Have it my way, you say?

My. ass. hurts. so. bad.

I have no idea why, I haven't added any new hills or anything. So what gives? Maybe its the feeling of my newly-awakened ass muscles fighting back against gravitational forces ... and the brownies I made the other night. Let's hope so. Anyway, let's put that topic "behind" us for a moment (hehehe... I really could not help myself).

Week four is complete and the infamous week five is officially underway. While I'm happy to know that I am half way through the program and towards my first running-related goal, the thought of Week five makes me want to hide under my covers and pretend like I've never owned a pair of running shoes in my life. For one, each day in Week 5 is a new workout, which means I won't even have a chance to get slip into my oh-so-familiar comfort zone. Add on top of that a final workout that includes 20 minutes of non-stop running, and the self-doubt really starts to creep in. Luckily I have a couple days to let that really sink in before I give it my best go.

Today's final Week 4 run ended up being surprisingly entertaining. Big_Shoes joined me, and since we had spent the entire morning cleaning our apartment, we decided to make our run to Target to pick up a new three-basket laundry hamper and some other essentials. The run was great, although frigid and a bit shorter than I would have liked. I've finally come to the conclusion that I need to track routes that are at least 3.5 miles or so in order to get the full run in, so I guess I need to scout out some places to go that are a bit off my beaten track. Can I just say that is has literally been MONTHS since I have been in a chain store that did not sell just groceries? It was a total culture shock. I wanted everything. Yes, everything. I had almost forgotten what that feels like. Luckily for my bank account we managed to check out with a total of four items, despite wandering around all googly eyed for over and hour.

So after our exciting excursion, both of our stomachs are grumbling, and where do we decide to go for lunch? Burger King. Yes, I said it - Burger King. Big_Shoes keeps insisting that my eating habits are depriving him of his beloved dead cow flesh, and we hadn't eaten fast food for several months (September or so?) so I let him "have it his way", if you will. Strangest thing, while sitting in the ridiculously crowded restaurant, we actually met a family from our home state, and the father had actually gone to school at our Alma Mater (we were wearing matching sweatshirts), and grew up just blocks from where we had lived! This coincidence becomes bizarre when you consider that said Burger King is 3,000 miles away from our respective home towns. Small world, much? Anyway, with stomachs full and merchandise in hand, we decided to take the bus home. To make up for my short run and warm myself up while waiting for the bus, I took a quick run around the block while Big_Shoes dutifully waited with our bags.

Enough of that. Let's get back to talking about my ass. Or asses in general, perhaps? I had the unfortunate occasion to stumble on to a blog post that discussed the issue of... well... pooing while running. Considering my intestinal challenges last week, I thought the post might be relevant, so I decided to read on. Come to find out, it is common running knowledge that many long-distant runners pee/poop themselves on the run during races? In order to not loose the 60-seconds or so it would take to make it to the nearest HoneyBucket? Okay, I admit my tiny successes with the C25K program have placed a few vague dreams of future marathon races in my head, but this little "nugget" of knowledge reminds me that I am just not that committed. I'd take the minute or two hit on my time long before I'd run with a squishy accident sloshing around in my Depends.

Just more profound proof that I am not the "true" runner. Then again, if pooing my pants is a requirement for such distinction, I'll glady claim my poser title.