Randomness, but it all flows ... kind of

• So, I got an iPhone about a week ago. I haven't used it yet. Why? Well, first my dad had a minor health scare, and I wanted to always have my phone available; I didn't want to be in the middle of the switch and miss an important call (he is fine, by the way). Then, due to the Republican National Convention being in town, I have to work from home all week; I didn't want to not know how to mute my phone for conference calls (important stuff, people ... especially when working from home by yourself and you end up talking to yourself). So, I have the iPhone. It is beautiful. I still have done nothing with it. 
• Let's go back to that working from home thing. It is not all it's cracked up to be. I did it solely for my last job, and I couldn't stand it. My only human companion during the day was the UPS guy. It sucked. Nothing against the UPS guy; he rocked. But, he only stopped by for a few minutes once or twice a week. While I'm grateful to not have to go into the office this week and suffer through massive traffic jams, car searches, body searches, police in riot gear, protesters and general havoc, I really, really don't like working from home.
• So, I took Wednesday and Thursday off (Friday and Monday are firm holidays ... yay!). I'll be traveling to Texas to meet up with my boyfriend who is doing contract work there, and then we'll travel together to Kansas on Friday ... just in time for the first Kansas State football game of the season. 
• Baseball is my favorite sport, but I love football too. Especially college football. Especially Kansas State football. I still get chills when I hear the crowd chant in unison: "K-S-U Wildcats." It brings me back to my college days oh-so-long ago.

A non-college photo (I can tell because it's in color)

• With the trip, I'll miss my half marathon training group on Thursday and Sunday. I plan on getting the schedule and running in Texas on Thursday and in Kansas on Sunday (or perhaps Monday in Florida, depending on how things work out). If I run in Kansas, that will be three different states for the week of running. Sweet.
• Plans aren't definite yet, but I'm hoping a Rays vs. Rangers game on Wednesday will happen! Fly in, head straight to the stadium. That's my kind of travel. 



Rays fan, will travel

•  Your turn for randomness: Do you ever work from home? Do you like it? Have you run in Florida, Texas or Kansas? Do you like college football? Do you like baseball?

Running in a cotton T-shirt and other randomness

I have a lot of random stuff on my mind, so what better place to spew it than here (you may think otherwise ... sorry).

• I'm running a 5K on Saturday. In a cotton T-shirt. For a sweaty turtle, this is bad, bad news. Why the cotton shirt? It's a work-related run, so we all need to be corporate in our matching shirts. Great. I'll be a hot mess around work peeps.
  
• I get so irritated at the phrase, “I’m just sayin’.” Argh! It grated on my nerves to even type it. I really don’t understand its purpose. Obviously you’re just sayin’ because you just said it. See? There is no need for this ridiculous phrase. EVER.   
• Almost every weekend, we head to a dog park with a beach in Tampa. Being the baseball-loving girl that I am, I know that Derek Jeter (Yankees shortstop) happens to live on the island (not that I ever see him). Yesterday, Evan Longoria (Rays third baseman) tweeted asking for a good dog park/beach with real grass. Of course I suggested this park.

• I recently heard two guys admit that they sing along to Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend." As they should! That song is a jam (and reminds me of Justin Timberlake ... almost exactly). Don't be embarrassed, boys.

Day 22 (Sept. 27)

Due to a pesky thing called work, I missed our group training run on Tuesday. Boo!

But, I was determined to stay on track. After getting home late, and after it raining buckets during the day, I decided to hit the craptastic gym for a treadmill run. I know, I know. I already said I highly disliked the treadmill and that sorry excuse for a gym. But, it was after 9 p.m. by the time I was ready to run. And, there are some deep puddles around the neighborhood from the buckets of rain we’ve been getting lately (How do I know this? I stepped in one while walking my dog. It was a foot deep, seriously.).

When I arrived at the gym that looks more like a kitchen, I noticed the fan was unplugged. Since I sweat an extreme amount last time, the first thing I did was plug it in and turn it on. Well, there was a reason it was unplugged, it didn’t work. Argh!

I had some issues getting the TV working, too, but thank goodness, it eventually came on. After finding the Rays-Yankees game (Go Rays!), I hit the treadmill. After my last incident with the safety key on one of the treadmills, I decided to give the other one a shot.

Tonight was a speed interval night: four, three-minute hard intervals followed by three-minute jogs, with a total run of 45 minutes. All was well for about four minutes. Then, I started sweating profusely. Darn! This so-called gym is blazing hot!



I ran a 10-minute warm up, and then I started in on the speed intervals. I ran two of the three-minute hard intervals with three-minute jogs in between each. After my third three-minute hard interval, I walked the three minutes (solely due to sweat recovery) instead of jogging. Sweat was beaded on my arms. Sheesh! I did the next hard interval with a three-minute recovery walk (again to try and control the sweat). I ran the remaining time slowly (and sweat profusely). Man! I’m OK with the limited equipment, kitchen-like appearance, and cheesy artwork, but get some decent ventilation in this place, people!

Knowing for certain that this ridiculous amount of sweat would come across in a photo, I snapped one after the run.

Um, hmm. Maybe not. Sweaty, yes. But, it really doesn’t convey the level of sweat that was occurring (although it does showcase one of the causes – the broken fan).

I’m glad I got the run accomplished, even if it was in a sauna setting. So many nights after working late, I crawl home, watch a little TV and hit the bed. Things are changing, though! This training group keeps me extremely accountable – I don’t want to fall behind. I’d highly recommend a group to anyone training for a race (or just wanting to run, period). It really is changing my life (ha! That sounds so dramatic and so not me, but I really feel like this).