MLHM in 2 Weeks

The Mt. Lemmon Half Marathon is in two weeks!!!


What I've been up to...

• Training of course! I've been making it a weekly habit to ride up Mt. Lemmon, every Friday morning. Sometimes my friend Kali joins me, sometimes I go it alone. It's a fantastic ride! When you visit Tucson (I know it's on everybody's list, don't lie) take a ride up Mt. Lemmon. You. Will. Not. Regret. It. 
  
  Yes, people do actually bike to the top. I've only made it to Milepost 5.
  
  
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  Not my bike, but a pretty similar photo to the one I took.
  
  
  Some cyclists on their way up. It's quite the incline!
  
  
  This cute cafe is fairly close to the base of Mt. Lemmon. A perfect spot for cyclists to meet! (Thanks Google for all the photos!)
  

• Working like a mad woman. I have recently taken on a few more projects at work, which in turn has taken up most of my free time. They are really rewarding! But also very exhausting. And it has been taking a toll on my training. Also, I am not full time right now, and it's feeling like a full time job. Definitely tough.
  
• Geocaching! I have been browsing locations on Geocaching.com and there are a lot of caches in my area! So I had to try it. I made Chance come with me on a late night geocache hunt! It was a ton of fun roaming the park at night looking for "treasure". We didn't actually find one (geocaching is hard!) but we had a good time. I want to go hiking this Sunday in search for one! :)
• School. Almost done! I'm working on my second to last semester right now. While this is my "full time job" for the time being, I sometimes find myself putting it on the back burner second to work and running. I'm so close to being finished with my undergrad, isn't 5 years in college enough??
  
• Stressing. I have 2 laptops and they both broke. Imagine how stressed that is making me! Not only do I have homework and midterms, but I also have my blog which has been totally neglected. :c  And I'm sorry for that. I also have my own photos (instead of the ones used above) but my computer wiped all of them. I. am. so. sad.
  
• Just so I don't leave you on a sad note... The Mt. Lemmon Half Marathon is in less than two weeks!!! I am so excited!!! But the question is...Am I ready? I'll let you know in a future post... :)

Happy Running!

Training is in full swing!

I went to the first TriCats meeting on Thursday. 

And I won some cool swag. Which means it's a good sign I should be in this group. :)

I won this:

And I never win anything. I'm telling you...it's a sign. 

Friday was the first swim practice.

No pictures from that...didn't want to be that girl taking photos of people at the pool. Maybe as the year goes on I'll get some pics...

That practice was fun, and crazy and hard all at the same time. I inhaled soooo much water. Let me remind you I haven't been in a pool for quite awhile. I was beginning to feel pain in my legs after that practice.

Then, on Sunday, we had our first running practice at Reid Park.

I had eaten a semi-large-ish dinner beforehand (i know, stupid, stupid). So, I wasn't feeling it. I ended up trailing behind everyone, with major cramps. Great first impression I left for everyone. And running is supposed to be my thing. Ugh. I could barely make it around one loop.

My legs hurt pretty bad that night.

And then Monday, Labor Day, I decided a hike would be fun, even with the pain in my legs.

Hahahaha.

What a fool I am.

Chance and I hiked from the Palisades Trailhead (#99) on Mt. Lemmon down to Mud Spring, and back again.  The elevation started at 7850 ft and went down to 6700 ft. 

Found it! It's hidden in some bushes. I know bears love this place! Lots of water, berries, and good places to hide. Good thing we didn't see any...

The spring is behind us. Isn't Sookie's backpack too cute?

Why it's called Mud Spring.

The trail near Mud Spring. A big change from the rest of the trail.

Great views. One day, I'd like to hike down to Sabino Canyon one day. That's about 15 miles one way. 

Back up the trail to my car. 

This is what finally killed my legs today.

It was about 6 miles total. 3 downhill and 3 back up. And that is one hard hike!

We hiked half of the red dashed line. 

So, last night, I covered my legs in Tiger Balm. Smelly stuff, but it works. The pain in my leg has faded a little. But I have more practices coming up. I hope my legs can handle it!

*crossing my fingers*

:)

Weekend Update

First thing Saturday, I got myself a long over due haircut.

I tend to forget about myself when I'm busy. It's not a major cut, just the dead ends are cut off and it has been styled a little. Point is, it makes me feel good. :)

I also tended to my mini garden. One day, I hope to have a backyard and plant a huge garden. But for now, I live on the second floor and pots will have to do. Keep in mind: it is a growing garden. More will come soon!

My dill plant is peaking out from the soil finally! I love love love dill in almost anything, especially broccoli and cheese soup. Can't wait to use it!

My cactus and mint plant sit out front. Haven't used the mint yet, not sure of any good recipes. Any suggestions? I will be looking for some. 

Basil is up next! I will plant him very soon.

I also rode around on my lovely bike this weekend. 

I'm trying to get used to it for upcoming bike related things such as Tricats, El Tour De Tucson, etc. 

I love my bike. :)
Don't you like it's accessories? I have three bike locks hanging on the bars. Yes, three. I have to do this since I leave it on campus. I may only be a little paranoid...

How was your weekend?

Three Things Thursday

1. School started on Monday. I'm one week in and I'll be honest...I'm not loving it. There are so many people! I have been so close to running multiple people over while on my bike. Sure, I speed pretty fast through campus, but it's ridiculous to walk in front of bike traffic. Silly freshman. Also, why do so many people look nice when they get to class?? I show up sweaty, smelly and I'm basically a mess. WTH? And, there are motorcycle cops everywhere! Guess who they're after? Cyclists. Of course.

