Great recipe from Runner's World this month. Mark Bittman is NY Times columnist and author of "How To Cook Everything" and "Food Matters". His focus is on foods that will help you perform well that taste great and are easy to make. His core philosophy is More Vegetables, so he takes a traditionally meat heavy dish laced with beans and vegetables and turns it into a vegetable and bean dish laced with meat. Serve it with a fresh loaf of french or italian bread (or whatever bread you like!)
2 T Olive oil
1 lb Italian sausage, bone in pork chop, duck breasts, chicken legs or thighs or a combination of meats.
1 T Garlic
2 leeks or onions sliced.
2 Carrots peeled and sliced
3 Celery stalks, sliced
2 Med Zucchinis, cut into 1/2 in pieces
Salt and Ground pepper
4 Cups canned tomatoes (with juice), chopped
1/4 C fresh parsley
1 T fresh Thyme leaves, chopped
2 Bay leaves
4 C canned white beans, drained
2 C Chicken or vegetable broth
Cayenne pepper to taste
Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat, Add meat and cook, turning until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and drain off all but 2 T of fat. Turn heat to medium, add garlic, leeks or onions, carrots, celery and zucchini; season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes or until softened. Add tomatoes and juice, meat and herbs. Bring to a boil. Add beans and boil again, stirring occasionally; reduce heat so mixture bubbles gently. Cook for 20 minutes, adding stock when mixture gets thick. (I added about half up front. Used about 1 & 1/2 c total) Fish out meat, remove bones and skin and chop into chunks. Return to pot and add cayenne. Warm through. Serves 4 (great leftover)
Enjoy!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Go Team James go!
Let's hear it for Team James! Claudia, Tash, Ciara, Marco, Carlos, Achille, Carmen, Maria Mac and the most awesome one person cheering section ever, Stephanie! Great work today at the Susan G Komen Race for the cure. A great morning and a great event. We missed you Hill (hope you feel better!) and Theresa (slacker!).
One of my best friends in college lost his sister to breast cancer before she turned 30. Fortunately, this is the only person I know who has been touched by this disease, so I can't say that I have a strong emotional connection to this cause. So why did I choose this race/cause to run for today? Besides being an event that we decided to run as a team, I have to admit that, while I'm a legs man, I'm a pretty big fan of boobs too, so I should run in hopes of saving a few. So I did...and it felt great!
After 5 cities in 5 days with lots of work and not a lot of work out, I was admittedly expecting a tough run this AM. It was anything but. Really nice course that starts where the Marathon ends, going the opposite way, so first turn takes us down the hill that burns so bad during the final mile of 26.2. Up Michigan Ave, across to Columbus, turn east and connect to Lakefront running path by The Chicago Yacht Club, N through the marina and looping back south along the water. The end of my 7 milers, but again, the opposite direction. S along the lakefront around the Shedd, up the troublesome little hill that Hill helped me up last Sunday, loop back by Soldier field back around the Shedd and through the tunnel to the home stretch. Here's where they psyched us a little bit. On other races that finish in this vicinity, you come through the tunnel, up a tough little hill and turn onto Columbus for the home stretch. As I motored up the hill, I turned and started my kick to the finish. PSYCHE! Course makes hard right turn back onto the path and around Hutchins field along the drive, turning left on Balbo to the finish. Really nice and I'm beginning to think the 10k is the perfect distance for me.
I wound up finishing with a 10 min mile pace, 1:02:35 was my time. Personal best for the 10k by over 3 minutes. Not bad and new goal for me is to break 60 minutes. Was great to come home to our loud, boisterous cheering section although she was a slacker and didn't make a sign or bring any noise makers or crazy costumes and didn't really cheer much, just a wave and a thumbs up. It was actually just perfect!
So I guess you can say that today was Opposite day. The course was same in many places to other races/routes only in the opposite direction. I thought I was going to have a tough run, instead I had my best 10k run ever. And to top it off, The Seminoles put up a L instead of a W and I am not that upset, which is totally opposite of would have expected. Oh well, you can't win them all.
2 weeks and a day from Marathon Sunday. Starting to get excited. Tomorrow, goal is to figure out how to get the info Joe put together on Parkinson's posted and post amazing recipe from Runner's World that I made last night. Healthy and Delish!
One of my best friends in college lost his sister to breast cancer before she turned 30. Fortunately, this is the only person I know who has been touched by this disease, so I can't say that I have a strong emotional connection to this cause. So why did I choose this race/cause to run for today? Besides being an event that we decided to run as a team, I have to admit that, while I'm a legs man, I'm a pretty big fan of boobs too, so I should run in hopes of saving a few. So I did...and it felt great!
After 5 cities in 5 days with lots of work and not a lot of work out, I was admittedly expecting a tough run this AM. It was anything but. Really nice course that starts where the Marathon ends, going the opposite way, so first turn takes us down the hill that burns so bad during the final mile of 26.2. Up Michigan Ave, across to Columbus, turn east and connect to Lakefront running path by The Chicago Yacht Club, N through the marina and looping back south along the water. The end of my 7 milers, but again, the opposite direction. S along the lakefront around the Shedd, up the troublesome little hill that Hill helped me up last Sunday, loop back by Soldier field back around the Shedd and through the tunnel to the home stretch. Here's where they psyched us a little bit. On other races that finish in this vicinity, you come through the tunnel, up a tough little hill and turn onto Columbus for the home stretch. As I motored up the hill, I turned and started my kick to the finish. PSYCHE! Course makes hard right turn back onto the path and around Hutchins field along the drive, turning left on Balbo to the finish. Really nice and I'm beginning to think the 10k is the perfect distance for me.
I wound up finishing with a 10 min mile pace, 1:02:35 was my time. Personal best for the 10k by over 3 minutes. Not bad and new goal for me is to break 60 minutes. Was great to come home to our loud, boisterous cheering section although she was a slacker and didn't make a sign or bring any noise makers or crazy costumes and didn't really cheer much, just a wave and a thumbs up. It was actually just perfect!
So I guess you can say that today was Opposite day. The course was same in many places to other races/routes only in the opposite direction. I thought I was going to have a tough run, instead I had my best 10k run ever. And to top it off, The Seminoles put up a L instead of a W and I am not that upset, which is totally opposite of would have expected. Oh well, you can't win them all.
2 weeks and a day from Marathon Sunday. Starting to get excited. Tomorrow, goal is to figure out how to get the info Joe put together on Parkinson's posted and post amazing recipe from Runner's World that I made last night. Healthy and Delish!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
So long....
Learned today that our Gym is officially closing her doors tomorrow. So long Crunch and all the crazy characters we've encountered over the last few years. The place was never very clean and the staff only sometimes friendly, but you were our gym. We never knew from day to day if we'd have mouthwash or q-tips, shower gel or shampoo, but we came and you were ours. You were convenient enough that excuses not to see you were hard to sell to ourselves or our friends, so we woke up with you more often than not. You'll be hard to replace.
