Finding Time To Do It All

Embracing the Unorthodox

I am a pretty "different" person.  I have lots of different ideas about so-called "normal" things.  Here is a quick example:

• God, whether S/He exists or not, is a man-made concept.
• Either all religions are completely wrong, or they're all just a little bit correct.
• Just because everyone says so, doesn't make it true.
• History and reality are based on perception.
• If you don't think for yourself most of the time, you're a complete moron.
• You don't have to do pushups/situps/running/weight training to exercise.

Now, I'm not going to get into a philosophical religious discussion with you here - mostly because I don't really care about your religious beliefs (I respect them, but it's such a personal thing that I just don't care what anyone else thinks, any more than I expect them to care what I think).  Don't take it personally.

The one thing I really want to discuss today is the exercise thing.  Although I often do "regular" exercises to stay fit, I also do a whole lot of things that aren't considered mainstream.  Instead of lifting weights, I might move a chair a few feet to vacuum (you have to move it, then move it back).  I've been known to vacuum the same spot twice.  If you have an indoor pet, just vacuuming is a decent cardio workout (because we all know what a bitch it is to get all the black dog hair sucked up off your beige carpet, right?) - that's why you sweat when you're doing it.  Playing with your kids on the swing set?  Oh yeah, that's the best exercise there is - and it's FUN, admit it!

Just the other day Lil P had me hanging upside-down from the bars on our swingset.  Yes, hanging by my knees, no less.  This, in and of itself, is not a great workout.  But, to get into that position, I had to lift my entire body weight using my shoulders and my core (that's stomach and back, folks).  I had to rotate that weight into a position to get my legs over the bar.  After hanging there, I had to use my core to come back up and hold onto the rings to get off again, and then I flipped, so I was stretching out my shoulder joints (and it felt great!).

Now, is that the equivalent of an hour-long workout?  Hardly.  But if you play like that for 30 minutes a day, I think you're doing OK - as long as you're not eating yourself into oblivion.  You don't have to sweat a lot, or have big muscles to show off, or do the boring stuff that all those fitness freaks do.  Just play.  If your children are small enough, pick them up a few times.  They love being up high, and their weight works just like a dumbbell.  Hell, if you've ever carried a baby around for awhile, you know your biceps hate you for it the next day (even if you're resting them on your hip - or if you're like me, you don't have hips, so you have to pretty much hold them anyway).

I'm not saying that gyms and free weights and pushups and situps aren't a good way to work out (I do all kinds of "normal" exercises too).  I'm just saying that you don't have to buy into the drudgery to stay fit - or even start a fitness routine.

How do you do it?  Do you belong to a gym?  Do you have a home gym?  Or do you just play with your kids to stay fit?  Sound off in the comments!

No Time to Blog...

Why does life get in the way of my blogging?  Ugh.  Actually, life gets in the way of a whole lot of things...

So I've got this new job and we have a new dynamic at home, and I'm having trouble getting my act together.  Unfortunately, I'm also having trouble finding time to exercise and that really pisses me off.  Seriously people, I need my exercise to stay happy.  And trust me when I say you all want me to be happy!

The biggest problem is the darkness.  Running barefoot in the dark is a lot less fun than running when it's light out.  You have to be more careful about stepping on something.  You have to wear reflective gear.  You have to carry a light.  You have to worry about sneaking up on a deer you didn't notice, which then moves and scares the shit out of you, making you step on that acorn you were desperately trying to avoid.  Oh, and it might or might not be cold out...

Fortunately for me, I work on the 11th floor of my building.  Since I can't find time to run in the evenings, I've started taking the stairs up every morning.  Let me tell you, 11 flights of stairs is a pretty decent workout when you try to keep an even pace, and that pace ain't exactly slow.  No, I don't run up them; I don't even try.  But I do come up at a normal pace and try to keep it even all the way up.  I start getting winded around the 8th floor - and by that I just mean that I start feeling like I'm running instead of walking.  By the time I get to the 11th floor, my pulse is about 138.  That's a halfway decent (although very short) workout.

If I go out for lunch, I take the stairs back down.  Depending on what I bring back, I might take them back up again.  I worry about carrying food because I'm clumsy and likely to trip and waste the food.  But then again, elevators are always full of sick people, coughing on my food (even if it's in a to-go container I worry about that stuff, yes).  Plus our elevators here are pretty scary (that's another blog post entirely).

