My First VFF Run

I went for my first run in my Bikila's this morning. Being the running shoe connoisseur that I am, I opted for the treadmill for a test run. I always test out my running shoes on the treadmill and often take them back after a "failed" first run. Hence, why I like to switch up the store I shop at...by the time I settle on a pair, the sales person wants to kill me. But the Bikila's were a pleasant surprise. I only ran two miles because I had to run at a considerably slower pace than normal and had to get home by 7 to get ready for work. I am not used to running without a lot of padding so there is a transition period before I will be able to run the same distance at the same pace as I do with normal shoes. Many reviews of the Bikila said that the non-shoe was "built for speed" and made them "just feel fast". No such luck here.

As I mentioned in my last post, I've done a little barefoot running so I knew what to expect. With the VFF (Vibram Five Fingers) and the treadmill, it was actually pretty comfortable compared to outside with naked feet. I expect my calves to be sore tomorrow based on numerous VFF reviews but so far so good. I had to keep reminding myself to relax my foot. I kept tensing up my foot as I ran which caused me to hit harder on the ball of my foot. When relaxed, the impact was not noticeable. I also got a little rubbing on my heel and where the strap connects. I hope this goes away as I break in the non-shoes. So far no pain on the left side of my foot but normally it takes at least 3 miles for me to feel that pain in a new pair of shoes. Alot of the reviews said it felt odd to have something in between the toes spreading them out...but little known fact about me...I love to spread my toes apart and felt right at home with that aspect of the non-shoe. I'll continue to update my dedicated followers on my VFF as my mileage increases.

My New Non-Shoes

My dedicated followers will recall that a few days ago I posted a picture of my anniversary present on facebook. It solicited quite a few comments/questions. So this post is to explain the gift as well as announce some exciting news (not too exciting...in fact maybe only exciting to me). I went to Sun & Ski Sports on Saturday with my wonderful husband of 6 years to pick out my anniversary gift. As a side note, we picked up Justin's present later in the day...a new official AVP volleyball as his was launched over the fence at volleyball a couple of weeks ago and became a casualty of the Trinity River. I got Vibram Five Fingers Sprints as pictured below.

I have been pining after these non-shoes since at least my birthday back in September so I was very excited to finally have a pair in hand. However, they were not the exact pair I wanted but they were the only pair in my size. While trying them on, the sales clerk mentioned that Vibram was coming out with a new kind of five fingers designed specifically for distance running. I was interested in this new kind but thought it had not been released yet. Upon checking the website when I got home, I discovered that not only had the new style been released, it was available at a local running store. So on Monday, I stopped by Luke's Locker and tried on the new style, the Bikila. They are so cool (pictured below) and designed for distance running which is exactly what I plan on using them for!

There are three main features the Bikila has over the Sprint that I am excited about. First, they come up to cover the top of the foot and keep debris out. Second, they have a slightly padded heel that should help prevent blisters. Third, they are designed for running!

Now for a little background....I hate shoes. Yes, most all shoes especially every pair of running shoes I have ever owned which is actually rare for a runner. Most runners have a go to brand and style that they love. I have never found a pair that doesn't cause pain in my left foot on the left outer edge. I think it may have something to do with my Scoliosis and the fact that I "twist" more to my left when running. But whatever the reason, the pain has caused me to seek alternative solutions...thus my interest in barefoot running. Back in the fall, I tried actual barefoot running. But, surprise, I'm a wimp and it was painful. Plus I am a little prissy, ok maybe a lot prissy, and it made my feet dirty and calloused. But I was interested in not having to wear shoes and the benefits praised by barefoot enthusiasts. Thus the Five Fingers. They provide most of the benefits of barefoot running while also supplying a layer of protection between you and the ground thus eliminating the dirt and callouses! If you are still reading, you may be interested so here is a link to the website if you want to learn more. I am going to run in them for the first time tomorrow morning and will report back!

Small Group Pics

Here is a link to the photos from our small group garage sale and fence building project. Thought some of you might be interested.
Click here to view photos

Happy Anniversary

Justin and I were married 6 years ago today. Here is a little flash back. I love you, baby.

Two weeks in row

This week was long and to be honest not the best week. But surely I can find 5 fab things about it anyway.

1. Fence Building Project and Dinner- We spent all day last Saturday building the fence we raised money for through the garage sale. The ladies in the group cleared a very over grown flower bed and replanted it with 3 knock out rose bushes and an herb garden. Tina (the widower) had told Steve she would love an herb garden. The bed looked great and Tina was so surprised at all our progress. We are hoping to finish the fence tomorrow. After building all day, our group went to dinner at one of our favorites, Tony's, and had a fun end to our day.

