One foot... and then the other.

Ooooh, I went for a run today. In all fairness, a "run" is a bit of a euphemism there, I jogged at a leasurely pace for fifteen minutes...but considering that for the last year or thereabouts I have done only yoga and no cardio what so ever, just tying my running shoes was a bit of a leap for me. Don't get me wrong I see absolutely no problem in doing "just" yoga: even though I am a novice I have progressed far enough to know that practicing yoga can be constantly challenging and physically hard - and that's why I love it. I am not about to give up on ever folding myself into a gracefully balancing crane.

I completely quit running and climbing when I was trying to get into the climbing groove again and sprained my ankle for what felt like the umpteenth but must have been about the sixth time in two years. It happened by stepping down from the wall and onto a mat. Seriously, just stepping down. Running was long since abandoned by then, and I gave up waiting to be able to fit my swollen foot into a climbing shoe again and threw myself at yoga. No shoes, yay! However, I like my yoga sweaty and focused, but not fast, so I never really get my heart rate up. I'm pretty sure I got the idea to get back to running in part because of all the running bloggers out there. I've "always" been running so it might have popped up anyway, but hey, if Averie can take on the challenge of a figure competition after a long yoga "career", I can get back to running. If Shannon Marie can set her sights on getting Ellen Degeneres to taste her raw cupcakes I can mend my broken little feetlings! And besides, all the post-run snacking and writing going on out there in blogland is inspiring - at Oh She Glows, Angela just posted about running and *thinking*.

But it may just be a spring fever issue and pass. I've found myself some exercises, though, to get my ankle back to normal, and in the meantime I'm taping it up as best I can, I found some great instructions on the web for that, too.

Apart from that, I have been trying to find out, what is lecithin really? It seems to be (when it's from soy, of course) a by-product when soybeans are processed into oil and such, but is it- and I'm not even exaggerating the standpoints out there - a useless and maybe even harmful waste from industrial soy production that we (some of us) are duped into buying by unscrupulous soy moguls (e. g. "From sludge to profit") or is it so important for the functioning of brain cells that upping your intake can cure mental illness? The last standpoint I found in an article from 2005 in this Danish magazine/leaflet - "Health News" - with a bunch of references and links to further information. Recently there's been a debate over the goods and evils of agave syrup (this post at Rawmazing comes to mind) but lecithin looks as if it might be something that divides people out there even more.

I'm thinking about this because I have come across a couple of cake recipes that call for lecithin and I chose to try it because my "research" didn't really come up with indications that it is actually bad for you. Now I have this lecithin, it's mainly tasteless, and blends in just fine sprinkled on breakfast or cake with some bee pollen (oops, lecithin is not raw and there goes the vegan certification as well...) but is it bogus? I have no essential changes in my brain function to report. . .