run for fun in the sun??

I finally did it!  I ran!  AND it didn't suck!  I LOVE PHOENIX!!  Actually, i think i am actually in Tempe, based on my proximity to the ASU stadium.  I ran 4.5 easy miles today at a 9:30 pace.  It felt good, but i am still having some extreme congestion/trouble breathing.  But i have trouble breathing sitting lately, so its not actually that much worse running.  I think i just have a cold.  The big issue is i have no appetite, which for me is a huge "major illness coming" red flag because i am ALWAYS hungry.  I'm like a hobbit.  So i really hope its just all the stress, because i am starting to question my ability to race this weekend.  Matt and i signed up for Chicago's "Perfect 10" race.  Its the inaugural race, so who knows whats gonna happen!  It's a 10 mile/10k, so i am going to run the 10-miler, and Matt is going to run his first ever 10k!  He has trained diligently (i have totally not).  I am going to force him to write a guest post after, which is weird because he is the only person that reads the blog.  I don't even read the blog, thats why there are so many damn typos!


ANYWHOS, 


The perfect 10.  Check it out here, although its too late to sign up.  The main draw for me is that it is super cheesy looking, and you run down the lake front path past soldier field, the field museum, the aquarium, all that stuff.  Its like a tourists dream!  The start and finish is on Navy Pier, too.  I almost NEVER go to Navy Pier, because i get anxiety from all the tourists, but i plan to go BALLS TO THE WALLS tourist for this race.  I am thinking a fanny pack and visor.  yes?  

Ready to PR, bitches????

Because i have been so under the weather lately, i am starting to be really concerned that it will not be as fun as planned, and maybe even downright suck.  Here are some of the potential outcomes of this race:


1.  I suck it up and run the 10 miles.  I know i am not going to be as fast as i originally planned, but finishing could be ok, right??
2.  I suck it up and run the 10 miles, and its a god damn nightmare that involves me crawling across the finishline 3 hours behind a 90 year old grandma who spits on me as i lay there.
3.  I suck it up and run the 10 miles, and die halfway through.
4.  I switch to the 10k, run with Matt, and we gloriously cross the finish line hand in hand (ha)
5.  I switch to the 10k, run with Matt, He abandons me after the first mile because i am slow and lame, and i feel super bad about myself for the rest of my life
6.  I switch to the 10k, and STILL manage to die halfway through the race (you never know)
7.  I stay at home in bed eating chicken soup.


Its anyone's guess at this point, but i really do want to run the 10 miles, even if i suck.  Todays 4.5 mile run went ok, but it was also 60 degrees and flippin awesome out.

I live in Chicago why?

I also got 9 hours of sleep last night because i was so tired from the plane ride (which i will blog about later)  I woke up at 7:30, and hit the pavement at 8.  It is seriously so sunny here that i can't even process it.  And there are palm trees.  PALM TREES.  

this is from my hotel window...

I asked the guy at the front desk about somewhere i could run safely, because there are so many big roads around here!  It's like every street is a highway....sooooo different from Chicago.  I have an irrational fear of getting hit by a car, so i asked if there was a path near by.  He gave me this treasure map:

Despite my masters degree in design, i still can't figure out how to rotate this image.

Anyway, it directs me to a 2.5 mile loop right next to the hotel.  It turns out it runs right along a river, which i found strange because i assumed there was just no water in Arizona, mostly because the midwest hogs it all.  Its actually a beautiful river path, although it was windy as hell.  Wind doesn't really bother me (i'm from Chicago and all)  but i was definitely surprised.  I don't know if i am just a moron (ok, i do know that actually)  or just can't read a map (also true)  But i looked for the turn to follow the loop, and never found it.  I ran 2 1/4 mile straight out and never saw a possible "loop"  Maybe thats why everyone here is in such great shape.  They just assume 20 miles is 2.5 miles.  maybe if i went another 10 miles i would have found the damn loop.  Or maybe they're on the metric system.  Arizona, you so crazy!  I ended up just turning around before going under a bridge i didn't like the looks of.  I should have gone a little further in hindsight, but i am in a foreign land.  I found a hill along the path that i ran up and down a few times as well.  I am sure all the Phoenix runners thought i was crazy to be so excited over a dinky little hill, but it was a mountain to this Chicagoan.  
I get to go to the Target in Phoenix today to do more research, but i promise to have an amazing blog post tonight reviewing "skymall"  


So there's that.