Elliptical Limbo

Today was a 15 mile workout on the elliptical trainer. How does that feel, you ask? Well, here's what the bottom of my feet FELT like after 30 minutes:

Okay, slight exaggeration, but has anyone else experienced this? The bottoms of the feet start turning numb- I wished I could flip it out and numb up my brain instead so that I didn't have to watch the time go crawling slowly by like an inebriated slug. Which went on for hours, or at least more than 2 hours- seemed like 4! I did feel like I was going through a major mental challenge and that maybe I gained something (?) by figuring out how to cope.

Besides watching other people sweat, changing machines when someone who seemed like they had a raging flu ran facing me and coughing non-stop, entertainment choices indoors were slim. There's always music or TV if you prefer, which I don't, at least not while 'running'. :) But I did try to read the New Yorker, which was an interesting if not fruitful challenge.

I'm still waiting for the results of my foot MRI, hoping I don't have a stress fracture. The plan is to try running on real outdoors ground for a short trek tomorrow and if all goes well and the scan comes back clean, to attempt my 20 miler this weekend. Let's see what happens!

I've plugged most of my website items, but read this article from the New York Times talking about the decline of North American songbirds and its correlation with agricultural pesticide use. The article discusses ways for consumers to avoid foods that are bad for the environment and in many cases, bad for us and our families.

One of the top grocery list items mentioned is ORGANIC COFFEE. Most coffees we see in the grocery stores are grown in fields that are heavily treated with all types of chemicals, from herbicides to insectides and more. To buy organic coffee is to support traditional coffee farming grown under leaf canopy and in most cases, to support the sustainability of these farming methods and the communities who use them. Interested in putting a better coffee in your body and in your cupboard? Check out my Dean's Beans coffee fundraising page. Dean's Beans makes a mean cup of Joe, is organic, fair trade and shade grown, which is why I have about 10 lbs of Ring of Fire beans in my freezer at any given time. And did I mention- all profits go to support The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and that each purchase enters you in a drawing for 50.00 worth of Dean's Beans coffee or organic cocoa? Happy Java drinking, everyone!