To-Do: Work-Out, Celebrity-Sight, Help Save Planet

A few days ago I got a membership to the Chelsea Recreation Center. One of the wonderful things about living in a metropolitation city like New York is all the resources avaliable for recreation. The membership to a beautiful lap pool, workout room, etc, is only $37.50 for six months. Joining a gym would be almost three times that for just ONE month! Crazy!

So the next day I got up at 7 to get a quick swim workout in. The pool, I was pleased to find, is not over crowded. I completed some stroke and kick work and then a relaxing and enjoyable 400m breast stroke exercise. I moved on to back, the stroke I may be competing in on my school’s swim team, for a little form work. I’m working on becoming a morning person, so after a measly 200 meters I was feeling winded. I really need to work on my endurance in the pool. As I paused for a breather at the end of the lane, the woman I was sharing it with turned to me.

“You have the straightest backstroke!” she said. “You stay perfectly on your side. I wish everyone were that precise. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been smacked in the head.”

Thanks for the compliment, lady! I wonder if that’ll win me points at a meet? “Last place, but wow can you swim a straight line!” After a few more laps I did decide that I was probably the youngest person there by a few decades. No matter! I swam on anyway.

Then I decided to bike around the corner to my local Whole Foods and Whole Body stores for a little eco-shopping. Zipping down the new (wonderful) bike lane on 9^th ave I passed what appeared to be none other than Phillip Seymour Hoffman, one of my favorite actors, on a bike! Helmet and all! Who knew he was an eco-friendly biker?

At whole Body I finally invested in a Klean Kanteen, a stainless steel, eco-friendly water bottle. I can finally stop being part of the problem! As we all know by now, plastic water bottles are not only extremely harmful to the environment, but aren't good for our bodies either! I love that there are so many lid and size options for these bottles. I chose the sport top, but you can also get a flat top or a loop cap. The petite 12 oz sippy cup is perfect for kids, the 27 oz is great for my needs, and a larger 40 oz bottle is great for serious hydration. Klean Kanteen also sells a nifty bike cage, in which I will be investing, a hiking strap, and insulators. But the best part? The Kanteen is very eco-chic. You can choose from classic steel, pink, olive green, blue, or black to match your ech-chic style.

After biking around the city a bit, I returned home and fueled up with a banana and half a Cliff Bar (Carrot Cake, yum!) before setting out on a nice 4 mile run. The forecast called for rain, but as of 11:30, it was still just pleasantly cloudy. I headed down the Hudson River Path and marveled at the other lunchtime exercisers. I prefer to run at night, and find that, other than races, when I do run in the morning or during the day I never enjoy it as much. As I was on my way back and hating mid-day, and cute old man on a bike passed me.

        “You go girl!” he yelled.

HA! That’s what I love about running, biking, racing, etc. There is some sort of camaraderie we feel towards our fellow man when pushing ourselves to our limits. The smile from the only other runner on that cold morning. The compliment from a fellow swimmer. The cheers from volunteers along a race course. The knowing nod from a cyclist powering it past you in the other direction. I just love it!