A Runner’s Balancing Act

Its taper time! What exactly does that mean? I have a legitimate reason to blow off my runs! What you say I should still be running but at a lower intensity? Oh right. Well I’m not good at lower intensity. I have a hard time with running distances under 5 miles. Its just not worth all that work of putting on the running clothes, and getting all sweaty and having to take a shower.

So I have not run since Saturday when I did a 10 miler with TNT. I did however get to do a new hike in the McDowell mountains on Sunday afternoon with some friends. I was scared to death of seeing a snake, but we made it through 4 miles of desert trails without seeing a single one. It was a miracle! Once we got back to the trailhead and started driving home, we happened upon a HUGE rattlesnake in the road. I covered my eyes, but the others said it had been run over but was still squirming! Ewww! Glad I didn’t look. Can we say night mares! Well at least we saw it on the way home. I don’t think I would have been able to hike had we seen it on the way in!

Here are some pics from the hike….

Me and Joe

Looking down on North Scottsdale.

Don’t know what I was saying here, but apparently I was pointing at something!

Of course I had good intentions of running Monday and Tuesday, but alas, it has gotten crazy at work and I had to work late both days.  I did get to play a good game of competitive volleyball last night, so mark that down for cross-training. This morning I will be meeting my running buddy for a hard 8 miler. We’ve picked out a new route that is very hilly but should offer some fantastic views. I’m bringing my camera phone!

Tomorrow I’m doing a 5 miler with a friend I haven’t seen in awhile. She’s faster than me, so between today’s hills and tomorrow’s speed, my legs should be thoroughly tired by Friday even though I will have only run twice this week (not counting Saturday). Next week, no hills and no speed. I want my legs to feel fresh come Oct. 19th.

In other news, today is my anniversary. I have been married to the love of my life, Joe now for three years. I couldn’t have designed a better mate. Thank you honey for three wonderful years! Here are some pictures from that day…

Happy running!

It’s been over a week since I’ve posted. While I haven’t been blogging much, I have still been running. It’s getting close to taper time and only 17 day’s until the Nike Women’s Marathon!

It’s finally starting to be apparent that summer is on its way out. When I met my running buddy at 5:45 am on Thursday LAST week, the thermometer was reading 79 degrees and it was a rather warm run. This morning, as I sit here at 4:45 am is a cool 66 degrees outside. I can’t remember the last time I saw 60′s on my thermometer! The weather man is predicting highs in the upper 80′s this weekend. That is just fantastic.

Over the past weekend, hubby and I got the chance to head up north for some mountain air and camping. My running buddy and her husband came and camped too and it was fun that everyone got to know each other a little better. We hit our usual trail early Saturday for a 12 mile high altitude run (about 7800 feet). Its always a little tough getting going at that altitude. For the first 10 minutes its hard to talk through our labored breathing, but eventually we settle into a rhythm and chit chat becomes easier again. I’m always amazed at how quickly a run goes by when I with someone who I enjoy talking to.

This week I’ve been tempted to blow off my runs and call it “tapering” but I’ve been a pretty good girl. Monday I did skip my run, but Tuesday I did around 6 miles on the canal, pushing my pace hard through the middle miles. Last night I did about 3 easy miles helping out with a beginning 5k group that is associated with my church. This morning I will be doing about 7.5 mile hilly workout with my training buddy.

The crappy part about fall and winter is the darkness. It’s finally cool enough to run, and the sad irony is that the best running hours of the day are the ones that I am required to be at work. *sigh*  I will head out this morning at 5:45 and I will be using a headlamp for the first half hour. Hopefully I will not be seeing any snakes.

Well its time to hit the road. Hope everyone is having a fantastic week. Happy running!

Here are some pics from this week
end’s camping trip:

This is the view from our running trail.

Our running path. We get about 5.5 miles of paved wheelchair path, then it turns into more of a real trail run with rocks and brush to navigate around.

And this is me and the hubby.