Baby, It's Cold Outside

All the leaves have pretty much fallen off the trees and the holidays are nearly here, which can only mean one thing in Chicago, winter running season. I broke out my winter running gear for the first time last weekend. It was a sad day. Fall is my favorite season to run, so it's depressing for me to think about needing to bundle up before going out. Running consistently and staying in shape just gets that much harder.

Last winter while I was training for the Arizona Marathon, I was able to run outside pretty much until the race in January as there wasn't a whole lot of snow until the new year. February ended up being the only month where I needed to confine myself to a gym treadmill in order to keep running.

This year my tentative plan is to stay in half-marathon shape throughout winter. Doing a couple easier runs during the week between 4-6 miles and a long run every weekend in the 10-14 mile range. Since I am not planning on doing another full-marathon until at least April or May, I am not going to kill myself doing any runs longer than that or getting out more than 2-3 times a week. I'll continue to run outside as much as possible, but when the snow and ice sticks around it'll be time to hit the gym for the shorter runs. For me, long runs need to be done outside, there is no way I will do any more than 4-5 miles on a treadmill. I'd go crazy.

It is Chicago, we had some 70 degree days last week, but that's highly unlikely again. Who knows, maybe we'll get some more 50 degree days and the shorts can stay out for a while longer,
but it's time to buckle down for another long midwestern winter.

Race Report: Hot Chocolate 5k

I unofficially closed out my 2008 racing season this weekend with the inaugural Hot Chocolate 5k. I say unofficially because while I am not registered to run another race this year, I could be convinced to run another one this year if the opportunity presented itself.

The race began at 8 a.m. at Montrose Harbor on the lakeshore-a familiar location for races in Chicago. It was the end of daylight savings time so we all got an extra hour of sleep thankfully. This was my first race in Chicago managed by Running Away Multisport, an endurance sports store on North Ave. They have the best race packet goody bag that I've ever seen. My goody bag included a sweet fleece jacket, and a nice wicking RAM running cap. It's great to run a race and get something other than a t-shirt. After running a dozen races this year, I really don't need anymore t-shirts-technical fabric or otherwise.

The weather on race morning couldn't have been more ideal, low 50s and overcast. Perfect for shorts and long-sleeves. My goal for the race was to PR and break 23 minutes for the first time. There was also a 15k race on the same morning, but I wanted to PR on the 5k distance for my last race of the year. The 15k started 10 minutes before the 5k so we waited for a couple thousand runners to get through the chute before us. Most of the runners were going the longer distance.

At about 8:10 a.m. we were off and running. When I line up at a race I always try to line up towards the front, but not the very front. Usually I start too far back though and have to weave in and out of other runners for most of the first mile. This race was no exception, but luckily it opened up within the first quarter mile and I was towards the front of the pack quickly without losing much or any time due to other runners. I hit the first mile in about 7 minutes even. I was feeling good but starting to feel the burn. I kept passing people. I hit mile two in about 7 minutes as well. One mile to go and now I was hurting. My breathing was more labored than its been for a long time. The course winded all the way around the Montrose Harbor point. I was passed by a couple people on the last mile as my pace slowed slightly. I knew I wouldnt have much for the kick. I saw the 9 mile marker for the 15k and that meant only .3 miles to go. The finish line was in sight and somehow I found a kick for the last .2 miles. The time as I crossed the finish line was just over 22 minutes. A new PR by a minute and after I found out my chip time my new PR is 21:50. I not only ran my first sub 23 minute race, but my first sub-22 minute. I took nearly a whole minute and a half off my PR. I finished in the top 50 overall and 8th in my age group. At this point I dont know much faster I could go since I was pretty spent afterwards, but a sub 20 is probably possible someday with more training.

To top it all off, the race had an amazing post-race chocolate and candy tent with hot chocolate (hence the race name), s'mores, and lots of candy bars. I wasn't able to stick around and enjoy too much sugar, but I grabbed a hot chocolate and stuffed my pockets with candy before leaving. The course was definitely a new route for me, but the race was really well managed, and had a great goody bag and post-race party. I would definitely do it again. A perfect end to the racing season in Chicago.

Next up? Not sure yet. I am looking at a spring marathon, possibly the new Wisconsin Marathon in Kenosha in early May. As the weather cools off I am just looking forward to some easy running a few days a week to stay in shape.

Dick Beardsley Fun Run

Monday was an exciting day for me. My running hero Dick Beardsley visited Chicago to do a special fun run at Fleet Feet Sports at their Wells Ave. store courtesy of New Balance.

If you aren't familiar with Mr. Beardsley, he is a running legend that hails from the great state of Minnesota, like myself. He still owns the fifth fastest marathon time for a US male. He won the London, Napa and Grandma's Marathons, but is probably best known for his very close second place finish to Alberto Salazar in the 82 "Duel in the Sun" Boston Marathon. He actually lived in my hometown in MN for a while, but that was before I was a runner myself. You may remember that I saw him at Grandma's Marathon earlier this year and he signed my bib for me.

He is just an incredibly inspiring guy and I look forward to any opportunity to see him. He went through a lot of trials and hardships after his competitive running days and came out on the other side with a positive attitude and a desire to share what he has learned with others.

Dick got stuck in traffic from O'Hare getting to the store, but arrived only a few minutes late, changed and went out for a nice easy run with about 15-20 folks including myself and my friend Brian. The run felt great. Brian and I ran about 5 miles at a nice tempo. Afterwards we met back up at the store and he talked with the group for about 45 minutes. If you have never heard him speak, regardless of whether you are a runner or not, you should check him out. He is a fantastic speaker with a lot of funny and touching stories. After speaking with the group he signed some books for people and special New Balance posters printed just for the event. It is very cool and I look forward to hanging it up.

Thanks to New Balance for making his trip possible. Please bring him back again soon, and thanks to Mr. Beardsley for being such a great, inspiring guy. It made my week.

Race Report: Bank of America Chicago Marathon

On Sunday October 12, 2008 I ran the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. It was my third marathon of 2008. All week we watched the weather as the forecast climbed until they were predicting temps in the 70s and 80s again on Marathon Sunday. I was just hoping for an overcast day to keep the heat under wraps. Sunday morning rolled around and temps were already in the mid 60s at 5 in the morning with not a cloud in sight.

It was going to be hot.

I met up with my friend Brian and his girlfriend Amanda and we headed downtown to the race start. I didnt even need to wear a long sleeved shirt. We made it downtown using public transportation with no issues and walked to Columbus and Congress. After a couple bathroom trips and standing around watching the sun rise, I found my way to the D Corral to line up. There was lots of space in the Corral which was nice and I found the sub 4 hour marathon pacers. I was aiming for a sub-4 hour marathon, but knew that the weather was going to be challenging. When they removed the barrier for the open corral prior to the start things got crowded quickly as the faster runners that didnt make a corral time pushed their way towards the front. It was annoying. I thought the Corrals would be started before the Open Corral was released, but that apparently wasn't the case.

