Tina, Photo Director

Although I haven't been wearing a pedometer, I have been taking advantage of the warmer weather. Instead of hitting the gym as usual, this past Saturday I joined two of my friends for a walk along the Hudson River. We started at 57th street and walked all the way to Battery Park, which is nearly 5 miles! Walking to and from work has also allowed me to log an additional 2 miles each way. Who needs the subway anyway?

Danielle, Assistant Photo Editor

The past few weeks since my last post have been quite a whirlwind. After my wedding on May 5th, I was off to Maui, but unlike a few of my previous getaways, I didn't just sit by the pool all day and drink tropical drinks... Okay, maybe there was a bit of that :) ... but mostly, the hubby and I opted to keep active by walking along beaches (including a black sand beach) and exploring the island (and even did a bit of hula dancing), rather than just sitting around, especially after the 15 hours of sedentary travel time it took us to get there. On our walks, especially along the winding road to Hana, we ended up finding some beautiful locations, including countless waterfalls, and even a breathtaking view from the opening scene of Jurassic Park. Thankfully though, the most dangerous animals we actually encountered, were some sleepy peacocks.

Bethany, Associate Health Editor

I recently visited my totally adorable, extremely energetic 4-year-old niece and almost 2-year-old nephew in Boston. Kids are so active! And while I was chasing after them, I logged some serious steps. I was basically just go, go, going from when they woke up (at 7am) to when they went to bed (at 8pm). We played tag, hide & seek and hopscotch; took walks around the neighborhood; went to soccer practice; built a fort; rode bikes and scooters; and went to a museum. Needless to say, my bedtime wasn't much later than theirs, because I was exhausted after playing with them.

Paula, Senior Editor

Walking/jogging in the park this weekend, I stopped to enjoy the plum blossoms. By now most all those beautiful little pink and white petals are on the ground in these big drifts, which makes me smile just to see them and feel them so soft and lovely underfoot (my weary soles are also grateful). Then a breeze kicked up, sending a shower of the few tree blossoms remaining all around me. One of life's perfect little moments.

Jonna, Senior Editor

I've fallen off the pedometer wagon—but even without my electronic motivation, I'm still finding myself eager to walk whenever possible. Years ago, when the whole Power Walk thing was taking off, I was so on it. I dressed in coordinated outfits, bought the sneakers, pumped my arms, the whole bit. Now, not so much…I do wear good sneakers because I have back problems that plague me from time to time, so walking in my beloved flip-flops is ill-advised. But I'm less concerned about my outfit and whether I'm truly 'working it.' If I'm outside roaming around with my son, I'm happy. He usually sweet-talks me into a kiddie cup of ice cream at our local shop, which just opened for the summer. (I don't get one for myself, but does anyone fault me for filching just one bite of his?) Anyway, between the exercise and the treat, he comes home tired and happy, a great combo for a boy turning 3 in August.

Jennifer, Editorial Assistant

Have you been walking recently? The family Circle staff certainly has! Yesterday we left the office a little early, put on matching red Family Circle shirts, strapped on our iPods and headed downtown to the American Heart Association 2007 Start! Wall Street Run and Heart Walk. The route zigzagged 3.1 miles through downtown Manhattan and had a few small hills that pushed us even harder. Some of our staffers power walked, others took a leisurely stroll and some took off running and soon as the starting horn went off. We all had a wonderful time and were able to raise money for a great cause. Check out the official times for our runners below—not bad!

Betty – 27:26
Darcy – 30:32
Meg – 26.52
Sue – 24:34
Siobhan – 26:24
Tracy – 29:17
Bethany – 27:33
Stephanie – 25:43
Christine – 21:13
Melissa – 27:37
Cindy – 27:31
Anna – 26:02
Rachel – 30:35
Jill – 28:00
Micaela – 27:35

To participate in AHA walks and other events in your area visit www.americanheart.org.

Susanah, Assistant Managing Editor

My husband’s birthday was last week—Happy Birthday Gary!—and we were meeting at a restaurant downtown for a big-fat-steak dinner. I had some time to kill beforehand, so I decided to walk the 20-or-so blocks rather than sit on my butt at the office and then jump on the subway. The weather was amazing, and walking really gave the chance to appreciate it. And close to my destination I came across a beautiful little park that I had sort of forgotten was even there. I still had some time, so I sat in the grass and read my book. I guess I could have kept walking, but sometimes you’ve just got to sit in the grass!

Betty, Executive Editor

Anybody out there thinking about running a marathon? I've been toying with the idea but don't know what abuse all the training will do to my knees. On Mother's Day morning, I ran a 10-mile race in Central Park. It was a gorgeous, sunny, breezy spring morning--perfect condition for running. I ran it at a faster pace than usual, finishing in 1 hour, 36 minutes. I felt pretty good afterward but that night started feeling that nagging ache in my knees. I think I'll stick with half-marathons and shorter distances for now. Running a 5K next week! Hope you're all reaching your fitness goals and continuing to challenge yourselves.

Katie, Editorial Assistant

I spent this past weekend in Newport, R.I. in honor of my brother's college graduation (it also happened to encompass Mother's Day and my Dad's Birthday). I've got to say- sitting in a car for 4 hours motivates a girl to get out and get active! Although the weekend was filled with delicious, majorly guilt-inducing meals, a wine tasting (also great but not helping the backside), and lots of sitting (a 2 hour Mass and 3 hour graduation) I was able to jog a few miles along the breathtaking Newport Harbor both Friday and Saturday and got such an awesome runner's high, I didn't think twice about my Dad's birthday cake.