And how we'll miss the characters...so long ADD guy, bye bye Albino man in the bicycle shorts. See you later Mr. Mayor of the Locker room. No more watching the Linebacker bounce all over the bike in spin or the wacko who has to adjust her bike all class long. See you later fat naked guy (well, hopefully not) and won't miss seeing you apply lotion in places the sun don't shine Mr. Too much time in the tanning booth dude, seriously, how are you that tan there?? Bye bye Plastic Surgeon's wife and Energizer Bunny, oh how I'll miss you and your 1892 short shorts, how do you go so fast for so long (on the stairmaster)?? Hope you don't get fat now super skinny annoying guy who never works out.
See you Jon, Keith, Rick, Annette and Prima. So long James Spin club. It was a great ride and forever I will hear Annette pushing us to go harder and sweat more than we thought we could. It was fun, really. It was.
So long.
And how we'll miss the characters...so long ADD guy, bye bye Albino man in the bicycle shorts. See you later Mr. Mayor of the Locker room. No more watching the Linebacker bounce all over the bike in spin or the wacko who has to adjust her bike all class long. See you later fat naked guy (well, hopefully not) and won't miss seeing you apply lotion in places the sun don't shine Mr. Too much time in the tanning booth dude, seriously, how are you that tan there?? Bye bye Plastic Surgeon's wife and Energizer Bunny, oh how I'll miss you and your 1892 short shorts, how do you go so fast for so long (on the stairmaster)?? Hope you don't get fat now super skinny annoying guy who never works out.
See you Jon, Keith, Rick, Annette and Prima. So long James Spin club. It was a great ride and forever I will hear Annette pushing us to go harder and sweat more than we thought we could. It was fun, really. It was.
So long.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
You've got a friend
Classic James Taylor song for today's blog. "Just call out my name and you know wherever I am, I'll come running." I have 2 friends to thank for helping me with today's run.
First, my buddy for the last 20 years or so. Who else is so cool that on her 17th wedding anniversary and night of a huge FSU game against a top 10 team, would be alright with no alcohol Pdaddy (which translates to "crabby Pdaddy") and a carb driven dinner? Hell, Tree even stuck to water with me and made sure the kids were quiet and respectful when I crawled in bed at 9. Training for a marathon is an investment. Long runs happen during family time because it's easier to carve away at these minutes than it is work minutes. Silly but true. So, Happy Anniversary Tree and thanks for hanging in there thru Marathon #2.
Secondly, one of my favorite people. When I posted that I needed runners to help me with today's run, Hill Cavan was the first to respond with "When and where do you need me?" Most of you who read this thing know or have met Hill. Watching her accomplish her first marathon in 2006 inspired me on this crazy journey. Today, she volunteered to meet me at mile 8 and run with me to mile 12 (note, getting from 10-11has been my achilles heel this year). Running with me for 4 meant an 8 mile for her. Not only did Hill help me through a few tough miles, she hung with me to 14, resulting in a 12 miler for her. She even gave up her Sat night out to help me on Sunday morning. Unbelieveable. Hill knows I don't like to talk when I run, so she ran along with me in silence except for amazingly intuitive comments at just the right times, like "Water ahead" when she knew I needed fuel. "Almost to the top" 3/4 of the way up this troublesome little hill. And every so often, a simple "How you doing?". In addition, she knew when to "pull" me and when to "push" to maximize my performance. She will say it was just coincidental. It was not. She was a great coach and a better friend today.
So, I'll try to be brief....morning was perfect. The sky was still black as I approached the city. I would never imagine that the skyline looks as brilliant in twinkle lights as it does against the sunrise. As morning awoke, the clouds turned from deep purple to burgundy to plum to garnet to red to pink. Amazing. The huge sun broke the horizon while I was on LSD. I looked and did a double take as if a gorgeous woman just passed. The type of woman you do that double take for even if you are with your spouse, one that even she would say "ei chi wa wa" (and that's not a sexist statement, you women know what I'm talking about it...you take the double take sometimes too.) It was a perfect morning. Mid sixties and not too humid. All went well with everything from dinner to sleep to am fuel to arrival. I was perfectly prepared for this run. The run starts at Foster and the lake. Unfortunately, parking is not so ample, so I wind up parking about a mile from the start. A runner jokes with me en route to the start "I guess we can tack a mile onto this run!" I reply "this is the easy walk, wait 'til the walk back AFTER the run".
Run started strong and I felt fantastic. Today was about discipline. Can I put my stubborn ego aside and run in a pace group at a slower pace to maximize distance? I started with an 11 min mile pace group and convinced my self to stay with the group through the first few miles. After we settled in and I took my place amongst the group ("2 by 2" as the obnoxious leader of the group behind us kept barking), I became impatient as it felt so slow. Couple that with the chatty girl who wouldn't shut her trap, I struggled not to break away and pick up the pace. I kept telling myself "It's all about discipline today" and stuck with it. Two of my fave up tempo songs even came on..."Stay with it at least 5 miles" I begged.
Route is great. Lakefront running path, a few loops to make the miles work, a journey into Lincoln Park before crossing the bridge at North Ave to join the path again. By this time (7 miles), I had picked up the pace and was solo, as I prefer. Just me, my music, my thoughts and taking in the beauty of the run. I come in and out of my void, but bottom line, feel fantastic. Coming down the path from North to Division, Hill jumps in and joins me for the next 6. It's interesting mentally as I heading "home" from my normal 5 miler route only to connect with the beginning of my normal 7 miler run. So...."almost home" becomes "here we go" in an instant. Take upper path around the Shedd to the beauty of Burnham Harbor and continue past Soldier Field. The struggle is starting and as I hit the 12 mile Aid Station, I have flashback of last year and specifically remember the location. This is where my pause for water turned into "I'll just walk to that lightpost" and then the next and the next until I was in full walk break and the run was busted. I celebrated the mental victory of breaking through this wall. Hill decides to hang with me through 12 and then 13, citing "These are the miles that I struggle through"...right. When we hit 14, I tell her "If you keep going now, you have to finish it with me" which prompts an immediate and definitive "Nope,I'm out. Go Kill it now!" and like that, I'm solo again. Thanks again Hill, you have no idea how much that meant.
In distance running, everyone talks about "hitting the wall". That moment when you are finished and have to make the choice to break through and allegedly, once through, you are running on sheer will power. For me, the wall gets build, one brick at a time, on my back while running. I try like hell to push the bricks off, but eventually can't. I feel it in my posture, specifically, it feels like there is a rope tied to my forehead, putting it down to the road until my chin is on my chest. I start longing for the next aid station and my mouth gets parched and sticky. I push back, adjusting my posture and thinking about "breaking through". All this does is move the bricks from my shoulders to a "backpack", relief for a minute, and then they start piling on again until I can't go any futher.
Today,I didn't make it out of the 16 mile aid station. Only 4 miles to go and I couldn't get through. Don't get me wrong, I finished, but walked maybe half of the last 4. I was again, disappointed, but not upset. 16 strong miles is an accomplishment and finishing 20 is not something most people can say they have done. Perhaps I'm not meant to run more than 16. I've done it before...but just once. Last year's 18 miler. I made 15 1/2 on Marathon day with walking. Maybe that's my limit. I'm not ready to accept that as absolute, but am willing to accept it for this particular journey. Today made me realize that perhaps it's time to adjust my goal and enjoy whatever happens on 10/11. Accomplishing my second marathon, regardless of whether or not I walk some if it, is something to be proud of and celebrate, and I will....until next time.
