On Sunday morning I met a couple of really good friends for a run. Our run was easy, laid-back, casual… we didn’t have a planned route. If we saw a place we wanted to explore, we turned and ran there. We ran through a lovely little park and found some beautiful places with luscious green grass. (Which is probably totally irresponsible in the water-starved desert, but man does it make a difference in visual aesthetics AND temperature…)
I typically do my long runs on Saturday, which also means I end up running by myself a lot. I don’t mind, I really enjoy running alone as well. At those moments I can zone out with either music, or an audiobook or just my own rambling thoughts, giving myself ME time. But this week on Saturday I had to deal with taking my car in for regular service, I was playing the role of “doting wife” for my sick husband (which meant washing about 8000 loads of laundry from all of his business travel he’s been doing lately) and other home-based chores. Fitting in a long run was starting to cause me a little anxiety. Once I calmed down and realized I could push the run back a day (DUH!), I felt a lot more centered.
I actually started to feel down, sad and in a funk on Saturday. I often get lonely since I telecommute and when that sets in, it really messes with my head. Since I was alone all week and then my husband was kind of zoned out in front of football, my loneliness continued. Running with friends on Sunday was exactly what I needed. Getting up early to run and grab bagels with my friends had the power to make me feel more alive and connected.
So thank you Molly and Jimmy… for being such good friends to me!
Go read this blog post: Op-Ed Wed: Dear Reebok
I loved this part:
We know what you’re selling, and it isn’t fitness, or even a firmer ass. You’re trying to sell us insecurity. And we aren’t buying.
And:
We shape our bods with interval repeats, not lame toning crap shoes.
Just wanted to share this because lately I’m getting increasingly angrier with the messages in media that women are not good enough and that we need to be a certain weight or size or shape; that we have to lose X pounds in a weekend and X inches by Friday as opposed to living a healthy lifestyle overall. Granted, I have fallen victim to the preaching that everyone has to fit a certain mold to be beautiful and respected, and that thinking has only been damaging to my mental and physical health.
Remember, we are allowed to rest or relax when we’ve been sick or pushing hard, have treats from time-to-time, and the true beauty of people comes from the fact that we are all different.
I’ll step down… for now!
Alright, I know there are lots of people out there in the blogosphere and twitterverse that are going to be here in The Vegas for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & Half Marathon on December 6. I know lots of people want the opportunity to connect with each other, but trying to get together in the madness surrounding the expo could get crazy. So I’m trying to get a sense of how many people out there will be participating in this event and if people would like to meet up.
So if you are doing the LV RnR, could you let me know the following in the comments:
1) What date are you arriving in Las Vegas?
2) What date are you leaving Las Vegas?
3) Are you interested in some kind of get together at a specific time, perhaps early-afternoon on Saturday before the race, where people could all get together to meet each other? Nothing formal, just a laid-back meet and greet?
Leave your blog and/or twitter info in your comment as well.
This morning I woke up at 4:30 and started to get ready for my run. I wasn’t planning on getting up at 4:30 and that was actually quite a bit before my alarm was due to go off. But I just couldn’t sleep, so I decided I might as well get a jump-start on the day!
Snowy weather in Utah on Friday
Yesterday morning when I woke up for work in Utah, it was snowing. I was not ready for that at all. So I was glad to be back home in The Vegas where I don’t have to worry about snow… most of the time! It was probably in the upper 40’s when I got up this morning, but I didn’t check the exact temperature. I was excited to get a chance to wear capris (I wore my New Balance ones). I knew it would be kind of chilly, but not so cold I had to wear a coat. I debated wearing a long-sleeve shirt, but I decided to wear a short-sleeve shirt with my arm warmers.
Scratchy, weird arm warmers
I have the dumbest arm warmers on the face of the earth. I got them at the expo before last year’s San Antonio RnR as a last-minute purchase since it was supposed to be in the 30’s at race start that day and they were the ONLY ones I could find at the expo. They were overpriced for what they are: a straight, basic tube that I’ve never been entirely sure which end is supposed to be at my wrist and which end is at the bicep. The word “Gizmo” is printed on them, but they had no tags to tell me anything else. But they did the trick then, I wore them at the start of this year’s PF Chang’s RnR Marathon and they were sufficient for today. However, they are kind of scratchy and I’m on the lookout for some new arm warmers. There seems to be a lot more variety in this product type on the market now than there was a year ago. I twittered about wanting some new ones and have already received a lot of suggestions. I love social media, so many people with instant feedback!
This morning I ran 11 miles and it is really nice to be building back some miles. I’m thinking I may run a few short miles tomorrow morning too. Though soon I’ll be in taper mode for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half on December 6. I’m getting really excited and eager to see how much the energy is amped this year now that it is a Rock ‘n’ Roll race… I’ve got high hopes for you Competitor group!
