Quartz

At lunch today ran up Quartz to the sign that says no entry past this point without a permit (yea right). Anyway, made it all the way to Lost Dog intersection without stopping or walking (1st time) and generally had a good time, the canyon up there is nice. A little over 10k.

Yoga

4:30 class in Scottsdale with Christina. I was a little wobbly for some reason but I didn't suffer too much and finished strong.

Gateway loop

At lunch today ran the gateway loop from the Union Hills trailhead, with no walking on the way up. Did I mention NO WALKING :) 5.2 miles.

Desert Classic

It was very cold this morning. I ran at south mountain, about 2.3 miles down Desert Classic trail, then back to Beverly Canyon, up and over to the main road and back to the car. About 5.5 miles.

Gym

Yesterday morning went to the gym with the wife. Rode the bike about 9 miles and ran 5k on the treadmill. Around lunch time us and the boy rode our bikes to the light rail opening on Main street in Mesa, about 5 miles away. On the way back Jordan got a flat so I did a good old fashioned spin class sprint the last 3 1/2 miles home to the my truck and went back and picked them up.

Yoga

9am class this morning with Mandy again. Good class, nothing special in particular, felt great afterwards.

Bell pass

At lunch today ran up to Bell Pass again. In the last 1/2 mile I caught up with, passed and beat to the top a couple of bike people. That was pretty damn cool. 7.2 miles.

Yoga

4:30 class in Tempe with someone named Mandy. She seemed to be pretty new, quoted a lot of chapter and verse Bikram stuff. Good class regardless.

Sunrise

At lunch today ran to the peak. This time went the last bit to the very top as well, the view was incredible, in all directions. It got pretty cold and I just missed the rain. About 6 miles.

Yoga

8am this morning yoga with Helena. This was the 4th class this week, it gets easier with repetition for sure. Once again played racquetball with Jordan after lunch.

Yoga

8am class with the lovely Kat. A little stiff today. It was great going out into the cold after class. A little later played a couple games of racquetball with Jordan at Dobson.

Yoga

Class today at 4:30 with Eric. Dude is pretty strict, I got very tired.

Big white rock

At lunch ran up Quartz trail past Lost Dog intersection and then up the hill to the big white thing. Turns out it is some weird giant slab of quartz sticking out the of the ground, maybe 5' wide, 8' high and 50' long, pretty cool. Brutal 8 minutes from the trail up to it. About 5.5 miles.

Yoga

4:30 class with Mary Catherine. I think she digs me, I got lots of personal attention tonite. It was a great class.

Horizon-Cactus

During a rainy lunch hour ran from Horizon to Cactus/Frank Lloyd Wright intersection along the usual route. About 6.6 miles.

Spin

Went to spin this morning with Laurie (I think), good workout as usual, the bikes at LA Fitness pretty much suck tho. After played 9 at Fiesta Lakes with Jordan.

Inspiration Viewpoint

After work today ran to inspiration viewpoint this time by way of desert park trail. It was a great run and I hauled ass for the last half hour. 6.6 miles.

Yoga

Went to class at 4:30 again with Crystal. Good class, got down on elbows in fixed firm and got feet again in camel.

Northsite PR

At lunch today ran from the office to Northsite Park and back via Sweetwater bridge. Got a new PR by almost 8 minutes, I seem to remember having big calf problems the last time I ran that route. 5.58 miles.

Yoga

Went to 4:30 yoga yesterday with the lovely Crystal. She has got her rap down way better now, but I loved it when she said to bend my forehead to my knee. That would really hurt I think. I grabbed my feet for the first time in camel pose, I was smiling like a retard.

Old Jeep

At lunch ran from 124th St. trialhead on Lost Dog, Old Jeep and Ringtail. About 4.4 miles.

Gym

This morning the wife and I went to the gym. I had a pretty light workout for once, did some yoga postures, rode the bike for a while, ran about 3 miles on the treadmill, swam a tiny bit in the pool.

Free yoga!

Today was the Bikram Tempe 6th anniversary so they had a free yoga day and I went to the 8am class. There was a ton of new people and a total of 63 in the class. Amy taught and Helena was there to walk around and help people. I had a good class.

Bell Pass

Today at lunch finally ran up to Bell pass from 104th trailhead. It was hard, long and more elevation gain than I have ever done before. It was also great out and incredible views from the top @ 3200 feet. 7.2 miles.

Yoga

Class with the studio owner Nancy at 4:30 today. I bounced back real good finally and had a great class, felt wonderful after.

Quartz-Overlook

Yesterday lunch I ran from the 104th trailhead up Quartz to Lost dog, up that to the Taliesen overlook. I got very, very tired again, but didn't get clobbered quite as bad as yoga the night before. 5.2 miles

Yoga

Went to 4:30 class with Mary Catherine. Class totally kicked my ass, almost passed out on the last two standing poses, was unable to do camel. Thats what I get for getting sick and missing a couple weeks.

Sunrise

Ran up to Sunrise peak at lunch, east peak spur and back down to Lost Dog trailhead today. I didn't do the extra bit to the peak but I will next time. It was tough but real nice out and the view was incredible, about 6 miles.

Hendrix

Late morning ran up the canal to Hendrix, ran a mile around the track, and ran back the same way. Did a 8:10 mile on the track, which is pretty good for me. About 4.0 miles total.

Rural PR !

Around lunch today ran down canal to Rural road and back. The ankle I twisted held up just fine, a new PR by 2 seconds, about 4.4 miles. A little later played some disc golf with Jordan at Moeur park, managed to lose another disc in the creek.

Ringtail

I have had a cold since last Thursday night. I dragged myself out of the office yesterday at lunch and ran the short 3 mile Ringtail loop. It went ok and I wasn't too slow, but I managed to roll my right ankle pretty badly, can't run today.

Yoga

4:30 class in N. Scottsdale today with a brand new, extremely hot instructor named Crystal. This was her first class after being certified after 9 weeks in India. She was reading from the manual and messing up quite a bit but it was cool anyway.

