Grateful for Health

We all got really sick a couple weeks before Thanksgiving. Carter started it all and developed croup, which spread to Jaden first, then Addison. I HATE croup, it is so scary to wake up in the middle of the night with a child who is having difficulty breathing. Jaden gets it really bad. Last year was our first experience and we had to take him to the ER in the middle of the night on Thanksgiving day. That was no fun. Now that we have some experience with it, so we know more what to expect, but it is always so scary! I let it go with Carter for a few days, hoping it would take care of itself but it got pretty bad so I ended up taking all of them to the doctors as it came up. I thought, "phew, at least we got through all that before Thanksgiving this year!" But that was just the beginning. Jaden developed a fever for a few days, and kept coughing so hard he would throw up. On night he didn't even wake up enough to come get me to clean it up and just fell back asleep. YUCK! After that Carter started Pink Eye, which developed during the weekend so by the time we got him in to the doctors again on Monday he had spread it to Jaden and Addison also.

All along Jeff and I kept thinking how lucky we were that we weren't getting anything from them. Unfortunately the week of Thanksgiving our luck ran out and I got hit hard. I lost my voice completely, I could only whisper, and my throat swelled up so bad I almost cried every time I swallowed. The throat thing lasted for 48 miserable hours and I didn't eat or drink and only slept fitfully. Jeff has since gotten sick also with his throat hurting a little, as well as congestion and coughing. Oh yea, our house has been full of joy this past month.

I thought Thanksgiving was toast, but thankfully I recovered quite suddenly. I remember the time because it was such a drastic change, it was 9pm Tuesday night when I realized I could swallow. So I rallied and made the rolls, chocolate pecan pie and these Thanksgiving turkeys:





They were quite fun to make, and gave a fun touch to our Thanksgiving. The kids loved eating them. This year we were acutely thankful for our health! You never realize how many times an hour you swallow until it hurts like the dickens! I was very grateful to be able to eat and enjoy our feast. It was a close call but we all enjoyed our day of gratitude.

If You're Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands

Addison has just learned how to clap her hands! It is so cute, but very hard to catch with the camera. She usually does it when she is eating so Jeff just filmed her for awhile trying to catch it.



Another thing she loves to do while eating is smack the spoonful of food. This is her way of telling us she's done eating. If we keep trying to get her to eat things gets messy very quickly!

Addison: 9 months

Addison is nine months old! Since I haven't blogged anything about her since her blessing day I think I have some catching up to do! Here are some of the things we have noticed as she grows:

1. She loves to blow raspberries! It is the cutest thing, and quite hilarious during quiet moments at church, though decidedly not reverent-making.

2. She has become quite adept at putting her binky back in her mouth, though it was a learning process.

3. She is very good at sitting up and I am now confident to leave her that way. But she also loves to roll around and covers some pretty good distance.


4. Jaden and Carter absolutely adore her and Jaden is very helpful towards her. He always fetches her toys and still likes to put pillows behind her just in case.

5. She has the cutest little voice and we love to hear her making small squeaky sounds! She is starting to laugh more and more and is quite ticklish.

6. She already has he Daddy wrapped around her little finger and gets really excited when she sees him. He gets a much more enthusiastic greeting in the morning even though I'm the one who wakes up to get her up and feed her. Her whole body tenses up, her little legs start kicking and she gets the biggest smile and even sometimes laughs. It is the cutest thing.

7. She LOVES LOVES LOVES the swing. You can't see it in this picture but her faces just lights up when you give her a little push. She also loves to be thrown up and caught in the air. And often now when I'm holding her she tries to throw herself back. You can see the anticipation on her face as she leans her head back farther and farther, waiting for that fall.

8. It took quite awhile for her to warm up to solids, not at all like my boys who were ready right off the bat at four months. She would refuse to open her mouth or only open enough to stick out her tongue. It took many attempts between 4 and 6 months before she finally decided it was okay. Actually the turning point was when my mom gave her a taste of ice cream. At first she rejected it like anything else offered on a spoon but you could watch the emotion change on her face as she actually tasted it. It was hilarious the way she aggressively grabbed the spoon and tried to get it back in her mouth. After that she was much more willing to taste solids. Unfortunately, because she's eating more solid food now she's not nursing as much and her growth has dropped off the charts. We're trying different ways to get more fat in her diet, but after my experience with Carter who has the same problem I'm not as concerned. My mother had the same problem gaining weight as a child as did I (boy has that ever changed!) so I feel confident that she will progress at her own rate. To us she's perfect!