I haven't started doing pushups in my cube yet, but mostly because I haven't had time.  I also am trying to wear more dresses these days and I'm worried about someone walking up while I'm doing them.  I'm all for "showing it off" but I prefer to do that in the appropriate locales.  Even though my bikini covers less than my underwear, there's something about people looking up my skirt that makes me uncomfortable.

I'm truly practicing what I preach these days when it comes to finding time for exercise, and that's a good thing, isn't it?

Fall Has Arrived

Yeah, football season is now well underway, and the Gators lost their first game last night to Alabama.  It's only football, but I wish we could have lost to someone besides the Tide (not that I expected to win, mind you; I'm realistic about such things).

The weather has finally cooled off (in fact, it was more like winter here last night, as the temperature got into the mid-40s and the highs the past few days have been in the 70s), and the children are able to play outside without any complaints about the heat - which is amazing because during the summer I couldn't even get them to set foot outside, or so it seemed.

Yesterday I took a 5-mile run and it was glorious.  The cooler temps made it so I could go that distance without water (gasp!) OR shoes, despite the fact that it was almost noon.  Just a few weeks ago there was no way on earth I could have run at that time of day on the pavement without shoes on.  But, it was great - except that it was just a tad too far and my feet are a bit tender today.

So, for the first time in months, I ran in my VFFs this morning.  It nearly killed me to run in shoes, but it was that or not run (which probably would have been better, come to think of it).  I made it about 0.1m and that was far enough to turn around and come home for the shoes.  But once they were on, I was able to fly - and that was nice for a change.  Combination of cool temps and shoes put me at a pace I don't often see (but to most of you out there, it's still pretty slow so I'm not going to brag :-P).

My new job is going great but the hours have been long so far.  I'm hoping that will slow down some in the next week or so.  The worst part about it is that instead of getting off early and being home with the boys, I'm taking them to school and working until 5:00 - which puts me home around 6:00 (I know, some of you commute much longer than that, but that's your choice).  I'm not accustomed to spending so much time in traffic and it's driving me bonkers.  But again, hopefully that will change soon.  At least I'm still finding time to exercise and spend time with the family - I just haven't been able to find much time to blog.

It's not that you're not important to me - quite the contrary.  It's just that my life has been pretty boring the past few weeks so hopefully you are out enjoying your family instead of reading about my new desk job! :-)

So a Gal Goes Into a Bar Barefoot...

OK, no, I’m not going to start with a barefoot joke – mostly because I don’t know any.  But I will say that I’ve spent the summer mostly barefoot and I’ve loved every second of it!  Since I wasn’t working, I didn’t have to wear shoes when I didn’t want to, and I wore flip-flops or sandals when I went to the store.  I’ve not reached the point of feeling like I have to push the rules; I don’t really care if an establishment wants me to wear shoes to shop there.  I may or may not continue to shop there based on their rules, but that’s a different story.  I know the rest of the world has issues with people being barefoot and that’s OK by me.

However, I’ve found that people are fascinated with the fact that I can walk around without shoes on.  When I took my boys to camp, I was barefoot.  When I picked them up in the afternoons, I was barefoot.  If I stopped and gassed up the car, I was barefoot.  I have been into a few other places without shoes and nobody has ever said anything to me – but again, I haven’t pushed the limits.  People ask me, “Isn’t the pavement hot?”  or “Aren’t you afraid of stepping on something?”  The truth is, yes, sometimes the pavement is hot.  There are ways to help with that (walk in the grass or on the white lines if there are any).  I’m not really afraid of stepping on anything, because I watch where I’m walking.  I grew up in the country, and so you had to watch where you were walking (shod or not).  The reason was snakes.   They were everywhere, pretty much year-round, and if you didn’t watch where you were going you were likely to step on a rattlesnake or water moccasin, or even a harmless rat snake – which won’t hurt you but as my grandmother says, they will make you hurt yourself!  So I always walked along looking at the ground.  It’s something you never really outgrow, to be honest.

