Me and running have an anniversary...

            Endurance. I dont know if I necessarily have what the definition of that word is. I often hear from people "I dont know how you run that far". (I don't think I run that far, because, well I dont.) Likewise, I find myself saying to some pretty rad bikers I work with, "I dont know how you guys get up those hills!" And they look at me like I don't know the difference between apples and oranges. 

           I've come to think that maybe the main ingredient to endurance is love. Love of what you do, and the drive to excel at it. And knowing that with betterment comes more fun and love. I love running. I love the way I feel when I'm running (99.99% of the time). When i have a particularly great run, the kind that when you come home you wish you could do it all over again, because you know you could no problem, you don't even want to take your shoes off, because its admitting you have to wait till tomorrow to do it again, and take a shower and be clean, and go to work, like the best kinds of run on sentences KIND OF RUNS.. I love running even more. 

         When my boyfriend, who is hands down the best runner I know, goes and runs an obscene amount of hours on the disgustingly hot day, comes back with a smile on his face, and someone asks him "How do you do it?" I know the answer comes down to the plain old fact of the matter that he LOVES running. The same way I know the guys I work with love being on there bikes. 

         Having endurance is what you make of it. I had enough endurance to laugh through my entire run today and it felt great. It wasn't 20 miles. But i had fun, and I didn't want to take my sneakers off. For the most part my running career can be defined by that very sentence.

         At the end of the day Love what you do. And have fun doing it. And if you can love something for 6yrs, which, about to date is how long Ive been running, I would say thats all the endurance you need. 

       

                 Right now, I feel like Im starting at scratch in all aspects of my life, especially my running. Its hard to admit sometimes, when you just have to step back, and say okay, I need to start re-training myself and my life, in order to be a better runner, and a better person. Along with getting a new, great job, comes new, maybe not so great hours. Finding time to be motivated and healthy is not always easy, and falling off the track is.


Some days I wake up, go to work, eat badly, come home, and don't want to do any physical activity because my "knees hurt" or "I'm so exhausted". All of these judgment calls ultimately lead to an even worse day tomorrow. Its hard to wake up early, get outside, and then think about making myself a healthy lunch that will give me enough energy but not bonk me out so I can keep on keepin' on! It makes it difficult to find food, and energy sources that will build and keep my muscles strong for a run tomorrow, or a bike ride three days from now. 


I used to say that you had to change today if you wanted tomorrow to be any different. I still believe that. My boyfriend always tells me to run to the end of the street, or as far as a I can go, and then tomorrow, see if I can go further. 


I guess starting back at square one, as difficult as it is, teaches me that I'll always have to work for what i want, if thats the case..  Cheers to a new day! 

To Barefoot Run or Not to Barefoot Run...

        It seems that lately the barefoot, or minimal approach to running is really becoming more and more popular. Whether you agree with it or not i think that the transition is obviously worth debating... at least!

        I first began to run with minimalist sneakers about a year ago. You have to get used to walking without a bulky heel behind you so you don't strain your muscles. Its true, because when i finally did go for my first run in my five fingers, my calves burned for about a week. Who knew! I always thought i was using my calves to there full potential ( Not to personify muscles, but mine have potential). I loved wearing them in woods, but I should preface my next sentences with the sheer fact that I HATE heavy bulky running shoes. This is a deep hatred that I had well before I ever heard of Christopher McDougal or Born To Run. I always felt my "running sneakers" were too heavy. I was also coming into barefoot running with an excruciating pain in my hip for tendinitis, Not  Awesome! I love my five fingers so much, that I followed my intelligent boyfriends keen advice and purchased a pair pf New Balance 100's. I'm pretty sure these sneakers were made for me. MINIMAL support, decent tread, and true to size. They have a bigger toe box like most New Balance sneakers, and that suits me just fine.

     Minimalist shoes have a smaller heel drop. Thats the height difference from the toe to the heel of the sneaker. They also have no to minimal arch support. Some people think that your average running shoe makes your feet "lazy" because it lets the muscles relax just  little too much, causing over pronation or supination. With a more minimal shoe, your foot is forced to work, and becomes stronger in the long run.
   
     More importantly, minimalist shoes allow you to run with a forefoot strike. Whereas sneakers with a larger heel get in the way and...
                                      SOOO much more i could say. But the post is to argue both sides. Well I cant really argue for the side of bulky cushioned running shoes. BUT i can say that you cant run long distances without cushion. We have to be smarter runners and know that running barefoot on ridiculously rocky terrain would lead to a whole different kind of injuries.

     After one full year of running in minimalist sneakers, I can conclude that my hip pain is less or not at all the majority of the time, I feel more close to my surroundings, and body, and I am an all around better runner. My vote is minimalism WHEN YOU CAN.  iTS ALSO IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. And if your comfortable with your running style, dont change. The most important thing is to get outside, and get active!

   

If April showers bring May flowers then May flowers bring...