Seven Years=Breakfast and Lunch

Jeff and I have been married for 7 years now! It was our anniversary yesterday. Jeff let me sleep in for a bit then he and Jaden brought me breakfast in bed. Oatmeal just the way I like it, some fruit and a glass of milk. I was stuffed, I couldn't even finish it all. What a great Hubby I've been blessed with!

We usually go out to a nice restaurant to celebrate, but our finances being such as they are we were afraid to plan anything. Last minute we decided to go out for a late inexpensive lunch. We took Addison and Carter and had lunch at Thai Basil, Jeff's favorite Thai restaurant. We had Pad Thai, Sesame Scallops, and Chicken Curry, yum! We were so full that later, dinner was a small affair.

I am so grateful to be able to spend my life with such a wonderful companion. Jeff brings so much humor and fun energy into the home. He's always there for me when I need him, and supports me through the rough patches. Its so cute to see the boys growing up to be just like him. Who knew seven years would go by so fast!

We first met at the singles ward in California. One of the first things he said to me was "So, did you just graduate High School?" I had just finished my Bachelors degree, and still have not let him live that one down. Perhaps he was initially looking for someone younger, but I've got a year and a half on him. He had returned from his mission not too long ago and was working at In n' Out and applying for LAPD. I had just returned from a year of teaching English in Taiwan and traveling throughout South East Asia. Right after I met him I left to visit my sister Juli who was living in France and he was left wondering why I wasn't calling him back. Even while on vacation I thought of him and looked forward to my return to the states so that we could go on a date. Dating went smoothly and we were engaged three months later, and married five months after that.

Growing up I was a little afraid of getting married. While in my teens I often heard the phrase "if you think life is hard now just wait until you get married!" Considering that my teens were a very difficult time in my life marriage didn't sound too good. Even when I was engaged I expected married life to be hard. I guess the first year did take some adjustment, but everything since then has been amazingly easy and full of joy. Marrying Jeff has been the best thing I've done in my life, the thing that has brought me the most happiness. Here's to the next 7 years!!

5 Things I HATE About Walmart

In no particular order:

5. Its always crowded. Trying to navigate the aisles is like trying to make your way through rush hour no matter when you go.

4. The products are not very fresh. I bought a whole bag of onions only to realize they were all rotten when I went to chop them for dinner. The "fresh" kale and lettuce sadly hangs limp over the edge of the shelf.

3. The produce is not well stocked. I don't know how many times I've needed parsley only to find they have none. Seriously?!!! I mean, its PARSLEY, the most commonly used fresh herb there is!!

2. Its too big. If I can stay in one section I'm fine, but if I need something that's located on the other side of the store we're in for a serious trek.

1. The checkers are agonizingly S....L....O....W. 'Nuff said.

Sorry for the grumpiness but I started making dinner last night when I realized that yet another product I bought at Walmart was rotten and I didn't have a replacement. I had to drag the whole troop down there for one thing when I had already spent an hour shopping earlier that same day. The line was long to exchange, which they made me wait in twice. All in all dinner was served right around bed time, and I was starving and exhausted long before it was done. Not such a great night.

Fun in the Sun

The sun was hot shining through the car window at 9am this morning. We had an early doctor's appointment so Jaden could get his last couple shots for preschool. We promised him a treat afterward so we swung by our favorite doughnut place on the way home. Right next door was a K-Mart so I suggested we check to see if they had any deals on little kiddie pools. I'd been thinking about getting one for awhile but just hadn't gotten around to it. We found one on sale for 10 bucks.

As soon as we got home I filled it up so there would be time for the water to warm up a bit, it is FREEZING straight from the hose. Jaden and Carter were so excited they didn't wait long. Right after lunch they got changed and ran outside. There was a light breeze blowing now but that didn't stop them from climbing in. Jeff and I brought down chairs to watch them. I thought we were just going to be spectators but before I knew it we had a family water fight. We were all laughing hysterically. It was really funny to watch Jaden dump all the water on himself when he tried to throw it on one of us, but with Jeff and I aiming for each other there was plenty of wet to go around.

After the fight died down we all laid out on the porch on the warm concrete and let the sun dry out our clothes and re-warm our bodies. It reminded me of being in California at the beach warming up from the frigid ocean. What a delightful afternoon in the sun.

