Rate: First week back for realsies

 (Mount Lemmon, Tucson AZ)

It's good to be training for something again, even if what I am training for is to be able to run for more than 30 minutes without knee pain-- that's something!

Monday: Ran 20 minutes and felt pretty good. I have to run really slow, I mean I think someone could walk faster than me if they wanted to. But it was worth it because I didn't have any knee pain until the last five minutes. My lungs felt good, my muscles felt good and me knee felt like it was improving. I stretched before and after, iced after and the pain went away almost immediately, which is exactly what my PT wants to happen. Which means I'm free to run two more times this week! Yippee.

Tuesday: Decided that since I'm virtually broke, I should become a commuter. So I packed my backpack with high heels, makeup and an extra shirt and hit the road at about 2:00 PM. I was heading for Tempe, about a 13 mile ride, which should be easy, in order to meet the ladies for our weekly girl's night. It has cooled down quite a bit here... but it's not THAT cool. In fact, it was 95. When you're so accustomed to triple digit temperatures, you start to think that 95 sounds refreshing. Also, Phoenix is far from bike-friendly, so I ended up hauling it as fast as I could to keep up with traffic on very busy streets in order to avoid getting hit or at least in order to get honked at less. So to summarize, I was pedaling as fast as I could, in jeans and a tank top (as in, NOT a kit) and in 95 degree weather. Brilliant. Well 5 margaritas later... I took the light rail home. But I still most definitely consider that a decent work out for the day.

Wednesday: Drove to Tucson, messed with camera. Will make up for the lost day over the weekend. Oh and for those who were curious, it's a Minolta Maxxum 5 SLR. It's kind of old, but I'm so excited. I'm going through a photography book and teaching myself all there is to know. Should be splendid. Also received notice of an interview today!

Thursday:* Ran 20 minutes. Tucson is a bit hilly, so that put some extra strain on my knees, but it was pretty much the same as Monday. Now I must do some strength training. Splendid. Killer abs here I come.

Friday:* I know it's not Friday yet. But I am absolutely positive (ok unless there's an earthquake or I have an asthma attack or something) that Mr. Wonderful and I are going for a ride tomorrow morning. Should be about 30 miles with a few small hills. He suggested we do Mount Lemmon.... ya right.

So far, so good! 

 *The above days are a bit switched around from my initial schedule. This is only because I usually need a week to get in the swing of things. I am doing all the workouts on the schedule, I just mixed up the days a little.

Rest: Confession and some optimism

Hello friends. Thanks for waiting for me as I sorted things out. So here it goes

To sum it up: I guess I'll admit it... I'm unemployed. The company I was working for, well, the stopped paying me. Why? The investor pulled out. It's supposed to be a temporary thing, but who wants to work for a company that pays you erratically? Either way, in the meantime I'm a bit SOL. And I've been pouting RELENTLESSLY. But it's a new day and it's time for a bit of optimism.
 

Optimistic point #1: I'm a writer. I am doing quite a bit of freelance writing and editing, and it's pretty cool to call myself a working writer.

Optimistic point #2: Self-improvement. I am going to try to look at this as an opportunity. I now have the time (and no money) to pursue many interests. I have the time to perfect my technical skills so that I will be a more invaluable employee. I have the time to run, ride and push my body to a physical condition I've never had the time to reach. I have time to read and learn and teach myself the things I have been wanting to learn but never had the time to pursue. I have the time too better myself. And that's an amazing opportunity.

In all my spare time, I am teaching myself all the Adobe Creative Suite programs, trying to get on a rehabilitation running plan, training to do a bike tour with Mr. Wonderful, learning photography, reading a ton about everything and perfecting my writing/editing/grammar skills... just to name a few. I'm also applying for a long lists of jobs... obviously. 

And below is the camera that my mother is letting me borrow! It's a little old and not digital, but I could care less. It will be fun to learn photography in it's pure form :)

I'm also reading this, and loving it.

And I applied to be a shoe tester for Brook Running. Everyone cross your fingers that they pick me for free shoes!

Annnnnnnnnnd, I went to a race this weekend! Well, I didn't really race.. I just ran the 2K with my Aunt. But it was a great time-- very casual-- and it was fun to see how these events work. It definitly motivated me to start racing once I'm off the injury list.

(more pics to come)

Talk to ya'll tomorrow!
Toodles!

Rest: Pinetop, cars and basset hounds

I love going to Mr. Wonderful's cabin because it gets us away from the internet. Seriously, our combined addiction is that bad that we have to be secluded in the forest, in a log cabin, without any cable or internet, in order to detox from social media. It's a flat out weekend of rehab.

But anyways, it was fabulous. We read. We wrote. I ran. We watched movies. We cooked. We rode bikes. We walked Calypso and she ran up and down the stairs like a demon child and didn't really quit all weekend. We went to the local car show/fair. We went to Springerville in search of a hike and we drove the BEAUTIFUL 191!!!