Allergies. But thats okay, its a small price to pay for bring outside in he fresh air. My knee is getting increasingly better. Ive been icing it, and taking it easier than in the past. Ive also been taking a table spoon of Udo's oil every day. And Ive heard great things, but I have yet to be 100% persuaded by the magic that is the 3:6:9 blend of Omega fatty acids. (Which I have always thought was a weird name for something) Anyways i have been doing a loop which is lesser than what I would like to be doing, but none the less Im seeing prgress in my knee and time for sure. This past Friday I ran the loop at 46 minutes, Today 42. I think the tacked on minutes were due to walking and struggling on the dwnhills with my knee.

Now to think about... food! The recent isue of TRAILRUNNER  had an article on paleolithic diets. I did some research and i guess this means low carb? Alot of meats? Alot of nuts and dried fruit, no potatoes. I thought it all sounded great! Until the article said no cheese and no salt! SALT? NO SALT? Thats just crazy. I eat like this anyways...accept the no salt thing cause thats just ridiculous.

Sausage, mushrooms, asparagus, carrots, garlic, olive oil. Take that Paleolithic Age!

Im pretty sure the human race has been drinking wine for a pretty long time too right?..right? Good to know. Well enjoy the weather it looks like it's supposed to be pretty nice this week!

Its Summer here in VT.

Or.. at least it feels like it with the way sn was out yesterday and the ridiculous temperatures, making me miss winter a LITTLE. Until i walked home last night in a t-shirt, and I remembered what it felt like to be free of single track sidewalks and sky scraper-esque The windows are open and I'm sitting here icing my knee. My knee is going to get better without any short cuts. I can be patient, for once in my life,  I will try not to go through this process at lightning speed. I'm sure it'll pay off in the long run right??? Dang this is hard. Its so beautifully warm outside already at 7:45. In the meantime I'm getting geared up... a pun! (kind of). I just ordered a pair of WT10 minimus trail sneakers. YES!! I knew i was saving my money for something!!




5.5 oz. Anton Krupicka's design for his "perfect shoe".. I'M SO PUMPED....

      On another note, a lot of people have been asking me what Kevin and I eat. food?  So decided to write down the meal that we make almost twice a week, and eat almost everyday if you count leftovers.

Were both big on protein, so this is based around ground sausage from Tangletown farm. It's what we like to call a hodgepodge of sausage, quinoa, and veggies. In the winter we stuck to a lot of brussel sprouts, and carrots. BUT now that its spring we get to throw some asparagus in, along with all those other good things we use:
garlic, mushrooms, asparagus, quinoa, carrots, and KALE. A lot of kale all the time, yay greens.

 

Cook, the Quinoa, and sausage and veggies separately. Add the Kale to the veggies last. and then add the quinoa to that. I would be able to tell you more if it really was my recipe and not Kevins but ya know.. picture looks damn good!

welp all that good stuff together and you have what i eat pretty much every day. And now that my knee is numb I think it's time for more coffee.. 

Yay for feet and soon to be happy knees!

          A great first run back on the trails left me feeling excited about running in the woods again. And i was surprised to see that my hill repeats in the winter had totally geared me up for the muddy long hills in the woods! SUCCESS! Exactly what i wanted! Except all good things come with  price and what goes up must come down, literally. Which is what I am blaming my stressed IT band on: downhill debauchery. SO many reasons i can think of for this problem: 1. Running downhill on roads is lazy, and mind numbing, which is a recipe for disaster when it comes to running, and most other things in life. 2. I was wearing really great road shoes, my Cascadia 6's, which rock but were a little more cushioning than i would have liked once the snow started to melt. Dont get me wrong in the winter, on roads, cushioning is a good thing. But it also makes my feet a little lazy, knowing they wont get hurt, further enhancing the change in my downhill stride. Which by the end of winter turned into long strides on the downhill, and a  faster pace than i would've held and terrible running form. GUHH how did i not see this?? Maybe it was because i was fighting the brute temperatures and ridiculous winds..? But Im not making excuses I had a great off season. 

         Now, how to fix my knee before the trails REALLY get fun. 
1. Ice 15 min. on 10 or so min. off. Not icy/ hot  cause that would expand my IT band even more which is swollen and needs love and care. Kind of like my bruised ego. 


2. Ditch the Cascadia's and get back to my minimal New Balance 100's. 


3. My new favorite Cross Training sport Bikram Yoga! The warm room is like a sauna so my the tendons in knee slowly relax and stretch.
Throw some Ibuprofen in there and your all set ;-) 


4. Get back to trails! how exciting no cars, no people saying they saw you running and you look "crazy", no front page newspaper pictures calling you an avid runner! Oh my gosh is it true i can run in peace and quiet and enjoy nature, the streams, rocks, mushrooms, trees, and serene wildlife.
 How lucky am I to have two good forms of transportation right underneath me? 

Birthday walk to commemorate spring!!

A little trail maintenance and some scoping out for a good run today! ANNNddd i got  new camera i needed to try out! yay spring!

Panorama setting! view from the top of North St.. oh Vermont..

Some beautiful water.. and minimal snow! yes!!