Given my propensity to break/damage almost everything I own, I should probably own a laptop sleeve. (Seriously - don't lend me anything you love. I get so stressed trying not to break it that I end up accidentally doing something terrible. Self-fulfilling prophecy much?)

I love this laptop sleeve from Loopt. Bonus: it's made from recycled wet suits!

The yellow color is so great for spring, and I like the two zippered outer pockets. It's not letting me post a picture here, so be sure to click the link to see it for yourself.

As a southern Indiana native, I can openly admit that I’m not a big fan of Springfield winters.

Ice and snow covered my neighborhood’s streets and sidewalks for weeks in December and January, making driving difficult, dog-walking unsafe and running nearly impossible. (Note: I can lend credibility to this complaint. I attempted to take my foster pup Gunther for a quick jog in the park and slipped on a covered patch of ice. Think feet over head.)

As my co-worker Pat mentioned earlier, I’m training for a few different races, so I toughed it out some days. But on others, it was just easier to head to the gym. If you’re thinking that treadmills are a boring buzz-kill, you’re right. I completely agree. So this winter, I decided to try something new — interval workouts.

Interval workouts call for alternating fast-paced exercise with slower recovery periods. Here’s an example: run at 7 mph for two minutes, jog at 4 mph for three minutes, repeat. This method doesn’t just build endurance and burn more calories, but it also makes treadmill time fly by.

I usually do interval workouts on nights when I’m scheduled to run three or four miles. It’s so much easier to stomach the treadmill for 30 to 40 minutes when I know I’m breaking the workout into smaller, more manageable pieces. Plus, I can read up on the latest People and Us Weekly gossip during the recovery periods.

I’ve listed my two favorite interval workouts below. You can find these, plus two others, described in more detail here at Runner’s World (http://bit.ly/bf4UoJ). For an extra challenge, set the incline on your treadmill to 2 degrees. This helps add "air resistance" to indoor running.

Speed it up
Warm up for 10 minutes at a slow pace

Run 3 minutes at a fast pace
Jog 3 minutes at an easy pace
Run 3 minutes at a fast pace
Jog 3 minutes at an easy pace
Run 3 minutes at a fast pace
Jog 5 minutes at an easy pace

Cool down for 5 minutes at a slow pace

10-4’s
Warm up for 10 minutes at a slow pace

Run 10 minutes at a moderate pace
Jog 4 minutes at an easy pace
Run 10 minutes at a moderate pace
Jog 4 miles at an easy pace

Cool down for 10 minutes at a slow pace


Even though winter's almost over (finally!), these workouts will still come in handy on rainy March and April days. Thanks for reading & good luck!

Hello! I'm back. I've been spending a lot of time at the Capitol lately, and thus haven't been able to blog.

Anyway, I hope some of you have heard this NPR piece about Slow Death by Rubber Duck. If you haven't, here's a quick recap: two Canadian environmentalists spent two years monitoring the amount of chemicals in their bodies after regular use of household products like shampoo, plastic food containers and bathroom cleaners. Their book, Slow Death by Rubber Duck, shows that dangerous toxins like Bisphenol A (BPA), which is found in baby bottles and canned food, are ever-present in high levels in our bodies.

According to Environment Illinois, BPA has been linked to infertility, obesity, diabetes and breast and prostate cancers. 

But Smith and Lourie didn't need to take baths in mercury or eat tuna for a whole year to see the chemical levels in their bodies skyrocket. After just two days of eating only canned food microwaved in plastic containers and drinking from one of his son's old baby bottles, Smith saw a major rise in the levels of BPA in his body.

Coincidentally, a bill has been introduced in the House that would reduce the amount of BPA children are exposed to. HB 6088, the BPA-Free Kids Act, would require any BPA-containing products to come with a warning label. The bill is currently scheduled for a second reading in the House.

One controversial issue with children and BPA is flame-retardant pajamas and bedding. A lot of parents still insist on buying pj's made from fire-resistant fabric, which is soaked in chemicals. This blog, which provides some chemical-free alternatives, has suggestions about using wool bedding (a natural flame retardant) and cotton clothing as pajamas.

