Vibram FiveFingers!

Or, if you're my husband, Monkey Feet!

I finally picked a pair up over the weekend. I've been thinking about getting some for well over a year, but had kept putting it off. Now that I'm back to running on a regular basis for the half marathon in June, I'm back to constantly worrying about my knees. Then, like so many other people, I started reading "Born to Run," after devouring many other articles online about barefoot running. To me, it just makes sense.

So finally, FiveFingers. They went on their inaugural jog tonight after my regular run. Just down the street and back, I am probably going to be overly cautious about not overdoing it. It felt ... different. Not bad, but harder than regular running shoes, certainly. Instead of running on clouds (which regular shoes certainly feel like comparatively), it was more like running through mud. These things will definitely give a person leg muscles. I can't wait to up my milage in these!

You know you're a runner when

after removing your shoes from a run it looks quite possible that a toenail fell off and it doesn't even phase you.

Really, I wore off some polish, but it was a startling change, and for a split-second I was pretty sure I didn't have a toenail. More surprising than realizing all ten toes were intact was my non-reaction to the whole thing.

Lost a nail? Meh, it happens.

Fourteen weeks until the Rock 'n' Roll.

Hard Core

Half marathon 2011 is approaching... and I'd love to get through this one without
• boinking
• walking
• swearing at my knee

We'll start with the third bullet.

Enter Hard Core! Hubby and I joined a gym last December (so we ARE NOT resolutioners, thank you very much!) and a month or so ago met with a trainer for our initial assessment. He recommended one of their classes called Hard Core, which is supposed to strengthen the most important muscles--everything from your knees to your chest, approximately. So far I've gone to three classes. They're tough, but I feel like I get a total body workout. Nothing has translated into my running yet (last time I ran my knee hurt the next day), but its coming. Right?

Last night was class No. 3, and I'm happy to report that I can walk this morning, and other than my shoulders, I'm not sore. Yay! Good thing, because I have my regular Thursday class coming up, which is killer. Its a cardio conditioning class that, after months, still kicks my butt. I love it. The more different classes I take, the more I'm finding I like the athletic conditioning classes far more than the aerobics classes. Why run around (and up and down) on a step when I can get my heart rate up running outside or spinning?

Problem now, however, is the list of almost daily classes I'd like to take. I'm running out of time for running, the reason I started doing classes in the first place. Oops. I don't have to officially start my running training until April 2 so my short-term goal is to up my miles. Time to double up.

On to the second bullet.

I'm not as worried about this one. Last year's walking was due to a combination of the other two problems, so I think as long as I train properly, I should be OK. I am going to run a full 13.1 miles BEFORE the official run this year. Last year the most I did was 10. According to the plan, the energy of the race and determination to finish will see me through the last 5k. Ha ha. Pipe dreams. Running the full thing this year. Lesson learned.

First bullet.

Time to look into supplements. Once my miles start increasing, I'll start trying out different kinds to see what works and what doesn't. Anyone have favorites? Are these things even vegan?

2011 races

There are two races I want to run this year:
1. Seattle Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I need to knock 15 minutes off my time.
2. Warrior Dash. This one still scares me. Maybe because the first I heard about it was a blog posting from a woman that broke her ankle jumping over the fire.

Here's to a good running year full of PRs and lacking injuries.