These guys would love to give me a ticket.

2. I am into Week 3 of my MLHM training plans. While I may not be completely sticking to the plan (yet) I am doing good enough. I plan on heading up to Mt. Lemmon sometime this weekend for a short trial run and to see how my body handles the altitude...again.  I was up there for a little while this summer and I felt like my body was getting used to it. But, now I've been back in Tucson for over a month now. How do you train for high altitude races?  

3. I joined the University of Arizona Women's Rugby Team!  This is very exciting for me because I am very competitive and I'll admit, a bit aggressive. This. Is. My. Sport. Other than running and cycling, of course! Lets see if I survive the first practice....

I like to pretend this will be me soon.

Friday Favorites

1. My last Friday of freedom. Not sure if this can be classified as a favorite. Yay for Friday, but I start the beginning of my last year as an undergrad Monday. Somewhat bittersweet. Although, I'm not quite sure how I feel yet. Give me a few days. ;)
   
2. I saved a dog yesterday. Really. I was driving home when I saw this small shih-tzu running around in circles in a front yard near a main road. I didn't see anyone in the front yard, so I stopped the car and got out, just to make sure. I'm a sucker for animals, so this happens all. the. time.
   As soon as I got out, the little pup ran right over to me and tried to hide in my legs. She was muddy, shaking and soaked. It was storming pretty badly and I guessed she was freaked out by the thunder, escaped from her house and got lost. She was pretty small so I figured she wasn't far from her house. And I was right! My mom and I went door to door (yup, it was still storming) and about 5 houses later...we found her owner! And she was really really happy to have her back! I think I wouldn't have felt as great if they didn't even know she was gone. But that wasn't the case. They were really worried about her! It was perhaps the highlight of my week. I'm still smiling about it. :) :) :)
   
3. I love love love my job. I work for the Girl Scouts now and it is an amazing job that gets more and more rewarding each day. What more could I ask for?
   
4. I started my training plans for the Mount Lemmon Half Marathon. Yes, I'm moving down to the half and I'm okay with it. Sure, I had plans to run the marathon and I was so excited about it. However, life gets in the way, as it did in my case. But I made the decision on my own (as in, no one influenced me) and I'm proud of myself for stepping down. I know I can be very competitive, so this is a major step. All of my runs have been at night and I can't wait until I can starting running in the morning again. I have this wonderful plan of waking up early before school, biking over to the rec center, using all of the fancy machines, and being extremely fit this year. Think I can do it? *crossing my fingers*  I sure hope I can!
   
   
   
   
5. I am seriously considering sending in an application for the Real World. One of my life goals is to be on The Challenge (it used to be called Real World/Road Rules Challenge). I'll let you know if I plan on doing it. I have to send in a video so I'll definitely have to show you that. :)

August Goals

I feel it's about time I become organized with...everything. You know, like my training, specifically. And possibly my life, but that will come later (HA).  I don't keep a training notebook or anything, so this blog is it. 

I've decided to record my goals for each month and a recap of each past month. August will be a little weird because my new training plans start on the 7th and school starts on the 22nd, etc. Bear with me.

• Join TriCats (a triathlon training group at the University)
• Stick to half marathon/marathon training plans
• Eliminate soda

I'm keeping it fairly simple for now. As the month progresses, I will add a few more goals. 

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I hear this before leaving the house last night for a run: "You look like an alien"

Do I? Chance said it. So what if I'm wearing a headband, my headlamp and my headphones? Fine, I admit, I look a tiny bit ridiculous, but I don't look like an alien. Love you too. :P

Also, took this picture. Thought it was cool. What do you think? 

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Expect some kind of change soon. Ok, ok, I won't surprise you. I'm planning a change in my layout, so don't be alarmed. I'm almost up to my 100th post (!), so it might be for that celebration. :)

Dancing in the Dark

Have you ever been out running an errand and suddenly decided to do something else completely? Story. Of. My. Life.  I'm a pretty distracted gal, but once in a while I love spur of the moment happenings. 

A few nights ago, I was driving around, dropping movies off, shopping, etc. I drove over a bridge and looked over to see a crowd gathering. I immediately pulled over, parked, grabbed my camera and walked down to the bike path. I asked around to make sure I stopped for the right thing, and sure enough, I did. I stopped because I wanted to see the bats. 

I'm not even going to bother posting the photo I took because you can't see anything in it. Just a lonely bridge. Yay for lousy photo taking skills. :)

So I found a better photo (thanks Google!):

I went the night after as well. This time, it was planned and I took Chance. The only downside: if you sit too close you can get a good whiff of bat feces. Yum. 

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In other news, I've gotten back into night running. At our old apartment, I loved running at night. Mostly because there were street lights, and sidewalks and I just felt safe running where there was a good amount of traffic and I wouldn't be kidnapped. Seriously, I'm afraid of that happening. And it's a legitimate fear, I think. But recently, we moved up north towards the river and there's a lack of street lights and traffic and it's just too darn quiet at night. So, I've been freaked out about running after hours. 

But now, thanks to Chance, we've been running the past few nights together and I'm feeling better about it. We donned our headlamps and some reflective gear last night and I felt pretty good about running on the river path. Then again, I did have my big, strong man to protect me. :) But, I may be ready to go for a run by myself tonight. I definitely plan to invest in a Road ID and some pepper spray though. I'm not a fool.  It's still dangerous out there, especially at night! 

But the night time and I are becoming good friends once again. Good thing too. It's hella hot during the day. Even early morning runs are hard to get through this time of the year. And who doesn't like breaking out their reflective Ragnar gear? Brings back good memories. :)