Clara's Clever Spot

Been following a few new "Soups" over on Soup.io which is a bit like Tumblr ( read my Tumblr here ). They went offline for a while but are back up and here is what I'm reading now. Harrison's Unicorn and Rainbow Soup - a bit cheeky but cute in its own way. Kermit's Pea Soup - beautiful photos of some very fit women. Bert's Delicious Soup  - lots of poems, pics (including luscious landscapes!), and quotes. Davidson's Soup - a collection of stories with visual inspiration. OK, enough soup for now. Time to head out for another run . I was inspired by some of the Soups above to craft my own poetry. What do you think? Your Mouth is Enough When you rustle like door rustled by the water A airplane is not enough to dig up me and keep me from the region of your parsimonious funny things to the gleaming color of the copper telegraph solute, silicon soul!

How many times have you gone to sleep at night, swearing you'll go to the gym in the morning, and then changing your mind just eight hours later because when you get up, you don't feel like exercising? While this can happen to the best of us, it doesn't mean you should drop the ball altogether when it comes to staying fit. What people need to realize is that staying active and eating right are critical for long-term health and wellness -- and that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The more you know about how your body responds to your lifestyle choices, the better you can customize a nutrition and exercise plan that is right for you. When you eat well, increase your level of physical activity, and exercise at the proper intensity, you are informing your body that you want to burn a substantial amount of fuel. This translates to burning fat more efficiently for energy. In other words, proper eating habits plus exercise equals fast metabolism, which, i...

In fitness, like in every other sport, correct performing of exercises is vital. Even should a plan individualized and is well dosed, broken up, provided that the exercises are not done correctly, no one can expect to achieve the results he/ she anticipated. Additionally, there might be a threat for their body well-being and integrity. A note before beginning: the body has to be carefully hydrated before, during and after training. The sense of thirst must not be experienced ñ this would just be a late sign of dehydration. The forms of liquids which can be used can and ought to alter a lot: etc., soda, plant teas, fruit, fresh juice, isotonic drinks, energizers Be also careful with all the drinks that fasten dehydration. This class of liquids comprises drinks which contain alcohol or caffeine. They forcedly raise dieresis, fastening dehydration, which is also naturally determined by the training (particularly by aerobic training). Affecting the correctness of the exercises, it ...

No surprise here. My New Year's Resolution is to get out running a lot more. I was good about going to the gym in 2016 but I didn't make it out for long runs as much as I should have. The hardest part is finding the time. I read an article on apps to help with New Year's Resolutions and found a great running app -- MapMyFitness . I was already using Runtastic and like it but MapMyFitness looks better. I got the ball rolling today with a 5km run through Hyde Park. Tomorrow, I'm going to push for 7km if I can wake up early enough!

Winter is hard. I love the holidays, but I can't stand the shortened days and the dark and cold. I love to be outside, running whenever I can , but mostly just the thrill of being outside. Here are a few images that remind me of the beauty of Summer. Riding a bike is one of my favorite Summertime activities. When it's Summer, you'll often find me at the beach. I love to run at Sunset. Cute guy running in the hot desert. Running past shady trees with full green leaves. Sigh. I miss it. Hey, it can't all  be about exercising. Summer is also for relaxing. Ahhhh!

Form is more important than you might think! A few running tips on proper form, courtesy of YouTube...

I was reading this article on improving speed by running 20 minutes on a treadmill using a HIIT (High Intensity Training) plan . Thank you to Cara Camp's collection on running for the link. This is pretty good for working on your speed when you're forced to run indoors. Personally, I like to get outside , but this is great for when the weather is no bueno . Check out the complete article for the full workout, but here are the basics... Jog for 5 minutes Run at a high intensity speed for 1 minute Walk at rest speed for 30 seconds Repeat the high intensity sprint, but with an incline Walk at rest speed Repeat this cycle for 20 minutes Seems kind of brutal but much better than just running at the same pace on the treadmill for an hour.