Big Foot is back!

He's back. "Big Foot", as he has been lovingly deemed. The guy at the gym. He's been there the last few mornings--two of which he planted himself on the treadmill right next to me.
STOMP
STOMP
STOMP
STOMP
At least I know he hasn't keeled over....yet!

ANYway.....this week has been good. I managed to get a mild hill workout in, and did some speed work today. Did 5 miles Tues, 5 mi Wed, 7 mi Thur, and 6 miles this morning. I felt a little tired Wednesday but Thursday and this morning I felt fantastic....really strong and felt like I could take the speed up a couple notches.

I never thought I'd be able to keep up with an early morning workout routine, but it turns out I really look forward to it. It's such a nice start to my day.

I signed up for a running group through MeetUp.com. A coworker of mine is a member and I've been looking for a group to run with once or twice a week. My first run with them will be my long run on Sunday (9 miles). They just happen to have scheduled a 9.5 mi run that day, so it works out well--I'll probably just walk the last 1/2 mile.

Next week is a taper week. 4 mi daily runs. Then the following week my long run will be my first 10-miler. I've been looking forward to the "milestone".

This weekend is the weekend to try "new" things. First the running group, but I'm also going to go to this jazz jam session. Most of you know I'm a classically trained singer--though I've sung a bit of jazz and know the style, but this is a first for me. A different coworker of mine is learning the bass and attends this jam session regularly. It's a chance for people wanting to learn more about jazz to get together and play. It should be fun.

In other brief news---I got a call from my sister early this week. It turns out my family is having their own "Get In Shape" Contest. I think there's 9 or 10 people participating. They're each throwing $100 into the pot. My Step-Grandfather (Arnie) will be the stat-keeper. I think it's about a 3 or 4 month long deal. The person who loses the beggest % of their body weight will walk away with $1000. I'm so proud of everyone. I think it's the coolest idea, and such an awesome thing for a family to do together. I even have quite a few people on board to do a 10k with me in October. It's in Astoria, OR. Part of the course is crossing the Astoria-Warrenton bridge (4 mi). It should be a beautiful course!

Rest day tomorrow. 9 miles Sunday. Rest day Monday.