Blogger Meet Up!

This week did not go according to plan. I was on pain killers until Wed. and that doesn't mix well with running. Wed.'s 3 mile run felt terrible. But by Friday's run I felt back to normal and things were good! I had that crazy run's high when I got home and felt like I could have gone forever. If it weren't for a car pool, I might have. It felt good to be back to normal. Stupid root canal. If I learned anything from that it was to not procrastinate getting out of pain. Whether it's a sinus infection or a tooth problem, it's probably not going away on it's own! Lesson learned. I knew that Saturday's long run wasn't going to happen. I stayed up way too late with my husband who was doing some work things on Friday night and then had a big day planned for Saturday. It was my Grandma's 90th Birthday party and I also was going to meet a bunch of bloggers. So 5 miles was all that happened and even then my bed didn't get made or dishes done as we rushed out the door to make it on time. Oh well. I didn't beat myself up too much about it and figured that I'll get back on track this week.

From L to R: Rachelle, Julia, Cindy, me, Janae, Ashley, and Miriam.

This is really stupid, but the night before the meet up I started getting nervous. Having thoughts like, "will they like me?" "Will I have anything to say?" "I'm not fast. Am I still considered a good enough runner to hang out with them?" "What are they going to think about my not so skinny body? Are they going to wonder if I really do run?" And then I started wondering what I should wear. I started wishing I had gone shopping for a new outfit. It was kind of like a blind date. I felt like a stupid teenager. And then, to make matters worse, from what I knew, I realized that I was going to be the oldest person at this meet up. Now if that doesn't bring some feelings up to the surface, I don't know what will. I generally don't worry about my age. I am comfortable in my skin and happy with where I am in life. Since I couldn't really do anything about these thoughts, I just let them go and decided to just be myself and that would have to be good enough. Am I the only one who has these crazy thoughts of inferiority or comparing myself with others? Or is it a normal woman thing? I usually don't get caught in that trap.

The blogger meet up was awesome. I was indeed the old lady at this meet up. I was the only one with kids. But it was great to see that we're all runners and we were connected through that. We talked for 2 hours and could have gone on for longer. It's fun to meet people in person after you've "known" them online. It's fun to hear what their voice sounds like, to see how tall they are, and to see if they are really as nice in person as they seem on their blogs. I can tell you that if you've ever wondered if Janae (hungry runner girl) can really be that sweet and interested in your life, she can be and is. It's a beautiful talent that she possesses. A gift, really. Everyone else was great, talented, and sweet and I found another person (Ashley) who's running Ogden. All in all, it was a great day where I came away with new friends! Could you ask for a better day than that? Even if I did miss my long run!

Wednesday: 3 mile run in Evo's, full body weights

Thursday: cycling class

Friday: 5 mile run in gorilla feet, full body weights

Saturday: 5 mile run in gorilla feet

Have you ever done a bloggy meet up?

This was my second. I met Anna and her husband a couple of years ago. It was a great experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Runners are a special breed. My husband thinks it's crazy though and that some cute "girl" will end up being a 50 year old ex-convict who kidnaps me and then finds my address and robs us blind.

Do you ever have your workout plans cut short and how do you deal with it? Make it up or just let it go?

Weight Work Out for Runners

Let me start with a disclaimer that I am not a personal trainer, a doctor, physical therapist, or even a very smart person. I'm just here sharing what has worked and not worked for me. Just my 2 cents worth!

For years I have lifted weights. I actually really enjoy it. I first started lifting about 9 years ago with a good friend of mine who was a fitness guru. She enjoyed doing research and was a group instructor for our local gym and taught classes at our church. I enjoyed learning about all the muscle groups and how to work them effectively. I learned that I was not going to bulk up and that I needed to lift heavy and I needed to hit muscle failure if I wanted to see results. I learned that you have to change up your routine to keep your body growing. I started lifting for weight loss. This friend, turned personal trainer, still teaches at our local gym. I love going to her classes because I don't have to think about what I'm going to do. I know that she'll make sure we hit all the major muscle groups and she'll kick my butt while doing it. The only problem with this class for me is that it is at 5:45 a.m. After the 4th child came along it got harder and harder to get up early and then survive the day with little kids. I started doing my routine at home. I was really dedicated at first. Then, slowly, my enthusiasm for it declined while my enthusiasm for running more took over. I didn't want to "waste" time on weights when I could be running. So it turned into hit and miss workouts. After a bunch of running injuries later, I reflected and could see that I ran the best when I was doing consistent weight training. Duh. Like I said, I'm not the brightest bulb in the box.

So during last winter I started doing workout videos and then during the summer I went back to her classes. It gave me a renewed love for weights and helped me build my strength back up. But once school started I was back to my same old excuse of it being too early. During the summer I'd come home and go back to bed or take a nap. I can't do that with school. So once fall hit I made a commitment to myself that I was going to lift at least twice a week at home. I have all the necessary equipment. So no more excuses! I would pick an exercise from a muscle group and do the following in a circuit and then repeat it 2 or 3 times. I liked to change it up every week and do different things. Quads: lunges, walking lunges, or jump lunges. Hamstrings: deadlifts, one legged deadlifts, or hamstring curl with a ball. Gludes: Squats, one legged squats, or butt lifts on the ball. Bicepts: Hammer curls, or regular curls. Tricepts: Skull crushers, tricept kickbacks, or overhead tricept presses. Shoulders: Overhead presses, frontal raises, or side raises. Chest: Push ups, chest flies, or chest presses. Back: Bent over rows or laying down lifts. Abs: Plank, side plank, lower lifts on a ball, the possibilities are endless. I started thinking about why I was doing this. I decided that the main reason I lift is to benefit my running. Sure, I like the benefits of burning more calories a day and the look of definition on my arms and legs and abs. But the main reason I lift is to improve my running. I want to run faster and farther and be able to do it injury free.