Szechuan Green Beans withTofu

I made the yummiest stir-fry dish the other day that I changed so much I can put my own name on it. And hey, it turned out great, so I thought I'd share. Its only my second time experimenting with tofu and I was surprised at how delicious it was. The kids even loved it, Jaden kept asking for more tofu! It even started an amusing dinner conversation. Jaden: "Mom, I want more chicken." Me: "Honey, that's not chicken, it's tofu." Carter: "Toe-who?" Jaden: "No Carter, say toe-foo". Anyway, maybe you had to be there. So here's the recipe:

Margaret's Szechuan Green Beans with Tofu

one package extra firm tofu
frozen green beans (I use the ones from Costco), enough to fill a 12-inch skillet
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 or 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
salt and pepper

Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes, and let marinate in the rice vinegar, soy sauce, chili flakes, sugar and hoisin sauce. Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil in a 12-inch skillet until hot, than add frozen green beans, garlic and ginger. Saute 5-7 minutes. Add the tofu and marinade stirring gently for a couple minutes until the sauce thickens. Sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with cooked brown or wild rice. (Try wild rice, it's so yummy with it!)

That's it! Its so easy, try it! Don't be scared, the tofu was actually good!

Camping at Montaine Day Three: Natalie Comes to Visit

Tuesday night Jeff's sister Natalie drove up from Denver to hang with us. The kids were so excited to see their aunt. On Wednesday we decided to be a little more ambitious and try a hike twice as long. The hike would take us to three different lakes and back in 3.6 miles. The first lake was Nymph Lake, .5 miles up the trail:

Next was Dream Lake probably about halfway up. It took my breath away!


After Dream Lake we started hitting some serious snow. I've never hiked in so much snow and been warm in a short sleeved shirt and shorts. It was weird. The snow was very wet and slushy as you can imagine which made it pretty treacherous to walk in. Very slippery, which is scary enough when it is just you walking (or falling) but very nerve wracking when you are carrying precious cargo.
The kids were delighted about the snow. They walked through a lot of it, which was great.
We almost gave up, and then we made it to Emerald Lake, and boy was it worth it! What a great accomplishment. Jaden and Carter loved climbing on the rocks:




This was one of the prettiest hikes I've ever been on, especially for only being a few miles. I am so glad we tried it!




That afternoon we took a drive up the alpine loop, which took up almost to 12 thousand feet. There were some crazy fear-of-heights inspiring twist and turns and stunning vistas and views. Unfortunately we needed a wide-angle or panoramic lens to really capture anything, so our pictures just didn't do justice.

That night we had traditional camping "Gut Busters" which were soo yummy (and yes, most definitely gut, and diet, busting) and smores once again. They never get old. After one more night of falling asleep to the wilderness sounds we awoke the last morning to our tent almost falling down around us. These crazy winds blew in every thirty minutes starting in the wee hours and each time we almost got lifted into the heavens. It was crazy. Finally at 6 am after another almost collapse we gave up on sleep and decided to start the packing. We made it home, pretty exhausted, bringing home much dirt and debris, with big smiles on our faces and some memories that won't soon be forgotten.

Camping in Montaine Day Two: Hiking in the Rockies

After falling asleep to the sound of rain falling on our tent (which amazingly didn't start until everything was done and put away), and frogs coaking (there was a flooded campsite nearby) we woke up bright and early to join the birds in the celebration of a new day. After a breakfast of awesome Pineapple Coconut Crumb Muffins and scrambled eggs, and a nap for Addison, we set off on our first hiking adventure with all three kids. It was still rainy and pretty cold and windy so we all bundled up. We started out easy with a 1.9 mile round trip hike to Alberta Falls:


As you can see Jaden did not want his picture taken for some reason:

The boys did a great job walking! Jaden walked the whole way of course (he is WAY too heavy to carry for any distance). We made Carter walk the whole way back because it was all down hill. He was great for most of it, but he got pretty tired and cranky toward the end.

After the first half mile it got pretty warm and we ended up carrying all our warm clothes back to the car. Alberta Falls was absolutely gorgeous! The water was really moving with all the snow melt. I was a little nervous having the boys wandering around because if they fell over the side into the water I doubt anyone could save them. I gave them strict instructions to not go close to the edge.

This is one of my favorite pictures. Isn't that just stunning?!

This is my favorite picture of Addison and Jeff, isn't the hat so adorable?

There were some great views from above the falls.

We stopped at the top and had a snack of apples and Peanut Butter Balls, which was the perfect hiking snack and went nicely together. As we were munching a little chipmunk came to investigate and would not leave. It was a little creepy because it kept coming so close to us, it was not scared of us at all. It would hide right behind us like it was gonna jump up on us and grab something right out of our hand or just bite us on the butt. It reminded me of the scene with the squirrel from Christmas Vacation and I kept cracking up. Good times.

