But then yesterday I realized enough was enough. I was paying WAY too much and not going – although when I went in to cancel, the sales guy mentioned that I was actually paying $15 LESS than current rates. WTF? That definitely still doesn’t make it a bargain though.

Goodbye lap pools (plural). Goodbye yoga studio and fantastic teachers. Goodbye personal TVs on each piece of cardio equipment. Goodbye pool loungers. Goodbye steam room. Goodbye towels in the locker room and so many other amenities - quick-serve restaurant, spa and salon – of the rich and the famous.

I still have almost two full months left to enjoy those things, but come July, I’m on my own. Seriously, though? That could not have been more poorly timed! No more ACed fitness right as we head into the hottest three months of the year when there literally is one hour in each day that running outside doesn’t mean certain death. And that hour is 4am.

Technically, I have an ACed fitness center at my complex, although it’s a little depressing. And technically I can join another gym that’s a fraction of the cost.

In fact, a big reason that I quit was because I kept being tempted by Groupons and Living Social deals and then I would buy and use those and ignore my real gym. I’m pretty sure I can stay fit just sampling a few different crossfit boxes (OMG I already know the lingo, I will fit right in), yoga studios or other trendy fitness classes, again, for a fraction of the cost.

Plus, the workout DVDs at the library don’t ALWAYS skip or stop entirely. Or I could just Bridesmaids it and creep on an outdoor bootcamp class?

What are some of your favorite ways to stay fit without a fancy-pants gym?

Either way, it was cool to be at the race and the energy was great. My mom and I jumped into the public 5K, which took off a few minutes before the girls’ race – each running our own race again.

Thinking I was going to be running with and encouraging a girl running her first 5K, I left my phone in the car, which meant running without music and my Nike app to tell me how I was doing! Ack! I felt good. I realized I breathe pretty heavily when running. The course around Kiwanis Park in Tempe was pretty cool – there are a lot of races there, but I’ve never done any.

I got GOTRed by two girls and their running buddies who started a little after me, and that is so awesome! I came into the finish line strong and my official time was 27:19…a one-second PR! Haha, I’ll take it!

I loved watching the rest of the runners come in the finish shoot. I got chills, I got a little verklempt. Some girls were finishing strong, some had given it their all the whole way through and were steady into the finish, a few were in tears, but they were still going. So, even though the day didn’t turn out like I expected, it was a really great experience.

Next time, though! Running buddy or bust!

It’s always a solemn, but fun, memorial run and this year, just five days after the bombing at the Boston Marathon, it was an even more moving experience – the huge crowd of over 20,000 runners was so amazingly quiet during a moment of silence for Boston and a spectacular rendition of the national anthem.

I love the people that come out for this race and how they challenge themselves for 4.2 miles – army troops and patriots and firefighters, oh my!

Feeling a little undertrained and knowing that in a crowded race, it’s sometimes hard to get space to do well, I just wanted to have fun. It wasn’t until I started that I decided my A and B goals were 36 minutes and 40 minutes. My Nike app kicked in at each mile with times that I loved to hear and I felt good. I loved the familiar course, the hills that I’ve hit during other recent races didn’t kill me like they have in past years and it was warm, but not as hot as I remembered it being.

At mile three, I decided to punch it, remembering that the course narrows and the runners jam up at mile four heading into ASU Stadium to finish on the 42 yard line and if I wanted a good time, I’d have to make up for that in the last full mile.

I was running pretty strong and as the course narrowed I found a few other runners determined to finish hard and got behind them as they puddle jumped, so I never really even slowed. Macklemore was my music of choice for the whole race and as I was heading into the finish line, this song kicked in…I highly recommend finishing any race to this athletic-themed crescendo, there’s actually cheering!

My official finish time was 38:12, perfectly in between my goals…woohoo!

My mom’s corral had to wait a while to start, so I walked around the expo for a bit before posting up near the stadium entrance to catch her. And of course I missed her! We discussed later that she was just behind a group of people running for Boston who were hauling a cooler speaker blaring Irish music, so I was a little distracted!

She finished in 54:11, beating last year’s time and said her race felt good! Great job, Mom!

