Monday, Monday.

Happy Monday, everyone. Ugh – I want my weekend back.



So, since I am not much of a morning person and since Phoenix has not gotten the memo that it is Fall (106 temps all week? Really?!), I tend to run at night.

And as the saying goes, the crazies come out at night.

A few days ago I was on my run and noticed a guy pacing back & forth at a stop sign up ahead. I thought it was a little odd and jokingly thought to myself “Oh, he’s waiting for a drug deal.”

Lo and behold, a white car pulls up to the stop sign and said fellow opens the back seat door and starts rummaging around. I’m getting closer to the car, and the guy is still messing around in the back seat.

Then the mary jane hit me. Yup, definitely a drug deal. Hey, I’m not one to knock what you do in your free time, but really dude? Perhaps next time you could take this inside. Or an abandoned parking lot. Not, you know, in a neighborhood…50 feet away from an elementary school. Oh well, gave me a good laugh.



Did a 4 miler last night – it went well! I can definitely feel that I am getting stronger. But wow, I can’t wait until it starts to cool down!!

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen on a run?

Well, that's odd.

I think it might be time to get some new running shoes....

Last night, halfway through my run, my right foot goes asleep. Like, completely asleep. (Not the kind that hurts when you walk on it, but the annoying tingling kind.) Has this ever happened to anyone else?

PS. I signed up for Weight Watchers two weeks ago. I'm excited about it - hopefully I'll have some good weight loss stories to share. :)

An Open Letter to Phoenix Drivers

Excuse me while i divert from running for a breif post.

Dear Phoenix drivers,

Where do I even begin? Look, we all have places to be. And to get there quickly, we hop on one of the (many) freeways Phoenix has to offer. So why is it that every morning, I secretly hope that this commute will be different than yesterday's? Why is it that you give me the worse case of road rage I have ever experienced?!

Mr. I'm-out-for-a-leisurely-morning-drive: get out of my way. Better yet, get off the freeway. If you're not in a hurry, take one of the many side streets and stare at the desert landscape.

To the rubbernecking morons: Wow, there are two cars pulled over on the side of the road. They got in a wreck. BIG FREAKING WOOP. Call me crazy, but i think we have all seen a car crash or two in our day. Unless the car is on fire or it was full of circus clowns, there is NO REASON to slow down to 20 mph and stare.

To those who get scared by a cop who has already pulled someone over: Look, chances are, the cop is not going to come after you. Unless you are doing 115mph down the freeway and blaring your horn, I think the cop is occupied. PLEASE RESUME YOUR CAR TO NORMAL SPEED.

And, my favorite - those who have the "family" stickers on the backs of their cars: Please. Please take them down. I don't care to know you have 3 kids, 2 dogs, a cat and a turtle. And it's really not cute when your family members are respresented by flip flops or some other crazy icon. You have a family, i get it. I assumed that by your massive SUV.

Sincerely,
Wannaberunner82

Close Call

Happy to report i had another good run last night! Although it could have been disasterous....

I decided to run about 40ish minutes after eating dinner, which turned out to be a mistake. The first mile & a half i was fine, but the second part of the run.....well, let's just say i felt like Shut Up and Run! (If you don't read her blog, you should. And if you don't get the refrence...)

My stomach started rumbling and I swear to you, every horror situation ran through my head. I had no choice but to run faster because I had to get home before disaster struck!!

Luckily, i made it home and had a pretty good pace time to boot!

Miles: 3.11
Time: 34:42
Pace: 11:08

I guess "close calls" come with the running territory! Anyone have a horror story to tell? :)

:)

Another good run last night!! I could get used to this.... :)

Miles: 3.38
Time: 38:08
Average Pace: 11:15

Yes!

Tonight was an evening of cooler temperatures, great tunes and an awesome run!! Seriously guys, it was one of those runs where i thought "Wow, i really am a runner!" Those are few & far between for me, so i take what i can get!

Tonight's training called for 3 miles and I ran 3.37 miles in 38:31.  I felt great - legs were strong, lungs were healthy, i wasn't dripping buckets of sweat. I could have ran longer & I probably should have, but oh well.

I've also decided i much prefer running at night. I like being cloaked by the darkness (safely, of course) and not having the sun beating down on me. It's probably just because it's still ridiculous here during the day - i can't wait until mid October when the temperatures will be gorgeous.

I leave you with a "I'm famous!" shot: my co-worker Angela sent this to me, it's a screen shot from the news tonight. That's me at a work event this morning wrangling media interviews. Love the goofy look on my face. :P

Desert = hot

Well, as the rest of the country cools down a bit, it is still HOT HOT HOT here. I need to take a picture of my face after i run - it's bright red. You better believe i down a ton of gatorade after i'm done!

Tom & I went for a run Friday night. I mixed up my routine & decided to just follow him -which could have been disasterous. :) We did a nice 3.24 run, time of 38:03.

Last night i headed out on my own - a little slower this run, as i was definitely feeling the heat! 3.16 miles in 38:03. Ha - just realized i had the same time for both runs! Weird.

When i got home, i had a nice bowl of Lucky Charms for dinner. (Yes, i still eat children's cereal!)

I'm feeling better about my training this year. I feel like I am listening to my body more & knowing better what i'm capable of. Here's to more mileage & better times!

PS. Thanks for the comments about my sweet Spencer. Maybe i should start "Spencer Saturdays"? :)

Oh, legs.

Last night's run called for 3 miles, but sad to report i only made it to 2.4. The ol' calf cramps came back. However, they weren't as bad - in fact, they had eased up by mile 2 but i really had to pee so i cut the run short. Oops. :)

I did feel pretty strong on my run last night. Breathing wise, I was fine - it was just my legs that were giving me problems. Even though the run fell short, it did build back up some confidence in me!

Don't think I mentioned, but i won free Smashing Pumpkins tickets for tomorrow night!!! I am soooooooooooooo excited - loved these guys since jr. high. It will be nice kick-off to my 4-day weekend!

Any fun Labor Day plans?

Besides laying out in the sun & a couple of runs, i plan to be doing a lot of this with this little guy....