Wild Coyotes!!

I'm no stranger to running by myself, but I've been making my husband run with me since there was a rapist on the loose in our town. He's since been caught, but I enjoy his company and like to annoy him with my singing. However, he hurt his back last week and hasn't been able to run, so I was on my own this morning.

Shortly after I arrived in the nature preserve, I heard hooting and howling over the music that was playing on my headphones. I took one of my ear pieces out to see if I could figure out who was making the noise. It wasn't far behind me and I figured it was the biking group I sometimes see, announcing their arrival as they sped down the entrance to the trail. So I moved off to the side and kept turning backwards to ensure I would be out of their way. But they never came.

A little further on, a gentleman stopped me to ask how many I heard. I said that I thought 20-30 bikers were in the group normally. He informed me that I had confused coyotes for bikers. He said he had seen one coyote in the park before, but had spoken to others that had seen up to 3 at one time. I never saw any coyotes, but crossed paths with the gentleman and he said he saw two running together.

Eeek! I could have been eaten by a wild pack of coyotes!

Miles logged: 9.5

Songs to Run By #2

Here is the rest of my running playlist. I hope you find something to inspire you!

The Beautiful People, Marilyn Manson

Take Me There (Remix), Mase

Shake It, Metro Station

Party in The USA, Miley Cyrus

Southside (feat Gwen Stefani), Moby

This Is How We Do It, Montell Jordan

Little Lion Man, Mumford and Sons

Country Grammar, Nelly

Hot In Herre, Nelly

Everybody Talks, Neon Trees

Super Bass, Nicki Minaj

Spiderwebs, No Doubt

Dragostea Din Tei, O-Zone

Last Resort, Papa Roach

Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor) (feat. T-Pain), Pitbull

International Love (feat. Chris Brown), Pitbull

Firestarter, The Prodigy

Come With Me (feat. Jimmy Page), Puff Daddy

Its All About the Benjamins, Puff Daddy

Fat Bottomed Girls, Queen

Don't Stop Me Now, Queen

Another One Bites The Dust, Queen

Black Betty, Ram Jam

I Wanna Be Sedated, Ramones

Californication, Red Hot Chili Peppers

Face Down, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

I'm Too Sexy, Right Said Fred

SOS, Rihanna

S&M, Rihanna

Only Girl (In The World), Rihanna

Please Don't Stop The Music, Rihanna

Paint It Black, Rolling Stones

The Look, Roxette

King of Anything, Sara Bareilles

I don't feel like dancing, Scissor Sisters

Whenever, Wherever, Shakira

Estoy Aquí, Shakira

Dónde Estás Corazón?, Shakira

Baby Got Back, Sir Mix-A-Lot

Wannabe, Spice Girls Spice

I Turn My Camera On, Spoon

Fat Lip, Sum 41

Eye Of The Tiger, Survivor

Dynamite, Taio Cruz

Carry Out (feat. Justin Timberlake), Timbaland

That's Not My Name, The Ting Tings

DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love, Usher

Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice

Boom Boom Boom, Vengaboys

Blister in the Sun, Violent Femmes

Regulate, Warren G

Here I Go Again, Whitesnake

Miles logged: 3.25

Skipping the Gym

As the temps heat up, I've found myself less motivated to run after a long day of work. With 5 weeks left until the San Francisco Half Marathon, I shouldn't be slacking at all. But tonight, I took off to enjoy the musical stylings of the Dan Band.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Miles logged: 0

Did Somebody Fartlek?

Ever heard of a fartlek? No, it isn't a form of passing gas. It is a Swedish word meaning "speed play."

A fartlek is a training method used by runners that blends interval training in with your regular training routine. It is different from traditional interval training because it is unstructured-the runner can vary speed and intensity at any point. This type of training helps endurance because it works both the aerobic and anaerobic systems.

If you've never used this method in your training, it is easy to do. Pick a landmark ahead of you, a stoplight, bridge, or the next street, and sprint until you reach it. Then return to your normal pace and let your breathing recover. It will help with your fitness and maybe bring a little excitement to your run.

Miles logged: 9.8

Songs to Run By #1

One of my biggest motivators when I run is music. A song with a good beat will get me to put in more effort. So, I'd like to share these motivating songs with you. Here is half of my running playlist, enjoy!