Once I had that goal in my mind I started wondering if what I was doing with my weights was really achieving that goal. I really love one legged deadlifts and one legged squats. They're just fun and it feels like a challenge. Sure, I was getting stronger, but was it really benefiting my running? About that time I came across an article that seemed to answer some of my questions. I decided that for a time I was going to switch up my routine and try this one. I printed it out and decided that I really liked it. I got sore and I like that all the movements involved are geared to making my running more efficient and keep those areas that tend to be weaker strong and injury resistant. The only thing I felt like it lacked was upper body. I added in some push ups and shoulder raises. After I had been doing that for a couple of weeks I read this article. It seemed to be the perfect balance. It had the everything I was looking for. So I've combined the two and I think ended up with the perfect full body work out to benefit my running.

Here is the order in which I do it in:

Active Warm Up: Carioka, High Knees turning into a skip, Frontal and then Side Leg Lifts, Donkey Kicks, and Sissors side to side and then front to back.

Strength and Balance Portion: Rocket Jumps (replaces jump offs from the first workout), Crossack Extension, Push ups, V-sits, Wrestlers Bridge, Single Leg Jumps, and Lateral Leaps. Then I repeat it for the 2nd set.

Core Stability: Rotating Knee Lift, Wood Choppers, Big Circles, Side Plank with a leg lift, and Bridge with a leg lift.

Stretching: I go through a yoga style stretch that includes downward dog, child's pose, pigeon pose, and then the groin stretch.

I like that it only takes about 35-40 minutes. I like that it has an active warm up. I am going to try to incorporate that part alone more before my normal runs to get the muscles and tendons ready to go. And it's a great way to get warmed up for the workout portion if you're not running before. I like to do it on the days I have an easy run or cross training. It says to start with 10 reps, work up to 15, and then do 2 sets of 10 reps. Last week I was able to do 2 sets of 15 reps with a 10 lb. weight. I still struggle with the V sits. And I haven't done the ball toss. As with any other weight work out you have to keep it fresh and increase the weight to continue to see results. I need to go buy a heavier medicine ball and I think I'll try for 3 sets in the next couple of weeks. I'd also like to do it 3 times a week instead of the 2 times that I've been doing. The great thing about plyometrics is that you can always jump higher or farther so you can't really outgrow them. The more I read about barefoot running and proper form, the more I realize that I need a super strong core. This workout is perfect for that. While I might not do this routine forever, it feels like a good fit for right now and I'll take it. If you don't have something you're totally in love with, you should try it out too!

My own personal Castaway moment.

I first need to say that it is my super duper husband that is the canning king. I am just his meager assistant who does the grunt work. He is the driving force behind all the hard work in this family and we all are so grateful during the winter months for the good stuff we have to eat from our garden. He really is a great guy and one of these days I'll have to do a post devoted to just him. The only things that I have canned all by myself are jam and tomatoes. I was pretty darn proud of myself though. I grew up with a mom that canned and I had no interest in it whatsoever. She did it to save money because we were poor. Now that I'm older and wiser I do it for some of the same reasons. First, I want to save money wherever we can. Second, I want to know how to support myself and my family the best I can. Knowledge is a great thing. Third, I like to know what I'm eating. The less ingredients the better. And fourth, it's kind of fun. Not when you do it alone, but as far as a project with my husband and kids, it's fun.

This ended up being a pretty disappointing week. I know they all can't be winners but I hope to never repeat this week. It started last week with what I thought was a sinus infection. I was on the tail end of a cold when I started getting headaches and my teeth started hurting. I don't really like going to the doctor's so I postponed it telling myself that it would get better. I had been through this before and last time thought it was a tooth problem. I went to the dentist only to discover that they couldn't find anything. They thought it was a cracked tooth that they couldn't see, filed down my bite to change it, only to have it not work. After I saw my regular doctor we discovered that it was a sinus infection and I had my teeth filed for nothing. Errr. So this time I went to my regular doc, got an antibiotic only I didn't feel any better. It got worse. Advil and Tylenol started to not work. My doc gave me Lortab and that took the pain away but made me throw up. So after suffering all weekend I went to the dentist only to find out that I need a root canal. Yuck. He did part of it yesterday and I get to go on another antibiotic and go back in 3 weeks to finish it off. He says I should feel better in about 24-48 hours.

Saturday's long run didn't happen. And I haven't run since.

Wanna hear something really weird though? During the last two weeks while I was running or cycling, the pain would go away completely. Then as soon as I stopped the pain would come back 10 times as bad and I'd be in tears and pacing the floor, trying my lamaze breathing exercises, visualization, anything to get it to stop. Remember that scene in Castaway? Well if I could have pinpointed a specific tooth and had an ice skate handy, I would have been tempted. So it was either run nonstop during the day or suffer the wrath of the tooth pain afterwards. Needless to say that my sleep has suffered as well. I'm feeling optimistic that tomorrow should be a good day and I hope to run again and get things back to normal. I guess they all can't be good weeks.

Monday: 8.25 mile run in gorilla feet, core work and upper body

Tuesday: 2.5 mile run in socks, cycling class

Wednesday: 6.5 mile run in gorilla feet, full body weights

Friday: 3 mile run barefoot on treadmill, full body weights

7 Fruits and Veggies

At the end of last year, while finishing out Amanda's Holiday Bootie Buster, I decided that one of my new goals for the year needed to include her challenge to eat seven fruits and veggies every day. I will tell you that this is not an easy one for me. I am really good to get 3 or 4 but getting all 7 in takes planning. And to be honest, I still haven't managed to do it every day. But I figure that I'm still getting more than I used to and any small improvement is a step in the right direction. The biggest bonus of when I do get them in is that I'm full. I don't feel like I need the junk as much. I get tempted when I'm hungry and something sweet or salty (chips are a real problem for me) seem to be easier to reach for than preparing something healthy. So if I'm full, I'm not really looking for junk.