Once the race began, it took me less than 5 minutes to reach the actual starting line and off we went. I was expecting a slower first mile with the large crowd but we still managed to hit our 9 minute mile pace right on target. It went so quickly that I didnt even notice the mile marker. The crowds were just incredible downtown. Tons of people cheering everywhere. I felt good as we made our way back down into the Loop and up LaSalle, finding my pace and stride. The tall buildings downtown provided plenty of shade from the morning sun and kept the temps down in the low 70s. I stayed with my pacers.

As we made our way to the northside, the crowd support continued to be great. My favorite part of the race was turning south on Broadway from Addison. I connected with a friend Lara on Addison and waved as I made the turn to a huge, loud yelling crowd of people. It was so inspiring that I couldnt help but pick up my pace unintentionally. Heading back towards downtown I ran into my friend Tom and Brian's girlfriend, Amanda near mile 10. They ran with me for one block, took a few photos with me and I continued on my way.

At mile 12 I was starting to struggle. I needed to find a bathroom and the heat was rising. I knew I couldnt stay with the pacers for much longer. At the half-way mark I started losing the pacers and at the mile 14 water stop I found a port-o-john. I tried to remain positive, but I knew this was the beginning of the end. I pushed through the west side, still keeping a sub-10 minute/mile pace, but walking through some water stops. At mile 18 I stopped and said Hi to a friend Megan who was volunteering for the race. Around this time they raised the color coded threat system to red instead of yellow. Great...just what I needed. I pushed onward to the southside, my goal pretty much out of mind at this point, but a PR still clearly in sight.

As I hit Chinatown I saw the temp on a bank as I passed: 87 degrees and no shade to be seen. My worst stretch was on Wentworth heading south towards US Cellular Field. There was no shade, you are next to the interstate and crowd support was less than ideal. As I hit the International Mile, the southern most point of the course, I was still on pace for a PR, but didnt have much time to spare. Heading north on Michigan I pushed myself as hard as I could to keep running, only walking one more time at mile 23 through the water stop. After mile 24 I pushed myself to run until the finish. Without the open hydrants, hoses and misting stations there was no way I could have kept going. I was soaking wet. At mile 26 the Roosevelt hill is a real killer, but a great chance to pass a lot of people. I tried to enjoy the crowd support as I ran the last .2 miles to the finish, but was relieved to be done with this hot race as I crossed the finish line in 4:25:17. Not my goal, but a PR nonetheless.

The 27th mile was the most brutal. We were forced to walk another mile down a chain link fence with no shade or place to sit. Finally after grabbing some waters and snacks I found my way out of the labrinth to a shady place to sit and ponder yet again why I made this decision to do this to myself. I am either stupid or insane. I made my way to the runner reunite area and found Amanda and Brian. Then later I met up with PJ who ran his first marathon, and finally I found Cassie who finished with all her kids from the mentoring program.

Hot weather aside it was a fantastic race. Plenty of supplies, water and gatorade. Unmatched crowd support. There were people on the sidelines pretty much everywhere except a couple small stretches on the west and south sides. I dont know yet if I feel the desire to run Chicago again, but I would definitely volunteer at least.

Who knows, maybe I will change my mind. I was already considering where I'd run my next marathon before I went to bed at 8 that Sunday. It is an addiction.

Congrats to other runners out there and thanks to the organizers for a great day.

Pre-Race Jitters

On Sunday morning I run the Chicago Marathon. This will be my third marathon this year and by far the largest one with 45,000 participants. Although the weather doesnt look like it will be entirely favorable I am going to attempt a sub-four hour marathon. Luckily, I qualified for the D Corral which should help me achieve my goal with fewer runners on the course when I start. The weather is looking like it will be low 60s in the morning and potentially could hit 80 degrees by mid-day. It won't be as hot as last year, but still, not exactly ideal long distance running weather. If it stays overcast during the morning, at least that would help.

I visited the Expo today while I was downtown for work and picked up my race packet. This was my favorite Expo that I've attended so far. Everything was attractive, very well-organized and efficient. I had no issues. I was able to pick up all my stuff and basically walk around the entire Expo, as well as do some shopping within an hour. I probably would have spent more time walking around, but I had to get to work and I didnt want to come back downtown on Saturday when it was going to be crazy busy.

I'm feeling mixed emotions of excitement and anxiety about the race. I know that I can pull out a sub-four hour race, but mentally I need to be prepared to get from 18-23. If the weather outlook was better, I think I could be more confident. While I dont think I've ever hit "the wall" in my previous two races, I always feel the need to stop running at around this time and have ended up run/walking the last few miles. If I can just get through those miles perhaps by breaking them down mentally into smaller chunks, I think I can do the last 3 without walking.

My training has been going okay. I initially had planned two long runs more than 20 miles, but due to high temps and being sick one week, my training plan was cut a little short. I did run a solid 18 miler and a 21 miler, both during warm temps, so if I can keep those in mind, along with my great half-marathon experience, I will be confident and ready to go on Sunday. I did some speed work, although not consistently every week as I originally planned. I mixed in some great tempo runs the last couple weeks, which I think were a big help.

If you are in Chicago, come out and support the race, it will be a beautiful fall day to spend outside. Course info can be found at ChicagoMarathon.com. I will post a race report as soon as possible.

Race Report: Chicago Distance Classic Half-Marathon

I was a tad nervous entering my first half-marathon distance race on Sunday. I felt under-trained and unprepared. Since Grandma's Marathon in late June, I think I've only run 3 long runs, none of them consistently timed, and none further than 12 miles. However, I had begun doing speed work once a week and biking regularly on non-running days. I set an ambitious goal for myself to qualify for the D Corral at the marathon. I had never run even close to an 8:30 pace on a long run, but wanted to give it a shot.

I can now say without hesitation that the Distance Classic was a break-through race for me. On race morning the temps were in the low 60s, completely unreal for mid-August. I woke up early to go downtown with Cassie to help set up their tent in the charity village. Saturday night I was at the White Sox and Red Sox game at The Cell, and so it goes without saying that I didn't get an adequate amount of sleep, although I was good at the game and stayed hydrated with water and gatorade instead of eating junk food and drinking beer. It was chilly downtown at 4:30 in the morning, but I was feeling good. After meeting up with a few friends before the race, Jon, Erik and Kevin, I went to the starting corral and lined-up with Jon.

