What BFF's are for

~It's Kristin~ 

I'm working on a little art project tonight.  My sister gave me this great idea.  She has super cute pieces of paper or thank you notes or something framed all in a row above her bed and it looks fabulous.  I asked her to do some for me and she did the 2 pictured above as part of my Christmas present last year.  So now I'm making 7 new big ones for my entry hallway.

Here's my favorite print (above).

I was having a hard time picking the paper I liked best.... 

I called for reinforcements...

What are BFF's for anyway?  I mean, last night I went and looked at the shoes she was deciding on at Nordy's.  It's so nice to know you have a third opinion (after the husband's opinion, of course) available when you need it.  Incidentally, Matt also has excellent taste and helped me arrange and sort through most of the project!

I'll post a shot of the finalized display soon.  I'm excited!

And she went with me yesterday to pick out new running shoes!!  Yes, a trip to SLRC where we are regulars.  There was a new sales guy there- Dave.  At first we were not enjoying Dave.  He was the first to offer us help and we didn't know how to say, "Uh, no thanks, we don'' know you yet."  Dave seemed arrogant and made a statements about my PF being with me for life.  No, Dave!!  But then Dave grew on us and we may just work with him again.  We've been shopping for a new shoe guru since Seth, our running idol, quit.  (PS:  He came in 3rd in the St. George Marathon we ran in the fall!)

Here's my new garb!  Can you spy, with your little eye: a GU, Adidas, Smartwool, Matt's first pair of running socks, an extra jumbo sized body glide!, blister shield, Saucony's (40% off baby!), and (this is a hard one- bonus if you can spot it!) an injured foot.

I LOVE having new running stuff.  Can't wait to bust out the new shoes tomorrow.  I never anticipated buying a pair of Adidas, but Dave recommended them and they were so comfy and felt just perfect as far as arch support for my PF and all.  I jogged around the store and fell in love!  And I've always wanted Smartwool socks.  D's always raving about them.  I knew it was time for new shoes because I was having weird aches and pains in random novel places.  And I was past mileage for my other shoes.

Any of you runner girls recommend any sports bras?  Nothing fancy needed- I'm cheap!

D and I have a cool giveaway coming up so be sure to stay tuned!

XOXO

~K

It's all about relationships

by: Kristin

Now that the Bachelor is over, I'm bored of it.  But many of you emailed and asked about the results.  If you don't know yet- he picked VIENNA!  What can we learn from this, single people?  Infatuation is blind- you must use your head and listen to the unbiased people around you.  Interesting points in the episode?  Jake's family initially saw what a scary girl Vienna is and didn't like her.  Then they strangely "saw the light" and apologized for judging her and told Jake they approved.  Nooo!  You fools!  Did the producers pay you to do that or what??  Ali is the next Bachelorette!  (She's the one who had to leave the show cuz her job demanded she return.  She works for Facebook.)  Jake is going to be on Dancing with the Stars (as is Kate Gosselin- weird).  We all had fun yelling and rolling our eyes at the screen.  Danna said, "If Tenley says, 'I value marriage," ONE MORE TIME..."   I think Tenley did talk their relationship to death.  But she's sweet and I hope she meets a nice guy.  As for you, Vienna, grow up!

So, yesterday I ran with...you'll never guess who (unless you already read the sidebar)...Ma Husband!  Yes, and even more unbelievable is that HE was the one who requested the afternoon run.  I first suspected that he was an imposter in my husband's body, but no.  We had a great little run on the parkway.  So nice to run in the sun!  He looked super cute in his running garb- too bad I didn't snap a picture for you!  

Check out this amazing site D found with a list of every US marathon!

It's that painful time again when I have to fork out some serious dough for a new pair of running shoes.  What shoes do you pronators love?  I haven't loved my Ascics 2140s for some reason, but I love my Mizuno Wave Inspires.  I'm debating inserts vs no inserts...so hard!  And our favorite employee at the Salt Lake Running Company is quitting!  A running shoe relationship is crucial.  We start from scratch again.  Oh the agony.

XOXO

~K

Out with the old, In with the new (shoes that is)

I am extremely frugal. There is one item that even I pull out my wallet for when it comes to running, though. Shoes! All of you who are planning on running or starting to walk, I highly recommend you get a good pair of shoes. Poor shoes or the wrong shoes can lead to injury that can sideline you and cause a lot of discomfort, just ask Kristin and Danna. I recommend going to the Salt Lake Running company and being fit with shoes. The sales associates there know what they are talking about and even watch you run on a tread mill to get the right fit. It will save you money in hospital bills and make running much more enjoyable. You can also check out shoe websites like the Saucony or Brooks sites. They have you enter information about your foot and recommend a shoe for you. This is worth spending your money on! Then, once you know what shoe you need, you can price hunt like me! My latest pair I am getting for $67. I bought the same shoe about 8 months ago for $112.
My new Saucony Progrid Guide 2 shoes that are being shipped to my house! The blue is very cool!


My old pair of Saucony Progrid Guide 2 shoes. I trained and ran a marathon in these babies! See how I even wore out the tread. The people at Salt Lake Running company say that shoes are good for around 500 miles. I also heard that the padding inside the shoes wears out before the tread does. Looks like I wore mine a little too long.

