Phoenix "seasons" and an iPod rant

We have three "seasons" for runners in Phoenix:

Season 1 - Long Sleeve / Layer season - November through February

This season is when the temps range from 37-49 in the morning and it feels cold (yes, I know it's nothing like the stuff people get across the country, but that's their problem). Pre-dawn runners usually have on a few layers of stuff and may even don the occasional hat and gloves when it gets a in the 3o degree range.

Season 2 - Short sleeve and comfortable season (technically this is two seasons, but it's my blog and I'll do what I want) - March and April, and then the end of September through October.

The mornings hover around 50 to 70 degrees and the sun is just coming up during the run. It's not as dark as an Edgar Allen Poe poem and that tends to add a little spring to your step. Eric and I both agree that 55 degrees is the perfect running temp. Anyway, it is the a great time to be a runner in the valley.

Season 3 - Asbestos suit, nuclear reactor hot - End of May through beginning of September.

You do anything you can to get your runs in before that searing orb of vile heat breaks over the horizon.

Well, the weather today was just about perfect. It's my first day in 4 months running without wearing a long sleeve shirt. What a joy.

Now for my rant of the day:

What's up with everyone running with an iPod???? Running is supposed to have a zen-like quality about it. You are supposed to feel your posture and your breaths as the miles tick away. You aren't supposed to be rocking out or masking the jog in a thick, sugary icing just to choke it down. More importantly, it's not safe! People are not looking out for joggers and to be stone deaf during your run is asking for trouble.

Why do I bring this up? The Ragnar Relay (a 200 mile x 12 person relay) went by my house yesterday and when I asked one of the joggers what the event was (Ididn't know it was the Ragnar at that point) he yelled, "The aid station is over there!" and pointed off in some vague direction. Come on guys, I can understand the occasional use of an iPod, but get out there and feel the run and, more importantly, BE SAFE!

now get back to work...

Blog focus shift

Ok, I've decided to make a change with this blog. I used to focus on the marathon, but that need has passed. As such, I'm making a shift for the short term. I'm going to take a stab at entering...who knows what. It could be a random thought when I was getting coffee; or an observation about my kids; or something stupid I did (i'm guessing that this will be the bulk of the entries). Anyway, let's shake things up and see what happens. And with that I'm now drawing a total blank about what to enter. Stay tuned.

I will keep adding stuff about running. The short if it is, I've only been doing threes and my ankle still sucks. I'm afraid to complain about it in front of Mary for fear that she'll ban me from ever doing a marathon again. I can see it now. I pop off with a "oh honey, I'm starting to gear up for RnR in January." Then she'll roll her eyes and ask how much moaning and belly aching will she have to put up with after the run is done. I tend to be in her camp on this one. I hate whiners and she's even less patient with them than I am...probably because women are tougher than men, and you all know that this is true. I have two words for you who are naysayers: child birth. nuff said.

now get back to work...

Post-goal collapse

I've been sneaking in a few runs here and there, and the ankle is feeling better, but for the most part I've had a total exercise collapse since I completed the marathon. I've reverted to a beer drinking, calorie absorbing machine. I'm sure I've put on at least 5 pounds since the marathon ended. The good news is that I just read about a study involving identical twins that looked at the aging process and weight. What they found was that a little extra fat helped to hide wrinkles and that the bigger twin always looked younger. So at least I know I'll hit 4o looking a little younger than my 3% body fat brother. Should I really be bragging about this???

So now that I've seen 4:30am runs in the cold rain are very difficult to wake up and do when there is no goal attached to them, I guess I have to find a good goal that comes sooner rather than later. Does anyone know of an enticing half marathon, or similar distance, to do in or around June?

Fat guy signing out.

now get back to work...

Getting back into the swing of things

3 around the high school.

I did a slow three today. Yep, the ankle still sucks. I wore a brace to alleviate some of the stress on the leg, but I'm beginning to think that this is gonna take a while to heal. I'm going to keep stretching it, icing it, and using the bengay stuff. I think I might try the elliptical jogger next time around to see if that helps.

On the run I saw one of my favorite dogs, Katie the Bloodhound. She is so lovable, but she has that "hound smell"about her, she drools, and she sheds. My legs sleeve looked like it was made out of mohair when I was done petting her. In short, the dog violates Mary's top 3 of 4 items that a dog must meet if he/she is going to be a member of our house (the last being barking). So no Blood Hounds here soon.

Finally, let's talk Super Bowl. Why on God's greed Earth was the "fumble" by Warner not reviewed with 5 seconds left on the clock? That should have been an Official's review for sure. I'm not even saying that they needed to overturn the call, but the fact that it wasn't reviewed leaves me scratching my head. Roger Goodell, in the famous words of Ricki Ricardo, I have to say "Ju some splaining to do."

now get back to work...

I qualified for Boston...

...if I was 70 years or older. Now I know why that 69 year old man was cursing so hard after we crossed the finish line together. This apology goes out to you, whoever you were: I'd have let you past me if I'd have only known you were cruising for Boston qualifying time, but I'm sure you can understand why I didn't want you in the finish line photo with me.

Two blog entries in one day?!?!?

get back to work...again...

A not-so-great moment in sports medicine history

Yes, big pansy boy has been nursing a bad wheel for the last 10 days, but it's getting better. Reese has been riding his bike around the fountain park and I've been gimping around with a mix of running and walking. In all, it feels like it's at about 70%. I've also been putting on some Mineral Ice on my ankle and it works well. You know the stuff: smells bad and tingles a little, something like bengay.

Soooooo, yesterday I was scrambling to get the kids off to school while also getting a shower in somewhere and I made the unfortunate mistake of shaving, putting the mineral ice on the ankle, and then applying face lotion. Yes, my face was feeling very "refreshed" for about 15 minutes. Ugh. I won't make that mistake again...for at least a week.

Kudos to Elite for good customer service:

I once read that people rarely tell others about good customer service, but they'll readily tell something like 10 people about a poor customer service experience. So here comes a good one, and a bad one. The socks that I purchased from the RnR marathon expo were from Sock Guy and had a picture of a guy running on them with a saguaro cactus and a bunch of other bling on them. They are ugly, but they'll remind me of my accomplishment. After one washing the heel on one of the socks started to come undone. I first called Sock Guy customer service and they took my number, said they'd call me back, and a week later I had no response. So I gave Elite Racing a call. They immediately called me back and shipped out a new pair of socks with no questions asked. Sock Guy customer service loses a point and Elite Racing gains a few points.

now get back to work...

Blog abandonment

Hi all. I've not posted for the past 8 days or so because I'm getting through an ankle issue. Yes, I hurt myself during the run and I'm sure that it all happened when I poured on the steam (maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration) over the last 6 miles. I'm telling you, the person who said that the marathon is two races (the first 2o and the last 6.2) was totally correct. I'm dying to sneak out for a run. Any run. I'd settle on a 1 mile hobble at a 15 minute pace. Maybe a I'll try that. I gotta get out.

Now that the RnR training is done, what do I do with this blog??? I've grown attached to it, but I'm not planning on gearing up for another marathon until the end of this year or beginning of the next year. More than one marathon per year doesn't seem fair to my family. What to do? Well, here's my vision for the next 5 months: The bulk of the entries are going to be running related (why kill a good thing), but I'm also going to add more around the average day-to-day. Let me know your thoughts.

now get back to work...