Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Awesome, crazy, fantastic fun! 

Love LOVE summer. 

It's the most wonderful time of the year.  :)

Well folks, technically I only have one more year of undergrad. Woohoo? Not too excited about going back for another year (I transferred schools and all of the credits did not transfer, meaning I have to go back for another year...) but excited that I don't have to get a grown up job yet. Yay. 

But I kept myself busy since school got out...

I went for a hike on the most difficult trail in Tucson (Finger Rock if you're interested...)

Twice

And did not make it to the top. Bummer. It was definitely tough! Before I hiked it, I was considering doing some trail running on it. HA. Maybe one day. 

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Then, I went to Vegas!

You know, the usual. Drinking some drinks...

Throwing down the Benjamins...

...and going to clubs, getting our photo taken and put on random websites.
My hair looks craptastic and that is the sign for loser, yes I know. It for Localites, people! Obviously. 

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Then, I met up with a local couchsurfer and went trail running with her on Mt. Lemmon.

And Sookie came with us, of course! 

If you don't know what CouchSurfing is, then go the website HERE and check it out! Basically, it's a community of people all around the world. And you can travel for cheap by sleeping on peoples couches. Brilliant. 

You can friend me if you want. :)

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And right now, I'm in the middle of nowhere:

Grants, New Mexico.

Oh Grants, you're so classy. 

I'm here doing inventory of the collections for the parks El Morro and El Malpais. Not terribly exciting, but it's nice to get away for a little while. And I've never been to New Mexico! Another state crossed off my list. 

It's also crossed off the list of states I have run in.

Yes, even though Grants, New Mexico looks super creepy...I went for a run. There is pretty much nowhere to run here. I found a little side road but it ended quickly. So I found a dirt road off the other side of the highway, but I didn't take far. I have to save something for tomorrow's run. The only other places to run are along the highway (no thank you) or I have to drive to get to another road and I don't want to have that sort of responsibility of a university issued car.

So, I'm limited in my runs but at least I'm running. :)

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I leave for camp next week but I'll be sure to post before then! 

Heat...it's pretty darn hot

It's that time of the year! All the flowers have fallen off of the palo verde trees and the air conditioner is pointless. It's summertime here in the Old Pueblo. Actually, it's been summer for a few months. We don't really have a spring. Or a fall. Or anything really, except hot. Which is fine by me. I was raised here so I''m pretty used to it. Cold is something I cannot handle.

But since I only started running a year and a half ago, I'm not quite used to running in the heat. Actually, I'm not sure if anyone can become accustomed to running in such high temperatures. People sure do try though. Like the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley. That. is. Insane. Temperatures that get up to 130 degrees. No thank you. 

 

It actually sounds awesome, but insane. Definitely. Look at that outfit. 

I am not, however, running in 130 degrees. The high summer temps here in Tucson usually range from the 80's to the 100's, which is still very hot for a run. Most days too hot. Many people usually opt for a morning run or a night run.

And those are great times for a run...if you have that kind of time.  

Lately, the only time I have for running is during the hottest parts of the day such as when I get home from work. Mornings are too hectic and I now live in a part of town that doesn't have street lights. But my afternoons are wide open. So, I run when it's very hot. I don't call myself heatrunner for nothing you know. :)

The whole point of this post today was to talk about running safely in the heat. But then I went for a run and I thought, "It's really not that hot out". And I lost all momentum for blogging about heat. So. You'll have to wait for that post. 

But my run was very nice. :)

Only 80 degrees today, partly cloudy, and a cool breeze. Unusually nice. 

 

The River Walk

Oh, I forgot to tell you I bought Vibrams awhile ago! They are so awesome! I have pretty much ditched my other running shoes. Don't know why, I just love the feeling of my Vibrams. I feel quicker when I wear them and I don't feel so weighed down. Makes me feel nekkid. :D

It looks like I'm running barefoot! 

 Some beautiful flowers along the path.

End of the run, ran 5 miles, feeling good! Yay for 80 degree running weather! :) 

Running in the River

Lately, I've been spending a lot of time in the Rillito "river" behind my condo. 

Okay, so it's not a river. Currently. It's really just a wash. But you know, sometimes Tucson has rivers. Sometimes.It's true. There's something called monsoon season. And the water usually comes in a form we like to call flash floods.

 

Not my photo, but this is from late July 2006. That's a bridge I usually run under.
See? A river, is it not?

Okay, but yes, most of the time it looks like this:

Dry. Peaceful. Empty. 

and a great place to run! That's a photo of me and my dog Sookie enjoying the freedom of the "river"!

That's why I've been trying to be out there as much as I can! What's also nice is that I can run during hotter parts of the day. The riverbed is usually cooler and the high walls and the bushes give some shade if I need it. 

I really love running here. Since I don't live that close to a lot of trails, this is sort of similar to a trail. It sucks running in sand but I can see a difference in my strength after running in it for awhile. When I ran the Catalina State Park Trail Race, there was a small section of a wash we had to run through and I seriously thought I was going to die. It was awful! Partly because I had never run in sand before and it was such a surprise when I first stepped into it. 

 What's also great is that the Rillito River Path is just above the wash. So, if I get tired of sand, I can switch to a hard surface easily. And it's not street sidewalk or running down a road or anything like that. It's a beautiful path, made for walkers, runners and bicyclists. There is also a little side trail, not paved, so that horses and their owners can use it too. 

It is paved from Craycroft Road all the way to the I-10. That's hella far. I've only run up to Stone.

You can still go farther than Craycroft, I think. But at that point it's only a dirt trail, which is fine by me.

One day I'll run all of it. But for now I'm content with my "river" running. :)

Do you have a favorite place to run in your town?