Quartz

At lunch ran up Quartz trail, past Lost Dog intersection about a half mile, on a very tender left calf. Stopped at an intersection with what appeared to be a mine road straight up the hill to a big white mound, I'll have to climb up there and check it out soon. About 5 miles.

Yoga

Class at the north Scottsdale Bikram with Mary Catherine at 4:30. Good class, I got back on my elbows in fixed firm for the first time :)

Bell Pass almost

Ran from Bell Rd trailhead up, Levee, Paradise, Gateway and Bell Pass to within a mile of the pass, back on Gateway to 104th, about 5.6 miles. I'm gonna make that pass very, very soon.

around Research

This morning ran around the research park via canal, Country Club, Warner thru the neighborhood across Elliot and back, about 4.5 miles.

Yoga

8am yoga this morning again with Amy. Good class, tried some things from Bikrams book, and it definetly pays to go more often.

Inspiration Viewpoint

At lunch today ran from the Union Hills trailhead to the Inspiration Viewpoint by way of Horseshoe/Gateway/Windgate and back. The last bit from Desert Park intersection was a BITCH, lots of walking on my part, but it was beautiful up there and I'm very happy. 6.0 miles.

Gateway loop

Ran the loop at lunch today, very little walking, a lot of slow uphill running. Beautiful day out. 5.2 miles.

Yoga

Yesterday went to the 12 noon class, Allison was the teacher. Struggled again with triangle and camel, as usual.

Spin

Went to my first spin class at LA Fitness today. The instructor Nancy was cool and the class was hard. She puts us in groups and had us racing each other with sprints. She judged who won the race and lo and behold, it was me, the grand champion. She gave me a packet of biofreeze as a prize, I guess she dug it out of her purse. It was very, very cool.

Hidden Valley

This morning I went to south mountain and did a long trail run. Went up National Trail and did the small loop thru Hidden Valley and back, about 6 miles. It was beautiful in the valley, they day was perfect and I felt wonderful there.

Gym

This morning went to the gym with the wife. Ran 4.5 miles on treadmill and swam a few laps.

Yoga

After a cheer comp. that Carissa's 5 man stunt team got 3rd in, went to the 1pm yoga. Reba was teaching, which was cool, and I got a bit woozy during triangle and camel, not to surprising.

Racquetball

Played racquetball this afternoon at Dobson with the boy.

Horizon-Windgate

Ran from Horizon park, by Notre Dame, across Bell, thru Windgate Ranch up to Union Hills today. Dirt the entire way, didn't know I could get thru that route. About 6 miles.

104th-Cactus

At lunch ran down Quartz to Wesworld, all the way to the end at Cactus, then back the same way. More and more people on the trails every day now. 6 miles.

Horseshoe/Gateway/Desert Park

Right after a meeting where I found out our company was fired off Wickenburg Ranch, I went up to the trailhead with the intention of making Inspiration Point. Once again I bailed on it, this time I went back on Desert Park, 5.1 miles.

Horseshoe-Gateway

Ran at lunch up Horseshoe to Gateway to the Desert Park intersection. Thought for a few minutes about going up to Inspiration Point and thought better of it. 4.8 miles.

Gym

Went to the gym this morning with the wife. Ran 5 miles on the treadmill and swam laps for about 15 minutes. After lunch played a couple games of racquetball with Jordan at Dobson.

Yoga

This morning went to the 8am class with Amy. She is very cool, and could be a twin sister of Carissa's friend Nicole. It was the best class I have had in months.

Levee-Bell Pass

After work ran from 104th St. trailhead, down levee and past the mines. Eventually the wash became impossible to get thru, hiking let alone running, and I climbed out onto a nearby pile of boulders. I saw an obvious trail off to the left and ran up it for a bit. I was getting tired tho and turned back, turned out it was the Bell Pass Trail, and ran back down it to Gateway, Paradise, Levee, 104th and back to car, about 5.5 miles.

Paradise mine

At lunch yesterday I ran from the Mcdowell Center, up Paradise and right on the road to the mines. I followed it way up towards the mountain, eventually running in a wash. It was very nice up in there and I will be going back. About 5 miles.

Taliesin West

Day before yesterday at lunch ran from the 104th st. trailhead towards Cactus canal bridge. Right before I got there i turned left and ran up into Taliesin West. Didn't look too impressive to me. Trying to find my way out I had some assholes tell me to leave back the way I came. Probably about 5 1/2 miles, and I won't ever go back there again.

Horseshoe-Gateway

At lunch run to the intersection of Gateway-Paradise. On theway back, where there is a new sign up covered up with a bag, I took the new trail there to the construction site for the new Gateway access area. The sign said it will be done next April, its going to be big and from the looks of it pretty nice.

South Mountain

Around lunch today went trail running at South Mountain park. Ran on Desert Classic, Beverly Canyon, Ridgeline and East loop and some unnamed ones. Not sure exactly how far but I think about 5 miles. A few too many slopes with steep grades for my taste, but it was a nice run.

Gym

This morning went to the gym with the wife again. Ran 5 miles on the treadmill and swam laps for 20 minutes. A few hours later went the the Yoga Asana competition at the Arizona Historical Center. Saw some incredible yoga, was very cool, and congratulated Elaina on her new baby.

Yoga

Went to the 4:30 class in Tempe today, the teacher was visiting from Boston. There were three instructors in the class, Reba, Don and another visiting instructor from Santa Barbara. It was a very tiring class, only once a week makes it tough.

Desert Park-Windgate-Gateway-Horseshoe loop

Ran a loop at lunch from the trailhead at Union Hills, about 5.1 miles. Pretty cool route that I will do again. Actually saw some people on the trail today.

QJTW loop

At lunch ran the approx. 5k loop from the 104th st. trailhead thru the golf course. Nice day, felt pretty decent.

Cactus Bridge

At lunch ran 5.96 mile route to the canal bridge and back to the park. Kinda slow, but it was nice out.