That’s not to say I don’t watch where I’m going; I’m hyper-vigilant about what I’m going to step on, but I’m clumsy and I don’t relish the idea of running into a light pole (or a telephone pole, or a person or tree).  So I’m constantly looking up, looking around, looking down.  It gives my eyes a workout too!

So last weekend I was running along on the sidewalk, and I notice that there’s this brown stuff there.  I didn’t have my glasses on (which is unusual) and I thought it was doggie droppings so I avoided it.  As I stepped over it, I realized it was pieces of a broken beer bottle.  Not good, because as you know, glass scatters and splinters.  So now I’m stuck in the middle of a broken bottle on the sidewalk and I opted to just keep going.  I ended up getting a tiny shard stuck in my foot – but the awesome thing was this: my feet have built up enough that not only did I immediately know that I had stepped on a piece of glass (as opposed to an acorn or other debris), it didn’t hurt.  I stopped running, sat down, and pulled the sliver out with my fingernails (I do run with tweezers for just such an event, but I’ve never had to use them on a run; I’ve always (twice!) been able to get the glass out with my fingernails).  It didn’t even bleed; it was like stepping on a small sticker or thorn and I just kept going.

The great thing about this was that all my barefoot peeps out there have said this would happen.  You’ll step on something, immediately know what it is, not worry, and take care of it (some things just unstick to your foot, too).  This was the first time I’d gotten to experience it though so it’s nice to feel like I’ve finally “arrived” at barefoot running.

Yeah, it’s the little things in life that keep me happy. ;-)

 

Push-Ups: A Love-Hate Relationship

In case you were wondering, push-ups are a great all-around exercise.  They work your arms and your core, and by moving your hands and elbows to different positions you can work different muscles.  They'll even work your butt if you squeeze while you're doing them.

And this is why I love push-ups.  They don't require any equipment, and you can do them almost anywhere (I say "almost" because there are a few floors I wouldn't dare put my hands on!).  You can do them while you're watching TV, you can do them while you're playing with the kids (even better, have them climb on your back when you do them), on vacation, you name it, you can do push-ups.

I have started the 100-push-up challenge at least three times, but I never seem to make it to 100.  I'm not sure if it's because I get bored doing them (I do), or because after six weeks I've gone on vacation and missed a few days, and getting back into it isn't so easy (yeah, I know, I just said you can do them on vacation, right?  I didn't say you will do them on vacation ;-).  Maybe my body can only handl about 80 and that's it (my max was 81 and I was completely diminished).  I've enjoyed trying to get there, but I never seem to make it.

I despise push-ups because they're freaking hard.  Despite the ease of doing them anywhere, I just always feel completely worn out after doing them, even if I feel like I'm taking it easy.  They don't always make me sore or anything, but after doing them I always feel like I just can't do anything else the rest of the day.  If I always worked out in the evening that wouldn't be a big deal, but I don't, so it becomes troublesome.

Before chastising me for always doing too many, I maxed out my pushups today at 31 (it's been a few months, OK?).  I'll be sore tomorrow because I haven't done them in awhile, and in a few days I will start the challenge again.  After maxing out/doing a test, I expect to be sore the next day, and that's fine.  However, if I had plopped down and done five pushups, I wouldn't be able to get a bowl down out of the cabinet for the rest of the day - even though I wouldn't be sore the next day.  I know, it makes no sense, but my body just rebels I guess.

I try mixing up push-ups with other similar exercises, but the truth is, there aren't many exercises that give that much of a work out at one time - I would have to do pullups and sit-ups and all kinds of other exercises to target the same muscles, and that takes longer.  I don't have all day to work out; I'd prefer to keep it to an hour or less if possible.

Maybe it's just because I'm easily bored, I dunno.  I'm sure that's why I can't finish the 100-push-up challenge at least.  I do like to switch up my exercise routine frequently so all my muscles don't get complacent with what they're doing (because they have a mind of their own and I like to keep them on their toes you know).

What exercises to you have a love-hate relationship with?  What are your favourite exercises?  Sound off in the comments.

My Running Mantra

Some people, when they work out, constantly have a mantra going in their head.  I've never been one to need something like that, except on rare occasions when I've decided to run too far and I don't want to have to walk (because I'm too proud).  Then I sometimes talk to myself just to keep going - and I'm sure some of the people in my neighbourhood think of me as the "crazy barefoot lady who talks to herself".