That picture does it no justice. Seriously. Not even close to the epic, breathtaking, wondrous rolling hills and flowing rivers and lakes. I didn't even know that kind of scenery existed in Arizona. AMAZING!

We also, obviously, went to the ORIGINAL Los Dos Molinos. Why?! Because we just love Los Dos Molinos. Best New Mexican food you'll ever have. If you come to Arizona for any reason, PLEASE eat at Los Dos Molinos. We met the original owner's daughter who informed us that the only rule when opening a Los Dos location is that you can't tell anyone how they cook their food, and a family member must unlock the door each day. How cool is that!?

Then I drove back to Tucson. And slept.

And when I woke up, I drove home. For some odd reason, my 50 pound basset hound decided it was a good day to become a lap dog. I kid you not, for the first time ever, Calypso tried to sit on my lap while I was driving. WHAT?! My aloof, lazy, selfish and yet still oh-so-adorable and cuddly dog wanted to sit on my lap while I was driving a moving vehicle? Bizarre. This is a reenactment:

True, not a very good reenactment. I don't have a digital camera. It's sad. I use my Apple Photobooth instead. Here's another bad photo of Calypso:

Wow that's bad. Somebody buy me a camera.

Anyways, Calypso thinks she is a lap dog.

It was a good weekend. I had a swell time.

And then Monday happened and I learned why working for a start-up can be, well, depressing. I'm on the job hunt again, let me know if you'll have any tips or need a copywriter/social media specialist. I'll tell ya'll more later. Toodles!

Run: Personal Training and Cross Training

So after days of moping, eating and coping with the loss of my training plan. I'm ready to move on. Best case scenario: I cross-train my butt off for the next month, fly through physical therapy and as a result will be able to do a 14-week marathon training schedule, which, being a newby to running, is pretty short. Worst case scenario: I have to do a marathon in February or March instead. No big thang. Either way all is well.
 
So my new training schedule looks like this:

M,W,F: Spin class at the gym and/or cycling at night with cycling buddies 
T, TH: Running 1-2 miles until there's pain; strength Training and such with Personal Trainer 
Other stuff: yoga, swimming and physical therapy and a strict diet 
Goal: Lose 5-10 pounds, tone up and get in fabulous shape to start training 
Mid October: Start Marathon Training Plan!! Woot! Woot! 

And here's some stuff in my head concerning running:

* There's something so peaceful and wonderful about spending two hours with just me and my thoughts, pounding my feet against the pavement and canal dirt, fighting through the pain and letting my thoughts wonder. I miss it already.

* It's about time for a new shoe. I'm thinking I'm going to go minimalist. I think it will be good for me. Any thoughts?

* I passed out again. I was with my personal trainer and I passed out. Someone explain to me why I pass out on random occasions. I don't think it's often enough to be considered a condition. But it is scary. And it's horrible. Fainting SUCKS. I get nauseous and clammy beforehand, and when I wake up I have no idea where I am and my body feels like it weighs 500 pounds. And it happens at such random situations. I mean always when I'm working out, but never when I'm overly fatigued. It's usually when I combine resistance with cardio, but it also happens at other times. So who knows. Blah. I hate it. Boo.
 
* I'm sorry that my running blog doesn't only concern running. But to me, a blog should be a personality encompassing platform. That's why we like blogs, right? Because they've got personality. So if I only blogged about running, that would be a completely inacurate portrayal of myself. I would be lying to you. Because, believe it or not, I don't think about running all that much in comparison to the rest of my life. I mean gosh, I hope that's not a mood killer for ya'll but it's only one part of me and... I think I'm rambling. You get the idea. I just think we like blogs because of the people who write them. And I don't like to write only about running.

* I'm really jealous of people that have been running their entire lives. I'm jealous of them for a long list of reasons, but one of the biggest ones is that they're fast. I'm never going to be fast, I just don't have that many miles under my belt. That's fine. It is. But I do love the thrill of competition. It must be such an amazing feeling to win a race. So for those of you that win races, cherish it. For those of you who might be able to win a race some day, cherish it. For people like me, it's all about accomplishment and PR's. Which again, is fine. But it's not the same.
 
That's all for now. I love running. I love life. I love this blog.

Toodles!

Rest: May fever

What a great weekend. I do hate having every minute scheduled out, but you either embrace it or bust. So I had a great weekend. Saturday was filled with a SheKnows casting call and then babysitting for my other boss. Saturday was the AZ State Champ Crit which took place in Old Town, so we drank beers while cheering and taking pictures. Below or a few of the best moments. There's going to be some changes around here at theblondebullet, but until I get that all figured out, I leave you with these pics:

Just seconds before I dump my bloody mary all over my and Lauri's lap... sadly, I was still sober. Gooo Bike Haus!

