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New sneakers...

1/26/2015

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There is nothing so frustrating as trying to find new running shoes. I have bad luck in this department in that several times now my sneaker of choice has been discontinued and I can't get them anymore. It's like being cast out to sea, suddenly you are starting over from scratch trying to find that perfect fit that will let you run for hours without pain or blisters and, for me, without aggravating any number of ailments (arthritis, tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, broken toes, and so on...). Plus I have huge feet- so trying them on in a store proves difficult. Finding a women's 11.5-12 is rough and men's sneakers often just don't fit quite right, so I find myself ordering away online and hoping for the best. Add to that the fact that what I need out of shoes has changed over the years and suddenly the prospect of finding new sneakers seems worse then just continuing to run in the ones I own, no matter how beat they are.

Which is where I find myself now... with several long races coming up in March (4 miles, 1/2 marathon and a 7 miler) and no sneakers that are in any condition to take on even the training runs for those distances. In good weather I run in a minimalist shoe, either my New Balance Minimus Trail or Vibram Bikila's, but once the snow and ice lay down here in Upstate NY I need something more hardy. The kicker is that I don't want them to be bulky- I prefer to feel like I've got nothing on at all, and a lot of winter running shoes just feel clunky to me.  I've been running in a pair of Adidas Adios Boosts, but they are beat and there is no way I make it through the next three months in tact with these shoes on. I had intended on just getting a new pair, but surprise, surprise they are nowhere to be found. So I picked up a pair of Men's Response Boost Tech Fit because I liked the way they felt in the store, but alas, they are not to be in terms of working for long distances. The arch is just slightly off and the shoe is cut a little higher and rubs on my ankle bone. I'm good for about 30 minutes and then suddenly I can feel every step.


So it was back to the drawing board- and back to an old favorite. 3 years ago I discovered the Keen A86 TR. I'm a Keen devotee, between my husband, my daughter and I we own upwards of 30 pairs and when they first came out with a trail running sneaker I was all over it. Of course Keen only carries up a women's 11... which is a half size too small at best. Still, I like the shoe and wore an 11 for a while and it was great. The only downside was they toes ripped out pretty easy, what with them being too small and all. So I hopped online and went looking to order a pair of Men's, hoping the fit would work. And what do you know? They no longer make them! Luckily I was able to find a pair on Amazon, but I'm only delaying the inevitable, eventually (hopefully not until next winter) I will need a new shoe and that is terrifying.

So what does the runnerverse say? What should I be looking at for a winter running shoe that is as close to minimalist as possible, but that still provides some protection against the elements?
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My Ramblings on the Mountain Athletics App from The North Face

1/19/2015

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STATS
Starting weight: 190
End of Week One Weight: 180 
2 Mile Assessment time: 25 minutes 
WEEK ONE- workouts

Day One: Strength and Core 
Day Two: 2 Mile Assessment
Day Three: Lower and Upper Body Strength
Day Four: Running Speed and Power

FOOD

Breakfast: parfait, parfait parfait! Low fat yogurt, fresh fruit, and ancient grain granola
Lunch: Salad with grilled chicken and low fat dressing
Dinner: Salad with a side of pasta
Snacks: carrots with low fat dip, peanuts, string cheese, fruit, popcorn
PROS & CONS

Pros: 
Really easy to set up and follow
Videos that demonstrate exercises
You can look ahead to see what workouts are coming up

Cons:
No sound on the timers
You can't go back and look at completed workouts
MORE INFORMATION

Check out the North Face and their page about the Mountain Athletics App here
I'm an easy sell on new fitness apps. I'm also fickle. I start and stop training plans like some people change socks. So when I saw the North Face tweet about a new training app I was intrigued and instantly wanted to give it a try, but I also knew that it was unlikely that I would actually see it all the way through. Still... I've been slacking with working out (longer work hours = a very tired me= no motivation to work out) and I've felt the need to switch it up a bit, so the timing was right to find a new way to get in shape. So here is the plan. Follow the plan laid out by the Mountain Athletics App and see where I am at the end of the program, which for me is set to end on February 24th. I'm going to be posting briefly a few times just to keep myself on track and to document how this particular program worked for me. 

This program has me doing 4 days of workouts- 2 strength and 2 running. I will have to add a 3rd running day here soon as I've got a 1/2 marathon in March, but for the midweek runs, these workout are actually pretty good. 

The strength and core exercises are also good- I'm doing my workouts at home, so I've had to adapt a few things, but most of it is easily done at home. I'm hoping to pick up a few things in the next few days that will help (like a kettle bell), but overall it's been easy to take what they've planned out and make it work in my living room. 

I do want to point out that my weight stats are somewhat misleading. While I had a huge drop, I'm doing more then just this program. To start I went on the Stomach Flu diet for 4 days and didn't eat at all (and what I did eat didn't really stick with me). It was miserable and I felt horrid, and I lost 6 lbs in those 4 days alone. I don't recommend going the stomach flu route no matter how effective it is. In addition to being a zombie for half the week I have also completely re-tooled my eating habits. I'm eating 6 small meals a day and in addition to smaller portions I'm cutting out fried foods and anything that comes from a box. It took a few days to get into the swing of things, but that is definitely playing a part in any success I'm having. 
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My Ramblings on The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater 

1/19/2015

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I've been waiting for this book to come into the library for months. Normally I'm all about buying all the books, but right now we are redoing our book shelve set up and, well, there's nowhere to put any more books! (It's a tragedy really) So instead I'm going the library route, although there will be a major list of titles to buy once the new shelving goes up, because some books just demand to be owned. 

So what about this book? Does it demand to be owned? 

It absolutely does. There are a few authors that I will buy every time, no questions asked, and Maggie Stiefvater is one of those. This books is the 2nd book in the Raven Cycle series and it's a great one. Even better is that the 3rd book, Blue Lily, Lily Blue came in at the same time, so there's no lag time for me between books! 

About this book...

It picks up pretty closely to where the Raven Boys ends and we find Blue and her boys still in search of Cabeswater and the mysteries held therein. 

While Blue and Gansey are still there (along with Adam and Noah) the focus of this book is really Ronan and his newly honed gift- he is able to dream things into reality. Through out the book we see Ronan learning to really use his gift and try to figure out what it means for him. It also gives him some really important insights into both of his parents and it helps him understand some things from his past that seemed impossible. 

Along the way Blue and the Boys have to deal with people coming to Henrietta to find the object that can pull things from dreams, these people don't know that it's not an object, but a person, and that person is Ronan. I particularly liked how Stiefvater wove The Grey Man into the story- he's bad. He's there to kill if need be in order to procure the object. At the same time he is enchanted by Blue's family and the town, and while he has no qualms about killing, kidnapping isn't really his thing. 

In the end several of our characters have to come to terms with who they are and where they are going in life. There are fights and struggles, but in the end they all pull together and stick together and I can't wait to see how they solve the next challenge laid at their feet. 
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More about Maggie Stiefvater
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Synopsis

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. 

Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. 

Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after.. (from goodreads.com)

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    Home of the ramblings of an avid reader. In my spare time I also run, ride, teach, go on adventures and get into shenanigans. 

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    2022 Reading Challenge

    2022 Reading Challenge
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    Kit's bookshelf: 2022

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