Running Some New Routes

I’m sorry I haven’t posted anything in so long – school has been really hectic. I have been getting in some runs, though.

One really unique run, on March 4th, was my two-mile jaunt around the University of Oklahoma campus. I had planned on running that day, but I knew it would be hard to fit it in due to my schedule of classes. I went to the amazing gym my school has (the Huffman Center) and started to warm-up for a run around the indoor track. Unfortunately my Garmin couldn’t pick up a satellite signal inside the gym. I had forgotten to turn it on before I went inside, and even if I had I don’t think it would’ve been able to hang onto the signal. Oh well. I waited a few minutes for it to try and acquire a signal and decided it wouldn’t work. At this point it was 6:50pm and I had a meeting to go to at 7:30pm, so I had to decide fast what I was going to do. I figured out a game plan that ended up being really fun – I parked my truck on campus and just ran around the campus until it was time for the meeting! One of the things I love about my school is how beautiful the campus is, from the architecture to the landscaping. Anyway, it made for a fun, scenic run of about 2 miles. Because I was in a hurry and stressed out from school I did do a combination run/walk/run which really helps me just blow off steam. It was also cool that by this time it was getting dark outside, it lent a new, unusual element to the run. Then when I finished I ran right into the building for my meeting. :)

The next two runs were on March 8th and March 11th, and they were each 2 mile loops around my condo complex. I thought of Andria and Peanut when I rounded the corner of the farthest building and all of a sudden there was an unleashed dog right there! It was fine though, he was on his porch, just growling a little because I was close to his turf. It did screw up my pace though, so I see why my SILs get annoyed at these dogs. A few more interesting sights along these runs included… a crazy woman on a nearby sidewalk randomly and loudly screaming curse words at no one in particular (I changed directions and stayed away from her) and then suddenly seeing a couple making out through their first floor bedroom window. It’s amazing the things you notice while out for a run.

Finally Spring Break was here on Friday the 14th! Bobby and I went to visit Andria and Chino that weekend. We did lots of eating and being lazy, us usual, but we also got in a run on Saturday morning and again on Sunday morning. For me, the first run was 2 miles and the second run was 3 miles, both around their neighborhood. It was neat to run on a totally new route, even though the weather was really cold and windy. I also figured out that it really takes about 2 miles for me into get into the groove of running, so I enjoyed the 3 mile run a lot more.

After visiting with the Kansas clan, Bobby and I left for Florida to visit my brother and grandmother and then go to Disney World for a few days. As we rode the shuttle buses from park to park Bobby pointed out the marathon route to me, which got me really excited for next January. :) Anyway, I did get in a run while we were staying with my brother, Paul. I made a few laps around his housing complex to complete 3 miles. It was pretty exhausting, though, since the temperature was in the low 80s and it was SO HUMID! It definitely reminded me why I never want to live in Florida again, and why I’m so grateful the Disney marathon weekend is in January. (It’ll still be humid of course, but not as bad.) Because the weather kept tiring me out my pace was much more varied, but I did it!

Now that we’re back from Spring Break and my school workload is higher than ever, it’s been over a week since I’ve run. I really want to get back out there, it’ll just be very hard to make it work from now until the end of the semester (May 9th).

I’ll do my best to keep you all updated. Thanks for reading!!