LA Fitness

Went back to the gym for the first time in months, the wife signed us up for memberships a couple days ago. At this exact moment I have have membership at 3 gyms, hopefully that will change soon. Anyway, I ran 2 miles, did legs, then swam laps for 25 minutes. Yeee Haww.

Yoga

Went to 8am class with the big titted bitch that I had a couple months ago that wouldn't let me do Salabhasana because I can't get my elbows underneath. Well, she stood on my feet again today, I really, really don't like her. The class pretty much sucked from that point on, go figure.

Taliesin Overlook

After work ran up to the overlook from Lost Dog trailhead, 4.6 miles. It was nice out and my time was pretty decent.

Quartz-Taliesen-Javalena loop

At lunch ran this loop, 4.89 miles. Nice day out, time not too slow, beats the hell out of being at work.

Gateway loop

Ran the loop for the newly regraded 94th st. trailhead, 5.2 miles. It was beautiful out and I had the first really good run in quite some time.

Neighborhood run

This morning before my Dr. appt. I ran the same route thru the Oasis as last week, 3.4 miles. It was actually cold out, nice change of pace.

Race for the Cure

The race was this morning, at Wesley Bolin park this year. I was on team Myths, met up with them before the race, they all walked tho so I ran alone as usual. My time was good, better than last year, particulary considering I haven't been able to train much due to the never ending cold.

Yoga

This morning went to 8am class with Kat. She is cool and extremely hot, had a real good class.

Yoga

Went to the 4:30 class in Scottsdale today. We had a new instructor that didn't give us any breaks between postures, just rushed thru the whole class and finished 10 mins early. It was a pain but still it was nice to be back in class.

Horizon-bridge

At lunch ran the approx. 3.5 mile from the park to the over pass by Notre Dame. I'm pretty sure the road is actually Bell, not the 101, go figure.

Neighborhood run

After a Dr. appt. this afternoon I ran down the canal to McClintock, then thru the Oasis neighborhood down to Elliot, back up Kenwood to the canal and home, about 3.4 miles.

Quartz

At lunch ran Quartz trail from 104th trailhead to Taliesen intersection. Made the hard uphill part easier this time, no stopping, no walking, 4.3 miles.

Rural PR !

4.37 mile down the canal to Rural road and back this morning. Lungs are still messed up some but I killed my pr for the route by almost exactly one minute.

Gateway Loop backwards

At lunch ran the same route as Monday, except right instead of left at the Gateway intersection. I gotta say I probably made a mistake going today, I'm still not well and the longer climb to the saddle going that way almost killed me. I did way too much walking and coughing and almost puked at the summit. Calf was hurting almost the whole time too. Somehow I beat my Monday time by about a minute tho.

Gateway Loop

At lunch I ran the whole loop, up to the saddle for the first time, starting at the Horseshoe trailhead. I coughed like crazy, almost threw up in the saddle, thought my calf was going to give out on me again a couple times, but I made it and I am very happy. It was beautiful up there, 5.0 miles.

104th-Gateway loop

At lunch Thursday ran from 104th/Bell trailhead up 104th trail to Gateway, then right to Bell Pass intersection and back the same way. About 3.6 miles. It was tough with the cough and all. Yesterday I went to the Dr. and he told me I have a sinus infection and I'm on stuff for it now. Prolly not such a great idea running this week.

Quartz-Paradise

On Tuesday at lunch I ran down Quartz from 104th st . trailhead to Paradise, then up it for awhile and back. About 5k total.

Horizon-101 bridge

After a ridiculous 2 weeks of having a cold, I finally made myself go running at lunch today. It wasn't the most fun time I have had, and I had a nice coughing fit halfway, under the freeway bridge. Anyway, ran about 3 1/2 miles from Horizon park, down Westworld trail past Notre Dame to a freeway bridge over a wash up near Bell Road.

Cactus Bridge

I got screwed out of yoga today thanks to another unplanned late day meeting, so I went running after work. Ran 5.96 mile route from Horizon park to Cactus bridge and back, longest run I have done in about 10 months.

Dobson Ranch Lake

This morning skipped yoga (didn't get near enough sleep) and ran the 3.96 route to the park in Dobson ranch. Not bad speed again, less than 2 mins off PR. That makes about 24.5 miles for the last 7 days, I guess my leg has healed!

Bark Park

This morning ran the 5.43 mile loop thru the bark park. It was nice out, early before it got real hot out, and I got passed by and followed for a while an incredibly hot running chick. Also, less than a minute off PR time, my speed isn't totally gone :)

Lakeshore Bridge

This morning ran down the canal to the Lakeshore bridge, 3.37 miles. It is nice to get some speed going after all these slow trail runs.

Horseshoe-Gateway

Yesterday at lunch I ran from the Thompson Pk/Union Hills trailhead down Horseshoe trail to Gateway Loop, then left to the Windgate Pass intersection and back, about 3.4 miles. It was hot, slow and brutal.

104th-Gateway-Levee

At lunch today ran the route again from the 104th trailhead to the Bell Pass/Gateway loop intersection, about 3.4 miles. Hot as hell out again, but this will be over soon.

Wellsite

This morning ran down the canal to the wellsite between Alma School and Country Club, about 4.9 miles. It was really nice out, but tough going for some reason.

Yoga

Another Sunday morning Helena class with Carissa. Was nice, as usual.

Spin

This morning went to Beth's 8:30 am class. Nothing unusual, just lots of sweating.

Yoga

Went to the 4:30 yoga class at Bikram Scottsdale. Apparently I was a bit tired from that long run yesterday, the class totally kicked my ass. I was extra hot and humid in there tho, that probably didn't help.

Desert Park

Yesterday at lunch drove up to the Horseshoe/Desert Park trailhead at Union Hills and Thompson Peak Parkway. Ran the entire length of the Desert Park trail, thru Silverleaf and up to the intersection with Windgate Pass Trail. 5.4 miles and it was a bitch, probably too long for right now.

104th-Windgate

At lunch ran from the 104th/Bell trailhead up to Gateway loop to the intersection with Windgate trail. About 4.2 miles. It was a nice day and its really beautiful up there around the back side of the mountain.

