More Non Running

Well it looks like all the shit has caught up with us. Oh well. We are still so far out from the marathon that I am not too concerned about it. The original plan of course was to run 5 miles yesterday and then 17 today. We didn't get the 5 miles in yesterday because of the awfulness that was Wednesday and there just wasn't any time with work stuff.

Today we are still going to try and run but we don't know how far we'll make it. We have to head west to drop our cat off and run a bunch of errands tonight. When we get back if we are feeling up to it we'll go out for a run.

I am feeling that I had overdone it and so I'm ok with missing these two runs. I don't think that pushing yourself till you vomit is necessarily a good sign. We will then still run our recovery week next week in Lancaster, and then the following week we'll probably have to take completely off because of travel and work schedules. The following week we'll repeat the recovery week and continue from there.

I'm not very happy about missing a 17 mile run since these are the important ones to keep up with. But sometimes life happens and there isn't anything you can do about it. I'm still very early in the training schedule and will have lots to time to do lots more 17+ mile runs so I'm sure it'll be ok.

So here's to a good trip in the United Kingdom and stay tuned for posts from the other side of the pond!

Much Needed Non Running

Well I can chalk up yesterday to being one my worst days ever. Nothing seemed to go right from presentations, to exhausted freak outs, to bad food, to stomach issues, to highways being closed.

Today we were supposed to run a 5 mile recovery. That's not going to happen as I haven't eaten much all day and my body is just exhausted. We are still going to try for 17 miles tomorrow though, but I am guessing it will be a pretty slow and steady deal. Then perhaps I can get the 5 miles in on Saturday before we leave for England.

We still have TONS to do for our trip including getting back out to the western suburbs to drop the cat off at our friends house. We had plans to drop the cat off today at 4pm which is towards the end of the work day BUT RCN sucks and our internet went out and so we had to come into the lab early so that jason could finish up his talk for our round two of practice talks.

Ok goal for the day : No Crying during critisism stage of my practice talk. Cause .... THERE'S NO CRYING IN PHYSICS. I just hope they don't ask for all kinds of additions to the talk....cause I am so flippin' exhausted that I can't will myself to add more slides at this point.

Ok. here's to a good practice talk. and hopefully smooth sailing for the next day and a half before our trip. and then it's ENGLAND BABY!!!!

**editors note: The practice talk went really well!!! I kinda think that it's because of yesterday's debacle and they didn't want to be mean to me.....but I'll take it!**

Work Until You Puke....

....literally.

Little Leah did perhaps a bit too much. Perhaps working for 14 hours straight and having a nervous breakdown for 1.5 hours for that and THEN run 10 miles averaging 8:44 miles (last mile at 7:36!!!) is too much.

OR I had some bad food. I am going with option two as I'm still getting sick :-(

Poor Jason. I found a plastic bag in the car on the way home at 2:30am to shoot for....all was well until there was a hole in the bottom of the bag. As I was spewing like a fire hose he had to take care of it and me. Not a good scene. I feel so bad. After he dropped me off (because I was going to get sick....for a 3rd time) he had to go back out and get some cleaning solution for the car. It's now almost 4am and the LeahJason crew is tired and ready for bed.

Am I truly insane because I am still happy with the running effort. Yeah. I think so. Sigh.

Tip of the day: If you see a Go Roma! restaurant I say Go Homa!!!

Just When I Thought I Was Out....

THEY PULL ME BACK IN.

Well my practice talk sucked. I got only critisims and no compliments. AND I have to add in all kinds of shit to the talk. All kinds of physics results and plots and whatever. Which is fine, but it would have been nice if that would have been brought up two days ago when I started going to people for help.

Whatever.

Jason and I are going to try run 10 miles tonight after my shift.....which is at midnight.

Then I'll probably just keep my skinny ass here at the lab till tomorrow at midnight because my level of sucktitude is so high I have to give ANOTHER practice talk tomorrow.

Awesome.

So. Sore.

For all of you out there who scoff at the athleticism of baseball players, let me assure you that they are better than you give them credit for (shame on you).

I played softball for 2 and a half hours yesterday. And today? I can make no movement that doesn't result in some level of pain...including breathing. My upper back, by obliques, my shoulders...everything. And to top it all off, by hamstrings, hip pointers, and groin are all super, duper tight.