Interesting lesson learned today....one we all learned as kids from Aesop's fable, The Hare and the Tortoise. Yep, you probably could have guessed. As I'm walking for a minute on mile 20, who comes slowly running by....my pace group, down to the leader plus 2. They trot by and I desperately want to pick up and finish with them, but I can't. Stay with them for a 100 yards or so before I have to drop off and watch them bring it home ahead of me. Curious. Wonder what would have happened if I would have had the discipline to stay with them the whole way? Maybe I'll take this lesson with me to race day and see what happens. Maybe the goal doesn't have to change....maybe.
Long post today, but a long run,so what did you expect?
First, my buddy for the last 20 years or so. Who else is so cool that on her 17th wedding anniversary and night of a huge FSU game against a top 10 team, would be alright with no alcohol Pdaddy (which translates to "crabby Pdaddy") and a carb driven dinner? Hell, Tree even stuck to water with me and made sure the kids were quiet and respectful when I crawled in bed at 9. Training for a marathon is an investment. Long runs happen during family time because it's easier to carve away at these minutes than it is work minutes. Silly but true. So, Happy Anniversary Tree and thanks for hanging in there thru Marathon #2.
Secondly, one of my favorite people. When I posted that I needed runners to help me with today's run, Hill Cavan was the first to respond with "When and where do you need me?" Most of you who read this thing know or have met Hill. Watching her accomplish her first marathon in 2006 inspired me on this crazy journey. Today, she volunteered to meet me at mile 8 and run with me to mile 12 (note, getting from 10-11has been my achilles heel this year). Running with me for 4 meant an 8 mile for her. Not only did Hill help me through a few tough miles, she hung with me to 14, resulting in a 12 miler for her. She even gave up her Sat night out to help me on Sunday morning. Unbelieveable. Hill knows I don't like to talk when I run, so she ran along with me in silence except for amazingly intuitive comments at just the right times, like "Water ahead" when she knew I needed fuel. "Almost to the top" 3/4 of the way up this troublesome little hill. And every so often, a simple "How you doing?". In addition, she knew when to "pull" me and when to "push" to maximize my performance. She will say it was just coincidental. It was not. She was a great coach and a better friend today.
So, I'll try to be brief....morning was perfect. The sky was still black as I approached the city. I would never imagine that the skyline looks as brilliant in twinkle lights as it does against the sunrise. As morning awoke, the clouds turned from deep purple to burgundy to plum to garnet to red to pink. Amazing. The huge sun broke the horizon while I was on LSD. I looked and did a double take as if a gorgeous woman just passed. The type of woman you do that double take for even if you are with your spouse, one that even she would say "ei chi wa wa" (and that's not a sexist statement, you women know what I'm talking about it...you take the double take sometimes too.) It was a perfect morning. Mid sixties and not too humid. All went well with everything from dinner to sleep to am fuel to arrival. I was perfectly prepared for this run. The run starts at Foster and the lake. Unfortunately, parking is not so ample, so I wind up parking about a mile from the start. A runner jokes with me en route to the start "I guess we can tack a mile onto this run!" I reply "this is the easy walk, wait 'til the walk back AFTER the run".
Run started strong and I felt fantastic. Today was about discipline. Can I put my stubborn ego aside and run in a pace group at a slower pace to maximize distance? I started with an 11 min mile pace group and convinced my self to stay with the group through the first few miles. After we settled in and I took my place amongst the group ("2 by 2" as the obnoxious leader of the group behind us kept barking), I became impatient as it felt so slow. Couple that with the chatty girl who wouldn't shut her trap, I struggled not to break away and pick up the pace. I kept telling myself "It's all about discipline today" and stuck with it. Two of my fave up tempo songs even came on..."Stay with it at least 5 miles" I begged.
Route is great. Lakefront running path, a few loops to make the miles work, a journey into Lincoln Park before crossing the bridge at North Ave to join the path again. By this time (7 miles), I had picked up the pace and was solo, as I prefer. Just me, my music, my thoughts and taking in the beauty of the run. I come in and out of my void, but bottom line, feel fantastic. Coming down the path from North to Division, Hill jumps in and joins me for the next 6. It's interesting mentally as I heading "home" from my normal 5 miler route only to connect with the beginning of my normal 7 miler run. So...."almost home" becomes "here we go" in an instant. Take upper path around the Shedd to the beauty of Burnham Harbor and continue past Soldier Field. The struggle is starting and as I hit the 12 mile Aid Station, I have flashback of last year and specifically remember the location. This is where my pause for water turned into "I'll just walk to that lightpost" and then the next and the next until I was in full walk break and the run was busted. I celebrated the mental victory of breaking through this wall. Hill decides to hang with me through 12 and then 13, citing "These are the miles that I struggle through"...right. When we hit 14, I tell her "If you keep going now, you have to finish it with me" which prompts an immediate and definitive "Nope,I'm out. Go Kill it now!" and like that, I'm solo again. Thanks again Hill, you have no idea how much that meant.
In distance running, everyone talks about "hitting the wall". That moment when you are finished and have to make the choice to break through and allegedly, once through, you are running on sheer will power. For me, the wall gets build, one brick at a time, on my back while running. I try like hell to push the bricks off, but eventually can't. I feel it in my posture, specifically, it feels like there is a rope tied to my forehead, putting it down to the road until my chin is on my chest. I start longing for the next aid station and my mouth gets parched and sticky. I push back, adjusting my posture and thinking about "breaking through". All this does is move the bricks from my shoulders to a "backpack", relief for a minute, and then they start piling on again until I can't go any futher.
Today,I didn't make it out of the 16 mile aid station. Only 4 miles to go and I couldn't get through. Don't get me wrong, I finished, but walked maybe half of the last 4. I was again, disappointed, but not upset. 16 strong miles is an accomplishment and finishing 20 is not something most people can say they have done. Perhaps I'm not meant to run more than 16. I've done it before...but just once. Last year's 18 miler. I made 15 1/2 on Marathon day with walking. Maybe that's my limit. I'm not ready to accept that as absolute, but am willing to accept it for this particular journey. Today made me realize that perhaps it's time to adjust my goal and enjoy whatever happens on 10/11. Accomplishing my second marathon, regardless of whether or not I walk some if it, is something to be proud of and celebrate, and I will....until next time.
Interesting lesson learned today....one we all learned as kids from Aesop's fable, The Hare and the Tortoise. Yep, you probably could have guessed. As I'm walking for a minute on mile 20, who comes slowly running by....my pace group, down to the leader plus 2. They trot by and I desperately want to pick up and finish with them, but I can't. Stay with them for a 100 yards or so before I have to drop off and watch them bring it home ahead of me. Curious. Wonder what would have happened if I would have had the discipline to stay with them the whole way? Maybe I'll take this lesson with me to race day and see what happens. Maybe the goal doesn't have to change....maybe.
