Treadmill with a mission

Today I didn't really feel like running on the pavement so I was going to the gym to lift. After I got there the treadmill was literally calling my name! I decided to hop on. I paid very close attention to my form. I noticed a fatal flaw: I was trying to keep tempo with the music! When I used the elliptical and gazelle machines I would go to the beat of my music adjusting the difficulty accordingly. It was an attempt to "get in the zone." However, on the treadmill, the 124-130 beats per minute was causing me to stride way too slow. Thus, my strikes were trying to cover more distance, and I was landing in front of my center of gravity. I was able to knock out 3 miles on the treadmill in 30 minutes. I "got out of the zone," paid attention to myself, and had a blast. Now the treadmill doesn't scare me at all. Although, I would still prefer to run outside.

Iskiate (Chia Fresca)

In Born to Run Christopher McDougle tells us about the Tarahumara magic elixer known as Iskiate (Chia Fresca). I found some Chia seeds in Baltimore last night. While they were overpriced, I couldn't wait to try them. This morning, as soon as I woke up, I had a Iskiate. I was doing work around the house and noticed an awesome increase in energy. So much so that I let the coffee sit on the burner for an hour before I drank it! Usually I look forward to the energy burst from caffeine, but the Iskiate did the trick. It tastes really good too. I put:

1/2tbsp of splenda
1/2tbsp lime juice
1tbsp chia seeds

and filled with 6oz warm water. It made a cool gel after about 5 minutes. Make sure that you use warm water so that the seeds don't clump. If I wasn't getting the house ready for a showing I would have gone for a run. It was quite impressive.

Hot bath and Massage

Just got done soaking myself in an epsom salt bath! Wow, was that refreshing. After I was done I massaged my sore calves with some sweet almond oil. All this while enjoying a strawberry banana soy smoothie! It was awesome. 20 minutes turned into an hour. Time flies when you're enjoying yourself. Hopefully I will be fully recharged by tomorrow to go on another run!

Car is registered!

The seller of the Mountaineer got a bill of sale back to me! Thanks you Nicole!!! The only "problem" was that I couldn't drive the truck to get my portion of the form notarized and register the truck... and Cara was at work... It was a blessing in disguise because I decided to run to the notary and title place (4.85mi)

The wind kicked my butt a little bit on the way to the store. And would ya believe it, the wind changed directions (perpendicular to path) so there was no push on the way back! But my car is titled and registered now. Its a shame because I kinda like the whole running places thing. It is convenient and helps me save money. I stopped briefly at the new Vitamin Shoppe and realized I couldn't buy anything because I had no way to carry it.

Soleus is Sore

After waking up today, my soleus muscle is really sore. Before I even got out of bed I knew it. Good to know that the muscles are getting stronger. After a 3.5mi barefoot run I would hope so. Luckily it is raining too much today for a morning run. It is supposed to clear up later, and it a light massage is successful I will head out for a run/bike. Also my girlfriend has pointed out that I have become more "granola" recently. Wanting to bike places, live on a farm, have animals. I guess the watermelon patch we planted out back doesn't help things too much either.

Training the Muscles to Run Barefoot

It has been a while since the Jingle Bells 5K. I was a bit to zealous and let my form degrade to the point of injury. This time I am taking it a bit slower. The weather wasn't much better today than the 5K. Rainy and cold. My hands never did quite warm up even after 3.5 miles. But I got out and ran and felt great. I had the energy to do more, but decided I should err on the side of caution this time around.