Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Like in life today's run was mostly an uphill battle which I would prefer to never travel on again. Before my run I thought oh the cleverness of me, a new route, well not exactly. This actually is the end of a favorite route as it is like my life all down hill. I have survived yet another run on this crazy journey of mine. As an incentive to get my run out of the way I would go and see the new movie, Crazy, Stupid, Love. Yes love can be crazy. Yes love can be stupid. Yes love can be well love. At the end of the day don't we all need crazy, stupid, love? I mean who would not want to meet a hot guy in a bar such as Ryan Gosling and have him use the Dirty Dancing move as a seduction tool? He can come over any time!

This baby is ready to come out of the corner, after 2 dates in 2010, yes seriously people I know 2 dates! I am ready for some Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Running in My Comfort Zone

I love running. Scratch that...I love the idea of being a runner. Kind of like missing an ex boyfriend do you miss him or the idea of him? I do not always enjoy the training portion of running, but the high that you feel after you run 5, 6 or even 13 miles is exhilarating. After that I feel as though I can take on the world and there are no fences holding me in. I mean seriously Nancy Regan lied. You can't just say no. Feeling the sun on my face, cool ocean breezes, and not a care in the world. Priceless. I simply can't resist not signing on for more half marathons. I am glutinous for punishment. I have ran in 5 half marathons. My first half marathon was the PF Chang Rock and Roll in Phoenix on January 26th 2006. Time unknown, heart rate unknown, this was BCX. AKA Before Garmin 405CX, before I needed to know every last detail about my run. Want to run at a specific pace? Done. Heart Rate? Done. Calories burned? Done. Intervals, with warm-up and cool-downs? Done, done, and done.

What might I be doing with all of this information one might ask? I am using it to move out of my comfort zone. After analyzing every race since BCX, I noticed that while I might be more and more capable of running further faster I don't. In order for me to break the 2 hour 30 minute mark I will need a consistent pace of 11 minutes and 27 seconds per mile. That means no walking through the water stations, because I don't want to spill and stain Gatorade on my cute new running singlet! Skip the Gatorade! Grab the water take a quick swig, throw the cup on the ground, sorry Walt, and go! Simply keep on running. I have 38 days to improve my time and shave off seconds from my current 12 minute 25 second per mile run. Can I do it? Did Muhammad go to the mountain or did the mountain come to him?

Falling Down

Is the universe saying screw you Melissa? I have done everything right, I play by the rules, well most of them anyway, I am a honest and fair person, I am always kind to those I pass along my journey, and I even go out of my way to make sure that a homeless person has a meal. So my question is with all of the good karma that I am sending into the universe how did I veer so off course? If I thought that 2010 broke my heart, well 2011 put my soul in VitaMix blender and crushed it. How does a persons life get so off track? Maybe our mistakes are what make our fate. Without them, what would shape our lives? Perhaps if we never veered off course we wouldn't be who we are. Today's run was not exactly a run to celebrate, I strapped on my running shoes, stepped outside took a deep breath of fresh air, and put one foot in front of the other. When people fall down in life, they get right back up and keep on running and that is just what I am going to do.

How'd Your Run Go Today?

It's a simple, innocuous question, and I usually answer it with the same shrug of the shoulders and pat answer. "Fine." It's not like anything ever happens on these daily runs... or does it?

Think about it.

Getting outside and pounding out the mileage has the added benefit of seeing things that you might not ordinarily see. These are things that I certainly would not have experienced while sitting on the living room couch. It's not the exceptional all the time, obviously... but it's still enough to make me want to head out the door the following day. It's those little details.

And it helps to have fun people to run with or see along the way, though I am still searching for my partner in crime. Right now my best running partner is listening to the Boss on my iPod!

The route of today's run isn't anything particularly special. From my house out to the bluff, towards the pier past all of the gawking tourists smiling and taking pictures, loop back on the bluff head towards Idaho Ave, continue to Alta, turn around back to Idaho Ave and head home. 4 miles which might add was not at an incredibly fast pace either, but then, it doesn't need to be.

But, some of the run highlights:

• a man eating his lunch out of a garbage can (:( made me want to run home and get him lunch, I was nervous though that I would come back with food and it would be like looking for the homeless guy in Beverly Hills.)
• almost getting smooshed by a really fast shiny Range Rover whooshing up the incline ignoring that I had the little walking man signal and he had the blaring red light (thank you kind Range Rover for stopping in time)
• waving and shouting to a little boy, who shouted with such glee, 'Run faster runner!'

Anyway, thanks for going down the rabbit hole with me and into today's run.

The Art of Setting Goals

I'm back...yes yes I know I stated almost a year ago that I was aiming to run 13 half marathons in 13 months and yes I did not reach that goal or even come close. Pst here is a little secret the times are changing and my shoes are kicking and screaming they miss those long runs early in the morning getting ready for the ultimate challenge. So my questions is why is it so difficult to set and stick to goals? Here is the game plan...I will start my challenge September 4th at the Disneyland Half marathon. Then on to the Walt Disney World Wine and Dine Half Marathon October 1. November and Decembers races is still a little sketchy. January reflects new beginnings all around as I am a New Years Baby and I always find this month to be filled with optimisum...new year, another year older, and the very exciting brand new Disneyland Tinkerbell Half Marathon on January 29th!! I am strapping on not only my running shoes but fairy wings for this race. My theory on goal setting is get SMART...I established a Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and my goals are Time-Targeted. Wish me luck and I look forward to seeing you out there!