Emily asked me to write a post about my new-found passion.  Running barefoot.  While I was doing my Family Medicine rotation, I heard someone talking about a book called Born to Run.  I didn’t think much of it other than some shoes that were mentioned in the book.  I looked them up online when I got home and thought they were rather strange.  I didn’t think much more of it until I met someone in the operating room that competes in triathlons.  Whether it’s a perfect coincidence, or the fact I’m starting to think a little more seriously about my own mortality (and I want to live a long and healthy life . . . mobile, with as little physical restriction as I can manage up till the day I die . . .) I started thinking about running a marathon.

I’ll be the first to tell you I’ve said the following statement out loud, “Why would anyone want to run a marathon?”  This is not the first time I have had to dine on my own speech.  I’ve become quite accustomed to the taste of my own words.  Anyway, I decided to get the book.  I couldn’t put it down.  It really spoke to me.  Not because I’ve been a lifelong runner, (in fact, I have always hated long distance running) but because I’ve been looking for a way to maintain my health that I would continue to do for the rest of my life.  I’m not interested in something I’ll only do for a month or 90 days.  I’m interested in a life change that will have lifelong benefits.  The best exercise in the world is the one you enjoy doing . . . you will end up continuing to do it.  The best exercise is completely useless if it’s not done.

Throughout the book, everything just made sense.  After finishing the book, I have discovered an entire “underground” community/movement of barefoot running.  The stories are countless and sound very similar.  People with chronic running injuries have been finding relief while running.  All they had to do was kick off the shoes!

Obviously, there are risks in running barefoot.  Stepping on glass, a jagged rock, or a hypodermic needle . . . it could ruin your day.  The first thing to remember is to start slow.  ”Listen” to your feet.  There’s a reason we have so much sensation on the soles of our feet.  Many of the muscles in our feet and lower legs have atrophied because they have been rendered useless by our shoes.  It’ll take some time to get them back.  You’ll feel them getting stronger the more you work them.  I’ve only been doing this for about a week, but I have already experienced noticeable benefit.  My posture has improved, my lower back stopped hurting, and I feel lighter on my feet.

Check out this video:

I don’t know about you, but I’m a lifelong convert.  There are many websites out there that talk about the benefits of barefoot running . . . check them out!

UPDATE

For a little help on the transition from heel striking to “barefoot” running, check out the following page.

You are now 25 months old.  We had a wonderful celebration for your birthday.  It was so wonderful, in fact, you ask me about your birthday party all the time and say “AGAIN!?!?”  We measured you on your birthday, and if it is true that a toddler doubles its height from the age of two, you are going to be 5’9″ when you are an adult.  One inch taller than me, and three inches shorter than your dad.

You LOVE marshmallows, and request to eat them all day.  Every day.  At every meal.  You call them “mallows” and expect us to have a never ending supply of them.  A favorite drink as of late is “ice water” not to be confused with plain old water.  They are totally not the same.

You have eliminated one nap.  You are now down to taking one mid-day nap, which you look forward to and love.  Often, you will stop playing with your toys and say “night night?” and sure enough it will be your nap time.  You are a no-brainer for any babysitter.  You could tell them when you want to eat, what you want to eat, and when you need to go to bed.

You love your cousin Malaya.  You talk about her all the time, and want to play with her, but when the two of you actually get together, ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE.  Toddler fight, after toddler fight.  Somehow, you two are still friends.

We firmly believe in you making choices at an early age.  You get to pick out your outfit everyday, your p.j’s every night, and you even get to pick food options at meal times.  If at anytime in the future you look back at photos and you ask me WHAT I WAS THINKING WHEN I HAD YOU WEAR HOT PINK AND RED TOGETHER, I will be happy to remind you that YOU picked out your outfits.  I think you look darling, even when you are totally uncoordinated.  Allowing you to make some small decisions has eliminated almost all meltdowns when you get dressed.  We hope this skill will help you to be a confidant, independent, and successful lady as you grow up.

Your vocabulary has jumped leaps and bounds over the last few months.  You now speak in three to four word sentences.  Your favorite phrase is, “One more time!”  Which loosely translates to, “Indefinitely, or until I say so.” You surprise us every day with new words you pick up along the way.  Some of my favorite expressions are:

• How are doin?
• Back in Nair (back in there)
• I got you
• Hannah O-fee-A (Hannah Sophia)
• Med-sin-nin  (medicine)
• Baby don’t cry
• Don’t cry buddy
• Daddy playing golf
• I got chew  ( I got you)
• Here it comes!
• Ice water
• For a minute?
• Get in nair (get in there)
• One more time
• Lick-a-lish (licorice)

You love things that are either “brand new” or a “surprise.”  Whenever I want you to wear something and you throw a bit of a fuss, all I have to say is, “It’s BRAND NEW!” and suddenly you want to wear it.  If I want you to eat something new and you refuse, I just say, “It’s a surprise!” and instantly, you want to eat it.  You have two strollers, and you differentiate between the two by calling them “strow-ka-ler” and “BRAND NEW STROW-KA-LER!” which is technically true because you did get a new sit-n-stand stroller to share with Dallin.

(Hannah and aunt Heather playing the piano)

You love music.  In fact, you love to sing and dance, and most of your day is spent singing, dancing, and playing the piano.  You request the attention of the whole household to watch you perform, and of course we do.  You love the spotlight and are one darling performer.

