Running update: Now 100% More Random

Without an event looming in my future, my running life is pretty random.

I mean, it's not like I stop my Supah Technical schedule of 2x/week tempo runs and 1x/week shortish-long runs, but my End Goal About Which I Fantasize Constantly during actual training for an actual booked event is non-existent.

Because I don't have an actual booked event. Yet.

I was *thisclose* to hitting the Register button for the upcoming Jungle Run 10K, but then got an email from Bubba asking me, all subtle-like, if I would maybe-possibly-if-I'm-free want to go sit in a luxury box at the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby in Anaheim this year.

It was very literally a race to see whether I'd reply, "FUCK YEAH", or shit my pants first.

The reply won by a narrow margin.

I then realized that we'd be traveling for the half-week of baseball-related festivities on the day of the Jungle Run, so that snuffed out those running plans and nothing else has really caught my eye since. I mean, yes, I'll do a turkey trot somewhere this year, but that's not until the end of November (obv), so clearly I'll need something before then.

But what? Any ideas, party people?

Just so you know, here are some of my race requirements: (Yes, I have many needs. You just don't know the half of it.)

1. Should be located within a 25 mile radius of San Jose, CA
2. Should begin between the hours of 6-8am
3. Should not include the following words in its event name: Mountain, Death, Marathon, Tri or Ultra
4. Should not include other sports unless the other sport is cycling or pie-eating
5. If it's a trail run - it shouldn't be longer than a 5K (for now, I have to try this once at least. GIVE ME A BREAK, ALREADY.)
6. If it's a road race - it should be shorter than a half marathon because you already know I'm not doing one of those this year as a rule.

That's all I can think of now, but you know there are more so I just want to warn you for whatever reason. And now you can share your suggestions.

Also random in my running life has been this new and exciting twinge of pain in my left Achilles tendon. It's not pleasant and began rearing its naughty head as soon as I hit the road after my duathlon. So, I ran "quietly", as I like to tell myself, to see if I could figure out what was causing this pain. When "quiet" (which is just me running without the mind-numbing distraction of my iPod and traffic) returned zero answers, I took a hard look at my stretching routine. But, my stretching routine has not changed or wavered, so that didn't help much either. Though I did have a nice stretch on our new patio which I'm sure was great entertainment for my judge-y neighbors.

I finally decided it must be the shoes. Because they are oldish and have turned that tell-tale shade of gray/brown that comes from spending a lot of time racking up miles and kicking up road gack while training for races and what not.

So I got new shoes (no thanks to the Brooks people, yet) and my run this morning felt mostly twinge-free.

And while I was buying new shoes, I also got a new running top in a shade I like to call, "If You Hit Me While I'm Wearing This, There Will Be No Mercy On You In Court."

Also handy is its silky breathiness, which is barely a pair of words, but I think you get what I'm saying. However, by the end of my short tempo run (3 miles) the thing had sort of stretched out even though it wasn't tight to begin with. I imagine that after a longer run, like, say 6 miles or more, it'd start to take on the characteristics of a startling evening gown.

In other It's Broken So I Guess I'll Get a New One AGAIN news, I got another iPod.

My most recent iPod, the generation 3 Nano (?)(you know, the square one), crapped out and would only let me skip forward in my playlist and wouldn't go back to the beginning of my playlist no matter how many swears I lobbed in its general direction. I even tried throwing it on the ground, which did nothing.

Why doesn't that ever work?

If anyone's keeping count, though I'm not sure how or why you would, this would be my 6th iPod, a fact that shames me to no end.

Seriously. I am not one of those Mac humpers who lives and dies by the white apple. I just need to be able to run with tunes plugged into my ears and this is the easiest way to do so. I mean, sure, I could get a Zune or other random knock-off MP3 player, but I just don't have the energy or desire to go back out into the world of over-priced music media players to source one.

So, alas, I bought another Nano (this time in awesome orange, which made me feel a *little* bit better about the purchase) and have since shoved my running playlist on there and begun to mull the possible uses for its built-in video recorder, which I find to be a mostly useless addition that made my purchase needlessly expensive.

Whatever. Perhaps I'll be able to video the fight I'll inevitably get into with someone who tries to run me down with their car even though I'm wearing a safety orange running top. Or homeless people having sex on Los Gatos Creek Trail.

Ew.

OK - that's as much random running bullshit as you need for one day. I'm sure of it.