Minimalist shoes

What do you write about when your experiencing a painful left ankle - hopefully a simple case of overuse tendon inflammation - & decide to take the next week off running in hopes of healing before the March 26 marathon?  Why, running, of course.  

(The ankle's been bothering me for awhile, but flared up pretty bad this morning.  We've peaked for our training mileage & are now moving into a taper, so I decided it was better to rest now & [hopefully] heal entirely before the marathon.  I probably could have used a rest a few weeks ago, but I didn't want to put off the long runs we needed to get through.  Warped thinking, yes.  But in my defense, it wasn't sore enough before the long runs to warrant staying off it & those long runs are essential to Marathon Survival 101.  You weigh your pros & cons.  We busted through those 15-20-milers, me & my ankle survived, & now it's time to give it rest.  Elliptical & cycling class, here I come.)

Always on the quest for minimalist shoes, I stumbled upon this pair & couldn't resist.  I own a pair of Vibram Five Fingers, but now have an even better option - the VFF sole with a full-foot cover.  Now I don't look like I have Hobbit feet!  They claim they're trail shoes, but with minimalist, it's difficult to define "trail" vs. "road" shoe.  These probably have a bit more grip & protection than a racing flat.

I've taken them out for a few spins & LOVE them.  They're certainly not a treadmill shoe (which I've found to be true of many of my minimalist shoes), but I haven't had any problems with them outdoors.  Slightly sore Achilles tendon during my run yesterday, but I'll keep easing into them & switching them out with my other running shoes.

Side-by-side comparison of my most recent minimalist shoes.  But why in the world are minimalist shoes so damn expensive?  There's supposed to be nothing to them.  Ridiculous...I'm willing to drop $100 for running shoes but wouldn't dream about dropping $100 for fashionable shoes??

Is that sea foam green paint on the ceiling?

Since Steve bought the house in May 2007, he's been slowly updating it.  The previous owner, or owners, had trouble taking care of home improvement projects with proper technique.  A lack of caring was probably the biggest problem.  For example, when they decided to paint one of the bedroom's a gag-inducing sea foam green, they painted over an even more obnoxious pink.  But they didn't put enough coats, so it was sea foam green with salmon pink showing through.  Not to mention they dripped sea foam green on light switches, trim, and even better, the wood floor.  And didn't bother to wipe it up.  The BEST part of the whole operation was they loved the color so much, they painted the ceiling too!

WAY TO GO JERKS.

We finally had enough of sea foam green mixed with salmon pink.

At this point, we'd already painted the walls a warm cream color...but watch as the sea foam green is forever gone...

Another project has been replacing windows.  We're not replacing the entire window - frame and all - but are using a nifty product from Jeld Wen called the Zap Pack.  It utilizes the existing window frame (which thankfully we can do), but provides new sash & tracks...for WAY cheaper (approx $250 per window as opposed to almost $500 per window for the entire window replacement).  We had three windows left...two in the guest bedroom & one in the bathroom.  Unfortunately, the hurry to replace them became more apparent when one pane in our bathroom window fell out.  And the window is in the shower.  Awkward.  We've taped an old shower curtain over the gaping hole.  Sadly, the shower curtain keeps the bathroom warmer than the previous window.

Thanks, hon, for installing the two guest bedroom windows this weekend!  They look so much nicer.

Please excuse the bullet-proof running bra & piles of clothes on the bed.  The closets in the house are minuscule, so I took over the closet in the guest bedroom.  Although I have a tendency to use the entire room as my closet.

Why I don't always get along with Old Man Winter

I'm not made for cold weather.  I love the change of seasons.  But Old Man Winter has a way of reminding me that I am no match for freezing temperatures.  Evidence below...

Raynaud's Phenomenon.  The glorious thing about Raynaud's is it doesn't have to be cold & I can have an attack.  Reaching into the freezer, holding a cold drink...I used to have photo evidence of my fingers turning white after a trail run in 80 degree summer weather.   It can affect my toes, but they have the luck of gravity on their side - the blood is forced to flow to my toes.  This picture was taken a bit over halfway through our 20-mile training run this morning.  It doesn't help my body was working to move as much blood flow to my legs.  But I had heavy duty leather mittens on during the run.

When it hits, it hits hard.  It can be fun to scare people with my fingers when they turn white.  Some get really freaked out when they see fingers with no blood in them.  It's like Halloween every day for me.

After warming the fingers & changing to another pair of gloves, we completed the run.  20.6 miles.  Can't complain about that.

