Mt. Si and FiveFinger Treks

Posted on Posted in Deliberate Consumption, Fitness and DietTagged , , , ,

My friend and bad/good exercise influence Emily was in town for the weekend, which meant saucy* happenings abounded amidst barbecues and typical Northwest weather.

Emily was one of the first FiveFingers enthusiasts that I met, and this past weekend she showed me her newest acquisition,Vibram Fivefinger KSO Trek. Since we had planned on hiking during her trip, we ended up doing a pre-hike shopping trip wherein I bought my own pair of treks.

Interesting to note, the store we bought them at (REI) had most of their selection of FiveFingers obliterated – only the Treks were available due to high demand. Crazy! Luckily, they had them in my size, and we headed, late, to Mt. Si, where we did the 8 mile, round trip hike, burning more than 2000 calories each, and exiting the mountain ravenous, tired, and a little beaten up.

I loved the feeling of the ground and the rocks, and the rugged soles of the Treks served me well those first 4 miles up, and I couldn’t help but run up the trail a bit. Looking out for sharp rocks and watching my footing was a bit distracting, but I may learn to compensate for my insecurity over time. 🙂 My toes were definitely sore by the time we were three miles down the mountain, and the last mile was really rough. At one point I stumbled as my hips through ankles were starting to complain, and I don’t know if it’s my improved fitness, or if the Treks gave me cat-like reflexes, but I did not faceplant, but instead, deftly caught myself on both feet, not even dirtying my hands. Truly remarkable.

It’s now Thursday – and the hike was on Monday – and my calves are STILL aching, while my hips and thighs are a little more tempered. It was a wonderfully brutal experience, and I look forward to taking the Treks out for another hike or trail run sometime in the near future.

*sauciness comes from letting me/me taking the liberty to update your Facebook ustatus updates. Offer not available in all cities.

Unintended Rest Days: Sick Days

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged ,

For the past few days I thought I was fighting allergies. I am coming to terms with the fact that today, I’m not having an allergic reaction, I’m having a head cold. I’ve got the sluggish body load, full sinuses and ear pressure and a scratch throat. It’s not the worst cold ever, but I’m feeling pretty icky. This article in Runner’s World talks about whether or not you should run when you feel sick. The gist that I get, is that if it’s a illness above the neck, you’re probably generally fine to run your normal runs, but if it’s below the neck, to take three days off. There is also mention that some illnesses, like sinus infections, can lead to worse illnesses, and what I gather, taking time off when you’re sick might not be a bad thing.

It’s just that I already have slacked off due to my two races, two weekends in a row!

I, however, prefer getting better to getting sicker, and I have a big weekend of fun (a friend coming in from out of town, possible hiking, definite BBQ’ing) and am starting classes (and maybe even an internship) soon.

It’s hard not to feel the pressure to run, even though I feel dragged down. How do you cope with sick days and exercise?

Terra Plana Odette

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , 1 Comment

A new friend, a few weeks ago, updated his Facebook status that he had been shopping for minimalist shoes, and landed on Terra Plana shoes with their Vivo Barefoot technology. He’s been looking for minimalist shoes that masquerade as good work shoes – so I had to look myself. Not because I’m a crazy, minimalist shoe enthusiast, but because I’ve been looking for a simple, casual women’s flat shoe that doesn’t have crazy bumpers that make it look like I’m going off-roading. I totally love being in the Northwest, and the Northwest aesthetic – to a point – however, I don’t want to wear shoes that make me look like a poster-child for REI. Sometimes I want to look as fashionable as New York, but as comfortable as Seattle. And I don’t want to break the bank.

I was lucky that I found Terra Plana Odette Ballet Skimmer Endless/Amazon had a sale on one of the more casual styles, and I went for it. I ordered a size smaller than I found I should, however, the size I picked is still comfortable enough to wear EVEY DAY. I am still ridiculously in touch with the ground, but feel like I’m wearing slippers. They’re super-cute, too. It’s a shame they don’t sell them in stores in the US (that I can tell) – because they have some great styles, even outside of their minimalist designs.

