Exciting stuff (at least for me)

The last couple weeks have brought about some exciting running-related events into my little world. A new running store (The Runner's Store) opened up not too far away. The owner has started a running club (it's still really small right now, so if you live close by, you should come check it out Saturday mornings--see website for details). I also got an email the other day announcing a 5k race the store is putting together to support a couple Phoenix charities. The 1st Annual Laveen Fun Run will be held on August 22 at 6:30 AM at Betty Faifax High School (59th Ave and Baseline). I'm really looking forward to this race as I am currently training for a fast 5k. We'll see what I can do in 4 weeks. 19:15, maybe? 19:00??

I started work last week after an much-too-short summer break. Not so exciting, but my school district provides me with a district cell phone since I work at multiple schools, and this year, they upgraded to the iPhone 3G. Very exciting. I've done a little playing around with it (by that I mean I've spent a major amount of time, umm... "working" with it). I discovered a sweet running app called RunKeeper. There's a free version and a $10 version. I downloaded the free one, and I think it is so cool. The iPhone has an internal GPS in it and the app allows my phone to track my stats and route. The first time I used it, I was extremely surprised at how accurate the map was. There were a couple corners it cut, but once you end the session on the phone, your data is sent to RunKeeper.com and you can edit the route and view your stats online. Very cool. The paid version has a few more features than the free version like programmable workouts and audio feedback (tells you your stats, intervals, etc.). I think I would happily shell out 10 bucks if I knew I'd have an iPhone next school year. Who knows what the district will upgrade to next year?

You may remember me posting a couple months ago about me having high blood pressure. I'm happy to report that it hasn't been a problem and I haven't had to go back to the doc. At my last appointment though, the doc told me that I'll probably end up needing meds someday and that he'd probably prescribe a beta-blocker. I did some research and found out that I really don't want to take a beta-blocker because of it's potential effects on athletic performance. So, I turned to the experts at Running Times magazine. Just out of curiosity, I did a search on their website today and found this. Yes, "Reid, Arizona" is me. Pretty cool, huh? I was published and didn't even know it. Add that to my impressive list of publications which also includes a comment published in Runner's World magazine a few years ago (I didn't have my blog back then, so I wasn't able to brag about it... so I'm doing it now).

There you have it. Exciting stuff from my world.

UPDATE: I guess I was published again. Well, I don't know if you can really call it published, but my name is on the Running Times website with a question I had about vegetarianism. Here's a link.