People think baseball players are lame for always pulling their hammies? I'm amaze they don't pull them every day. A tweaked groin? Hell yeah, you should be glad that's all you got.

Softball is not the sport for us slow-twitch types. It frightens our bodies and makes them spasm. Hell, it even leveled one of our very own RBF members.

So, go ahead and mock the baseball players who just stand around waiting for a pitch to be hit. But realize this: you may be able to run in a straight line for longer than them, but they've got a whole 'nother kind of endurance to make it through a 162 game season without getting injured more often.

I mean, just look at them. They're beasts:

Quick Recovery

The run wasn't too quick...but this post will be. The run was good, just a nice easy 5 miles. I don't remember the splits offhand but we averaged a 9:45 pace. Maybe a bit quick, but I am so worried about all the work I have to do I wanted to get into the lab as soon as possible. ASAP you might say.

I am frantic to get my talk for the conference next week done AND get all of the runs this week done by Friday AND get packed and ready to go AND get my cats babysitters all set up AND get the apartment cleaned AND the laundry done. Sigh.

My practice talk is tomorrow afternoon after which I am hoping things will calm down slightly before we go. Tomorrow we also have a 10 mile run planned, then 5 miles Thursday and 17 miles on Friday....breathe breathe breathe....it will all get done!

Happy Running everyone!

Now THAT's...

A really, really, really, really hard run.

Holy crap, that run was exhausting.

Guh.

This morning, before heading out to work (4-midnight shift this week), Leah and I had a 9 mile run with 4 miles at Lactate Threshold pace. Now, this wasn't our first time lactating. Just two weeks ago we ran eight miles with the middle four being run lactiously. And really, that wasn't so bad. Hell, it made us feel strong. Like bull.

This week however...

I think part of the problem was mental. We wanted to take Garmin with us on the run since, well, we were running and besides that it was a special run. The sky, however, was peeing all over the place and we were worried about getting the Garmin wet and ruining it. Is this a valid concern? Has anyone tested this? Hello? Anyway, we eventually decided after waffling three or four times that it was better to play it safe since we knew how upset we would be were the rain to ruin it. We did, however, take the iPods to give us that speedy rhythm.

We step out the door the final time after taking the Garmin back upstairs and, of course, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and a little angel is playing a trumpet right over our heads (which is weird because he usually plays the clarinet). Damn. Well, so be it, off we go.

We warmed up for 2.3 miles (Leah's headphones are bothering her and bouncing out of her tiny ears. She is getting annoyed with them) and then turned it up a notch for our LT miles. The plan was to run 7:45 miles for each of the four miles. The splits:

Mile one: 7:41 (*applause*)
Mile two: 8:02 (but wait! we had to cross the bridge at north avenue beach and we got stuck behind some beach-goers with coolers. And, what's this? Leah's iPod battery died. Now she's just running with bouncy headphones)
Mile three: 8:15 (aaaannd...there's the wind. For the second half of this mile the wind was howling in our faces. Right about this point I was sucking some serious wind. No pun intended.)
Mile four: 8:04 (still lots of wind, but at this point we just want to finish. Leah throws away the headphones. The crowd rejoices)

After finishing those four miles, I was declared legally dead. It was the most exhausting run of my life. Our pace was a bit slow, but I know my legs were topped off with a generous layer of lactic acid and felt like really gross jello, so mission accomplished. After take long, heaving breaths for a bit and walking, we managed to run a bit to the next water stop. I was ready to curl up into a little ball at this point, but Leah thought that might be a bad idea so we ran the last 2+ miles home and that ended up okay.

In the end, we were in the right zone for an LT run and so we have to be pretty happy about the run. It just would be nice if we had a bit left for the cool down. But, I think we were sort of mentally funky going into this and we also might be a bit tired out from running so many miles this last week.

No excuses, though. The miles are in and onward we move.

Later that day...

Hey, I actually got a chance to play softball! I played last year and it was really fun (I love softball despite not being great at it) but my schedule has been so crazy this summer that I've missed every game so far this season. However, with Leah being stuck working 4-midnight, I got to join the team for a practice. We did fielding practice and I got to hit some as well; it was great. I'm pretty decent in the outfield (although I throw very badly) and have the most speed on the team (see, this is why we do speedwork), so I can track most flyballs down assuming I don't misjudge them. I also played a bit of third and first, although I really think they might regret putting me at first. My insticts are...not so great.

