DAY 27 - My Last Group Run

My BFR Christmas Present
My head has finally stopped throbbing and I've medicated my hedonistic New Year's hangover with an extra large cup of very black coffee. Luckily I'm not feeling as rough as I should. I self-indulged last night with a disproportionate amount of toasting and polishing off the shots. I'm lucky to have evaded the porcelain bowl ritual this morning.

But, I have more than just the New Year to celebrate. My kids will be back to school next week and I will finally be able to get some much needed "me" time. I have to say, though, that this holiday has been the most relaxing and non-stressful one in years. My youngest is not getting sick as much. We had one holiday where we were in and out of the ER and hospital the entire week of Christmas. That year I reassessed the importance of the holidays and have been taking the "minimalist" approach to gift-giving ever since. 

Instead of frantically running around trying to find that perfect gift for each and every individual in our family I focus on giving items that are consumable, charitable, and meaningful. This usually consists of some sort of homemade edible goodness, a donation to a charity that's in line with the person's interests or concerns and a homemade ornament or similar article (usually made from recycled materials.) It may be predictable, but it takes the stress out of the season of giving and brings back the significance in a way that makes the holiday much more enjoyable for everyone.

In addition, our family tries to contribute to the community in some way, shape, or form. This year it was helping a friend with her food drive and direct donations to many of the homeless downtown. Its been an especially cold and wet winter and many of the homeless were begging for socks and gloves this year. We also helped my neighbor put together "survival" bags for the families who found themselves unexpectedly in the pediatric oncology unit at our local hospital. My neighbor has been there herself with her daughter not too long ago and knew just what those families needed.

But as much as I like the "non-shopping" part of the new holiday agenda, my husband is a true gift giver at heart. Even outside of special occasions, he's always thinking of others. This year was no exception. He designed me my own special BFR t-shirt. "Hang 10 Heelstrikers" was his own creative genius. Love it!!

Speaking of barefoot running, this post was supposed to be about my last run, but obviously I got distracted by the holiday fog. Well, my last run was bitter-sweet. I got to run about 5 miles with my old running group, Folsom Trail Runners. They were hosting an out-and-back night run on one of the local bike trails by me so I hopped in to run with them last-minute. I was happy to be running with people again (its been a very lonely transition) but I quickly realized that I'm not ready to run with the shodded. I'm not sure I will ever be able to run with FTR again either. I just can't keep up. My pace is much slower than it use to be and my knee was giving me grief again. I decided to wear my VFFs since I'm not used to doing night runs barefoot yet. My headlamp isn't the greatest and it was a chilly 34 degrees. Enough said.

So, in addition to continuing my barefoot transition, my goal for the new year will be to focus on strength training. Specifically my quads and hamstrings to help support my bum knee. Damn. I wish I could justify the cost of a crossfit gym. It would be nice to have the advice of professionals. For now, I'll have to stick with researching online and consulting with my friends at BRS.
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Comments

  1. Happy New Year to you.
    I am planning on incorporating a lot more weight and yoga training into my exercise plan. My barefoot running progress has been very slow and I am also noticing that my pace is nowhere near my shod pace. I am so tempted to mix barefoot runs with some longer and faster shod ones.

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  2. Happy New Year!!!!
    I am looking forward to strength training too> I want to get back to doing P90X again. My core and upper body need work. I find I am weak at the end of a long run and my form goes to hell since my upper body gets tired.

    Moving forward though!

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  3. Happy New Year Ewa and Angie! Hope it was a happy and peaceful one.

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  4. I'm sure the new year will be a good one! And don't worry so much about the speed or keeping up with the shod runners. It's all about the joy that comes with free feet, right? I can say that and then wish I was faster at the same time too. sigh. The Runner's World that just came out had a good full body routine that looks like it would be good. I think I might try it out. Happy New Year!

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