We lightrailed back to my car and had a fantastic brunch (hello, almond-crusted french toast, where have you been all my life?!) at Biscuits in Chandler and then pampered ourselves with mani/pedis. I can get behind this post-race tradition!

This is what running is to me. It’s all smiles. It’s the friends that I’ve made in the running community. It’s feeling connected to strangers you share closed streets with for a few hours on early Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Running highs should take over your entire body, but now runners have to leave room for worry and doubt, fear and suspicion. It sucks. Our faces may be somber for now, but I know we’ll find our racing smiles again.

But, after a great weekend trip to Sedona, I decided it was time to get back on track and my plan last week was to make like a girl scout and be prepared – prepared for wherever, whenever, however I could work out. My bag with yoga clothes that could double as running clothes and running shoes and everything I’d need to swim has gone with me everywhere to avoid continuing to give into getting home from work and never wanting to leave again.

Was I planning a yoga class, but left work too late? Cool, I can run. Is it too hot in the afternoon to run (or as was the case earlier this week, too windy, allergy-y and nasty outside)? Cool, I can swim.

My training plan goes with me everywhere too, but it’s more of a guideline and I’m more concerned now with what I want to do and what I can do because SOMETHING is better than nothing. It worked four out of five days last week!

Goals for the next couple weeks:

RUN – I’d like to do decently at Pat’s Run so I have to keep it up and while I’m disappointed I haven’t run a LOT this year, I’m happy I have at least some miles on every week.

Use the rest of my True Hot Yoga Groupon – I definitely already got my money’s worth and I silently scream in those classes, but it’s a decent workout and I’m stubborn so darn it I’m gonna finish it.

The race was on Saturday at McDowell Mountain Park, so it was actually an awesome and challenging 6.2 mile trail run in addition to being an obstacle course.

By the time we got our codes to enter, the earliest wave available was 11:30 and the high on Saturday was supposed to be 90, so I was a little concerned it would be too hot – that was a huge problem with the only other obstacle race I’ve done, the Lozilu, which took place even later into the hot Arizona spring/summer. 

The first half of the race was pretty warm and unfortunately the water stations were out of water! The obstacles offered a slight break because we had to wait in a line to go through them…we got to one and people were walking away saying they had been there for an hour already, so we skipped it as well.

Despite the heat, lack of water, my lack of recent training and Stacey’s hamstring injury, it was a great running day and we kept up a decent pace in between obstacles, not letting our Ragnar spirit die and chicked plenty of men along the way.

Finally, we made it to the mid-way point with its glorious stocked water station, port-a-potties and a water obstacle. Essentially it was a dumpster filled with water and you had to swim under three barriers. Kinda gross? Yes, but we were sweaty and dirty already and getting drenched to start out on the next three miles was actually quite welcome!

Then there was a slip and slide, which was super fun, some more military-style obstacles and more trail running, of course. There were a good amount of obstacles for the distance and they were spread out pretty well. Only once we ran for almost a mile between them, but the view was awesome and the trail made it more interesting. Then before we knew it (a little less than two hours after starting), we finished and got our sweet medals!

Lozilu was TOUGH, so I was worried about doing a longer course, but I guess with my yoga and swimming, I’m more strength-trained than I give myself credit for. I was sore for a few days, but it was a fun kind of sore.

This race did not feel like a first for Rogue Runner. It was well-marketed and brought in lots of participants and except for the water issue, it ran very smoothly. (I ran the first Neon Race the week before and it was fun because I was with friends, but logistical it was a complete disaster.)

The Rogue Runner course was legit – not just another copy-cat gimmicky run with more talk than walk – though it’s definitely an obstacle run, not fully a “mud” run. It definitely gave me the confidence boost I needed to get me thinking I can handle a Tough Mudder! I’m so happy I added this race to my schedule at the last minute, I had a blast!

The heat has made me remember the summers I spent on swim team – an hour every weekday morning and meets on Thursday nights – and made me realize my swim sessions lately haven’t been cutting it.

I like swimming, but I was always talking myself up to get in the cold water and stink like chlorine for the next day all for the sake of a rushed 20 minute distance-goal workout! So, I decided to take this summer to pretend I’m on swim team again!