I was a little wobbly in the batter's box, pulling off the ball a bit (I think I was dropping my shoulder), but I still managed some nice line drives.

Stay tuned for results from my first (and possibly last) game on Wednesday. I can't wait!

Now THAT'S The Way It Should Be

15 mile long run today.

no pain.
no tiredness.
no boredom.
no crying about being slow

A whole lot of laughing.
A dude playing, "If you're happy and you know it ..." under Lake Shore Drive at Navy Pier.
A couple getting married on a boat near Buckingham Fountain, we made it time for the, "I pronounce you..." while everyone on the boat (and land) cheered.
A new recovery item...Orange Burst Gu with caffeine....tasty.

All of the above + average 9:05 min/mile (last 4 miles under 9....last mile under 8!)= best run of the season.

It's runs like this that keep me going day after day.

It's why I keep lacing up the sneakers even after bad runs and after worse runs. It's why I run by all the Cubs fans sitting at Bernies drinking beers or the kids at the Kit Kat Club on Halsted drinking martinis of all colors instead of joining them.

For me there is no better feeling than having a run like that. We all have bad days, we all have days where even the thought of putting on running clothes and going outside to run sounds too horrible, let alone actually doing those things. It's what you do with the bad days. Do you get out of bed anyways?

Jason says running is like being a pitcher. He says a pitcher on average will have his best stuff 25% of the time. It's what you do with the other 75% that matters. I don't love running all the time. If you have read this blog in the past week you probably have gotten a less than, "LET'S GO RUNNERS, LET'S GO!!!" cheerleading feeling from it. And then today came, and one foot went in front of the other easier than it had in a week and I'm back on track.

I run because I get better at it. I keep following the workouts and advice of the pros and the miles melt away faster and easier and the seconds per mile drop bit by bit. I like that parts of it can be very analytical. Do this and you'll get faster, try this and it might help....and it does....go figure. Maybe that's a big part of it for me, why I can be ok with going out there everyday when sometimes there are things I would rather be doing. Because if I can keep the other things in check I can hopefully catch that Boston time ... or at least get under 4 hours this year.

By the way I will have to take 40 (!) minutes off my time from last year to qualify for Boston. That's a lot and I realize that....but I also realize that last year my idea of a recovery drink was frozen margaritas and I didn't do speed work or pace runs or tempo runs or strides or anything like that. I'm ok with that...for last year. But I want more this year. I am so hungry for more. AND I LOVE IT!!!! I love having something out there that isn't quite attainable...but just a little more push and you're there. It's FUN for me to push the envelope of what my body can do and make it stronger and tougher and quicker.

I run because it's something that keeps me sane in my life. I can have a horrible day at work, all my code is wrong, I sat in horrible traffic for two hours, I couldn't find a parking spot...ahhhh but then. I can go outside, enjoy that sunshine and my City and it's just me, my legs and the pavement and I am away from all that other bullshit. And it's good.

I must say, I love all of you out there who read this blog. I LOVE writing about running and getting comments & suggestions & compliments & corrections from all the friends and family and RBFers that read this stuff. I love thinking about what to write when I am running and I have to be honest that this is a big reason why I think I'm getting better this year. It gives me focus when I am out there and my head keeps reeling...I have how many more &%$#@* miles to go? The supportive comments and other people following the same plan who offer suggestions about what I am doing wrong or right are without a doubt one of the more helpful things out there. So Thank You!

I think it's important to ask the Why Do I Run? question. Lots of times there is something better to do, something more fun to do, something easier to do. It's to each his own reason and sometimes we have to dig deep to find it. So with that,

Run Far. Run Fast. Run STRONG!

I've been tagged!

A) Four Jobs I've Had in My Life:

1. Shoes Sales Girl at SportMart
   
2. Summer job in a physics lab putting together the new detector that is now at Dzero
   
3. CAD desinger for an HVAC company
   
4. Physics grad student
   

B) Four Movies I watch over and over:

1. Indiana Jones (all 3)
   
2. Clue
3. 13 Going on 30 (I love the Thriller scene)
   
4. Wedding Crashers.....I need more than 4 options :-)
   

C) Four Places I have lived:

1. Joliet, IL
   
2. Des Plaines, IL
   
3. Bloomington, IN
   
4. Chicago, IL
   

D) 4 TV Shows I love to watch:

