September 21, 2008

Today was the R2R 20 miler! For those of you not familiar with the route, it starts at Foster, heads up to Hollywood and then down to the South Shore Cultural Center at 71st Street. It began with some warnings (yellow/moderate), but my runners were ready to go (or at least they pretended they were)!

I of course felt the need to practice actual marathon conditions. And as you all know, this means finding beer along the course! You can see that some tailgaters gave me one... That's right, 11.5, with Soldier Field in the back ground, and wearing a pacer's shirt...I stopped with some tailgaters to have a beer. I'm sure someone in the CARA office is very proud.Sometime after 10:30 the flags were changed to red/high risk level. I slowed my pace down about a minute per mile for the last 5 miles, but I still finished in about 4:07. I'm so proud of all the runners in my group! They all did so well--especially in this heat!
We did have one runner go down...Melissa finished and headed straight to the medical tent. She was suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration. We got her to the ER and 3 liters of fluid later she started to feel better. While I was pretty much useless in the medical capacity (Let's face it, I was trying not to puke every time she was stuck for an IV), I did try to entertain her by singing her songs and trying to find all the possible impressions I could do with the mylar blanket. (You'd be surprised how many you can do with that thing...Elvis, Chipotle Burrito, Batman and my personal favorite Jiffy Pop!)

Aside from the massive amounts of time in the ER, the nasty blisters (seriously, I'm never buying those shoes again!!) and missing the Bears game it wasn't too bad of a day, it certainly was a memorable! I'm pretty proud of how well I ran, it really gives me more confidence for the major races I have planned this fall.

September 20, 2008

Mad Dash to Madison 5K--2008 Blackhawks Training Camp

Fun race. I really took it easy--no need to burn out my legs for tomorrow. I finished in about 37:00 (I'll update when I see the official time). I got a Blackhawks tech shirt and 2 tickets to Tuesday's game. I think I'd do this one again...especially if I got faster--the winners got custom jerseys!

September 19, 2008

This morning I got up and did my Body Flex tape. It was only 15 minutes long, but I haven't done it in a while. I was thinking, it's really gimicky, but then again I think that with regular use it could help my core.

I'd also like to point out that at the third week in September I have the same amount of work out entries for all of 2007. There are days when I can't believe how much I've changed in a year. If you had told me that I'd be doing marathons and triathlons...or even leading a pace group for 20 miles (I mean really, who does that!?) I never would have taken that seriously.

September 18, 2008

Soreness.

I ran 2.18 miles with the kids at Cross-Country. It was slow, limpy going. That lactic acid bubble now feels like a piece of rebar along my thigh. It's both icky and painful. And it's making me a little crabby. Then, after picking up my packets for Saturday and Sunday, I did another 2 miles. It was in the second run, that I hit my watch, turning the timer off and had no idea what distance I ran. I mapped it out and had run 2 miles. I had intended 5, but two sets of 2 miles is better than no miles. I'm still kicking myself for not getting that last mile in...but I need to let it go. I got in the run, and one less mile isn't going to kill me.

Here's hoping Sunday goes well. Looking like the worst pacer ever is not high on my to-do list.

September 17, 2008

Getting motivated wasn't easy this afternoon. John was supposed to run with me, but he bailed (seems to be par for the course--he's a Cross Country coach, how could he have a 'football emergency'?!). I still also have that big ol' knot in my thigh. Starting out with a limp doesn't help things. I found it difficult to stay on a 12:00 pace. I ended upi getting a late start this afternoon.

But get out your maps for this route: I ran west to Narragansett, then back to Melvina. I headed south to Riis park and ran around it (FYI--it's 1.2 miles around) and then continued down Wrightwood to Austin and turned south to Fullerton. I ran east along Fullerton to Menard turning left and staying on Menard until I got to Lawrence. Once I got to Lawrence, I headed east again to Milwaukee and turned south to Sunnyside where I cut over to Laramie. Finally I took Laramie to Berteau and then ran home.

Total 10 miles in 2:03:12 (12:20/mile pace). I guess it's not too bad considering my massive knots!

September 16, 2008

Ok, so I know I did really well on Saturday, but that damn lactic acid bubble/knot is driving me nuts!! I tried to push myself to do a faster 5 miles, but that did not happen--the best I could do was on pace. Hector and I did arms and abs...I love the core work outs, they're definitely my fave!

September 13, 2008

It was a rainy day for a long run. I was sorta hoping that it would be called off, I wanted to be inside on an elliptical. But I guess I was ready to hit the road, because God kept the lightning at bay. I had four of my regular runners show up, and one who usually runs on Sundays. The rain wasn't awful for most of it. There were some bursts of major down pour.

Crystal, Jill and Colleen turned back at mile 5. I stopped to check on them and it's a good thing that I did because Danielle (from the 11:00 intermediate) caught us. The two of us caught up to Melissa and Lois with in a mile. Then Melissa and Danielle turned around at mile 6 and Lois and I ran to 8.5 at the turn around. My Garmin was telling me that I was short on mileage, but it was rainy, and I trust the Lakefront Path markers. 1.5 to 8.5 is seven miles, no matter what Garmin says :)

I had to stop at Navy Pier to go to the bathroom, so Lois continued on so she wouldn't cool off waiting for me. Now, I have to warn you, dear readers, POSSIBLE TOO MUCH INFORMATION AHEAD!! I was in the bathroom at Navy Pier and I realized that I needed a tampon. Obviously, I have none with me...definitely not something I pack for a run. I also have no change to get one from a machine. This is sooooo not good. I left the stall hoping I'd bump into some woman who might take pity on me in a very empty Navy Pier...when I see two ladies who where cleaning the restroom. I asked them if they had any from the machines...they took me to the supply closet and tried to give me whole box! Not that I wasn't grateful, but the whole box was not necessary. They kept encouraging me to take a few, but really even if it wasn't monsooning outside, how would I carry a few 'to go'? I just took one and thanked them---And I have to say, if they some how stumble upon my blog--THANK YOU SO MUCH!! You ladies are my heroes of the day!!

OK, IT'S SAFE TO READ AGAIN!!

After my stop, I didn't think I'd catch Lois, but I really did want to be done, so I pushed myself for the rest of the run. I actually caught her at Belmont! We finished the run in 2:38:14 and I even ran over Cricket Hill. That's an 11:19 average pace! I'm certain that I ran a mostly negative split for the second half. This was a huge improvement from the elliptical and laying on someones lawn!

After the run, I met Laura, Chad, Nancy and Christina for the ALS Walk 4 Life, which was a quick 2 miles. It was a nice cool down and it was great to support Laura's walk in her mother's honor.

On another note, I really want to do the Race to Madison next weekend. It's a 5k, and I know it's the day before the 20 miler...but I really want the Blackhawks tickets and the tech shirt! If someone wants to walk/run a 5k next Saturday morning. I'm talkin' super easy style, let me know--I'm in!!