Kinesio tape is teh AWeSoME!!!

I used to joke about needing duct tape to hold my falling apart body together. Well, now there's kinesio tape, so move over duct tape!I wish I could win a lifetime supply of the stuff. Right now I'm using it for some support on my foot, of course. It's great, because it sticks directly on your skin- no pre-wrap needed. It's all stretchy and strong too. Great stuff.

Saturday I may have bit off more than I could chew when I decided to be all hardccore and attempt a combination run and bike workout. Basically, I ran 8-10 minutes hard up NCAR road, and then jumped on the bike for a solid workout. I could tell I wasn't willing to push to get my heart rate up as much as I usually do on the bike, but my main goal was just to get through it, as sloppy and unattractive as it might have looked. I know I'm struggling when I don't give a fuck about form and start singing along to the radio/video/pandora during the harder intervals. But I must have looked at least half way decent on the run part, because I passed a biker up on the steeper part of the road. When she passed me back on the flatter section, she said she was impressed. It was way cool and made me feel good to get some kind encouragement! Still, I have a long, long way to go. My foot isn't even close to 100 percent yet. However, I'm glad I can pick it up a little on the hills. It's less taxing on my body than going all out on the flats- more like doing a tempo run. I probably could have used a shower mid workout, but, dripping massive amounts of sweat aside, all was fine. Once I start back with rehab, I think my progress will be more noticeable.

Until I can attempt some real running workouts and even consider racing, I'm living vicariously through blogs from and related to the fleet feet racing team, Meggan's Running Blog and a few others.  I even watched the USATF 1500m final for women. I'm getting a little bit better about watching races. It's still tough, but I do better when it's a previously recorded video, and I know the outcome. This was a hard race to watch, as Christin Worth Thomas, who was leading the entire race, got out-kicked at the end. What a ballsy race though. I so admire her for pushing the pace like she did. What a brave lady.

 

Christin Wurth-Thomas leading the race

 

 In some unrelated news, I tried some Patric Chocolates. These chocolates won the National Good Food Award this year. A friend of mine and I tried the Madagascar single origin 75% dark chocolate, and the dark milk chocolate, one of the best things to happen to chocolate in a long time. Again with the indecision! I used to always wish that someone would invent a chocolate bar that would be a dark bar with swirls of milk chocolate in it. This is the same concept- mixing dark and milk chocolate or adding milk to dark chocolate, smoothing things out and taking away any bitter bite. The dark bar was a tad bitter. Some people like that kind of bite. It's the same thing with coffee. Some people prefer various hints of spices or a smoother cup. I say that the Madagascar bar could stand a hint more sugar, but the texture was nice. It was hot, so we ended up consuming wads of chocolate. The texture was something between being melted and remaining solid. It was almost chewy as a result. Overall, the dark milk chocolate was something that will remain on my mind as an outstanding bar. I could have stuffed the entire thing in my mouth with no regret. God, it was good. And I got it at Piece, Love and Chocolate, where they have a really nice selection of chocolate bars in addition to all the other chocolate treats they carry.