1. Grey's anatomy
   
2. Desperate Housewives
   
3. Buffy....everyone shut the hell up :-)
   
4. Friends...it's a classic
   

E) 4 Places I have been on vacation:

1. Abu Dhabi
   
2. South Africa
   
3. Paris
   
4. Mexico

F) 4 Websites I visit daily:

1. gmail (email)
2. Bloglines
3. Chicago Tribune
   
4. New Running Blogger who comment on my site....love to find you all
   

G) 4 of my favorite foods:

1. Pizza
2. Cheese Burgers + Fries (really can you have one without the other)
   
3. Ice Cream
   
4. Pasta (of course) ....good thing I run with all that super healty food
   

H) 4 places I'd rather be right now:

1. New York City
   
2. Visiting Parents + Grandparents in Florida
   
3. North Avenue Beach
   
4. San Francisco (love that city and I'd love to see my friend Becca!)
   

I) 4 Favorite Bands/Singers:

1. James Blunt
   
2. Jack Johnson
   
3. Steve Earle
   
4. The Beatles (I am sucker for the old stuff!)
   

J) 4 Bloggers I am Tagging:

1. Ryan
   
2. Joe
3. Bridgette
4. Lana
   

You're IT everyone!

Not Perfect But Complete

Well another weird run today. I don't know what the problem is. Ok that's total bullshit because I have an idea of what the problem might be. I am not sleeping well during these midnight shifts. Last "night" I woke up at 1pm, 2pm, 3,4 and 5 at which point I finally just got out of bed. I think we can all agree that this isn't the best nights sleep. Add that together with some pinwheel cookies (which are deliCIOUS!), peanut butter toast and too many liquids before we left I was just feeling kind of heavy out there.

We did the 10 miles, but we were all over the map on pace. We did the first mile in 9:28 which is fine because it's a warm up and so I don't really mind, then we were at 8:30, 8:38 which is all fine, then we hit some water and we were at 9:34, then 9:05 then 10:00 (another water stop...and I am starting to see the problem) Then 8:54, 9:21(water), 8:55 and 8:16 (holy ass I just totally remembered those without going back to the watch...man I am a cool cat!).

I think the problem is 3 water stops too close together and stopping for too long at each one. As soon as we make the turn around to come back home all starts to feel better because we know we don't have too far to go. So I think we should just make the turn and get water on the way back one more time.

So average 9:04 pace for 10 miles. Not great, but at least we finished.

I think another part of the problem and this happens a lot is I miss the summer. I miss going to bars to sit outside and drink cheap budweisers or going to the beach to swim and look at all the runners, or take long walks around the city like we used to do (we used to love to walk home from downtown). I don't think that it's the running that is stopping these fun activities but rather these ridiculous shift schedules. We just have to remember to do some of these little things to keep running from being a chore and instead just another fun summer activity that we get to do.

That being said, Jason and I are going to try and make it to one of our favorite summer festivites this weekend .... GAY PRIDE PARADE!!!! Since we are doing our long run on Saturday this week instead we are free on Sunday to go check it out. Unfortunatly unlike other years we have gone there will be no drinking (at least no crazy! drinking) because I have to go to work to shift in the evening. There might might have been a drinking incident last summer at the parade so I'm actually ok with this. We'll probably try and go catch the parade near Clark and Belmont so I can attempt a quick escape after the parade and head west to get to work. If anyone is planning on going let me know and perhaps we can meet up for an hour or two.

Happy Running everyone!

SNAP!

This schedule is RIDONKULUS!!!

We fell asleep around 11am and I was so totally out it when our apartment buzzer rings. Now I have to tell you that our apartment buzzer is not just some regular nice ding dong sounding bell. It sounds like a fog horn and I am guessing can be heard in all the buildings around us. Needless to say when the bell goes off when we are sleeping it tends to wake us right up. Like a cartoon character jumping horizontally off the bed. I start running around the bedroom thinking,...actually I don't know what I was thinking....but I was running around going, "The bell? The alarm? The phone?...wait it's only 1:30. What day is it? Where am I?"

Jason runs downstairs to see who it is and as usual someone buzzed our bell for someone elses apartment. This happens all the time in our building. 3E AND 3W ARE DIFFERNT APARTMENTS! We need to put our name on the buzzer because it happens too frequently (When our pot smoking 22 year old neighbors lived here last summer they would have huge parties and people would be buzzing our apartement at like 3 in the morning....not great when those parties were just about every day of the week).

