Fitness goals

1. Portland Marathon. This would probably be a good introductory marathon for me, and I feel comfortable with it as an idea because I know sort of how it goes (after going down with a friend who ran it two years ago). Portland is close and fun and would be good as it is a nice place for a weekend trip but is also not ridiculously far away; there are fun things to do in Portland, and the drive is really not that long. The race is on October 5, 2008, which is exactly 5 months from now (not a lot of time, but still a good amount for training). http://portlandmarthon.org/; training at http://www.marathonrookie.com/marathon-training.html ... 
2. Participate in cross-training activities. Specifically, I'd like to spend time in the pool at the Y at least once a week, and also get involved with the ultimate frisbee team in Tacoma, and maybe play ultimate 1x week; a good website for Tacoma in general is this one called exit 133. the forum part about frisbee: http://www.exit133.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=736; I called the guy who seemed somewhat in charge of it and he was drunk, but coordination should continue...
3. Get involved with teaching skiing next year part time/ on weekends, at Crystal. Free pass, get to spend time with little kids, and get to hang out with cool people. This should probably start up around the same time that the portland marathon is winding down; a good transition for me. 

The magic ski boots

I randomly went into the Portland Goodwill and stumbled upon some real gems. 

The most exciting of these items was the pair of slightly used (and I do mean slightly! I think that whoever had these before used them for 3o days or less-- they're slightly broken in, but not fully packed out!) Lange ski boots in size 22.5 (perfect for me) that are mid-performance, non-race boots. Admittedly, since they aren't "high-performance" and are a little more comfortable than they should be for the first wear, I'll probably only get part of a season out of them, but I'll at least have a transitional boot and won't injure myself in the horrors I've been wearing, 'til I get fitted and/or feel like spending the money for some really good, new ones. 

What are the odds of this happening? Very slim. How lucky am I? very lucky. 

I wore them Saturday for my last day of skiing for the season....and it was wonderful. I felt as if my foot was right on the snow. 

The lesson? Sometimes you come across something really lucky at Goodwill. 

Categories of Healthfullness

1. Sleep: Get enough sleep. 

2. Consumption: What you eat, drink, and put on into your body, including what you put on your body, the air you breathe, etc. 

3. Attitude: Mental viewpoint on life, or mental health. 

4. Fiscal Solvency: Living simply, frugually, etc. and spending intelligently are a part of keeping a good attitude about life and remaining healthy. It's important to move away from the idea of being defined by the stuff we have in our lives.  

5. Physical Fitness: Cardiovascualr fitness, flexibility, and strength. 

6. Intelligent Recreation: Doing things for fun is good. You only live once and you everything you experience is temporary. Life is fleeting, etc. So fun should be had. More fun often results from recreational activities to which you bring the correct equipment that will allow you to operate most healthfully. 

7. Sexual/ Relationship Health (sort of part of mental health). 

Rad Skiing Sites

For Women who Ski: http://www.theskidiva.com/forums/
This site is an awesome place to go for threads on product reviews "from everything from chapstick.." to tips on how to buy your next pair of ski boots. The vibe is positive and friendly, and the women who run the site clearly believe in their mission statement.

Naked Juice vs. Odwalla: The 15 oz. showdown

You're at the grocery store. You want to buy juice. The portable, tiny kind. Which juice do you buy?

For health reasons, It's naked juice hands down in my book. The reason? Odwalla's little ones may be a lot cuter and tastier, but Naked's is 100% juice.

I don't like my juice with much in it besides juice.

Update: Though juice that's captioned as 100% (as opposed to, say 34% or some other number) is obviously purer/ better for you, this apparently doesn't necessarily mean that what's in the bottle is 100% juice and 0% everything else. 100% juice is still allowed to have additives (unsurprisingly the FDA has no problem with that), so always read your labels.

The End of Ski Season...Or Close to It

As ski season comes to a close, I look around wondering what might be a good alternative form of adrenaline-charged, problem-solving, outside fun. Some have suggested cycling.

Being addicted to skiing is new for me in the first place, so I began digging around online, re: what skiiers do when the season is over. Short of taking off to central America, Australia, or some other Southern Hemisphere venue, the general consesus seems to include the following:

1. When you aren't skiing, stay in good shape. Incorporate the following elements:

• cardiovascular
• strength or lifting
• stretching/ yoga/ flexibility.

It seems that fitness, for skiing, is similar to fitness for other activities. (Surprise!)

2. Inline skating/ rollerblading uses some of the same muscles as skiing. Personally, I haven't rollerbladed except as a little kid, but with some pads and all the hills in my neighborhood, this could be an interestingly revived activity.

3. Many ski resorts convert to moutain-biking areas during summer months. This could be a good adrenaline-charged alternative, but requires requisite equiptment. I'd have to learn about bicycles.

4. Cross-Training Activites abound. These could include club soccer or frisbee or training for a triathalon.

What the web needs? A list of local clubs/groups for these types of activities. I'm sure there's something like that out there. A good research project for another date. Maybe I'll start with Tacoma, Washington.

Something New

Basic Principles: Where I started

• Eat mostly plants; drink mostly water
• Sweat outside at least once per day.
• Brush your teeth in all the easily-missed spots, and floss.
• Do your dishes, and your laundry.
• Listen more, chat less.
• Live intentionally.