Sticking To It

No more complaining from me. I've had enough of being a Debbie Downer about running. I will now accept running as America's Favorite Pastime (although, I'm pretty sure that's uploading porn off the net).
I've been keeping up with my running. I still run 4 times a week for at least 3 miles at a time. Last Friday's run of 7 miles was a joke. I made the huge mistake of running on a treadmill. How boring. All I could think about was how much the dude next to me smelled like Jean Nate and wondered why someone decided to put the TV on "The Golden Girls." Yeah, nothing says "workout" like saggy old bittys talking about their geriatric sex lives and shuffleboard. I gave up after 6 miles. I had had enough powder fresh smell (the Jean Nate) and thoughts of the Golden Girls wearing depends. Can you imagine the conversation required to remove the depends before the sexin' begins? "Excuse me Saul, I need to un-tape my no-leak tab. Oh look! The indicator says I'm only half full. I'll save it for later. Now where were we?"

Gross. Seriously though, why do these thoughts enter my head?

To make up for my short mileage, I ran an extra 2.78 miles on Sunday. I know training doesn't work that way - you can't run 2 miles one day, then 3 the next and say "I just ran 5 miles", but for some reason it all justified itself in my head.

This weekend I've got only a 5 mile run. Should be cake. SHOULD be. I'll let you know what obstacles I come across... Be prepared for anything. You know how my head works...

Peace.

"Turn around, RUN!!!"

Alright, so far I'm sticking with this whole running thing. I realize I'm still in desperate need of an attitude adjustment, but I'm not going to quit, damn it. I can't. I won't. I rule. :)

Back to the trials and tribulations of Brooke. Last Friday, the 6th, I was just starting my 6 mile run. I decided to take a new route and run to Husky Stadium and back to my house on the Burke Gilman trail. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and I was ready to explore some new terrain. Little did I know, the universe had something different planned for me. As I was trudging along, counting my footsteps as I ran (something I do to keep my whackadoddle mind busy), I saw a police car zoom past me - siren blaring, lights flashing. I didn't think much of it; by this time I was in the U District and the police run rampant there. About 5 minutes passed and a policewoman jumped out of the bushes at me and screamed "Turn around!! RUN!!!!!" Holy crap, I'm fairly certain I soiled myself. She literally scared the beejesus out of me (I saw the beejesus float away like a lost balloon at a child's birthday party). I turned around and started running in the other direction. I looked up and noticed 4 helicopters (I was too busy counting steps earlier to even notice the helicopters) and then 3 more police cruisers whizzed past me. "What in the hell?" I thought. I was scared, but damn it, I had 5 more miles to run. So I ran in the other direction - my same old standard route. When I was done I realized that I ran 6 miles in 62 minutes. That's not going to seem very fast to you speed demons out there, but for me, it's pretty amazing. I think the adrenaline from the policewoman startling me aided my run and gave me that extra nudge to "haul ass," as my roommate would say.

Turns out the coppers were chasing bank robbers and I was lucky enough to step right in the middle of the chaos. I was so oblivious as I was running that I'm fairly certain one of the robbers ran right past me - I thought to myself "why is he wearing jeans?" I'm so brain dead sometimes...

So what did I get out of this whole experience, you ask? I now run around looking for crimes in progress, run in the middle of the rigmarole, get freaked out by cops, and have the best run of my life. Speed Demon Brooke, here I come!

Tonight's run is only 5 miles. I wonder where I should run...Tacoma? White Center? Hilltop?
Where did I put my Kevlar vest??

Peace.

Divine Intervention

I'm going to need some divine intervention, perhaps in the form of a swift kick to the arse, to set me on the path of runners enlightenment. Why? I hate running. HATE IT. My brain has been fighting me the past couple of weeks. "Why oh why are you torturing yourself?" These 5 miles runs are mind numbingly boring. I find myself dreading the end of my work day because I know as soon as I get home, I have to run. Is that normal? I'm not sure.

I'm still keeping with it; only because I've already paid the $80 registration fee. There's only one thing I hate more than running - wasting money.

Someone smack some enlightenment into me. I'll even inject it into my arm if that means it gets into my blood stream faster...