Who cut the cheese?

We have several homebrews on tap (I'm a lucky gal) but one of the more popular is Steve's Cascadia, which is a black IPA.

Love this pint glass from a brewery in Utah...if you look closely, underneath the name, it says "Good for What Ales You."

We're continuing to experiment with cheese-making. We have yet to taste-test the final products, but currently a Farmhouse Cheddar & a Manchego are aging in our basement.

This morning I made crepes with a homemade mascarpone filling, topped with strawberries.

Homemade mascarpone is out-of-this-world delicious. So creamy. And so easy to make. Adding a bit of powdered sugar & almond extract, we had a crepe filling in a snap.

Tonight's menu includes a Cheddar-Ale soup with homemade Naan bread.

Before I finish breakfast, I'm already planning dinner. People wonder why I run so much.

Foam rolling hurts & argyle compression socks are cool

Marathon training has been proceeding swimmingly well (knock on wood!).  Many factors have changed since my first (disastrous) marathon attempt in 2008, but most important is experience.  I've lived & learned quite a bit in almost 4 years of running & racing - first race was a half-marathon in 2007 - & a lot of that knowledge has materialized through trial & error.

Recently, I've become intrigued with foam rollers & compression socks.  Foam rollers are best described as a torture tool for the non-compliant stretcher.  *Ahem*  (Guilty)  They're an innocent-looking log of dense foam.  And you roll around with it in the floor (naughty!).  Side effects include much swearing-like-a-sailor, grimaced faces, & very deep-tissue-massaged muscles.  It's a love/hate relationship.  See here for demonstrations.

I became the most recent victim of the Running Demons & before I knew it, my credit card was being charged $15 & I was holding my very own yellow foam roller.  The UPS guy delivered it approximately 15 minutes before we bolted out of the house on Friday night for a beer at the brewery.  Somehow still possessed by the Running Demons, upon returning from the brewery, my bravery kicked in (or perhaps the delicious beer?) & I attempted foam rolling.

 Love the striped pajama pants?  Don't worry, I didn't wear them to the brewery.

 We have three dogs that seem to think our furniture is their furniture, so we have to put random objects on the couches to keep them off.

 This is me slowly collapsing in pain from rolling my IT band.  Apparently that's one spot that I don't stretch because it HURT.  In an oh-so-good hurt.

 Steve was enjoying documenting this.

Either I'm laughing or crying.  Probably both.

I have yet to try the foam roller again.  It's on the kitchen table, taunting me as we speak.  My IT band is still angry with me.

Please excuse the dirty camera lens.

The next item in my new running toys was a pair of compression socks.  Read Peter Sagal's description here. And yes, that's Peter Sagal of NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.  I was intrigued - a sock that could potentially keep my legs feeling fresher during long grueling runs & make recovery less painful?  Sign me up.  After another $35 charged to my credit card (compression socks aren't cheap - this pair was on sale, most run between $40-60 per pair), I was ready to take them for a test run.

It's the latest fashion, wearing compression socks under your capris.  All the cool kids are doing it.  Even cooler is the argyle pattern.  (Probably why they were on sale)

Steve & I went for a 15-mile run yesterday & these socks kept me looking fashionable the entire run.  The first few miles were interesting - as the name says it all, these bad boys compress your calf muscles - and my calf muscles felt slightly cramped.  Think girdle for your legs.  Left leg eventually warmed up & I didn't notice the sock, but my stronger right calf muscle was more stubborn & took a bit longer to warm up.  The tightness was not enough that I had to stop & stretch, so I kept moving.

The biggest difference I noticed was toward the end of the run.  After 10 miles, anytime we stopped (usually to eat & walk, sometimes for a potty break in the bushes), starting back up was not a problem.  Usually the opposite occurs - we stop running for a quick break & the farther into the run, the more difficult time my legs have getting back into a groove.  These socks prevented that - they kept my legs feeling refreshed & gave me the ability to kick it in at the very end.

Much less torturous than the foam log.

I'm running away to the South Pacific

It's so freakin' cold, slightly damp clothes FROZE IN THE DRYER.  Frozen SOLID.  A few pieces were still slightly damp when the dryer shut off, after we went to bed, & this morning, they were frozen.  Last time I checked, we lived in Wyoming, not the Arctic.  I would rather be a sweaty mess in hot summer weather than at risk for frostbite after 10 min of exposure.  Yes, according to our Wind Chill Warning, a mere 10 minutes in this weather can lead to frostbite.