February 23, 2008: Week 4

ROSE BOWL This means I have to get up at 5:45 instead of 6!! We are supposed to do 5 miles today, but there's no good stopping point, so we're doing 6.2! What a lovely surprise!! Once around the Rose Bowl is a 5K or 3.1 miles, and twice around is 10K, or 6.2 miles. I never would have thought, in my wildest imagination, that I would ever walk a 10K as practice.

Before we start, we learn about electrolyte replacement during the race. Much discussion on sports drinks, GUs (not goo as I had thought--thanks, Gretchen for the correction), blocks, bars, etc. It's very overwhelming. I got some jelly bean things at Target, only because they were at Target instead of the running store. I need to go back to the running store, but if I go every week, then I'd be like a serious runner. No need to get all crazy. Apparently, we are strongly advised to get some sort of hip belt or camelback backpack to hold water and energy drinks. They may call them hip belts, but really, they are fanny packs. Very, very dorky fanny packs. Not quite ready to commit to that.

The 6 miles goes okay. After last week's running fiasco, I stick firmly to brisk walking. I brought Grant's iPod. Stevie Wonder's "Uptight" is the perfect tempo. Unfortunately, halfway through the first lap around the Bowl, the iPod freezes up. I am SURE Grant will find some way to blame me for this, although I swear I did not do anything. Technology hates me, as does nature. So I am reduced to singing "Uptight" to myself. Sadly, the only words I know are "BABY!! Everything is alright! UPTIGHT!! Outta sight." Makes for a long lap.

On the second lap, I catch up with some other walkers, and we talk, so that makes it more interesting than singing 1 bar of a song over and over in my head. And news flash: I pass Ginger!! Well, she stopped to go to the bathroom. Take that, SMALL BLADDER! Still did basically a 16 minute pace. Have to come home and look up how to unstick the iPod. Grant blames me. Apparently caused by jostling around in my pocket, so this is yet another reason I have to get a dorky, dorky fanny pack, so that I can attach my iPod to it.