Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee [Lindsey]

Mohammad Ali once described his boxing technique as "float[ing] like a butterfly, sting[ing] like a bee" meaning that you need to be light on your feet and pack a good punch. I've been thinking about this concept a lot recently on my runs. While my stride has greatly improved from the "grandpa shuffle" from last year, I still get the occasional comment from Adam to "land lighter on your feet." This my friends is easier said then done. I can visualize myself landing lighter all day long but the truth is once I get past 11 miles, I'm getting tired. My muscles get tired and my feet hit the pavement harder which inevitably leads to foot aches and pains.

A couple weeks ago I bruised the bottom of the ball of my foot after a long run. To ease some of the pressure off of my foot, I put a Dr. Schols insert in my shoe. That has helped a lot, however, after my 14 miler the other day, I've come to the conclusion that I may need to switch to a different shoe. I LOVE my running shoes - PureCadence by Brooks, but I don't think my foot/body is in quite enough shape to handle the shoe for 26.2 miles. The PureCadence is a shoe designed with a lower heel drop and is really lightweight but I think at the cost of some padding that I still require for longer runs. Alas I am back on the shoe search...

Other than a new shoe and happy thoughts, how do I plan to "float like a butterfly"? Well, remember my post last year - Food Freedom? Let's just say that I went a little overboard with carb loading and haven't really stopped post race. nice. The end result has been zero weight loss since starting to train last year and in fact I think I've gained a few pounds. Yes, I realize I am now a muscle powerhouse these days but what's the point if your muscles are hidden under a winter coat all year round? Enter my new eating lifestyle - I refuse to use the word diet.

I've been flirting with the idea of a "Paleo lifestyle" for awhile. I've seen and spoken with some friends who are Paleo converts and all have been really happy and have felt great since making the switch. I struggle with some of the pillars of the concept but overall it makes sense. The past couple of weeks I've been making more Paleo-esk type food decisions and keeping track of what I eat with a nifty iPad app called MyFitnessPal and I've already seen results and actually feel better by not eating so much pasta and bread and eating more fruit, veggies, and wait for it... meat. (Who am I?) As a self proclaimed vegetarian since 14 (which in more recent years has turned into veggie/I eat some turkey and chicken) this is pretty huge. I haven't delved into a filet mignon (and I don't think I ever will) but I did eat a hamburger the other week!

Tracking what I eat has been a real eye opener as well. It's pretty shocking to see how much sugar I was ingesting... honestly I can't believe I'm not diabetic, which is somewhat scary to think because I wasn't eating horrible food. I don't want to think about how much sugar people eat when eating poorly but that's a whole other post for another blog...

73 Days to Go
Currently running to Purity Ring - Fineshrine