Ah, I digress...what was the title of this post...oh right Snap.

We actually ended up sleeping until 6:30 or so which was nice and then went out for a nice 5 mile recovery run. People it's hot out. So. Sticky. Oh well, we are making it through the run with nothing particluarly exciting happening and just when I was thinking that this was going to be a really boring post (actually it's still kinda boring...but oh well :-) ) I had to adjust the headband rubber band that I wear to keep the hairs out of my eyes as it was sliding back on my head. So I grab it to pull it forward and it slips out of my fingers and snaps right on my forehead like a giant rubber band. Ouch. Jason looked at me and said, "Well that's gonna leave a mark."

We didn't take garmin with us because I like to go with the ebb and flow of my body on the recovery runs and just...well...just run. No worries about pace or time or anything like that.

It's back to the lab tonight. I need to finish a presentation for the England conference. Tomorrow it's a 10 mile General Aerobic run.

Run. Work. Sleep. and Repeat. This is the life! (I really do love it!)

Stride Right

This morning (evening? well I guess it's morning for all of you and evening for Jason and I this week since we are working the midnight-8am shift) we finally were able to get some sleep. I have troubles sleeping when it's light out because I just feel like I'm taking a nap so I'm up every hour looking at the clock and going, "No, can't wake up yet". However today we went to bed around 11am and slept straight all the way till 4pm which was a nice change. Slept on and off then till about 5:30 then got up, had some toast and went out for our 8 mile run with 10x100m strides.

Two weeks ago Bob graciously let us know that were doing these workouts incorrectly and we should be doing the strides faster and the inbetween segments slower. So we took a different approach today and by the end I think we had it down.

We started with 4 miles averaging 9 min miles which I think is a little slow, but still ok. Then we started with the strides. I think at first we did them wrong and were doing each piece (sprint and recovery) too fast, so by the time the third sprint was complete I was feeling very sick to my stomach. We walked almost all of the next recovery chunk to try and get my stomach under control and we hit a lot of foot traffic along the path as well.

By the end of the ten strides I think I had a good routine down. I would spend the first 10 steps or something getting up to speed and then hold that pace for the rest of sprint period. Then we would walk for about 0.05-0.08 miles, then start a slow jog for 0.15-0.18m then it was another sprint. Doing this kept us in check for both getting a full recovery and getting the most out of each sprint. The sprints were between 5:30-6:15 min/mile pace. I would like to try and keep this more steady the next time we try these and also keep the recovery periods more consistant.

Working the midnight shift is hard. Yesterday was really less than thrilling because we got to the lab at like 9pm and of course didn't leave till 8am. There was a slight chance that my analysis would be finished by Wednesday to go to a conference but after the head of the group came by my office at around 12:30am and saw the state of things he agreed that it's close (kinda) but not really. I am going to try and have the result done for this conference in October and then hopefully be on track to graduate (graduate!?!?!?!) by Jan/Feb of 2007. Then what? Every week I'll give you a different answer :-)

Alright, tomorrow it's 5 mile recovery run.

Run Far and Run Fast everyone!

Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs

If you've read Running with Scissors or Dry, you know what a completely insane life Augusten Burroughs has led. If not, I highly recommend checking out both of those books assuming brutal honesty doesn't make you squeamish. It's actually kind of hard to describe the circumstances under which he grew up, but I can guarantee you will check the back cover of the book more than once to confirm that this is, in fact, a memior.

The first half of this book is very similar to a David Sedaris book, a series of hilarious scenes from his earlier life. These stories are just flat-out funny. The second half deals more with his post-crazy, post-alcoholic life with his significant other and successful writing career. Most of these stories are still very good, just not as funny. However, if you are a fan of Burroughs, you will appreciate the closure these stories bring to his life story. That being said, he'd probably be better off switching back to fiction for awhile. He's starting to run out of humorous life-events.

This is definitely a book worth reading, especially if you have already checked out Running with Scissors and Dry. Basically, if you like David Sedaris, but wished he had more of an edge, you will love Augusten Burroughs.

(that'll teach Reading Rainbow to reject my application. And I had a damn fine analysis of The Berenstain Bears and the Missing Watermelon Money)

So...

I just tapped the water cooler here at work!