I had gotten a comment from Just Trying is for Little Girls a little while ago about how to fit them all in because I think it's a challenge for anyone who tried it. So here's how I've been cramming in my fruits and veggies. Some are things I did before and some things are new that hopefully will become a part of my routine, a habit, and a lifestyle change.

Breakfast: while I would much rather have a muffin, pancakes, or waffles, I choose to have oatmeal with blueberries or eggs with veggies. I can get one serving first thing in the morning.

Salmon, spinach, and salsa omelet.

Salsa is a great way to get in your veggies. We make our own from our garden. We use peppers, onions, tomatoes and lots of spices. I use salsa on a lot of things. It gives lots of flavor and since we made it, I know what went in it. It's good on baked potatoes, eggs, baked or grilled chicken, and of course, burritos.

Morning snack: includes usually an apple or an orange

Lunch: salads are an easy way to get at least 2 veggies in. If you have at least one cup of spinach and one cup of other various veggies. My favorite would be cucumbers, tomatoes, and broccoli. Soups are another great way to get veggies in at lunchtime. I find it hard to put a whole cup of fresh veggies in a sandwich so I usually have get some on the side as well if I choose to have that for lunch.

Afternoon snack: We have lots of fruit that we bottled ourselves and the kids like these for after school snacks with graham crackers. My favorite would be applesauce or pears.

The applesauce had no sugar added, just lots of spices and it tastes better than any store bought applesauce out there.

Lately, though, we have been enjoying smoothies. I requested money for a really nice blender for Christmas from my parents. We had been looking at the Vitamix or Blendtec. I wanted something that would use the whole fruit or vegetable that would puree it nicely instead of just a juicer. While doing a search for consumer comparisons we came across a Kitchen Aid model that seemed to do just as good of job but cost a whole heck of a lot less. I had my doubts but that's what we ended up getting. I love it. I have put in a whole orange and it purees it so quickly and so well. Granted that the peel is bitter and you have to put something in to make up for that, but that's o.k. This easily counts for 2 fruits and veggies.

This one had a banana, pear, orange, yogurt, and 2 handfuls of spinach. It was by far the sweetest one and despite it's green appearance was so good. All but one of my children drank it down. My 3rd child, and pickiest eater tried it and wrinkled her nose and refused. Oh well. At least she tasted it.

This one had blueberries, a whole orange, and spinach. It wasn't the best. It had a very bitter aftertaste. I learned that it needed some yogurt or more fruit. But I did drink the whole thing.

Dinner: I usually have 2 portions of veggies at dinner. And we like green beans and broccoli so that's mostly what we eat.

But here again, I love soups. If you use a tomato base and then add more veggies it can count as two. Soups won't work as well in the summer so I'm taking advantage while it's cold. I love soups. They're easy to make and can be so good for you!

We also made our own spaghetti sauce and it's so good! It's packed with onions, garlic, and peppers along with tomatoes and no sugar added. We made over 60 quarts last year and are just now about to run out. It makes me sad to think that we'll have to buy store sauce.

So there you have it. If I follow this as a guideline it's pretty easy to get them all in. However, we all have days where the plan just doesn't work. In these cases my cheater method is to drink V8. A regular size bottle is worth 3 veggies. The smaller cans are worth one. I am aware of the sodium content in these though and try not to do it too often. I've also tried the lower sodium version and it's not worth it. Yuck. Plus, the way I sweat and get cramps, I figure that sodium isn't hurting me too much.

What secrets do you use to get in your fruits and veggies?

What health benefits do you see the most from eating more fruits and veggies?

Does your whole family enjoy them?

Shoes, Bare Feet, Marathon, and Speed Questions

Over the holidays I finally got rid of all of these for good. And I traded them for:

These.

My bare feet are my favorite. That really surprises me. I didn't expect it to be so much fun. Yesterday's weather got me really excited for spring to get here. I can't wait for bare feet weather again! 45 degrees yesterday! No hat, no gloves, no socks!

The socks work really well when it's dry and I just need some insulation from the cold. The gorilla gloves are really fun to wear and unless it's really cold or there's slush or snow, they're my shoes of choice. But I love my Evo II's. If I wear socks they have kept my feet warm even in 5 degree weather. But they fit me much better without socks. I took the insole out from the first day and they have great ground feel. They are mostly water resistant, however I have come home with wet feet when there's been lots of snow. And the bright pink Newton's... well, they were the first shoe I bought after deciding that I wanted to change my form to a mid or forefoot strike. I like them. They just don't have the same ground feel that the other choices provide. I kind of wish I had done a little more research and just started barefoot like I should have. But I'm sure they will have their place. Maybe for some heavy duty hiking, I don't know. Maybe they're still good just to have in the rotation.

I just have to say a few words about these socks. First, they are super comfy. I do my laundry around these socks. I would wear them every single day. Second, the reason I bought them is because they are wool. I bought them in late summer thinking that they were keep me warmer in the winter. However, after it started to get cold this fall, I started wearing them when I couldn't go barefoot. They are superb. Third, they have a lifetime warranty. While this is awesome, I don't think I could in good conscience ever say that they wore out because I ran in them on asphalt roads. This pair has probably 20 miles on them. There is a tiny bit of wear, but hey, seriously? That is awesome! I told the lady at the running store what I had been doing and she thought it was great. She was going to use it as another selling point. They were a good Christmas gift for lots of friends and my in laws and myself. I have a small addiction with these socks.