The Sign, Ace of Base

Set Fire To The Rain, Adele

Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart, Alicia Keys

Gives You Hell , The All-American Rejects

Heat Of The Moment, Asia

What The Hell, Avril Lavigne

Everybody [Backstreet's Back], Backstreet Boys

One Week, Barenaked Ladies, Beyoncé

Cradle Of Love, Billy Idol

Boom Boom Pow, Black Eyed Peas

Let's Get It Started, Black Eyed Peas

I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas

What's My Age Again?, Blink 182

The Bad Touch, Bloodhound Gang

Fire Water Burn, Bloodhound Gang

Womanizer, Britney Spears

Till The World Ends, Britney Spears

Toxic, Britney Spears

Call Me Maybe, Carly Rae Jepsen

Fuck You, Cee Lo Green

Boom Boom, Chayanne

Forever, Chris Brown

Jar of Hearts, Christina Perri

Brighter Than The Sun, Colbie Caillat

Turn Me On (feat. Nicki Minaj), David Guetta

Sexy Bitch (Ft. Akon), David Guetta

The Humpty Dance, Digital Underground

Party Up, DMX

(Reach up for the) Sunrise, Duran Duran

Funkete, El General

My Name Is, Eminem

Lose Yourself, Eminem

Ok, It's Alright With Me, Eric Hutchinson

Rock & Roll, Sounds Like This

Good Feeling, Flo Rida

Club Can't Handle Me, Flo Rida and David Guetta

Dog Days Are Over, Florence & The Machine

Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta, The Geto Boys

Crazy, Gnarls Barkley

Redneck Woman, Gretchen Wilson

What You Waiting For, Gwen Stefani

See You Again , Hannah Montana

Empire State Of Mind (Ft. Alicia Keys), Jay-Z

Wild Nights, John Cougar Mellencamp

Leave, Get Out, JoJo

Sexyback, Justin Timberlake

Stronger, Kanye West

Heartless, Kanye West

Tik Tok, KE$HA

Blah Blah Blah (Feat 3OH!3), KE$HA

Milk Shake, Kelis

Since U Been Gone, Kelly Clarkson

What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger), Kelly Clarkson

Knock You Down, Keri Hilson Feat. Kanye West & Ne-Yo

Let It Rock, Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne

Born This Way, Lady GaGa

Just Dance(Ft Akon), Lady Gaga

Lovegame, Lady Gaga

Poker Face, Lady Gaga

Let's Go (ft. Lil Jon & Twista), Lil John & Twista/Trick Daddy

Sexy & I Know It, LMFAO

Party Rock Anthem, LMFAO

Rollout, Ludacris

Move Bitch (Ft Mystikal I-20), Ludacris

Miles logged: 3.0

Humpty Dumpty

Fall #5 happened today. And it was another fall that occurred close to home. I could see the house when I fell...maybe that was why I fell... I tripped on an uneven piece of sidewalk.

I hurt myself this time. I've got a bruise on my left elbow, some scratches and large gouges on my right hand from scraping the cement. As I fell, all I could think was "get on the grass". I almost made it.

Miles logged: 9

Happy National Running Day

Did you know that June 6 is National Running Day? Neither did I! My husband mentioned it to me yesterday and I received an email today about a sale in honor of it. So, all in all, not a very big celebration.

And I didn't even run today. Instead I took the afternoon off to terrorize a golf course with my coworkers. The most exercise I got was running from the golf cart to the door while it poured outside.

Hope you had a chance to run today in honor of National Running Day.

Miles logged: 0

Running Under Duress

I made a major dietary error this week. I had delicious Indian food that did not agree with me. And I'm not referring to a mild disagreement, I'm talking about a long lasting case of Gupta's revenge. It hit Friday afternoon, and lasted into the weekend. My Saturday morning jog was a no go. I woke up early, hopeful that I had been cured and able to enjoy the somewhat cooler weather, but shortly after I had my toast and peanut butter, I knew I'd be staying home.

The good news is that time heals all wounds and by this morning (Sunday), I was feeling a bit better. So I braved the hot temps (it was almost 80 degrees by the time I left the house) and hoped to to run at least 8 miles. I was able to keep it together and had a successful run!

No more Indian for me for a while!

Miles logged: 8.5