Eddie doesn't share my passion for a good, sweaty run, but he is willing to wake up at 5:30 on a Saturday morning to watch Maren, so I went for my fourteen-miler with Brandon this week. Brandon Flowers, that is. We (Eddie and I, not Brandon and I) are going to see The Killers on Saturday, so I'm getting myself pumped by listening to their music. Actually, I'm just too tired by the time Friday night rolls around to download myself any new tunes. And I just spent $20 downloading both of the
High School Musical cds for Annie, so I can't go too crazy at the iTunes store for myself right now. Kids, I tell ya, they bleed you dry.
Tunes aside, I've decided that running in my subdivision sucks all of the life out of me, so I started running in another subdivision a couple of miles south of my house. There are two loops, each slightly longer than 3 miles, so they're perfect for any run that's a multiple of three. They're also on a golf course (so prettier) with better people watching (I see 50 or so runners on these loops, opposed to the 5 I'd probably see in my own neighborhood in the same amount of time), so I feel a greater sense of cameraderie. And some of the people are very, very funny.
Every week I see an elderly Asian woman. She's tiny and walks like she probably had bound feet. She often wears a shirt, white with huge read letters, that reads "Don't People Pimp." I'm guessing that she doesn't speak a word of English, or at least not enough to understand what "pimp" means (I'm not sure even I understand what "don't people pimp" means). Or else she just has a great sense of humor because it cracks me up every time I see her wearing that shirt.
Yesterday I happened to start my run at about the same time as a group of walkers set out. I chatted with them a little bit, and learned that they were doing seven miles, which is impressive. They all had flash-in-the-dark lights and belts full of water and looked very well prepared for their endeavor. They sort of naturally fell into three groups-- a fast group, a medium group, and a slow group. At the very back of the slowest group were three people, all quite obese, who were passing between them a huge Sam's Club bag of trail mix. I know I probably sound like a jerk when I say this, but as much as I think it's great for cardiovascular fitness to get out and walk seven miles (and it
is a big accomplishment), if you're walking that distance to lose weight, freely consuming peanuts and chocolate while you're working out probably isn't the greatest way to do it.
All I know is that even a fourteen-miler feels great. I must be totally sadistic because I find it a great stress reliever, and other than being so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open for the rest of the day (and being treated like a salt lick by Maren as soon as I walk in the door of the house), it makes me wish that every day could be Saturday.
