Well & Being and Willow Stream Spa

I started a 90 day membership at the Willow Stream Spa.  They're located in the Fairmont Princess Hotel in North Scottsdale, so close by my home.  Even closer than the Gold's Gym I decided to join earlier this year that I've only been to less than 5 times.  Even closer than the Pilates Studio I join in January that I had to cancel after non-use.  I held on to it so long because of the smoking-hot grand opening membership deal that I would lose if I cancelled.

Well, this one is a 90 day membership and I vowed to use it! I warned the girls at the front desk that they would get tired of seeing me.

Day 1 of  90. Friday, September 13th.

I got a tour of the spa from Stephanie who happened to be one of the TRX instructors.  I plan to link that to my blog on TRX I will be writing later, but for now it's linked to the TRX Training website.

This spa has so many things, but I wanted to keep it simple on the first day.  I really just wanted to relax in the hot tub after a long week of work, but I felt I should at least get a little workout in.  So I headed to the fitness center where there were plenty of machines and weights with not a lot of people.  There was a towel on each machine and most had their own TV screen, but the Livestrong bike caught my eye.  I hopped on the bike, easily walked through the settings on the screen and watched a video of a trainer going through a seated climb program.

I got bored with this after 15 minutes since I didn't have any head phones so I switched it to a location video.  After that I was riding through a Slickrock Divide in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah and then the Grand Tetons National Park in Wyoming.  Not a bad ride for a Friday night.  After that short work out, I think I deserved some time in the hot tub.

The spa was pretty deserted on a Friday night.  I stepped into the women's steam room and quietly closed the door.  As soon as I sat down, I heard the steam shower starting to gurgle loudly before hissing it's heated breathe.  The room quickly filled up and I could barely see 2 feet in front of me.  I thought this might be the perfect scene in a Jackie Collins novel where a Hollywood starlet might be murdered by being locked in a steamroom that wouldn't stop steaming.  Did I see if the door had locks? Will the steam ever stop? Will an attendant hear me screaming?! It is Friday The 13th, I should have known better than to step into a Steamroom by myself. AAAAAAGH!!

Luckily, I'm not a Hollywood starlet and as far as I know I don't think anyone wants me dead.  I took a deep breathe letting the of the eucalyptus infused air fill and warm my lungs.  I'm supposed to relax...

and relax I did.  I followed up the steam room with the hot tub.  A mini waterfall came out of the wall and the water dropped perfectly at my shoulders.  After that I hopped in for just a quick second in the cold immersion tub at 60 degrees.  Warmed myself up in the dry sauna and washed myself off in the Swiss Showers.

Wow! Not a bad start to my new membership. Not bad at all.

A Vacation from the Work Out Routine

Since I last wrote, I bought a yoga package from my local yoga studio and took about 4 classes. I was able to try out different instructors to get to know their teaching styles. One even broke out his guitar during savasana (a relaxing posture intended to rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit at then end of practice) and he sang us a couple songs.

Speaking of Savasana...for those of you that are yoga newbies like me, hearing these foreign words were somewhat intimidating. She wants me to do what?! Chaturanga? That sounds like a cha-cha-tango-merengue fusion dance. Yeah, I was intimidated, and at one point kinda thought it was a little pretentious and annoying for a teacher to refer to all the poses completely in their sanskrit name. But then I realized, maybe it's because I wasn't in a completely beginner class. Maybe I was being the pretentious one.

I think as you evolve your own yoga practice, you begin to respect the practice and immerse yourself in it. This respect and immersion would involve learning the language of yoga.

So after those 4 classes, things eventually got in the way, as things usually do. These things included VACATION!!! Woohoo! Which, unfortunately included a vacation from my work out routine. In the 10 days I was enjoying myself and stuffing my face, I did squat - No, not squats. Squat. Well, maybe on the third day of vacation I did run 1 1/2 miles down the South Yarmouth Coast of Cape Cod, walked out on a jetty and did some sun salutations, then ran the 1 1/2 miles back to the resort. Also, on the 7th day of vacation, I leisurely kayaked around Purity Spring Lake in New Hampshire to round out my "squat" amount of exercise on vacation. Please notice my emphasis on leisurely.