I wanted to line-up near the 1:50 pacer, but it was impossible to get close since it was so packed, so I was actually near the 2:00 pacer. The race waves started and I saw the 1:50 pacer go with the second wave, but I was stuck with the third wave. While I appreciated the wave start, I already felt like I had failed at my goal since I was left to my own devices to qualify. After about 5 minutes of waiting, our wave was off and running. I wanted to keep my pace around 9 min/mile for the first half, and then 8:30 or faster the second half. I had some issues with my watch at the one-mile marker, if you see my split below was over 9 min. It was actually about 8:50 and the second mile was closer to 8:45. The rest of my splits were as follows:

Mile Splits:
Mile 1: 9:16
Mile 2: 8:22
Mile 3: 8:39
Mile 4: 8:45
Mile 5: 8:37
Mile 6: 8:21
Mile 7: 10:09
Mile 8: 8:23
Mile 9: 8:12
Mile 10: 8:48
Mile 11: 7:46
Mile 12: 8:05
Mile 13: 8:21
Mile .1: :53

You're probably wondering what happened at Mile 6-7. I'll come back to that. I felt great through about 11 and a half miles, then it got painful. I took 2 clif shot blocks right before the race and at miles 5 and 10, in addition I also sipped Gatorade during the race. Instead of drinking the entire cup like I have done in previous races, I just drank a little and it made a big difference because it allowed me to run through each water stop and I didnt over-drink like I did in Duluth. The second half of my race was about 6 minutes faster than the first, so I had a great negative split.

After my 10 minute mile at the half-way point I felt the qualifying time slipping away so I picked up the pace despite fears that I was going to bonk big time. When I hit mile 12, I was pretty sure that I would miss the D Corral qualifier, since I was pretty spent and needed to run close to a 7 min. final mile. I wanted to stop running so badly during the last mile, but I held on and finished in 1:52:33, which is an average pace of 8:36 per mile. I ran the entire 13.1 without walking once, which was another break-through for me.

After looking through my splits following the race, I was completely baffled by what happened between miles 6 and 7. I knew that I hadn't slowed my pace that much. I hadnt even run over a 9 minute mile the entire race. I felt the distance must have been off by a bit, but of course could not prove anything. While I was disappointed to miss the D Corral qualifier time I was extremely happy with how well I ran. I left feeling like a sub 4 hour marathon was well within my grasp.

I spent the next couple hours cheering on runners near the 13 mile mark and had a great time. The race was well-organized and the course was beautiful. I have only two complaints: No GU or Clif Shots were provided on the course, and the tech t-shirt was HUGE. I think I will drown if I wear it running. Otherwise, I'd definitely recommend this race, although the weather will probably never again be this perfect for a mid-August race ever again.

P.S. Yesterday, on my way home from work I got a text from my friend Jon. It turns out that the course was measured incorrectly and was actually about .2 miles longer at the half-way turnaround. I knew it! The Chicago Marathon adjusted their qualifying time for CDC finishers to make the D Corral to 1:53, so I qualified like I hoped! My average pace was 8:29 for 13.1 miles. I am thrilled that I reached my goal and that I have an even better chance now of running a sub 4 hour marathon in October. Two months to go! Let the hard training begin.

Race Report: Elvis Is Alive 5k

Long time no blog. Since I last posted in June after Grandma's Marathon, I've recovered from that race nicely, struggled to start training for Chicago in October, struggled to be motivated to run in the heat and humidity, started doing weekly speed workouts at the North Park University Track, biked to work about once a week for cross-training, and panicked that the Distance Classic is soon and that I havent done a long run of more than 12 miles since the marathon. So as you can tell, it's been a bit of a roller coaster ride.

The Elvis 5k last year was my first race ever, so it's fun to think about how far I've come in the course of one year. Lots of training, shorter races and a couple marathons have passed. Several friends wanted to run the race with us since we gave it such a good review last year. While last year was typical hot and humid August weather, this year we were blessed with cool and breezy temps in the low 70s. It felt like a September race. The race course moved downtown to Grant Park, which was convenient since I work downtown. The course changed a bit at the last minute because of a pre-season Bears game, but Fleet Feet handled it all very well with email communications.

I ran very well and PR'd for a 5k with a time of 23:35. That isn't official because its not a chip-timed race, but its based on my Garmin watch so I trust it. I was hoping for a time closer to 23 flat, but it was difficult to break open on the first mile on the crowded and narrow lakeshore path. I usually have more energy for a kick at the end, but felt pretty spent. All in all, a great speed workout for the week.

Mile Splits:
Mile 1: 8:08
Mile 2: 7:36
Mile 3: 7:14
Mile .1: :35

The post-race party was a blast with an Elvis impersonator concert and Goose Island 312, which tasted amazing. It's a great atmosphere, if you have never run this race before, I highly recommend it for next year.

Race Report: Grandma's Marathon

Friday: Expo Day

Cassie and I drove into Duluth and immediately went to the Expo on Friday afternoon. The Expo was alright; the expo room in the DECC is a pretty small space considering the number of people there. My only issue was that there was no Grandma's Marathon technical wear to buy. Everything was cotton. I hope they get an apparel sponsor in the future because I would love to have a shirt to wear running. The highlight of the expo was meeting hometown running hero Dick Beardsley. I talked with him for a couple minutes and he signed my bib number. He's a super nice guy, and I hope I get to see him again someday. Packet pick-up was super easy and we went to Michelina's Spaghetti Dinner at the DECC to fill up on carbs. The food was great and just what we needed after a day and a half of driving through Wisconsin and eating too much junk food. We made our way to our friends home for dinner, and after a quick trip to SuperOne for some gatorade, peanut butter, bagels, bananas and sunscreen, we went to bed early.

Saturday: Race Day

We woke up at 4:45 a.m. feeling pretty good after 8 hours of sleep. After getting ready we made ourselves some peanut butter bagels and walked to the University of Minnesota, Duluth campus to catch a bus to the race start. We waited in line for 10-15 minutes before boarding a bus and heading to Two Harbors. There were no issues driving to the race start since it was early and the buses were the only traffic. The weather was really nice and cool in the morning with a nice breeze. The skies were clear, so it was looking to be a sunny day with temps in the 60s and low 70s. After arriving we made a couple trips through the port-o-potty lines and went to the race start. It was a nice atmosphere and I was feeling good. It took us about 5-6 minutes to walk up to the starting line once the race started, but after that we were able to immediately jump into our race pace of around 10 minutes/mile.

The course was beautiful and Cassie and I had a great race. We were strong and kept a nice pace through about 20 miles, then we needed to start taking walking breaks. I started getting some stomach cramps around 21-22 miles, mostly I think because of the Ultima. That stuff was nasty.

The people of Two Harbors and Duluth really come out and support this race. There were a lot of supporters on the course not just in Duluth, but along Highway 61 in the middle of nowhere. There were also many Elvi, bands, musicians and Al Franken. That's right. Al Franken. We ran past him around the 9-10 mile marker and thought we were seeing things, then when we passed him around mile 17-18 again I got my picture taken with him.

