two for one special

sometimes it is hard to get to a computer to blog with the craziness that the weekend brings, but it is never too hard to get out and run. because of the weather, aj and i swopped friday's run for saturday and had a full weekend of training.

for saturday we had 40 minutes of running scheduled. as aj and i were getting dressed and setting our ipods, i realized mine was dead. completely dead. needless to say, i had to sit and wait for it to charge enough for 40+ minutes of running. i told aj to go ahead without me. as he left, i went and plugged my ipod into my computer and sat down to read a new book i had just purchased the day before. our dog, olie, was more than excited that i had not left like aj had and decided we needed to have some quality puppy play time. after a few attempts to start a game of fetch and some whining/crying, he realized that i was pretty involved in my newly started book and he accepted the fact that i was not going to throw his tattered rope or disgusting pig ear he kept sitting on my leg. defeated, he tried to finagle his little body somewhere in between me and my book. you see, olie is not the most graceful of dogs and ended up sitting on my new paperback book.

i only got through one chapter that day.

i continued to busy myself by creating a new playlist for my run and surfing the web. i had finally had enough of sitting around and hoped that my ipod was charged enough. i feared it dying in the middle of my run and losing my running progress, but olie was still antsy and i wanted to get out of the apartment. i put him in his cage, tied my shoes and was on my way.

i started my run and by the time the man in my ipod told me i had completed five minutes already, i realized i had ran every step of it. it was then that i started walking. i don't think i had run for five minutes solid since right before the time in middle school when i thought i was "beating the system" by skipping when we were running laps in gym class. little did i know then it takes way more energy to skip than it does to run. with that knowledge, i have not been skipping during our training.. but once from a distance, it looked like aj may have been. he has heard the skipping story before. maybe he was trying it on for size.

once i reached the 35 minute mark i felt like i was beginning to experience a runner's high. the setting sun's rays were spilling through the trees on the horizon and ever so softly warming my cheeks. the wind blew gentle, effortlessly helping me along the way. and on top of all that, matt pryor was serenading me with every step, "our boats collide, we'd feel the breeze; we'd stay afloat and make the most of everything." it was truly a beautiful moment.

i took a turn at the next intersection and made my way down a medium grade hill. the hill ended in a cul de sac and i knew i'd have to make my way back up it on the other side. i was still feeling my high and decided i could handle a little hill. on my way back up to the top i felt so accomplished i couldn't help but to smile. (bear with me.. i'm not getting sappy on you, i am building to a good story here.)

as i kept running i saw some bikers approaching me. they were two guys around my age in pretty good shape. by the aerodynamic-ness of their helmets i assumed they were some fellow fitness fans and was happy to see others out being healthy. i felt somewhat of a camaraderie as we were about to cross paths. i felt like i wanted to do a low wave to them.. you know, the type of wave one harley rider gives to another harley rider when passing on the road? when we were side by side i smiled and saw the one closest to me had began to say something. hot damn they think i'm cool i thought.. i bet they want to compliment me on my form! or ask what i'm training for! or tell me they respect running because it is so much more difficult than riding a bike!

"how's your run going?" guy number one asks. "great!" i replied ready to have a mini conversation about how cool fitness is. guy number one then pulled his bag around from his back and reached in as guy number two watched intently. "would you like to talk about christ or watch this video about or lord and savior?"

what the hell?

completely taken back, and bummed they didn't want to talk about fitness i replied more breathy than the first time, "no, i can't, i'm sorry.. i can't let my heart rate go down."

i promptly put my right earphone back around my ear and ran in the other direction at a faster pace than i had gone yet. (you can actually see the peak in my run near the end.) mormons. who knew?

it was right around that time that the man in my ipod told me that my run was complete. i did a short cool down walk and made my way to the sauna. as i approached the sauna door i could hear that someone was in there and hoped it was aj to save me from the mormons. instead it was an older asian lady i had not seen in the gym before. i asked if there was room for me and she gladly invited me in with a heavy accent. i laid down and lifted my leg to the ceiling and started stretching. "een mi cousty we haav biiig saunas an noone lee down causs dey dieee!" she told me. "haa old aar yuu?" it was a good thing i had actually thought about my age this morning because at the moment i had almost forgotten. "i'm just about to turn 25." "ahhhhhh, yuu juss a bebeee." we continued talking and i caught what i could through her accent. she complained about her water bill being too high and right when it got to the point where we were talking a little too much after a 40 minute run, the timer went off and i was out of there.

i came home to find aj in the office and he wanted to know all about my run. apparently he had also had a run in with the mormons, but he knew better than to give them eye contact. i guess i'll know better next time.. or so i thought!

(to get that joke you should probably keep reading on to sunday's run, which i promise will be much shorter.)

after saturday's run aj and i felt great. we were not sore and were actually very excited to get out on the sidewalk. we had 45 minutes scheduled for our run and headed out the door a little before 5 pm. i started the run much like i had the day before. in no time the man in my ipod told me i had completed five minutes, and again after hearing that i started walking. tomorrow i swear i'll keep running.

i finally decided to run out on the main road after much discussion with aj a few days before. we scoped it out while driving and saw that there was only a small stretch of sidewalk that was not finished. maybe five or six feet. as i ran down the first stretch of road i could smell chicken wings as i passed golden coral. i am not a big fan of this particular restaurant but it had been a while since i had eaten and it got my stomach going. further down the road, after making a turn i passed a car wash and the small was horrendous! it smelled like wet trash and what i would think the dirty snow on the side of the road in the winter would smell like. there were a few sweet undertones here and there but overall it was pretty raunchy. rounding my last turn and passing what i assumed was a lot of super bowl traffic i sucked up an unhealthy amount of fumes and decided that this route was not a good route to take. i was pissed and so was my nose. (apparently you are much more sensitive to scents when you run than any other time.)

i made my way back around to the comforts of my complex and breathed in the sweet smells that it holds. i swear everyone was doing laundry because i could smell dryer sheets galore. after walking a bit to enjoy the bounty fresh goodness i started to pick my speed back up. i began approaching a woman with two large boxers and a four year old. i am sure her dogs are lovely and well trained, but i didn't want to run by them and find out. i crossed the street to the vacancy on the other side of the road. to my surprise she followed. all i could picture in my head was blood, guts and disembowelment. at that time i heard the sound of about a half dozen ambulances speeding down the main road a block back. at least if i get attacked i know medical help is not too far off. as i neared the woman and her 3 foot companions i smiled and i could tell the small boy was trying to tell me something. not wanting to be rude, and thinking they could possibly be lost i pulled my right earphone off to hear what they had to say. the woman seemed embarrassed that her son had made me stop running as she rolled her eyes at him. she kindly apologized and said that he just wanted to know if i had heard the ambulances too.

next time i will be sure to not make eye contact with anyone. no bikers. no kids. not even aj. (sorry aj.)