Yoga

Took the day off today to take care of my wife after her surgery on Friday. Went to yoga again at 9am with Don. Class went well, seems like after going three days in a row it was a bit easier.

Yoga

Carissa and I went to 8am yoga this morning with Helena. Its weird to say, but after yesterday I was very happy to be in her class again. It was a real good class, particularly considering it was back to back days.

Yoga

This morning went to 8am yoga with an instructor I have never seen before. She wouldn't let me do Salabhasana because I can't get my right elbow under my body, she stood on my feet to keep me from doing it. I was so pissed off, no way i'm doing a class of hers again. Pretty much ruined the class for me.

Quartz

Yesterday at lunch ran from 104th trailhead up Quartz to Taliesen intersection. That last hill is BRUTAL, i had almost forgotten how bad it was. About 4.3 miles, longest run by far since I started up again.

104th-Gateway-Levee

I got my clearance to run from the doctor today, the xray showed no black line anymore. After that appt. I ran a loop from the 104th and Bell trailhead, up 104th st. Trail to Gateway Loop, over past Paradise intersection to Bell pass trail intersection, turned around and back to Paradise, down to Levee and back to truck. About 3.4 miles and it was HOT!

Scottsdale Bikram

Yesterday at 4 went to the Bikram studio down on Shea and 93th St. The place is a little small but nice, the instructor was cool, the class went great.

Paradise-Gateway Loop

At lunch today ran from the McDowell center, up Paradise to its end at Gateway Loop on the north side of the valley. I saw a big sweaty guy up there, first time i've seen another human in that area. Probably a little over 3 miles.

Yoga

Yesterday morning went to 8am Helena class, once again without the girl. This time she spent the night at a friends and "forgot", I guess that special time with her is pretty much over now, oh well. Class was fine, lost 10 lbs in sweat, that directly from their scale.

Spin

Went to the 8am class at the Chandler gym with Beth this morning. Good, hard class. Played 9 at Shalimar with Jordan after.

Sumit

At lunch today went to yoga with Kim again. I'm getting a little better in there, but that last warrior sequence absolutely kills me.

Levee

Yesterday at lunch I drove to the 104th and Bell trailhead and ran the levee trail to its end then up the side of the hill to the first mineshaft. It was nice to get the hell out of here after the big fight with that retard Mike.

Quartz

At lunch today ran the same quartz trail run, a little farther than the last time, to a small clearing right before the vicious climb starts. About 3 1/2 miles.

Paradise sidetracked

At lunch yesterday ran the same Paradise trail route, but right before the climb starts I turned up a unlabeled trail. The stupid thing petered out and I ended up hiking thru the weeds to a pass between 2 hills, with more 100 hills houses on the other side. About 3 miles total.

Yoga

Yesterday morning Carissa and I went to Helena's 8am class. Felt real good after.

Spin

This morning went to 9:30 class at Gilbert gym with Christi. She was glad to see me and it was a good, sweaty class. After Jordan and I shot nine at Shalimar.

Sumits

Went to the noon class at Sumits today with Kelly. It wasn't nearly as confusing this time, I sorta knew what was coming up alot of the time. There is one pose I just flat out can't do, but I will work on that. The cold water in their showers is absolutley fantastic.

Paradise mine

At lunch today went to the same place as yesterday, only this time turned right at the end and ran up to the second mine shaft. Stupid things are halfway up the mountain. It was pretty damn cool and the view was great. About 3 1/2 miles.

Paradise

At lunch ran a new route, from the McDowell Mtn. Ranch Center, down Paradise Lane to Paradise trail, north to the Levee trail intersection and back, about 3 miles. Good, solid trail running, I really like this area and will come back here alot.

Sumits yoga

At lunch today I went to the yoga studio about a half my from the office. It is hot yoga like Bikrams but with a lot of differences. They play music the whole time, they touch on almost every one of Bikrams poses, but the durations are much shorter. There are lots of traditional hatha yoga poses mixed in and lots of variations that I have never seen before. It has much more upper body than Bikram and moves at a much faster pace. All in all I liked it, it was harder in some ways and easier in others.

Quartz Paradise

At lunch today took the left turn again on Quartz trail, but took the branch for Paradise trail this time, ran about 3 miles out and back. Great trail, great views.

Yoga

Yesterday morning went to 8am class with Helena, all alone because Carissa was sick again. I talked to Helena before class about the difficulty i have been having getting thru the last savasana and she suggested it was due to mental turmoil and suggested counting and focusing on breathing. I have to agree with her, and the counting did help some during the savasana and camel.

Spin

Went to the 8am class at the Gilbert gym this morning, with Kristin subbing for Val. I gotta say I like her a lot more than Val, she is pretty hardcore.

Taliesin Overlook

After work, around 1:30 today I ran up the mountain from the 124th st. trailhead to the overlook, about 4 1/2 miles. It was hot and that was the longest run I have done since the last time I ran the same route and pulled my calf, about 8 months ago. Totally kicked ass!

Spin

After work went to JJ's spin class again. There was some problems with no bikes available for people that had passes, which sort of sucked. I sweat like crazy, was still tired from lack of sleep after last nights kick ass Bullet concert.

Quartz again

At lunch today I ran the same route as yesterday, went a little farther today, probably did about 5k total. Once again very nice.

Quartz trail

At lunch today went to the 104th st. trailhead and went the opposite direction on the quartz trail from the QWTJ loop. Went out and back for about 3 miles total, was hot but nice out there.

Yoga

This morning went to yoga alone, Carissa had bad cramps. Amy was subbing for Helena, and I had a good class, did very well at right side toe stand and left side bow pulling pose.

Spin

Class this morning at 9:30 with Heidi. My right foot came unclipped towards the end during a hill climb, i bitched about it and the shitty Tempe bikes in general after class, it felt good. Also told her she was one of my favorite instructors, so i guess i'm not a total dick.

Lost jeep run

After work today at lunch time ran from the lost dog trailhead, up lost dog trail to the intersection with the old jeep trail, about 3.6 miles. It was hot but it was beautiful out there, and I was in and out of that damn wash that I tore my calf in twice today. Later in the day played nine with Jordan at Ken McDonald. Way too many sand traps on that course.