Plantar Fasciitis

(This is Kristin)

Well, I have been asked a lot lately if I am running at all and if my foot is any better. I think I have plantar fasciitis.

My symptoms:

• heel pain
• tight feeling along arch
• greater pain when it's early or when I'm just standing/walking after long sitting

What has worked?

• As much as I am against this from a fashion standpoint- wearing my running shoes all day (gulp) even with my work clothes has made an amazing difference! I alternated days with my arch support (Superfeet) inserts in or out.
  

Dansko:

• Everyone swears by Dansko clogs and I have never wanted to get any (They're not my style and are pricey. If I'm payin' $100+ for shoes they better be hot!). Danna and some work buddies who have had plantar fasciitis say they were the only thing that would get rid of it. After my running shoes worked so well, I think I need to do it! Our friend sells them at a store named Chandler's. If you're interested- tell them Janene sent you and help our sistah out! They're really pretty cute and versatile (and also go well with purple cabbage as shown).
  
• Icing after work-outs! I'm a firm believer. I even sneakily ice while treating patients.
• Rest! I have cross-trained and rested a ton. (My next post on Tues. will have some fun work-out video suggestions.)
• And finally- long gentle stretches. See suggestions here.
  

Couldn't find a good picture of this next one, but it's my favorite!
So, yes, things are getting better for me and I'm running 1-2X per week right now. I'd love to hear any of your thoughts or experiences with plantar fasciitis in comments!

Pre-Season

When we refer to "pre-season" we are referring to the time before the official schedule actually starts. The schedule runs 18 weeks before the marathon, but we started training much earlier than that. In many ways we have no idea what we are doing, and without a schedule we thought we should just try to...well...run a lot. There were many unforgettable events and "land marks" during pre-season that we would like to share with you, our supporters.


First of all, I personally became obsessed with all things marathon. I began asking every person I know who has ever ran a marathon every possible question I could think of. What kind of GU did you like? (GU, pronounced "goo," is a brand of energy gel many marathoners eat/drink/suck on.) What did you wear? How was it? Which marathon? Tell me about your training, your belt, your injuries, where you put your Bodyglide...ha ha ha! But seriously, I needed to know every detail. I didn't want to show up on marathon day and be one of those noobies who ends up in the medical van because she thought it would be okay to wear her new ipod arm band during the race.

Matt (husband) went to the library and checked out a stack of marathon books for me. Books I have been consuming like I consume Fiber One Bars (which is voraciously) and I now consider myself somewhat of an expert on things that one month ago I had never heard of (e.g., Bodyglide, fartlek, GU, overtraining vs overloading, form, and Mizuno shoes). If you are considering joining me in this crazy lifestyle, I highly recommend the following books:

*Running - by Galloway, who in the runner's world needs no first name for identification (A really great comprehensive book that covers just about everthing)
*The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide for Women - by Dawn Dias (Hillarious, sarcastic, and the inspiration for this blog! And, yes, it actually had some insightful advice too.)
*Marathon - by Galloway (My Hero!! :) The local running store experts recommended this one to me. Has a few more specific tidbits his other book doesn't have.)
*How to Run a Marathon - by Tim Rogers (This British author seems to think the London Marathon deserves to be mentioned on EVERY page. Okay, we GET IT! London is the best, blah, blah, blah. But it did give me lots of interesting info from his personal perspective. It also made me scared that I won't be running in England where the fabulous Brits would be cheering me on!)

OTHER PRE-SEASON EVENTS:

*Danna and I spend hundreds at the Salt Lake Running Company on things you wouldn't even think we would need- like special running socks and underwear, and it ain't ever cheap, baby. Here's a picture of my new stuff:


*Our husbands start a special support group (well, partnership) and start weeping frequently. Condolence cards and/or meals for the hubs' are welcome.
*I have an oh-so-painful in-grown toenail surgery on 6 spots and stop training for two weeks. I did, however really strengthen up my shin muscles by walking on my heels non-stop. No joke.


The next photo is my toenail now. As a result of the surgery it is skinnier, yellower, more jagged, and over-all weirder looking. I am sure to lose toenails in the marathon! (This is common for marathoners.)


*Everyone I know is asked to pray for my joints as we Memmott girls are known for our bad knees (if you are reading this- consider yourself asked!)
*I run during pre-season with a dorky, uncomfortable fanny pack. Enter chafing.
*We enter the lottery for the St. George Marathon as a team, and pray our guts out that we will make it.
*WE MAKE IT!!
*Amazingly, during pre-season we did not actually run a single run together, and we were very nervous that we had different paces.
*My physical therapist co-workers (who are anti-running) tell me I don't have a runner's body and should not do it. As a speech therapist, I tell them they do not have talkers' mouths, and that they can stuff it!
*My toes heal from the surgery very nicely! Yippee!!
*My husband takes great pains to find me the perfect pair of shoes on ebay at a much lower price than the running store.
*I upgrade from a fanny pack to a true runner's belt- no more getting whacked 400 times with my own Gatorade bottle.

As you can see, we had an exciting pre-season. When it came time to start our true schedule we felt we were more that ready for it- the right gear, the right toe-nail widths, and the right running partner(s). The old days of choosing our rest days and run distances are only a pleasant memory. THE SCHEDULE is now our master!