 Mmm... Men in Spandex: AZ State Champ Criterium

Just testing out the photoshoot equipment

SheKnows casting call for a reality show on our website!

Rest: Birthday Week Part 1: Why I'm a Traitor

I admit it, I'm a traitor. This past week, I joined the dark side. I took a break from running, pulled on some spandex and climbed onto my NEW road bike. That's right, new. So let me explain myself:

1) Saturday was my birthday. I was supposed to run a 5k in the morning, but my achilles tendon was still causing a minor ache.
2) Saturday was my birthday. My wonderful, wonderful boyfriend bought me a new (used) road bike. He received many gold stars.
3) I had to take almost a week off of running to let my leg heal (no pun intended!).
4) Boyfriend loves road bikes, so it's nice to ride together sometimes since we both enjoy it.

So I have been riding my new bicycle, and I haven't been running. Please forgive me.

I started with a casual ride with the girls (one of which races competitively) on Thursday. We did about 15 miles. It wasn't  a major work out but I used it to become more acquainted with my bike as well as with the girls. You see, I need girlfriends. It seems most of mine don't come out during the day unless there are bloody marys involved. So the idea of having girl friends that I can actually be athletic with is a tantalizing concept that makes me all giddy inside, like first date giddy, really. This little problem only emphasizes my dire need to join a running club/group, but darn it, I'm still scared. So until I join a running club, I am very happy to have some ladies to ride bikes with.

There seemed to be a mild desert hurricane on Friday. So we skipped the ride due to wind.

Then came Saturday. Boyfriend and cycling girl friend took me on the notorious PISS ride (I don't know why they call it that). They also secretly told another male member of the racing team that he could come along, unbeknownst to me.  Suddenly I was on a group ride, scary. I did 30 miles, with lots of hills!!! Pretty bad ass. and pretty fun too.

I really can't tell which sport I like better, cycling or running, and frankly I don't think I have to pick one. I mean neither sport is logically better for you than the other (I know all you professional cyclists or runners are going to argue that one), and all that really matters is whether or not I am enjoying the sport, and getting something out of it. For now, those requirements appeal to both sports. But running is so much more available. Cycling requires a lot of money and time. Plus there's something really striking to me about a sport that is completely dependent on my body. There's no equipment, strategies or rules to road running. It's just about how hard I can push myself. So for now, I'm still a runner. But by the end of PISS ride, I felt like I might collapse, so it was a good substitute for my birthday 5k.

This puts you up to date until my birthday extravaganza.. which is a topic worth having its own post...

To Be Continued

Run: Spandex, September and speed

There's nothing like sitting in front of a coffee shop, at 7:30 am, with six extraordinarily skinny men who cannot stop talking about groups, kits, wheels, races and anything else that has to do with bikes. The VW Jetta, VW Golf, and Mini XB Scion look quite charming (and hilarious) with a total of eight ornately decaled racing bikes carefully mounted to their rooftops. We’re headed to the Tucson Bike Classic. One hour into my experience as token girlfriend, I’m already questioning how much I love my bike-obsessed boyfriend. KIDDING. I love him in all his spandex-wearing glory. I'll let you know how the trip goes.


Thursday's Work Out:


Run: 33 minutes, moderate to fast pace.


Thoughts/Emotions/Aches: I'm making a solid effort these days to work on my speed. I did my first mile as a warm up, and felt really fresh. I did the first mile at around 11 minutes. Then I stepped it up. I ran my next two miles at a little over a 10 minute/mile pace! It was difficult at first, but surprisingly, once i get used to the pace, running faster isn't all that difficult. For the next few weeks, I plan on really concentrating on my speed. I did a little research and it looks like I don't have to be training hard for the marathon until about 5 months before hand. Assuming that I'm running the P.F. Chang's marathon, I don't have to start training until September. All that is important now is that I build up my mileage. So in the meantime, I am making an effort to work on my speed and athleticism so that I can run a few 5Ks and turn this into a lifestyle, rather than a painful hobby.


There's nothing like sitting in front of a coffee shop, at 7:30 am, with six extraordinarily skinny men who cannot stop talking about groups, kits, wheels, races and anything else that has to do with bikes. The VW Jetta, VW Golf, and Mini XB Scion look quite charming (and hilarious) with a total of eight ornately decaled racing bikes carefully mounted to their rooftops. We’re headed to the Tucson Bike Classic. One hour into my experience as token girlfriend, I’m already questioning how much I love my bike-obsessed boyfriend. KIDDING. I love him in all his spandex-wearing glory. I'll let you know how the trip goes.


Thursday's Work Out:


Run: 33 minutes, moderate to fast pace.


