Tiesto: Elements of Life

I've been looking forward to this one for quite a while...

After much excitement and anticipation, Tiesto's Element's of Life cd was released today!

I couldn't wait to go to the nearest HMV so out of convenience i just bought it off the itunes store.

I knew the cd was going to be amazing after hearing his first single - In The Dark, which btw was an experimental collaboration with Christian Burns, who Tiesto met on MySpace.

As a departure from his previous albums - In My Memory (2001) and Just Be (2004), Elements of Life is different in the sense that it combines rock, trance, and electronica and is more about song based numbers. This music will definitely get you going on the dance floor. Just imagine the energy of seeing Tiesto live in concert. Now that's a must see!

Track listing:
1. Ten Seconds before Sunrise
2. Everything
3. Can You Feel Me
4. Carpe Noctum
5. Driving to Heaven
6. Sweet Things
7. Bright Morningstar
8. Break My Fall
9. In the Dark
10. Dance4Life
11. Elements of Life

The Cardio Challenge

Need some extra motivation to do cardio? Sign up for the Cardio Challenge. This community of avid cardio goers racing to Halifax are guaranteed to keep you motivated. Whether your goal is to pass the person in front of you or stay on the leaderboard, you're bound to do more cardio and shed some poundage in the process!

I certainly have! I started this challenge after meeting Brendan Fox back in September of last year and have been going strong with it ever since. With Cycling, rollerblading, running, walking, and the elliptical as my main forms of cardio, i've managed to stay on the leaderboard and am currently in 5th place. Once you start, it's surprising how much this thing can delve into your competitive nature. Especially when i get email notices telling me that i've been passed by someone. That just makes me want to do more cardio so i can pass and race ahead of the competition!

Seven Point gets a redesign

Energized on the outside. Relaxed at the core.

How To Adapt Nike+ To Any Shoe

The one downside to the nike+ run sports kit is that it's made to be only compatible with nike+ shoes. I do very much like the seamless integration of sports, music, and technology aspect of the whole thing. However, I already have a couple of pairs of relatively new running shoes that i should be wearing so it got me thinking....how can I attach the nike sensor to my existing shoes?

...that was when I found a double use for my Knog Frog light!

Just follow these simple steps to convert your micro light into a nike+ sensor suit:

1. remove the LED light from the silicon outer.
2. put the nike+ senser in place of the LED light
3. loop and hook the frog light outer around your shoe laces and voila!

Or if you're not so into that idea, Marware makes a neoprene/rubber sportsuit that holds the nike sensor and using velcro, attaches to the shoelaces of your favorite pair of running shoes. (cost: $9.95)

The Race Is On

I can't believe theres only 21 days left 'til the dirty du. The colder weather and shorter days have made it a bit more challenging to get outside but overall, the training has been going really well. I've been biking lots, sometimes to and from work. I'm feeling pretty confident about that part of the race. No worries there. However, i've never been much of a runner so that has been the goal for the past month or so; to become a better runner. When i first started training, i remember losing my breath after running for only 3 minutes but things have improved since. I've learned that the keys are to be efficient, pace yourself, run with good posture, and most importantly, BREATHE. It makes a huge difference. Every step must count. Performing the Energy Flow seven point warm up before running has upped my athletic performance. Not only can i run longer and faster, but I finish feeling energized and free of any muscle soreness.

My competitive nature tells me to push myself harder so i can win this race (or at least place in the top 3) but being my first race i think finishing will be an achievement in itself. We shall see what happens......

I'm excited.

Knog Frog

It is so true that the checkout counter is the perfect place to trigger impulse buys. One of my most recent and best impulse purchases was the Knog Frog Micro Light.

Designed by Knog, this micro LED bike light is compact, lightweight (12g), and unobtrusive. Characteristics that'd be desired by those who want to travel light. The flexible silicon body encasing the light resembles a frog (hence the name), is waterproof and stretches, making it easily mountable on objects 10-32mm in diameter. With a press of a button, it can easily be set to continuous or flashing mode.

I tried it out last night and found the light to be very bright for its size. Perfect for my 25 minute ride home. Of course this is no substitute if you are looking for a light that'll illuminate the road for you. Its main function is to help you be seen. This is especially effective if you use the flashing mode. Nobody's gonna miss you. It also has a lithium battery that claims to have a 160 hour battery life, which is pretty sweet too. I highly recommend getting one.

