Pounding the Pavement

Why is it that all of my best runs seem to follow the days when I have pizza for dinner? Hmmm. Coincidence? I think not! Ha ha. Actually it was probably more a combination of 3 days of rest coupled with a burning desire to "exercise" (not exorcise) my demons. But seriously, though, I had a great run this morning. For much of the run I was at a 9:00 pace or less- how crazy is that? It felt good to get back out there. When I was almost home, I turned the corner and headed up "the hill" toward my house. I ran almost the whole way- until I got to the cemetery, where I did half a lap as a cool-down. At that point, it was exactly 4 miles, and my time was 37:35. Then when I finished, Tiger Woods congratulated me on my fasted mile (8:40- down from 8:44 and 8:47 recently).

So, I want to thank everyone who commented on my last post, and offered their support and/or advice. It was amazing to me how people were willing to take the time to write something for my benefit. Really, all I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you. And thanks for everyone who offered their "silent support".

I guess I can go back and talk a bit about the camping trip last weekend. It was a lot of fun, and I'm so glad we went. We had to deal with a little bit of rain, but not much. The air was very damp the first night, and we had trouble starting our fire. Once it got going, though, it was super hot, and we even burned our foil dinners on the bottom (luckily we always make an extra, and that one turned out just right). The first night we played two games of Scrabble, neither of which we finished because we were sucking so much (I blame it on the thinner air- our brains weren't fully functioning- ha ha). We roasted marshmallows, too. I didn't sleep very well, due to the sound of the rain, and being cold a couple of times, but the next morning I woke up right at 7:00 and decided to run around the campground, since breakfast wasn't until 9:00 (I don't think I mentioned that the campout was with people from our neighborhood, church-sponsored actually). The campground was paved all around, so I just ran all over and looped around a couple of times. I was surprised how good it felt considering the altitude (7500 ft). I walked a little bit more than usual, but overall it was good.

After breakfast, the Hubs went back to bed (he was still hungover from his sleeping pill), so I decided to read. It rained for about 2 hours, so I just hung out in the car with my book- it was great. Around noon, it cleared up and the day was sunny and warm. We went up to a small lake with a nature trail around it, and afterward we made a sandwich (which we shared). Then we drove to one of the ski resorts and had nice, big ice cream cones. Normally I don't eat a lot of ice cream, but it was really good, and a great camping treat. That night I slept much better (I didn't even hear the thunder and lightning and rain), but again I woke up at 7:00 a.m. and went for a run. I decided to try for 6 miles (not a 9-miler like I would have done at home, but a decent run nonetheless). I ran all over the campground (I figured it was safer not to go too far away), and looped around several times. At one point, I pushed the center button on my iPod, which gives spoken feedback on my stats (from my Nike+), and it said my pace was 7:59- what?! I don't run that fast at home, let alone up in the mountains in that thin air! So weird. I noticed after that my pace continued to be right between 8:00 and 8:30 per mile. I don't get it, but I'm not complaining. I finished with just over 6.2 miles in right around 1 hour (not including my cool-down, which I did after I stopped my Nike+). Here are the 2 runs:

The big dip in the second run is when I stopped at my camp spot to ditch my sweatshirt. It was a chilly start, but I warmed up pretty fast. It was so beautiful and sunny, I wouldn't mind running in the mountains more often.

So, is anyone else totally excited about the return of The Biggest Loser? Holy cow! I knew it was starting again sometime this fall, but when I saw the first preview and found out it was Sept 16, I was giddy. I am a total junkie for this show. It is so entertaining and motivating and inspiring. It's drama, it's comedy, sometimes a little romance. What more could you want? Anyway, I just thought I'd throw that out there.

Well, with all the Olympics watchin' going on in my house, I haven't done much, but we are planning to head to the County Fair this Friday for the rodeo. My brother-in-law's brother is riding (saddle bronc, I think), so we're going to cheer him on. Tomorrow we're doing a church service project, and beefing up our food storage in the process. It's all about emergency preparedness, ya know?

This upcoming Saturday, I am heading back to the waterpark with my SIL (for lounging in the lazy river on our tubes). But first I will get up early and attempt 9 miles. I'll have to figure out how to add another mile onto my route, but that shouldn't be hard- I can just explore a new part of town. The Hubs will be busy gaming away with his geek friends.

Regarding races, I think I might do the (bargain) race on Sept. 6 after all. I mean, it's only $20, and who cares if I'm all by myself. I'll just lug everything around in my hydration pack like always. Plus, then I can spend as much time as I please at the expo afterward. Funny thing about the race, it's called the Wasatch Woman "Love Your Body" 5k/10k, so it could be beneficial physically and mentally. The race web site says:
The Love Your Body race event was created by Wasatch Woman for women who care about their health, fitness, community, friends, families and especially about themselves. By treating yourself well, you are able to achieve your personal best and be an inspiration to others. Come be part of the largest women's only run that shares in your vision of wellness and loving who you are.

So I'm going to go run with other women, and love my body, and be proud of myself. And anyone who might perchance be in the Salt Lake City area on that day and wants to come cheer me on, by all means, bring your cowbell (and a magazine- ha ha). Then we can hang out afterward at the Love Your Body EXPO and post-race party where you can shop for cool gear, get massages, sample great sport and skin products, eat tasty food, and much more.

Who's in?