Long post today, but a long run,so what did you expect?
Thursday, September 17, 2009
No, I wasn't kidding...
How bout a 9:41 pace on the 8 miler today? In Haley's words.."Bam! What?"
What an incredible run this AM. Set out for 8 south. My route south is 7, so knew I would be seeing some new path. Felt great and at museum campus, took the right fork to go around the Field Museum to Soldier Field. Was a hard choice as the sunrise was glorious and I knew the view from Adler was going to be sick, but I'm a funny guy and wasn't sure how I would manage the distance as I'm used to doing a straight out and back and if I did the Adler, I'd have to manufacture miles to make up for the blah blah blah... Anyway, I chose to stay on the path and head around the Field to the west. First steps brought me to a tough hill going up to the Field and then path didn't continue as expected. Doh! So I took a left in front of the Field and felt instantly like I was in a place I had run before. Was it the Human Race? No. Soldier Filed 10? No. Rock and Roll Half? No. I was racking my brain trying to remember as I turned south and ran past the concession stands and ATM. Re-connected with the Lake front path by Soldier Field when it hit me. Oh my, this is the Nike Ready to Run 20 miler path....THE race I'll be running on Sunday. Instantly, I felt like Lance. Why you say? Because I learned Tuesday (re-learned really) that Lance rides every mile of the Tour in the months leading up to the tour. No surprises. So, this was my "training" run on Sunday's course. Eventually, I passed the point at which I decided to "take a few extra steps" at the water station and ultimately killed my run last year. It felt great to bust through that memory and run on. Can't wait for Sunday!
I have to comment that south of the museum campus is absolutely gorgeous. Great parks, Burnham Harbor, etc. Just stunning. Coming back, I cut to the East and followed the path to the Shedd. Upper path runs along by the Oceanarium and offers perfect views of the lake and city.
As I approached the pier where the police boats park (where I generally take my last loop out before heading in to the serene riverside park nobody knows about..shhhhh) I hit the ipod to see what I have left. She announces that I have 0.65 miles left and my pace is 9:56. My goal for the run was to complete it in under 1 hour 30 mins @ an 11 minute mile. I heard this pace and got high school kid excited. My oh my, I have to finish under 10 min pace now! I kicked it into gear and for the second day in a row, set a personal best for the mile in my last mile of a run and finished with an average pace of 9:41....2 seconds faster than the 5 miler yesterday. Admittedly, I had great help during the last mile with 3 perfect pace songs. "We are beautiful! We are doomed!" by Los Campensinos, "Sly" by The Cat Empire and "Percussion Gun" by White Rabbit. All fast paced, high energy songs. Brilliant.
During today's run I definitely found my void. My void is when I am thinking of nothing but the music in my ear. Heard a lot of great lyrics today that have been drowned out by the conversation in my head up to now. Really refreshing and a perfect set-up for Sunday's run.
23 days to go. 23, the sum of my participant number. 23..the greatest of all time. Today...I loved my run. I know my next may not be so sweet, but for now, I'm a runner and I'm proud.
What an incredible run this AM. Set out for 8 south. My route south is 7, so knew I would be seeing some new path. Felt great and at museum campus, took the right fork to go around the Field Museum to Soldier Field. Was a hard choice as the sunrise was glorious and I knew the view from Adler was going to be sick, but I'm a funny guy and wasn't sure how I would manage the distance as I'm used to doing a straight out and back and if I did the Adler, I'd have to manufacture miles to make up for the blah blah blah... Anyway, I chose to stay on the path and head around the Field to the west. First steps brought me to a tough hill going up to the Field and then path didn't continue as expected. Doh! So I took a left in front of the Field and felt instantly like I was in a place I had run before. Was it the Human Race? No. Soldier Filed 10? No. Rock and Roll Half? No. I was racking my brain trying to remember as I turned south and ran past the concession stands and ATM. Re-connected with the Lake front path by Soldier Field when it hit me. Oh my, this is the Nike Ready to Run 20 miler path....THE race I'll be running on Sunday. Instantly, I felt like Lance. Why you say? Because I learned Tuesday (re-learned really) that Lance rides every mile of the Tour in the months leading up to the tour. No surprises. So, this was my "training" run on Sunday's course. Eventually, I passed the point at which I decided to "take a few extra steps" at the water station and ultimately killed my run last year. It felt great to bust through that memory and run on. Can't wait for Sunday!
I have to comment that south of the museum campus is absolutely gorgeous. Great parks, Burnham Harbor, etc. Just stunning. Coming back, I cut to the East and followed the path to the Shedd. Upper path runs along by the Oceanarium and offers perfect views of the lake and city.
As I approached the pier where the police boats park (where I generally take my last loop out before heading in to the serene riverside park nobody knows about..shhhhh) I hit the ipod to see what I have left. She announces that I have 0.65 miles left and my pace is 9:56. My goal for the run was to complete it in under 1 hour 30 mins @ an 11 minute mile. I heard this pace and got high school kid excited. My oh my, I have to finish under 10 min pace now! I kicked it into gear and for the second day in a row, set a personal best for the mile in my last mile of a run and finished with an average pace of 9:41....2 seconds faster than the 5 miler yesterday. Admittedly, I had great help during the last mile with 3 perfect pace songs. "We are beautiful! We are doomed!" by Los Campensinos, "Sly" by The Cat Empire and "Percussion Gun" by White Rabbit. All fast paced, high energy songs. Brilliant.
During today's run I definitely found my void. My void is when I am thinking of nothing but the music in my ear. Heard a lot of great lyrics today that have been drowned out by the conversation in my head up to now. Really refreshing and a perfect set-up for Sunday's run.
23 days to go. 23, the sum of my participant number. 23..the greatest of all time. Today...I loved my run. I know my next may not be so sweet, but for now, I'm a runner and I'm proud.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
9:43...are you kidding me?
9:43 was my pace this morning on my 5 miler north. Fastest 5 miles in my brief running career by 23 seconds. May not seem like much, but it is. Also recorded personal best mile (mile 5 no less, so a great kick to finish).
It was an amazing morning. Leaving the house, sky was deepest blue and the stars were so bright against the vastness of that sky. Moon was a tiny sliver, low and to the East with a huge, bright star just to the left. Really inspiring. As I approached downtown, the sunrise was equally as awesome. Beautiful blends of purple and pink, red and orange slowly cutting away at the dark blue sky. First glimpse of the city is usually just past Austin. This morning, as soon as I came over the pass at Mannheim, oh my..the Sears tower is towering above everything and is perfectly clear. So magestic. As the rest of the city came into view, it was like a photograph, dark buildings against an awakening sky. The Sears Tower was still towering above all, looking 100 stories higher than any other building. I knew it was going to be a good day.