Now, it's back to business! My husband just introduced me to meetup.com to find some like-minded people in my area. We found a great place for fitness classes nearby. We've taken some of the P90X classes with AZ Body Mechanics and in just two hours I will be taking their Beginner Body Ballet class. Hopefully, I can get more committed to this blog and let you know how it goes!!

Baby Steps

I know! I know! I'm starting off this yoga kick pretty slowly. I have yet to do ONE sun salutation since my decision to follow this path. But, this is not to say that I am not committed. In fact just today, I registered for Yoga Journal's 15th annual Yoga conference in Estes Park, CO.

Yep, September 23rd - September 26th, I'll be up in the Rockies breathing in that fresh mountain air and doing sun salutations to my hearts content. I've got 5 months to get going.

Now, to start picking classes for the conference...

Should I start with "Dancing with Shiva and Shakti" or "Backbends - Melt your heart. Blow your Mind"?

Actually, I will be starting Yoga classes next week. This week, I'm still doing my running since I've got a race on Saturday. The running won't stop because of the yoga, though. I'll just have to find the time to do both. Maybe there's a class on balance I can take, too...

There's no place like om ॐ

I've never been serious about Yoga before. Sure, I've taken some classes here and there, but I can't even tell you what an asana is. All I know is an old co-worker was named "Upasana" and if I hear the word asana during class, I think about her and wonder if she's named after a yoga position. If so, which one? Then my mind wanders, which is bad for yoga, right? Aren't we supposed to be focusing on something? Would focusing on my friend Upasana count?

Really, what is the deal with yoga? It just seems so relaxing. What kind of work out is that? I could relax just as well lying on my couch, eating a lil cutie ice cream soy sandwich while watching The Biggest Loser.

Also, how important is flexiblity to your health? I've never been able to touch my toes since high school without pain and at least 2 weeks of warm-up trying. But I still consider myself healthy. I've got an average BMI, low cholesterol and run at least 3 times a week. The only unhealthy thing about me is my penchant for things chocolate and my tendency to try out fad diets for two weeks at a time.

Well, I think it's time I uncover this mystery called yoga. During the next few months, join this budding Yogini on her journey to enlightenment. I'll be blogging about my thoughts and experiences as a beginner and help answer all those questions you were afraid to ask, or didn't know you even wanted to ask.

Something new

Is it possible? Am I about to get bit by the training bug again?

Maybe...

It's getting to that time of year in Arizona when the weather is more cooperative. It may just be the end of those 90 degree dawns and I can finally run in decent weather. I went from running 50 miles in June to just 12 in July. Of course vacation traveling as well as heat may have contributed to that lack of mileage.

Anyway, September and cooler weather is just around the corner. I think it's time to celebrate this with a new challenge.

The 2009 Nathan Tempe Triathlon
Sunday, September 27th

I want to start training for the Sprint Triathlon:
750 meter swim
16 mile bike
3.3 mile run

I've got a lot going against me right now, though. Let's see...

1. Starting a 13 week training program in the middle of week 7
2. I gotta get a gym membership for swimming and indoor training, since it's still hot
3. No road bike. I've got a mountain bike, but I would prefer a road bike.
4. Fear of riding my bike in actual streets. YIKES!!

Aside from that, I'm up for a new challenge.

San Diego Harbor

I just wanted to post some pics from my San Diego Harbor run on Memorial Day. It was nice to be able to sleep in. I didn't get out on to Harbor Bay Drive until 9 AM. By that time temperatures could be high 70s in Scottsdale. I only ran 30 minutes so we wouldn't miss the Sheraton's Breakfast Buffet.

Today was actually day 12 of my running streak and I'm feeling it in my legs. Instead of running at 6 AM this morning, I waited until after work to give my legs a few more hours to recover. We were over 90 degrees today, so I to hit the dreadmill.

To save money, we actually canceled our gym membership. But there's a public gym at McDowell Mountain that cost only $2/visit. Perfect for those days I need a treadmill or want to work on the machines.

No shoes, No shorts, No problem

My mini running streak has survived the big travel test this weekend. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find time to run during our road trip to Southern California.

Sunday, Disneyland day, was the big test. I know it's crazy, but we decided last minute to do Disney that morning when we woke up in our Anaheim hotel room. Sure, it was a holiday weekend and the lines would be long, but I had a plan. We would get there early and hit as many major attractions as we could before 3 pm. Brian wanted to get on the road to San Diego so we could catch the sunset at the beach.
No problem!!