Our mile splits according to my watch, which slightly vary from our chip time:

Mile 1: 9:53
Mile 2: 9:45

Mile 3: 9:45

Mile 4: 9:28

Mile 5: 9:29

Mile 6: 9:56

Mile 7: 9:37

Mile 8: 10:00

Mile 9: 9:53

Mile 10: 9:29

Mile 11: 9:59

Mile 12: 10:07

Mile 13: 10:08

Mile 14: 9:41

Mile 15: 9:40

Mile 16: 11:52

Mile 17: 11:06

Mile 18: 9:56

Mile 19: 9:56

Mile 20: 13:35

Mile 21: 13:11

Mile 22: 11:23

Mile 23: 10:55

Mile 24: 12:20

Mile 25: 11:41

Mile 26: 10:12
Mile .2: 2:07

We finished in a chip time of 4:35:04, which was a lot better than we expected, especially since the course seemed alot hillier than expected. We just aren't able to train for that in Chicago, no matter how big the hills. I loved the race and would definitely do it again in the future. Wading in Lake Superior after the race was really nice...but even too cold to stay in for long. I do believe that it helped our recovery though, because we were feeling okay the day after the race and within three days we were pretty much back to normal. My recovery for Grandma's was a LOT better than AZ in January.

Thanks to the organizers of Grandma's and the people of Two Harbors and Duluth for a great race weekend.

A Minnesota 20 miler

We were up in the Twin Cities this past weekend for my sister's wedding. We took a couple days off from work for the trip and got up north on Wednesday night. Friday morning we left our hotel to drive downtown near the Mississppi river for our 20 mile long run. After doing some research on MapMyRun and the MDRA website I determined our best route to get in the miles and not get completely lost was to run along the Grand Rounds River Byway. It was a great path along the Mississippi and Minnehaha rivers. We planned to do two 5 mile out and backs in each direction to keep our car as a central point so we could have Gatorade and water. The weather was a little on the warm side in the mid 60s, but still very manageable.

We forget how spoiled we are on the lakeshore in Chicago. I assummed there would be plenty of water fountains along the path, but it took us 5 miles to find our first fountain, which actually was a water pump. The Minnehaha path followed a nice quiet river through some parks, a golf course, nice neighborhoods, and a couple lakes. It reminded me of the River Path in Chicago in some ways, but it was a smaller river and a bigger park. There weren't many runners out on Friday, but we did see several bikers. At the 5 mile mark with the water pump we turned around and went back to the car. On the way back we did find one more water fountain with about 2 miles left.

After a brief break at the car to take some GU and Gatorade we set out north along the Mississippi for the last 10 miles. The path had been very flat until this point when it decided to go downhill a ways very close to the river. Going downhill is fine until you have to go back the other direction. We made it about 3 miles when the path came to a closed off fence area near the I-35W bridge which collapsed last year. I was suprised to see lots of torn and twisted pieces of metal from the bridge lying out behind the fence. We were forced to turn around a couple miles early and head back to the other direction, after a mile we were able to find a water fountain with some gross milky looking water. We were so thirsty that we would have drank anything though. It was getting warmer and we hit the hill so we walked back up a little bit before running to the car for another GU and Gatorade break.

We still needed to run 4 more miles to complete our training run, so we set out 2 miles in the other direction towards the Minnehaha river again. Cassie and I were both feeling the distance considerably at this point so our run had slowed to more of a shuffle. We found the fountain again after 2 miles and then shuffled back to the car to finish the run. On the last mile I started loosening up again despite the pain, and ended feeling strong. I think our 22 mile day two weeks ago was a more difficult run for me.

We're returned to Chicago on Sunday afternoon and ran a nice 5 miler along the river. It's such a great feeling to complete that final long run. Now we just have a couple shorter long runs for our taper period and we're driving to Duluth for Grandma's Marathon on June 21st. I am already looking forward to a victory wade in cold Lake Superior after running 26.2 miles. It's going to be sweet.

Race Report: Soldier Field 10 mile

We woke up at 5:30 this morning to get ready for the race. Cassie and I picked up Jon and Sara at 6 a.m. and we drove downtown to the race start at Soldier Field. After some traffic near the museum campus we were able to park easily and walk up to the start with about 25 minutes to spare. The weather was perfect for a distance race in the low 50s at the start. I thought I would need a long sleeved shirt, but I ended up going with a short-sleeved shirt right before we began. This ended up being a great decision as it warmed up very quickly during the race with the sun out and no cloud cover.

The race started at 7:30 a.m. There were about 7,500 runners, so it took us about 8-9 minutes just to get past the starting line and it was slow-moving during the first mile. The race course headed south along Lake Shore Drive for about 4 and a half miles and then cut back and returned north to Soldier Field, with a fantastic race finish on the 50 yard line.

My goal was to finish the race in less than 90 minutes, since I just missed that mark by 7 seconds during the Lakefront 10 miler a month earlier. My strategy was similar to the LF10; keeping a nice easy close to 9 min. pace for the first 7 miles or so and then pushing it on the last 3.

I felt really good during the race. I spent alot of time and energy weaving around other runners and passing them, but it was sort of a fun game to keep my mind occupied. It was really a beautiful course. I particularly liked heading north on the lakeshore path with a great view of the skyline. I never run much further south than Navy Pier so it was a treat to be running on new ground. Around mile 7 I knew that I'd have to pick it up to make it in under 90 minutes. I felt fine until about the last half-mile when I was feeling a little sick and mentally exhausted. When I emerged onto the field I saw that I had about a minute to spare and so I kicked it into the 50 yard line and finished the race in a chip time of 1:29:34 with 26 seconds to spare. I hadnt eaten anything before the race so I was really nauseated and hungry and the Gatorade wasnt sitting well. It didnt really help to get ushered into the crowded, hot concourse and I had a hard time finding some recovery snacks, but eventually we found it and were on our way.

The stats according to my watch (they vary slightly from my chip time):
Average lap: 8:58 miles
Splits:
Mile 1: 10:00
Mile 2: 9:15
Mile 3: 9:03
Mile 4: 9:28
Mile 5: 8:58
Mile 6: 9:10
Mile 7: 8:58
Mile 8: 8:35
Mile 9: 8:19
Mile 10: 7:51

How's that for some nice negative splits? All in all, a great race. I still can't imagine keeping this pace for an entire marathon, but with some speedwork and tempo runs this summer, that is exactly what I want to accomplish at the Chicago Marathon. This was my last race before Grandma's Marathon on June 21. Cassie and I have our 20 mile run this weekend while were up in the Twin Cities, and then there is nothing left but the taper.

Almost....there...

I guess I have lots to report since its been nearly two weeks since my last post. It's been a good couple of running weeks with good consistency and no injuries to report.

