Hitting My Stride

So I've been working hard on changing my running form lately.  Some of you may have seen me around town wearing these absolutely ridiculous looking Vibram shoes (they look like gloves for your feet - with toes and everything.  Gross.).  I've been wearing them to strengthen my calf muscles and achilles tendons and to start forcing me to land on the balls of my feet when I run and walk.  You see, most of us who have been wearing supportive and cushiony shoes our whole lives have developed a heel to toe running gait.  Over time, this puts tremendous stress on your knees and hips and promotes injury.  Apparently, striking the pavement with your forefoot first is what your body wants to do naturally.  By developing a mid foot strike, I will most likely greatly reduce my aches and pains and be able to continue running injury free for a good, long time (after all, I have a good shot of winning my age group in a marathon some day if I'm the only 80 year old that signed up!).

But you know what? It's hard to change my habits.  I've been running in my beloved Brooks Glycerins with all their cushioned glory for almost a year now.  They carried me through a 1/2 marathon, 500 miles of marathon training, the marathon itself, and most of my summer running.  I've felt comfortable with my heel to toe running form and I've been pretty successful and injury free, so why change?  If it aint broke, don't fix it, right??

But therein lies the problem.  Sometimes we don't know things are broken until it's too late.  We develop habits and routines in life that carry us through "just fine" and we continue to muddle through day after day, year after year.  We do it with our eating, our parenting, our friendships, our jobs, our spending habits, our interactions with others, our political views, and our world views.  We can go on for years believing that everything is working for us just fine, ignoring those tiny little twinges of discomfort that pop up in the background.  Then we begin to hear alternative ways of doing things, and of thinking about things and we put our hands over our ears and say "No thanks, I have it all figured out!" And we refuse to even listen to other ideas - because it's so hard to even consider the fact that we might be "doing it wrong". 

Well I"m not afraid to listen to other ideas and theories.  And at 40 years old I'm confident enough in myself to discern which ideas are worth consideration and which ideas are absolute bunk.  But we are missing out on personal growth if we keep putting our hands over our ears, blocking out the rest of the world, and never even considering the viewpoints of others.  I'm sure I'll see a lot of this play out on Facebook as the fall Presidential election gets closer. 

I remember seeing a barefoot runner at my first half marathon.  I thought this girl was an absolute loon as she patiently explained to me why running barefoot was actually better for your body.  I dismissed her almost immediately and inwardly rolled my eyes.  Now almost a year later I'm warming to the ideas behind barefoot running and going shopping for my first pair of minimalist running shoes (because hell will literally freeze over before you see me out there in actual bare feet. Ugh!).  You see? It's never too late to consider ideas different from your own.  And who knows? You may just end up in better shape for it.  So in the mean time I'll continue to work on the new running form, and continue to work on hitting my stride - both on the road and off of it...

Thank You, Summer....

As usual, I am completely surprised when August hits and I have to come to terms with the fact that my kids will be starting school in a short amount of time (2nd week of August, really???).  Admittedly, the school supply shopping is done, backpacks are ready, and nighttime bedtime routines are already being put into place.  But I still don't feel ready.  The start of a new school year is always tricky in my family, as Jayson is forced into a major transition - never a smooth thing for him.  This year will be especially hard since Katy is off to Middle School and thus Jayson will have no one watching out for him on the bus or in the hallways of elementary school.  He will truly be on his own this year, and while I'm thankful for the handful of kids I've handpicked to be his safety net in his class, I'm not totally convinced this year will go smoothly for him socially.  We shall see...
So before I send Jayson back into the lions den and Katy into a whole new world, I wanted to take a minute and reflect on what was a wonderful summer.  Here is my list of all I am thankful for...

1.  Thank you, summer, for all our little mini trips.  Strands couldn't budget in a big family vacation this year so we are thankful for the little side trips we were able to take to Sheboygan to visit my friend Holly and pick strawberries, and to Iowa to visit my sister and celebrate baby Ellis's first birthday.  We are also thankful for our Great America trip, which is always a big hit every year.

2.  Thank you, summer, for new opportunities.  Katy conquered overnight camp and Jayson had a blast at day camp.  Jayson also conquered football conditioning, which was certainly a new experience!

3.  Thank you, summer, for baseball.  I can't begin to express my gratefulness at the new bonding opportunities I've had with my son this summer over baseball.  Our trip to Wrigley for Jay's first Cubs game is one of the highlights of my life.

4.  Thank you, summer for new friends.  I was so worried that Jayson would be alone this summer but that was far from the case.  He enjoyed endless playdates with the nicest boys.  I'm so very grateful that we've found some boys who accept Jayson and all his issues.  I'm also thankful for old friends.  Our across the street neighbors are a continual source of support for our whole family.  What a blessing. 

5.  Thank you, summer, for heat.  Our pool has never been busier, and more refreshing.

6.  Thank you, summer, for early morning runs.  My core group of 4 running friends has been a sanity saver all summer.  I've cherished each and every 5:30 AM meeting this summer - even in the heat.  Bring on the next race in September!!

7.  Thank you, summer, for helping my daughter grow.  This has been an instrumental summer for my 11 year old.  She has had a wonderful time with friends new and old, and has really started to come into her own.  She is as ready for Middle School as she'll ever be!

8.  Thank you, summer, for all the happiness radiating from my children.  They have both enjoyed themselves immensely - and I can't ask for anything more than that.

9.  Thank you, summer, for new opportunities for my husband.  A brand new job and an adventurous missions trip to Haiti certainly kept him on his toes.

10.  And finally, thank you, summer, for just being there.  These times with our children are fleeting.  I will blink and soon summer will mean nothing because my kids will be grown and there will be no need to mark the time in between school years.  I am so grateful that, for now, summer vacation still means something.

Hope everyone had as nice of a summer as the Strands did.  Say a prayer for a successful school year for my monkeys.  Let my stress begin...