Many blogs say they fit a bit smaller than listed – and I would definitely recommend going by whatever your size is in European sizing, not what the website converts as the US sizing. I should have gotten a 39 (which is what I wear in most of my shoes these days), and not a 38 (which is what I wear in Vibram Five Fingers Sprint. The thing is, with the Sprints, they’re supposed to be fitting like a glove. I really think the Terra Plana’s are meant to have a bit more space at the toe. I’m not receiving any ill effects from having them snug, but I will be ordering future pairs at a EU 39.

I’m pretty excited. I like comfy shoes. I love walking. I love the idea of having a cute shoe, that’s work appropriate, that won’t break the bank and won’t make you look like you’re going on a hike. Why is this so hard to find? I’ve heard great things about Jimmy Choo flats, but I can’t say my budget quite affords that $500 gamble. The Terra Planas, even without a sale, don’t cost much more than your average pair of Earth, Keen, Privo, Ahnu, or Dansko shoes. They have less clunk, a little more style, and in the Odette, a lot of comfort.

Consider these shoes highly recommended.

Still Recovering: Long Slow Run

Posted on Posted in Fitness and DietTagged , , , 1 Comment

Today I did my first long slow run for recovery since my two weekends in a row of racing. Let’s just say my body is still not quite up to where it was. I don’t think I’m going to do two races in a row like that again!

I’m still running in my Five Fingers Sprint(36, Slate/Palm/Lichen), and loving every minute of it. I did have some funky minor blister/bruising after my race last weekend, but it cleared up in short order. I have to say that my dress shoes in the same amount of time are more hell on my feat than running in the Sprints!

My run today was a short 33 minutes and change. I cracked just under 12 minutes a mile, and kept my heart rate at around 140, give or take. I had to go pretty slow to start off to keep my heart rate from getting too high. I tried to do some more hills, but it turns out no matter which route I take in my neighborhood, I’m not equalling the elevation I saw around Seattle Center for the LIVESTRONG Challenge. I might need to find a hillier place to train.

I canceled my gym membership this week in order to seek out alternative cross-training opportunities. Should I do the climbing gym? Maybe get back into yoga classes (this is most likely)? There are definite possibilities out there. I may rejoin a gym once the cold/dark season comes back, but for now, I’ll enjoy the freedom.

It’s funny doing two races and realizing I’m a very small minority of runner with the minimalist shoes. I would have thought they were all the rage – I hear so many people talk about them, even just an aside at a bus stop when I’m not even wearing them! So many people I know are converts, and I’m definitely noticing benefits of my own – but I’m curious as to why this isn’t catching on like wildfire. I mean, they’re light, washable, packable and fun! What’s not to love?

More on my minimalist shoe fetish in the next post.

Rest Week Continues…

Posted on Posted in Fitness and DietTagged , , ,

I went for a short, fast run yesterday and found that my performance was greatly diminished from previous weeks, with more exertion giving less reward. This indicates to me that I may be risking over-training, especially considering I ran two races at full force a week apart from each other. Luckily, I love walking, and I plan to get some low-impact walking done in place of running for the next week.

Did I mention that the race on Sunday was brutal? It was. Very, very worth it, however.

Another interesting note about the past two weeks is that I seem to have lost a size. I haven’t lost enough weight, in my opinion, to lose an entire size in a month, but sure enough, yesterday I tried on a size 10 petite at Banana Republic and they fit – a little snug, but they fit. I also invested in my first pair of Spanx. With more than 100 lbs lost, I’ve been left with some lose skin, and I’m anti-cosmetic surgery (well, I’m anti-elective surgery, to be clear.) Spanx seem to be the safest, cheapest way to lift the derriere and tone the thighs, so here’s hoping they work as well as I hear they do!

I just checked my weight on my Weight Watchers Scale which also tallies my body fat% – I’ve found that I’ve lost about 1.5% body fat in the past month, which means that, to the best of my knowledge, I’ve actually managed to lose body fat when I’ve lost pounds this past month. I’m also beginning to believe that strenuous exercise turns my body into a calorie burning furnace. Not only am I more hungry the day or two after a race, I seem to be able to eat more than my alotted calories and still lose weight. It’s pretty remarkable.

Anecdotal, obviously.

Anyhow – I look to resuming running sometime early next week. But for now, I rest.