I don’t have any tris on my calendar, so no distance goals to meet, it’s just about swimming for the amazing workout that it is. Of course, I’m not anywhere close to getting to the pool five times a week for an hour each time, but I’m setting time goals and doing more interesting workouts than just up and down the lane to get the distance done.

Workouts I’ve done so far:

45 minute ladder: 500 free, 100 breast, 400 free, 100 backstroke kick, 300 free, 100 breast, 200 free, 100 backstroke kick, 100 free

45 minute ladder: 300 free, rest, 400 free, rest, 500 free, rest, 400 free, rest, 300 free

30 minute drills: 500 free, 10×100 (50 free sprint, 50 free kick), 250 free cool down

Mostly I make them up the second I get in the pool, so I need to work out figuring some out ahead of time particularly as I work up to 60 minutes, but they’ve worked out well so far and the first two were 1900 meters, which broke my distance record for any pool swims recently. Definitely worth the fuss of actually getting in the pool!

Runs are going to be increasingly easier to skip as the window for running outside closes and my race calendar wraps up (April 27 is my last), so having the option to get in a GOOD swim is fantastic. Are you changing your routine as it gets warmer?

1. Pack less. I used less than half of what I packed. I gave into being dirty and comfy very quickly. You don’t really need many “in-between” clothes because your running clothes for your next leg are fine. Also, blankets are perfectly acceptable attire. Even if they are stinky. Our van was overflowing with STUFF and we could have made do with a lot less.

2. Have a dedicated van driver. Nicole’s husband Lance was invaluable. He drove the entire time, allowing us to just focus on running, sleeping if we could and laughing until we cried at stuff that probably was not all that funny. He knew exactly where we were and where we were going, calculated our paces and found us food. We talked about how things could have gone south very quickly if we had to worry about driving.

3. Pack a towel. Okay, I didn’t totally give into being dirty and I did donate $3 to shower at our halfway point. However, I didn’t have a towel and the Anthem Community Center is no Lifetime Fitness. I used my pillow case. Don’tjudgeme.

4. Tag other vans – with magnets, a decided upon logo, other vans’ decorations. It’s a thing.

5. Bring a camera. I charged my camera battery for the occasion and then left it still charging in my kitchen. I had my phone and was able to take a lot of pics and get them on social media quickly, but I would have loved to document with more and a real camera.

6. Keep a body count. Ragnar is fun, but being somewhat competitive and trying to pass other runners is fun too. I can get behind a race that encourages keeping a running tally.

7. Text your mom after your legs so she knows you didn’t get eaten by coyotes and then she’ll make you cookies for the end.

8. As much as our team loves sweets, we didn’t eat many on the road. I think I had one Oreo the whole time. Stomachs are sensitive with the little amount of sleep you get, so sticking to real race fuel is probably the best option.

8. Train. Duh. I could have handled my legs a little bit better if I had worked in some hills and a few more two-a-days.

9. Plan to stick around at the finisher’s festival. You earned it. But after that, don’t plan on doing anything for two days after the race. Your brain and body won’t work.

10. Don’t have too many cooks in the kitchen. We had one amazing captain who planned everything. Nicole got us all organized and kept us informed of everything that was going on. Other people helped with shirts and vans and Ragnar Eve plans, but knowing we were in great hands, I stepped back and let everything be taken care of.

Priorities shifted, I ran more races than I have in past years, and this is about the point in running season where I feel a little burnt out anyway, an injury popped up and derailed my training further.

I was assigned to be runner #6 and my legs were all about 5 miles, which felt totally manageable, so I was never concerned about being able to complete them and do decently well. I was, however, a little concerned about some of the legs in terms of safety (Ragnar has had a few deaths, including an Arizona high schooler a few years ago).

I think my nerves mostly came up out of fear of the unknown.

You can read the race bible, you can read blog recaps, but you don’t know what Ragnar is until you do it. Before you do it,  you can only imagine the running, the lack of sleep, the cramped quarters might actually be awful.