I had a friend who used to try to run because he wanted to lose weight.  He was a big guy, 6'4" and an eighth of a ton of fun (that's 250 pounds, in case you're wondering).  He was fun, but he despised running and working out.  He would run two miles and chant "every step is a victory" as he ran.  It was disheartening for me because this guy was more or less my hero in a lot of ways, and running two miles reduced him to a whining puddle of flesh.  But I never would have messed with him despite that!

I've tried chanting that, or other things, when I get low or hit a wall.  Then I give up and just start saying, "I'll run to that light pole and see how I feel."  When I get to the light pole I'll say, "I think I can make it to the corner."  I do this until I make it home and collapse.  Of course, this mostly happens in the summer when it's miserably hot out, but we all have our days that are less good when it comes to exercising, right?

When I lift weights, I don't have a mantra.  I just make a lot of noise if I need to.  Being a 120-pound weakling, lifting anything is pretty difficult for me, so moving a chair across the room sounds like someone's being beaten in our house.  When I actually lift weights, like most people I tend to overdo it and pick up stuff that weighs far too much.  So then I get frustrated by the third set, and of course make all kinds of noise doing that as well.  I'm sure the neighbours often think I've fallen with the barbell on me sometimes when I put it down - because dropping those things on concrete, even with only 20 pounds on the 45-pound bar, makes a whole lot of noise.  And don't even get me started with leg lifts!

Anyway, my mantra is usually something like "I need to work out today" or "Just get through this last mile" - but it's more of a declaration than a mantra.  I don't feel the need to say it over and over in my head - although the out-loud conversations I have probably are a real substitute for having a mantra. ;-)

What about you guys?  Do you find that chanting something (out loud or in your head) helps you get through a run or some other workout?  Or, do you find that music works just as well?

Ramblings

Howdy, remember me?  I'm that boring chick who left you earlier in the summer with a semi-announcement and then disappeared off the face of the Earth.  I'm really good at doing that you know.

If you're my friend on Facebook, you've probably figured out the big secret.  I am unemployed!  It's been a great summer being free of the stuff that goes with a job.  My house is the cleanest it's ever been, and hopefully I can keep it that way (not counting on it, but it's nice to dream).  I've spent quality time with my children, worked on my tan (shame on me!), visited friends, and watched movies.  I've been a complete and total slacker and I am a better person for it.  In fact, if you have the means, I highly recommend you take a few months for yourself sometime.

Through the heat, I've managed to stay in shape this summer.  All the housecleaning has allowed me to not sit and watch soap operas and eat bon-bons (soaps watched: 0.  Bon-bons eaten: 0.  Movies watched on Netflix: 6 (one a week)).  I've run as much as I wanted, when I wanted, where I wanted, and not been rushed (for the most part).  Having free time has shown me how long it takes to get a workout in, and I appreciate them even more now than I did when I was working.  In order to get a decent workout, you need about two hours including shower time.  That's a lot of time away from your family in the evenings.  I guess I knew that before, but it's amazing when you have nowhere you have to be at a specific time, that the entire morning is gone by the time you get out of the shower.

I'm on the prowl for a job now, and I am toying with the idea of something a bit different.  I'm enjoying blogging and would love to do it for a living, but somehow I doubt it will bring in the money like a programming job does.  Although, if I can blog on my own time and not have to warm a chair at specific times of day, I think I can do it (even if I have to write six blogs to make any money at all).  Who knows.

So, what have you been up to this summer?  I hope it's been a blast, and that you've been able to find time to whatever it was you wanted to do.  I really hope you found time to spend with the people you love most though; they are what's truly important!

I. Just. Run.

OK, maybe it's just me, maybe I'm boring, maybe I'm not competitive (actually, I am), maybe I'm doing it wrong.  But when I run, I just run.

Let me explain.  I don't run races very often, maybe three a year.  One of those is a family event (my whole family does it, including my parents), so it's more of an excuse to get together than to really race.  Besides, that one is about 25,000 people, and I don't exactly come in near the front of the pack.  When I do race, I try my best and I've found (at least locally) I'm very competitive in my age group (I always come in top three women in my age group - at least, so far).