Thoughts/Emotions/Aches: I'm making a solid effort these days to work on my speed. I did my first mile as a warm up, and felt really fresh. I did the first mile at around 11 minutes. Then I stepped it up. I ran my next two miles at a little over a 10 minute/mile pace! It was difficult at first, but surprisingly, once i get used to the pace, running faster isn't all that difficult. For the next few weeks, I plan on really concentrating on my speed. I did a little research and it looks like I don't have to be training hard for the marathon until about 5 months before hand. Assuming that I'm running the P.F. Chang's marathon, I don't have to start training until September. All that is important now is that I build up my mileage. So in the meantime, I am making an effort to work on my speed and athleticism so that I can run a few 5Ks and turn this into a lifestyle, rather than a painful hobby.

Rest: Tucson tour part. 2

Little did I know that I would be spending all day in a parking lot, living out of a car, surrounded my competitive road bikers. Ya that’s right, from 10:30am to 5:30pm, I was stranded in the competition parking lot. Fuuuuuunn. Actually, I kind of enjoy being at competitions, surrounded by competitive athletes. It reminds me of my softball days in high school and it really motivates me to become a more competitive runner.

While the men did their practice lap, I decided I might as well get my run out of the way…since I would otherwise have absolutely nothing to do. I tiptoed into a porter-potty, awkwardly attempting to change into my running clothes without touching anything (not possible).  I then confidently walked out into the beautiful Tucson sunshine, and immediately took a self-esteem plunge when I realized how weird I looked in running gear when everyone else is wearing spandex. I can imagine their thoughts: Who is this girl? Does she think this is a duathalon? She better stay off of our courses. Luckily, nothing of the sort was said out loud, and I quickly got over my fear.

Fridays are supposed to be an easy day in order to prepare me for my long runs on Saturdays. However, I wanted to work a bit harder to make up for missing my work out on Wednesday  (which is a stupid thing to do I’ve heard. Oh and YES, that is correct: I have not been able to %100 stick to my training schedule since I started this endeavor. Awesome.). So I did a 30-minute, fairly easy run on a beautiful road covered in Saguaros. It was beautiful…minus the speedy cyclists that I imagined wanted to angrily run me over. I then proceeded to do 15 minutes of drills and sprints—that’s where my mistake lies. I felt extremely warm and extremely fast, so the sprints were extremely enjoyable. I remembered how much I love sprinting. Two sprints in and I had already concluded that I was probably going to be a national 5k winner someday soon. Duh. Shoot, I’m not gonna lie, I was a pretty fast base runner in high school, I was born for sprints! Good workout you say? INDEED! But I may regret it tomorrow when I attempt to run 60 minutes with sore, stiff legs. 

Run: Nervous purvis

Well with one interview out the way (however, I can’t seem to stop shaking) I can provide you with a bit of a work out re-cap.  You’ll be proud to hear that I went through with my cross-training endeavors on Monday. I rode my bike for about 18 miles, which isn’t much, but it was a pretty bad day for my asthma.  It’s amazing how different cycling and running are for a work out. They work very similar muscles, and they are both moderate-intensity, endurance sports, and yet I find each activity to work my lungs and muscles in a different way. If I can come up with the cash to invest in a new bike and kit, then I’ll be able to incorporate cycling into my schedule more consistently. Other than the cycling, my off days consisted of four birthdays, more rain, and a lot of pre-interview anxiety.

I was glad to discover that I didn’t feel rusty at all for my run yesterday. I ran for 30 minutes and a quicker pace then usual and it was pretty easy. I’m starting to sweat less, breathe slower and be able to take in the neighborhood scenery. I assume this means that I have reached a changing point in my training schedule. I’m no longer just training myself to be a runner, but rather am actually training to race. It’s a good feeling.

Tuesday Run: 32 minutes; moderate intensity

Strength: Very light, with crunches and a few upper body strength exercises 

Thoughts/Emotions/Pains: I am a runner hear me roar! 5k anyone?

Be ready for another post tonight with a summary of today’s workout.

Rest: Cross-walking

Today was supposed to be my cycling today. I was so excited about my new schedule that I even gathered the courage to ask some girl that I barely know, some girl who races her bike every weekend (Cat 5, but still...), some girl with a really cool bike, if she wanted to go on a ride with me today. I mean, I should get confidence props for that. But no, this fluke desert rain has ruined my day again. Technically, any cross training would do, but I'm a horrible swimmer, and I don't know any other options. 

But don't worry make-believe readers, my manager left work early today and took the parking pass with him. Being the poor and starving waitress that I am, I refused to pay the $12 to get out of the parking garage sans pass. So, in a brief break in the rain, I walked home. It was a 30 minute walk, and since this is technically a rest (or cross-training) day, I'll consider that my work out.


Now I'm eating tortilla chips dunked in nacho cheese sauce paired with a Czech Pilsner. I don't need to be worrying about my race weight yet. Right?