We were able to hit the Matterhorn, Pirates of the Carribean, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain Railroad and Star Tours all before 11:30 AM. After lunch, we did Space Mountain, Honey I shrunk the Audience, Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and Autopia. Eleven rides in 6.5 hours on a holiday weekend!

When we got to Pacific Beach in San Diego it was only 4:30. I sat and watched the kids play in the water. Being the thin-blooded desert dweller, I chose to stay warm on the sand. My husband urged me to run a mile. "There's no excuse! You're on a beach. You can run one mile on the beach." He did mention that it would be pretty lame of me to break my running streak like this on day 9.

My tennis shoes and running shorts were in my suitcase back in the car several blocks away. All I had on were flip-flops, a tank top and jean shorts. Fine! He was right, there was no excuse. I took off my flip flops and ran on the shore; 7 minutes one way and 7 minutes back. Since I didn't have my shoes, I didn't have my Nikeplus running monitor to record the run or my distance. But with my average pace at 11:30 lately, I figured 14 minutes of running would be more than enough to keep the streak going.

Sure, I didn't look like the typical runner since I was wearing jean shorts. Also, the shore was hard on the balls of my feet at times (they are hating me now) and dodging seaweed was a task, but all in all, I'm glad I did it. The running streak is intact. I'm on day 11 now!

My Attempt at Streaking

No, I'm not talking about running around nekkid for kicks and giggles. Sorry, to get your hopes up there. I'm talking about starting a running streak - run at least a mile for as many consecutive days as you can.

I first heard about this through this article "7,000, 9,000, 11,000 days in a row - runners won't quit". It's about a group that has registered their running streaks at www.runeveryday.com, the website for the United States Running Streak Association, USRSA.

Their active running streak list shows one "Legend", the category for greater than a 40 year long streak, Mark Covert, who is also the honorary chairman of the USRSA Advisory Board. There are at least 20 runners whose streak has lasted over 35 years. The "Neophyte" is the category for those whose streak is only less than 5 years old.

When I first read about this I thought to myself, there's no way I could do that! That's crazy talk!! I might try, but I won't last the week! Guess what?! Today is day seven! I did it. I lasted the week. But don't expect me to go signing up for membership to the USRSA anytime soon. I was just using this as inspiration to get myself back into the habit of running. I had injured my back in April and after looking at my sad monthly running graph, I knew I had to get back into it somehow.



So things are looking up. I've gotten back into it. I haven't signed up for any races yet, but at least my May totals are looking good. Let's see how long this streak lasts.

Papago Park Run

My sister had an early flight to NYC this morning, so I took this opportunity to do my run near the airport at Papago Park. After I dropped her off at 5:35 AM I drove and parked at the Phoenix Zoo nearby. The sun had just risen as I took off toward Hole in the Rock. What a beautiful morning.

The route I took was deserted aside from the one city vehicle that drove by. After 1/2 mile through the park, I got on Priest Drive greeted by the striking red rocks against the blue sky, I snapped a pic of this agave flower in bloom.

I was really enjoying the solitude and only after my turn around point did I see two runners and just one biker.

Running the opposite way on Priest Drive gave me a different perspective of Papago Park. I was able to see the Botanical Garden on my left. In the distance a beautiful yellow Chihuly glass sculpture towered over the creosote. The Chihuly exhibit is only going to be at the Desert Botanical Garden until the end of the month, so I vowed to see it before it leaves.

Running my usual route never bores me, but trying out different trails now and then are a special treat. When I do run a new trail, I want to make sure I bring my camera along. Sure, I've driven by Priest Drive a few times before, but running it gives me a new appreciation of the beauty that has in the past just whizzed by me at 40 mph.

Vroom! Vroom!

It's like starting up an old classic car that you haven't driven in a while. There are the running shoes, sitting in the garage collecting dust. Pretty little blue racing stripes shimmer invitingly as you look them over. A comfortable interior is calling your name and a pedometer is just begging to start counting those miles again.

You slip on the pair, like getting into custom leather seats that fit every curve perfectly. You flex and wiggle your toes as you would your fingers onto the steering wheel - finding the right grip. Yes, this feels good.