Typical path North to the point for 5 miler. Energy was great and aided by the energy of the Lake. She was dancing today. A steady wind and the water was happy. Along the stretch from Ohio St to Oak St. Beach, the waves gently crashed against the wall and every so often, would hit hard enough to create a little water puppet, emerging above the wall, trying desperately to grab the wall and escape, but almost always falling straight back down into the lake. The corner at Oak St is a little more exciting. Waves crash and often send a billow of water across the open path. I made it through dry on the way out, but got nailed on the way back. Sorry to the poor lady I almost decked trying to keep the Nike's dry! The path to the point was flooded with puddles, so I foolishly took to the top of the wall to make my way to my fave place, re-connecting with the path in time to make the point. Baby waves tickled my feet out to my turnaround and back. It was fantastic. A beautiful morning and a beautiful run.
My "Official" Participant's packet arrived today. Guess it's real. My bib this year is 37148. I like it. 3 and 7 are my favorite numbers and add all of them up to get 23......no definition needed for the significance of that number. Another log on the fire.
8 Miles in the AM and then all hands on deck for Sunday. 24 days and counting. Can't wait!
It was an amazing morning. Leaving the house, sky was deepest blue and the stars were so bright against the vastness of that sky. Moon was a tiny sliver, low and to the East with a huge, bright star just to the left. Really inspiring. As I approached downtown, the sunrise was equally as awesome. Beautiful blends of purple and pink, red and orange slowly cutting away at the dark blue sky. First glimpse of the city is usually just past Austin. This morning, as soon as I came over the pass at Mannheim, oh my..the Sears tower is towering above everything and is perfectly clear. So magestic. As the rest of the city came into view, it was like a photograph, dark buildings against an awakening sky. The Sears Tower was still towering above all, looking 100 stories higher than any other building. I knew it was going to be a good day.
Typical path North to the point for 5 miler. Energy was great and aided by the energy of the Lake. She was dancing today. A steady wind and the water was happy. Along the stretch from Ohio St to Oak St. Beach, the waves gently crashed against the wall and every so often, would hit hard enough to create a little water puppet, emerging above the wall, trying desperately to grab the wall and escape, but almost always falling straight back down into the lake. The corner at Oak St is a little more exciting. Waves crash and often send a billow of water across the open path. I made it through dry on the way out, but got nailed on the way back. Sorry to the poor lady I almost decked trying to keep the Nike's dry! The path to the point was flooded with puddles, so I foolishly took to the top of the wall to make my way to my fave place, re-connecting with the path in time to make the point. Baby waves tickled my feet out to my turnaround and back. It was fantastic. A beautiful morning and a beautiful run.
My "Official" Participant's packet arrived today. Guess it's real. My bib this year is 37148. I like it. 3 and 7 are my favorite numbers and add all of them up to get 23......no definition needed for the significance of that number. Another log on the fire.
8 Miles in the AM and then all hands on deck for Sunday. 24 days and counting. Can't wait!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Wind cries Mary
So, I got to spend a few hours last night in the ER. It was miserable (until the RN showed me how to turn on MNF and even then is was depressing as hell). We were in a temp room while the ER is under construction. Big bonus was that there were curtains separating us from other patients and "arrival" of new patients. I could go on and on about the stories I made up in my head about the other patients and their stories. Unfortunately, I didn't have to make up a story for Mary who was admitted to the "room" behind me. Mary was picked up by paramedics wandering around by the tracks. She is suffering from Alzheimer's and is known to wander her neighborhood. It's in her "record" that her son doesn't care anymore. Unimaginable. She didn't know her name, address or birthdate the first 4 times they asked her. At one point she said "I don't know that right now" as if she expected to know the answer any minute. In between inquisitions by the various hospital workers, Mary would cry and talk to herself, asking why she was there, calling for her daddy or simply asking to go home, her anxious state ebbed and flowed as interns and RN's filed in and out of her "room" (and don't get me wrong, each was genuine and friendly and working hard to do their job, but talking to her like she was 5.) It was a horrifying "conversation" to listen to.
I decided I would blog about the experience, not to be a Pdaddy downer, but rather to bring some little awareness to the reality of Alzheimer's. My Buckaroo lived with it, but I was too young to understand. Listening to Mary tonight made me realize how horrible this disease is and how much work there is to be done. I ran for LUNGevity last year, will run for Team Fox for Parkinson's disease this year and have supported Livestrong, The Hirshberg foundation and Susan G. Komen amongst others, yet listening to Mary beg for her daddy to help last night made me question if any of us are doing enough. I don't know that answer but will be thinking a lot about it and will never forget Mary (we did learn that she was 86, born in 1923. She has forgotten more about life than I know, but can't remember her name...).
When thinking about this post, many titles were going through my head. "There's something about Mary". "Crazy Mary" (Chicagoans will get this) or "The wind cried Mary". The latter is a Jimi Hendrix song. I searched the lyrics today and was dumbfounded by what I found. I think Jimi wrote this about Mary.
Here are the lyrics to Jimi's song. Please support research organizations that give 100% of proceeds to finding a cure. We can't settle for the obstacles that inhibit us today from curing these diseases.
The Wind Cries Mary- Jimi Hendrix
"After all the jacks are in their boxes and the clowns have all gone to bed
You can hear happiness staggering on down the street
Footprints dressed in red and the wind whispers mary
A broom is drearily sweeping up the broken pieces of yesterdays life
Somewhere a queen is weeping somewhere a king has no wife
And the wind it cries mary
The traffic lights they turn of blue tomorrow
And shine their emptiness down on my bed
The tiny island sails downstream cause the life that lived is is dead
And the wind screams mary
Will the wind ever remember the names it has blown in the past
And with this crutch its old age and its wisdom
It whispers no this will be the last
And the wind cries mary"
I decided I would blog about the experience, not to be a Pdaddy downer, but rather to bring some little awareness to the reality of Alzheimer's. My Buckaroo lived with it, but I was too young to understand. Listening to Mary tonight made me realize how horrible this disease is and how much work there is to be done. I ran for LUNGevity last year, will run for Team Fox for Parkinson's disease this year and have supported Livestrong, The Hirshberg foundation and Susan G. Komen amongst others, yet listening to Mary beg for her daddy to help last night made me question if any of us are doing enough. I don't know that answer but will be thinking a lot about it and will never forget Mary (we did learn that she was 86, born in 1923. She has forgotten more about life than I know, but can't remember her name...).
When thinking about this post, many titles were going through my head. "There's something about Mary". "Crazy Mary" (Chicagoans will get this) or "The wind cried Mary". The latter is a Jimi Hendrix song. I searched the lyrics today and was dumbfounded by what I found. I think Jimi wrote this about Mary.
Here are the lyrics to Jimi's song. Please support research organizations that give 100% of proceeds to finding a cure. We can't settle for the obstacles that inhibit us today from curing these diseases.
The Wind Cries Mary- Jimi Hendrix
"After all the jacks are in their boxes and the clowns have all gone to bed
You can hear happiness staggering on down the street
Footprints dressed in red and the wind whispers mary
A broom is drearily sweeping up the broken pieces of yesterdays life
Somewhere a queen is weeping somewhere a king has no wife
And the wind it cries mary
The traffic lights they turn of blue tomorrow
And shine their emptiness down on my bed
The tiny island sails downstream cause the life that lived is is dead
And the wind screams mary
Will the wind ever remember the names it has blown in the past
And with this crutch its old age and its wisdom
It whispers no this will be the last
And the wind cries mary"
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Preparation is everything.