Just for fun, this is a picture of me getting ready to cross the finish line at the Salt Lake Marathon in 2008. What's really good about this picture is the guy right in front of me in bare feet. I remember thinking that he was one tough guy. We ran on a closed section of the freeway that hurt my feet inside my shoes. I didn't know how he did it. I didn't know anything about barefoot running then. But it was my first introduction to the idea. Maybe that will be me someday.

That brings me to my last topic. I am signed up for the Ogden Marathon on May 21st. If I had known back in September what I know now, I would not have signed up. I would have taken this year off from any races and just worked on my form and building up the mileage slowly. I would have done quite a few things differently. Sadly, that does not change the fact that I am signed up and am going to run it. I just don't know what kind of footwear I am going to be sporting. I know I can't do it barefoot. I'm pretty dumb but not quite that dumb. I'm not sure if the Evo's would be too warm or if they would just be too snug after that many miles. The gorilla feet might work. I did get a small blister on the side of my foot yesterday when I wore them without socks. I guess I need to just body glide my entire foot? Maybe all of this will get worked out in the next couple of months through training. I guess I'll just have to do my 20 milers in each shoe and decide from there. Thoughts? Opinions?

O.k. This is really the last topic. A couple of weeks ago I sped home in my gorilla feet and ended up with some top of the foot pain that went away. I'm sure it was because my form got off because I sped up. So my question is: should I even attempt speed work for this marathon or should I bag it and just focus on good form? I could do hills instead of speed work. I just don't want to be injured again. That is my main goal. I have already decided that I won't worry about time and just focus on having an enjoyable day. I want to be relaxed, finish feeling good and strong. What do you think?

Monday: 6 mile run in Evo's

Tuesday: 4 mile run in Evo's (5 degrees), cycling class

Wednesday: full body weights, 4 mile run barefoot on treadmill

Thursday: 4.5 mile run in Evo's, cycling class

Friday: full body weights, 1 mile run barefoot on treadmill

Saturday: 15 miles in Evo's

Tagged for Randomness

Julie at Adventure is Out There tagged me and now I get to let you in on the secret private life I lead. Yeah, I have a blog, so nothing's really private. I have neighbors who know more about me than my parents just because they read my blog.

So here goes: 7 random things.

#1 It was 3 days before we were to be married and we hadn't found a place to live yet. The housing market was crazy. We'd wait at 7-11 on Tuesday night for the local paper to come and then I'd call as early Wednesday morning as I dared, only to find that the three rentals had been taken. The crazy thing was that I wasn't even worried. I knew something would come up because we were doing the right thing. And it did. We rented a small house and because of that I've never lived in an apartment. Ever. I wish I had that kind of faith now.

#2 I have this weird thing about having my kitchen chairs lined up properly. They have to be even and I can't go to bed or leave the house without them being right. And it's not just the chairs. I can tell when something's been moved even slightly from it's proper place. My poor kids and husband have no chance of sneaking anything unless they can remember how to put everything back exactly as they found it.

#3 I have 4 kids, a dog, and 6 chickens. My kids are constantly begging for more pets. I just hope the dog hangs in there long enough to see the last kid off. After the kids are gone, no more pets. I like animals, but it makes it difficult to travel.

#4 My youngest child will go to kindergarten next year and I am petrified of how my life will change. I am slightly afraid of being alone during the day. I am wondering what I will be as my life continues to change and the kids don't need me so much anymore. Will I go back to school? Will I get a job? I don't even know what I want to be when I grow up! (insert slight panic attack here.)

#5 I love to run. I am not fast. I have not had super great experiences with my marathons (besides my first) but I still love it and hope that those experiences will be stepping stones to a really great race someday.

#6 I am very realistic. I am known as the dream squasher at my house. This is not something I'm proud of and am trying to change. If you have a dream that's really far out there, I'll tell you all the reasons why it really won't work. I'm content with my life and sometimes thinking of major changes that might not work out scares me. That being said, I have been working for a year now on this and have come up with some dreams of my own. And I'm really trying to support others dreams (my husband's mostly) and not just shoot them down. I learned that sometimes he just wanted to dream for a while and already knew that realistically it wouldn't work. And I just needed to dream with him for a while. It was kind of breakthrough in our relationship.

#7 I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In other words, I am a Mormon. I am a Christian. I am not perfect, but try everyday to be a little better. I am completely devoted to my faith and it gives me comfort and joy every single day.

So there you are, a few things you may have already known or not about me!

Now to hear from you!

I tag:

Hannah at More Than a Marathon,

Megan at Muncher Cruncher,

Wendy at She likes to Run,

Krista at Naked, Sharp, Pointy Stuff

And anyone else who wants to tell me more about them! I love random stuff! Leave me a comment or do a post on your blog!

With the knowledge we have

I heard something on the radio last week that put into words what I've been feeling for a while now and didn't know quite how to express before. But it's such a good analogy that I want to share it.

With our new Congress ready to act, they decided to read the Constitution before going into session. However, they left out parts of the Constitution that were integral to the history of our country. Probably because they didn't want to start controversy or try to explain it. For whatever reason, they left out the 3/5th compromise. I honestly hadn't heard of this before and obviously need to do a little brushing up on my history. The 3/5th compromise is the standard by which blacks were measured back then. Blacks were counted as 3/5th of a person. It's right there in the constitution. Upon hearing that I was a little mad. Even a little outraged. Thinking of the inequality that existed back then makes me angry. And I was a little disappointed in our founding fathers for allowing it be written that way. Then I asked, "why?"