Camping at Montaine

Monday morning we woke up bright and early, finished the final preparations, packed the van, and drove out to the Rocky Mountain National Park. Jeff did the research on the location and boy did he pick a beautiful spot, Montaine Campground. It was rated #1 out of 50 locations on a web site he found and we were not disappointed. Everything was super green with spring, and almost everywhere you looked was a beautiful view. This was the view when we looked outside our tent:
We think we must have gotten the most beautiful spot in the campground:



The boys loved being free to run around outside all day. They were endlessly entertained by the bugs, rocks and sticks, and all the unique family time:




They also loved seeing all the wildlife up close (I learned those are elk not deer):

Here we have Jeff showing off our awesome skewers! With an extra long handle and two prongs for multiple marshmallows or hot dogs they couldn't be better! They were a little pricey at $4 each at Walmart, but they were well worth it.




Making smores always scores!

Here is the Mitchell Family version, ain't it beautiful?

Update

Foot: I started wearing my regular running shoes (I was wearing my Five Fingers shoes when I injured my foot) 24hours a day because I noticed my foot hurt less that way. Now I barely feel anything. I'll keep at it for a few days more before I let myself wear cute shoes again just to be sure. But I've been able to continue my training so I'm encouraged by that. Looks like it was nothing a blessing couldn't heal!!

Diet: I've been on the diet for six weeks now. I've had a few challenges along the way (eating at someone's house, i.e. BBQs) that have put major temptation in my path. But I enjoy my little indulgences and go right back to my normal eating habits. Right now I am planning a camping trip and that will be a challenge also. Jeff will want to eat really yummy, fun and easily portable food, and I want to eat healthy, fresh food. When the junk food is right in front of me I rarely say no so this will definitely be hard. Especially since one little push at this point and I feel like I will fall off the wagon. I go back and forth, should I just enjoy my camping trip and eat what the family wants to eat or stick to my guns and make my diet work in the wild. Considering all it took to push me over the edge last night was to DRIVE BY Baskin Robbins to make me stop and order not a kid's scoop, not a single scoop but a double scoop of ice cream makes me think I do not have the will power to last four days surrounded by unhealthy food choices. Sigh. My strength may fail me, but I'll just need to keep going once I get home. All that said, I have lost 15 pounds! So I'm almost halfway done. :)

A Woman's Perogative

Not that you can tell from these adorable pictures, but Addison can be quite the unpredictable woman! This is how she was until VERY late last night...
...when this is what we wanted.


There she was wide awake while I could not keep my eyes open. She normally goes to sleep somewhere between 7 and 8pm. I usually go to sleep anywhere between 9 and 1opm, she was awake and fussy until midnight last night! Luckily I had Jeff home to stay up with her, I don't know what I would have done if he had been working. After all that she still woke up at 7 am this morning!

I think I need to get her on more of a schedule, but I'm not sure how to do it. Any suggestions from you more seasoned mothers?

A Little Self-Pity

My foot hurts! I love, love, love to run but my body does not. This is an endless source of frustration to me. I am only running TWICE A WEEK right now because I'm training for a triathalon. TWICE A WEEK. No big deal right? My longest run so far has been only 35 minutes. That's IT. And my foot has been hurting for over a week now. I deliberately do not limp on it because I think that caused all kinds of other problems when I fractured the same foot last time. I asked Jeff to give me a blessing last night and I am trying to have the faith to be healed.

At this point I am going to just keep praying and continue my training. I only want to make it to my race. With all the cross training I am doing I am crossing my fingers that I will make it through. It really doesn't hurt that bad, but then again, neither did my stress fracture. I don't care if it is already broken if I can just do my race.

I even bought special shoes that are supposed to strengthen your feet. And I cross train. I haven't trained for a running race in a year. Why does this always happen? Why can some people run 100 miles and not get injured and I can't run 3? I just want to run!!!!

Bike Ride

I went on an amazing bike ride yesterday. I did the north Santa Fe trail and rode for 70 minutes, so I got more than 5 miles out before I had to turn around and it was so beautiful! After a few miles the trail really opens up and you can see the mountains and all the land around. The weather was perfect, nice and warm and not windy! I have used this trail lots of times but never on a bike so I was never able to go much past the gate to the Air Force Academy. But this time I saw so much more and it was breathtaking. It reminded me why we moved here. It is so beautiful here!

