For the health of it

Because I'm without a health club membership right now, I'm sneaking more exercise into my day.

My heart has to have it. And it's the best antidote against lapsing into a penguin's body double.

So while my dog runs off leash in a field, I've taken to doing squats and standing leg exercises outdoors. In winter coat, hat and gloves. It's not as exotic as the fitness queens whose TV routines take place on breath-taking beaches. But it'll do.

I also splurged on a sleek, new $24 pedometer. About the size of a credit card, it's flat and thin and fits in a back pocket.

The daily goal: 10,000 steps or about five miles. I wear the little ticker morning to night. It subconsciously spurs me to step up my activity.

Takes 21 days to create a habit, I've read. I'm five days into the program.

At this rate, I might just make it to my first spring Bloomsday (http://www.bloomsdayrun.org/) after all.

Photo: home.earthlink.net/~rockhopperpenguin/King.htm