And then you start the engine. The sound of your stride purrs on the trail. Your heart and your breathing accelerates and the wind rushes past your ears. It's been a long time since you've taken this ride.

Welcome back!

Racing Tees

What do you do with your racing t-shirts?

Do they sit in a drawer folded up, never to see the light of day until years later when they're transferred to a shopping bag heading straight to Goodwill? Well, I must admit, that's what happens to most of mine. Some, which I purposely order extra-large, I use as pyjamas, or is it pajama? Hmm. I think I like pyjamas, just for the juxtaposition of the three letters that extend below the writing line. It's both awkward and thought-provoking, the thought being "is that word spelled right?"

Anyway, where was I?

I think the most use I've ever gotten from a t-shirt is my 2007 Phoenix YMCA Half Marathon. It was the only long-sleeved shirt I've ever received from a race. It's just the thing for my early morning winter runs when the temperature here can dip well below 50 degrees. That's right, desert living. Then, there's my favorite Human Race T-shirt. This one doesn't count because I had to buy it myself. You can read an older blog post about it here.

T-Shirt Contest

One race had a very good idea to get their runners to wear the Race T-Shirt. Their website has a little monthly contest. People are asked to send in a photo of themselves wearing the race t-shirt from any year in an exotic or unique location. The prizes may differ, but this month 3 winners were selected and won this years technical training tee. Yay, another t-shirt!! Woot-Woot!

This t-shirt contest is for the race called the Bay To Breakers organized by ING. I've run this race at least 4 times and probably still have all 4 t-shirts. However, I have yet to find myself anywhere exotic or unique to take a picture with it. This months winners were sporting their race shirts in front of the Sydney Opera House, some ancient cemetary in Ireland and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. I guess the Bay to Breakers attracts a lot of well-traveled participants.

Maybe, I could save on some airfare and photo-shop this old pic of me in Macchu Picchu. But I'm sure they can spot a shopped pic a mile away. I guess I'll just have to remember to pack my Bay to Breakers race shirt the next time I head over to Peru, whenever that will be. Better yet, I'll take all my Bay to Breaker shirts there and get a group shot of the Incans wearing a T-shirt from all the different years. That should be good enough to win me another t-shirt, right?

A conversation piece?

It just so happens, I was wearing my 2009 Rock N' Roll Marathon, Phoenix shirt to my sons tee-ball practice last week. It actually became a conversation starter for me with another mom who ran the marathon, too. No, she wasn't wearing her race shirt at the time, but wouldn't THAT have been funny? We started talking about races and running and made the whole hour of tee-ball practice just fly by.

She told me about a neighborhood race coming up this Sunday, The Run for Ryan House 10K in DC Ranch. Ryan House is a wonderful non-profit that hits close to home. They are raising money to build the regions first palliative care facility in Phoenix. Construction has already started. From their website, "When complete, Ryan House will be a safe, comfortable place where care, typically given at home, will be provided by an experienced professional staff to some of Arizona’s most challenged children. These children and their families deserve an opportunity to focus on being families and living life to its fullest."

Running for Ryan House

It is named after a boy who is a student at my son's school. He was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a form of muscular dystrophy. Ryan's mother is modeling Ryan House after one of the facilities they stayed at when Ryan was just a toddler in England.

This was perfect - a race close to home, with a distance I can manage (after I've been slacking-off since the marathon, 10K is probably all I can manage now), and best of all, it's for a wonderful cause. The t-shirt from this race, I will be happy to wear, proudly.

The Great Urban Race, Phoenix - Part Doh!

What an amazing day! We were able to see and learn so much about Phoenix on this Great Urban Race adventure. We had 7 clues to go…

Since we doubled back to the Heard Museum earlier, we needed to go 1 mile back to N. Central and Thomas Rd. for Clue 3.

Clue 3. The following clue was written in code and had to be solved by decoding the symbols. The answer was: "Take a photograph of all teammates in front of a fourteen foot Navajo sculpture by Doug Hyde."

The bus stop was just across the street. It was crowded with racers in their costumes. Luckily, it was one of the double long buses, and we were all able to fit in. The ride took us to 15th and Thomas near Encanto Park. We still had to run about 1/4 mile to the next two tasks inside the park.

Clue 7. Find the GUR staff in the park that's been called "the crown jewel of City of Phoenix parks'. Once there, complete the gunny sack race with your teammate(s). When you're finished, get this clue sheet stamped.