2. Texas Roadhouse - We celebrated Mother's Day with the Ward's last Sunday. We had a great lunch at Texas Roadhouse an old favorite. We used to go to Texas Roadhouse in Waco all the time so it brings back old college memories. I remember visiting my sister at Baylor while I was still in high school. We went to Texas Roadhouse with her friend Rebecca. We all got house salads with our meal and when they arrived, Kara looked at mine and said, "Oh, no. You forgot to say no cheese or eggs!" Luckily, I like my salad with cheese and eggs. Not sure why I remember that so vividly :)

3. Clean House - My husband cleaned the house for me after work yesterday. Enough said.

4. Holy Frijoles - Last night Justin and I went to dinner at Holy Frijoles because we hadn't gotten to spend much time together this week and wanted some relaxing fun. We had never tried the place before even though it is just about a mile from our house. We had a great time and will be going back.

5. Cereal - For my facebook friends, you may have seen Justin's post about getting 28 boxes of cereal this week. Well, I was a little frustrated with myself b/c I let the cashier rush me and bought the wrong brand of one type of cereal and therefore, ended up paying more than I needed to. But I am still excited that I got 28 boxes of name brand cereal we love to eat for $18.50. That is about $.66 a box. If I hadn't messed up, it would have cost only about $10. Oh, well, still a good deal and we now have cereal until October by Justin's calculations. And no, it won't go bad by then...the expiration's are all in December.

Now with all that material...I expect lots of comments...surely one of my fab five interested you :)

Friday Fab Five

I never really kept up with doing my Friday Fab Five but a friend of mine did hers today and I thought it would be fun. So below are 5 great things about this past week.

1. Our fun weekend of service as detailed in my last post.

2. I had a fun evening Tuesday watching Justin play sand volleyball. It was a perfect night to sit outside and I got to hang out with some friends of ours that play with Justin that I don't see very often.

3. We celebrated Cinco de Mayo on Wednesday with a tex-mex dinner at Don Pepe's. They had a live Mexican style band and we had a great time.

4. I went to CVS this week and got 4 body washes...I paid $2.75 for these and got $5 to spend at CVS in the future. So basically CVS paid me $2.25 to buy the body washes. Plus I didn't actually pay anything b/c I had CVS bucks from a prior transaction. I am just getting into couponing but it gives me a high :) I have some transactions at Albertson's planned for this weekend!

5. I got my new Vera Bradley purse in the mail last Saturday. It is really cute and summery and best of all, I got a great deal. Don't ask me why I still don't have a Mother's Day gift for my mom. That part doesn't belong in my fab five.




Happy Friday everyone!

Missional Renaissance

Our small group recently read the book The Missional Renaissance and followed up with some parables in Matthew that support the major themes in the book. As a result, our group desired to focus on missional living. One thing we want to do is seek out opportunities to serve. One guy in our group has a good friend that recently lost her husband and she has two young boys ages 5 and 14. Our friend told us her fence really needs repairing and that he thought it would make a great impression on her 14 year son to see the church helping out those in need. So we decided to build her a new fence! We decided to have a garage sale to try and raise some of the around $1,100 we need to finance the fence. We had the garage sale this Saturday at our house. Everyone collected items from their homes and friends. Then members of our group came over on Friday night and we got everything priced and set up. We started the sale early Saturday morning and wrapped up just before two. We were so excited by the results! We raised over $800 and had a great time together. It was such a blessing to have our group working together! Now we just need the men to start construction!

On Sunday our church took part in the Go and Be initiative. About 25 churches from around the metroplex took part in a massive service day on Sunday. We didn't have traditional church but instead served the community surrounding our building through numerous service projects including painting, building playgrounds, cleaning apartments and many more. The initiative urges Christians to be the change you want to see. This was perfect timing for our group and I suspect many other groups within our church :) Our small group cleaned 5 apartments. We split into groups and my group cleaned three apartments. The first one was an Ethiopian lady with 4 month old twins. Then we cleaned her friend's next door and then her brother's. I thought it was going to be really disgusting cleaning someone else's home. But their apartments were all really well kept and it was great to get to see how appreciative these individuals were for someone coming in and cleaning for them. After the service projects, our church had a picnic at the local high school that the whole community was invited to. Everyone we talked to that had participated in the service project was very excited about the results. It was a great weekend serving with our friends and I look forward to our next project! After re-reading my post, I realize it is hard to convey what a great weekend we had and how God was working in the community. But I was truly inspired to "be the change" after serving with my friends and sharing the excitement together!