The only down side is my bike is not a mountain bike so I slipped on the dirt a lot and that was scary, plus I saw a snake (shudder). So unfortunately I don't think I'll go this way again, and instead stick to the south going paved road on the other side of Woodmen. I REALLY don't want to fall! It was so beautiful I almost wished I had a mountain bike....but I like my face road-rash-free. Maybe I just need to train for a marathon next so I can run miles out on the trail. Hmm, that's an idea... :)

Keep on keeping on

I am on my fourth week of my Eat to Live diet and feeling great! So far I've lost 11.5 pounds! Yea! To make it a complete make-over I also started a 90-day schedule to finish the Book of Mormon, and a 12 week triathalon training program. So by the time I go to California in August I will be my new self physically and spiritually.

When I first started my diet I felt overwhelmed by a vegan diet. I mean if you are not eating meat or dairy, what ARE you eating?!! At first I just stuck with meals I already knew and just modified them a bit. I made my favorite split pea soup and just didn't add the ham. I made Red Beans and Rice and only put sausage in Jeff's and the kids' portions. I made bean burritos and left out the cheese and sour cream and added avocado and lots of veggies instead.

We made some other changes as well. We found fabulous whole wheat tortillas at Costco that we love and made the switch to brown rice or wild rice, and soy milk. Instead of having cereal for breakfast I now have Old Fashioned Oats cooked in water, sprinkled with dried blueberries and Craisens, which Carter LOVES (although in Carter's I add lots of butter and little whole milk with the dried fruit). Or I just have a whole grapefruit or some other fruit. Surprisingly the fruit usually holds me till lunch just as well as oatmeal.

I've found some new recipes that I love also. Wild Red Beans, Chickpea and Cauliflower Curry and Robin's Granola, from my friend Robin's website, who started me reading Eat to Live in the first place. Roasted Carrots with Cumin and Lime is also a new favorite. Just the other night I made Golden Mushroom, Pea and Asparagus Risotto which was also delicious (although I'm not sure risotto is a whole grain, but I tried it anyway).

All in all, we're eating a lot more salads, vegetables, and beans. I feel full and satisfied after every meal and don't really have many cravings. I still often want something sweet after dinner but if I really want something I'll have some fruit or a bowl of granola. One night I made a Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie which was amazing, but it can only be a once in a while treat!

Well, I'm halfway through my six week program and over halfway to my goal of losing 20 pounds! Here's to keeping on...

What????

Yesterday Jaden said "Look!". We looked and this is what we saw:
If you look closely you can see that our office door is pouring water like it's a faucet!! Jeff, who had gotten home only minutes before quickly figured it out and ran upstairs to turn off the washing machine. I just stood there stupidly, "What?????" I guess the washing machine wiggled the water hose off and it drained straight through the hole in the center of the top of the office door. Weird. Could have been worse I guess, what if we hadn't been home? What would I have done if Jeff wasn't there to run upstairs to turn off the washer? I can be a little slow on the uptake sometimes. By the time I had figured out the mystery our house would have been flooded!

Jaden

On Sundays I make the whole family take naps because the Sabbath is supposed to be a day of rest. Jaden, who is now five, rarely actually falls asleep anymore and Sunday is usually the only day I actually make him lay down. Well today the whole family actually did fall asleep for a blessed two hours (well all the kids were asleep for two hours, I got about 20 minutes before Addison woke up hungry and then I couldn't fall back asleep). While the house was rarely quiet I enjoyed some time to read the Ensign and a book I've just started. Ahhh. Peace and quiet.

(He actually caught all those fish!)

What I didn't expect to enjoy so much was waking Jaden up. It had been two hours which now meant it was 5 o'clock and I was gonna start dinner soon. When Jaden does sleep he often sleeps a long time. I didn't want him sleeping too long or too close to bedtime so I decided to wake him up. He is a pretty heavy sleeper so its not always an easy or quick thing. I pulled him out of bed and he was so out of it he was kind of resisting not knowing what was going on. He is so big and strong now I almost couldn't get him out of bed! I finally heaved him up into my arms and carried him down the stairs. I could feel him holding in to me and his strength surprised me again. It has been awhile since I've needed to pick him up for anything. I carried him downstairs and sat down on the couch with him. He curled up into my chest like he used to do when he was much littler. As I sat there holding my oldest son who is now barely fitting in my lap as he snuggled into me like he hasn't in years my heart swelled. Here was my first born all legs and arms who struggles when I try to give him hugs, who gets up by himself, gets dressed by himself, puts on his shoes by himself, who almost takes care of himself curled up like the baby he used to be. When he was two he used to love to be snuggled like this for a long time after naps, now I barely get a kiss anymore. And then I could see ten years down the road when he is taller than me, stronger than me, smarter than me (at least he will think he is!), mouthing off to me and hating all the show of love I will want to give him (hopefully not all of it!) and I just hugged him tighter and kissed his head. I tickled him and squeezed him, put my cold hands on him and stole quite a few kisses while he was still willing. I asked him as I often do, "Do you know that I love you?" He answered, "you always do" and I couldn't stop smiling.