Clue 1. Find the large inflatable obstacle course in this 222-acre park and have all teammates complete the entire obstacle course. Upon completing it, you must get this sheet stamped.

Luckily, we ran instead of walked to Encanto Park, because we beat the rush and didn't have to wait in any lines to do the tasks. I think Encanto Park was one of the best discoveries of this race. I never knew this place existed! We would definitely need to visit this place with the kids someday.

We had to run 1 ¼ mile to a bus stop at 7th and McDowell. We took the bus to Central and then the light rail to Washington for the next clue less than ¼ mile away from the light rail stop.

Clue 2. Unscramble the following three words to make a two word name of a Phoenix place that's on the National Register of Historic Places and take a picture of all teammates in front of the most prominent sign on this building. REPEAT OTHER HUM

The answer to the scramble was "Orpheum Theater."

We took care of the last 2 clues by running 3/4 miles to Hooters on 3rd St.

Clue 9. DETOUR (complete one of the following two): Take a picture of five or more people total in front of a juke box.
Or.. Take a picture of eight or more people total with a Phoenix Mercury t-shirt visible in the picture.

We weren’t able to find anyone with a Mercury T-Shirt, and someone told us there was a jukebox in Hooters.



Clue 4. DETOUR (complete one of the following two): Return to the finish line with a popsicle stick with a joke on it (must be originally on the stick - no written jokes).
Or..Return to the finish line with a job application.

After our jukebox picture, I asked the hostess if I could have a Hooters application.

It was a 3/4 mile run from Hooters to the finish line at Slider's Restaurant. When we got to Sliders, we were greeted with cheers from the racers that arrived before us. We had our items and cameras checked. “Can I get that application to Hooter’s back?” I asked the camera-checker, “I might need that later.”

After 2 hours and 57 minutes and running a total of 6.5 miles around the streets of Phoenix, we finished (officially) in 30th place out of 160 teams. In order to qualify for the National Championship in New Orleans, you would need to be in the top 25. The team in 25th place came in just 4 minutes before us! We were so close!

But we had a wonderful time, and who knows, maybe we’ll try to qualify later this year by doing a Great Urban Race in another city.

The Great Urban Race - Part 1

What a fun experience the Great Urban Race was! It involved three of my favorite things: Trivia, Running and being with Brian. I knew I was in for a good time. The race would start and end at Sliders restaurant in downtown Phoenix.

At 12 noon, all the 166 teams of two were given sealed envelopes with the clue. At the signal, we all opened the envelopes together. The first thing we did was sit down in the shade of Chase Stadium, call our phone-a-friend, Allen, for help on the clues and try, without a decent map, to map out our course for the day.

We decided on the closest task below.

Clue 8. Take a photograph of both teammates posing in front of the statue shown.

After just describing the image to Allen, he was able to find out that the location for this sculpture by John Henry Wadell was in front of the Herberger Theater Center, a half mile away. I think I picked the right phone-a-friend! My sister Meliza was also on standby, but I called her later that we should be good.



From the Herberger Theater we decided to run the 0.6 miles to the Phoenix Market.

Clue 12. Find Doug Atkins in the Phoenix Market. Return to the finish with a drawing from this artist. This challenge is only available from 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm! Strategize accordingly.

We were 5th in line for the artist when we got there. He was taking a very long time to sketch a picture for each team, that by the time we were done, there may have been more than 10 teams behind us. He drew us a daisy and we headed to the Phoenix light rail stop at Roosevelt. This was less than a quarter mile away and we can see the train about a quarter mile south of us. We had to sprint just to make it to the stop in time. It was a close one.

We got off the train at the Encanto/Central stop in order to go to the Heard Museum (clue 10), but accidentally ended up following other racers 1/2 mile north to Clue 6.

Clue 6. Find Honey Bears BBQ on Central Avenue. There will be an ear of corn waiting for you in the dining area. Take a picture of all teammates with a completely eaten and bare corn cob. The bare corn cob must be clearly visible in the picture.

We decided to double back to the Heard Museum clue.

Clue 10. It exists today because of Maie, but to go in here you'll have to pay. It'll educate you on peoples of the Southwest. For places like this, it's considered one of the best.
Take a picture of all teammates in front of the abstract stone "person" on this property.

