So, the past week has been crazy to say the least. As you may remember from the last recap, my air conditioning went out two Friday’s ago and Brooke and I were staying at her parents house due to triple digit highs in Pasadena. Well, one week ago, my wife called to check on the progress to find that no one had visited our apartment yet to asses the situation. That meant another night at the in-laws. On Tuesday, we found out that a part needed to be ordered to fix our air conditioning. The estimated time of completion was Friday afternoon. Not the best news to start the week. However, it was good to know how the week would  play out. Going day to day was getting old.

I did get out for a 4 mile run on Tuesday evening. Since I was staying at my in-laws place, I had to alter my run route. They don’t live too far from part of the 6 mile loop around my apartment that I use. So, the plan was to run part of that. The first 2 miles were miles 3 and 4 of my 6 mile route. The first two uphill miles. Not exactly the best way to start a 4 mile run. However, I’d get to run largely downhill in the last 2 miles. I started off with my marathon intervals for the first mile. Even though the second mile was still going uphill, I decided to make the switch to run 30/walk 60 in that mile. This was clearly more difficult than when I do it on my normal 4 mile loop. I didn’t make up much time at all in that mile. The question I had going into this run was where the end of mile 2 would be exactly. By the time I got to the end of the Pasadena City College campus, I was at 1.8 miles. So, I decided to turn down that street and make my way back to California Blvd to finish out the run. It was different running down California at night in the dark. So, I was a little more cautious than I would have been normally. When you can’t see the ground in front of you very well, you want to make sure that you don’t trip and fall unnecessarily. I was a little bummed with my finish time. However, it was a different route and I was dealing with the abnormal living situation. So, getting in the 4 miles was a victory in itself.

Thursday’s run should have been better because I was running the same route. However, some technical glitches had me running the last part without any idea of my overall time. I started off the same way I started Tuesday’s run and finished the first mile a little faster. Since I didn’t make up very much time at all in the second mile Tuesday, I kept my marathon intervals for mile 2. That left me feeling fresher for mile 3! At 2.6 miles, I accidentally knocked one of the ear pieces out of my ear and hit pause on the Nike Plus app to put it all back in. Then, I looked down at the app and saw the app thought I was ending my run. I tried running only to hear “workout completed.” So, I stopped, waited for everything to finish and started a new run. I made note of where I was in the run so I could know how much I had left. My average pace was 12 minutes, 13 seconds per mile for that first 2.6 miles. Even though I knew where I was at mile wise, I didn’t make not of my time. So, the last 1.4 miles were run without any idea of my overall pace. The last 1.4 miles were at a pace of 11 minutes, 42 seconds per mile. My overall time was 48 minutes 8 seconds. That was 7 seconds faster than Tuesday. I can’t help but wonder if I’d known how close I was to a sub 12 minute pace, if I’d have run the last 1.4 miles differently.

Friday was Brooke’s birthday. We went out with her parents to celebrate at one of her favorite restaurants…Cafe Bizou in Pasadena. We not only got to celebrate her birthday, but the fact that the air conditioning had been fixed at our apartment! Hooray!

It was a wonderful evening with Brooke and her parents. However, sleeping on a couch for almost a week had taken its toll on me. I was on a very different schedule because I wasn’t living at my apartment. Mornings were different. Every evening, I’d stop by the apartment to get the food I’d need for the next day before heading over to Brooke’s parent’s place. In the morning, I didn’t have free access to everything because I wanted to be respectful of my in-laws and that we were at their place. They were super nice in letting us stay with them for a week. It just isn’t like being at home. You know what I mean? So, by the end of the week my body was freaking out on me. Thursday’s run was difficult because I did feel a bit run down. To top things off, the secretary who sits in the cube behind me had been in and out during the week with a cold she was fighting. By Friday evening, I was wiped out. If it hadn’t been my wife’s birthday, I’d have opted for an early evening. I needed the sleep.

All of that to say, by Saturday morning, my body was screaming at me…ENOUGH! The cold had hit me in a big way. I decided to cancel my Saturday morning run. I wanted to run a 10K. However, I could tell I needed the rest. I hoped that if I rested all morning and into the afternoon, I’d be able to get out and run on Sunday.

Saturday evening, Brooke and I continued to celebrate her birthday with a trip to the Big A to see the Angels play the Toronto Blue Jays. One thing that made the game even cooler is that they were going to induct 3 players into the Angels Hall of Fame!

My wife was a big Tim Salmon fan back in the day. So, it was awesome that he was one of the players that was being inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame. Both Brooke and I were at his last game as an Angel. It was an extra innings game. So, each time he came up at the end, we all gave him a standing ovation.

They inducted Dean Chance, Mike Witt, along with the King Fish himself.

As for the game, I splurged to get some better seats. Here is Mike Trout! The result was not worth talking about. The Halos were blown out and lost 15-3. The game was essentially over in top of the 4th inning. So, there wasn’t much to cheer for.

But, hey! They did have the 2002 World Series Trophy on display for pictures! Ahhhhhh. Remembering better times as an Angels fan. Between the nostalgia of good times and the Angels were in the Angels Hall of Fame and getting to pose with the World Series Trophy, I found the silver lining in the night.

On the way out, we even got to take our picture with Angels Mickey! Fun fact…when the Angels hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 2010, they had Mickey’s made for all of the teams in baseball. This was the Angels one.

The result may have not been what we wanted, but it is always fun to go to the game.

By Sunday morning, I was out for the count all day long. So, no running or gym workout on the weekend for me. This does bother me a little because of what’s on the upcoming calendar. I’m hopeful that, with some rest, I’ll be back up and running at close to full strength by Thursday. My plan is to take it easy with a Tuesday run (if possible). Thursday won’t be a day where I push myself too hard. The goal for the week is to hopefully be able to finish 23 miles on Saturday or Sunday. We’ll see how what this week has in store.

This past week several of you made donations towards the charity I’m running for at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. So, I want to close this message off with a huge THANK YOU! If you haven’t donated yet or wish to contribute more, click on the image above to do so. For every $10 donated up until the end of the day August 28th (my birthday), you will receive one entry into a drawing for a $50 Disney Gift Card. So, please give, give, give.