Rookie on the Run

OK, now that I have your attention: Visit Tall Mom on the Run 's blog to see how you can get in on her Moving Comfort Giveaway! Even if you're a guy, you can enter for a chance to win. Nothing says, "I love you" like giving the woman in your life a running bra. Ummm... OK, there are probably better ways but what woman wouldn't want the best running bra available?

I don't believe in Peter Pan Frankenstein or Superman All I wanna do is... Bicycle bicycle bicycle Guess What? Today I rode my bike. Again. This time I rode almost 12 miles and I so needed it! As with running, I'm finding that cycling clears my head. Running bounces the thoughts out. Riding blows them out. Sure, they always find me again but usually by the time they do, the dusty layers that distort my perspective have been filtered out. My booty wasn't as comfy this time. I only have one pair of padded bike shorts and they were dirty from yesterday's ride. At this rate, I may need to get that cute little riding skort ! Yep... along with a new bike, some bike shoes, and fingerless gloves. Heck, I might as well add a sponsor to my list of needs! No snakes today-- dead or alive. I did see an injured crow. I hate crows but I felt bad for it. It looked like its wing was hurt. I realized there was nothing I could do for it, so I wished it well and rode on....

After having another set-back with my foot last week, I decided (once again) to stay off of it for a while. My faithful back up? Mr. Bike. Ummm... don't think too much about the whole gender thing I have going for my bike... Every time I ride my bike, I am reminded of one of the funniest blog posts ever. The blog post to which I am referring is titled Nice Guys and Bad Boys . This post, written by Cindi (a.k.a. Alice) over at HefferBlog , compared running to bike riding. Bike riding is the "Nice Guy" and running is -you guessed it- the "Bad Boy". I have to agree with Cindi. Bike riding (at least for me in my cautious, inexperienced manner) is the Nice Guy. When I ride my bike, I don't hurt. I do feel my muscles working but my heel doesn't bother for days after a bike ride. When I ride my bike, my knees don't feel like one wrong move will put me out of commission for a while (unless I crash, of course). Like a girl who is dating two gu...

Super quick post tonight... I ran! I ran in Flagstaff, Arizona. Elevation 7,000 feet. I had planned to run two-miles on the hiking trail located on the grounds of our hotel. I ended up doing only 1.5 miles because it was getting dark. I ran! I ran FAST! I don't know if they have mountain lions here and it got dark much faster than I expected so I really picked up the pace as I ran along the beautiful forest trail. I found out I can run pretty quickly if I think I might be mauled to death by a forest creature. I ran! And my foot didn't hurt. It hurts a little now, after the run, but it's not bad. I think I was smiling for most of the run because it felt so good. I would have smiled the entire time if I had not started to "hear" mountain lions behind every tree I passed. We are going to be pretty busy tomorrow. We're going to see the Grand Canyon. I'm hoping to get another trail run in on Wednesday... regardless of real and/or imaginary mountain...

Yes... you read the title correctly- I am still alive. I just have not been blogging. Why? Did I get kidnapped by space aliens? No... at least, not that I remember. Did I win a billion dollars and decided to travel the world? I wish. Did I break all my fingers in a freak accident involving an ice cream-maker? Hopefully never. Did I become addicted to a silly game on FaceBook ? Um... no comment. Have I been in a funk for a few weeks? YES! Funky Town I know why I've been in a funk. In general, it has been a tough few weeks. In addition to not being able to run as often or as far as I like, my dad has suffered another stroke (?). The question mark is there because many of his symptoms are stroke-like... although all the tests come back as negative. He is back in a nursing home, receiving care and physical therapy. He has been depressed and I've been very worried about his health and his frame of mind. Meanwhile, my return to running since the marathon has been slo...