Obviously, I'm not a parent, so I don't understand the constant worries that go along with the toughest job there is. (So before I get angry comments, I just want to say that yeah, I haven't been in that situation.) However, I have a hard time believing that you can't live without toxin-laden Hannah Montana sheets. Is fire resistance really the biggest thing you have to worry about? Before choking hazards or asthma attacks or someone getting a concussion falling out of bed? I mean, this may sound harsh, but I have a feeling that fire is probably the least of your concerns. And if there is a fire, I don't think your Elmo pj's are going to save you. (Sorry.)

Anyway, I'm hoping to take some steps to clean without so many hazardous chemicals. Right now, I mostly use Comet and dish soap (super effective for getting film off your tub - unless you're like me and get too excited about creating Jackson Pollock patterns in your bathtub and you end up accidentally having a foam party in your bathroom while trying to clean), but I'd like to start using vinegar again. Check out 1001 ways to clean with vinegar for tips. We do it at my parents' house, and it's super effective, minus the smell (which is really no worse than any other cleaning agent.)

I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. I had friends stay last weekend, and I definitely need to clean my bathroom again. I'm going to pick up some vinegar and go to town!

April is fast approaching, and it’s going to be a busy month for a couple of us in the Illinois Times office. Amanda Robert and I are running three races in April, back-to-back-to-back, and we’re pretty excited. We’ve been training officially since January, though we started running in November or December as a sort of “pre-training.” Now that we’re only a month away from the first race, the distances are starting to get long, but we’re ready.

The first race is the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon (Information/Registration) right here in Springfield. That 13.1-mile race takes place April 3, starting downtown by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and ending outside St. John’s Hospital. Last year, I ran it in 2:18:02 – a bit slower than a 10-minute per mile pace. This year, I’d like to try and get that down to two hours flat. It’s a big challenge, but I’m in much better shape this year than last, having lost 30 pounds and diversified my workout a lot since then. If I’m going to make the two-hour mark, I’m going to have to run about 9 minutes per mile, or 6.7 miles per hour. I hope my knees don’t swell up too much! (See: Runners knee)

The next weekend, we’re traveling to St. Louis for the GO! St. Louis race event on April 10 in Forest Park (Information/Registration). It features a full marathon, half marathon, marathon relay, 5K and more. Since we will have just done the Lincoln Half the week before, we’re going to take it easy with the 5K. (That’s 3.1 miles, in case you didn’t know.) My usual 5K time is somewhere just under 27 minutes. For this one, I’m planning to make it in 25 minutes. That means I’ll have to increase my usual pace by about 40 seconds per mile. Not too hard, I hope.

Finally, we’ll head to Louisville, Kentucky for the Derby Festival Marathon event on April 24 (Information/Registration). Amanda is going to do the full marathon, while I am trying to put together a team for the marathon relay. (If I can’t get enough interested parties, I’ll do the half marathon.) Amanda’s training for the marathon seems pretty intense; she’s doing 16 miles this weekend after doing 15 miles last weekend.

The best part about doing races is the freebies bag. You usually get a cool T-shirt, product samples and coupons. The second best thing is the after-race food. At the Lincoln Half last year, they had pizza, biscuits and gravy and a ton of other awesome stuff to recharge our batteries – all free to race participants! And of course, there’s always the bonus of getting in shape and feeling great about yourself. You get an incredible sense of accomplishment and satisfaction from finishing a big race as your friends and family cheer you on. I can’t explain it, but running races has definitely made me see life differently.

Later this week, Amanda is going to share some information on speed interval training. It’s a great way to build both speed and distance. Until then, leave any questions you may have about training in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to find you answers.

Take care and GET FIT!

Now that my legs have returned from the jelly-like state induced by the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Stair Climb on Feb. 20 at the Hilton Hotel in Springfield, I’ve had a chance to chat with a few other people involved in the event.

Lori Younker, director of Program Services and Development at the American Lung Association in Illinois, sent over some photos from the event to share: http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/imagesGalleries.php?action=viewGallery&gal_id=11

All photos are courtesy of SMD Photography and Dennis Oehmke.

