Running Shoes

Currently I am reading this book

picture courtesy of http://www.barefootted.com/born2run.jpg


For those of you who have not read the book it is one man's story of how he began running again after numerous injuries.  It chronicles the story of the Tarahumara, a tribe located in Mexico, as well as other ultrarunners.  I am currently at the part that is discussing the types of shoes these people wear and how they are still able to run LONG distances in sandals.  We're talking 40+ miles in SANDALS!  Now to me this seems crazy though Sam read this book last fall and due to it was given toe shoes for his birthday this past January.

photo courtesy of http://www.geraldinecampbell.com/09/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Five-Fingers.jpg

The thinking behind these shoes is that before about the 70's humans were running in simple shoes without balance control, cushioning and all those other things we pay mucho bucks to have.  The book states the statistics, but I am too lazy to look them up, on how the number of running related injuries has drastically increased since people have started to use 'doctored' shoes.  It really is astonishing to look at and so far I highly recommend this book if you are a runner.

But it got me thinking....

Once I began training for my first half marathon I went to a running store that specialized in finding a shoe for my gait/protonation to help balance my step.  Since this time I have gone through a countless number of ASICS Nimbus shoes only to have injured my groin, have knee pain and possibly even have had a stress fracture in my fibula ( I do not know because I rarely go to the doctor when I should and by the time I got an x-ray there was no fracture, though still pain).  Could these ailments be partially caused by the shoes I wear?  Part of me wants to try them but they are $60 and what if they don't work out?  Then all that money is wasted, but my ASICS are well over $100, so would it be worth it to try them out?  My boyfriend RAVES about these and loves them, though he was in a lot of pain after the first few runs in them.  By pain I mean that his calves were not used to running 'barefoot' (more or less) and so they had to adjust to his normal running style.

What do you think about these running shoes?  Should I give them a try?  What shoes do you run in?

Beer Dabbler/Twins Game/Osaka

A few weeks ago I attended the Highland Park Beer Dabbler. 

For those of you who do not know a beer dabbler is a place where brewers get to show off their products and for a measly $30 individuals can purchase tickets and drink as many samples of that product as one wanted.  It was awesome and if you LOVE beer as much as me I highly suggest you fork over the money and go to one if you get the opportunity to.  The unfortunate part about this particular beer dabbler was that it was after several rainy days.  This resulted in a mud pit and extremely hot and humid day.  Thankfully there was a DQ right across the street where we took refuge for some food and serious AC time.  This allowed us to buck up and sample the rest of the beers we had yet to try.  Overall a great day that resulted in a nap from about 8-10 PM.  Oh yes this was merely a nap ;)

Just some of the tents with beer underneath them.

One of the local brewers present.  Gotta LOVE local.

Ross, Sam and Matty sampling some beer.  See the mud in the background... YUM.

Overall 65+ breweries and 200+ beers to sample equals a GREAT time.  

Back in March my family attended the auto show as we do every year.  We always enter any contests they have and this year it finally paid off.  My momma won two tickets to a twins game!!!  It just so happened that the tickets were for this past Saturday.  

Although it was a SUPER hot day it was not as bad as it has been here.  I still managed to get sweat the entire game though!  This picture does not do a great job showing my serious sweating...  I love the new Stadium and although I miss the Metrodome there is something to be said about watching baseball outside.  The best part of the game was that we WON!  Go TWINS!  I told my mom this just means that in order for the Twins to do better we need to go to more games :)  I'll let you know how that goes...

Apologies for the awful quality

After that Sam and I had a great date night trying out the new Osaka Japanese Restaurant that recently opened in Golden Valley.  Sam had never done Hibachi before and I had a coupon so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to try it out.  All in all it was a great time!  They also had a great happy hour that we were unfortunately too full to test out.  Which means we'll just have to go back there!  I guess it's a good thing, but I always forget to take pictures when Sam and I go out!  His company is just so great that I forget to snap any pictures.  I'm working on this... We'll see how it goes.

Several things

First off... why I love March #2,3,4,5,6,7....

