My new shoes

So, I decided, since I am running in minimalist shoes, I might as well be walking and training at the gym in minimalist shoes too. After much consideration, I went with the New Balance Minimus. These Minimus' are inspired by injury free and minimalist running and you don't even have to wear socks with them!  They slip on very easily and feel just like slippers. New Balance says that they are "perfect everyday approach to the minimalist lifestyle". For more about these guys, check out the link below and see what else NB has to offer.

New Balance Site

Annual Barefoot Run

It has been a while since I have posted. I was wondering if anyone is going to be attending the second annual barefoot run in NYC on Governors Island? Here is the link!! Let me know if you would like to run it with me, as I will be registering if I can find a companion! The first link is for the NY chapter for barefoot runners, and the second is a link to which you can register for the run. Hope to see you there!


http://barefootrunners.org/chapter/new-york-chapter/nygovernors-island-2nd-annual-nyc-barefoot-run

http://www.nycbarefootrun.com/nycbr-2011/event-overview/

Get your scramble on!

Need a morning carb/protien boost after your run? Try this, I had it for breakfast today, it kept me full and was full of yummy goodies!

18g carbs, 24g protien, and 350 calories! You can lower the calorie count by just using egg whites, but I don't believe in egg whites. They gross me out.

Breakfast Scramble:
2 eggs scrambled with 1/4 c skim milk, adobo and red pepper
1/2 tomato chopped
1/4 cup onion chopped
1 cup fresh spinach
Veggie sausage links chopped up
1/4 c lowfat skim milk feta cheese
3 tbsp salsa and a shake of tobasco
Pam cooking spray

Light coat of pam to a warm skillet. Saute onion first, then add in tomato and spinach. When spinach reduces, add in sausage links and brown them. Spread the mix over the bottom of the skillet and top with eggs and feta. Get your scramble on! Top with salsa and hot sauce! Super easy, super yummy, super filling.

P.S. don't be afraid to add a little spice to your diet!!! Adding heat to your meal can boost calorie burn. Capsaicin, chemical in jalapenos, habaneros, and poblanos make your body increase calorie burn and clears insulin from your blood stream making you store less fat. It also adds low calorie flavor to you meal and makes it far from boring!

keep it lean and keep it green

Slacking a little on the blog here with my senior thesis due in just two days! I however have not been slacking on my running! I am almost upto 5 miles. The only thing keeping me at 4 are my ever sore shins. The rest of my body is feeling great and is full of energy. Even this terrible cold and these sore shins haven't kept me off of the pavement. I have taken this new found motivation and used it to get me out of the slump I have been in all year. I'm hiring a trainer and I have been making some changes to my diet. 


Now, my mom is the kind of person that can eat an apple, a powerbar, and a salad for her 3 meals and call it a day. Never hungry, never craving anything. I however am my father's daughter. Nothing on this planet I won't eat! That's not true- I wouldn't eat rocky mountain oysters. But, anyway, I also like to eat a lot.  I have tried the small portion deal, but it doesn't really work for me. After a long day and a good workout, I just want to EAT! So, I made a couple rules: keep it lean and keep it green. I've grounded myself to a 1200 calorie diet, dropped the alcohol (except for special occasions), and vow to drink at the very least 5 glasses of water a day. My treats are natural peanut butter, edy's all natural fruit bars, rice cakes with hummus, greek yogurt, and sugar free jello pudding packs. All are low fat/low cal. So, anyhow, 1200 calories can be tough to do when you love to eat. For goodness sakes, olive oil even has a good 100 calories in it! Here is something delish that is high in protien, fills me up and I haven't gotten bored of eating yet! I call it the provocative salad because my friend says it's so provocative to put fruits and nuts on your salad. He doesn't know.


The Provocative Salad:
Step 1:  put blackened seasoning on your hormone free boneless skinless chicken breast, drizzle with evoo, wrap in foil, and stick it in the broiler for 25 minutes. 
Step 2: 
Cover your plate in mixed greens and spinach
Give a modest sprinkle to lowfat feta cheese
Chop up and add a hard boiled egg
Add a chopped apple
handfull of dried cranberries
some red onion
and either raw walnuts or almonds
Here is the secret ingredient: Briannas Blush Wine Vinegarette Salad Dressing 

Happy Eating and happy running~

Last week I did my first and maybe last run on a treadmill completely barefoot. It was a really odd feeling having that belt under my feet.  It kind of hurt and rubbed the bottoms of my feet til they were pretty tender. I guess that's what you can expect from not having shoes on, but something tells me I would have enjoyed it much more OUTSIDE instead of on my mom's treadmill. Other than that, it was a pretty good run. I was able to set the speed and challenge myself at keeping the same pace. 

I gave my feet a little rest after that and when I got back to NY from Mom and Dad's, I kicked it into high gear. I ran my route, added another half mile and killed it. I ran so fast, I made myself sick. I find it easier to run faster in the vibrams, because when I keep a slow pace in them I start heel striking and landing too heavy on my feet and then my shins get a little sore. When I mid foot strike and hit 180 times a minute, I'm cruising. I added in some sprints as well, which always makes a difference in my work out. I woke up pretty sore today in the legs. I really wore myself out! I think I will do the same today:)

Barefoot Bliss-ter

Well, I am finally up to 3 miles in these puppies and felt like I could kick it up to 3.5 today, but I still have this stupid stupid stupid blister that is the entire pad of my big toe. I dunno if I should just push through it and let it toughen up, or if I should keep a band-aid on it. I just let it go today and it doesn't feel too nice.

I must say, I am pretty happy with the shoes so far. I do have a couple complaints about them, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons. I have never had shin splints or blisters before, and I now have both. Other than that, I have found I really enjoy running in them. My knees haven't been bothering me, my calves are getting really strong, my run time has improved, and they are really fun to run in. I have an airplane ride on Wednesday and I will be interested to see if my knees hurt during the flight or not. If they don't, I will swear off sneakers forever!!

Other than that, I am so happy about the beautiful sunny 60 degree weather. I woke up and went to the park all morning for a nice long walk in the Vibrams and finished the daylight off with a good run.

My mom and I did our first run together in Vibrams this week. I like to run alone mostly, but it was nice to have someone run with me for a change because it pushed me a little. I must be stretching the arches of my feet because I kept feeling a sharp pain every few minutes in my right arch. I was worried I'd have sore feet, but I don't at all. I think I might be ready to move up to two miles finally, except I feel a cold coming on. I thought it was allergies, but boy am I stuffed up this afternoon and my eyes are watering like crazy. I'm hoping this goes away in a day or two. I'm worried all this pollen is going to make it 10 times worse! I am pounding water, claritin and echinecia. Let's see what happens.


A couple of days ago I was at Barnes and Noble because I have some gift certificates to use up. I decided to get Danny Dreyer's book "Chi Running" and I picked up a copy of "Complete Idiots Guide to Barefoot Running" as well to flip through. I have been reading it here and there. It's pretty cool, talks about avoiding injury, how to get a healthy start, and how to develop a training regiment. I think I will read Chi Running over spring break next week and do a few solid runs and solid workouts now that I can add a little distance. Additionally, the weather is amazing and all the cherry blossoms are starting to bloom, so I am pretty motivated to spend some quality time outside. I'll leave you with a good quote I found:

“Shoes do no more for the foot than a hat does for the brain.”  - Dr. Mercer Rang