Fonterra (large milk company) enviromental terrorists

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What I've been upto.

I've been under the weather this week so I'm missing all training apart from essential walking to shops and picking the children up from school. Even without the arthritis flare up (which doesn't stop me training , just makes it harder) has been the worst year of training since Cameron was born almost 6years ago. And I blame him. No really I've had a lot more colds than ever and I think it co-incides with him starting school.

I've been doing a lot more reading and not just graphic novels(super hero comics) and watching hardly any tv. I've recently read a book about world record and olympic meadallist Peter Snell and the world record setter Ron Clarke. The most intersting book was The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is about Eustace Conway. At seventeen he ditched the comforts of his suburban existence to escape to the wild. Away from the crushing disapproval of his father, he lived alone in a teepee in the mountains. Everything he needed he built, grew or killed. He made his clothes from skinned deer before using their sinew as sewing thread. In the years that followed he stoped at nothing in pursuit of bigger, boder challenges: he travelled the Mississippi in a handmade wooden canoe; he walked the two thousand mile Appalachian trail; he hiked across the German alps in trainers.
However my take is he failed at his biggest challenge and to teach encourage p[eople to simplify their lives and live off the land, learn skills. He was thwarted by modern society and his own vision and high standards and his inability to be flexible. His cause was not helped by being emotionally starved by a father who was constantly diasppointed by him.

In other news I've joined Greenpeace..more info to come.

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - separate your needs from your wants.

Mr Arth Ritis comes to visit

My training and racing ambitions have been put on hold because of the remergence of my rheumatoid arthritis. Which is obviously over the years knew could happen and dreaded. It has been happening over the last 2 years mainly in my hands. After Sundays's bike ride my left hand was crippled and I immediately had to go and get some anti-inflammatories.

This is one of the reasons my motivation for training has been diminished - it's just so hard racing with one hand, not being able to strip your wetsuit off or put in the proper effort whilst swimming, get out of the pool easily. At present it is really bad in my left hand - although there are good days and bad days.

I have also been having a lot of pain in my feet and stiffness in my back. I have a gouty big left toe although it was never this bad and some swollen toes on my left foot, which I've never had before and pain and swelling around the ankles which I'm not sure is arthritis.

For years I ran with custom orthotics, in fact I wore them almost all the time for 8 years because a podiatrists told me too for plantar fasicitis. I feel they should have been telling me to go barefoot. About 18 months ago I ditched the orthotics and last year I ran the most I've ever ran since ironman in 1994. The shoes I used were old supportive ones and then in March I switched to less supportive ones but new. In born to run the author mentions the research that move into newer bouncier shoes causes injuries.

To cut along story short - afetr no running at all for 3 months I started barefoot or minimalist shoe walking and lots since we came back. The walking or running barefoot/minimalist shoes is like a workout for your feet and core muscles.
I have noticed a huge difference in my feet. Gaps between my toes as the toes are assuming their natural position not the position they've been forced to adopt through conventional shoe wearing and arches are higher. But I've still had a lot of pain and swelling, mainly on the inside of the ankle and there was heel pain (probably the plantar facisitis) which I've just realised that I haven't felt for a while (one of the reasons for strengthening my feet in the first place) and a lot of stiffness in my back.

I have 2 theories - One it is all arthritis connected and I've just got to live with it until it settles down again. And two (my preferred optimistic theory) - it is my feet and body realigning and strengthening itself after being forced into unnatural position because of the orthotics.
However I have read a lot about the benefits of going barfoot but I've come across any stories of the kind of 'realigning' I'm going through.

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - separate your needs from your wants.

Chris McDougall author of 'Born to run'

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - separate your needs from your wants.

Fascists and their bully boys in America trying to stop real food(raw milk)

Join the movement and we'll start a revolution - stop all unnecessary shopping - separate your needs from your wants.