Last Sunday was the most difficult running day I've experienced in a long time, if not ever. Sunday morning we ran the Legs for Literacy 5k in Lincoln Park with our friend Jess. Jess is not a big runner, but wanted to do a little training and run a race with Cass and myself. We looked at several 5k races in May and decided this would be the best one. What we didnt do was take into account our marathon training. Turns out that we had to run 18 miles the same weekend. Originally we were going to do our long run on Saturday, but due to busy schedules it was pushed to Sunday. Since we couldnt do 15 more miles immediately after the race, that meant it was going to be a 21 mile day total. We figured we'd be okay if ran the race VERY conservatively at around 10 minute/mile pace. I kicked it from about 100 yards in, but otherwise it was going to be a warm up.

Later that afternoon we set out for our 18 mile long run on the lakeshore. Maybe it was the 5k, maybe I was just not mentally prepared, but it was extremely hard. We ran about 15 miles on the lakeshore and headed home before running another 4 miles on the river path. 15 plus 4 doesnt equal 18 you're saying, it's 19. Well, I didnt map the run before we left so we ended up running one more mile than we needed to, making it a 22 mile day. BUT we did finish it. It completely whipped us, but we did it. Erik ran with us for the first 15 miles, and with 2 miles to go, Jon caught up with us on the river path to surprise us and help take our minds off our pain while he was finishing his 10 miler. It was a big mental boost. On Monday I felt like I had run a marathon.

On Saturday morning we are running the Soldier Field 10 miler with Jon. We're supposed to have great weather and its a great course so I am really looking forward to it. I picked up our packets at the new Piper's Alley Fleet Feet store yesterday. I also wanted to pick up a new pair of Brooks Adrenalines since I have over 400 miles on my current pair. This will allow me to get about 100 miles on the new pair before the marathon and break them in. I dont know what it was, but I had a horrible experience at the new FF store. All the staff members seemed very rushed and rude. The new store is just huge comparitively and I sort of feel like they've lost some of their quality personal service at the new place. I think I'll stick to the Lincoln Square store when possible. I know they had packet pick-up going on and it was a busy time of day, but isnt personable, quality service their thing? Thats what they promote themselves as anyways.

Well, I will see you on the 50 yard line this weekend.

Training Update

I realized it has been a little while since I've given an update on my weekly runs. Training for Grandma's Marathon is going very well. Sunday afternoon, Cassie, Erik and I ran 16 miles along the lakeshore. After some stomach issues the first five miles, I settled into a nice groove the rest of the way and finished strong. Cassie had some of the same stomach issues, only they hit her at mile 13. The stomach issues were definitely our fault. We did a very stupid thing and ate a full lunch of pasta with creamy sauce 40 minutes before our long run. Our bodies hated us for it. We decided afterwards that we're going to write a book of all the stupid running things NOT to do. Erik is going to write a chapter on the trials and tribulations of buying an older model shoe for cheaper off the discount rack.

I've ran 32 miles so far this week. An easy 4.5 on Tuesday, 5.5 on Wednesday and a fairly quick 6 miler today. I need to get in a 10 mile long run this weekend, so I may end up crossing the 40 mile week mark for the second time in my life if I go tomorrow. The best part is that I've been injury free, with nothing more than general soreness after long runs. I didnt get any cross-training in this week because the weather has been cold and rainy and I havent been able to bike to work. I'm hoping to be biking at least 2-3 days a week regularly once the weather warms up for good. If I can add some speedwork on the track once a week I think that'll make a nice training plan.

My Runniversary

Today is my one year runniversary. What is a runniversary you may ask? Well, one year ago today I took my first steps towards living an active healthy life. I met up with my friend Erik in the morning and we ran about four and a half miles around Ravenswood. I recall having to walk once or twice during the run because I just couldnt run anymore. After the run, I went home, got ready for work, and biked 10 miles downtown for the first time ever. I had to stop once or twice during the ride to rest and drink some water. I made it to work, tired, sore and exhausted. I couldn't imagine biking 10 miles back home later that day, but somehow I made the painful trek home that evening. It's amazing that I ever exercised again after I overdid it that first day, but somehow I continued, running 2-3 days a week the first few weeks, then running 3-4 days a week, until running became a habit instead of a chore.

Today, I ran a new route. A five and a half miler with my friend Jon, going past my new condo in Albany Park, which I move into in early June. I felt great and ran strong the entire time. A lot has changed since last May.

In one year I have ran over 1,000 miles, burned over 150,000 calories, lost over 40 lbs., ran a full-marathon and a numerous other road races. I can say without hesitation that I have never felt better about myself, where I am, and what I am doing with my life. I can't help but be excited about the year ahead as the weather warms up and I train for another marathon in June and look forward to running Chicago in the fall.

Race Report: Universal Sole Lakefront 10 miler

It was a cool and mostly cloudy morning on Sunday, with temperatures in the 40s, but very little wind. Really nice weather for a long-distance race actually. Erik, Cassie and I were running the Lakeshore 10 miler. The course began at Montrose and Simmonds Dr., went north on Simmonds to Bryn Mawr, then turned south all the way to Fullerton and back to Montrose.

Initially, we intended to make this an easy training run and not push too hard. Apparently its difficult for me to "take it easy" in a race. Although I did at the start, and I think that really helped me run a great race. We started off on an easy pace for the first several miles. I wasnt feeling all that well on account of a lack of sleep and not eating well for a couple days before the race. By the time we got to mile 5, I was in a groove and I noticed that a PR was in sight if I picked up my pace just a little bit. By the time I hit mile 7 I was running about a minute per mile faster than the first 5 miles. Still feeling good, I turned it on some more and seperated myself from Erik and Cassie by just a little bit. At mile 9, I knew I had a PR, but I sped up regardless to see what I could handle. Erik caught up to me on the last quarter mile and we finished in 1:30:07, over 3 minutes faster than my PR for the distance. Cassie finished only 20 seconds behind us.

My mile splits were: 9:52, 9:49, 9:11, 9:05, 9:20, 9:02, 9:05, 8:48, 8:14, 7:42, with an average lap of 9:01.

This was the first middle-distance race that I really felt confident throughout and finished strong. It definitely helped that it was a very well-managed race. A nice scenic (very familiar) course. Aid stations were in great locations, as was the Clif Shot station. I'm looking forward to starting some speed work soon and really improving upon my times this summer. Hopefully it will show when I get to the distance classic and eventually the marathon.

Building Begins

Cassie and I ran our first high mileage long run on Friday night. We were having company from out of town staying with us for the weekend and we were scheduled to go condo shopping on Sunday afternoon, so we needed to get our long run in on Friday evening. I consider the 14 miler the first week of the mileage build towards the marathon, since the 10 and 12 milers the last month have been about having a foundation and they are a relatively easy distance. The weather was perfect for it in the low 60s and a nice breeze. It was my first spring run (in Chicago) in shorts AND a t-shirt.

