OK, so the long anticipated Merrell Barefoot Pace Gloves came in yesterday - I love them!! They fit like a glove, literally. I can feel the ground beneath my feet without pain or discomfort. They feel natural. While somewhat narrow (which works for me) they have plenty of room in the toe area, allowing my feet to spread out and be themselves. I got the black ones, which look pretty frickin' awesome with shorts, pants, or workout clothing. I took them out for a spin yesterday, a short little run/walk of about 1.55 miles. Surprisingly my calves didn't cry out for mercy like I had been warned. That could be because I've been running in what has been referred to as gateway shoes - running shoes that are between the traditional thickly cushioned and the true minimalist shoes. Maybe that was a good preparation for my legs. I will not be running in the Merrell's for the upcoming 4.5 mile race because I haven't had the time to fully adjust to them, so I will begin training in them next week. My hope is to run the 10K in September in them, followed by a half marathon in October.
I will try to update on the status after being able to run farther distances in them. Till then, adios, bonjour, good day!
***UPDATE***
I have been wearing the Merrells around the house and on a one mile walk this morning. The more I wear them the more aware of my feet and what they are doing/capable of. It's pretty amazing. I can feel the rocks and ruts under my feet, and my toes are able to grip and feel barefoot with the protection of the Vibram sole, which I still need at this point. I also noticed for the first time this morning how my feet had to work for stability. It was reassuring knowing that my muscles were doing the work, strengthening along the way. So...all in all I am thrilled with the purchase, and I am looking forward to a full transition to minimalist footwear. Thank you, Merrell. :)
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Hello, Again!
As the case has been with the last several posts, there has been a good amount of time since I last posted. Before I actually write about what has been on my mind, I'll update on what has happened since I last updated.
During the spring semester, I took 4 classes while working full time. That was NUTSO!! I will never do THAT again!! My word. I am not saying that I can't handle it (I got 2 As and 2 Bs), but I wasn't present as mom and wife, my exercise fell to the wayside, and I feel like no part of my life got 100% from me.
As soon as school let out (a benefit of working at the school is I get to vaca with the kids) my mom came for a 10 day visit. She arrived the night school let out. We had a great time, taking advantage of the *very* warm Texas weather, the water recreation, and the generous supply of cool things to do in my sweet little town. When Mom left, we vegged out for a day or two then resumed our summer schedule, which really isn't much of a schedule! We got some library books, visited friends, and have been making numerous visits to the local waterpark. I have been walking with my sweet friend 3-4 days a week, which leaves me feeling renewed and refreshed. Somehow I don't know where the last month and a half has gone, because the time since school let out has been a blur. :)
As I mentioned in a previous blog, I took up running last May. Since I did the Couch to 5K program, I have been able to pick up and run a few miles at a shot. It isn't always easy but it is always fun, rewarding, and refreshing. I love the feeling of solitude that I get while I am running. My neighborhood is BO-RING, there aren't many options as to routes, so I usually run the same route or at least reverse the direction or zig zag through the cross streets till I reach my desired mileage.
When I began running, I wore traditional running shoes. They felt nice and cushy and stable, but my back started hurting after I wore them out. I had shin splints pretty much the whole time but I wrote that off to being a novice runner and figured they would go away sooner or later. When it was time to get new running shoes, I bought another pair by the same company that ended up aggravating my shin splints, making them worse. I decided to go to a local running specialty shop where the specialist said that I have a normal gait and I was wearing shoes for over-pronation. Um...OK. I tried on a couple of pairs of shoes and found a nice, lightweight pair that I liked but that were out of my price range. Later when I got a few bucks together, I ordered a pair of Saucony Kinvaras. All the time I spent in between gave my shin splint a chance to heal.
All I knew at the time was that these shoes weighed a LOT less than my previous ones, my shin splints went away,my running form transformed, and I started reading up on why that may be. Research led me to discover that the Kinvaras are known to be a go between from traditional running shoes and minimalist shoes. Hm...minimalist shoes? Wow - that sounds like something that interests me! I searched for more knowledge and heard about the book "Born to Run" from a friend. I got the book at the library and hungrily devoured every page. I learned about barefoot running and minimalist running and WHY people are doing it.
