desertDJ’s Halo Halo

I get a real sense of freedom when I started running a couple weeks ago.  Any other physical activity your restricted to some place.  Basketball your stuck on a court, baseball/football your on a field, boxing your in a ring, even working out in a gym I hate running on the treadmill because you feel like your not going anywhere, just staring out the same window or at your reflection on the mirror.  But when your out jogging, you have a freedom to go where ever.  Nothing is stopping you! If you want to go left down a street, go left.  If you want to want to go right down the curvy road you never been down on the right, go right.  I’ve turned the streets of Tempe into my playground.  From downtown Tempe, going down 5th street, to Priest, Hardy and running next to the Tempe canal.  You also get a view of the city that you don’t normally see.

Eric streching after a long run

Typically in the morning I wake up at the last possible second, race to work on the freeway and listen to my iPod in my car shutting the world out.  When I run in the morning you see a different view that you can only get if you slow down.  Kids walking to the bus stop or school.  People waiting at the bus stop before the sun is even up to get to work.  Construction workers opening up job sites.  People driving by frantically, only noticing me when I cross their path in a cross walk, just delaying them on their morning rush.  Or the business man running past me with newspaper in hand to get to Starbucks on Mill & 5th street.  For whatever it’s worth, I just see a different side of the city. 

One other thing I wanted to mention to you guys I found kinda interesting, and motivating if you decide to start working out.  Listen to Christian music when you run.  I’m not talking about church music, like hymns or something you may hear in your traditional Sunday church, I’m talking about contemporary Christian artist like Switchfoot, Newsboys, Matt Redman, Jeremy Camp, Steven Curtis Chapman, Matthew West, Red, Audio Adrenaline, Jars of Clay, Building 429, just to name a few.  If you never listened to any of these guys, check them out on Ruckus.com for free (new blog in the next couple days about this so stay tuned on how to download music free).  I even tested this theory of mine that listening to this music helps me run.  I tried to listen to some Hip Hop and also Green Day.  I thought Green Day has that fast punk kinda music that is upbeat and will keep me on a good pace, but it didn’t help.  It hurted actually.

//  One nation controlled by the media, information nation of hysteria, it’s calling out to idiot America… or

//…I am standing all alone, please call me only if you are coming home, waste another year flies by, waste a night or two, you taught me how to live.  In the streets of shame, when you’ve lost your dreams in the rain, there’s no sign of hope, the stems and seeds of the last of the dope…

Yeah, listening to that when I’m on my last breath, have a cramp in my side and I’m trying to find the energy to keep running another block? But I’ve found these type of lyryics do help (maybe that is why iTunes puts these artists in the Inspirational Section).

//Through you the kingdom comes, though you the battle’s won, through you the price is paid, though you I’m not afraid, through you there’s victory, because of you my soul sings I am free… I am free to run…. or

//Have you been walking on a surface that’s uncertain, have you helped yourself to everything that’s empty, you can’t live, this way too long, there’s more than this, more than this….let this old life crumble, let it fade, let this new life offered be your saving grace….

If you don’t see what I see then oh well, but anyway that is what I’ve found to help me .

Oh almost forgot, that big announcement I was talking about… both Ben and I decided to run next January the P.F. Chang’s Rock n Roll Marathon.  Well the 1/2 marathon, it was one of my life goals to do at least the 1/2 one, and amazingly I will be accomplishing it in 2008!  Maybe I’ll work up to the full one (1/2 is 13 miles, full is 26 miles).  But anyway I’ll give you guys updates on how my workouts are going, just in case you want to stay updated.  (Best way to do this is to subscribe to my blog!)

The start of the marathon in Jan. 2007

Here are some maps of what I run, check it out and this site if you decide to start running.  It is a great way to keep track of distance, your progress, check out new places to run, ect.  But below are the two routes I run, depends on where I’m at.  I blurred out some of it so you cant tell where I live, don’t need any stockers at my door!

More crazy people running down McDowell in 2007. When you’ll see the picture of me running, I’ll probably be all by myself in the back

Originally posted: Feb 12th, 2007

No I’m not referring to my last blog, for the most part everyone was very supportive and we really appreciate that.  I’m talking about starting my running and getting back in shape.  The last time I have really consecutivelly ran (besides playing basketball every once in a while or lifting some weights or something) was junior year in high school.  Basically when I first started going out with Jenny.  Yeah that would make it five years ago. We used to call the first week of practice “hell week” because we would get back into shape, and do nothing but running, running and more running.  The week would be topped off with a run from Tempe High School to “A” mountain, up and down the road that goes up the mountain a couple times, then run back to school. 

And now I’m getting up at 6:00 AM and running 3 miles in a 1/2 hour before many of you are even hitting the snooze button.  How the heck did I decide to start doing that?!?

Well I had wanted to start getting back into shape for a long time now, my eating had been starting to catch up to me and knowing that I have a history of diabetes and what you could call a minor weight problem in my family, I didn’t want to follow in their footsteps.  I ran into my old friend Ben from high school who just happens to be a personal trainer at Pure Fitness.  He put me on this crazy work out plan, run 4 times a week, 1/2 hour a day, drink 2 tbl spoons of instant coffee w/ 6 oz. of water (yuck!) before running and eat oatmeal for breakfast everyday.  Oatmeal?  I’ve been eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch for the last 10 years of my life, what a change lol!

So anyway my first day of running was January 22nd.  Let me take you back real quick.  January 21st happened to be the day that it snowed in Phoenix.  Yes snowed.  And there I was running through the streets at 6:00 AM in the bitter cold.  When I was taking a shower after my run, my body was so cold that when the hot water hit me, it turned it cold! It has fortunately warmed up since then, but just last Friday & Saturday I found myself steaming after my run.  That was pretty cool, I’ve seen football players do that on TV but yeah that was a first for me.  Well this is part one of the part two blog.  Coming next week, I’ll talk about what I’ve decided to do next January 2008 (you’ll want to see this!) and some more blogging about me running and maps of where I run, just in case you were interested.  Stay tuned!

Higley and Brown at 7:30 AM the morning I ran.  There wasent snow on the ground where I ran but this photo (from azcentral.com) was taken about 15 miles from my house!

Originally posted: Feb 8th, 2007