In less than 24 hours we head back to the fair for round 2. Saturday night we will be at the KISS concert and I am sure that will be a very interesting show. I will post stuff when I can.

Our first day at the fair was really fun. I posted a few of the pics on my Flickr account here: MN State Fair 2010.
Next weekend we head back for two more days and more greasy fun. I will post more photos after we get back next week.

It’s almost here. We have our advanced tickets, hotel reservations and daily schedules in hand. This year will be a little different for us because we are having to go to the fair during the final weekend instead of our normal Monday, Wednesday schedule. On the plus side, we will be at the KISS concert Saturday night. (**EDIT 8/24/10 :We decided to drive up and go on the 28th as well. So we are getting a little extra fair time, Woo Hoo!!!!**)

After reviewing the official Food Finder I have found a bunch of new things I must try. Along with a few oldies I somehow missed.
Chicken Fried Bacon – I feel the heart attack coming already.
Deep Fried Potato Skins. – Not sure how I missed this from previous years.
Deep Fried Cheeseburger Sliders – I have a feeling this will be very messy to eat.
Big Fat Bacon - 1/3lb of bacon caramelized with Maple Syrup. Almost tried this last year, but just never made it to their booth when I was hungry.
Camel on-a-stick - Will probably taste like chicken.
Texas Steak Dinner On A Stick - one of my favorites from last year. Really good!
Pizza On A Stick - Again, not sure how I keep missing this one, but this time I looked up the vendor and have a map!

Besides the food, there are tons of vendors and other fun things to check out. Choo Choo Bob’s Train show sounds interesting. Probably for kids, but I figure I am immature enough for anything.

As usual I will try to post things while we are up there, but it doesn’t always work out. So here are the previous years pictures to keep you busy!
MN State Fair 02
MN State Fair 03
MN State Fair 04
MN State Fair 05
MN State Fair 06
MN State Fair 07
MN State Fair 08
MN State Fair 09

We are 1 month away from the Minnesota State Fair now. This year we will be seeing KISS. We have both reached a turning point in our lives where we think bringing ear plugs is a good idea. Darn kids today with their loud music. I also plan to be really weird and bring my Vibram Five Finger shoes along. That will be a true test of how they perform.

Once the MN State Fair is over, we also have the Clay County Fair and our big trip to Kentucky which is coming together nicely. The hardest part will be the drive down there. 13 hours on the road and 2000 miles on my car in 1 week. Yikes! We have a busy couple months coming up.

I have had my Vibram Five Fingers for two weeks now. I have used them for running, biking and working out in the gym. I can say that though they look goofy, they are totally awesome. They are super comfortable and really easy to get on and off now.

The running part is going very slow. I am taking the advice I often see and purposely not going very far or hard when I run. I have switched off and on with my normal shoes. A couple days ago I ran about 3/4 of a mile in them and it felt really great. I can truly feel my foot hits the ground softer than with my shoes due to striking with my forefoot instead of my heel. (sounds weird I know) When I put my normal running shoes on, I could tell my stride had improved and I ended up running longer and harder than I ever had previously. I am getting close to hitting my 10k goal.

To get an idea of why I would do something crazy like run almost barefoot, check out this real Harvard Study.

I have been hearing a lot more about Barefoot Running lately. In various magazines, online articles, podcasts and even a couple books. It’s basic idea is that Mother Nature built your feet for running, so why cram them into expensive shoes that hinder your body’s natural motion. It’s actually a much longer and more complicated story than that, so if you are really interested, check out the book called Born to Run. I have it in audio book format and its what finally sold me on the idea that I should give it a try.

One thing they do mention is that actually going barefoot is not always a good idea in our modern world of broken glass, rocks and dog poop. So they have various recommendations for minimalist shoes. The one that struck a cord with me is the Vibram Five Fingers. After doing a lot of research on them, I finally broke down and purchased a pair. (pictured on the right). Tomorrow I am going to attempt my first run in them. I will be taking it very slow. They feel a little weird at first, but after a while, they feel like they were made for your feet all along. If nothing else, this will be an interesting experiment.