Rebecca A. Foster

First: New York: A Documentary Film , by Ric Burns (brother of Ken Burns), an interesting, engaging and entertaining 8-part documentary series on the history of the city of New York. Originally aired on PBS but I'm watching it on Amazon Prime on my iPad. It's long, over 14 hours, but I've learned a lot, and learned a lot more respect for, how NYC became what it is and why it is so wonderful. The documentary How the Universe Works from Discovery Channel: awesome. Makes me feel like life is a miracle and a blessing and I'm lucky to be a part of the human race. And then I go jeans shopping and I get all bummed out because of the size of jeans that fit me really well and look good. Really, Rebecca? This is what you feel bad about? Get a grip. But...gosh, don't we want to feel attractive? And I flashback to this time I was with this guy and I had made the effort to look attractive and he said, "You look really comfortable" and part of me thinks, ...

Today I tried barefoot running for the first time; the first few strides I was still using my heel to absorb my stride shock, which felt awkward in bare feet. I remembered the research I had done and focused on absorbing my stride shock on the balls and front of my feet instead. Instant change in my stride and momentum. I'm never running in running shoes again. Here's why: 1. When I used the ball of my foot to absorb the impact, I had more momentum because I was directing my energy forward, rather than backward onto my heel. I was shocked at how much more energy-efficiently I could run barefoot. 2. I could feel my pelvis tilting in a different, forward direction while running barefoot, which seemed to help direct the impact of hitting the ground forward into greater momentum, rather than up into my knees and hips. It just felt more natural. 3. I recognized that the ability to roll the shock of hitting the ground off the balls and front of my feet would be nearly imp...

Back in San Antonio, my friend Stacey had asked me to pick her up from the airport. It was full summer, and for those of you who haven't been in San Antonio in the summertime, you know that expression 'hot as an oven'? Well, I like to say San Antonio summers are 'hot as downwind from an exhaust pipe.' (Which means when you actually are downwind from an exhaust pipe, things get really unpleasant.) It's quite common for there to be a temperature difference of 35-40 degrees between indoor and outdoor air during a San Antonio summer. True story: I had a small heater at my work desk and turned it on in the summer, not winter, because the air conditioning was on so high in our building I froze to death at my desk. So anyway, I go straight from the gym to the airport to pick up Stacey. It's 10 pm but still around 100 degrees outside. Inside, it's a balmy 60 or so. Gotta give those tourists a false sense of comfort! I'm pacing a bit in the baggage area wa...

(*Post title comes from the musical  The Flower Drum Song .  You can watch it here.) One thing I love about China: women often wear skirts and dresses, and generally dress more formally than in the U.S.  I love wearing dresses and skirts , so I fit in well here in this respect. Our Peace Corps packing list said to bring lots of pants (which is ridiculous advice for China, it's freaking hot here!), but luckily I packed a lot of skirts as well. (Overall our packing list pretty much sucked, but that is another story.) Women will even wear high heels when exercising, believe it or not. It floors me to see a woman on the track in dress shoes! Ouch! I don't know how they stand it. People here are very humble and don't worry about matching their clothes to each other, or to their shoes. It's very liberating!  You can wear whatever you want and no one blinks an eye. I've put on some pretty awful outfits and I loved that I didn't feel self-conscious in them. I'v...

A shot of the daytime skyline in Chongqing, or as we call it 'The Chonx.'  No, that isn't a storm or fog, it's pollution. Because the sun's rays can't penetrate the pollution, the sun rarely shines here. The Peace Corps provides us with in-home air purifiers, so it's all good, unless you want to go outside; then it's headaches, coughing, and blowing black stuff out of your nose. I run outside here, but not more than three miles or so at a time. I miss long distance running. Two years here shouldn't hurt us long-term, but I worry about the kids growing up here.

Two girls whose legs I covet: Rihanna (click here to see video) Paulina Rubio (click here to see video. Also check out her outfit!) Seriously, they have perfect legs. How many more miles do I have to run to get those legs? Probably infinity, but a girl can dream!