That's just as cool as tapping a keg, right?

Right?

Man, we runners lead wild lives.

Schedules

Jason and I will be leaving for Lancaster, England in less than two weeks now. I am so freaking out because nothing (NOTHING!) is ready to go yet. I get a little crazy when it comes to travel and like to be overly prepared. Honestly I'll start making lists this week :-)

But what about running. I would like to stay on track until we leave and then have some freedom while we are in England since I started the training program so early. So, ok stick with me here.

It would be great if I could get all the miles in for the week before we leave. This way I don't have to worry about sitting on an airplane all day getting to england and going, ok we have to run 17 miles. So below I have the next two weeks scheduled :


So because of shifts and flights I have squeezed the runs together. Jason has shift from midnight-8am on Sunday the 24th an I have shift the same day from 4-midnight. We could have kept the 15 mile long run on this day but we probably would have had to run seperatly because our schedules would be so different from each other.

With this configuration however, we won't have an off day between any of the 5 weekly runs, but will still get a day off between weeks. This is good because I shouldn't miss any of the miles before we go, but I worry about having so many runs in a row. Opinions?

Doubting Miles

humpf.

not good.

Today we had a 14 mile long run. I woke up around 8am to say goodbye to Lisa (my cousin) and Evin (her boyfriend) as they had stayed with us the night before. As I was still sleepy from the long hard week the week before I went back and layed back down and slept to, oh I don't know 11:30!!! I NEVER sleep that much. NEVER! But sometimes the body needs to sleep and so apparently it was needed.

We started running at about 12:30. On the plus side, it had cooled down to a very nice, comfortable temperature and there was a nice drizzle as well. On the bad side, almost immediatly the arch of my foot started hurting. This has been happening on and off and I think it's just a warming up thing because it usually stops but today my head wouldn't stop doing the,

"You aren't fast enough."
"You won't ever qualify for Boston running a pace like this."
"Qualify for Boston? How about you won't even FINISH the marathon?"
"You are ruining Jason's run and screwing him so now he won't run fast either"

These thoughts are never good because I get all annoyed at the run and the slowness that it is becoming and I start picking fights with Jason. Although I still think he should go ahead of me when I am in pain and running really slow. There is no need for him to stay around a) a person running a pace that is way too slow and b) a crabby negative person.

So we bickered at each other for about the first 5 miles. Of course Jason was right and my arches stopped hurting by this point (I didn't tell him that then...I told him they stopped hurting at like mile 9), but I had lost so much motivation and had stopped to stretch many times that I knew there wouldn't be much speed for the rest of the day.

Oh I also should mention that it was raining when we left so I left Garmin at home. No need to break the expensive watch. I think we ended at 10+ minute miles which is a ways off our target pace.

I have to stop playing those doubting mind games so early into the long runs. If I had shut the hell up and just run and let my legs loosen up I am guessing we would have done the same pace that we have done for the last 2 weeks, but I lost more than just speed in those early miles, because I basically lost the whole run pace wise to my doubting self.

In the end, we finished and there is something to be said about that. I didn't turn around at 3 miles like I wanted, I pushed through and got through the run. I haven't missed one run or workout in the past three weeks and that makes me happy. This week we are working midnight - 8am and don't plan on missing any this week either :-)

We have a strides workout on Tuesday which I am planning on doing more correctly than the last few weeks. Faster on the sprinting part and slower on the recovery part.

And with that...ice bath here I come!

Recovery Recovery

Today we had a 4 mile recovery run and did we ever take the recovery route. We stopped to stretch a couple times and the second time stopped for quite a bit to try and work out the kinks in our legs. We slowly made it back to our neighborhood and walked the rest of the way after hitting Sheffield & Waveland. I understand that recovery runs should be slow, I just felt way sluggish today. A part of that is the heat I realize, but I hope all goes well tomorrow for our long run.

My concern about the run tomorrow is timing. We could get up and go early in the morning but my cousin and her boyfriend are staying with us and so we won't be going to bed early, plus we have the Cubs game today (my new favorite pitcher Carlos Marmol is pitching today!) and are meeting people for beers and burgers before the game...my point is that I don't necessarily want to get up early tomorrow.

So we could go in the afternoon...in the heat and just take the hit in speed. If we do this I think we'll end at North Avenue Beach and go swimming....this is always a really nice treat after a long hot run and makes running in these high temps worth it....but from NAB we have about 4 miles to walk home...which is fine....just something to think about.

