It's HOT!

We are in a drenching heat wave. It's so bad that my 6 mile run this morning has turned into a 1 mile around my neighborhood and soon to be 5 miles on the treadmill at work. The air is so thick and the sun just beats on your skin. I'm all about toughing it out but today was about being smart. I tested the waters and there was a big fat sign saying go to the air conditioning.

On another note I just found out that Garmin is running a summer special. Turn in your old garmin for a new one and you get $50 back! In 2005 I was at Target and saw this shiny object in the fitness aisle. It had this glowing effect drawing me closer to see the magical object. It was the Garmin Forerunner 201 on sale. The Garmin claimed to tell you how fast and how far you were running. This is during a time when I was just getting back into running after some rehab for my IT Band.



This shiny piece of equipment looks brand new only because it was used twice in Long Island. The satelite system of 2005 would fail every 10 feet. I was mad and shoved it in a box. It's amazing the things you keep when you move. This little guy has gone from 2 different homes in Long Island to 3 homes in New Jersey to it's current location in Pennsylvania. Maybe I'm a pack rat but I'm glad I can get $50 back and a new toy to play with on my runs!

The beauty of 16 miles

I must admit I over packed my weekend. In my head there's always time to do but in reality I should really pick and choose. The original plan was to go to the Phillies game on Friday night, Saturday morning run 16 miles, Saturday night head to NYC for my best friend's birthday celebration, Sunday morning kayak the Lehigh with my boyfriend. What actually happened was there was a rain delay for the Phillies game and we didn't get home until 1:30 am. I woke up at 11 am Saturday morning and ran the cross country route with my boyfriend (2.65 miles). Then Saturday evening I was on a train to NYC to play bingo. Sunday morning I awake to run 16 miles.

The decision to run without headphones is/was very refreshing. I packed my amphipod with clif shotblocks, gatorade, water and blackberry. I could hear the beat of my feet hitting the pavement. I embrace the beauty of the flowers and back roads the run takes me.

Running Unplugged

Typically, I run with a handful of accessories. This past Sunday I ran 15 miles traveling with my amphipod hydration system, blackberry, ipod, shotblocks, 10 dollars cash and a notecard telling me the next street I needed to turn on. I wished I had downloaded NPR's "This American Life." It would of given me something to actually focus on rather than not even listening to my ipod. I began to wonder why I even brought this piece of technology when I don't even listen to it. I mean it's on but I'm not listening.

So today, I decided to go unplugged. My boyfriend and I woke up earlier than normal to go for a run. He wanted to run for 20 minutes before work and being the good girlfriend that I am, I woke up at 6:10 to go with him. (I set my alarm for 5:45 am but I never heard it go off. That always scares me especially when I have to be at work at 6:00 am!)

So off we went down the path and halfway through the run my bf asks me if I wished I had my ipod. It's like he could read my mind. I finally felt free without the ipod. I could hear my feet hitting the pavement, the birds chirping around me. It was wonderful.

After the 20 minute run I still had 6 more miles to go. We came back to the house and I grabbed my ipod. This was not because I wanted it but because I was running alone. I then put the ipod back down and decided I wanted to run the next 6 just as free as the first 2.

I admit it - best decision of the day so far. :)