mistermainevent

Check that out - it's only been three days since my last update. I know you're impressed.

Got up at 5am on Saturday morning for a quick breakfast, then out for my first 5-mile run. Truth be told, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be - I just stuck to the same pace I had been using all week, and after getting home and grabbing a quick shower, I felt great. That run also marked the end of my first full month of training - well, 4 weeks, anyway, so that's close enough. According to notebook I use to keep track of my workouts, I logged 46.91 miles, an average of 11.72 miles per week. Sticking with the same training schedule, the next four weeks will see some gradual increases, and then about mid-way through July things will really start ramping up.

After the run, _Sylar_ met me here at the apartment and we set out for the Salt River adventure with the <a href="http://suicidegirls.com/groups/SGAZ/">SGAZ</a> group. The rendezvous point was a Walgreen's about ten minutes or so from the river, and as we pulled into parking lot, we saw Padre enthusiastically waving a pirate flag to get our attention. Up until that moment, I had completely forgotten that it was Pirate Day - must be slipping in my old age.

We hung around for another 15-20 minutes waiting for everyone to show up. I don't know that I can remember EVERYONE that was there, but let's give it a shot: of course, the aforementioned _Sylar_ and Padre, as well as Blanch, Thanatogenous, aldremech, ConnollyThePerv, _Interrobang_, Suave, Thrasher, doolittle, Jenicomprispas, SilentRyan, pacmanman, Sandman3030, and Bitten. I think there were a few others, but those are the ones I remember clearly.

After standing in line to get our tubes and taking the most uncomfortable and claustrophobic bus ride in the history of the world, the day was underway. With a packed cooler as the nucleus of our little group, we drifted off downstream for a five-hour adventure. I'm not about to attempt a play-by-play account (SilentRyan already has that taken care of), but things that stood out include:

- ConnollyThePerv's eyeliner eyepatch and neon-green flippers
- throwing enormous, soggy marshmallows at random groups of people
- trying desperately to get away from the douchebags with the terrible music
- losing the other group, finding the other group, and losing them again (wash, rinse, repeat)
- getting caught in an eddy and going around in circles twice before a few of us finally jumped in and pulled the rest of the group back into the current
- getting the group wrapped around a large section of rocks and weeds
- pulling a muscle in my shoulder and my leg and twisting my knee while trying to unwrap the group from the rocks and weeds
- the group falling apart about halfway down the river, during which the cooler capsized, the bag with our towels was submerged, Blanch lost her top, and Thanatogenous lost her tube and swam off after it
- reuniting with Thanatogenous further downstream
- watching people climb up onto the rocks and dive back into the water
- losing the bag with the towels and sunscreen and _Sylar_'s clothes
- deciding that the sheet I used to tie around my tube wasn't worth salvaging and throwing it in the trash

By the time we loaded into the car to head back, I was sore, sunburnt, and exhausted. I'll know to plan a little better next time, and will be more prepared for all the hazards the river has to offer. But when it was all said and done, I had a great fucking time, and I'm glad I went. Got to hang out with a bunch of awesome people, make a few new friends, and spend a Saturday afternoon outside of my store for a change. Hard to complain about that.

Most of yesterday was spent lying on the couch, putting lotions on my burns and drifting in and out of sleep. I left the house long enough to take a meeting with someone I used to work for, and to get some food, then came back home and dozed through the remake of "Friday the 13th." I tried to go to bed early, but the combination of sore muscles and sunburn made it hard to get comfortable. When I finally managed to drift off, I didn't sleep well.

Got up this morning and went running, against my better judgment. My knee felt alright during the run, but started aching again afterward. Probably gonna have to take tomorrow off and run again on Wednesday to make up for it. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. For now, gonna have to tough it out. I've gotta go to work in a bit, and with a midnight release for "Ghostbusters" tonight, it's gonna be a long day.

Thanks for reading.