I bought my first running skirt a few months ago while I was training for the marathon. It's what I wore on race day, very comfortable due to the built-in underwear and loose-on-the-legs style. I often got skin irritation on my upper thighs from shorts fabric after a long run, but this skirt + Bodyglide eliminated that. I am sure there are expensive skirts out there, I got this one at Target for $20.

I bought this to carry my chapstick, lube, extra energy gels and car key during the marathon. Instead of hooking it onto my waistband, I clipped inside the center of my sports bra. I thought it was more comfortable near my center of gravity than on my hip. It worked great, I highly recommend it. (The only downside is it soaked up sweat sitting next to my skin, but it's washable.) As far as the marathon, I didn't have any injuries or illness, not even a blister. I wear Brooks shoes and Nike wicking socks and they served me well. I ran in a running skirt, rather than shorts, and I recommend that as well, more comfortable in my opinion. I hit the wall around mile 25 and walked a half a mile, but then picked up and ran the last 1/2 mile. I really wanted to cross the finish line running. I took a 1 minute walking break every mile or so throughout.

Saturday, April 19th, my first full marathon. This is why I'm doing it. And because I want to know if I can. But mostly for my dad.

I picked up a travel-size tube of this silicone lube to carry while running, I use it on my upper thighs and all clothing edge/skin contact places to avoid chafing when going long distances. I noticed how soft my hands were after applying and started using it as hand lotion and on my legs after shaving. Makes your skin feel super-soft and look nice and healthy. It's hypoallergenic and fragrance/dye free, so won't interfere with perfumes or irritate your skin. You can buy this stuff in adult shops, but also on Amazon.com. I highly recommend it in place of lotion. Pjur Eros on amazon.com, $19.95 ($3.95 for travel size)

Winter is good for one thing I've decided: stockings. I love over-the-knee and thigh-high versions, fun to wear and pair well with skirts, which I also love. (My friend C. got me these black and red striped ones in Australia; very warm, plus I look like a poisonous snake to boot, who wouldn't want that?) I'm always on the lookout for new pairs and sockdreams.com is a treasure trove of stocking funliness. (Yes, I made that word up. You can do that you know.) They have funny, sexy, sheer, thick and wooly, crazy, and pretty stockings of all lengths and styles. I'm taking a picture of my legs to commemorate my marathon training, so trying to determine my favorite photo-finish stockings. Pretty sure I'm going with unfinished fishnets (left) or plain stockings (right, both website model pics), since I have a cute dark denim corset with garter attachments. A black skirt/garters, pale stockings and my kitty-cat shoes would especially make a statement, that statement being ...

I have terrible taste in music. My main criteria is whether I can sing it, dance it, or drive fast to it. Pretty low standards. I have this song on my iPod running playlist and it always gives me a little burst of energy. Suck it, music snobs, I know it's bad. I love it. (Warning: Brits are excellent wordsmiths, bad music video makers.) Also, it makes me want to wear silver hot pants and shake my booty. Is that so wrong?

Find me a woman who doesn't care if anyone finds her pretty, and I would like to find out how she does that. Despite everything I tell myself about my other accomplishments, I do care. Not about everyone, because no one is attractive to everyone. But someone? It feels good to know someone thinks you're pretty. I admit it. But how good should it feel? This isn't going to be a treatise or examination of modern cultural mores regarding female beauty. Suffice it to say: there is pressure for women today to have a perfect body. I don't. I hate the slight jiggle of my upper arms. I hate the curve of my abdomen. But then I hate the way the bottom of my rib cage sticks out when I lose too much weight and looks like a second chest. My butt is bigger than the norm and it's discouraging to go shopping and the button won't close because the pants aren't cut to accommodate a Spanish booty. It's embarrassing to walk past a storefront window or freezer case at the ...

These are the white boots I currently own: These are the white boots I wish I owned: On the plus side, that's 1,000 fewer miles I have to run to have the legs to pull off these boots.

Getting up early on a Saturday morning, before the sun rises. Running five miles through my neighborhood, watching my neighborhood slowly come awake. (Especially in Texas, when the early morning humidity clings to the trees and lightposts and everything glows in the rising sunlight.) Finishing just as the heat of the day starts building. Coming home, taking a shower, crawling back under the covers for a couple of hours of sleep. Ahhhh...