Fast forward a bit. In the last month or so, I have discovered that listening to music on my runs wasn't cutting the mustard. My mind kept wandering and my playlist got boring. I decided to search for some running podcasts and came across Caity McCardell's Run Barefoot Girl.. Listening to Caity has been incredibly entertaining, motivational, and inspiring. I listened to pocast #7 today and she was interviewing a woman who took up barefoot running despite her skepticism. This got me to thinking.....I tend to be more skeptical about mainstream, common things, about government and corporations, the medical community, the media, and just about anything that people tend to put their faith into. Just give me any grassroots movement, any group of people trying to go against the grain, and you have my attention.
This all leads to why I have decided to take the plunge into minimalist running. I think that it makes perfect sense that minimalist and barefoot running strengthen our feet, improve our posture, and reduce injuries. Perfect sense! I ordered a pair of Merrell Barefoot Pace Gloves (Amazon.com is the BOMB - they bought back my textbooks and gave me credit, woohoo!) and I am DYING to receive them and put them to the test. I don't think that I will wear them for the 4.5 mile HILLY race that I am running in a week, but I definitely plan to step up my training and aim to run the 10K in September and the half marathon in October wearing them.
I have tried running barefoot on a few occasions, and I did better on a smoother surface. The roads here by my home are rough and I think I need to toughen up my soles a little before going all the way. For now, I am satisfied and excited to take on minimalist running.
As you might be able to see, I have so much to say, and it is late on a Saturday night, and it's time for me to say good night, but I have more to say, so I will be back soon. For tonight, peace out, good night, God bless.....see you soon. XO
During the spring semester, I took 4 classes while working full time. That was NUTSO!! I will never do THAT again!! My word. I am not saying that I can't handle it (I got 2 As and 2 Bs), but I wasn't present as mom and wife, my exercise fell to the wayside, and I feel like no part of my life got 100% from me.
As soon as school let out (a benefit of working at the school is I get to vaca with the kids) my mom came for a 10 day visit. She arrived the night school let out. We had a great time, taking advantage of the *very* warm Texas weather, the water recreation, and the generous supply of cool things to do in my sweet little town. When Mom left, we vegged out for a day or two then resumed our summer schedule, which really isn't much of a schedule! We got some library books, visited friends, and have been making numerous visits to the local waterpark. I have been walking with my sweet friend 3-4 days a week, which leaves me feeling renewed and refreshed. Somehow I don't know where the last month and a half has gone, because the time since school let out has been a blur. :)
As I mentioned in a previous blog, I took up running last May. Since I did the Couch to 5K program, I have been able to pick up and run a few miles at a shot. It isn't always easy but it is always fun, rewarding, and refreshing. I love the feeling of solitude that I get while I am running. My neighborhood is BO-RING, there aren't many options as to routes, so I usually run the same route or at least reverse the direction or zig zag through the cross streets till I reach my desired mileage.
When I began running, I wore traditional running shoes. They felt nice and cushy and stable, but my back started hurting after I wore them out. I had shin splints pretty much the whole time but I wrote that off to being a novice runner and figured they would go away sooner or later. When it was time to get new running shoes, I bought another pair by the same company that ended up aggravating my shin splints, making them worse. I decided to go to a local running specialty shop where the specialist said that I have a normal gait and I was wearing shoes for over-pronation. Um...OK. I tried on a couple of pairs of shoes and found a nice, lightweight pair that I liked but that were out of my price range. Later when I got a few bucks together, I ordered a pair of Saucony Kinvaras. All the time I spent in between gave my shin splint a chance to heal.
All I knew at the time was that these shoes weighed a LOT less than my previous ones, my shin splints went away,my running form transformed, and I started reading up on why that may be. Research led me to discover that the Kinvaras are known to be a go between from traditional running shoes and minimalist shoes. Hm...minimalist shoes? Wow - that sounds like something that interests me! I searched for more knowledge and heard about the book "Born to Run" from a friend. I got the book at the library and hungrily devoured every page. I learned about barefoot running and minimalist running and WHY people are doing it.