The 14 miler put me at 43 miles of training for the week. This was 10 miles more than my previous best for one week. I also jumped nearly 20 miles in training from my previous week and ran 5 days total, instead of my usual 4 days. I typically would not push myself so much, but it sort of needed to happen due to my schedule. I actually felt great all week despite the high mileage. We broke up the 14 miles in a nice way with 10 miles on the lakeshore and 4 miles on the river path. I felt strong throughout, like I could have kept going 2-4 more miles easily. Cassie struggled more than me. 14 miles is her PB distance currently. She did really well until about mile 12, then we had to walk a couple times, but she made it to the end.

I'm finding out that I run really well in the evenings, after my body has had a chance to stretch out and move during the day. I've been more sluggish in the mornings and it takes me longer to warm up.

Erik, Cassie and I ran a 4.5 miler this morning around Ravenswood. It was a bit cooler with temps in the high 40s. I had some mild soreness, but I am not sure if it was from the 14 miler on Friday or playing frisbee in the park yesterday. I think it was from frisbee actually. I'll probably take it a bit easier this week on mileage so I dont hurt myself. We also have the Lakefront 10 miler on Sunday morning, so I want to be fresh for that. I'm looking forward to the race, I'm going to try a more conservative approach at the beginning and see how well I do. I want to finish strong this time.

River Path Runner

I should change my name to the River Path Runner because I have been on that route way more than the lakeshore the past two weeks. Five of my last seven runs have been on the river path. This is partially because I have run the Fleet Feet Monday Night Fun Run route two weeks in a row and my friend Jon lives closer to the river and isn't ready to increase his mileage by going to the lake yet.

As I mentioned, I ran the Fleet Feet Monday Night Fun Run route again this week. I intended for this run to be a recovery run after my 12 miler on Sunday. Well, I have a hard time taking it easy if I am running with a group. I was feeling good and so I ended up running 5 miles in about 41 minutes, which is a really quick pace for me. It was a fun evening. Mizuno was hosting the fun run and so there were drinks, appetizers and giveaways at Lattitude following the run. They gave away alot of stuff, but my unlikely self didn't win anything. I had a good time regardless and met some other runners.

This morning I ran with Jon again. Including the distance to and from his place I ran over 5 miles, at a much easier pace of about 53 minutes. I wasn't feeling quite so hot this morning. Last night we went to see The Bank Job at the Davis and had dinner at Thai Opart beforehand with wine. Well, a half-bottle of wine at dinner and a box of chocolate-covered cookie dough snacks at the movies apparently are not good for pre-run nutrition. The weather really improved today. It was about 50 degrees and very windy early this morning and is in the 70s now. We should be in a good weather pattern for the next week at least. I'm running with Erik in the morning so I should make sure I eat a better dinner tonight and get my rest.

12 miles

I completed my 12 mile long run in for the week. Erik and I went out in the early afternoon. It was sunny and cold today and worst of all...very windy. Per usual in Chicago, the wind only affects about half of your run depending upon whether you are running north or south first. Since I live pretty far north the wind is usually at my back for the first half of my run as I go south on the lakeshore path. However, when you turn around to start running home you nearly get knocked over by the wind. The run going south was great. We were flying with the wind and making great time while not exerting much extra energy. When we turned around at North Ave. and started running north, I could feel the energy draining from my body as I fought the wind. It was brutal, but once we got to Belmont it was better because there is more protection from trees. I was so relieved to turn west onto Montrose. The rest was a piece of cake until I arrived home.

All in all, today was a really good run. I took some extra time stretching beforehand because I was sore from the 5 miler yesterday and I think that really helped me. I had some mental battles later on in the run, you know them, the little demon on your shoulder that keeps telling you to stop. The wind was the primary cause of those problems though. We kept a nice steady 9 to 9:30 pace for most of the run and only stopped a couple times to rehydrate and once to take a GU. I'm still feeling really good physically, with no injury bugs or nagging soreness. The mileage is going to really start climbing now on the long runs, so the real test will be the next few weeks.

The weather should start seriously warming up this week. I'm hoping I can put my running pants away until fall now. It's unlikely, but you never know with this city.

5 + 5 milers

Thursday night had horrible weather. It was freezing cold, windy and we were having big thunderstorms. Friday morning was a completely different day however and when I woke up to go for a run and meet up with my friend Jon it was about 55 degrees, sunny and clear. It was a beautiful, perfect morning for running. Jon hasn't been running since we ran a 5k with him last September, so we took it pretty easy. I showed him the river front path which is very close to his new condo in Lincoln Square. I ran 5 miles total including running to and from Jon's place. With Jon training to run the Soldier Field 10 miler with me, I'll probably be running a couple times with him each week until the race in May. I'm looking forward to having another running buddy for the summer. Jon ran in high school and college I think so it probably won't take him long to get back into training.

The nice weather came and went quickly on Friday. It has been very cool and rainy all day today. I was supposed to do a 12 mile long run with Erik, but our schedules didn't quite match up. Cassie did get in her 12 mile long run this morning. Erik and I decided to get our long run in tomorrow afternoon instead. The weather is supposed to be better at least. Since I was all dressed and stretched and ready to go running when I found out Erik wasnt able to go, I decided to get in a shorter run. I ran an easy 5 miler on the river path. It wasn't the best run for me. I didn't get much sleep last night and I think I was a little dehydrated as well, but I finished. I'm going to take it easy tonight and get some rest and hopefully tomorrow will be a good long run.

7 + 4.5 milers

We are back in Chicago. Although the weather is definitely not better here, it feels good to be back home now. It does feel like spring is here at least. Temperatures are consistently in the 40s and 50s instead of 20s and 30s. I can wear shorts when I run now.

I originally was going to use this blog as my running journal after everytime I run, but I already use Map My Run as my running journal mostly. Writing and logging two journals is already proving to be too much for me to handle and is not really interesting if anyone is actually reading this blog. Who wants to just read my boring report on the weather and how I felt on the run? So, my plan is to not write after every run, but write when I have the time and combine a few runs in each posting. Hopefully this will allow me to write more interesting postings as well.

Monday evening, I ran with the Fleet Feet Fun Run group from the Lincoln Square store. The store is the closest running retailer to my house, and the group always goes on the river path for their fun runs, which is a great route. It's the best running store in Chicago from all the ones I've visited. Fun races, a friendly knowledgeable staff and great stock in shoes, apparel and pretty much anything you want. My friend Erik met me at the store and we set out to do 6 miles. It actually ends up being over 7 miles for me if I run to and from my house to the store. It makes a nice warm up. A short ways into the run after smaller groups began breaking out we were running with a woman named Amanda. We had a great conversation with her about the Madison-Chicago 200 Relay which she ran last year and we are considering running this year. She was able to answer alot of our questions. Before we knew it we were going on a fast pace (for us anyways). I wasn't timing us, but I am pretty sure we were doing sub-8:30s, but I felt great and kept pushing it until we returned to the store. It didn't feel like 7 miles at all when I got home. The weather was in the mid 40s so I was able to wear shorts. This was a great run. I wish every one was like this.