Spin

Went to JJ's 5:30 spin class tonite. Same as always, nothing unusual.

short Notre Dame

3 miles again today at lunch, again no problemo.

short golf sign and a half

3 mile run at lunch in the heat, no problemo.

Yoga

This morning Carissa and I went to 8am yoga with Helena. Not near as painful as last Sunday's class, I got up on time for this one.

Spin

Yesterday morning went to Beths' class at Chandler gym again. Good, hard class and I worked my ass off. Right after that golfed 18 with Tim, Jeff and Jordan at Dobson Ranch. Pretty much the best round of golf I have ever played.

Lakeshore Bridge

Early this morning ran the 3.37 mile route down the canal to Lakeshore bridge and back. It was hot and sorta sucky, after being in Socal anyway, and after that was my mom's funeral. What a shitty day.

Beach run

Wednesday morning in San Diego, got up at 6am while the family was still sleeping, and went for an approx. 3 mile run along Mission Bay. Ran thru a couple parks, over docks, over the bay on a big ass bridge, and on a ski beach. It was absolutely beautiful out and probably the best time I had on my trip. San Diego has a much bigger running community from what I saw, but its not too surprising due to the incredibly nice weather.

Yoga

Yesterday morning Carissa and I went to 8am yoga. We both overslept and had like 5 mins to get ready. It was a brutal class for both of us, being half asleep like that.

Spin

This morning went to 8am spin class at Chandler gym with Beth. It's funny but the last four workouts right before and since mom died have been exceptionally brutal, this morning I almost killed myself in a class that I haven't had a tough time with before. Spent rest of the day going thru stuff at her house again.

Cortez park

This morning after a memorable nights sleep on mom's living room sofa, ran about 3 miles down the canal to Cortez Park and back. Spent the rest of the day at the funeral home, sorting thru clothes and etc., then went and saw Wanted with my son which was real cool.

Yoga

After spending the night at my mothers house, I really didn't know what else to do, I got up in the morning and found a Bikram studio on this side of town, 4th st. and Camelback. It is a very nicely done studio and the people were very friendly. The class was perfect, the exhaustion took my mind off the situation, at least for a little while.

Spin

Last night while I took a break from the death watch of my Mom at the hospice house and went to a spin class at the Bell Road gym at 5:30. The old broad teaching the class had a really kick ass mix of rock tunes so that was nice. At 9:40pm my mother died.

short Notre Dame

At lunch yesterday ran the approx. 3 mile route from Horizon park, around Notre Dame prep and back. Hot, hot, hot.

short golf sign and a half

At lunch ran the three mile out and back route in the ridiculous heat, was ok tho.

Yoga

Yesterday morning Carissa and I went to 8am yoga. She got to experience the extremely exciting style of Helena and was very impressed :)

Spin

9:30 class this morning at the Tempe gym, with Shanna filling in for Heidi. I'm not particularly crazy about her style of intervals, but it was better than no class at all.

Lakeshore Bridge

3.37 mile run this morning down the canal to the bridge, not too fast but it was pretty freaking hot out. A little later played nine at Shalimar with Jordan, had a great time.

Yoga

Went to class at 4:30 taught by Kat. I was a bit apprehensive after the last experience I had in yoga, but everything went fine, did all postures and didn't die.

Spin

After a self imposed two day break after that fiasco in Vegas, I went to JJ's spin class tonite. Everything went fine, thanks god, had a good class as usual.

Vegas yoga bonk

Yesterday morning I had the genius idea of running to the Bikram on the strip studio, doing a class and running back to the Hilton. I ran there, about 2 miles. The studio turned out to be pretty seedy compared to the Tempe place, and the staff wasn't very friendly. About half way thru the standing series I started having real problems doing poses, getting extremely woozy. I had to sit out some of the last poses. After a couple floor poses I had to get up and leave the room, never done that before. I laid down and missed about 1/3 of the floor series, came back in and finished the remaining poses after camel. After class I sat around for a half hour trying to recover enough to run back to the hotel. I got about 50 steps and realized that wasn't going to happen, I ended up walking the whole way back, catching the monorail for the last bit. What a drag, I haven't abused myself like that in a long, long time.

Vegas run

Around noon today ran a loop from the Hilton to Paradise, Sahara, Maryland, Desert Inn, Joe W Brown and back to the hotel. About 3.6 miles, it was very hot out and I got to see some of the seedier parts of Vegas close up.

Yoga

9am yoga this morning with Carissa and Reba teaching. Bought her a 25 pack and merged our accounts so I can use them if she doesn't, plus got 20% first week discount, so it's all good. I'm at the airport now waiting to get on the plane for Vegas, wOOt!

Spin

Spin class after work with JJ, she really does teach a good class, very motivating.

short Notre Dame

Today at lunch ran approx. 3 miles from Horizon park to Notre Dame prep, around the school and back. It was well over 100 degrees out, my first real hot run of the year. No problems tho, all went well.

Yoga with Carissa

This morning took Carissa to the 8am class, Reba was teaching. She did fantastic and I was so proud. At one point Reba said that she wished someone had taken her to yoga when she was 17 and how cool it was that I was doing that. It was one of the nicest things I have heard in a long time. Carissa said that she like it and wanted to keep doing it, so we will see what happens.

Spin

This morning went to Beth's 8:30 class at the Chandler gym. Didn't turn out to be a particularly hard class, music was pretty good tho. After taking Carissa to see my mom went and golfed 9 at Shalimar with Jordan, hot as hell but it was real fun.

Yoga

4:30 class today with Shoosh. She is easily the most laid back, non judgemental instructor I have ever had there. Didn't matter tho, I still killed myself.

QWTJ

This morning before work ran the QWTJ loop. It wasn't hot out yet, the run was real nice and my time was better than the recent ones.

Spin

Yesterday after work went to JJ's spin class, good hard class with lots of sprints.