Last year, quoting my Spin Instructor Annette, I said "If you want it, you have to train for it". After today's busted 18 mile run today, I can add..."If you want it, you have to prepare for it". Today, I set out for my 18 miler...as has been typical this season, it was a cool day, so I slept in and headed out late (9:30ish). Had prepared on Friday as prescribed, except...there was no sense of urgency. I got home late, took my time cooking dinner, didn't set-up my next day fuel, basically, didn't follow my routine.
Anyway, the usual plan on a long run is to break it in pieces. Today, 18 miles was just three 6 mile runs in my head to start. Later in the run, it turns into a "just one more mile" game where you are equally fighting for and cherishing every small milestone. Typically, the first mile and 3/4 is tough, then I hit a groove and can slip into the plan. Today, I knew from the first step that it was going to be tough. Felt really heavy despite recording lowest weight on scale in 10 years and had what felt like a balloon between my stomach and chest. Form sucked, my stride was short and I couldn't catch my breath. I was just not comfortable. After 2 miles, I thought to myself "I can turn back now, do 4 and do my long run tomorrow." In hind sight, I should have heeded my own advice. By mile 3, I was already playing the "one more mile" card. I had lots of opportunities to quit, but was proud of my drive. I talked myself through a lot of tough miles early. I knew that if I could get to 9, I'd be OK as being an out and back run, once I hit 9, there was no choice, it was 9 miles back to the car. I talked myself through every mile from 1-9 and knew that if I completed this run, it would have been my toughest run ever.
Mentally, when I got to 9, I was in good shape. Turned after the extra 1/4 mile I generally add on and knew immediately that coming home was not going to be "downhill" as I hoped (I call coming home "downhill" as the miles count down on Nike Plus...just another trick in the mental game)... just after the "8 miles to go" call on my iPod, I lost the battle....not mentally this time....physically. About 10 1/2 miles in, my legs just quit. I was trying like hell to fight thru it mentally, but I was out of juice. Nothing more. Just done. Took a long walk break and realized that it was going to be a long road home. I walked most of the way back as at this point, it is more important to not risk injury than it is to post a few inconsequential vanity miles.
Marukami writes, "I run to acquire a void". It's one of the joys of distance running. 3 hours with just you and a trail can be a pretty peaceful place. I never found that void today. Obviously, my mind was scrambling, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me while desperately trying to keep my legs moving forward. After ruling out everything including the bok choy, I realized that preparation for an 18 mile run doesn't start the night before the run, and I'm not talking about training. The week before the marathon, I carefully planned my menu, didn't drink and got plenty of rest. Why would I not approach a 18 miler with a similar mind set? Instead, after a fun filled Labor Day weekend abusing my bod with food and booze, I didn't create a plan for the week and didn't rest up at all. I even decided on both Weds and Thurs to stay up late to watch recorded shows which, if you know me this won't surprise you, ended with me falling asleep in my chair and not going to bed until after 3 am. So, the days leading up to my long run included back to back nights with about 3 hours of productive sleep each. I wonder why I ran out of steam. I used to laugh at Hill as she would go into full "marathon mode" for the month before the run....hmmmm, maybe I should take the next 27 days a little more seriously in terms of nutrition and sleep.
While I was very disappointed by today's run, I didn't get angry like I have in the past. Anger born from fear of being able to achieve the unknown. 18 is a critical run, but a run that I know I am capable of doing. This year, I find myself learning more from my runs than I did last year. I guess that's the benefit of experience.
I'll be prepared for the Ready to Run 20 miler next Sunday.
Anyway, the usual plan on a long run is to break it in pieces. Today, 18 miles was just three 6 mile runs in my head to start. Later in the run, it turns into a "just one more mile" game where you are equally fighting for and cherishing every small milestone. Typically, the first mile and 3/4 is tough, then I hit a groove and can slip into the plan. Today, I knew from the first step that it was going to be tough. Felt really heavy despite recording lowest weight on scale in 10 years and had what felt like a balloon between my stomach and chest. Form sucked, my stride was short and I couldn't catch my breath. I was just not comfortable. After 2 miles, I thought to myself "I can turn back now, do 4 and do my long run tomorrow." In hind sight, I should have heeded my own advice. By mile 3, I was already playing the "one more mile" card. I had lots of opportunities to quit, but was proud of my drive. I talked myself through a lot of tough miles early. I knew that if I could get to 9, I'd be OK as being an out and back run, once I hit 9, there was no choice, it was 9 miles back to the car. I talked myself through every mile from 1-9 and knew that if I completed this run, it would have been my toughest run ever.
Mentally, when I got to 9, I was in good shape. Turned after the extra 1/4 mile I generally add on and knew immediately that coming home was not going to be "downhill" as I hoped (I call coming home "downhill" as the miles count down on Nike Plus...just another trick in the mental game)... just after the "8 miles to go" call on my iPod, I lost the battle....not mentally this time....physically. About 10 1/2 miles in, my legs just quit. I was trying like hell to fight thru it mentally, but I was out of juice. Nothing more. Just done. Took a long walk break and realized that it was going to be a long road home. I walked most of the way back as at this point, it is more important to not risk injury than it is to post a few inconsequential vanity miles.
Marukami writes, "I run to acquire a void". It's one of the joys of distance running. 3 hours with just you and a trail can be a pretty peaceful place. I never found that void today. Obviously, my mind was scrambling, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me while desperately trying to keep my legs moving forward. After ruling out everything including the bok choy, I realized that preparation for an 18 mile run doesn't start the night before the run, and I'm not talking about training. The week before the marathon, I carefully planned my menu, didn't drink and got plenty of rest. Why would I not approach a 18 miler with a similar mind set? Instead, after a fun filled Labor Day weekend abusing my bod with food and booze, I didn't create a plan for the week and didn't rest up at all. I even decided on both Weds and Thurs to stay up late to watch recorded shows which, if you know me this won't surprise you, ended with me falling asleep in my chair and not going to bed until after 3 am. So, the days leading up to my long run included back to back nights with about 3 hours of productive sleep each. I wonder why I ran out of steam. I used to laugh at Hill as she would go into full "marathon mode" for the month before the run....hmmmm, maybe I should take the next 27 days a little more seriously in terms of nutrition and sleep.
While I was very disappointed by today's run, I didn't get angry like I have in the past. Anger born from fear of being able to achieve the unknown. 18 is a critical run, but a run that I know I am capable of doing. This year, I find myself learning more from my runs than I did last year. I guess that's the benefit of experience.
I'll be prepared for the Ready to Run 20 miler next Sunday.
Friday, September 11, 2009
The day 9-11 was no longer just an emergency call
8 years ago, the numbers 9-1-1 were forever branded into our memories.