But, I don't run to race.  I run because I enjoy it.  I run because it gives me some time alone.  I run because it allows me to eat that piece of cake whenever I want to.  I run because I like to sweat.  I run because it feels good.  I run because I love the weird looks I get because I'm barefoot.  I run because I like to show off my hawt bod.  Ok, that last part isn't really true, but it sounds good sometimes.

So, when I'm out running, I just run.  Yes, I time myself and measure my distance.  I also measure my heart rate and my cadence.  I don't do these things though to constantly improve.  I measure these things to get an overall feeling for my general fitness.  If I'm improving, I don't really pay any attention to it.  I'm over 40, so my years of turning pro have surely passed, and at my age I'm just happy to be somewhat consistent and be able to get out and do it as much as I can, without hurting myself too much (which I am also prone to do).  In the sweltering Florida summer heat, I watch my heart rate very closely because I overheat easily.

When I set out on a run, I know whether I'm going to do a long run or a short run - usually based on the amount of time I have available.  Given the amount of time I have, I know how far it's going to be.  Every once in awhile I'll plan a "really" long run just for the fun of it - but if I decide I can't do it or don't feel like it, I go for a shorter one.  If it's a great run, I'll stop in at the house and make sure it's "ok" for me to be gone another half hour and run a little further.  About once a year I will do a very short run as fast as I can.  This is the only time I really care about how fast I am.  The truth is, I'm not very fast at all!

When I read about people doing sprints and hills and intervals and all this other training mumbo-jumbo, I laugh to myself.  I don't laugh because I think they're silly (I don't - I'm a firm believer in "whatever floats your boat").  I laugh because I feel like I'm the only person who runs for FUN and only for FUN.  The flip side is, I have intervals built into most of my runs because I live in a hilly area.  If you don't think hills are intervals (assuming you maintain your pace), you're an idiot.  This is also why races that involve bridges don't bother me in the least; I have at least two hills in my neighbourhood that are as nasty and long as the Hart Bridge in Jacksonville, FL.  The bad part is that I don't get to go down the back side; it's just uphill and then a very gradual slope along until I come back down.  No reward unless I go backward on my route - but where's the fun or challenge in that?  Not much that I see.  

So why do you run?  Is it to win awards?  To meet people?  Is that what motivates you to run at all (I'm all for that!)?  Or do you run because you look hawt doing it? ;-)  Let fly the comments.

*In case you're wondering, I did an 8:33 mile, with said hill, barefoot, without warmup, in 85 degrees and about 80% humidity.  Told you I wasn't fast, but I can run just about all day long.

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!

Vibram Five Fingers: Observations

I love my Vibram Five Fingers shoes.  I've mentioned before that I have several pair of them and I adore them.  But there is one thing that so many people talk about, that I have not encountered directly... the infamous VFF stench.

This is going to sound weird but mine don't stink.  I have six pair of VFFs. I wear them to work, I wear them on the weekends.  I wear them when the pavement is too hot to run barefoot.  In short, I don't just wear them when it's cold, and my feet surely sweat in them like they do in any other shoes (other than sandals, they are all I wear).  In the winter I wear socks (with only one pair; they are the only ones big enough to accommodate socks).  The rest, no socks.

My VFFs don't smell any worse than my other shoes (meaning my husband can stick his nose in, take a deep whiff, and say, "smells like a shoe").  I'm not saying they don't smell worn; I'm saying they don't smell bad enough to gag a maggot, which is what I hear most people saying.

VFFs smell pretty bad when you buy them, IMHO.

My boys' VFFs

My kids, on the other hand, managed to stink theirs up within just two weeks.  I got each of them a pair the day before Mother's Day, and both pair have been washed twice since them.  My boys will take them off on the way home from school and I have to put the windows down because of the stink.  I've reached the point of telling them they have to keep their shoes on in the car, and when we get home, I spray them with Febreze and take them directly out into the sun to bake and dry.

I don't know if it's the sand, or water/traipsing through puddles, or what...but mine don't smell like that, or even close.  Am I doing something wrong???

 Just an observation, and curious as to why my feet don't stink so badly...

Please note: yes, my poop DOES stink; I'm not saying I'm special, just curious about it! ;-)