Wednesday morning Schroeder and I met up for a morning run. It was chillier than I expected in the high 30s and cloudy and windy. I still wore shorts. It's hard to go back to long pants after you've been running in shorts for over a week! I can't wait for summer. We ran a 4 and a half mile loop through Ravenswood. I felt pretty slugglish for most of this run, but we got the miles in. The best news is that I am feeling very healthy with no pain or soreness anywhere.

Not sure if I'll go out tomorrow. It is supposed to be cool and rainy again. Friday morning I am running with my friend Jon, who is running the Soldier Field 10 miler with Cassie and I in May. He used to be a runner and is planning on training for this race with us to get back into shape after winter. I'm looking forward to it. It probably won't be a long run on Friday so I may go out tomorrow night.

My beloved Twins are playing the White Sox tonight, so I am going to head home and watch them now. I'm so glad baseball is back.

Race Report: Central Valley 10k

We woke up early on Saturday morning to pack up and leave our condo north of Kaanapali beach in Maui and drive to the race just outside Kahului. We found the race start with little difficulty and arrived around 6:30 a.m. to pick up our race number and t-shirt. The 10k was a small race, with probably only about 50 runners. This was the second year of the 10k race to benefit the orphaned pets of Maui at the Maui Humane Society. I'm not sure what sort of a running community they have in Maui. It seems really active from what I observed this past week. Every morning dozens of runners were out getting in their miles, but I'm not sure how many of those people were tourists or locals. It seemed like both actually. I picked up a copy of the Hawaiian Sports magazine (same as Chicago Athlete) at the Runner's Paradise store that was sponsoring the race and it looks like triathalons and biking are really popular on the islands.

The weather was nice at the start in the low 70s with some wind, but the sun was out from the beginning and that was going to have an affect later on in the race. I've never run the 10k distance as a race before so I decided to just go for it and see how well I manage. The out and back course started on a short access road to the Humane Society and then went south on a bike path towards Kihei for 3 miles. The scenery was nice, going through sugar cane fields, there was even a really nice rainbow in the distance, but I personally prefer a few more turns in a race to keep things interesting. The course seemed very flat, but it was in fact a steady downhill the first half of the race, meaning the second half of the race was a low grade hill for 3 miles.

I went out too fast on the first half of the course and paid for it later. If the race was a 5k I think I could have PR'd it easily. Unfortunately with the sun out, a strong headwind going back north, and the low grade hill going all the way back to the start I really struggled on the back half of the race. My official time hasn't been posted online yet, but based on my watch I ran the 10k in about 53:25 or something like that. Cassie came in about 2 minutes later. She ran a nice steady pace the entire race. Even though I struggled, it was a PR for me for the distance, and we had fun running a race in Hawaii on our vacation. I'm excited about the upcoming race season.

Based on this race and the 10 miler I ran last fall in North Carolina, I am not sure if I am a good middle-distance runner. I need to come up with a better race strategy for those distances. I may have to stick with the 5k and marathon as my focuses. I have two 10 mile races coming up the next month and a half, so I think I will know more about my middle-distance abilities after those.

Cassie and I are back in IL now. We had a great vacation, with lots of relaxation and fun trips all around the island of Maui. It's always good to be home though. Hopefully spring is here to stay.

5 and 4 milers

I am a couple days behind on running posts now, because, well...I'm in Maui on vacation and being on the internet is not high on my priority list at the moment. We're having a great time exploring beaches and hiking around. We went to a Luau in Lahaina last night, which was cool.

Cassie and I ran a solid 5 miler on Tuesday. It was in the low 70s in the morning and windy. It was fairly hilly terrain, which I liked because we don't get any of that in Chicago. Cassie was not thrilled with it though. Both ankles felt great although I did have some tightness in my calf, which is new to me. I took a day off from running though and it feels fine. We stopped and grabbed some coffee after the run and enjoyed a leisurely walk back to the condo.

We rested on Wednesday and this morning we ran just under 4 miles on a slightly different route with fewer hills. We didnt get outside until after 8 a.m. so it was hotter than before with less wind. We are so not acclimated to the warm weather, after running in freezing temps for the last 4-5 months. I felt really good on the run today, no issues whatsoever. I'm feeling like I'll be in good shape for the 10k on Saturday. Well, we are off to Lahaina for the evening, so I'm out.

4.5 miles in Maui

We arrived in Maui yesterday. It was a 9 hour flight and after some issues with luggage arriving on a different plane and being very annoyed at the price of a few simple groceries, we found the condo that we are staying at for most of this week. Our condo is very nice, it is right on the ocean and it has a pool. We forced ourselves to stay awake as long as possible to adjust to Maui time, but we still fell asleep at like 9 p.m. It was a really long exhausting day.

We woke up at 6 a.m. feeling well rested and decided to go out for a run to explore the area and get the day started. Our first mile or so was on a side road that mostly had condos and resorts around it, and lots of palm trees and greenery. We did go by a fruit stand that we're going to have to visit later. The weather was gorgeous today. It was around 70 degrees on our run. The sun wasn't even a factor for the first 3 miles because we are staying on the west side of the island, and there is a mountain (Pu'u Kukui) blocking the sun rise. It was very windy though. We ended up running alongside a busy road before we finally found a good boardwalk by a beach. The road had a nice big shoulder, but I'm still not used to running that close to so much traffic. I think we'll find a different route tomorrow. I felt really good on the run. I still have some lingering left ankle tenderness, but its really not an issue. I'm looking forward to a week of good running.

We did some hiking this afternoon on the north side of the island. I've never been to a place like this, the terrain is incredible. Our hike was mostly in a really rocky and craggy area along the ocean, that looked like the Moon or Mars with lots of weird lava rock formations. It was a really fun drive on lots of windy roads. I don't know if I will ever have a chance to come back here, so I am trying to take it all in and enjoy it as much as possible. I'm in Maui now so I dont want to spend too much time online, so I'm going to go now. We are going to get some seafood and sushi for dinner. I don't know it it's the weather or what, but we've been starving all day even though we've been eating constantly.

