Endurance

Despite the challenges of the last two weeks, my 30 minute power walk today was surprisingly easy. Definitely a big change from the first time that I began the challenge. One factor could be the cooler weather.

Reboot

I am rebooting the challenge. The first week I had awful shin splints, which the new shoes have corrected. The second week I had viral gastroenteritis for three days and I only got in one workout before it hit. So today is now Week 1 of the challenge. I am excited to get started again, especially with the new shoes as they are fabulous. The great fall weather will also make it more comfortable to run. Wish me luck!

Shin Splints

After two days on the beginning runner challenge, I had shin splints. Not the "I am uncomfortable because it has been awhile" shin splints but holy moley "I can barely walk up the stairs" shin splints. Rest, ice, stretching and ibuprofen fixed me right up. I thought it might be my shoes so I went to the Salt Lake Running Company (Draper location) store. My husband and I had been there before and purchased shoes for him. They offer a 30-day return policy, even if you have worn the shoes, which is why I was willing to pay more for my shoes than I would have at Dick's or some other sporting goods store. Through discussions with the employee, I discovered that the shoes I was wearing were great for walking on the treadmill but may be over-correcting me on pavement, thus shin splints. The employees are trained on how to do an evaluation of your running style. You run on the treadmill and they use an iPad to record you. They analyze the video to determine what type of shoes you need. He selected several pair and I tried each one on. They even allow customers to run back and forth on the sidewalk outside of the store.

Another great thing about Salt Lake Running Company is that the employees are familiar with the products in the store.  I was surprised that the guy who helped me was also able to knowledgeably discuss the sports bras they had available. He was also not put off by the fact that I am just getting back into running after more than 20 years and had questions. He recommended using a foam roller to help with stretching. I have seen them before and this will be on my list to pick up later.

I wore the shoes this weekend and had no shin splints. If this continues to be the case, the shoes were worth the $110 price tag. If you need running shoes, I highly recommend Salt Lake Running Company and the person who assisted me in the Draper store was Zac.

Training for a 5K

We have moved from Sandy to the Daybreak area of South Jordan. The access to walking trails is fabulous. So in keeping with an active lifestyle, I have begun the training for a 5K. I have had knee surgery so this project may not be completed but I am giving it a go even if I have to do it walk/jog to complete it.

I have a friend in the Phoenix area who is doing this challenge along with me. She is in considerably better shape though. The challenge that I am following is from the Running Planet website.  It is the 8-week program for beginning runners developed by Rick Morris. In 8 weeks, I should be able to run 2 miles without stopping. After that, my goal is to add a quarter mile to each week until I can run 3 miles. Once I can run 3 miles without stopping, I will work on speed. If my knee just cannot tolerate the running, I will purchase a bike. If everything is ok, I will sign up for a 5K.

I do not have insurance so hopefully I do not seriously injure myself in this endeavor.

Not in Utah

I saw a commercial for a CNBC special on Costco - "The Costco Craze: Inside the Warehouse Giant". I am a Costco fan so I recorded it on the DVR. When my husband and I watched it, we learned something new about Utah. This was not because Utah was mentioned in the special but a segment that alerted us to the fact that Utah Costco stores are different from the other Costco stores in the U.S. This difference is that none of the nine Costco stores offer wine. The segment in question discussed the fact that because of Costco's buying power, the buyer for the Kirkland wine label is one of the most powerful wine buyers in the world. My husband and I do not drink alcohol so we had never noticed that our Costco did not have a section for wine or that it should have it.

09/26/2012 UPDATE: Due to a law change, the Utah Costco stores are now selling alcohol. So far, we have seen beer. Still no wine section.

Mini-Tour of SLC Metro with Kids

My brother-in-law, his wife and two children visited Utah this weekend. They were here for one day and then went on to Big Sky, Montana and Yellowstone National Park. So, we needed to come up with a mini-tour of SLC metro that included fun for kids as well as adults.  I had sent my sister-in-law a list of activity ideas in advance of their arrival.

The first stop was breakfast. SLC Metro just does not have many choices for table service breakfast restaurants. After experimenting over the last year, my husband and I frequent The Village Inn on 106th & I-15 for Saturday breakfast dates. Everyone enjoyed the food, service and atmosphere.

Next stop was the The Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. My niece and nephew (9 and 11 years old) enjoyed the entire experience. Their favorites were the River Otters, the Penguin Encounter, the Touch Pool with the sting rays and the Animal Superheroes! exhibits. We all hit the gift shop at the end. My nephew chose a "Harry Otter" t-shirt. My niece chose a blue snake, which she named Lotus, who added quite the entertainment for the remainder of the day. There was also an opportunity for a photo purchase (of the group which was taken at the entrance) and we bought one copy.

Our third stop was Temple Square and finding parking downtown was quite an adventure. Streets were blocked off for the Salt Lake City Marathon. There were large crowds due to several other events as well - the Democratic Party of Utah convention, the NCAA Gymnastics Championships, Clinton Kelly at Macy's, etc. At the Temple Square, we toured the South Visitor's Center. (We had previously toured the North Visitor's Center and now realize they are different. North has information/history on the history of the Temple Square and the South has information/history on the Temple itself.) The kids really liked the model of the Temple. It was nice to have the Sisters on hand to answer questions. We also toured the Tabernacle and were able to catch the sound amplification presentation.

Our fourth stop was City Creek Center. The kids enjoyed the fountains. My sister-in-law, my niece and I browsed the Swarovski boutique.  It was a new experience for them.There is a location at Westport Plaza in KCMO but that area is not really safe anymore. Everyone was getting tired and hungry so we perused the mall map to find a place to eat.

The final stop in our mini-tour was Hagermann's Bakehouse Cafe. It was new for all of us. Everyone enjoyed their meal and there were positive comments about the bread. It is definitely a place to go on "the list" of veg friendly restaurants that are great for both omnivores and veg/vegans.

Hopefully next time they visit, it will be for longer than one day and we can explore (and blog about) more kid friendly activities.

When a Scone is Not a Scone

I read a conversation on FB today regarding scones. It reminded me of a local restaurant commercial that was somewhat shocking the first time that I saw it. I cannot remember the name of the restaurant but there is a little girl talking about how her favorite item is the scone. It is NOT a scone. It is frybread. In the FB conversation, there was a photo of a Utah "scone" and a real scone and people were asked to weigh in on which was a "real" scone. Apparently many native Utahns believe that the frybread is a scone but transplants know that what a real scone is and can identify it.

For clarification on scones:

A scone is a small British quick bread and very similar to what most Americans would identify as a biscuit. Scones are usually triangular in shape and biscuits are round. Scones also tend to be more dry (crumbly) than a biscuit (flaky).


A Utah "scone" is an Indian fry bread.

While this controversy may seem really odd to me (and others who are not native to Utah), it can be compared to tea in the US by region. When you order tea in the south, it is sweet tea.  You say "tea" and you are served "sweet tea". If you do not want sweet tea, you must specifically ask for it to be unsweetened. Thus, if you move or travel out of the south, you can assume that when you order tea, it is indeed NOT sweet tea.