We noticed other racers coming out of a street from behind the Heard Museum and knew another clue must be back there somewhere. We ran the 1/2 mile to Monterey Park for Clue 11.

Clue 11. Find the GUR volunteers at Monterey Park. You must complete the challenging Horse Shoe Puzzle. You must get this clue sheet stamped twice, once when removing the ring and another after the puzzle is returned to its original form. Note: A phone-a-friend may be helpful for this clue!

We didn't think of calling our phone-a-friend for this. But I was able to solve this with about 5 minutes of frustration. When BT asked me how I did it, I joked to him saying "engineering".

We didn’t check the time at all, but so far, we had finished 4 clues and have run 2.8 miles and we still had 7 more clues to go!

Race Day

Items to Bring

During the race you must have the following:
1. A fun attitude! - CHECK
2. A sense of humor! - CHECK
3. Digital camera. - CHECK
4. Cell phone. oOOps! I wonder if I charged it. Nope - just one bar of battery life left. Let's see how much charge I can get in one hour...
5. Pen and paper. ooo...lucky I'm going through this list. OK. CHECK.
6. Identification. - CHECK
7. Matching uniforms (provided race t-shirts are okay). CHECK
8. $10 or more in cash. - CHECK

Up to you:
1. Water / snacks. - CHECK
2. A backpack. - CHECK
3. GPS. - NO
4. Maps. - CHECK
5. Guidebooks. - NO
6. Laptop. - NOPE

Alrighty. I think we're ready to go!

The Great Urban Race

Brian and I will be running the Great Urban Race this Saturday in Phoenix. It's sort of like a high tech Scavenger Hunt that you run in teams of two - answering clues, performing tasks and taking pictures along the way.

Having only lived in the valley for 4 years and spending most of that time in Scottsdale, it'll be a great way to learn about Phoenix. Unfortunately, not knowing much about Phoenix may be our downfall. I'm going to have to pick up a few maps to study before Saturday.

I have to make a good showing in this race! We learned about this race from Brian's ex-girlfriend, Yoko. Yoko and her team mate, Annelise placed first in 2008's Great Urban Race in San Francisco. That whole ex-girlfriend-thing can bring out the competitive edge in anyone. Don't get me wrong, I love Yoko!!! And I'm so glad she told us about it. This is the picture of them at the finish line last year.

Who knows, if BT & I place in the top 25 teams, we just might be meeting Yoko and Annelise in the Championships in New Orleans at the end of the year! Woohoo!

But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The "Pre-Race Tid Bits" email says, "This race should challenge you mentally and physically. You may struggle to answer some of the questions, you'll cover lots of ground on foot, and you may even be nudged out of your comfort zone - expect some interaction with strangers.

It'll be beneficial to have a phone-a-friend available during the race - it wouldn't hurt if he/she is a superstar Googler."

I'll have to thank Allen Cook and Meliza Sumortin for being willing to sit around on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in front of a computer for offering to be my phone a friends in case we can't find any free wi-fi in Phoenix.

We will be racing in matching Blue Survivor Buffs. I don't even remember the Team name we settled on. It was a couple months ago and I don't remember getting very creative with the team name. But, oh well. At least we have the obligatory matching outfit. Being that the temperature in Phoenix will be in the mid-eighties on Saturday, I will most likely be wearing it as a tube top, while BT sports a skull cap/headband. The buff even came with this little instructional insert "How to Wear a Buff":



I'm not sure it I can fit it in, but I may live-tweet the race (http://twitter.com/jainz57). I'll see if I can get Meliza to live-tweet for me.

Wish us luck and stay tuned for a post-race report.

Chip Time Corrected

Here's the final chip time on my marathon. I guess there was a glitch that they since corrected...

Rock & Roll Race Report

My Race Report is pretty long and drawn out, but it's my personal notes on the race and I wanted to jot them down before I completely forget about the painful and traumatic ordeal. So, I apologize for the length now. If you just want the nitty-gritty times, feel free to scroll down to the bottom.

Sitting in the shuttle going from the Blue Lot at the finish line to the start line is so depressing. The ride is pretty long and all I could think about was "I've got to run all the way back to my car now."