11 miles and back on track

Erik, Cassie and I put in an easy 11 miler today. I call it easy because there were a few stops on the run, so it wasn't continous. After about 6 miles we stopped at the theatre to help with some schlepping for the benefit tonight downtown. That was about a half-hour break, although it was heavy lifting, so that could sort of count as strength training. Then later near our home Cassie and I ran into an old friend from college who was waiting for the bus so we chatted with him for a while. We got the miles in eventually though. We were planning on 12 miles, but it just didnt workout that way. The weather was nice as well, sunny and in the high 30s with some wind.

The great news though is that both of my ankles felt great! The left one still was slightly tender, but not painful in the least and I didnt need to take any painkillers before or after. It seems like I am on my way back to running healthy.

We are off to Maui in the morning, and hopefully with the nice weather we should be able to get in a great running week. It will really help make up for this week which suffered because of needing to rest and heal my ankles. It worked though, so it was worth it. I have several hours worth of running podcasts to listen to on the flight tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to that. If I don't write while I am in Maui I will provide a full report upon my return. Mahalo!

Another 5.9 miles and more pain

More of the same today with the ankle. I iced it last night and woke up feeling fine, but when I slipped on my running shoe the same pain came back. It has to be something with the place where my shoe is touching my ankle while I move, like a pinched nerve or bruised bone or something. It's weird because when my shoe is off it doesnt even feel tender or sore to the touch. I tried going back to the Nikes to see if that would make a difference, but it was the same. So I popped an IB proufen and went out with Cassie to meet up with Schroeder. I've never used a pain killer on a run before, mostly because I've never needed one, but it really helped. I felt great on the run. After about half a mile I felt no pain at all. I know it's not a good idea to use pain killers while running because you arent completely in touch with how you're actually feeling, but it was a quick cure for me today.

We moved at a pretty easy pace today thankfully. The weather was beautiful for an early spring morning. High 30s and sunny, so I wore shorts. I was hoping it would be a little warmer, but I survived with shorts. I'm gonna take a day or two off now to heal before my Saturday long run. We've got another 12 miles planned this weekend. Then on Sunday we are off to Maui for a week! Not sure if we'll have internet there, but if so, I'll post running updates. I want to get in 4-5 runs at least. We are running a 10k race next Saturday in Kahului, and we'll have to get in a long run someday. Maybe it will be summer when we get back to Chicago.

5.9 miles

I'm very discouraged tonight. I got home from work to go for a run outside. The weather was beautiful, in the low 50s and clear, just a little windy. I quickly threw on my running gear and headed towards the lakefront while there was still light. I was wearing shorts for the first time this spring, I was on a great pace and feeling like I could run for hours. My right ankle was giving me no problems and seemed to be healed. I was hoping to get in at least 6, maybe 7, miles.

Had I been running a 5k race, I probably would have PRd because it only took me a little more than 24 minutes to hit three miles and I didnt even feel like I was pushing too much. After I turned off the lakeshore path to head west on Irving Park back home I suddenly felt a sharp pain on my left ankle. I've had absolutely no problems with my left ankle to date. I tried to keep going, but had to stop a couple times and stretch it out and loosen up the laces on my shoes because thats where it felt like the pain was, right where I tie my shoes. I was somehow able to keep going, although at a much slower pace, and went from moments of sharp pain to no pain at all for the next 2 1/2 miles until I got home.

Right now I have it wrapped and iced. I also took an IB proufen so all is good. I'm supposed to run with Erik in the morning, but I'll have to see how I'm feeling. I need to head to bed to get some rest. What horrible luck the last 2 weeks. I just can't believe the ankle injury problems I've been having.

12 miles

Cassie, Erik and I went for a 12 mile long run Saturday late morning. All the snow on Friday made everything a mess, but we had to get in our run. At least it was sunny and sort of warm, but that contributed to the messiness. Slushy snow and puddles were everywhere. My shoes and socks were soaked pretty much before mile 3. No one in this city shovels their sidewalks. Once we got out to the lakeshore path it turned out to be a great run. I'm always amazed at how well the city keeps up the lakeshore path. Winter long runs in Chicago wouldnt be possible without it.

It was a good run for me. Our pace was a little slower because Cassie was with us, but it wasnt much of a difference. I was able to take off my pullover and run in just a t-shirt going south on the path because the wind was at our back, but once we turned around to head back home I needed to wear my pull-over again. Ah well, it felt like summer for about a half-hour at least. We took GU only once at mile 6 and that seemed to do the trick for me.

And my ankle? Well, it was pretty much the same problem as it has been the last week and a half. A bit sensitive at first, but then the problem goes away after a mile or two and it's fine until after the run. I am going to let it rest until at least Tuesday night or Wednesday morning before running again. If a running coach or trainer were to read this they would think I'm an idiot because I keep running on my ankle and it obviously needs a little more time to heal. It's just hard to take the time off from training. So, I'll continue to be an idiot and hope that it gets better.

6 Miles and Snow

Erik and I braved the cold and hit the pavement this morning for about 6 miles to the lake and back. It was supposed to snow last night, and thankfully it didn't, however it started snowing about 1 mile into the run today. It was really windy so it quickly became blizzard-like with snow whipping us in the face and by the time I got back into the neighborhood it was accumulating on the sidewalks and starting to make everything wet, slushy and slippery. Even so, I ran a nice pace today, averaging about 9 min./miles. I felt good the entire run.

It's been snowing all morning and I think its supposed to be like this most of the day. Hopefully we don't get too much accumulation because this could make our 12 mile long run tomorrow less than fun. What a great way to start off Spring!

I'm at 16 miles so far this week, and with a long run tomorrow I should hit 28 miles for the week. The two days off really helped my ankle feel better, although it was still a little stiff. The 12 miler tomorrow will be the true test of how well it's healed. I'd like to bump up to 5 runs a week soon if my ankle and the weather allow it.

I just found a 10k race in Maui for the week Cassie and I are there on vacation. We'll be there in only 9 days! Enough of this snow and cold. There will be lots of good running there.

6 miles

Ran a steady 6 miler this morning with Erik and his dad on the lakefront. Erik's dad was just in town for a couple days. It's fun to have someone new to run with even for one morning. It was lightly raining, but warmer than I expected. Still needed long sleeves and pants though. On the positive side I havent needed to run on the treadmill at the gym since February, so it at least feels like spring is around the corner. I think most Chicagoans would agree with me that this has been a nasty winter with long cold snaps and lots of snow.

I'm dealing with a little bit of a sore ankle from a run last week. It just bothers me for the first half-mile or so and then I don't notice it the rest of the run. As long as I rest it for a couple days now I don't think it will turn into anything serious. I experienced practically no issues or injury while training for the Rock and Roll Arizona Marathon, so I'd hate to start off training for Grandma's with an injury that will hold me back. Last week was my first solid 4 run week in a while and I reached over 25 miles total for the week. The marathon week was the last time I had over 25 miles. After two months of battling freezing weather and colds I finally feel like I am getting back into my pre-marathon training fitness.