The ALA blasted through their $50,000 fundraising goal to reach $53,160! Congrats to them, as well as all the climbers and everyone who donated.

Check out the event page here: http://ala.convio.net/site/TR?fr_id=1271&pg=entry

The winner of the climb was local expert Terry Purcell, whose 2 minute, 24 second ascent was absolutely amazing. (I’m pretty sure he’s a cyborg from the future!) Even cooler is the fact that his wife, Susan Purcell, clocked in at 3 minutes, 46 seconds, not only making her the top female in the race, but also netting her 13th place overall. (She totally blasted my time out of the water!)

As stated before, now is a great time to start practicing for next year. Climb stairs at your own pace once or twice a week for a year and see what happens. I would bet you’ll see your legs grow stronger and your stamina and lung capacity improve markedly.

Best wishes to everybody! Now get out there and Get FIT!

Staring upward from the feet of Polyphemus, I feel a twinge of vertigo overwhelm me. The arrogant, towering cyclops seems to lean over me, mocking me and threatening to crush me. He is unmoving, yet he seems ready to raise his club and end me.

A blink and a deep breath reveal Polyphemus to be the soaring Hilton Hotel - not the hungry spawn of Greek deities, but still intimidating enough to make me wish for a moment that I had stayed in bed. It's among the tallest buildings in the city, and my six-plus feet of height are negligible - even laughable - in comparison.

Inside, the elevator doors slide open with a cheerful "Bing!", beckoning me to take the easy way to the top. It's 30 floors - sixty flights of stairs. I turn away quickly, as if the elevator is trying to make eye contact. Once that happens, you've already lost.

"Not today," I think to myself, mustering the sort of angry motivation every movie underdog must feel when he prepares to take on his Goliath. My fists are clenched, my eyebrows are furled, and my determination burns hot like a gasoline fireball.

My teammate Amanda stands next to me, her even-keeled resolve calming us both. It's going to be a long climb up the winding steps that seem to spiral into the heavens, but we refuse to be defeated by a mere building. Though it stands still - an inanimate chunk of concrete and steel with no will of its own - it seems to thrash violently, like the angry cyclops blinded by the spear of Odysseus. We have no spears, only our worn-out running shoes, but we will subdue this beast. We will defeat the mighty Hilton.

In less epic terms: My co-worker Amanda and I are participating in the American Lung Association's Fight for Air Stair Climb on Feb. 20 at the Hilton. It's a fundraiser for the ALA in their fight against lung disease.

If you feel like supporting us with a donation, here's a link to our team page: http://ala.convio.net/site/TR/StairClimb/ALAUM_Upper_Midwest?pg=team&fr_id=1271&team_id=9440

All donations go directly to the ALA. Click on one of our names to donate. (Unfortunately, you can't donate to the team in general. You have to pick one of us.)

We are called "Slow Patrol" after the band "Snow Patrol". There's another team called "Death Climb for Cutie," so we couldn't resist another band pun. Hopefully we'll be patrolling for slow climbers, rather than just patrolling slowly.

Neither of us has ever done a stair climb like this, but we're both long-distance runners (Amanda is even training for a marathon in April), so we'll take whatever abuse the Hilton can dish out.

Hope you can support us either with a donation or by coming out to cheer us on. Thanks for reading!

This week has been crazy! I've been doing a lot of running around and going back-and-forth between our main office and the Capitol. (I also locked my keys in my car yesterday. That turned into a two-hour debacle with lots of ridiculous circumstances and oh god I don't wanna talk about it.) Hence, I haven't had a lot of blogging time. I haven't even had a lot of writing time, just note-taking and interviewing and transcribing and plugging my recorder into the speaker boxes at the statehouse. (If only they could plug directly into my brain and I wouldn't have to listen to the same statements a million times to make sure I got an accurate quote.)

So today's entry is kind of on the barely relevant side, but it's Friday and that I'll take that as an excuse. I have a bunch of "serious business" posts for next week, but I'm not feeling well and my brain is tired and I just want to go home and fall asleep to another episode of "White Collar" on my laptop. (The main character wears various fabulous vintage/thrifted suits and a fedora. LOVE IT.)