It’s not. Well, okay, it probably still could be (in fact, my van talked about all the ways things could have gone horribly wrong), but my experience was not the awful I was worried about and now I think it’s funny how apprehensive I was about it.

In the week before, we lost three runners due to illness or injury, but it worked out for the best. We threw in last-minute replacements and our team was fantastic just the way it ended up being.

Part of my anxiety came from just being a socially anxious person in general. I like my alone time and I’m shy around new people and the thought of relying on mostly strangers, having them rely on me and being stuck in a van with them did not sound like a good time.

I kept telling myself (and any non-runners who could not comprehend the race in general) that I was just doing it for the experience, to see what it’s like and to bucket list it.

That changed so fast.

Ragnar is like Burning Man meets a marathon meets one of those Disneyland turnaround trips you do when you’re in high school. So, in a word, awesome.

The running part, as I said, was never a huge concern anyway. I got my legs done and everyone on the team just wanted to do their best and have their teammates do the same. It is a little strange to be the one running because in that moment, you think you’re the sole reason everyone’s out in the desert anyway. You’re not.

Everyone’s having a great time cheering you on or sleeping or laughing until they cry. Yeah, there’s running, but it’s not so serious. At least on our team, it wasn’t, and maybe that’s why we worked. To the boys high school team who kicked our butt and won the whole thing, yeah, maybe they were a little more hardcore about it.

My routes were all straight shots, so I didn’t have to worry about getting lost (there seemed to be an awful lot of info about that at the meetings). The routes felt safer than I was imagining and for the most part, you’re in sight of your van or another team’s and someone is looking out for you. Once I posted my runner’s view picture to Facebook, my mom, who was maybe more nervous than I was, said she felt better about the whole thing. The vans were hyperaware and the non-vans were probably hyperaware once they saw all the vans and runners. Safety gear does wonders too.

Runner with and without safety gear from 150 feet.

I LOVE sleep and I hate being tired. On a normal night, by 8:30 my eyes are HEAVY and I’m done. That was not going to fly during Ragnar, but it was okay. I slept four hours on Thursday night before we left, a few cat naps in the van and a little bit at the longer exchanges, but I wasn’t as tired as I thought I’d be. The group energy keeps you going. In the grand scheme, 40ish hours isn’t all that bad to be mostly awake.

Yes, it was cramped. We had a mini van and seven people in it, so unless someone was out running, that’s one seat per butt. And then our stuff! It was everywhere, it got stepped on and dug through by people who a day ago were practically strangers, it started to smell. It was all okay.

As for my stranger danger apprehension, I got over it. We had the best group in our van and this is really what made the race. We may not have all known everyone’s names (haha), but that was irrelevant. We talked, we laughed, we cheered. I was able to be myself and it was FUN.

That would be snow on our spring training fields two days before Ragnar.

If there had to be a WORST part of the experience, I guess I’d say it was the cold. Phoenix got SNOW two days before the race and it had started warming up, but was still chilly and windy at a lot of the overnight and early morning exchanges. I hate being cold, but really it was only for a few minutes while switching runners and my legs were not all that cold, so it’s really the best worst there could be.

Making an effort to just curb my anxieties and expectations and just experience it probably helped immensely. After last weekend, it’s not just a once-in-a-lifetime experience, it’s something I plan to do again and again!

In the hour after your first leg, you go from “never again” to “when’s the next one?”

Your six new best friends > sleep.

Your Instagram feed BLOWS UP.

You can’t decide if you like your van’s running time or downtime more.

You start to think Port-A-Potties aren’t a bad option and assume they’re all decent and well-stocked.

Yelling to your runner that “everyone else looks like shit too” is the welcomed encouragement she needs.

Sleeping in fields, on a basketball court and scrunched in a van are fantastic ideas.

You’re impressed that the satellite station your van is listening to hasn’t repeated a song yet. And then it does.

You look damn good in a safety vest.

That moment when you figure out how long it’s been since your last real meal and you realize what you’ve been subsisting on in that time.

Safety flags = active release therapy.

Your drive home is lonely and you keep looking for runners and vans.

They don’t allow you to drink during the race, but you swear you feel hungover for the next two days.