Running Does Not Always = Bad Knees

Check out this article:  you will look at running in a different light.
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134861448/put-those-shoes-on-running-wont-kill-your-knees

Get Fit on the Railroad! - Free Exercise Classes Come to Railroad Park in Downtown Birmingham

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama has teamed with Railroad Park to bring Get Fit on the Railroad!, a new initiative to bring free exercises to the Park.  The program starts, Monday, April 4, 2011 and will consist of the following classes:

Crunk Fitness

BE FIT GROUP EXPERIENCE

Zumba

Yoga

Get Healthy, Be Healthy Power Walk

Fitcamp True Form

At least one class will be offered daily, and a full schedule will be available at www.railroad park.org.

A kick-off event is scheduled for Friday, April 1, 2011, at Railroad Park.

No more excuses, Birmingham!  Let's turn the Magic City into the Fit City!

Commit to be Fit

Two great challenges - brought to you by the The President's Challenge - to get you on the road to fitness or put your fitness into high gear. 

The President's Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) challenge is designed to help people become active by adding activity to their daily lives.

The President's Champions Challenge is designed to encourage people who are already active to become more active.

I have registered for both challenges and created 2 groups - Burn Those Buns and Lean Mean Fit Machine.  My groups are open to the public, so feel free to join.

To access the groups, register first for these challenges first then join the groups:

PALA challenge - https://www.presidentschallenge.org/account/register.php), then search for and join the group Burn Those Buns.
President's Champions - https://www.presidentschallenge.org/account/register.php, then search for and join the group Lean Mean Fit Machine.

WORTHY CAUSES

Check out my FB for how you can help me fight MS and cancer.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/my-races/worthy-causes/209474919065434.

More info on Birmingham's newest race event

Earlier this year (1/17/2011), I put a post on my blog about a new race event that American Idol star Ruben Studdard was working to bring to Birmingham later this year. This event will be one of several weekend-long events supporting the Ruben Studdard Foundation for the Advancement of  Children in the Music Arts -  http://www.rubenstuddardfoundation.org/. Well, the website for the Ruben Studdard Celebration Weekend featuring the BHAM Marathon - http://www.bhammarathon.com/.  I am very excited about the event and am spreading the word to get momentum for the event.

Here's a press release I found on the ahotu Marathons website:   http://marathons.ahotu.com/archives/850-ruben-studdard-bringing-new-marathon-to-birmingham.  I am sure there are others. 

I hope you will spread the word among your fellow running buds so this can be a great inaugural event for Birmingham's native son as well as the City of Birmingham.

I encourage everyone to go the the BHAM Marathon website and sign up for the newsletter so you can stay up-to-date on the race details.

March - My Month of Minor Medical Misfortunes (LOL)

Ahh, beware the Ides of March!  The utterance of such a poetic line has never been truer - at least for me.  With not even the first half of the month has yet vanished lest I have made numerous visits to various medical practitioners for a sundry list of ailments.  It's whimsical to me because after all I'm telling my tale with you in the vertical position - LMBO!!!  (And considering the alternative, I can deal with the discomforts and minor inconveniences.)

* Of course, you all are familiar with my knee trouble - getting rehab plus now fluid replacement shots to hopefully slow arthritis' progress.  And hopefully maintain some level/ability to continue 'runnning.
* A confirmed diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome - my right hand has been symptomatic for some time.  I've been working on better computing habits (ergo stuff with desk, positioning, posture, time, etc.) to help ease the pain - which has helped.  It's severe and the doctor is advising that I not put it off more than 6 months.  But the tests also indicate that I have it in my left hand, although I haven't had any symptoms.
* A couple of weeks ago, I was working in my flower bed and apparently came in contact with either poison oak, poison ivy, or poison somac.  I'm not certain which because all I remember is just lots of dead weeds taking over my flower bed and making it look horrible.  I noticed whelping, redness and had been scratching; I was using just about everything you could get OTC and nothing was helping.  So I went to the urgent care center a week ago, and got a steroid shot and pills.  Unfortunately, I think all that scratching made matters worse, which really didn't help much.  So I went to a dermo and got a prescription lotion and cream - almost $45.00!  I'm starting to see and feel some relief, but it's been slow too.

Needless to say, today was the first day after an extended hiatus that I made it to the gym for a workout - one hour of cardio exercise (25:00 recumbent bike, 25:00 modest walking on TM, and 15:00 on  elliptical).

Hopefully, the rest of the month is downhill - :)!