Happy Earth Day, 2007!

Hi All,

The road beckoned today, I went out for a nice, but slow, 5.3 mile run. I finished in 43:32 without stopping, a 8:13 mile pace.

I did some recycling today. The Park Presbyterian Church in Newark had an Earth Day event where I disposed of an old B&W TV set, monitor and printer.

I also went down to Ithaca College to see Michael in a Madrigal Singers concert. They sang Schuetz's "Musikalische Exequien". It was a beautiful drive and concert on a beautiful day. It was unseasonably warm, close to 80F.

Keep running, Doug

P.S. A mild rant: Some people think that it is impossible to get in shape. It's not ... it just takes effort and determination. You just have to look yourself in the mirror and resolve to make it happen. Starting three or four years ago, I weighed 182 pounds and slowly transformed into the runner I am today. It wasn't overnight by a long shot. In fact, it took some starts, stops and restarts. You have to persist with exercise until it is not a pain in the ass but a habit that you make time for consistently. Doing a long run on Saturday is a big time commitment of three hours or more when you consider the warm up, run and cool down time. By upping my running and changing my diet I have gotten in the best shape of my life. Now I weigh 165 pounds. I don't always eat right, I drink diet soda but on the whole I eat OK for a guy who lives by himself and can barely cook. Working on my upper body is the next thing I will be working on.

I am not saying that everyone needs to run. I am saying that everyone who wants to get in shape needs to make a consistent commitment to whatever exercise and diet that works for them. A exercise partner may work for some people. I haven't found one yet. Self motivation has worked thus far.