Gay, Senior Editor

I wish every day was Mother's Day. It's one of the few days of the year I let myself be truly, deeply selfish and self-indulgent. I blew off the first part of my usual Sunday routine, attending the early half of a worship service, and went to the beach instead. I live only 20 minutes away but mostly go only when I have company from landlocked towns. But Sunday I packed up the dog, some poop bags and drinking water, put on my silly blue hat with the fuzzy flower and put on an extra jacket and off we went to Sandy Hook. It was just me, the dog and a half dozen surf fishermen. I (gasp) let her off the leash and she chased sea gulls (no animals were harmed during this walk) and their shadows (she's not especially discriminating) and logged nearly two miles on the sand. It was sooo relaxing. I'm reminded of something I know but often forget--I have to make taking care of myself a priority or it just ain't happenin'. (In the afternoon I took a nap--but no miles were logged during it.)

Jennifer, Editorial Assistant

I spent the past weekend dog-sitting Ivry, the most adorable 6-month-old lab you have ever seen. But there was a catch—this dog doesn’t like to go for walks! Have you ever heard of such a thing? It was a gorgeous weekend here in New York. The sun was shining, there was a nice breeze blowing off of the Hudson and birds were singing. OK, I don’t really know if birds were singing, but if my life were a movie they totally would be. Basically, it was the perfect weekend to walk a dog. Unfortunately, my dog didn’t agree. She would stand on the sidewalk outside of the apartment with her front paws stretched out, firm to the ground and refused to budge. To coax her, I got down to her level and encouraged her to come forward. It worked—we moved a whole four feet! So back down I went to coax her again. This went on for a few blocks until we made it to the river. As soon as the grass was between her paws and the breeze was blowing on her face Ivry got over whatever was holding her back and actually started to enjoy her walk. From time to time I think we can all feel like Ivry, not wanting to get out there and get moving. In the end, though, it’s usually worth it. So the next time you’re standing there with your “paws” to the ground not wanting to move forward push through whatever is holding you back and make yourself walk. You’ll probably be glad you did.

Bethany, Associate Health Editor

Today is the first really gorgeous day we've had in ages. It's 80 degrees! If that's not motivation to get walking (in addition to the hot dog and beer I downed at the Yankee's game last night), I don't know what is. So I'm walking the two miles home instead of taking the bus tonight.

Julie, Senior Food Editor

This past week, I took a short business trip. I drove to the airport and parked, then walked to my terminal instead of taking the shuttle bus. It only took about 10 minutes, and gained me about 1/2 a mile extra distance for the day. Small changes such as these help keep my mileage on the up and up—and are easy to do now that the weather is improving.

Paula, Senior Editor

Walking begets more walking, more stairs instead of escalators/elevators, and...jogging and friendship. Taking advantage of the marvelous spring weather this weekend, I walk/jogged around the central park reservoir twice (3.2 miles) on Sat and Sun and felt no pain, just gain--emotionally, psychologically, olfactory (smelling the cherry blossoms). And just as I was bemoaning the absence of horses in the park because of the recent closing of Claremont Stables—I ended up buying a Claremont horse 10 yrs ago and used to ride in the park every weekend—I bumped into an old friend who worked there, who also gave me the number of another old friend who used to work there, who I plan to visit this weekend out in new jersey.

Rachel, Editorial Assistant

Yesterday was beautiful and my birthday! During lunch a few of my coworkers and I went to our favorite Tex Mex place--10 blocks. To keep lunch an hour long, we were speed walking to and from. I definitely worked up an appetite walking to the restaurant. Even though we had a hefty lunch and wanted to take a nap, the walk back to work, with the sun shining on our faces, gave us a quick energy boost to keep us going until 6. I also got to go out for a nice birthday dinner and it was over a mile to the restaurant, but since it was so nice out we hoofed it. My feet were kind of killing, but I had to wear heels on my bday!

Paula, Senior Editor

I admit I haven't been wearing my pedometer lately. But using it for a couple weeks did get me into a good groove and made me mindful of walking whenever I have the option. Sneaking in a little here and there really does add up. My building elevator was recently on the fritz for 2 weeks, and I got used to walking up four flights. It’s fixed now--and I’m actually a little sad about it. But I now walk up the stairs whenever I’m not carrying a heavy load like groceries. Also, I used to take the escalator up this long flight of 80-odd stairs in my subway station--partly to give me time to read the newspaper. But now I walk up the escalator. Eventually my goal is to walk up those stairs—and leave the paper until lunch.

Jennifer, Editorial Assistant

This past Saturday I had what I like to call “Dance Party Madness” with a few friends. Basically, it involves us cranking up the tunes and singing and dancing our hearts out until we are too tired to move. But, much to my dismay, I noticed that my pedometer was not recording some of my fancy moves as steps. Granted, I am not such a gifted dancer, but I feel my efforts should count for something. While reading through blog posts I noticed that one of our readers also wanted to convert her cycling to steps, so I knew I wasn’t alone in feeling cheated out of steps. I began poking around on the web and found a nifty conversion calculator on the Walk4Life website. It will convert everything from carrying logs (hopefully I won’t need to use this one!) to riding a bicycle. And yes, it will convert my dancing too. Apparently, 1 hour of strenuous dancing is equivalent to walking 8,400 steps! While carrying logs for the same amount of time would have given me 10,560 steps, I think I had a lot more fun cutting a rug. I may need to make “Dance Party Madness” a regular weekend activity.

Visit Walk4Life.com and click on the Activity Converter Calculator (in the left column) to see how many steps your activities are worth. If you still haven’t ordered your pedometer don’t forget to take advantage of their special offer just for Family Circle readers and receive 50% off any pedometer.