I jogged and walked with my daughter and did 3 miles in 41 minutes. That’s pretty good considering the state of my knees – which has improved with using the machine – and the fact that when I jog on the machine I do about a mile and a half in 25 minutes. I plan to keep doing the runs as motivation. There’s nothing like seeing skinny little teenagers or, worse, older people who can run 5 miles in the time it takes you to do 3 to get you motivated. All the same, I’m in much better shape than I was a year ago and I’m betting the rest of you are, too.