OR we could go in the evening after the sun goes down a bit. This won't help the temperature much but would help the direct sun on us. Add into all this that we have to go to Fermilab at midnight for shifts. I am thinking now that I would like to go in the afternoon because then I could come home and be tired and nap for a few hours before going into work.

I am expecting that what ever time we go it's going to be hot and so we have to be smart and make sure we take enough water and fuel along the way. So here's to a steamy 14 miles and

GO CUBS!!!

CRU Meet Up

Tonight was the first installment of the Chicago Runners Unite (is this what we are sticking with?) meet up at Goose Island. How fun was that! It was so awesome to meet up with other Chicago runners and see what kind of training plans (or tv shows on DVD they watch...can we please let the Buffy thing lie?) they were taking part in this year. Also nice to connect faces to the blogs!

It was so awesome meeting all of you and I can't wait to see you all again next month!!!

Off Day

Well we were going to go work out at the YMCA. But instead took a walk around the neighborhood to get city stickers and neighborhood parking permits taken care of. It was probably a little over two miles and it was just nice to walk around a bit. We are so often stuck in the car commuting or running or working or sleeping that I never get to take advantage of the city (even if that advantage is just walking around). But everytime I just get a day or afternoon or whatever it makes all the commuting garbage worth it. Plus it's nice to have a day off every once in awhile. I'll do some situps and push ups here at the ol' apartment and then it's time to get ready for the CRU (for those of you that missed yesterday....thats the Chicago Runners Unite group....or well....the CRU....so goofy!!!) dinner.

Tomorrow we have a busy day with a 4 mile run, then meeting up with kids from Fermi Lab for beers before the Cubs game, then the Cubs game, then my cousin Lisa and her boyfriend Evin are going to be in town Saturday night and staying with us (hence we are also frantically cleaning today and tomorrow). Then it's 14 miles on Sunday AND THEN it's back to midnight-8am this week for shifts. sucky sucky! I mean fun fun!

Just the Usual Thursday 10 Miles

We had another general aerobic 10 mile run today. After a stop at Dicks sporting good in Lombard we randomly ran into a fellow Chicago Blogger and got home in what was, for once, a reasonable amount of time. I had probably purchased too much...but, oh well, I needed some technical undies (and apparently I wasn't the only one) and had read some good things about the Underarmour brand. Dicks had a wide selection and so I got some, plus some more Nike Shorts + sports bras because let's be honest it's hot and sticky out, you are not wearing those guys more than once before they need to be washed...and probably washed more than once, at that :-)

So we went out for the 10 miles hoping to keep the 8:45 pace that we have been keeping on these runs. I have to admit I wasn't feeling like a rockstar today; I was just a little blah blah during the run. Maybe like a rockstar after a big show, so I would be all tired out and stuff? I'm not giving up on the Rockstar career....well, that or an Olympic athlete or maybe a Doctor OR...well you get the idea.

We decided to try the Clif Bloks instead of the Jelly Belly Sports Beans and so we each took three of the blocks which equals 100 calories. These weren't great. Not the best taste and with the beans they take awhile to dissolve in your mouth. I would totally recommend the beans over the bloks (Jason says: Bad after taste which, if you take them during your run, is really a during taste and that's not fun. And I think they made my mouth numb, which wa totally unnecessary).

I also think I was dehydrated again because I can really tell the difference if I have had enough water before the run compared to when I haven't. I have one of those Nalgene bottles and if I can get through two of them during the day I usually feel pretty good. I only got through 1/2 of one today so, needless to say, not feeling great.

However all, that being said, even with one really long mile about half way (9:50 -We stopped for water and to eat one of the Bloks) we still paced an average of 8:45. So, we're still on target which is nice to see. Our last four miles were nice and quick too, coming in at 8:29, 8:31, 8:35, 8:00.

Tomorrow is an off day and the Chicago Runners Meet Up (By the way, we need a cool (and I'm using the air quotes on cool name, which is probably not necessary since I could use actual quotes since I'm, you know, writing...but whatever)...like Chicago Runners Unite or CRU...like CREW. You see, being a physicist, all I hear are acronyms of which I don't know what they stand for :-) )

See some of you tomorrow and everyone else...Happy Running.