I know we think of Livejournal as a place for angsty teens to vent about how much they're over their latest high school catastrophe, but I have to say that I still enjoy their communities section. Though I'll always love Twitter/Facebook/YouTube, I really like having an easy-to-use public forum that allows users to post and comment on content/issues that are relevant to their interests.

LJ has infinite communities for any interest you can think of (and because it's the internet - some you probably don't want to think about), and most places allow all members to post. One thing I really like is their comments section in each post. A lot of blogs make it really hard to follow who's talking to whom. This means you'll miss all the really good internet fights, because you can't find the comment from the person who started it.

Anyway, LJ communities can be a great source of environmentally friendly news/facts/tips, etc. Don't neglect the comments! Sometimes you learn more there than in the actual posts.

Green Future: One of the largest LJ communities dealing with clean energy, renewable resources and sustainability. Over 1,400 members with pretty regular posting. A great resource!

Abandoned Places: OK, this is just barely squeaking by as relevant, but I can't help myself. I'm a huge fan of photography featuring urban blight/decay/abandonment. I don't really think this is contradictory to my role as an environmentally conscious person. I'd prefer we created sustainable structures that wouldn't fall out of use and into disrepair and ruin, but it happens, and we might as well draw attention to these properties through exploration and awareness. A lot of these photos are fantastic, and the stories behind the properties range from tragic to bizarre to haunting. I spend hours here when I'm procrastinating.

Thrift Horror: I love this community! It's an entire group blog committed to the creepy, weird, unsettling and just plain random things you find at the thrift store. Creepy clown paintings, 80s jumpsuits and clocks featuring taxidermy abound. It's always hilarious and totally intriguing and you might even find something from your local store. I should send my photo of the "back door guests are best" sign here. I need to get on that! (No pun intended. Gross.)

(I took this photo at the Salvation Army at Wabash and Chatham during my Halloween costume hunt last year. I can't believe I didn't buy it! For only 79 cents, I could've had endless hilarity. I never saw it again, which I hope means someone bought it. I like to think of some denim-skirt-wearing mom hanging this in the kitchen and her teenage son laughing hysterically.)

Anyway, these are just a few of the great communities on LJ. Don't be afraid to go there. You can find great things!

Yesterday, I went to the Compost Symposium at the State Fairgrounds. It was super interesting, and I wish I could've stayed for all the workshops. (Yeah so I like compost and worms and stuff. Deal.) You can read all about it in this week's edition, but I just wanted to share some wisdom from the event's keynote speaker.

The speaker was Ken Dunn, founder and director of The Resource Center in Chicago. Dunn's a huge believer in Composting To Save The World. Though he's very passionate about his beliefs, I really liked what he had to say about individuals making a change, and not waiting for a global initiative.

"Let's just go back to keeping it simple, and making incremental choices," Dunn said. "And for goodness sake, stay away from being obsessed with it. It's not good for you and it's not good for your friends. Do what you can, but don't make an issue out of what to do with every apple core, or if your friends are taking the elevator, saying 'sorry I'm walking.' Just do what you can."

I love this because I think it's so important not to be a snooty environmentalist. Environmental consciousness isn't some special badge of honor. Everyone has the ability to make small, simple changes. The only thing you have that someone else doesn't is education that allows you to make smart decisions.

(If you haven't realized, this card is basically the theme of my blog.)

I think the key to understanding a lot of issues is realizing that not everybody has the same knowledge and experiences that you have. I grew up in a pretty privileged environment, and while I thank my family and friends for getting me through four years at an affluent and snobby high school and four years at a Big 10 university relatively unscathed, I still find myself having to explain to people that not everybody knows what you know.

Be patient with people. Gently correct them if you think they can take it. (If they're not the type who can handle "getting told," then you're just going to end up fighting a losing battle.) It's not worth losing a friend because they threw away a soda can instead of recycling it.

Worry about you. Do what you can.

"What i want everybody to remember is that, if it's true that we're changing our climate beyond our right to, then we've got a great responsibility," Dunn said. "We shouldn't resent the older generations for what we ourselves did in previous ages, we should only recognize that from what we know now, we can do better."