Price: $9.99
Available at Duke's Cycle @ 625 Queen St. W.

Fibre dosage

During my travels through the Loblaws bread section, i came across a new product:

Oroweat Whole Wheat Tortillas

These pack as much as 8g of fiber per tortilla and are great for eating on the go.

Take these ingredients:
• grilled chicken breast or turkey
• organic spring greens
• jarlsberg low fat cheese

....and wrap them inside the tortilla
If you're a fan of melted cheese, microwave the roll for 30 seconds. Enjoy :)

Fruit of the Tropics

I've always had this thing for tropical fruits. A recent favorite of mine has been papayas.

Packed with nutrients and easy to eat, papayas have been said to be one of the healthiest fruits. Greenish yellow on the outside and golden orange on the inside, they are a rich source of antioxidents such as beta carotene, vitamin C and E, folate, and potassium. Papayas also contain an enzyme called papain, which aids in the digestion of proteins, making it the perfect fruit to eat after a meal.

A ripe, medium papaya is about 100 calories can pack as much as 5g of fiber.

---------------

Eating tips:
For those of us who don't like peeling fruits, the easiest way to eat a papaya is to cut it lengthwise, remove the seeds, and eat it with a spoon.

Another personal favorite is papaya shakes. Peel and cut the papaya into cubes and freeze then blend together with 1.5cups of 1% milk or soy milk.

The Dirty Du

Back in August of 2005 I set a goal for myself. I told my trainer that i wanted to lose weight and become an all round superstar athlete. A year has gone by and the results have been amazing! I lost 30lbs, totally reshaped my body, am stronger, leaner, more flexible, and faster.

My program consisted of 2-3 Energy Flow workouts per week and cardio in the form of rollerblading and cycling with lots of beach volleyball in the summer.

TODAY i decided it was time for a fitness challenge. Something that will rev my training and help me realize my full athletic potential. I'm going to compete in my first dirty duathlon. I've been wanting to do this for quite a while now but have been putting it on hold for various reasons. It was just a matter of finding the perfect time to jump into it.

The du will consist of a 3.8k run/10k bike/3.8k run and it's 8 weeks away.

Let the training begin!



* In case you should feel the urge to sign up as well:
http://www.eventsonline.ca/events/runnerslife_dirtydu/

Virgin Festival 2006

On Sunday a bunch of friends and I went to Virgin Festival at Center Island. We had a great time and since we were there relatively early, we got very close to the front of the stage, 4th row center to be exact.

Wolfmother put on an awesome show! I love them even more after seeing them live. Their sound was mindblowing!!

Sam roberts was surprisingly good too. He was so into it that it looked like the veins on his neck were about to pop :S

The Strokes were ok....& for some reason there was a lot of mosh pit action, which was totally unexpected. It wasn't the type you'd encounter at a Ministry concert, but more of the bumping-grinding-claustrophobic assortment. I couldn't resist the urge to just push and elbow the people aside. It was gross! I must say, pushing that annoying girl next to me really hard felt unusually satisfying. *YAAH*

We left part way through and went to the Futureshop stage.

Zero 7 was great. They had a nice chilled, down tempo set. The lead singer was so high & mixing drinks on stage between sets. I'm so glad they played Somersault!

The Raconteurs were on at the same time so we tried making our way back to the first stage to catch the last half of their set. There was so much drama/confusion with the ‘crossing of the bridge’ that we totally missed them. All the entrances were blocked and nobody was allowed back into that area. We made a security guard cry too, we tried running past her & a lot of people were screaming at her. Pretty intense moment.

In total, we were sent back and forth at least 4 times until the cops finally resolved the issue.
It was past 10 and we were all starving too, partially because we didn't bring enough food. All i ate was a banana within the 12 hours we were there. I was tempted to just leave the island so i can go home and stuff my face. On the bright side, we arrived in time to see the last half of Broken Social Scene then made a mad scramble to beat the crowd and catch the ferry back to TO.

Ahh...good times.

Thanks winnie for letting us use your camera for all the photos!