Yoga

4:30 class with Reba. I really like her class, it was a really sucky stressful day and the yoga really helped.

Yoga

Yesterday morning went to 8am class with Helena. After that played frisbee golf with the boy and swam for awhile. It was a real nice fathers day.

Spin

Went to Heidi's 9:30 spin class this morning. She teaches a great class, one of my favorite instructors.

short golf sign and a half

Before work this morning ran approx. 3 mile from Horizon park to halfway between the signs on Westworld trail, it was nice out.

Yoga

4:30 yoga class today with Ben, good class.

Ringtail

At lunch yesterday ran the Ringtail loop. It was pretty hot but things went fine. Today I got the news that my mom has about 2 months to live, so working out didn't quite fit into the schedule.

Yoga

Day before yesterday went to 4:30 yoga with Elaina, good class.

Yoga

This morning went to 8am yoga with Amy. I'm getting better at adapting to that slippery carpet, I was sweating out a hangover like crazy today tho.

QWTJ forwards

Before work yesterday morning ran that loop again, it was all good. After work Jordan and I played 9 holes of disc golf at papago, we threw our frisbees in the water at least 8 times.

Spin

JJ's spin class after work tonite, good workout, crappy music.

QWTJ backwards

Ran the loop at the golf course again at lunch, this time the other direction. It was a little hot out but the run went well, no problems.

Yoga

Went to 4:30 class today with the owner Elaina. Class really kicked my ass today, I had to take some breaks towards the end, haven't done that since the first few times.

Spin

9am spin class with Debra this morning. The Tempe bikes really, really suck, but it was the hardest class I have had in awhile, heart rate over 150 for about 40 minutes.

Yoga

This morning went to the 8am class, the new carpet is very slippery, its hard to hold a few poses without slipping almost constantly, particularly the triangle.

QWTJ run

Yesterday before work ran the loop through the golf course starting and ending at the 104st trailhead. It was a beautiful morning and things went great.

Spin

After work went to JJ's spin class. Class was good but her music choices really suck.

Yoga

Went to the 6:15 class at the new location. The yoga room is way bigger which is very nice, we had a guest instructor from Canada who was kind of dopey.

Hendrix

This morning ran approx. 5k route to Hendrix and back on the canal, one again very nice out.

McClintock

This morning ran the approx. 5k on the canal to McClintock back to Carriage Lane and home route. Leg felt good, weather was great, pace wasn't too slow.

Spin

8am class at the Gilbert gym with Val, I have to appreciate her style, breaks between each song, it's a lot easier than other instructors.

yoga

Went to the 4:30 class with a little oriental dude who I didn't get his name. He was pretty funny tho, and it was a good class, plus I didn't kill myself for once because right after class Jordan and I went to go see speed racer, not a bad movie at all as it turned out.

Spin

Went to JJ's 5:30 spin class at Scottdale gym tonite, did some major sprints, enjoyed it quite a bit.

Yoga

Went to the 4:30 class today with Reba, she is very cool and funny and I really like her class. I was next to a couple of twenty somethings that were there for the first time and they totally crapped out about 2/3 of the way thru, made me feel pretty good about myself.

Run

Ran 5k on the treadmill at lunch today at the gym.

Yoga

Went to 8am yoga today with Helena. Good class, felt good afterwards.

Spin

Went to Christi's spin class at Gilbert gym this morning. She had a terrible cold, i felt real bad for her. Class was good tho, sweat a lot.

Run

Before work this morning went to the gym and ran 5k with a half mile cool down on the treadmill. No tibia pain at all.

Yoga

Went to 4:30 yoga with Betsy. Class totally kicked my ass tonite, was in a daze for a couple hours after.

Spin

Went to Anne's 5:30 class at the Scottsdale gym again. She does a good, hard, no nonsence class.

Yoga

8am yoga class this morning, good class, felt good afterwards.

Spin

This morning went to spin class with Valerie at Gilbert gym. Nothing to exciting to mention, hangover kinda sucked tho.

Run

Ran 5k on the treadmill again today, after work, 9 minute average miles then about a half mile of cool down for a total of 3.65 miles, no tibia pain again.

Yoga

Went to 4:30 class with a guy instructor for the first time. Got up and down on both sides of toe stand (not easily) and didn't have as much trouble with camel as I usually do.

Spin

Went to 5:30 spin class at Scottsdale gym with a extremely hot instructor named Jaie J. She had her mom there for mothers day and she picked all the music, mostly CCR. Not a particularly tough class tonite.

Yoga

Bikram at 4:30 today. Got back up on the left side toe stand today !! Pretty cool.

Gym run !!

Went to the gym at lunch today, and just for the hell of it got on the treadmill to see if my leg still hurts. 5k later my tibia hadn't hurt at all, I was very happy. Did some core and yoga postures after that.

Spin

Went to a spin class at the Chandler gym with an instructor named Beth, nothing out of the ordinary, but it was a good hard class.

Yoga

Went to yoga again today at 4:30. I got down in the toe stand on both sides!!! I couldn't get back up but I will work on that, it was very, very cool, I was grinning like an idiot.

Spin

After work went to spin class at the Chandler gym that Christie was subbing for. She did the same playlist as last Saturday, with the killer speed intervals at the beginning.

Yoga

Bikram yoga at 4:3o today. I am gonna get that toe stand posture if it kills me.

Spin

Took a half day off from work today, went to the 9am spin class of Debra's. Haven't been in her class in quite awhile. The whole hour was sprints and jumps, I really enjoyed it.

Yoga

Went to yoga this morning, the fronts of my ankles hurt like crazy, particulary on Supta Vajrasana, I had to sit it out. The instructor just told me to chill afterwards, said it was probably a side effect of being a runner.

Spin

This morning went to class at the Gilbert gym. Christi was back from Hawaii and we did some intervals that totally kicked my ass, my pulse got up to 175 bpm, which is way higher than I have ever seen on the monitor, above 100%.