#25 (because it was my 25th birthday on the 25th of March)

Great birthday planner, plus he's so cute ;)

Catch-up time...  Since my last post I:

-turned 25

-had 2 midterm exams, did well on both. SCORE!

-Started coaching my 2nd season of Lacrosse :)

Since I'm still in school for another month I have a busy time ahead of me!  Coaching + School + Training for a 1/2 marathon = a busy KK.  At least I like staying busy!  And I've continued to bake!  Here's my last attempt... 

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

They were ok... I played around with the original recipe and did not add enough moisture so they ended up dryer than I wanted them.  To remedy that situation I poured some Baileys over some and then a mixture of Butterscotch Schnapps/Agave nectar over the rest.  Best idea. Enough said.

I also have a new goal for myself.  Last year I received the cookbook Bakewise from my mother.  I have made several recipes from it so far but I really want to try ALL of them.  SOOOO my new goal is to make a recipe from this cookbook every week.  And I'll have lots of hungry lacrosse girls to eat the nummy treats, so I won't have to eat it all... even though I'd love to!  So you read it first... a recipe every week.  And I'll do my best not to change them, which will be a challenge for me, but I believe in myself!

First game of the season tonight.  I have faith in my girls and have to think of wise words to motivate them to their first win... here I go!

What?

Last night while we were out at dinner my mother asked me:

"Now would you want to have a surprise party for your birthday?"

REALLY REALLY REALLY

I love my mother but seriously!  And she had only had one glass of wine.

Why I heart March #1

Enough said.

PS- If you do not know what that is I do not know if I can call you my friend.

Deliciousness in bar form

OMG.


These are the only words to describe the bars that I made on Sunday afternoon.

I had spotted this recipe over on How Sweet It is months ago and had been meaning to make them.  I finally got around to it and boy am I glad that I did.  They literally have everything you could want in a bar, brownies, chocolate, peanut butter, peanuts, and of course reese's peanut butter cups.  I modified the original recipe because that's just what I do.  I try not to eat high fructose corn syrup, which is unfortunately found in Rice Krispies, so I used puffed millet instead.  This probably changes the texture a little but it was still GREAT.  I could have also used brown rice krispies, but I was not about to spend $4 on a box of cereal.  I also used dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate, because seriously it's WAY better!

I urge you to make these the first chance you get.  You will be happy, your waistline may not.  But hey spring is right around the corner so you'll get outside for that run soon enough ;)

Better-than-crack-Brownies
adapted from HowSweetItIts

1 recipe brownies (I used No Pudge Fudge...it's fat free!)
1/2 cup peanuts
1 cup Reese's Miniature Peanut Butter Cups, chopped (I choose to use dark chocolate ones)
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup Puffed Millet

Prepare brownies as directed on box in a 9x13 inch pan.  Once baked sprinkle with peanuts and peanut butter cups, return to over for approximately 4-6 minutes to melt the pb cups slightly.  While that is in the oven melt the butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips in a saucepan.  Once melted stir in the puffed millet.  Don't forget the pan of brownies in the OVEN!!!  Pour the puffed millet mixture over the brownies, being careful not to move the peanuts and pb cups around too much.  Spread evenly in pan.  Refrigerate for 2 hours, or if you're impatient like myself freeze until solid and then EAT!

Just for fun here's a pic of my barley oats that were my breakfast this morning:

For those of you who have not had barley you MUST!  It becomes really creamy, and I only cooked it in water!  Check this site out for recipes and also to learn all of the health benefits from it:
http://www.barleyfoods.org/

SPRING

Reasons you know it's spring in MN

1.  You wake up in the morning to hear birds chirping.

2. You slip, fall and bruise your rear at night, because all of the melted snow has now turned to ice on the sidewalks.

3. People are walking around in shorts at 40 degrees.

4. The path around Lake Calhoun is so packed with people it is simply un-walkable.

5. You have to give your dog a bath after every walk.

6. People start ordering "iced" coffee drinks as soon as the thermometer reaches 30 degrees

I could go on and on, but those are my top favs!!!!

What are some of yours?