Morning running (the no picture post) and running plans in general

Well, I've returned to morning running for the summer to beat the heat. I go into work an hour later and get up and out at the crack of dawn, looking less than fabulous. Thus, the no picture post. I pretty much just get out of bed, brush my teeth, throw on my running clothes and shoes and out the door I go! I do love running in the morning - it is nice and quiet and I see a lot of bunny rabbits where I run which is fun. It also frees up my evenings a little, so I'll probably throw in an extra weight workout and a yoga class every week during the summer.

The downside is that I pretty much only have time to do about 6-7 miles, and I leave from my house and take a route around some neighborhoods and sometimes up to the Rillito River path. I vary my route to avoid too much routine. I do try to minimize the pavement factor; one of the neighborhoods I run in is all dirt, and I run down streets that have dirt easements instead of concrete sidewalks. So.....no trails during the week for the summer. Big bummer. The upside is that sometimes, I have found some good 'vintage' stuff while out running around the neighborhoods; during the summer large item pickup, people leave their 'junk' at the curb; I have to run home and get the truck and load up!

So far this week, I have run 6 miles yesterday and only 5 today. I just felt a little tired today, so I cut it short. I'll be hoping to get in about 40 miles this week, then down to about 30 next week, and then taper for another 50k Memorial Day weekend!

My plan is to run with my road running girlfriends every other Saturday through the summer, and then do a long trail run every other Saturday. Not sure who I'll round up for that - my girlfriend Laurie is still babying her knee and my other friend Shari is racing every weekend for a while. The other option is to run a shorter trail run on Sundays when I run road on Saturdays.

Unfortunately, right now, we are up to our neck in a house remodel, so I won't have a lot of time to trail run on the weekends for a few weeks (takes a little more time). After Memorial Day, we should be done. Dear God, I hope we are done by then! No, we won't even be living in the house - it will be for rent. It will be wonderful when it is done, though. Refinished wood floors, crown moulding, completely gutted and remodeled kitchen and bathroom, new ceilings, and 3 iron security doors and an amazing iron fence surrounding the entire property (my husband, the artist, did all the ironwork). We are even putting in subway tile in the bathroom, which is so cool. Don't think we'll have trouble renting it, but of course, that is in the back of our minds...

That's one of the many reasons I love to run - to forget about all my worries!

Upcoming races I'm doing and/or thinking about:

5/24/08 Red Mountain 50k - St. George, Utah (well, it actually starts in Central and ends in Ivins). Officially registered and can't wait to do the distance again. This is the first year of this race.

6/7/08 Meet me Downtown 5k - Tucson. They show a movie at the historic Fox theater afterwards; this year will be 'Spirit of the Marathon'. I won't be racing - as a matter of fact, I'll probably do a long run that morning, go home and take a nap and head out for the race, which starts around 6:30pm. If it weren't for the movie and good food afterwards, I probably wouldn't have registered for this race (too short!)

6/21/08 Gaspin' in the Aspen 15k - Flagstaff, Arizona (cooler!) Not sure about this one. I'd like to see how I do at altitude, but we'll have to see how cash flow looks. I'll probably be pretty broke after the trip to Utah.

8/2/08, 8/9/08, and 8/16/08 Blue Pants Racing Summer Trail Series - Tucson. Not sure when I'll sign up, but probably soon, when cash flow improves. I think it might be a repeat of the Winter Series trails, but I'm not sure yet. Laszlo did a great job as RD for the Winter Trail Series, so I'll be there.

Far off:

1/18/09 The Ghost Town 38.5 - Hillsboro, NM. My husband laughed when I told him I was considering this for 2010. I'll be doing the Tucson Marathon in December of this year and the Pemberton 50k in February 2009, so I guess I could squeeze it in, but with the jump in distance, I'm not so sure. It looks like a interesting race. Like I said, probably 2010. Unless I get talked into it. Seems like a more manageable transition from 50k to 50 mile.

Other news: still waiting for the RD to fix the Zane Grey 50k race results and put me in the right spot. I won't hold my breath at this point. They finally cashed my check yesterday!

Something to think about today:

"When was the last time you did something for the first time?" ~ Kobi Yamada from "Ever Wonder"