Vibram 5 Finger Running and Farro Wheat Salad or Cereal

Wednesday didn’t seem my day for speed work.  The sequence of events had me wondering if I should have gone back to bed and tried again the next day.

I woke up before the alarm and was just going back to sleep when it went off. Reluctantly, 10 minutes later I got up.  As I was getting dress, the urge to go back to bed was so strong but I fought it and ended up downstairs in the gym.  I saw a 6 mile run at 5K pace was scheduled.  Since it was still very early, I hopped on the treadmill.  As I came to the end of my warm up mile, the treadmill suddenly quit. STOPPED. ABRUPTLY HALTED. You know how that feels?  Pretty scary when you’re planning on increasing the speed but the machine decides you have to stop.  I dared to start it up again and was able to complete 3 miles at pace.  Total 4 miles on the mill.

Got a good weight workout in after the treadmill experience, then ventured outside with Shane.  Poor Shane – I really need to stop giving him little pieces of chicken in his food.  His belly doesn’t seem to like poultry.  We had to make several pit stops. That was a major slow down.  Since his belly was upset and we weren’t running at pace, I decided to do some hills. As we went up the hill, my Garmin lost the satellite signal.  In the end, and including the treadmill, I THINK I put in about  7 1/2 or so miles. BUT THE BEST PART…

I ran in my Vibram Five Fingers.  I decided it was dry, warm, and I could run the 3 or so miles outside in the Vibrams. My feet were feeling good and it was the day to try it.

As I set off down the road, I felt “flat”.  There was no bounce. Although I could feel the pounding of the road, I kept going since it didn’t really hurt, it just felt different.  Going up the hills was ok, going down the hills wasn’t so good. My feet were smacking the pavement. The balls of my feet were getting sore around mile 2 (or so I think since GARMIN let me down). When I could cut across some grass I did but discovered there is a problem with Vibrams in the grass:

Those snotty little bits of weed get between the Vibram toes and MAN – you can feel it! Two stops to pull the weeds from my toes.

It was hot and Shane was feeling it. We ran about 3 1/2 outside plus a few Frisbee tosses and the pup was panting hard.

So it wasn’t a speed workout day, at least as much as I wanted. On a positive note, it was a good experiment with the Vibrams. I can do short miles in them but won’t try any more than 3 or 4. They do take some getting used to and it seems like you might be bruising your feet as you run. When I got home, feet, legs, body all felt great.  As for running gait, it seemed as if I was running more flat footed rather than heel or ball of foot striking.  The balls of my feet are more sensitive than my heels and they certainly felt the lack of support but nothing that would stop me from running a few more miles using my Vibrams.  I’ll be trying them again in the near future – only, not on the grass.

FARRO WHEAT SALAD

Farro, pronounced FAHR-oh, is one of the ancient grains.  Farro is a good source of iron (2% more than steel cut oats), fiber and protein.  It can be used as a side dish or in soups or even as a breakfast hot cereal.

In 1/4 cup serving of dry Farro, there is 170 calories, 10 from fat (1 gram total fat).  Carbohydrates is 35 g, 5 g of fiber and 7 grams of protein. It’s easy to prepare:  Bring 1/4 cup of Farro to a boil in 1 cup of water.  Cover and reduce heat to a simmer for about 18 minutes. Drain water.  Prepare as you wish, hot, warm or cold.

Farro Salad – Serves 4

• 2 cups water
• 6 oz Farro
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 2 TBS fine chopped onion
• 2 radishes, chopped
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and fine chopped
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 TBS balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• pepper and salt to taste

Bring water and farro plus the salt to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Let cook for about 18 minutes.  Drain well and transfer to a bowl.

Prepare your vegetables while the farro cools.  Add all the remaining ingredients to the cooled farro. Stir and serve room temp. or chilled.  Your gonna LOVE it!

Farro For Breakfast

I made the farro for breakfast the same way I make steel cut oats.

I put 1/4 cup dry farro in a pot with 3/4 to 1 cup water.  Add cinnamon and 1 TBS raisins and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 30 minutes at simmer.

I add fruit such as bananas, blueberries, etc. and sometimes a teaspoon of peanut or almond butter.

I really love the nutty, more solid consistency of farro. It has a wonderful flavor, sturdy texture, and it’s so versatile, you could even make it creamy if you like that style.

What’s your favorite grain?