Day 1

Rest.


Wait a minute, that doesn't make sense. I thought rest came on Day 7.
I started a running routine found on www.coolrunning.com and luckily for me, I started on Monday, the day of rest!


Unluckily for me, today is the day that my adult volleyball league plays - and I forgot all my gym clothes/shoes at home.


I ran over... No, I DROVE over to REI during lunch to pick up some clothes and I heard about how awesome Vibram shoes are, so I tried them on there. I tried on the Bikila's.  I've been warned that getting them on can be tricky, but I'm up for a good challenge.  I put my toes in first and then slid the shoe over my heel. By slid, I mean I tugged and pulled and wiggled. Once I got them on, they were quite comfortable! I don't normally like anything in between my toes, but I didn't even notice it much. My good friend Michelle pointed out that I looked like a Gecko, not only that, but also they only had a size 38 - smallest size they had, but still too big. I tried them out on the handy rocky path anyway, and they were surprisingly comfortable! I did not feel the rocks poking my feet like I thought I would.


Then the gentleman helping me with my shoes brought out a size 37 KSO in all black and they fit my size 6-6.5 (US)  feet perfectly!  They also felt surprisingly comfortable on the rocks and walking too. I immediately picked them up along with shorts and a long sleeve shirt. Did you know they don't sell running t-shirts at REI when it's all wintery and snowy in Seattle?


I've heard at least three times at the store how to "Take it slow at first" with the Vibrams as you can injure yourself easily by overusing muscles that aren't used to being used.  Don't worry people. I'm going to take it slow, I haven't even started yet!  Good advice though, so I don't start my training with that 10 mile run that I've been eyeing. *Rolls eyes* The salesperson told me to train with both shoes and the Vibrams to increase my time while teaching my muscles how to wear the Vibrams.  I will have to read into this further.


I had intended to buy the shoes today, but it was perfect timing as I needed shoes for volleyball, as I forgot everything at home.  I was worried about it hurting to jump, rolling an ankle, etc. Other than missing my first serve (there's a completely different kind of step - ball of foot first, not heel), everything else was FANTASTIC! SO COMFORTABLE! It was quite unbelievable! It was really like I was running around barefoot, but with much more support, no worries about rolling onto my ankle.  Another plus is that it did not scuff or mark the court at all, which I was worried about with the black soles.


:) To say the least, on my "day of rest" my body is extremely tired and sore - not sure if that's because I haven't played volleyball in a while, if it's because I'm using those unused muscles, or if it was my mini kettleball workout this morning at 5am. Probably a little bit of everything. And all of me right now is saying, time for BED! I will try to wake up at 5am every day to either work out or run :)


Goal: SEATTLE ROCK 'N' ROLL HALF-MARATHON JUNE 25TH, 2011! I just signed up this weekend! Wish me luck!


-Diana