IN JAMAICA

New kicks for the run
But I sprained my leg(??)-ankle
Clumsy, lame runner!

In less than three weeks I will be running the Nike Women’s Marathon in SF. Thankfully, I am running the half-marathon version. I say thankfully because 1) 26.2 is a long goddamn run, and 2) apparently I sprained my leg-ankle over the weekend while walking with Patrick trying to break in my new shoes. How long will this injury last for??!!

I decided to take it easy and not run today and ice my leg, put some natural ointment on, and wait a day. Tomorrow if this isn’t feeling better then I think I’ll take an Advil, put on my new shoes, and go for a run.

So about my shoes, yes I got new ones. I have been running on my LA Marathon shoes, the expectedly-ugly but totally reliable New Balance 767. Apparently running shoes have a tread life: somewhere between 300-400 miles is what I remember. Since I hardly ever throw away shoes (no matter what state they’re in), it is hard to get myself to stop running on them. Thanks to Nordstrom Rack, I have been introduced to the world of Nike Free 5.0 aka the shoes that make you feel like you are running on bare feet. I found a teeny tiny image of them. Check them out:

They are great, only I am yet to really run in them. Patrick had a little hot dog with him that walked super slow, so I did a lot of up and down to nowhere style jogging, only to get my foot caught in a crevice and turn my ankle out. Now the leg is screwed up and I must wait!

Cookware turned fitness
Do not drop it on your toe!
Thighmaster be gone

Yesterday my sister called me to tell me about her latest fitness craze, Kettle Bells. It is hard to say Kettle Bells without laughing- mostly because I don’t know and don’t understand what it is, but in my mind I have some vision of a Christmas song that includes gonging a Salvation Army donation bucket or something. Anyway, she insisted that I google it so I do, and this is the first (and up to now) and only image I see:

This picture makes my day on a number of levels. First, I cannot imagine working out with an iron ball that I can so easily let go of and drop on my head, and two, that of all people chosen to model what I believe is a kettle bell in action, it’s this guy- he has a mustache (I will post my thoughts on mustaches and other assorted facial hair later) and little to no upper arm definition, and three, the photoshopped slogan of “Kettlebell it up!” on his shirt.

This image is so, so good. The shape of the KB really reminds me of the old Atari Kaboom! game of dropping bombs or the Hamburglar or basically any cartoon-jail imagery, and it makes me appreciate all that Suzanne Somers did to make wacky fitness gadgets part of our normal household lives.

Don’t think that I’m against researching the kettle bell any further, hell, at this point I need to dust myself off and get myself to a class and try it for myself! This is also a good reminder that it’s always important to keep an open mind when it comes to learning new ways to workout and stay fit. For example, look at what the Japanese have to offer!