Accountability is the goal

It's funny how there is always great intent for TOMORROW'S workout. Daily, I set my alarm to wake up at 5 a.m. to get to the gym, have an hour to and hour and a half workout and still make it home in time to enjoy a cup of coffee on the back patio before getting ready for work. And then the alarm goes off, Venus cuddles up a little closer, I hit snooze and promise to get up at 6:30. "I'll just run outside," I tell myself. That doesn't happen. And I live in Phoenix for goodness sake. It's not like it's cold or there is snow on the ground or ice to scrape off the windshield.

So I miss the morning workout and vow to do a dreaded end-of-the-day workout. Right now, from 5-8 p.m., the gym is jammed with the resolutioners, taking up bikes in my spin class, hogging machines and taking parking spots at the Downtown YMCA that doesn't have enough parking even once the resolutioners have lost their gumption.

So this is the reason for writing. This is a way to hold myself accountable. If I tell you I am getting up at 5 a.m. tomorrow to swim and run (which is the goal), I have to do it. HAVE TO. That's the first-born child in me. I can't let you down. Even if there are four of you and I don't know you. I will not let you down!

Plus, it's a resolution to write more. My high-dollar private education was all about becoming a journalist of some sort. Or working for Hallmark. One of the two. Somewhere down the road, I would love to be that woman working for a fitness, travel, food or sports magazine that simply offers my opinion in print on a trail, a new brewery or a new offensive coordinator (GO CHARLIE WEIS! Lead my Chiefs to the Super Bowl!).

Back to the workouts...April 24 is the deadline. A triathlon in Rocky Point, Mexico. It will be my second sprint. My first was last Spring and I really enjoyed it (except the swim which I'll get to later). I finished 21st out of 75 or so in my age division, coming across the line in 1 hour and 40 minutes and some change. The goal this time is to get that under 1 hour and 30 minutes. I'm even more committed to my training this go-round (plus I want to have that rockin' bikini body ready to roll for the summer...let me just be totally honest with you). I think I can shave some time off the swim (by swimming straight ahead and not sideways) and the bike. I did pretty well on the bike in the first one and I was riding my 1992 trek mountain bike that I bought for two-a-days back in the day at William Woods University. Yeah. Bad.

Tonight's workout consisted of one of those post-work workouts. I hit snooze so many times this morning the snooze stopped going off. So I decided to do a 30-minute run, which is on the training list for the week. Hannah (my 6-year old German Shepherd/Lab mix) and I set out to take a run down McDowell Road in Central Phoenix.

Hannah and I have only known one another for a little over a year. She's my partner's dog. She wasn't walked much on a leash as a puppy so as soon as the door opens, she GOES. It's like hitting the gas on a race car...and dragging me behind. I've been working on Hannah as a running partner for awhile and she's getting there, but the first quarter mile is a race. I feel like Flo Jo trying to set a world record...with a dog.

We finally settled in to a good cadence (aside from the occasional dart off to smell a pole which resulted in whip lash for me), but I've got to tell you, McDowell during rush hour is backed up for miles. I was moving faster than most of the cars and believe me, nothing about my pace at this point is swift. Plus, the smog coming from the vehicles makes my lungs burn....pollution that settles down in the Valley is hideous. Everyone should own a Prius! At one point I did wonder if I would have been better off just settling in for a beer and a pack of cigarettes instead of going for a run.

McDowell Road also offers an assortment of businesses. A boxing gym (that could be the next challenge) with kids of all ages outside jumping rope, a funky little hair salon, Sonic (YUM) and my favorite...Friction Cabaret. Newly remodeled. Dancers all day.

BUT, we finished and it felt good. By the end, I was dragging Hannah. Another day down and another day closer to a 750m swim in the sea of cortez, a 16.5 mile bike ride and a 5k. I did hear that the race closes out on a massive water slide that runs right into a beer garden, complete with chips and salsa, tamales and tacos. Sounds fantastic.