We all remember where we were, what we were doing and who we were with. We remember watching in disbelief. We remember comforting and being comforted. We remember Fear, Rage and Loss. We each remember different, but equally vivid images of the day. We remember a city in dust. We remember the words “Let’s Roll!” and when those courageous men and women took down flight 93 in a Pennsylvania field, we all asked ourselves “Would I have been so brave?” We remember the desperate, fighting off reality in hopes that somehow, somewhere, their husband, wife, father, sister, friend would emerge from the ashes. We remember the eerie silence of skies void of air traffic. We remember calling someone, just to say “I love you”. We remember that hug, the first one from our child, mother, spouse, boyfriend, brother when we saw them for the first time after the towers fell and we remember the heroes and their tireless, selfless efforts to save someone they’ve never met. We remember being inspired. Most importantly, we remember. Shall we never forget.
10 days after 9/11, there was a really amazing benefit concert called “America, a Tribute to Heroes”. Set in empty soundstages on each coast and a remote broadcast from London, a collection of actors and musicians performed live, un-rehearsed for 2 hours, commercial free on all networks. The benefit raised $30 million.
Click on the title of this post to see my favorite performance of the event. It lives on my iPod and the chills I get when I see or hear this performance are as intense today as they were on 9/21/01. I hope they never go away.
Appreciate one another, celebrate, inspire and create new memories everyday. It’ll make for a pretty full life.
We all remember where we were, what we were doing and who we were with. We remember watching in disbelief. We remember comforting and being comforted. We remember Fear, Rage and Loss. We each remember different, but equally vivid images of the day. We remember a city in dust. We remember the words “Let’s Roll!” and when those courageous men and women took down flight 93 in a Pennsylvania field, we all asked ourselves “Would I have been so brave?” We remember the desperate, fighting off reality in hopes that somehow, somewhere, their husband, wife, father, sister, friend would emerge from the ashes. We remember the eerie silence of skies void of air traffic. We remember calling someone, just to say “I love you”. We remember that hug, the first one from our child, mother, spouse, boyfriend, brother when we saw them for the first time after the towers fell and we remember the heroes and their tireless, selfless efforts to save someone they’ve never met. We remember being inspired. Most importantly, we remember. Shall we never forget.
10 days after 9/11, there was a really amazing benefit concert called “America, a Tribute to Heroes”. Set in empty soundstages on each coast and a remote broadcast from London, a collection of actors and musicians performed live, un-rehearsed for 2 hours, commercial free on all networks. The benefit raised $30 million.
Click on the title of this post to see my favorite performance of the event. It lives on my iPod and the chills I get when I see or hear this performance are as intense today as they were on 9/21/01. I hope they never go away.
Appreciate one another, celebrate, inspire and create new memories everyday. It’ll make for a pretty full life.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
A foggy, cool Chicago morn
Really nice 7 mile run heading south around Adler this AM. Pace was good overall, but inconsistent. Started too fast, lull in the middle, ended strong. Felt great. Skyline was engulfed in fog and while it was cool, it was humid as hell.
My finish on south route is on the riverfront at Michigan Ave, south side of river. Up one flight of stairs to lower Michigan Ave. Normally, a pretty quiet area free of foot traffic. Today, came up steps to hoards of commuters heading to work. Suits, hospital scrubs, business attire, a large, bald headed woman shaped like a man...it was odd and honestly, a little uncomfortable walking amongst this crowd dripping sweat from every pore with shirt and shorts soaked through. Once I got over myself, I was proud of my run and proud to be a runner in the middle of this pack.
The subject of "cool" came up today in discussion and got me thinking...what is "cool"? Who decides if you are "cool" or not? What are the benefits of being "cool"? If you are "uncool", can you become "cool" and vice versa? What made James Dean cool? How about John Lennon? JFK was cool. Ellen is cool as is Tony Romo. I could go on, but bottom line, all are very different, but all "cool". Seems like kind of a silly subject to spend much time contemplating, but if you think about it...if you try to be "cool", you probably are not. Cool is a state of mind, not a character trait. Cool is being confident in who you are and proud of it. Cool is moving through life with a sense of purpose and an open mind. Cool is surrounding yourself with people who also have purpose and open minds. Cool is not just being you, it's allowing all the different moments of your life to contribute to the fabric of who you are. Cool is a state of mind.
Speaking of cool. Thanks to my Little Sis Cary and her hubby Andy and Daryl Hill for their donations today. Very cool.
I'm lucky to have a ton of cool people in my life. It's inspiring and helps me every day, more than words can say.
My finish on south route is on the riverfront at Michigan Ave, south side of river. Up one flight of stairs to lower Michigan Ave. Normally, a pretty quiet area free of foot traffic. Today, came up steps to hoards of commuters heading to work. Suits, hospital scrubs, business attire, a large, bald headed woman shaped like a man...it was odd and honestly, a little uncomfortable walking amongst this crowd dripping sweat from every pore with shirt and shorts soaked through. Once I got over myself, I was proud of my run and proud to be a runner in the middle of this pack.
The subject of "cool" came up today in discussion and got me thinking...what is "cool"? Who decides if you are "cool" or not? What are the benefits of being "cool"? If you are "uncool", can you become "cool" and vice versa? What made James Dean cool? How about John Lennon? JFK was cool. Ellen is cool as is Tony Romo. I could go on, but bottom line, all are very different, but all "cool". Seems like kind of a silly subject to spend much time contemplating, but if you think about it...if you try to be "cool", you probably are not. Cool is a state of mind, not a character trait. Cool is being confident in who you are and proud of it. Cool is moving through life with a sense of purpose and an open mind. Cool is surrounding yourself with people who also have purpose and open minds. Cool is not just being you, it's allowing all the different moments of your life to contribute to the fabric of who you are. Cool is a state of mind.
Speaking of cool. Thanks to my Little Sis Cary and her hubby Andy and Daryl Hill for their donations today. Very cool.
I'm lucky to have a ton of cool people in my life. It's inspiring and helps me every day, more than words can say.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Maybe next year Sweetness...
Nice easy 5 miler this AM. Nice morning on the North route to my fave point. Really cool seeing a couple that were def from out of the country, looked like South American or maybe from Spain based on the Football Crest on his jacket, walking out the path and seeing their reaction when they turned at the point to see the skyline. The camera and video camera were out in an instant. Skyline had awesome fog settled in that covered tops of most buildings, but left the tops of the tall ones exposed. Awesome.
Signs of the end of summer everywhere. City of Chicago trucks packing up gazebos and such, volleyball nets down, no Triathalon training class, the running path traffic lighter than normal. The end of a short and odd Chicago Summer.
I signed up today for the Nike Ready to Run 20 miler on 9/20. This is an awesome run from Foster beach down the lakefront path to the South Shore Cultural center. An ominous run looking at it on a map and one during which I struggled last year (forgot until i read my blog that it was the morning after the Mich Ave mag launch party with Cindy "ei chi wa wa" Crawford, so i was on 4 hours sleep....but, a run that in know mentally handicapped me last year on Marathon day). My last long run and it needs to go well. Recruiting runners to join me for a mile or 3 for that race. Since it's on a public path, easy to hop on and help me out for a few miles. Let me know if you're interested and I'll help you connect with me at some point along the way. Don't worry, to quote the band Steriogram.."He's fat and he don't run too fast", so if you're in, it will be a nice and slow pace!