The answer was simply that it was for the census to decide representation for the states. The founding fathers wanted them to be counted as zero to begin with. The southern states wanted them to be counted as a full person. Why the discrepancy? Well, if they were counted as people, the southern states would get so much representation that slavery would never be overturned. They would have all the power. The founders knew that the people that were being counted would not be represented fairly and reasoned that if they were slaves, they were property and shouldn't be counted at all. They compromised and declared them worth 3/5th of a person. If it were not for that compromise our country would not be the same today. In fact we may well have ended up as two separate countries.

With that knowledge of the "why" behind it, I totally agree with what our founding fathers did. They had the country's best interest in mind and had foresight and faith that slavery would eventually be overturned.

How does this relate to running? Simple. We do the best with the knowledge we have in the moment. I get discouraged when I hear of or see others bickering about the different types of runners. Whether it's barefoot runners who are upset that Vibrams are being called barefoot shoes or runners in normal shoes telling the barefoot runners that they are going to get injured or they're just following the latest fad. Or barefoot runners feeling superior to everyone else. It just makes me sad. We're all runners. Trying to be heathy and have fun at the same time. We all have goals. We're all just doing the best with the information that we have today.

I have had a great support system while transitioning. I have heard a few things, but overall, I have had nothing but support. My husband teases me about being a hippie. But he's happy when I'm happy and I've even gotten him to take off his shoes on the treadmill. My in-laws have been huge supporters. And most of my friends don't think I'm insane. Heather is my partner in almost all I do and I'm so glad she loves it as much as I do. So it makes me sad when I see others struggling with negative comments. It's easy to tell them to brush it off or ignore them, it's a harder thing to actually do.

When I first started running I bought the cutest pair of shoes. The cutestness factor was how I picked them. I didn't know much about running.

Years ago I knew the best way to get shoes was to go to the running store and get fit for the type of shoe that was best for my foot. They measured my arch. They watched me run. And the more cushioning the better.

After years of researching, listening to others, having my own life experiences and reading a lot, I now know that landing midfoot is better for my body. It's using my body the way it was designed. And I know that going barefoot is the best way to figure out how to land correctly.

Yet, who knows what the future will hold? Who knows what the next big discovery in running will be? I think it will be hard to improve on God's creation though. Our foot is a pretty magnificent design. The more I learn about it, the more amazed I am. And I just want to try and use it the way it was made to be used. And I'm having a whole lot of fun in the process.

So I guess the whole point of this little post is to remind us all that we're all just doing the best we have with the knowledge we have. It doesn't matter if it's religion, politics, education, or running. It doesn't help to judge other people around you that are just doing the best with the knowledge that they have. I think back to my initial reaction to the 3/5th compromise. I was angry. I could have quit there and just been mad and called our founding fathers racist. But with knowledge I then understood and turned my opinion around 180 degrees. It's funny how that happens. I guess I would just hope for everyone to be understanding and patient with each other. We're all out there with the same goal in mind. Sometimes we just take different paths to get there and that's o.k. too. We should be on the same side. In the end we're all still just runners.

The trail run that saved the week

Last week sucked. Monday was cold. I mean really cold. Like 8 degrees cold. I've been out in temperatures lower than that, but Monday felt so much colder. I think it was the wind and it was humid. I wore my monkey feet and my toes warmed up after about 2 miles. Then after a comfortable cold 2 miles they started to freeze again. Then my face went numb and I swear my contacts started freezing to my eyeballs. Is that even possible? I cruised home as fast as I could those last 2 miles just to get out of the weather. My face hurt. (Yeah, I know the joke... does your face hurt? Well it hurts me. ha. ha.) Anyway, I couldn't get myself to do it again on Tuesday. Plus, the top of my foot was aching. I think that little 2 mile sprint home caused my form to not be so good. Perfect. So I ran an easy 3 miles barefoot on the treadmill and went to spinning that night. Wednesday comes and I decide that I can't do the treadmill every day. Mentally I can't do it. So I stuck on my Evo's and went outside. Cold wind again. However, my feet stay much warmer in shoes. Duh. Foot pain is slightly better. Thursday I decide to barefoot it again to evaluate my form. And to stay out of the cold. No foot pain. But the 3.5 miles felt long. Not a good sign. I still went to spinning that night even though I really didn't want to. Friday I did nothing. Yep, nothing. I was going to run outside and then was going to get on the treadmill and then decided to take a hot bath instead. I felt burned out and just plain tired. It's crazy how the start of the week seemed to determine the whole rest of the week for me. I stuck it out until Friday and then just needed a break. I didn't even feel guilty about it either.

However, I was really looking forward to Saturday. My husband and son were going fishing and earlier we had found a jeep trail that goes over the mountain to where they were going. It looked like vehicles had been on it recently and so I decided that I was going to get dropped off at the trailhead and then run to where they were fishing. I could wait in the lodge until they were done and everyone would be happy. I decided to invite Heather and her husband and son and we made a date of it. I had been excited all week long to do this. We got to the drop off point and discovered that the snow plows had pushed snow in front of the trail head and there was 8 inches of powder on the trail. It was not going to work. Maybe if I had thought to bring the snowshoes... But we just were not prepared for cold and wet feet the whole way. We tried it for about 20 feet and then turned around. Major bummer. We got dropped off at another point along the way and ran a hilly 6.5 miles on the road. I can't say how disappointed I felt. I had been looking forward to a trail run and this road running was not cutting it. I tried to cheer myself up because I was with Heather after all and I was on a run somewhere different than I normally run and it was beautiful.

