Finding Time To Do It All

Barefoot Running Made Me More Awesomer

It's no secret that I run barefoot.  I absolutely love it, even though the pavement is now over 100 degrees by 10:00AM (yes, it's true!).  I have to hit the pavement really early or really late to get my runs in these days.  Heck, even if I try to do a sunny trail run, the damn dirt is too hot to run on!  But it's completely worth it.

Although I'm still building up my mileage after a winter of rehab (torn posterior tibial tendon), I'm doing 5k consistently and it's just awesome.  I love my little three-mile runs!  Yesterday I did a trail run for the first time in about 6 months, and it was even more awesome than I remember.  So awesome, in fact, that I did 4.8 miles instead of my goal of 3.2!  How's that for feeling good?  The best part?  I'm not sore today at all.

So anyway...I'm getting to the title of the post...

I started barefoot running for a lot of reasons.   One was that I couldn't get over a weird injury I had.  One reason was that it just sounded fun.  Another reason was that it was a challenge, and I'm always up for a challenge.  One more reason is the sheer weirdness of it.  I pride myself on being different, and you don't get much different than that.  And, living in Florida, I should be barefoot as much as possible - but I wasn't, and running barefoot was an excuse to get back to it.

So once I got the running thing down, I started realizing that I wanted to change a lot of things in my life.  I didn't need more money, or a fancy new car.  The things I wanted to change came from within.  I wanted to be healthier.  I wanted to be more patient (because I'm still a very impatient person).  I wanted to stop being self-centered.  I wanted to be able to play with my kids and enjoy it, even though I despise building things with Legos.

So after the running, I took another step, and cut out canned/processed foods.  It was a gradual process, but one I did make consciously.  For some reason I started realising that I felt better when I ate fresh foods, instead of peas from a can.  I stopped eating packaged cookies and started making them at home (yes, I still eat my share of junk food; it's just healthier than all those preservatives).  After awhile, I noticed that my stomach issues seemed to go away.

While researching all that, I came across the paleo diet.  Now, I didn't need to lose weight, but I wanted to see if I could take my health to the next level.  I was already healthy and fit (at least relatively speaking), and exercising on a regular basis.  But what if I could just feel amazing, all the time?  Enter the paleo challenge, a 30-day regimen of eating whole foods, and no grains.  Being a bread person, this was agony for me.  Amazingly, it worked out great and I found out a few things about myself in the process (one being that I am without a doubt gluten sensitive).  No more "real" bread for me :(.  I thank Robb Wolf's book for turning me on to this information.

So from paleo I ended up on Mark Sisson's site, Mark's Daily Apple.  Mark promotes the "primal" way of life.  This is a modified version of paleo, but it's a complete way of life instead of just a way of eating.  This is the part I was most interested in.  Primal living doesn't mean living in a cave, or a hut, without electricity.  It really means embracing the things that matter most in your life (whether you know it or not).  Eating right, staying fit (easily), playing with your kids, and looking good naked.  What's not to like about all that?

Since incorporating all this stuff into my life, I've become a better person - at least, I think so.  I'm more fit, and I dare say I look good naked.  I've figured out how to play with my boys - and I mean really play with them, not just pretend to play, if you catch my meaning.  I still despise Legos (because I'm not terribly creative), but I love racing them down a dirt road, climbing on the jungle gym, or climbing a tree.  Even when it's hot outside, I'll run around with them (but I admit that I prefer swimming, as long as the water isn't too cold).  I'll go roller skating and spend all my time holding Lil P up, because he doesn't have his legs yet.  We take them to a water park and I spend all day doing whatever they want to do, which is much more fun (and easy) than trying to convince them to always do my favourite ride.  when I watch TV, it's just as likely to be The Regular Show on Cartoon Network as anything else (I still refuse to watch the news though).

So yes, running barefoot made me a more awesome person.  Hopefully it will continue to do so!

I Did Something Crazy

I'm not going to tell you what it is, yet.

But I did something completely bat-shit crazy, and it feels great.  Not only am I excited about it, but I got a ton of satisfaction out of it and despite the scariness of it, it was worth it.

No, it wasn't life-threatening or anything, but you might argue that it was irresponsible.  I would call it liberating, in more ways than one.

You'll have to wait to find out what it is, and I know that makes you crazy.  But maybe it will inspire you to do something similar.

Leave a comment and let me know if you've ever done anything crazy.  I don't mean jumping out of an airplane; I mean jumping out of a 5th story window onto a trampoline.  I mean bungee-jumping on a non-permanent structure.  I mean taking a chance on yourself when nobody else would.  You know, the kind of thing that makes your parents say, "I don't believe I would have done that."