I realized today that because I made the decision to postpone my 18 miler until this Sat, that i can't run the Walter Payton 9.5 mile run this Sat. It was probably my favorite run last year. Torrential downpour from start to finish with the BEST volunteers on the course to support us. I will run this race next year. Sorry Sweetness for not being there for you on Saturday.
Shout out to M.E., Hadley and Kim for their donations today. I'm lucky to have amazing friends and family. Truly lucky.
Ciao for now. Caught up on Entourage and Top Chef tonight, ready now for a September to remember (how cheesy am I???)
Signs of the end of summer everywhere. City of Chicago trucks packing up gazebos and such, volleyball nets down, no Triathalon training class, the running path traffic lighter than normal. The end of a short and odd Chicago Summer.
I signed up today for the Nike Ready to Run 20 miler on 9/20. This is an awesome run from Foster beach down the lakefront path to the South Shore Cultural center. An ominous run looking at it on a map and one during which I struggled last year (forgot until i read my blog that it was the morning after the Mich Ave mag launch party with Cindy "ei chi wa wa" Crawford, so i was on 4 hours sleep....but, a run that in know mentally handicapped me last year on Marathon day). My last long run and it needs to go well. Recruiting runners to join me for a mile or 3 for that race. Since it's on a public path, easy to hop on and help me out for a few miles. Let me know if you're interested and I'll help you connect with me at some point along the way. Don't worry, to quote the band Steriogram.."He's fat and he don't run too fast", so if you're in, it will be a nice and slow pace!
I realized today that because I made the decision to postpone my 18 miler until this Sat, that i can't run the Walter Payton 9.5 mile run this Sat. It was probably my favorite run last year. Torrential downpour from start to finish with the BEST volunteers on the course to support us. I will run this race next year. Sorry Sweetness for not being there for you on Saturday.
Shout out to M.E., Hadley and Kim for their donations today. I'm lucky to have amazing friends and family. Truly lucky.
Ciao for now. Caught up on Entourage and Top Chef tonight, ready now for a September to remember (how cheesy am I???)
Sunday, September 6, 2009
I'm baaaaaaaaack!
It's been a while. How you been?
Sorry for long absence, but I have been struggling to bring closure to Chicago 08. Long story, but at the end of the day, I experienced the runner's blues hard after the marathon last year. Didn't run for over 3 months and wasn't able to bring myself to finish my journey. Something was left undone and it took me a while to sort it out. Not going to bore you with the details, but deep down, I was disappointed in my marathon performance. Don't get me wrong, the experience was brilliant, but my performance was bad. Hit the wall at 15 miles and struggled mentally and physically the rest of the way. Did I finish? Yes. Am I too hard on myself? Yes. Am I proud of myself? Hell Yes. Am I satisfied? No. So what's a guy to do? Obviously, gotta to do it again! My mantra this year is "At least he never walked" and my goal is to walk water stations only. "At least he never walked" is a late chapter in Haruki Murakami's memoir, "What I talk about when I talk about running." Brilliant author. Must read book for runners and non-runners alike.
Yesterday, I enjoyed many smiles and tears reading back through my blog, including finding the partial draft of my post from the day after. I have posted it as I found it. No way to recapture now the emotion that I was writing with then. I do owe a shout out to all those who came out last year to cheer me on. The fam, Time, Jen and the girls, Kim, Kieran and Liesl, The Consoles, The Piaskowys, Jen, Jillian, Matt, Claudia, Em, Robert, Red, et al. I know I'm forgetting someone. And to Hill and Pete who ran as well....This year is a totally different journey and the joy and pain of a first timer is missing. I'm not a pro, but I have experience now, so there is no unknown. There is no "first time to xx miles" which helps in managing the process, which, I guess, is what it is now, a process, not an experience. Hard to describe. It's not that I'm not having fun or enjoying milestones, it's just different.
5 weeks until the marathon and my training has been almost non-existent. I'm hitting my long runs, but not making the short ones. Need to get focused and have a good September on the road.
I am running this year for Team Fox in support of the Michael J. Fox foundation for Joe Stever, my father in law, who is living with Parkinson's disease. Joe is one of the most brilliant and positive people I know. Despite the challenge of living with PD, Joe is Joe. Always looking for the answer, glass is always half full and he still thinks he's a comedian. The new picture is Papa Joe and the kids last summer. I will be posting some information on PD and some perspective on living with it from Joe and Darryl Hill (Shirley, his wife and my brother's mother in law is living with PD in MN). It's funny running in the name of someone who is living as the terms used in fund raising efforts often indicate that the person has passed. I catch myself saying "In memory of" or "In the name of" when referring to the run. It's odd....
OK, enough for now. Have a great labor day.
Sorry for long absence, but I have been struggling to bring closure to Chicago 08. Long story, but at the end of the day, I experienced the runner's blues hard after the marathon last year. Didn't run for over 3 months and wasn't able to bring myself to finish my journey. Something was left undone and it took me a while to sort it out. Not going to bore you with the details, but deep down, I was disappointed in my marathon performance. Don't get me wrong, the experience was brilliant, but my performance was bad. Hit the wall at 15 miles and struggled mentally and physically the rest of the way. Did I finish? Yes. Am I too hard on myself? Yes. Am I proud of myself? Hell Yes. Am I satisfied? No. So what's a guy to do? Obviously, gotta to do it again! My mantra this year is "At least he never walked" and my goal is to walk water stations only. "At least he never walked" is a late chapter in Haruki Murakami's memoir, "What I talk about when I talk about running." Brilliant author. Must read book for runners and non-runners alike.
Yesterday, I enjoyed many smiles and tears reading back through my blog, including finding the partial draft of my post from the day after. I have posted it as I found it. No way to recapture now the emotion that I was writing with then. I do owe a shout out to all those who came out last year to cheer me on. The fam, Time, Jen and the girls, Kim, Kieran and Liesl, The Consoles, The Piaskowys, Jen, Jillian, Matt, Claudia, Em, Robert, Red, et al. I know I'm forgetting someone. And to Hill and Pete who ran as well....This year is a totally different journey and the joy and pain of a first timer is missing. I'm not a pro, but I have experience now, so there is no unknown. There is no "first time to xx miles" which helps in managing the process, which, I guess, is what it is now, a process, not an experience. Hard to describe. It's not that I'm not having fun or enjoying milestones, it's just different.
5 weeks until the marathon and my training has been almost non-existent. I'm hitting my long runs, but not making the short ones. Need to get focused and have a good September on the road.
I am running this year for Team Fox in support of the Michael J. Fox foundation for Joe Stever, my father in law, who is living with Parkinson's disease. Joe is one of the most brilliant and positive people I know. Despite the challenge of living with PD, Joe is Joe. Always looking for the answer, glass is always half full and he still thinks he's a comedian. The new picture is Papa Joe and the kids last summer. I will be posting some information on PD and some perspective on living with it from Joe and Darryl Hill (Shirley, his wife and my brother's mother in law is living with PD in MN). It's funny running in the name of someone who is living as the terms used in fund raising efforts often indicate that the person has passed. I catch myself saying "In memory of" or "In the name of" when referring to the run. It's odd....
OK, enough for now. Have a great labor day.
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