Before we got to the fishing spot, we came to the other side of the trail. It was fine on this end. We couldn't figure it out. How were vehicles getting to this side when the other side was completely blocked? So we decided to run it for a while to see where it got bad.

I can't say how it rejuvenated me. It was gorgeous. Everything was white, even the sky. It was SO quiet. I don't think I've ever felt that kind of quiet before. Ever. It was almost spiritual. We ran and ran until we could see the other side of the mountain. I still don't know where it got bad or where they would turn around to get back out. But I can't wait to go try again and find out. The roads were icy and we had to constantly be scanning the terrain. But that's why I love trail running. Your mind is always busy but completely empty of everything else. Did that make sense?

When we turned around to head back I realized we were running downhill. I was having such a good time that I hadn't even noticed it was all uphill on the way there. There were a few times that I felt like I was flying over the top of the snow. I've decided that hard packed snow trails are the best.

We got back to the road and headed to the fishing spot. I noticed my feet were feeling tired and it was probably a good thing we were almost done. All that uneven surfaces, ice and rocks had taken it's toll. On the way back we saw wild turkeys, a couple of bald eagles and heard mice in the weeds beside us. We had hot cider in the lodge and only had to wait 15 minutes or so for the boys to be done fishing. That run was easily the highlight of my week. I can't wait to go back and do it again.

Monday: 6 miles in gorilla feet

Tuesday: 3 miles barefoot on treadmill, full body weights, cycling class

Wednesday: 6 miles in Evo's

Thursday: 3.5 miles barefoot on treadmill, full body weights, cycling class

Saturday: 13 miles in Evo's (5 miles trail)

HBBC Virtual New Year's Day Run

I got the new year off to a good start thanks to Amanda and her New Year's Day Run. Since I don't get to be in Florida and really run it, I got to do it virtually on my own. Well, I did have my trusty running partner, Heather with me. We did a nice 6 mile loop in our gorilla feet. Even in 9 degree weather my feet got warm after about a mile and stayed that way. As long as it's not wet and cold, they seem to work well.

My goal for next year is to eat 7 fruits and veggies every day. It will be a challenge. But it's getting easier every day. I hope by next year it will just be old hat and a habit.

Then in the afternoon we headed out to try out our new Christmas presents of snowshoes. It was super fun. It's quite the opposite workout of being barefoot. I was warm as long as we were in the sun and were moving. It had warmed up to 12 degrees by then. But in the shade my face got really cold.

Janz (the husband) and Justin (the 16 year old) went along and everyone had a good time. We'll be doing more of that in the future. It was a really beautiful day.

By the end my feet were the only things that were cold. I need to improve what I wear on my feet for the next time we go. I've read that some neoprene booties for cycling are good to wear over your shoes so I think I'll go look for some of those. What a good way to start the new year!

I also had a really great 15 mile run this week. No long run feeling in the legs and I could have gone farther. But it was the farthest I've been in my Evo's by a couple of miles and my feet were feeling tired by the end. But over all, I felt so good. Of course it was just a nice and easy run. But it was good form check almost the whole run. The roads were sheets of ice with tiny spots of asphalt. I loved every minute of it. There were a few scary moments and there were lots of great moments where everything was just clicking. I loved the feeling of flying over the ice. I didn't fuel the whole time except for some water. I'm really nervous because I know I can't do that on marathon day. But I really have a hard time with my stomach. That's one thing that I need to get figured out before May.

I hope everyone had a great New Year's!

Monday: 6.5 mile run in Evo's

Tuesday: 8 mile run in Evo's, full body weights, yoga

Wednesday: 6 mile run in Evo's

Thursday: 15 mile run in Evo's

Friday: full body weights, yoga

Saturday: 6 mile run in gorilla feet, 1 hour snowshoeing

A Present to myself

So it's my birthday today. I used to hate my birthday being so close to Christmas when I was a kid, but now I don't mind so much. It just extends the celebrations. I am pretty darn spoiled and really couldn't think of much I wanted for my birthday. So I gave myself a surprise present today. I hit over 1200 miles for the year. This is no short of a small miracle because I was injured after April's marathon and held on until after the Wasatch Back Ragnar and then pretty much quit running altogether. I biked more than I ran. I had signed up for Mike's 1000 miles and wasn't even sure I was going to make that goal. But this is just some serious icing on my birthday cake! I really believe it was a combination of quitting the running and doing some hard cross training and then slowly getting back into it. And then discovering barefoot running has really capped my year off. I've never run so many days a week or miles a week and had my body feel so good. Yeah! Now what to do about next year's goals? I'm almost afraid to dream!

Christmas Trail Run

There were a couple of big highlights to my week. First I had a killer 9 miler where everything just seemed smooth and great. AND I saw another barefoot runner!!! In my little town! He was leading a pack of teenager looking boys. When I first saw them I thought it was probably the cross country team, but after watching them for a while the guy who was leading them had longish hair and a bushy beard, not like our track coach. When I first saw them I thought to myself, "Man that guy has a nice stride." That's when I looked at his feet and saw that he was wearing either Vibrams or socks. I couldn't tell. They were a ways ahead of me and though I tried to catch them, (yes, I was chasing down a bunch of boys just to talk about his footwear) I couldn't. They jaywalked, I crossed at the light and had to wait, and that's where I gave up the chase. Feeling so inspired, I headed to the high school to try barefooting it at the track. I made it a quarter of a mile. It was just too wet and cold. But the next highlight was that my heel was completely black. That little boost gave me a smile the whole way home.

