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Smart .... 1 ■••,<y ~ , «-^v.-^ N .: *&&i? r 'Vv v -' * Fit Smart JORGE CRUSE You CAN be a runner If you’ve ever thought about trying a SK, 10K or even a half-marathon, then start with your shoes. A free gait analy sis, in which an expert runner watches you jog and determines the best type of shoes for your running style and form, is available at any Niketown or Road Runner Sports; local stores also may offer them. To avoid injuries (like blood blisters under your toenails), fit is key. “Your shoes shouldn’t pinch or feel uncom fortable,” says Stacey Lei Krauss, a Nike Elite instructor who is based in San Francisco. “Be sure to break them in slowly, and log at least 50 miles in new shoes before wearing them in a race.” Find the Ready to run? Be right shoes ginners should have with a free short-term goals. “I gait analysis. my clients to be gin with a 12-minute run,” Krauss says. “This means run straight out your door for six minutes and then six minutes right back and that’s pretty’ much your first mile. It’s a huge milestone for a lot of peo ple, and it’s very attainable.” Stick with that routine for a week and then increase your run by one min ute each week. “Before you know it, you’re up to 3 miles, and you’ve almost run a 5K,” Krauss says. 4 USA WEEKEND usaweekend.com Main Office Advertising Office 7950 Jones Branch Dr. 535 Madison Ave. McLean, Va. 22107 New York. N Y. 10022 Telephone: 800-487-2956 E-mail: usaw@usaweekend.com For reprints, call 800-872-0001. 4 USA WEEKEND • Oct 12-14,2007 Eat Smart JEAN CARPER To prevent varicose veins, eat your greens Here’s something even Popeye didn’t know; Eating your spinach might help prevent varicose veins, those enlarged blue veins that afflict 5% to 30% of adults, especially women. So say FYench researchers who compared healthy and varicose veins. They concluded that ad equate vitamin K is needed to help activate a key protein that blocks the calcification and cell prolifera tion that can lead to vein distor tions and disease. Best sources of vitamin K: Swiss chard, kale, parsley Brussels sprouts, spinach and broccoli. Money By WALECIA KONRAD Are you missing a job benefit? P use dependent care accounts, accord ing to a recent survey by Mercer, a human-resources consulting firm. What a missed opportunity! FSAs let you use pretax dollars to pay cer tain expenses, so you can reduce your overall yearly cost by 20% to 40%, says Mercer’s Jennifer Calhoun. Tips: Bone up on eligible expenses. Ask your benefits department for a com plete list to help estimate how much you’ll spend in 2008. Medical co-pays and deductibles are easy to tally. But did you know that sunscreen, contact lens solution and over-the-counter drugs President & CEO • Marcia L. Bullard Publisher • Charles Gabrielson Executive Editor A VP • Jack Curry SVP/Advertising • Rob Harrison Dir./Finance • Edward Maxwell Oir./Human Resources • Bhavna Sharma Dir./Marketing • Sonia David Dir./Research • Frank Dolcimascolo To ask any USA WEEKEND columnist a question, visit usawookond.com. HELPFUL TIPS FOR YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE ■M 4 ► ImH ONLY 20% OF em ployees sign up for a company health-care Flexible Spending Ac count (FSA), and fewer Managing Editor: Brenda Turner Creative Manager: Casey Shaw Senior Editors: Craigh Barboza, Carol Clurman, Constance Kurz. Lorrie Lynch, Priscilla Totten Copy Chief: Jill Golden Copy Editor Ali Cybulski Make A Difference Day Editor Pamela Brown Senior Writer Dennis McCafferty Associate Editors: Michele Hatty. TJ. Walter Assistant Editor: Kathy Rowings Fact Checker Elena Keithley Design Director Leon Lawrence 111 Art Director Pamela Taylor Associate Art Director Christina Cook Photo Editor David Baratz Deputy Photo Editor Sarah Claxton Online: Amelia Stephenson Office Coordinator Troy Artis Tedi Smart john biggs Cellphones for kids have parent-friendly features Just because the littlest members of the family might not be able to remember their own home phone number doesn’t mean they can’t have their own cellphone. Several new carriers sell sim ple cellphones for tots as young as 5. ■ Firefly Mobile (fireflymobile.com) of fers a small phone that has just five keys, in cluding two for mak ing direct calls to Mom and Dad. Its kid-sized glow Phone is available are covered? Or, if both parents work, a child-care FSA can pay a babysitter and summer camp. Learn the dates. The IRS now allows a grace period through March 2009 to rack up eligible expenses. However, not all com panies have adopted this change, so check with your ben efits department. Know about FSAs vs. HSAs. If you have high-deductible insurance, you may be offered an HSA (Health Sav ings Account) that lets you set aside tax-free money to pay medical bills. But the IRS won’t allow you to use both in black or pink, with a color screen, and starts at $49.99. ■ Disney Mobile (disneymobile.go .com) offers free-after-rebate phones and some more expensive models that come with cool cartoon styling. Parents can manage talk time and the phone numbers Junior can dial. Plans start at $59.99 a month for 450 minutes. A GPS location function lets you keep tabs on the phone, and your kid, from afar. ■ Finally, tw’eens might enjoy Ka jeet a contract-free car rier that offers cool, slim, prepaid cell phones starting at $49.99. Kids can learn the value of a dollar as they add min utes themselves. WIMUB—■ I I an HSA and an FSA for medical ex penses, says John Asencio, of Sibson Consulting. Solution: Use an FSA for dental and eye-care bills. Ask human resources for a fuller explanation of FSAs and HSAs. Contributing Editor Walecia Konrad is an award-winning consumer writer. Contributing Editors Pam Anderson, Ken Bums, Jean Carper. Stephen Covey, Jorge Cruise. Steve Dale, Kenneth C. Davis, Sharon Epperson, Dennie Hughes, Walecia Konrad, Lisa Ling, Lou Manfredini, Dr. Tedd Mitchell, Ann Pleshette Murphy, Cokie Roberts, Steve Roberts, Tavis Smiley, Terry Stickels Regional Directors/ Newspapers Charlie Williams Taaz Williams Luci Day c Copyright 2007 USA WEEKEND. A Gannett publication. Printed in the USA. The magazine that makes a difference.