A Day Without Shoes

TOMS is once again challenging folks to go one day without shoes to better understand what it's like for hundreds of millions of children in developing countries who are forced to walk for miles without shoes in order to access life's essentials like water, food, school and medical help. As you may have expected, doing so is not only painful and exhausting, but it exposes them to a host of soil-transmitted diseases that they cannot afford to treat. 

If you're familiar with the TOMS brand (which most people are, considering they are literally EVERYWHERE), then you know that TOMS will buy one pair of shoes for a kid in need for every pair that is bought. While I absolutely love that concept and TOMS' commitment to keeping children healthy and safe, I couldn't help but be a bit skeptical when I first heard of the "One day without shoes" campaign. Knowing the brand and the people it attracts (which includes myself), it's hard not to immediately picture a bunch of hemp-necklaced hippies soaking up the opportunity to go all day sans shoes while feeling superior to the rest of us who are required by our jobs to wear shoes. After all, while it is certainly an educational tool to better understand how grueling it is to go barefoot all day, is it truly helping the kids in need? 

Truthfully, the campaign really only works (in my opinion) if unsuspecting folks participate - the people who wear full business suits on their way to work for "the man" and are dressed to the nines... right down to their bare feet. At that point, I think this method actually works...

While the concept is simply not feasible for most of us that work in offices with dress codes, I'm going to attempt to test it out at some point during the day. I find the whole campaign particularly amusing from the perspective of runners who adhere to the "minimalist movement" - who oftentimes pay upwards of $100 for shoes that simulate running barefoot. I can only imagine how confused the kids in need would be if we tried to explain that concept to them - that runners actually CHOOSE to run barefoot. [And just a sidenote here: Not that I know from much experience, but I think the minimalist movement is pretty cool as a runner and I am, by no means, hatin' on it. Just simply pointing out the irony with respect to the TOMS campaign]

Even if going shoeless isn't your cup of tea, it's always nice knowing that TOMS will make the charitable effort for you each time you buy a pair of (absurdly comfortable) shoes. I'll be giving the barefoot running thing a try - maybe while sporting one of the "One for One" tees? Anyone else going to give it a go?

Just Another Musical Monday

So I ended up getting a lil' April Fools Day surprise after all, but thankfully, it wasn't one of the predictable pranks usually associated with the day. Rather, I got a surprise visit and long-awaited return home from a certain someone in my life (who wasn't due to return to DC for several weeks from now).  He + Liv spent weeks planning the surprise, and somehow they managed to pull it off. Though my reaction was probably not what both of them had anticipated (I just sat there with my mouth open for 20 minutes without saying a word), I am beyond excited to have this kid back Stateside.

The good news is that I've been on cloud nine for the past few days and I had pretty much the best birthday a girl could ever ask for. The bad news is that he is highly detrimental to my training, and my running shoes are experiencing feelings of abandonment right now. That will all change today though - I'm playing hooky from work, and we're running down to check out the cherry blossoms and soak up a little sunshine.

And I also got a replacement ipod from my bad a$$ parents this weekend (not to mention, some itunes gift cards from my brothers and sisters-in-law), so I'm back in action with my running music. I will admit, I kind of enjoyed the solitude of running music-free - it was nice to know I actually am capable of running in silence. But at the same time, I'm ready to put a little pep back in my step.

Megs recently tipped me off about DJ Earworm, and though pop usually isn't my favorite thing, I've been known to get a little Gaga when I'm running. It's amazing how many of the songs sound EXACTLY like the next - and that becomes glaringly obvious in these mashups - but it all comes about in a delightfully entertaining tune that's just right to get your run on (and you can download all of the tunes for free).

So You Say It's Your Birthday

Dear April – know why else we love you?? Because it’s Sal’s Birthday y’all! That’s right, today my bestie/neighbor/co-worker/cube-wall sharer/co-blogger/running partner is turning the big 2 - 7.

I scoured the aisles of CVS for the perfect card and came up short. Nothing was funny enough or great enough for dear ‘ol Sal. I left empty-handed determined I could do better than Hallmark. Consider this, if you will, my birthday ode to Sal via a little walk down memory lane (albeit, she might consider it more of a birthday roast once she sees the pictures I dug out of the archives).

We’ve come a long way from this….

To this...

Where the stars aligned and we ended up living in DC at the same time.

And while I have to say - I kinda wish we were celebrating your birthday here...

We're still going to have some of these

and maybe even shot-gun a beer.

So put on your party hat

Or just get fancy

Because today is your day, Birthday Queen, and we've got mimosas to drink, po' boys to eat and pubs to hit before we sleep!

You're the rubber to my road and the swoosh to my Nikes - I couldn't do this whole thing without you - or maybe I could force myself - but I wouldn't want to because I would never be as motivated or determined and it wouldn't be nearly as much fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

lylas,

Fools for April

April, you took your dear sweet time getting here, but you've finally arrived. We'll forgive you for making your entrance with one of the most ridiculous holidays of the year because today you're bringing with you the promise of sunshine. We've been living in darkness for oh so long that we're slightly concerned we may go blind when the sun finally peers out, but we sincerely thank you, dear April, for the long-awaited break from the doom and gloom of March. 

Thank you April for the ever so slow transition from the bitter cold - and for the opportunity to only wear ONE layer when we head out for early morning runs. And thank you for finally sharing with the rest of us the plethora of daffodils and tulips and cherry blossoms (oh my!) you've been hoarding all year.

Now, dear April, we DO have a few favors to ask of you. First of all, we reeeeeeeeally  need you to help the federal government to get its act together so that (besides all of the obvious, boring reasons like, oh, our country's national welfare) we can run the Parkway Classic next week. We've been working hard getting our bods in tip top shape for those 10 miles and, frankly, we're really excited about brunch afterwards (and it simply won't be the same to stuff our faces without running the race beforehand). 

We also ask of you April that you use your springtime super powers to keep out all remaining cold snaps. Our cold weather clothes are utterly exhausted (and in desperate need of dry cleaning that simply doesn't fit the budget right now). And since we're on the subject, if you wanted to drop some new springtime lulu clothes in our closets, well that'd be just fine by us. 

We're really not asking for much, April (and you should know that we're long-time fans of your work). We're excited to enjoy your warmer days outdoors and make the most of our time together before the sweltering days of June, July & August force their way in.

So thank you, April, for all that you do. 

Oh and P.S., if you could maybe direct any April Fool's jokes elsewhere, that'd be lovely. With the bitter taste of March still lingering in our mouths, we're feeling particularly vulnerable at the moment and we fear that we simply cannot handle the wrath of any jokesters right now. Okay, that is all.