OH Yeah!

I am so back!

Shortly after I hit "Publish" yesterday, my bad mood started to melt a bit. Little made a yummy fried fish recipe, complete with his own Special Sauce, and went on to make a yellow cake with chocolate buttercream icing. The cake fell on the floor as he was putting the finishing touches on it, but instead of getting upset, we laughed, salvaged what we could, and let That Dog clean up the rest.

And then everyone left the house except me.

And I went for a run.

I didn't care that it was 105 degrees, that I was supposed to go out with my friends in about an hour, that my ankle was still a little iffy... I just wanted to put my tunes on and GO.

So I went. And it was fine. I stuck to one mile, both because of the heat and the ankle. I used my Vibrams (a.k.a. The Crazy Feet) because I really do believe that barefoot running is healthier for the entire body.

Reading Born To Run by Christopher McDougall (a recent recommendation from one of my running friends) has confirmed my belief that the human foot is capable of doing what it needs to do without fancy running shoes or other equipment. Sometimes, the equipment itself is the problem. (The Teen's Sports / Orthopedic Doc said roughly the same thing to me last fall when the Teen was seeing him for shin splints and a suspected stress fracture.) There's a reason some of the best runners in the world are running around Kenya and Mexico in their bare feet.

I know, I'm such a freaking hippie, but I just don't get so much of what we do in our culture. Including the obsession with having the right shoes. I'm in Birkenstocks three seasons of the year and clogs in the winter. Barefoot at the dojang and in the house. And as close to barefoot as I can safely manage when I run.

I've only just started learning all there is to know about the Barefoot Running Movement, but after running with the Vibrams for the last few months, I can see why it's gaining such popularity. I never thought that running felt great before, but that's how I feel about it now. It feels great. It makes me want to eat nothing but healthy, natural food, pamper myself with quality sleep, engage my mind with interesting, productive activities, and blow myself a kiss in the mirror.

So I had this great run, came home, took a delightfully cool shower, and headed out to dinner with my friends at The Green Room. I felt positively euphoric, driving down 81, smiling like an idiot, singing with the radio... better than I've felt in days.

What a change!

Today we went to visit the organic farm where we get our veggies. We picked lots of fresh basil, some flowers, picked up some extra veggies, talked to the grass-fed meat guy, drank some freshly brewed iced tea with mint and agave nectar. I made a fabulously healthy dinner, accomplished a major sewing project for my niece and nephew's upcoming birthday, and am finishing today feeling healthy and strong and approaching normal.



Tomorrow I'm getting up super early and taking a good long run with my Crazy Feet.

:-)