Ahhh the power of a full moon...

Tuesday I had planned to run 3 miles; however, my meeting ran late and I realized I left my gym pants at home... grrr... The roommate and I had just enough time to run 2 miles (I ran 1.25 miles at 9:31 min/mi. pace, and 0.75 miles at a 10:00 min/mi. pace) before going to pilates. In pilates, the arch of my left foot cramped up. This has happened in the past, and I must say that it HURTS LIKE H*** when that happens!

Wednesday the roommate and I did arms and abs. Wednesday was also my virgin full moon hash with the local Hash House Harriers running group. It was a lot of fun! Kyle was the hare, and his trail was fantastic! There were even two small bridges (read as boards laid over ditches of water)... I love little bridges. They make me smile. The theme was "PJs". Unfortunately I do not own any traditional "pajamas", so I had to stand in the middle of the circle and drink for that. There was a guy in women's lingerie... it was hilarious! The trail was very tricky, especially considering one of the marks was washed away by a sprinkler. Also, one of the ways to know that people are on the right path is to follow the sound of a whistle; however, the trail went right by a flag football practice, so there were whistles blowing everywhere.

Here is a map of what the trail looked like (sent to me by Kyle)... of course we ran a little over an additional mile while searching for the trail (for a total distance of approximately 4.6 miles)

My night vision is definitely not the best, so it was nice running with Chris as well as following the glow sticks that Kyle used to mark darker parts of the trail. The only injury I acquired (aside from a killer side cramp from trying to keep up with Chris) was when we crossed the second "bridge" and I failed to notice the dip in the ground. When my foot landed I felt a sharp pain my left calf muscle (I tensed my foot when I didn't feel the ground under it, so my muscles were tight when I landed). It went away while we were running, but the next day that leg (calf/foot/ankle) was sore. I recognize that I definitely need more off-road running practice to strengthen my ankles.

Thursday I was too sore to run, so I convinced my roommate to post-pone our run until Friday. Instead of working out, I watched the Smallville season premier with friends. I did not get home until late, so I was pretty tired on Friday. We went to the gym to run a few miles on the treadmill... yeah... I made it one mile and decided I was done. My calves were really tight, and I was just tired! I stretched for a little while after that mile, then we went home and watched lots of television (had to catch up on all those DVR'd shows...lol) and did a short arms/abs work-out.

Saturday was a very long day... the roommate and I spent ELEVEN HOURS SHOPPING! Seriously people... I am not that girly, but we both needed dresses for weddings (refer to previous post). We started out excited. This quickly decreased as we tried on countless dresses and drove all over town! Eventually we did both find dresses. Mine is unlike anything I have ever worn before, which makes me both nervous and excited. I may post pictures after the events (two weddings... two cities... one dress... I'm not made of money people! lol)

Sunday was a scheduled 6 mile run. Unfortunately Sunday morning the roommate said her feet hurt too bad to run (she was crazy and wore heels during our 11 hours of shopping! YIKES!). Unfortunately Joe failed to noticed the "Jes Runner Girl Signal" (like the bat signal--only more awesome) indicating that I needed a running partner at 6:15am), so I had to run on my own. I have never had to run 6 miles by myself (other than on a treadmill)... and it was REALLY dark and started out kind of rainy. Now I can do plenty of things that others may find frightening. For example... skydiving, hang gliding, running 10 miles (okay so my readers won't find that scary in the least, but others would), calculus, chemistry, changing poopy diapers, and the list goes on. However, when it comes to horror movies or the dark, I am the biggest wuss! My apartment has strategically placed night lights for night time wandering. My bedroom is the only room that I like completely dark when I'm sleeping. It probably also doesn't help that I have a very active imagination. So while I was running, whenever I heard any noise, I jumped. Any car that drove by gave me the jitters. The run was a nice adrenaline rush, and I did complete it. After a nice stretch and some breakfast, I went back to bed. I spent the latter part of the day walking around Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, which was soooo much fun!