Eat to Live: Diary of a Diet

There's one thing I cannot stop talking about lately. It's this book I read called "Eat to Live."
It's a book about how to lose weight, reverse disease and eat as healthy as possible. You eat tons of fruits and vegetables--four whole fruits a day, 1 lb fresh raw vegetables, 1 lb cooked vegetables, 1 cup beans and legumes, a small amount of raw nuts and seeds (1 oz), only whole grains, no added sugar, very limited fat and no animal products. That's it in a nutshell. The author recommends you go completely vegan, but concedes that a little bit of lean meat and fish is okay.

If anyone asked me two weeks ago if I ever thought I would try a vegan diet I would have said no way. While I was reading the chapter that talks about how bad animal products are for you I had to put the book down and pray to discern truth because I was so resistant to the idea. I didn't want my preconceived notions to close my mind to truth. As I was reading, the Word of Wisdom came to my mind to eat meat sparingly. That never really made sense to me before. I mean, we need protein every day, right? As I kept reading and learned how much protein is in vegetables it all made sense. I don't think I'll ever go all the way vegetarian, but from what I read sparingly makes a lot of sense to me.

So I buckled down and put my money where my mouth is and started the diet yesterday. The amazing thing is I had already started making some changes to my diet last week, and before I even officially started the diet I had lost a couple pounds! Then after one day of really following the rules I lost a pound and a half. And the best thing is I finally feel like I have discovered the healthiest way to eat. I always knew to eat healthy you need to eat a lot of fruit and veggies, but this gives me actual guidelines to go by so I feel like I have more direction.

My only concern is having enough calories to produce breast milk so I make sure I get some fat in the form of avocados, olives, and nuts and some light dressing on my salads. Also I'm not limiting my carbs, I'm just switching to all whole grains. I lost my breast milk by dieting while nursing Jaden so I'm much more aware this time. Hopefully I can catch it if my supply goes down. I feel like it will be okay because I'm not counting calories, I eat as much as I want of the good stuff, I'm just cutting out the junk.

I'm gonna try to keep a diary of the diet so that I can pay attention to positive changes and the progress that I'm making. So hopefully I'll do a good job of keeping y'all posted! Here goes nothing!

Work

Dirty toilets. Dishes. Dinner. Laundry. Grocery shopping. Gym. More sleep please?

Shoes and Hope

I saw these on a trainer at the gym yesterday and got so excited! Vibram Five Finger Shoes.

After reading a book last Christmas I absolutely loved, called "Born to Run" I've been curious about these shoes and VERY interested in the science and thought behind them. Believe it or not these are running shoes. The idea (as far as I understand) is that instead of needing more support/cushion in a running shoe you need less, in fact, the less the better. Traditional running shoes weaken your muscles and hide bad form causing more injuries, not less. In the book, the author talked a lot about these superathletes in Mexico that could run hundreds of miles in rubber sandals with no injury, so why couldn't he run a few miles a day without injury? EXACTLY the question that has been plaguing me. Ever since I fractured my foot training for a marathon a few years back I can't even train for a 10K without getting injured. Nothing as serious as before, but enough to stop my training and make me extremely frustrated. After reading "Born to Run" I took my orthodics out and have turned my training upside down. Now I am focusing on weight training to strengthen my muscles before I start running too much, and I won't be buying any new running shoes, unless they are the ones pictured above.

So when I saw the trainer wearing them yesterday I was so excited because I knew she must know something about all that or she wouldn't be wearing them. (I can't imagine anyone wearing them unless they loved running and bought into the idea that stronger feet equals less running injuries--they are pretty ugly I think.) I had a bunch of questions for her and we talked for several minutes. And man, if I could ever pay for a personal trainer it would be her. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to find a way to train for long distances without getting injured. It would resolve a huge frustration for me.

In the meantime I will continue with weight training and wear down my old running shoes and know that there is hope.