The Wave

It's a rainy night in Phoenix. Let me repeat that. It's a rainy night in Phoenix. One of the 40-50 days a year that happens. I've opened the windows to let the rain smell in, but can't bring myself to turn off ESPN to listen to the rain. Kansas is getting beat and that's must-see-tv.

It's been a busy week with two nights of post-work functions, but I've managed to stay pretty spot-on my training schedule. Strength training was Monday. That became a rest day. I hate working out on Mondays. I worked hard over the weekend, so I felt ok about taking it off. The issue with that is when Tuesday rolls around, I can't get out of bed. I hit snooze 10 times and at the last minute, popped up and managed a 3.5 mile run around my house.

I couldn't muster the strength to get up this morning either, so I did an evening spin class (post-work workout...BLAH!). New instructor with a British accent. It was....ok. He played some random music (I swear there was some Rick Astley in there)...lots of techno. Made the most of it...a lot of hill climbing to some techno beats.

Sidenote: Andrea has been out of town for two weeks. Normally she works from home so the dogs come and go as they please throughout the day. You know about Hannah, but my Italian Greyhound Venus is 11. She has a nervous stomach, is scared of the baby gates that confine her in select spaces around the house, so when Andrea is gone and she doesn't have human interaction all day, it devastates her. She doesn't think she's a dog.

When I arrived home after my workout, Hannah met me at the door. They had escaped. This means Venus had been running free all day, dropping her "nervousness" all over the house. And Hannah is no angel. She decided to park it on the guest bedroom bed. The comforter has a nice furry Hannah-hair cover now for anyone who wants to come visit.

Back to the workouts... Here's the question. When you're running on a trail and meet fellow runners, do you wave? I've struggled with this, particularly since moving West. In the Midwest, you wave when you meet someone on the highway in your car. You wave at school crossing guards, old people, the guy putting up grocery carts as you exit the parking lot...everyone. It's a little different here. Lost of East Coast mind-your-own-business transplants.

So there I was on Saturday, running my 3 miles on the Bridal Trail up Central in downtown Phoenix. I met different runners who were practically staring me down, begging for the wave. There were others who seemed to avert my eyes. They didn't want to be bothered with "the wave." But then there are those instances when I would look up (I stare at my feet when I run) and wave, but the runner who was moving towards me was looking away or down and right after I waved, she would look up and seemed to expect a wave, even though I just did. A double wave! It's quite a dilemma. Plus, let's just be real, I need to conserve my energy. I can't be double waving all the time! Maybe I'll get a t-shirt made for my days on the trail that says something like, "Hi Fellow Runner!" with a big hand like the one Chef Boyardee boxes. I think that thing just has four fingers though. It sort of creeps me out.

Tomorrow morning I've got a run and a swim on the agenda. Morning is the only option because I'm off to the ASU vs. Oregon women's basketball game tomorrow night. Love Charli and the Devils, but looking forward to seeing Coach Paul Westhead leading the Oregon Ducks. They are putting 80-90 points a game on the board...like anyone is surprised about that. He's not the Guru of Go for nothing.

My workout plan is to really get after it the next few days because next Thursday, I'm headed home to Missouri to see the family. Late Christmas/Mom & Grandma's birthdays. That poses two problems for my training regimen. Cold and great food. My plan is to build up a little reserve so I can cheat a little on the diet and maybe skip a day on the workouts. I mean, it would hurt my mom's feelings if I didn't eat her enchiladas or her French toast and my grandma would be crushed if I left any fried chicken or mashed potatoes on my plate. Who am I to hurt their feelings?

Kansas is going to pull this one out. Dammit.