Posts

Showing posts from December, 2010

Taming Muses for My Giveaway

Image
A detail sneak peek of the BFR Shirt design So I've been drinking beer and designing again. I really shouldn't do that, but it helps with the whole creative process. Plus the only "me" time I get lately is after the kids are in bed or when my husband is done with work whichever comes first. That's when mama needs a cocktail. Did I mention that I have two boys? Seriously. A cocktail helps when you have two boys. This is the third recession our business has weathered since opening up shop back in 1998. Lately, I've been working on an "as needed" basis because the print side of the business was virtually eliminated thanks to the economy. And since the majority of my work was designing brochures and printed marketing collateral, this was a hit. Luckily it didn't completely sink our battleship. Our web side of the biz (my husband's forte) exploded. Poor guy was totally overworked and burnt, but things have settled down since and I've bee

DAY 26 - Another Crap Run

Image
I've been having a tough time running, lately. The kids have been home, the weather has been crud and for the second time in a row the swelling in my left knee started up again today. This swelling renders my left knee achy, heavy and hard to bend. Today, I managed to eek out a 4.75 mile run before giving up to the pain. I started out in my VFFs (which seems to be a recipe for disaster lately) and ran 1.5 miles in them. It was harder for me to run toward the end, but the pain stopped almost immediately when I started walking. No ibuprofen or icing needed this time. Up until these last two runs I have been pain-free with the exception of a few superficial issues. I was totally OK with that. Barefoot running was working for me. I had my mojo back and was able to log some longer runs. Now, my old ghosts are back to haunt me. I'm hoping its just the weather and the cold. So I'm crossing my fingers. Lets hope its the weather and the cold. On the bright side, swollen knees a

Day 25 - Beer is good. Pain is bad.

Image
"But aren't you afraid of stepping on glass?" I ran 6.73 miles VFF and barefoot today. Almost half and half. I felt really good in the beginning starting off in my VFFs and then my crappy knee started giving me angst. Honestly, I have had fleeting knee pain (really its just uncomfortable swelling) since I started barefoot running, but its been nothing to blog about. I used to get it all the time when I ran shod more than two miles. I think its only happened twice since starting to go completely barefoot and it mostly happens in my VFFs. When I ditch the fingers it goes completely away. Today was another story. It went away for about half a mile and then came back. So I tried adjusting my form. Slowing down. Increasing cadence. Bending knees (that really didn't feel good). I stopped a few times to "reset" my running form, but what I felt like I wanted to do is stretch. My leg just felt really uncomfortable even remotely bent. What was I going to do? I

DAY 24 - Barefoot Trail Running

Image
Barefoot trail running in Granite Bay I ran my first trail completely barefoot yesterday! It totally rocked! I can't believe I waited this long to do a trail run barefoot. The latest weather left the trail soft and squishy. There were a few mud pits, but if you know me by now you know I'm good with the mud thing. My husband joined me for this run and about a mile in he decided to lose the shoes and go barefoot as well. For a first run (he's a mountain biker, not a runner and also not a stranger to mud) it was a great introduction. It was a gorgeous warm day for a run out at Folsom Lake. We took a route along the Western States trail starting in Granite Bay and ran about a 5 mile loop. We stopped a few times to take pictures and make my own MovNat video. If you've never seen the MovNat barefoot running video you have to check it out. We thought it would be fun to do our own little camera-phone-barefoot-running-production. My husband wanted to make sure he got credi

My Latest Eyesore and Giveaway Idea

Image
Trot, Eat, Sleep, Vomit. The latest shirt I got from my last race has got to be the ugliest shirt I've gotten in my entire 28 years of running. Seriously people. To call it an eyesore would be a compliment. Not to totally dis on someone's cool Turkey Day design, but I gotta call it like I see it. As a graphic designer this is just a car wreck waiting to happen. Really. Someone is going to see this as I'm running down the street, be blinded by my shirt or totally distracted by my bare feet, (or both) and run into me. I'm not going to risk it. Anyone want a free shirt? Speaking of free shirts. I've been thinking lately. (I know. Its ominous.) I'm toying with the idea of doing a special barefoot runner shirt design and then giving away a free shirt here on my blog. I'm trying to see if the t-shirt company that does our team shirts will throw a little donation my way so I can design a really cool barefoot running shirt and then give it to a lucky winner pic

DAY 23 - Caught in my Cussing Crossfire

Image
The old oak on my run. This post will be short and sweet because I'm already on my second cocktail and I hear a nice hot bath calling my name. I ran 3.8 miles today completely barefoot. Weather has been cooperating and it felt good. No casualties today unless you count the people who happened to run past me as I landed on that small pebble wrong.  That stupid sharp and jabby spot right below my pinky toe hurt like a mofo again today. What is it about that spot? Seriously. If I step on even a menial pebble there it throws me into a fit of potty mouth. I lose all control. Random passersby become inadvertently caught in my cussing crossfire. I take no prisoners. No one is safe. Honestly, I don't normally have the mouth of a truck driver. Really. Its like I'm possessed or something. At any rate, I'm looking forward to the day that the sharp and jabby spot on my foot becomes less sensitive. Does that ever happen or am I just a hopeful optimist? . . . . . . . . . . .

DAY 22 - Lightening Fast Superpowers!

Image
VFF running Bloody feet are no picnic. Trust me. A sign that I'm still a fledgling barefoot runner. They're also a sign that, apparently, I have the pain tolerance of a stump. I have no idea that it's happening when it's happening because once I've taken a break and looked at the bottoms of my feet the curse words start a flyin! The outside of my feet (the bit under my pinky toe that attracts all the jabby things) tends to get raw when I run, but mostly towards the end of my run. I think. Honestly, I have know idea at what point they become raw and then get bloody, but its happened twice now after two long runs. Which is why I chose to go 100 percent VFF today. It was an enlightening run. I think I figured out what's going on. Because I was hoofing it in my VFFs today, I was able to push myself a little more than usual. Getting back down to my old shodded pace feels really good. Once my cardio gets going I find myself in the perfect rhythm to obtain that el