Later that day I was at the running store with Heather getting some wool running socks for the in laws. This little running store is relatively new and they have a small supply of minimalist shoes which is better than most running stores around here. They had some Vibram look alikes that we both tried on. Since they were $45 we both ended up getting them as one more option. My husband asked me just how many pairs of shoes I needed since I was supposed to be barefoot. Good question since I had bought a $15 pair of water socks to see if those would be a good option. I'll have to elaborate on this in another post.

Anyway, we went for a nice little run on Christmas Eve morning in our new shoes. It was a cold morning, but relatively dry. My toes were cold for about a mile and then I must have warmed up and things were good. I liked how they felt and it was pretty close to feeling like I was barefoot. We did 8 miles and felt SO good!

Post run glow!

The last highlight of the week was my Christmas Day run. I woke up feeling like I had been run over. My throat hurt, I was coughing a nasty cough, and felt like I could sleep for a week. After watching the kids open gifts and eating a fantastic omelet and orange cinnamon roll, I headed back to bed for a short nap. I was going to head out for a short run when the husband asked if he could join me. Seriously? He hates to run but has been running about 2 or 3 days a week lately. I secretly think he's trying to see why I like it so much. Anyhow, I wasn't going to pass it up and we decided to try the trail that I love. Things have really melted this month and I thought it would be doable. I planned on the gorilla feet but brought shoes in case it was really snowy.

It was beautiful. There were no human tracks, only deer, rabit, and a small bobcat tracks. I have really missed that trail. I love it. It makes me happy. My feet froze for about 2 miles but I didn't even care. I was with my husband, it was Christmas, and I was in the place where running makes me happy. I love hopping over the streams, navigating the big rocks, climbing the hills, flying down the switchbacks, and feeling like a kid again. I NEED to find some more trails. I didn't take in much of the scenery because I was watching where I was stepping very closely. There's a lot of sharp shale rock in several spots and I was careful not to injure myself. That's one area where I don't know if I could ever go barefoot. But I'd like to try sometime! It was a really great run and although after I showered I went back to bed, I was glad I got out there.

This cold is a continuation of one from a month ago that seems to rear it's ugly head and then calm down. But the cough is what's really getting me. I got put on a steroid yesterday and hopefully that will kick it for good. We'll see!

Monday: 4 mile run (2 miles in socks)

Tuesday: 5 mile run in Evo's, cycling class, stretching

Wednesday: 4 miles run in Evo's, full body weights

Thursday: 9 mile run in Evo's ( 1/4 mile barefoot)

Friday: 8 mile run in monkey feet, full body weights

Saturday: 3 mile trail run in monkey feet

A Little Tweak

I'm getting so far behind! With the kids and husband home for a week and a half, the computer is occupied and when it's not I feel a little guilty indulging in the business of "me" time when everyone's here. But it's a quiet moment and soon I will catch up on my own posts and all of your lovely blogs. I hope everyone's Christmas was grand. Mine certainly was and though my schedule is messed up, it's great having everyone home. I wouldn't have it any other way!

This week was a good one. We got a nice snowstorm in warmish weather and it just happened to be on my long run day. I was lucky enough to have Heather join me on this snowy 13 miler. We had a good time running out in the country and in the quiet that only snowfall can bring. We checked out the house that I love and want and picked out a nice spot for Heather to move out to as well! Dreams, people. I have them. They include a country setting, a couple of acres, a few neighbors (that I should be able to hand pick), a stream or river in the backyard, and lots of big trees to play in. A barn would be nice too, but we could build that later. It's a different dream than I would have had 15 years ago, but it's what I really want someday. Anywho... we had to run single file on the highway to get back and we ended up off the road in the 8 inches of snow for about a mile. Talk about an extra workout. And a good reminder of how to lift the legs. I think we should get extra credit for that mile!

I also made a discovery this week that may have saved my legs. I had been feeling tightness in my achilles and arches and still had sore calves from the snowman shuffle several weeks ago. I wasn't too concerned because it really wasn't bad, but had started rolling them out before and after every run. But I do have a history of injuring my self by running through pain. I'm smart like that. I started to even feel it during my cycling class. I wondered if I just didn't let myself recover from the race like I should have. So I happened to jump on the treadmill for one of my runs to see what barefoot felt like again. I only went 4 miles, the belt felt like it was getting warm and I didn't want any blisters. I got off and checked out the bottoms of my feet. They were a nice black all except for my heel. Well, the very edge was but not the whole thing. I recall having seen several pictures of feet and they are usually pretty evenly coated except for the arch. I went back and read my barefoot running book again and have come to the conclusion that I'm not touching down on my heel enough. The next run was my 13 miler and I made a conscious effort to make sure that I touched down on my heel. The difference was almost instantaneous. My achilles and arch do not hurt any longer and my calves are getting better. They still get sore when I push the miles or speed, but I think that's because my form slips. Hopefully that will get better with time. I still have to remind myself to touch down completely with my heel but I can't believe how a little tweak can make such a big difference. Yippee!

This is the scene behind where I want to live someday. There were people ice skating on this the last time I ran past. I think there may have been some ice fishers here until it warmed up.

Monday: 6 mile run in Evo's

Tuesday: 5.5 mile run in Evo's, full body weights

Wednesday: 7 mile run in Newton's

Thursday: weights, cycling class, yoga

Friday: 4 miles barefoot on treadmill

Saturday: 13 miles in Newton's

Making an Attempt

I don't talk about healthy eating much because to be honest, I am not the healthiest eater. I have used the mindset of "I can eat whatever I want because I'm running" for years. It's funny, because that's why I started running. I ran to lose weight. My third child had come along and a year later the weight wasn't just dropping off like it had with the previous two. I was convinced the dryer was shrinking my pants. That is until I stepped on the scale for the first time in years. I was shocked. I honestly thought the scale was wrong. But now I knew why my pants were not feeling so good. I was NOT going to buy a bigger size of pants so I did my first ever diet/exercise plan. It was Body for Life. It was pretty simple but torturous. Really, the workouts were manageable. It was the strict eating that was torture. I didn't even have birthday cake on my child's first birthday. That was day 2.