Oh yes! A friend also told me about Muddy Buddy. Now this is a race that sounds like so much fun to me! I definitely want to try it next year! According to Wikipedia:

A muddy buddy event is a two-person athletic competition that involves running, mountain biking, and the completion of obstacles. The 6 mile course is divided into five sections. Partners leapfrog each other while switching from biking to running and vice versa at each obstacle. The final obstacle in every race is the mud pit where both teammates must belly crawl through a mud pit before finishing the race. Both partners start at the same time, one running and one biking. The first obstacle is at the one mile mark. The biker approaches the transition area first. He or she drops the bike, conquers the obstacle, and starts running to the second transition or obstacle. The runner then approaches the first transition area, conquers the obstacle, finds the bike, and starts riding to the second transition or obstacle area. The team will continue to leap-frog throughout the course, switching from biking and running throughout the event.

Now doesn't that sound like so much fun?!?! There's nothing like a good race with a friend and mud. LOL

The plans for this week are as follows:

Monday: yeah... no work-out today. Cleaning. Boo.
Tuesday: Run 5K and pilates (And my first swim lesson meeting!!!)
Wednesday: Arms, Abs, and Spinning
Thursday: Long run (11 miles baby!)
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Free 5K race! (WOO-HOO!!! I'm hoping to reach a new PR, but who knows what Thursdays run will do to me. lol) Maybe spinning or pilates later.
Sunday: Maybe a short run

I am going to conclude this with a cheesy e-mail forward that I received. I hope that everyone else has a great week! This is for all of the fellow Floridians out there:

You know you're a Floridian if....
..Socks are only for bowling.
..You never use an umbrella because you know the rain will be over in five minutes.
..A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store, but everything to do with shade.
..Your winter coat is made of denim.
..You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites.
..You're younger than thirty but some of your friends are over 65.
..Anything under 70 is chilly.
..You pass on the right and honk at the elderly, but pull over for a funeral.
..You've driven through Yeehaw Junction.
..You could swim before you could read.
..You have to drive north to get to The South.
..You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix.
..Every other house in your neighborhood had blue roofs in 2004-2005.
..You've gotten out of school early on Halloween to trick or treat before it got dark.
..You know that anything under a Category 3 just isn't worth waking up for.
..You dread lovebug season.
..You are on a first name basis with the Hurricane list. They aren't
Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances...but Charley , Frances , Ivan
and Jeanne.
..You know what snowbirds are and you hate them.
..You know why flamingos are pink.
..You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average.
..You were twelve before you ever saw snow, or you still haven't.
..'Down South' means Key West
..'Panhandling' means going to Pensacola
..You think no-one over 70 should be allowed to drive.
..Flip-flops are everyday wear.
..Shoes are for business meetings and church.
..No, wait, flip flops are good for church too, unless it's Easter or Christmas.
..Sweet tea can be served at any meal.
..An alligator once walked through your neighborhood.
..You smirk when a game show's 'Grand Prize' is a trip or cruise to
Florida.
..You measure distance in minutes.
..You have a drawer full of bathing suits, and one sweatshirt.
..You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls.
..All the local festivals are named after a fruit.
..A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level.
..You think everyone from a bigger city has a northern accent.
..You know the four seasons really are: almost summer, summer, not
summer but really hot, and February.
..It's not soda, cola, or pop. it's coke, regardless of brand or
flavor, 'What kinda coke you want?'
..Anything under 95 is just warm.
..You've hosted a hurricane party.
..You go to a theme park for an afternoon, and know when to get on
the best rides.
..You understand the futility of exterminating cockroaches.
..You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee , Ichnatucknee and Withlacoochee
..You understand why it's better to have a friend with a boat, than
have a boat yourself.
..Bumper stickers on the pickup in front of you include: various fish, NRA, Nascar and Go Gator's.
..You were 5 befor e you realized they made houses without pools.
..You were 25 when you first met someone who couldn't swim.
..You get angry when people say ' Florida isn't really part of the
SOUTH.'
..You've worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas.
..You know what the 'stingray shuffle' is, and why it's important!
..You recognize Miami-Dade as ' Northern Cuba '.


(Full moon hash images borrowed from http://www.sdh3.com/fmh3/ and http://www.nvhhh.org/fm/nvhhhfullmoon.html)