Spin

After work went to a spin class at the Chandler gym. Same sort of layout as the Gilbert gym, but the bikes are in the regular group room, so you have to roll the bikes out into the middle of the room. Anyway the instructor was named Kim and she was cool, we raced across America.

Yoga

Caught a Bikram yoga class at 4:30 today, was a little late which totally sucked. On the other hand I got dizzy and nauseous a couple times and felt totally stoned when I got out of there, which totally rocked.

Gym lunch

Went to the gym at lunch, did elliptical and core exercises.

Spin

This morning went to the 9:30 class at the Gilbert gym, instructor named Rebecca. Was a good class and she played some good music, I'm gonna try to make her classes.

Bikram yoga

Yesterday morning went to the 8am yoga class, the last day of my first week unlimited. I bought a 25 class block so I guess I'm committed now. Good class, felt great afterwards.

Racquetball

After I picked up Jordan from school we went to the gym for one tepid game of racquetball before he said he was tired and that was that.

Bikram yoga

This morning the doctor told me if I had ANY pain I shouldn't run, not exactly what I wanted to hear. I guess I'm going to have to dial the running way down again. After work I went to Bikram yoga again, it seemed a little less painful than it was Sunday, the camel posture kicked my ass again tho.

short golf sign 2

At lunch ran the 3.8 mile route to the 2nd golf sign and back. It was a very nice day out again.

Spin

After work went to a spin class in the N. Scottdale gym with an instructor named Anne. The bikes were twice as nice and newer than the ones in the Tempe gym. I was lucky to be there on endurance day, the class was one big hill, seated 60%, standing 80%, over and over.

Bikram yoga

This morning went to a yoga class at the Bikram yoga Tempe place. That is one hot and brutal workout, I got extremely woozy during the camel pose, actually had to stop for a few seconds. I lost like 5 pounds of water weight.

Spin

This morning went to Heidi's spin class. I had a real crappy bike, I wish they would maintain them a little better. If that keeps up I'm gonna go to the Gilbert gym, their's are much newer.

Ringtail backwards

After work I ran the Ringtail loop in the opposite direction, that long uphill climb was brutal, but it sure was nice out.

short Scoreboard

Ran the approx. 2 1/2 mile route from Horizon park to the Notre Dame scoreboard at lunch today, much easier, faster and less painful than the last time. After work tried to go to spin class but traffic conspired to get me there after the class was already full.

short golf sign 2

At lunch ran from Horizon park to the second golf sign, approx. 3.8 miles. The new trail shoes I bought felt pretty good.

Swim

Swam laps this morning, same as usual, mostly 4 and 1, everyone faster than me, I need to run more definetly.

Spin

Yesterday morning went to Heidi's spin class, I'm getting pretty good at the sprints if I do so so myself. After lunch got a massage, Summer kicked my ass good.

Ringtail

After work ran the Ringtail loop again. It went faster, (a couple mins.) easier and with much less pain, pretty cool.

Spin

Went to Heidi's spin class after work tonite. Used the new heart rate monitor and it worked great. 141 bpm average, 156 high.

Gym

Went to the gym at lunch, worked on legs and core as usual.

Quartz-Westworld-Taliesen-Javalena loop

At lunch parked at the 104th St. trailhead and ran a loop (sort of a loop) down Quartz trail, across the golf course to Westworld, back across the golf course to Taliesen trail, eventually back to the start along part of the Javalena trail. About 3.2 miles, the new heart rate monitor worked great, average rate of 142, which is my 80% number, spent about half the time closer to 150. And it was beautiful outside with all the flowers.

Swim

Swam for a half hour this morning, tough going at first but finally got into a groove, then steam room.

Spin

This morning went to Christi's spin class at the Gilbert gym again. She played Godsmack and Filter/Crystal Method. Later in the day I got a Nike heart rate monitor specifically for running at Sports Authority that looks very cool, I can't wait to try it out.

Ringtail

After work today at noon drove over to the Sonoron Preserve and ran the 2.94 mile Ringtail Loop route. The hill was tough, I need to get used to the trail running again. The weather was great tho, everything was blooming, it was just fantastic.

Spin

After work went to Heidi's spin class. I was totally done afterwards, could have laid on the floor and gone to sleep in the locker room.

Gym

Yesterday at lunch went to the gym, after a warmup on the elliptical lifted weights (legs only) and did core and leg exercises.

short golf sign and a half

Day before yesterday ran at lunch from Horizon park to the approx. mid point between the 1st and second golf signs (top of slope before it dips down into the wash, approx. 3 miles). Felt much better than I did last Friday, still had back pain tho.

Spin

This morning drove to Christi's spin class at the Gilbert gym, it's a nice facility and she is cool. After that got a massage from Summer to help all the crap that hurt so much yesterday.

Run

After work at noon ran a very painful and unpleasant 2 1/2 miles to McClintock and back on the canal, left shin, lower left back and right plantar, god DAMN.

Swim

This morning swam laps for a half hour at the gym, 4 and 1. At noon played 18 holes with Jordan at Rolling Hills (his first full round) and had a real good time.

Spin

After work went to Heidi's spin class. At the end she said that I work very hard and that she likes watching me. It sure is nice to get a little positive reinforcement and hit on apparently.

Gym

Today was weights day at the gym. At lunch did a little elliptical to warm up, weights (legs only) and some core and balance stuff.

short Scoreboard

At lunch ran from Horizon park to the Notre Dame scoreboard, approx. 2 1/2 miles. Left shin, right plantar and lower left back hurt like hell, it wasn't a whole lot of fun, but it was nice to be back there again.

Spin

This morning did Debra's spin class. After lunch the boy and I hit balls at Kokopelli.

Run and racquetball

This morning ran the last doctor specified run, 15 mins. Actually was about 2.2 miles Lakeshore bridge to Carriage Lane bridge on the canal. Later in the afternoon played racquetball again, 2 hard games.

Swim and Racquetball

After work at noon I went and swam lap for a half hour. I left my googles in the steam room last weekend so I borrowed a pair from the lost and found and they totally sucked, too small and the straps came undone a few times. Steam room after that. After I picked the boy up from school we played racquetball at the gym, two very good games that we split. I bought him a victory smoothie after.

little run

After work today went on the 10 minute (actually almost 15) hard surface run as directed by the doc.