Since this is my third Rock N' Roll Arizona Race, the pre-race activity was all familiar. Wait in line for a porto-potty, grab some snacks and water (bagels were missing this year), peel off the layer of clothes and check in your gear bag, then get in your Corral. I was in Corral #8. It wasn't too long before they sang the Star Spangle Banner and we were off!

NOTE: Pacing was according to my Nike+ pedometer which started deviating after the half marathon mark, slightly and I've abandoned pedometer readings altogether after Mile 20.

Mile 0. 10:45 min mile
First song on my iPod was Eminem's "Lose Yourself". Great way to kick-off the race.
Mile 1. 10:51 min mile
Some "lady" about 8 feet in front of me turned her head to the left and spat. If I were following her any closer and she would've spit on my leg!
Mile 2. 10:58 min mile
Decided to skip the line at the porta-potty and wait for the next one.
Mile 3. 11:19 min mile
You know how I like my ipod songs to kinda be the soundtrack to my run? Like my 1/2 marathon 2 years ago, when Allen asked me at Mile 7 "What song is on now?" and I told him "A Little Less Conversation". About this time I was wishing I had the Beyonce song "If I were a Boy." Because if I were a boy, I'd simply find the closest alley to relieve myself. I had no idea when the next porta-potties would be.
Mile 4. 10:53 min mile
FINALLY, a bathroom break! I didn't care that I had to wait in line this time. I saw Allen run by as I waited in line and yelled "Go Allen!" I'm not sure he heard me. My pace didn't suffer too much. It must've been the extra spring in my step after :)
Mile 5. 11:38 min mile
Took my first Power Bar Energy Gel
Mile 8. 12:03 min mile
Took my second Power Bar Energy Gel
Mile 12. 11:36 min mile
Took my third Power Bar Energy Gel. Made my second and final porta-potty stop. The one I chose was totally off balance. The slightest move I made in it sent the thing shaking wildly. I thought it was going to tip over on me! Ack! what a nightmare that would have been!
Mile 13. 11:52 min mile
Half Marathon Time split. 2:33:38
2008 Half Marathon Time split was 2:45:41, so my pace for the first half had definitely improved.
Half Marathon PR is 2:26:36
Mile 14. 12:30 min mile
I could really use an orange slice about now. The citrus and juice would quench my thirst more than the water I've been getting at the water stations. Plus the pasty energy gel coated my mouth and water couldn't wash it out.
Mile 15. 12:37 min mile
Finally tried the Cytomax energy drink they were offering at the water stations. Yumm! I passed a lady at the water station and thanked her for volunteering. "Sorry about the mess," I said, pointing to all the empty discarded paper cups, "I'll come back and clean up later." She laughed, yeah right.
Mile 16. 10:32 min mile
The Indian Bend hill starts. Took my fourth Power Bar Energy Gel.
Mile 17. 15:41 min mile
God Bless the lady who set up the little table on the side, giving away pretzels and oranges!!! I love you Orange Lady!!! My prayers were answered.
Mile 18. 12:18 min mile
At this point, the crowd had thinned out some and I was able to recognize a lot of the runners around me. Two in particular were Elvis and Fitzgerald.
Elvis was dressed in a white, long-sleeved, bell-bottom jump suit with a white cowboy hat and a red inflatable guitar.
Fitzgerald had on a wig painted red, A Fitgerald jersey and a football that he would pass to willing runners or volunteers.
I really benefited from being around these characters because as they ran by, the volunteers, cheerleaders and spectators would be fired up as they passed. I kinda milked that excitement.
Mile 19. 10:50 min mile
I turned a corner around Old Town Scottsdale to find someone who just slowed down to walk. I pointed toward the lift at the end of the block with photographers on it and told him, "You better get ready for your photo-op!" This got him back running and we crossed the PF Chang's carpet with our arms up and running. This quickly changed as we passed under the lift. At least we looked like we still had energy.
Mile 20. 10:24 min mile
Seriously, I tried to take my 5th out of the 6 Power Bar Energy Gels I had for the race. I only finished a quarter of it and threw it to the side. I really couldn't stand it any longer, the taste, the consistency, and thinking that this is the only thing that is in my stomach right now. I felt that if I actually ate the whole gel, I would throw up.
I believe this may have been my downfall because my pace seriously tanked after this. I never even took the final energy gel. This is like losing to a question on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and still having a life line left-over. Take your life-lines people!!!
Mile 21.
My Nike+ mileage starts deviating from the official race mile markers. This is either because at this point, my running is more like a shuffle so that my Nike+ thinks small steps are my normal gate or PF Chang's Race Officials have spaced out the Mile markers farther than they should. I do believe it is the former, although it honestly seemed like the latter and the miles were getting longer and longer.
Actual split times and pacing are below.
Mile 22.
A coach with a Team In Training Hat cheered from the sidelines. I realized then that going with TNT as the Team in Training Acronym was a smart move. Who wants TIT on their hat?
Mile 23.
It had heated up considerably. Every water station was an opportunity to pour water down my back and over my head and get sprayed by the hose from one of the volunteers. The breeze during the run and the wet clothes helped cool me down.