Great advice!

I'm not going to lie, I'll probably spend a fair portion of my weekend doing laundry.

It may not be glamorous or exciting (as glamorous and exciting as this town gets when I saw a bartender wearing overalls last Friday night - step it up, Springfield!) but I have a pile of dirty clothes that have been lurking in my closet since a few weeks into this internship. It's gotten to the point where I have to fight with my closet doors before they'll shut under the blob of wool cardigans and pencil skirts. It's not pretty, but there you have it.

Soon, perhaps tonight, I'll be using the steps I'm about to list in Tip #5: go longer with your laundry.

Everyone has to do laundry. If you're fortunate enough to have your own washing machine and dryer, then I'm already jealous. I had that luxury at my college house, and even though the location made it kind of hard to get to, I miss it. (The only way to our laundry room was through someone else's bedroom - super awkward if you're like me and prefer doing laundry at night. Creeping around your roommates while they're sleeping/hooking up/possibly doing other unsavory things is not ideal.) It's actually better to do your laundry at non-peak hours (after 8 p.m.) anyway.

(Semi-related song with a cute video. Also one of my favorites ever.)

Laundry Tip #1: Don't over-dry your clothes!

Not only will it make things tighter (ever try to put on skinny jeans when they're fresh out of the dryer? not fun.), it can also cause color-fading, or even your clothes to shrink permanently. You know when you see a black shirt at the thrift store and it's all pilled-up and sad-looking? Someone washed that too many times. Don't do this to your clothes! (Unless you're the girl wearing overalls at the bar last weekend. Then, do this. Do this until your overalls shrink down to infant-sized. That's the only time they're acceptable.)

Over-drying can waste a ton of energy, and consequently cost you money! If you're operating a dryer at your house, find out exactly how long you'll need, so you can pull your clothes out without wasting time. If you're an apartment-dweller (like me), this is harder because some dryers don't let you start them again if you open the door halfway through the cycle. However, from my own personal experience, you don't need a full hour to dry your clothes. If you go with the recommended medium-sized load, they should be done in 40 mins or less.

Laundry Tip #2: Air dry any remaining damp items.

Cotton items like towels and underwear tend to dry pretty quickly. Take those out after like, 30 minutes, and finish the laundry with the remaining items. This will dry your other clothes quicker. If you've reached an hour of drying and stuff still isn't done (like at my apartment complex, ugh) you can just air-dry the rest of your clothes.

I'm not advocating that you dance with the Snuggle bear while hanging your delicates on an outdoor clothesline in a sun-drenched meadow smelling of daisies and fluff. I'm just saying it's not that hard to put your still-damp sweaters over a chair or table. In the morning, they'll be dry and you can wear them to work/school. It's not like you're going to put away your laundry right away anyway.

Also, I know my clothes will wrinkle the second I put them in the hamper for the trip back to my apartment. If they're a bit damp and you lay them flat for a few hours, they'll be wrinkle-free. Problem solved.

Laundry Tip #3: Don't overload the machine.

This seems like common sense, but I see people doing this all the time. I saw dudes in college stuffing every hoodie they owned, plus bedsheets, plus their skeezy boxers into one machine. Um ... no.

Overloading the machine means you'll spend more time washing and drying, thus you're wasting energy. Unnecessary. Some washers will tell you not to fill past a certain point, but the bottom line is: if you're struggling to stuff it all in (that's what she said?), there's a problem.

I separate my massive amount of dirty laundry into piles (work clothes, lounging-at-home stuff, going-out shirts) and then wash them according to need. If you do this, it cuts down on the urge to cram everything in all at once. Also, you can procrastinate more by only doing laundry when you run out of dress pants/underwear/t-shirts without a provocative slogan. (Not that I would know anything about that ... )

Happy laundering!

BONUS TIP: Maybe don't ever put your shoes in the dryer at 4 a.m. One of my roommates did this on a weeknight because she thought it would get rid of the dampness in her sneakers before a morning walk to class. It didn't help. It sounded like a heard of elephants having a rave outside my bedroom the night I had to work a nine-hour day. It was the worst. Don't do this!