Fast forward a bit. In the last month or so, I have discovered that listening to music on my runs wasn't cutting the mustard. My mind kept wandering and my playlist got boring. I decided to search for some running podcasts and came across Caity McCardell's Run Barefoot Girl.. Listening to Caity has been incredibly entertaining, motivational, and inspiring. I listened to pocast #7 today and she was interviewing a woman who took up barefoot running despite her skepticism. This got me to thinking.....I tend to be more skeptical about mainstream, common things, about government and corporations, the medical community, the media, and just about anything that people tend to put their faith into. Just give me any grassroots movement, any group of people trying to go against the grain, and you have my attention.
This all leads to why I have decided to take the plunge into minimalist running. I think that it makes perfect sense that minimalist and barefoot running strengthen our feet, improve our posture, and reduce injuries. Perfect sense! I ordered a pair of Merrell Barefoot Pace Gloves (Amazon.com is the BOMB - they bought back my textbooks and gave me credit, woohoo!) and I am DYING to receive them and put them to the test. I don't think that I will wear them for the 4.5 mile HILLY race that I am running in a week, but I definitely plan to step up my training and aim to run the 10K in September and the half marathon in October wearing them.
I have tried running barefoot on a few occasions, and I did better on a smoother surface. The roads here by my home are rough and I think I need to toughen up my soles a little before going all the way. For now, I am satisfied and excited to take on minimalist running.
As you might be able to see, I have so much to say, and it is late on a Saturday night, and it's time for me to say good night, but I have more to say, so I will be back soon. For tonight, peace out, good night, God bless.....see you soon. XO
Saturday, March 19, 2011
A new project
This is a re-usable tote bag that I made from a used feed sack. I've seen them around and wanted to give a shot at making one myself. It was easy breezy, took about 45 minutes for my first attempt. I have a trunk full of feed sacks ready to go, so any free time I might have will go to these. :)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Groupon
If you haven't signed up for Groupon yet, you should. Today's deal (San Antonio area) has a deal for Rita's Natural Food Market in New Braunfels - $10 to buy $20 of groceries. I don't know about you, but I never walk out of there for less than $20.
There are great deals on Groupon every day - and the more you use it, the more Groupon bucks you earn to buy more Groupons with! AND if you get your friends to sign up, you can earn even more.
I went on today to buy the Rita's deal, prepared to spend the $10, and discovered that I have a credit because of passing the word around. This made me very happy!
SO - click here, sign up, and pass the word around! Enjoy!
Groupon is available everywhere, not just in TX, so when you sign up, just put your city in! It costs you nothing to join and the benefits a many.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Here are two of my favorite things...
Hello!
I have a TON of homework to do and I am always finding new and sometimes unusual ways to procrastinate, BUT I wanted to share a couple of my most recent favorite recipes - both from blogs. They are both sure fire ways to make standard foods that can sometimes be tricky.
Behold: How to make PERFECT brown rice. Read this from Pinch My Salt. It will forever change the way you cook brown rice. Trust me. :)
Fluffy Whole Wheat Biscuits. You ask yourself, what? Whole wheat biscuits? Fluffy? Try them and see. I've made these several times and they are absolutely fantastic with peach jam. Or raspberry. Or fig. Or scrambled eggs...you get the picture. Don't let the vegan thing scare you. You can always substitute with butter and milk if you have to. :) Enjoy!!!!
OK - off to hit the political journals for an article that I can write a two page response to. This little distraction was fun while it lasted.
Love to y'all!
I have a TON of homework to do and I am always finding new and sometimes unusual ways to procrastinate, BUT I wanted to share a couple of my most recent favorite recipes - both from blogs. They are both sure fire ways to make standard foods that can sometimes be tricky.
Behold: How to make PERFECT brown rice. Read this from Pinch My Salt. It will forever change the way you cook brown rice. Trust me. :)
Fluffy Whole Wheat Biscuits. You ask yourself, what? Whole wheat biscuits? Fluffy? Try them and see. I've made these several times and they are absolutely fantastic with peach jam. Or raspberry. Or fig. Or scrambled eggs...you get the picture. Don't let the vegan thing scare you. You can always substitute with butter and milk if you have to. :) Enjoy!!!!
OK - off to hit the political journals for an article that I can write a two page response to. This little distraction was fun while it lasted.
Love to y'all!
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