You LOVE Ballet.  I ended up taking you to the store and buying you a pair of ballet slippers because YOU WANTED A PAIR SO BAD.  If it isn’t apparent to you yet, you will soon realize that your dad and I are TOTAL suckers for you.

You love your doll.  You copy everything I do with Dallin.  You love to change her clothes, check for poop in her diaper, and you even imitate breastfeeding.

You LOVE Dallin.  Sometimes you look at him and say “Hospital?”  Like we found him in the gift shop or something.  You always want to hold him, kiss him, or squeeze the living daylights out of him.  What an awesome big sister you are. You don’t like it when he cries, and often, you start crying because he is crying.  We refer to this as your “sympathy cry.”  While crying, you will say, “It’s okay buddy.  Don’t cry!”  It is honestly too cute for words.

There may come a time when Dallin bugs you (because he wants to follow you around and touch all your stuff or something very tragic like that) and you might start thinking that you don’t want him around and may even ask me why he has to be your brother.  I want you to remember something very important:  It’s because you WERE SO DANG CUTE, that we HAD TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY. Just the thought of having another “Hannah” around, was just too enticing, and YOU ARE THE REASON WE HAD DALLIN.  Plus, a sibling is the greatest gift we could give you.  It may be hard to believe, but you and Dallin will have a longer lasting relationship than you will with us, simply because we are 30 years older than you and we are banking on you to outlive us.  You two will be a part of each others lives forever, so I’m glad you’re off to a good start in your relationship.  Dallin doesn’t say much now, but I know he LOVES all the attention you give him, and all the hugs and kisses you freely give away don’t go unnoticed.

You love to help Grandma Gloria in her garden.  You are an excellent helper (so I’m told) and most of the time you eat what you pick.

Grandma Gloria helps you with art.  The other day, you asked her to draw  a picture of you golfing, in flip flops (you are still obsessed with them) with a flag on the green.  You are very observant.  You LOVE to play golf with the little golf clubs your dad bought you.

Grandpa teases you all the time, and you let him!  You love to help him in the garden and drink from the hose.  In the picture above, you call the water spouting out over the top of the hose a “jubilee.”  I’m not sure where you came up with that, but it is cute.

You are not a big vegetable eater, even though you pick vegetables out of both your grandparents’ gardens.  You get excited to see tomatoes, but you absolutely refuse to eat them.  More for me I guess.

You love to be sung to at bedtime.  Often, I will hear “Mommy?” on the monitor and when I come into your room to see what you need, you ask me (actually it’s more like you command me) to sit down and sing you a song.  You always request songs about Jesus, and if you don’t hear the word “Jesus” in the first ten words of the song you will exclaim, “NO! JESUS SONG!”

You are very persuasive.  You can convince almost anyone to do anything for you (or your way at least).  You ask so sweetly, and you know how to use facial expressions that make it nearly impossible to turn you down.  You have everyone wrapped around your finger and if you work it just right, we all might stay there for a very, very, long time.

We love you so much!

Love,

Mommy

I just have to say one thing . . . Why would you want to cake on make-up to jump in a pool? No, really! I honestly don’t get why they cake on TONS OF MAKE-UP. My face just itches thinking about it.

I hope they all have facials scheduled.

Where have I failed you as a mother? Have I not taught you to LOVE dolls, and strollers, and kitchen sets? Haven’t I taught you the joy of washing dishes, and cleaning the house?

Why then, WWWWWHHHHHHHYYYYYYYY, is your new passion GOLF?

Golf Hannah.

GOLF. WHY?

This isn’t normal for for a 23 month old girl who LOVES dolls, cleaning, pretty shoes, and kitchen sets. Maybe it’s your daddy’s fault (because trust me, I certainly didn’t introduce you to the game!). Yes, IT IS YOUR DADDY’S FAULT.

You see, we are living in Utah, with your Grandma and Grandpa for the summer for a VERY SPECIFIC reason, and that reason isn’t for you and your dad to master the game of golf. We live here so your daddy can study for the USMLE STEP ONE EXAM that he has scheduled to take in about two weeks. His “day job” is to review everything he’s ever learned in his entire life in medical school. However, he and grandpa always find time to go golfing, hit a bucket of balls, or practice chipping.

This weekend is the US Open Golf Tournament. Why do I know this useless bit of information? Because you are hooked just like your dad and grandpa watching it on TV! You rarely watch TV, and when you actually notice the TV, you say, “Golf? Watch it?”

Hannah this is weird. Not only because you are 23 months old, but because GOLF IS THE MOST B-O-R-I-N-G sport to watch. Trust me on this one. Football is MUCH more interesting, or heck, even Basketball. Why Golf?

I would like to mention that you know who “Tiger Woods” is, even though you couldn’t identify Barney, (well, thank heavens for that) Dora, or any other kid show characters. Well, you recently learned who Thomas the Train was . . . But my point is that you actually know a professional golfer’s name! Not only that, but after watching too much Golf TV, you know how to “swing” a club and you clap and scream for the ball to go into the hole.

Hannah, you know golf terms. Terms I don’t even know like: birdie, par, and eagle. I have no idea what they mean, but I’m sure you could explain them to me. Let me just say this, YOUR DAD COULD NOT BE HAPPIER. In fact, he is ready to buy you some clubs and he has taken you outside in the back yard to practice your “swing.”

Love, if this really is your new passion (next to shoes of course) then I support you 100%. But little one, you are still my baby girl, and really, DON’T YOU WANT TO GO GET A PEDICURE INSTEAD?