Things I did this weekend when I should have been working:

Running. Yes, I know I always run on the weekends. But this weekend, we went to Pathfinder Ranch, south of Palm Springs, so that I could get in a good training run with a lot of people (i.e., a race that I didn’t race).  I know I promised I wouldn’t sign up for anymore races as training runs (I know. Really, I know.), but this time was different. This time I knew I wasn’t going to run the whole thing, so that makes it genius, not completely idiotic, don’t you think?

So, why sign up, you very smart people ask? Because:

1.  I’m like a badly behaved dog who will eat the couch and shred the curtains if I stay inside too long. I really like to go places, and since we’d never been into the San Jacinto Mountains, we decided to make a weekend out of it. We stayed in Palm Desert on Friday, went out to dinner on El Paseo Drive (which is like the Rodeo Drive of the city), ran in the mountains on Saturday, and then drove home through Idylywild, where we had a scrumptious dinner. Hubz keeps saying we don’t have to do a race just so we can travel, but hellllloooooo? That’s just crazy talk.

2.  We kidnapped one of our children. We rarely get to be alone with one twin at a time, so we took this opportunity to force our “youngest” to go with us. Twin 1 had a big final today (or so he claimed), so he was exempt from traveling with the ‘rents. But Twin 2 didn’t think fast enough, so we forced him into the backseat and drove him out of town. And it was a blast. He made me laugh almost every loop (1.78 miles) with one of his dry comments (Me: Where’s Dad? Twin 2: [gesturing to his sound-asleep father] Working on his tan.). Every loop became a game of anticipation, wondering what I was going to find at my “crew” tent when I passed.

3.  I sometimes like to run with total strangers because you can practice your alter ego. Every now and then it’s nice to do a long run with people you don’t know because you can just run how you want – but you’re not alone. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love to run with people. A lot. But sometimes, especially when I’m experimenting with new things, or testing my fitness, I like to just go out and run for as long as I want to “check under the hood” (No, I’ve never worked in a gas station, but I thought this metaphor would impress the male readers. Later, I might just make a football reference, so stay tuned.). When you run with other people, you have to be mindful of their goals for the run. In other words, you can’t be a total diva and just do whatever the hell you want. So, sometimes I’m willing to pay 100 bucks so that I can be. And nice people hand me stuff and tell me I’m looking good. Really, it’s cheaper than therapy.

Reading: Steve Q is a super smart guy and a good runner. He wrote these posts about fueling, and I spent part of Sunday doing some research on the information. Let me just say this: Where have you been all my life, Steve?! Now, this leads me to believe that if Steve had not been lazy, and had written this post 5 years ago, he might have saved me from a full meltdown in Korea. So, frankly, I now consider that race failure ALL HIS FAULT. Anyway, go read the posts (and a lot of his other ones about training and nutrition – he really does provide a ton of good information). And Steve, could you please use your superior brain power to read my mind and post about EVERY subject I’m too lazy (or too dumb) to research myself. Thank you.

Rhyming: Part of Twin 2’s punishment reward for the weekend was listening to me make up silly jingles to take my mind off the precarious driving situation while we drove through the mountains. And I know he thought I was funny, and that the earplugs he put in his ears were just part of his pretending he thought I was annoying and crazy. As if. Anyway, while I told you last week that I should go into television production, I’ve now decided my true calling is rap. Imagine it: middle aged female rapper chanting diddies to an ABBA backbeat. Super Trouper will never sound the same. And don’t steal my idea, even though I know you want to.

Yes, I know I never used a football metaphor, guys, but that’s simply because the clock had already run down before I could make it into the end zone. (I know. Boo. Hiss. Shut up.)

Happy Running!

Tagged as: Palm Desert, racing for training, Steve Q, Training