The miles are starting to pick up and things are looking good! First order of business was a shoe change. My "why not" experiment with the Pearl Izumui's did not pay off. In fact, my husband and I are, even with the discount we got, out a ton of money because of the Izumi's. They were horrible for the both of us. We couldn't take it any more! Friday on our way to Baldwin Wallace to pick our son up from camp we stopped at Vertical Runner. I knew what brand of shoe I wanted - my old and trusty Adidas.
Never again will I put my feet in another brand of shoe. I don't care how much of a discount I get, I don't even care if I get shoes for free - FUGGETABOUDIT. (Although Vince gave us a pretty sweet deal on our shoes!) I tried on one of the shoes and instantly said "I'm gettin it!" Vince looked at me as if to say "Don't you even want to at least walk in them, tie them, something?" Didn't have to. I already know, they work for me and I love them. I'm not saying they would work for everyone, people have their own likes/dislikes, people have their own foot issues, etc, etc. For instance you could wear huraches like my friend Ted:
You can use, well - - any old shoes that you get for free, because the shoe companies love ya, like they love my friend Caballo:
Or heck, you can even go barefoot like my friend Patrick (who recently set the world record for the greatest distance run on sand in 24 Hours - 87.36 miles)
What's my point? Trial and error are ok, ultra running is definitely a learning process - but if you find something that works, really REALLY works for you don't change it up. If it ain't broke don't fix it, right?
My first run in my new shoes was a 25k training run. Little did I know, my Izumi's had completely changed my running form. At the time I didn't realize it was the Izumi's that changed my form, I just assumed my form was totally jacked up from my health issues (again - it's a learning process). I was starting to get ticked, really ticked with every run I was going on. Wondering, why if my health was starting to improve, was my form still so messed up? Enter Adidas and problem solved! I started running in my Adidas and like magic everything was right with my running world. It was then that I realized that my previous shoes were to blame for my craptastic form - for whatever reason. I don't know if I had a placebo effect goin' on, or I was just really excited to have my form back, (or just the simple fact that my better running form was back), but my pace improved by nearly one minute per mile from the previous week. HOOAH! THANK YOU ADIDAS!
WEEK 3 GLUTEN FREE
This is HARD. REALLY hard. I love love love my bread. Last week really hurt. I have a lot to learn about all this. A WHOLE lot to learn. Last week all my food tasted the same. Chicken, steak, fish - it ALL TASTED THE SAME and I was getting tired of it. Then, along came two angels. Angel numero uno: Crystal.
My husband and I attended a runner's picnic organized by none other than super speedy Chuck-O. We all brought a dish, and Crystal (who deals with Gluten issues herself) brought an awesome desert - vegan, gluten free, refined sugar free brownies. I was SO excited I hugged her, and seriously wanted to cry! (but that would be crazy. I'm just crazy at home when no one can see) The brownies were amazing, and I probably could have eaten the whole batch. Yes. Yes I'm certain I could.
Angel #2, Courtney Baker Russell. I was speaking with her at Mohican about my problems, only to find out she has gluten issues as well. Saturday evening she posted a pic up on facebook of pizza she was eating. PIZZA!!! WHA?? WHA?? I commented on the pic, the pizza looked delish, and she told me she had ordered it from Zeppe's, they now make gluten free pizza! The next day I ordered some for lunch (I was so excited I called before they opened!) The pizza was rather pricey, $15 something for an 8 cut, but I had been craving pizza all week and I couldn't take it anymore! They gave me only 3 choices -plain, with sausage, or with pepperoni. I ordered the pepperoni and went to town. It tasted good! Not the same as the regular stuff, but it really did satisfy my craving. My husband approved of the pizza as well - that's always a bonus! I have to say, it feels SO great to not feel pregnant after eating pizza (which is always how I felt before). I was not swollen, bloated - none of it. Even the old man said he felt better after eating the gluten free pizza vs. the regular pizza. Tasty and you feel good after - doesn't get much better than that! The next time we order it I will change things up a bit, I'll put some veggies from the house on the pizza as well. (Don't know why I couldn't get veggies on this one - must be a safety thing) Thanks Courtney for letting me know about Zeppe's!
BURNING RIVER 100
The Burning River 100 mile endurance run is fast approaching. This will be my husband's first 100 miler. I have to say, I'm extremely proud of him right now! He had his first real taste of what it would be like last weekend. He ran 8 hours on Saturday and 6 hours on Sunday. I joined him on Sunday for 25k and was extremely impressed at how well he was running. If he was hurting he wasn't showing it at all. He is 100% ready, and I can't wait to pace him! BR will be on our anniversary, and it will be really special pacing my guy for his first 100 on our big day! Also, he's a real ultra runner now - he made me take a picture of his gnarly feet. You know you're an ultra runner when you get proud of the fact that your feet look so freakin' funky:
IMPOSSIBLE2POSSIBLE UPDATES
Next up for I2P: INDIA!
The next youth expedition will be in October, and the youth who will be chosen for the expedition will be going for free to Rajasthan, the largest state of the Republic of India. The youth will run approximately 300 kilometers in the region of the Thar Desert. (also known as the "Great Indian Desert")
Parents and teachers - if you know someone who would be interested in this - please tell them! Youth between the ages of 17 - 21 can register today for your chance to join the i2P Youth Ambassador team on this once in a lifetime journey - again, at no charge. Send them here: http://i2p.force.com/YouthExpeditionIndia
Good luck to all who are trying for a youth ambassador spot!
Don't forget about my upcoming fundraiser fun run for I2P! To register and/or donate go to the event page on facebook. The page has a link so you can donate via activegiving.com. The mula goes straight to I2P. Donate today!!
Happy Running all!
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