Spin

After work went to Heidi's spin class, legs hurt quite a bit from lifting yesterday.

Run and gym

This morning went for a short (1 mile) run on the canal before the sun was up. At lunch went to the gym and lifted weights, legs only, did other leg exercises and some core stuff as well.

Spin and run

This morning went to Debra's spin class. A couple hours after went to the park and ran for 15 minutes on the grass with Jordan.

Swim

Swam laps this morning for a half hour, 4 and 1, then steam room. Got a massage after.

Another little run

Went to Horizon park this morning before work and ran in a ballfield for 10 minutes. It was cold as hell and the stupid park guy turned the sprinklers on the infield to keep dust down i guess.

Spin

Did Walt's spin class after work tonite, brutal. The plan now is to do two of these a week.

RUN !!!!

I had my orthopedic surgeon followup appointment today. Got xrays and he told me that while I still had the black line of doom that I could start running again. 5, 10 and 15 minutes every other day on grass, then the same thing on hard surface after that. Of course I went directly from his office to Horizon park, changed clothes and ran for 5 mins. around one of the ball fields. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Last PT

Had my last PT appointment at lunch today (thank god). Doctor appointment on Wednesday and with any luck I will be running later this week.

Spin

This morning did Debra's spin class, she was out again, her father died while she was back on vacation. The instructor, Jim, had us doing hill repeats for the hour.

Swim

Yesterday morning went to the gym early and swam laps, 4 and 1 or better, some long stretches. After lunch went to the driving range with the boy.

PT and swim

Had PT this morning. After lunch swam laps at the gym for a half hour, 4 and 1, and steam room.

Swim

Yesterday at lunch swam laps for a half hour and steam room.

PT

PT this morning, with the incredibly hot stand in therapist again, yay.

Spin and Golf

This morning went to 9am spin class, Christi standing in for Debra on vacation. She played Drowning Pool, Chevelle and Serj songs, which was great compared to the usual top 40 crap. Gonna try to catch some of her classes at the Gilbert gym. After lunch played 9 at Fiesta Lakes with Jordan.

Swim

This morning swam laps for half an hour, 4 to 1, then steam room.

PT

Pt this morning again.

PT and Swim

Had PT this morning, basically exercised for a solid hour and had a pretty good workout. At lunch went to the gym to swim, some old guy keeled over on the cool deck with a heart attach or something. I swam for a half hour and went in the steam room.

Swim

Swam for a half hour yesterday at lunch and steam room.

Spin

Went to spin class yesterday morning. A couple hours later hit balls at the driving range with Jordan, that makes 2 days of that in a row.

Swim again

Swam this morning, a half hour with all kick turns, no touching down the entire time. Then 10 mins. in the steam room.

Swim

Swam laps for a half hour at lunch today, incorporated kick turns into it so I only touched bottom maybe 4 times, after that steam room as usual.

PT

Had PT after work today, did all the usual exercises and got 10 mins. of e-stim on the muscle on the back left side of my left knee, it felt weird at times.

Swim

Swam at lunch today for a half hour (a long half hour) and went in the steam room.

PT

PT first thing this morning. Andy seemed to think the problem is tightness behind my left knee, we shall see.

Spin and Golf

Went to Debra's spin class this morning, had a nice workout. Right after walked nine at Fiesta Lakes with Jordan.

Triple day

This morning I went to the gym early to swim laps, swam for a half hour and then a little while in the steam room. The massage yesterday really helped my shoulder, its like 100% better now. Around lunch Jordan and I went and drove golf balls, we both hit very well. A few hours later we went to the gym to play racquetball, but there was casting call going on for American Gladiators and there was a million people there, so we played a couple games at Dobson like the old days.

PT again

Went to PT this morning, this time with a hot blonde stand in physical therapist for Andy.

PT

Went to PT this morning, nothing particularly remarkable.

Swim

Swam at lunch for a half hour then steam room.

PT

Yesterday morning had a PT session. Legs are sore today. On a bright note I don't think my toe is broken, it seems to be getting better.

Swim

Swam for a half hour this morning. Getting out of the the pool I stubbed the longest toe on my left foot on the bottom step of the pool and I'm pretty sure I broke it, the last joint is black and blue now. Steam room after that and Jordan and I played 9 holes at Fiesta Lakes. We walked it and I didn't notice the bruised toe till I took off my golf shoes at the end. It hurts like hell.

PT

Yesterday morning I had PT, worked on a lot of lateral movement stuff.

PT

Physical therapy this morning. Thanks to a variety of stretches and exercises, I think we identified the calf muscle I pulled, it seems to be the soleus, so now I can work on it.

Swim

Swam at lunch for a half hour and went in the steam room.

Physical therapy

Had a physical therapy appointment this morning, got a pretty good half hour or so workout out of the deal, I'm hoping it helps things.

Spin

This morning went to Debra's spin class for the first time in like 2 months, needless to say it was a tough hour.

Swim

Yesterday morning went to the gym and swam laps for a half hour, then steam room.

Swim

Yesterday went back to swimming at the gym at lunch, swam for a half hour and went in the steam room. The day before yesterday I had a appointment with the orthopedia surgeon about my black line of doom on my xray. He told me I might still need surgery, no running for 2-3 months, physical therapy and a bone stimulator. The physical therapist was a little more upbeat today so I don't know what's going to happen.....sigh

Golf

Took my son to play golf for the first time today, nine holes at Shalimar and he did very well!

Racquetball again

Played racquetball again with Jordan yesterday morning.

Racquetball

After being sick for a couple weeks, finally played racquetball with the boy the day before yesterday.

Racquetball

Played raquetball with the boy after I picked him up from school yesterday.

Swim lunch

Swam laps for a half hour at lunch, then went in the steam room.

New years swim and racquetball

This morning went to the gym and swam laps for a half hour. This afternoon went to the other gym and played racquetball with the boy.