An Improvement, A Palpable Improvement

For this past week, Coach JC gave us a homework assignment which had us taking pictures (aka selfies) of ourselves after we had completed our two weekly maintenance runs. This way, we could let him and the rest of the world know that we are taking our marathon training seriously. I did do my two maintenance runs, but I was unable to do any cardio workouts outside of that. Still, I felt like I was more prepared for this week’s Team to End AIDS run than I was the week before.

By the way, I want to thank my water boy Bubba Eeyore. He was a big help to me throughout the week.

I actually got up a lot earlier in the morning than I expected, something that usually pisses me off on any other day, so I even had time to take a shower before jumping into my car. Granted, taking a shower before a run in the blistering Los Angeles heat of October is somewhat pointless as I will come out of sweaty and smelling like a skunk on a day pass that does him no good, but I guess I wanted to look and smell cleaner than usual. Of course, this run would necessitate me having yet another shower afterwards which seems criminal as California is in the midst of an abysmal drought, but in my defense I did have to interview a couple of people like Keanu Reeves and Eli Roth right afterwards. You may have heard of them.

My radio was tuned into 100.3 The Sound while I was on my way to Griffith Park. It was a better to listen in to some classic rock instead of the “Mombasa” track from Hans Zimmer’s “Inception” soundtrack. Listening to that piece of film score had made me running a lot faster last week than I had any right to.

So at this point it looks like I am better off in the 13 minute pace group, and I went back to the 3:1 pace as it made more sense to me to run for three minutes instead of four. But as with the previous year, the 13 minute pace group still draws the biggest crowd. That’s right; it’s still the hip group to be in when you’re running with Team to End AIDS, and who doesn’t want to run with the cool kids?

This run was confined to the inside of Griffith Park as we ran past the Gene Autry Museum and the Los Angeles Zoo before turning around and heading back. But at the turn around point, we did need to keep going up the street a bit as the Bolivers were on hand to give us all the treats we needed. Those peanut butter and pickled covered Ritz crackers are still irresistible, and I don’t care what Coach JC says about pickles in general.

I felt a lot better this week even though I still trailed everyone by quite a bit. Could it be that I am carrying an extra load? By that, I mean could I stand to lose a few pounds? Wait, that’s a stupid question. Besides, I can’t make everyone buy into the bullshit that I’m pregnant. Of course, many buy into a lot of crazy ideas these days.

Because of work which involved me attending press screenings and junkets, I was unable to fit in any other cardio workouts. I’m always hoping to go to 24 Hour Fitness to swim a few laps in the pool, but making time to do that is a constant challenge, darn it. Perhaps I could get in a few rounds of Wii Sports boxing instead.

But overall I came out of this week’s T2EA run feeling a lot better than I did last week, and I’m positive it’s not just the endorphins talking. I feel like I’m hitting my stride now and that things can only get better from here. It’s nice to feel healthier than you usually do, and it’s a feeling I’m always desperate to hang onto. Some people say that it is better to look good than to feel good, but that makes as much sense as someone saying that behind every great man there must be a great behind… Wait a minute… that last one does make sense.

Coincidentally, I did neglect to mention something from last week’s run. As I was running through Burbank, I came to see that the Not a Burger Stand restaurant has now been shut down. I was shocked to see this as it was always a welcome on the T2EA runs as they always had these great signs outside which encouraged you to talk like a famous actor in order to get a discount.

A reporter friend of mine also said that their burgers were to die for, but I never got to eat one. It’s always a tragedy when we miss out on the taste of a good burger, so I do feel a real loss there even though my heart is thankful that I’m not overdoing it on the bad cholesterol front. Still, there’s always Five Guys, In-N-Out Burger, Fatburger, Fuddruckers and, if I’m desperate, Burger King. Then again, McDonald’s recently announced that they are going to start serving breakfast all day long, so that may very well be the death of me.

RIP Not a Burger Stand.

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: I am now at 32%towards my fundraising goal of $1,100 for AIDS Project Los Angeles, havingraised $355 to date. If each of my Facebook friends would donate just $5, Iwould go way beyond that goal. Even the smallest donation goes a long way, soclick here to see how you can support my efforts (PLEASE!!!).