Confessions of an Amateur Athlete

Been a while since I last posted. Lately my schedule has been busier than ever. But all for great reasons. And I'm finally settling in to some big challenges ahead.

I've been under the radar lately, after having some dental surgery done a few weeks ago. I had some much-needed recovery and down time, but now I'm ready to get back into the saddle for some exciting new adventures ahead !

The Y Race Phoenix  2017 was my second half marathon in just a week, and even though my legs paid for it, it was a fantastic event! This was my first time running the Y Race Phoenix Half Marathon, 5k, 10k & 1 mile fun run benefiting the YMCA. And I discovered this hidden gem has been around for 49 years.

Run for fun , stay for the beer !   Last year (2016) I ran the first  Road Runner Sports Craft Classic Half in Phoenix. (You can read my recap from that year HERE ). It was a blast and I was excited to return for 2017. The Craft Classic Half was just as great as this year, if not better!

How's my summer training going? "Busy" would be an understatement! The Spartan Beast & Sprint in Colorado is just around the corner. This race is all is on ski slopes, so it's going to be a tough one for sure! I've been running multiple Valley summits on the weekends, in preparation for the big climbs ahead. This race is all is on ski slopes, so it's going to be a tough one for sure! Between the summits and the intense OCR workouts, I've practically lived in compression gear! A few of my go-to pieces these last few months have been my SKINS   DNAmic Men's Compression Half Tights and my Unisex Calf Tights.

From the expo to the flat course, the swag to the chocolate... why the Hot Chocolate 15K& 5K is truly the sweetest race in the desert! 

Gearing up for the Hot Chocolate 15K this weekend!  And my run group, #RunEatTweetAZ is hosting a social meetup at the post-race party! 

We runners are stubborn. When things start to hurt we might scale back the mileage, but when the REAL injuries begin to surface, so does our iron-clad stubbornness that borders on denial! anotherfnrunner.com The reason? We're afraid that when we go see a doctor, they're advice will be to STOP RUNNING! And that's news we just can't bear to take. img.pandawhale.com So we resort to self-diagnosis.  Surely Dr. Google can help! There's a seemingly unlimited amount of resources on the Internet to find out what MIGHT be wrong with that achy knee, or that problematic IT Band.  But we usually just end up treating the symptoms and not the underlining problem.  And I'll admit, I'm guilty of seeing Dr. Google quite frequently. Most of us know that running well requires our bodies to work like well-oiled machines.  When one thing goes wrong, it all seems to fall apart, making us miserable.  So why not pinpoint the weak areas and make them stronger!  Wh...

This Race Review comes from a point of view you may never have had a chance to see: A race organizer's perspective!  I played the role of course operations this weekend at the Pride Run 10K/5K .  In a nutshell, while everyone is out setting up the start/finish and the festivities there, I was in charge of getting the course set up for the runners (ie, cones, volunteers, water stations, signs, etc.)  This was like a 1/4 of the cones.  My dreams were full of these things all night afterwards! lol How did it go?  It was chaotic, it was stressful, but we pulled it off without any major hiccups!  And this was the first time the Phoenix Frontrunners had used this course (which is USATF certified too!).  The biggest issues were the things from the city we had asked for (cones, etc) were not there on time.  It's a good thing I work in news, so I'm used to cutting it close to extremely tight deadlines.  Nevertheless, it's a learning exper...

  It's a great idea sometimes to do a race FOR FUN. No goals of a PR, just go out and have a fun time with friends. If you're in a rut this is a great idea to help you fall in love with running again. Or it'll help renew your craving for adventure!    So I took part in the Color Fun Fest 5K here in Phoenix, AZ this weekend.  It's still a fairly new race with a few kinks to work out.  But overall a really fun run. Much like all color runs, you get "paint" (dyed cornstarch) thrown at you and end up a colorful mess at the end.    The only real issues I had with the race were at the packet pick-up.  It was held at a local running shop so no big expo or anything.  But that's not a problem for me.  The issues were the organization.  It seemed very chaotic and the guys handing out the t-shirts had no idea what was going on.  I stood in line behind a guy for about fifteen minutes while the volunteer was trying to fig...

It's going to be a busy week of blogging... but LOTS of great stuff is on the way.  Let me give you a preview of what's ahead! First off, I'll be running the Color Fun Fest 5K this Saturday.  It's a NIGHTtime color run with paint, disco lights, glow sticks, the works. Plus, it goes to some great local charities! I'll be taking tons of pics for a full race review on this EPIC run.  I'm really excited and I hope to bring you just as Epic of a post afterwards!   Next up, I'll be participating in a Blog Swap through the I'm Fit Possible community.  My blog-swap partner is Jill who blogs at Fitness, Health and Happiness ( http://jillconyers.com/ ).  She's got a great blog and she'll be doing a little "takeover" here on my site very soon and I'll be posting over on her blog!  I'll post little bio on Jill before the Blog Swap so you can learn a little more about her.  Until then, check out her sight! It's pretty great. ...

     Exciting news! I've been selected as a Race Ambassador for the    COLOR FUN FEST 5K here in Phoenix ! But that doesn't just mean great things for me, it means I get to bring YOU some great stuff!  I'll be giving away TWO free tickets (one winner each) to the race!    Before I get to the giveaway, I'd like to take a little time to tell you what makes THIS race stand out from all the other color runs out there.     • What : COLOR FUN FEST 5K is an EPIC color fun run that heightens positive emotions by combining a 5k fun run with the energy of electronic dance music, all while coloring the crowd with thousands of pounds of vibrant colored powder. The event is family-friendly, and features a post-run celebration with DJ entertainment. The "powder" is simply cornstarch and dye, so no harm to you (except for maybe your shirt, but it makes for an AWESOME souvenir!)   • Why : A portion of the proc...