Sometimes it is hard to stay motivated. I will often fall in the summertime rut of the same run, at the same pace, at the same time each day, with the same warm-down routine afterwards only to become lethargic about the whole thing. A little blurb in our newspaper this past Sunday, quote: Why Should I Vary My Routine? Your body acclimates to a workout in four to six weeks, so change is necessary to keep you progressing. The other reasons are to fight the doldrums and the prevent overuse injuries. Often, you can do as little as add more repetitions or mix in a new activity to stay psyched. Still, never change the length or intensity or a workout too much too soon. --Michael O'Shea Parade - August 12, 2007 Nothing very profound but nonetheless a good reminder to stay fresh with our workouts. Maybe this ties in a little bit with my previous posting regarding the use of strength training. If I can begin to include it in my routine it would not only give me variety, but increase my metabolic rate. About metabolic rate, elsewhere in this article, O'Shea says, "strength training builds muscle. The more muscle you gain, the higher our resting metabolic rate--the number of calories your body uses at rest. The body naturally loses muscle with age, so it's important to keep that up. Good basic stuff to remember and/or encorporate into our daily routines so we don't get stale.