After 8 weeks I had lost 18 pounds, found a new love of running, and looked great. I really never did sports when I was younger. I didn't consider myself an athlete at all. But now it made me happy. There were so many things I loved about it that the weight loss became 2nd fiddle to how good I felt. I was lean. And I didn't even appreciate it back then. I lost 2 more pounds and people starting asking if I was anorexic. Sad to say that I found that a great compliment.

After that I switched to more of a maintenance program and wasn't as strict on the eating although I continued exercising regularly. I gained back 4 pounds and stayed there for another couple of years. I felt really good. I think that weight/size is the ideal for me. Then along came child number four. I knew I'd be giving up running for a while. I don't have the easiest pregnancies. I'm hospital bed sick for 5 months (although I did manage to still lift weights twice a week during this time) and then I like to start having contractions 3 months early and get to be on bed rest for a while. I get about 2 weeks of good pregnancy time. But I couldn't wait to get back at it afterwards. So 6 weeks after I started running again. At little boy's 6 month appointment I found out he didn't gain any weight. Not good. I was told very gently that if I was trying to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight too quickly I could be affecting my milk supply. I cut WAY back on my exercise and focussed totally on making sure I was taking care of my sweet baby properly. At his year mark and after going through several tests at a Children's Hospital he was declared healthy, just a little underweight. He was to have butter on everything he ate, 2 tablespoons of whipping cream with all the whole milk he drank, and anything he wanted to eat. Apparently you don't have to worry about saturated fats until you're 2 years old. Long story short... he is fine now and I have no idea why he went through that. I don't think it was my exercising, he was just burning off everything he ate, and he ate a ton!

It was during that next year that I trained for my first marathon. It was a great experience and I was hooked even more than before. I gained 5 lbs that first marathon and haven't lost it since.

So now I'm here, 10 lbs from that lowest point and wishing that it wasn't torture to get back there. Since I've done it before, I know what it will take and I'm obviously not willing to be drastic again. So what to do? I want to just slowly lose it by being healthy.

I have one other little consideration that I need to look at whenever I'm unhappy with how I look. I have two daughters. One's 12 and the other's 9. I do not want to make them think about weight loss. I don't want them to self analyze their bodies and be unhappy with them. I want them to appreciate all they can do and how amazing they are. I want, in short, to be a good example of that and have them be healthy and happy.

Here's a few ways that I'm trying to be more healthy and I hope you share any additional ways with me.

Amanda's Holiday Booty Buster: I don't have a problem exercising. But it's in her challenge to eat 7 fruits and veggies a day that is proving to be the most beneficial to me. I am finding that when I fill up on good things, I don't have as much room for junk. It takes a very concentrated effort on my part to plan this out and it's been so good for me. Especially with all the good treats that are around during the holidays, it helps to be full on good stuff. Plus all those vitamins have to be good for me and should make my body run smoother. I'm all about that!

Fresh Eggs: This was really my husband's crazy idea that I just went along with. But it has really been a great thing. We first checked our city ordinance to make sure we could do it and then we took the plunge. We have 6 chickens in our backyard that I know what we feed them and they in turn give us an egg a day. We always have hard boiled eggs in the fridge for snacks and we have breakfast for dinner once a week to use our eggs. We also share with our friends and neighbors.

They were so cute in the beginning!

About 5 months later they started laying eggs.

The kids especially love them.

They all have names and they are like pets. They like my youngest and he carried them all over this summer. They don't like going through the sprinklers though.

Garden Fresh Veggies: This was another husband idea. We are using half of our backyard as a vegetable garden. It is a lot of work, but I slave drive the kids and everyone pitches in to help. Not only do we enjoy fresh tomatoes (my personal favorite) and peppers, but we can and freeze a lot of it to use throughout the winter.

We grew summer squash, cucumbers, broccoli, red and yukon gold potatoes, carrots, corn, tomatoes, peppers, swiss chard, spinach, onions, leeks, and beans along with rosemary, chives, oregano and mint.

Eggs and veggies make super good lunches. And I thought it was pretty cool that I just went out to the backyard and gathered all the ingredients to make it. It doesn't get fresher than that!

Apple pie filling

Pickle Relish

Spaghetti sauce

Applesauce

Ingredients: I read ingredient labels. While I don't eat clean, I do like to look at the protein and fiber content of foods that I'm buying for me and my family. Some of my favorites are Smith's (Kroger) brand. They are not expensive and are good. Carb control yogurt, instant oatmeal, wild frozen salmon, drink mixes, to name a few.

Limit treats: I know that if I don't have them in the house that I won't eat them. And I know that making fruit into a healthy treat can satisfy my sweet tooth and my kid's as well.

Fast food: This is not really as issue as we don't eat out very often as a family. But there are times when if I'm out shopping that I'll swing in for something quick. Since reading about the poisons that are in the wrapping of fast food, it has just given me one more reason to not eat the junk inside the wrappers. I'd like to make no fast food a goal for 2011 but I know that realistically if we're on vacation somewhere we're likely to eat out a few times while on the road. So limiting it to almost never seems more realistic.

Now this is where I could use your help. What other non drastic tips could you give me for losing 10 lbs over the course of next year? What things have worked for you? Or am I being unrealistic and I'm going to have to be drastic in my approach? Do you worry about your daughters having poor self image? What things do you do to be a good example to them?