My toys I've been all about the toys...er...tools lately. If you happened to notice, I haven't been running much. And no, this is not because I've sequestered myself in my bedroom like in the episode of Sex and the City where Charlotte gets intimate with her toy rabbit . (Girls, you know what I'm talking about.) Um. Yeah. That would be a post for another kind of blog, so snap out of it and get your minds out of the gutter, people. I'm afraid that's not the kind of toys and tools I'm talking about here. A shame, isn't it? I'm talking about using my kid's toys and some kitchen instruments to roll my calves, massage my quads and stretch my tendons. Um. I guess that still sounds kind of kinky, but seriously folks, this is critical business if I don't want to continue along the long path of injury. I have several items in my toolbox that I use on an almost daily basis. For starters, I have several different balls - a nerf ball, a mini foam ...

My paleo diet... hmmmm. I'm not one to jump on band wagons, follow trends, or keep up with the jones'. In fact, if "everybody's doing it," I'm likely to run in the opposite direction. Hmmmm. Maybe that's why I run barefoot? I have noticed something though. There's a common denominator among barefoot runners. Well, at least some male barefoot runners. Kilts, Crossfit and Paleo. What's up with that? Three years ago I rarely saw a man wearing a kilt (let alone running in one) and I had no idea what Crossfit was, and Paleo was something akin to grunting men carrying large clubs and dragging their women by their hair. Now that I'm running barefoot I'm discovering more people who fit this kilt-wearing, crossfit-training, paleo-eating profile. This perplexes me. And even though I'm a chick and I could get away with the kilt wearing part, I have to admit, the Crossfit and Paleo diet obsessions are peaking my interest as well. Is that weird?...

My new BRS T-shirt - Thanks Angie! Angie over at Barefoot Angie Bee sent me a shirt to review for her. How could I refuse? Its free stuff and it sports the logo of my fave group of people over at Barefoot Runner's Society. I was more than happy to help her out. The BRS are an awesome group of people. Apparently this shirt was printed through CafePress. Its not made out of tech material but instead a regular cotton blend, but I was impressed with the quality of the shirt. It was nice and soft. The color is a vibrant turquoise which I really like. There's no way a white t-shirt would last long in my house. Even this one has already acquired its first stains thanks to my youngest son. The printing on the shirt was well done, not faded, and it was nice and centered. The sizing was perfect. Not too long or bulky. I prefer the slim-fitting t-shirts and can't stand baggy or big. This was obviously a women's fit and it was really comfortable. It will get lots of use. As lo...

My other passion. Good news. My knotted and tight messed up excuse for a body can be fixed. I met with Seth on Friday and he said he's 100% sure he can fix the issues that may be affecting my running. He's the local crossfit certified trainer in my area that's helping me get all sorted. Dude is the ONLY guy I know in my area with experience in barefoot/minimalist running and he knows his shit. He's an ex marine who served time in Iraq where a back injury threatened his hopes of ever running again. Apparently, he doesn't like it when people tell him "never again." Now he's a minimalist runner who polishes off the occasional ultra or two. I'm thankful I met him. He's my only connection with other barefoot crazies around here. So first up on the fix-it agenda is my flexibility. Surprise. What he said about that made a lot of sense too. He said "being inflexible is the same as driving around in your car while your parking break is on. ...