I just love the new martial-arts inspired T-shirt that I wore today for the first time.
This T-shirt says "Unbreakable" in both English and Chinese Characters. That's what I would like to be, so I thought maybe if I ordered this T-shirt it would make me a little stronger -- ha ha!
I'm so happy with this shirt and I love the sayings that are on this line of T-shirts: "Possibility," "Wu Wei -- Going With the Flow," and "Simplicity."
I want to eventually get one of each, but for now I have "Unbreakable" and "Possibility." I bought "Unbreakable" because I have felt very broken at times over the past couple of years. I'm glad to say that I haven't felt broken because of anything truly devastating happening, but I guess I have felt broken by my own personality and my numerous failures to overcome my many flaws and make myself a better person.
So, I like the idea of wearing "Unbreakable" -- that this discouraged state will not hold its sway over me. And I also love the idea of "Possibility" because it points to many exciting adventures awaiting each day.
I definitely don't feel that this barefoot running adventure is breaking me. In fact, I feel myself growing stronger day by day.
----------The Dog--------------------
I set out to do my two miles today, and I started walking with my little dog Daffodil, and she was eager to go on our usual jaunt. However, it was near 100 degrees, and as we approached the corner, I felt worried that it might be too hot for her. So, I walked her back home.
This young kid was trimming the grass that grows between the cracks in the sidewalk with this rotary trimmer on a stick. He didn't hear or see me coming and a tiny stone got flung from the trimmer right into my face and it hurt! Forget about the hazards of running barefoot -- there are many hazards out there we cannot even think up!
---------The Lady Runner--------------------
After returning Daffodil I set out for my 2 miles. I came upon a lady runner whom I've seen out there several times. She was the one who passed me and called out "Get Some Vibram Fivefingers!" as she ran by.
I've seen her out there other times since then. Earlier this week she called out to me "Where's your SHOES?!?" in a good-natured way.
Well, today I saw her on my walking warm-up on the corner where I start to run. She was standing there and it looked like she had just finished her run for the day. She approached me and said, "I just have to ask you about what you are doing? You are out here walking and running barefoot. Why?"
Um ... for a second I couldn't remember why I was running barefoot. I began to mumble something about plantar fasciitis and learning how to land on my mid-foot instead of my heel or something like that. It led to a pleasant conversation. She had tried the Vibrams and they had made her run faster, she said, but her feet hurt a lot the next day.
She's a real runner, and I have read about when people who are used to running high mileages switch to minimal shoes they don't want to cut back in order to condition their feet muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc... She said that she had heard the recommendation to just do ten minutes a day in the beginning but she said, "Who wants to just run ten minutes?"
I can understand that. It seems that I was in the right place at the right time (or something like that) because I had to start from scratch again. If I was a real runner racking up all those miles every week, I think it would be really hard to go back to the beginning. Especially if I was not really having any trouble with my shoes.
--------------The 5K Decision----------------
One last item to think about today. A friend of ours sent us a flyer for a 5K race named after and honoring his dad who died of colorectal cancer. My husband, who never has wanted to go to a race with me, has said that he would like us to participate. He said he could do the 2-mile walk, and maybe I could run the 5K. The problem is that it is on September 19, and I'm not sure if that lines up with my Fall Fitness Plan. According to my plan, and my very conservative approach, I wasn't even sure if I'd be able to do the HoBOOken Halloween 5K, the one I signed up for on October 30th or not.
Well, for one thing, I have been known to err on the side of being too conservative and careful. And for another thing I do believe that sometimes life events present themselves in such a way as to almost speak and say, "this is the next step; the next direction; go here."
So, I am thinking that perhaps I will run my first 5K a little earlier than I thought I might. We shall see.
I think it's good to forget why we are running barefoot sometimes. It means we are just running now and it becomes less about barefoot'n and more about just running, and we just happen to not use shoes. Most of the time I just answer "I like it"
ReplyDeleteYour right, Neil? How dumb to forget the most basic reason of all -- "I like it!" So simple and true.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to imply that you're not a real runner, but that lady is. I would disagree! You're out there running because you love it, and that, in my book, is the definition of a real runner.
ReplyDeleteJulie, you are right! I was being what I thought was a little bit funny.
ReplyDeleteI guess what I meant by "real" runner was more advanced.
There used to be a definition of when jogging became running. Tried to google it and all I could find was this: At What Speed Does Jogging Become Running?
According to that, I have never actually run! But I like to call what I'm doing running. It makes me feel good.
You'll probably be way better at this than me: TAG Youre IT!
ReplyDeletehttp://becauseallthecoolkidsaredoingit.blogspot.com/2010/09/this-cupcake-game-of-tag.html