I poured water on my right shoulders and found the cooling effect on my arm felt good as well. I decided to try this on my left arm at the next water stop and realized too late that my iPod was on that arm! Luckily, it didn't hurt the iPod at all.
Mile 24.
Seriously considering NEVER doing this again. EVER.
Mile 25.
NEVER EVER. Seriously
Mile 26.
Shuffled for most of mile 26 and only started running at the turn into the home stretch. The finish was an emotional one and I only wished that my family was there at the finish line to greet me. But they've got a wonderful and perfect excuse for missing it, the Cardinals were playing the NFC Championship. I couldn't let them miss that!

THE SPLITS


ACTUAL TIMES (2008/2009)

I'm Ready to Rock!!

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

I'll be running my second Marathon, the PF Chang's Rock N' Roll Marathon in Phoenix/Tempe/Scottsdale. Track my progress at http://www.liveraceresults.com/liveelite/Default.aspx

I'm bib # 8567

You can also track my friends, if you know 'em, or if you don't and just enjoy stalking people...

Allen Cook - #8648
Ryan Burke (half marathon) - #29530
@zstruck - #7027

Last year my pace was 13 min miles (ugh!) and finished in 5:42. Let's see if I can set a PR (Personal Record). I'm hoping to be all done before the Cardinals and Eagles Kick off.

GO CARDS!!!!!! Go all my buddies running tomorrow!!! Go me! :P

I may also be live tweeting at http://twitter.com/jainz57 (maybe...)

Heath & Fitness Expo

Tonight, before I head off to the Suns game, I'll be taking my Final Confirmation Sheet to the Health and Fitness expo in Downtown Phoenix to pick up my Race Number.

This is it, people! Can I PR???? I've got the same mantra as I had last year. "Beat Katie Holmes." Her NY Marathon time was 5:25. I couldn't do it last year, with a time of 5:46:44. Can I really shave off 21 minutes?

You can follow my progress here using my race number 8567 http://www.liveraceresults.com/mobile/

Wish me luck!

I'm a Hazard to Myself

Don't let me get me.
Following Hal Higdon's Novice II Marathon Training schedule, yesterdays run was 3 miles. It was an unusually warm day in January, 75 degrees, so I decided to take it at an easy pace. The mysterious pain in my knee I had on Sunday and Monday, mysteriously disappeared. But this morning I awoke to sore leg muscles.

What?! That was a 3 mile run, at an easy pace? Why am I sore? Was it cuz I ran so slow? Are my muscles always this sore and I never even noticed it?

I'm my own worst enemy.
These last two weeks of tapering are leaving me antsy. I needed something to do, so for some stupid reason, Monday night, I decided to do the initial testing for the two hundred sit-up training program.

The initial test consists simply of doing as many crunches as you can to determine where you should start in the training program. Knowing I could've done a few more, I stopped at 47, just to be conservative. That number of crunches at my age places me at the "Good" level.

All day yesterday, I thought, Wow! I don't feel those crunches at all! I should have kept going. But then, I woke up this morning. HA! NOW, I feel them!

Its bad when you annoy yourself...so irritating

Geez! What am I doing to myself?! I'm supposed to be taking it easy before the marathon - take in a movie or a nice leisurely game of golf. This training is making me crazy. I should be relaxing, not tripping out on every ache and pain I feel (Oh yeah, during this morning's 2 miler, I felt like I was getting shin splints. Really? 2 miles?).

I just can't wait for this whole thing to be over. So much so, that I'm going to start looking for my next race!