Mizuno Running Shoes Now Vegan!

• 3 • My Running, Running Thoughts
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My free pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 18s!

 

Great news for my fellow runners – Mizuno running shoes are now vegan!  They used to use animal adhesives, which required boiling down animal hides or connective tissues (depending on the glue type) to use in the glue.  After watching Vegucated, I realized how much animals suffer and how unnecessary that suffering is.  We don’t need to use animal products in glues, there are lots of alternatives.  Brooks running shoes have been vegan for years, and trust me, I’ve put a lot of miles on mine and they don’t fall apart.

So I was excited to learn that Mizuno has recently changed their manufacturing process, and no longer uses animal products in their glue!

Not only are their shoes now vegan, I found out because I asked when they offered me a free pair of shoes!  As part of a campaign to get word out about their new Wave Rider 18s, they’re “sending free pairs of the new Wave Rider 18 out in the world to watch what happens”.

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They’re selecting people on twitter who’ve posted about running, and offering them a free pair of shoes!

I was fully ready to turn mine down to let them know that I would REFUSE A PAIR OF FREE RUNNING SHOES to avoid using a product produced by being unnecessarily cruel to animals… but it turns out I didn’t have to 🙂  After checking multiple sources from Mizuno running, I got the “ok” from both the customer service live chat on the Mizuno website and Mizuno Running’s twitter account.

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So next time you need a new pair of running shoes, you can add Mizuno to your list of cruelty free brands to try!

For a great online compilation of which running shoes are vegan friendly, check out the Vegan Athletic Shoes 2014 guide from vegan8. It has the outdated information about Mizuno, but is a great compilation of responses from companies about how they make their shoes.  You can always contact a company yourself to double check before you buy.

You don’t have to be a vegan or vegetarian to choose cruelty free whenever possible – so many of the plant-based alternatives to animal products are just as good, better for the environment, and better for animals.  Why not make the choice to purchase kind products whenever possible?

Run kind 🙂

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I’ll post a review of the Wave Rider 18s after I try them out!

 

The First Run After A Big Race

• 2 • My Running, Running Thoughts
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It’s a beautiful time of year to run in no particular hurry!

I love the first run after any big race, because there’s no pressure.  You’ve run your big event.  There’s no pressure to go fast, or far, you’re just there to ease back into your running routine.  You can go wherever you like, as fast or slow as you like, as long or short as you like.

It’s beautiful, and it helps me remember what I love about running.

You might wonder why, if I enjoy this running freedom, I train for races at all.

One benefit is that the weeks of training make me appreciate the weeks that I’m not training, and vice versa.  I like having some running months where I’m taking it easy because it’s winter, some where I’m pushing hard towards a goal that I’m excited about, and some where I’m just enjoying the beautiful fall weather with as many miles as I feel like.

I’ve also noticed that I enjoy running after a big race more because I have the endurance I’ve built during my training, but I’m running fewer miles.  Suddenly, instead of pushing hard each week, I’m running more than I would have before my training but it’s easier.  You don’t feel the benefits of all your training while you’re still training, because you’re working close to maximum capacity and doing more each week.  It’s not until after the race when you head out for a casual run that you realize it’s easier than it used to be.

I used to be nervous the first run after a big race.  After all, you taper your mileage before the race, so it feels like you’ve kind of quit running, then you recover after the race, which feels like you quit running, and suddenly you’re out going for a run with no purpose or schedule telling you what to do.

It feels strange!

But it’s incredibly freeing, too.

Happy racing – remember to use those new legs after you recover!  You’ve earned them 🙂

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My running partner 🙂

The power of “Good morning!”

• 6 • My Running, Running Thoughts

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I like to wave, nod, or say hi to other runners on the road.  I don’t live somewhere that there are so many that it would be exhausting to acknowledge everyone, and I live in a place where most runners (and sometimes cyclists) tend to greet one another.

But every so often, you see someone approaching you from the other direction and you really hesitate, because it’s not just that they won’t wave first, but you get the sense that they’re too focused or different from you to even reciprocate.  If someone looks like they’re running at break neck speed, trying to meet an interval goal, I’m not too offended if they don’t wave back.  But I also might give them a wide berth to begin with.  Eye contact?  Wave / greeting.  No eye contact?  I am mentally sending you best wishes for the completion of your interval.

But I have to tell you, my favorite exchange with another runner happened recently and it was kind of unexpected.

I was a mile into my ten mile run, going slow, when I saw a teenage boy running towards me from the other direction.  He was red faced, serious, and FAST.

I looked up while he approached and felt old, slow, and insecure.

I almost didn’t say good morning.

Then I realized he was probably looking at me, and while I wondered if he would greet me like another runner, he was wondering if I would greet HIM like another adult.  How often do we act like teenagers are invisible, mostly because we’re worried about what they’re thinking of us?

I smiled and said “Good morning!”

He smiled, a little extra big, and said “Good morning!” right back.

And that was the best I felt all day.

Am I addicted to exercise?

• 0 • Live Well, Running Thoughts

Ok, so I don’t think I have a PROBLEM, per se, it’s just that… I’ve noticed something with the recent cross training I’ve been doing.

I’m working out more days a week, and it’s like I’m a happier, better, more productive version of myself.  The house is staying cleaner.  I’m making more elaborate, healthy, fresh meals for the family and enjoying the process.  I’m getting out of bed in time to make Greg a smoothie before work on occasion.  I MADE PICKLES.

Cross training lets me work out 5 times a week instead of 3, because rowing or spin class works a different muscle group (and is low impact) and doesn’t get in the way of me completing my quality running workouts for the week.

When I finish a cardio workout, I BELIEVE in the runner’s high.  I feel happy, energized, calm… and slightly euphoric.  I even feel a little detached from reality.  (There’s a chance that I walk around smiling for no reason, more difficult to upset than usual, looking like I’ve eaten the wrong batch of brownies and teach yoga for a living.)

All these things are great… but what about the reverse?

Sometimes I wonder if I’m so hooked on the exercise endorphins that I’ve created a need for myself.  I NEED to go for a run, or a spin class, or a long kayak paddle, to keep from becoming depressed or overwhelmed in my role as a stay at home mom to two preschoolers.  If I miss too many workouts, I become a lesser version of myself.  I’m more tired.  Clutter seems like an insurmountable obstacle in my house.   Will can make me cry from frustration in under five minutes.

I guess this is nothing surprising, or new.  Exercise has always been the healthiest form of stress relief.  Raising a two year old and three year old is stressful.  It’s constant.  Some days every meal, every nap, every MOMENT seems to require supernatural patience with a touch of martyrdom.  For an introvert, it can be extremely difficult.  (Extroverts, it’s clearly easy for you at all times.)  Is it any surprise that when I don’t even get a break to exercise, that I start feeling overwhelmed, depressed, and irritable?  Not really.

I just wish that the exercise version of me was ALWAYS how I felt, even if things were too busy for me to get a run in, or I didn’t have the child care coverage to make it to spin class.

Part of me thinks it’s a REAL me vs. FAKE me issue… which me is the real me?

I’m going to go with the exercise me.  That’s me the way I want to be, and I’m willing to sweat those miles, spin that cadence, and row those strokes in order to get there.  Not just because I need a break, or want that time alone, but because it’s healthy and important and it makes me a better parent, wife, and person.

That’s nothing to be ashamed of.  That’s science.

I’m not addicted to running any more than I could be addicted to water… it’s just something I need to be healthy.  Physically AND emotionally.

Pickle, anyone?

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