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Yesterday morning I ran almost 11.5 miles, and my body feels great today (maybe a little more tired than usual, but I exercised a little anyway). 11.5 is my Personal Record for distance… take a look at the course I took on Map My Run. Also, you’ll see me – number 15 in my age group – from last weekend’s 10k Fun Run in Morro Bay on the Rock to Pier website. The kids are in Dance Camp this week and tomorrow they’re doing a performance – three dances. I saw a preview of the dances and just about fell over myself laughing. They are so cute – and talented. Here’s Colin getting some tips from a big kid (that’s Scott – a lead dancer).  Here they are in class:  This morning a group of at least 5 peacocks came to visit from the property next door. I don’t usually see them, so it was a treat! My neighbor cat, Micky, did not know what to make of this one – maybe you can see him crouched there with a peacock casually looking at him.  Recently an adult friend in the community asked if she could buy the kids some salt water taffy. It was very conscientious letting us know what’s in the candy, making sure I was OK with them eating it, etc. She ended up getting some other candy in addition to the taffy – candy that was vegan from Whole Foods (she checked the ingredients thoroughly) – but Stefan didn’t know that. He just saw this candy Colin was eating and said he thought there was probably gelatin in it. He talked to Colin about what gelatin often contains – horse hooves. So Colin goes to the adult friend and declares that he couldn’t eat the non-taffy candy because it has horse hooves in it. She comes over and has what appears to be an awkward conversation about it and later emailed Stefan. It’s these situations that Stefan and I differ in our approach. I trust that this particular adult would only give our kids vegan food. In fact, so often our kids are at other people’s homes in the community and I trust that they respect our values. I don’t need to oversee what’s going in their mouths. Being a relaxed parent is more important than seemingly policing the situation. I understand why Stefan took the candy away from Colin, but I sometimes feel the need to weigh the impact of that with a bigger picture view. How people view us is important for the animal rights movement – Anxious Vegans just give the impression that we’re not comfortable with our choices and that it’s not worth it to be vegan. The latest viral video is the Double Rainbow Guy… a remarkably simple look through the eyes of a guy witnessing a double rainbow in front of his house. Whether or not he’s on drugs is unclear, but the bottom line is this: his words and emotions (rather climactic) are a reminder of the beauty of nature all around us. Marcelle, if you’re reading this in Kauai with rainbows galore, you might be reminded of how we lose site of the glory of everyday natural events. I laughed and sobbed all at once watching this… I just submitted an essay – a little piece – to Runner’s World about how my kids coined the term Shogger (shuffle + jogger) to describe how I run. I feel great… I wrote an essay and submitted it! I’m back in the writing world. The beginning of the slow motion segment (around 1:44) of this video has Asafa at the starting line and it sounds like his body is a falling, cracking tree. I cringed, wondering if his right arm was going to break right off. But once he gets started, the video is an amazing demonstration of foot strike. When I see the heel strike form of people running on the streets, I’m reminded that Nike (and other shoe designers) are catering to the masses – people who want marshmallows under their feet to carry their bodies. What runners don’t realize is that they’re counting on the marshmallows to perfectly align their feet and absorb a tremendous amount of pressure. Think of all the pounds of pressure that gets knocked up the legs from a heel-landing run. But a forefoot toe/midfoot/heel landing (as demonstrated in this video) is what the pros know is logical for taking the pressure as well as being faster (you don’t need to roll through the foot). I bought fireworks for the kids today with the promise that they won’t be lit until Sunday. Lots of excitement! Colin’s latest joke he’ll tell you if you see him… Q: What do you get when you mix a duck with a firework?  I was running this morning (“shogging” as my children call it, since I shuffle and jog along), and I started thinking about a post I wanted to make on a barefoot/minimalist shoe site I frequent. As I was writing it in my head, thinking about how the tag on the back of my left new Vibram shoe occasionally hits my right calf (since the tag sticks off awkwardly to the right), I suddenly heard the answer. It’s like I know the guys on this board so well I could predict what they would say. They said in my head, “it sounds like it’s not a problem with your Vibram shoe but a foot placement issue.” I experimented with turning my left foot inward a bit, which felt like I was running pigeon-toed. But when I looked down, my left foot was running perfectly straight. I know my left hip juts out to the side (when I lie down my left leg turns out and my right stays in normal alignment), but it wasn’t until this morning that I thought my left leg’s turnout might be contributing to my right foot’s discomfort/pain after a long run. Maybe my right foot/leg is compensating and that might have an impact. Anyway, it was funny to hear that voice in my head from the running board I’m on. It’s like hearing in my head a therapist responding (“well, what does this remind you of?”) or a teacher (“OK, what’s the next step?”). We start to predict what they’re most likely going to say to us, which in the end is helpful. In this case, it’s these wild barefoot/minimalist shoe people who know that form is very important, since we our bodies are affected by modern life. My brother-in-law, Anders, recommended this movie… it looks absolutely wonderful. |
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Copyright © 2010 Caity McCardell - All Rights Reserved |
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