Let's try this one again...and so much hassle for a rather "eh" performance!
Date: Sunday October 5th at 8:30am
Place: Bucktown Neighborhood on the near north side of Chicago, and I suppose it was somewhere in the upper 50s when the race started?
Mileage: 3.1
Time It Took: 36:52
Pace: 11:52
Miles this week (last week now): A pitiful 5.1
Miles this month: 3.1
2008 Goal shot to he**: 492.07/1000
Thoughts/Comments: Now when I wrote this yesterday afternoon, I had lots to say. Now, at 11:43pm Monday night while watching today's rerun of Oprah? Not so much. My hubby had to be at church early, so I had to rely on my friend-o-pal and fellow runner Annah to help me out. So race morning involved getting myself ready AND the girls. So I leave my house on the south side at 7:48am...and still had to pick up my chip! Yikes!
We got to the race area by 8:10, thanks to the only time there is no traffic in Chicago. I hopped out the car and let Annah do the parking work, so that was a nice trade-off. Got my chip, and then met up with Nicole, a friend from work, and Celia. If you obsessively read my old posts, you will recall that Celia was my pace leader for the first half of my marathon training with Chicago Endurance Sports. This was her FIRST RACE since the 2007 Chicago Distance Classic half marathon! (don't be alarmed! She had a baby, and that lil one is now 6 months old.) Anyway, YAY for Celia! We tried to catch up with Jaime, but she didn't answer her phone. (turns out she forgot it at home.)
Now I ran this race once or twice before when it started further north at Holstein Park. But this course in particular I really like because it's very close to my job. Bustling commercial corridors and narrow residential streets are the norm, and be able to run down the middle of them without fear of a CTA bus, cars or renegade cyclists running me down was an irresistable notion. That, and this race is known the city wide for its awesome schwag. (And not to be disappointed, we got a really nice sweatshirt. It's so soft and cuddly.)
But the race itself? Eh. Started off too quickly. Was BLAZING HOT in my long sleeve tech shirt (what was I thinking?!). At around Mile 1, Celia decided to drop back. At Mile 1.5, I took a 1-minute walking break and Nicole surged ahead. With about a 1/4 mile to go, I hear a horn blaring as we cross a street that was blocked by police. There was Annah and my two sweet cherubs. (Turns out Zoe had soaked her pants through and I hadn't packed any spares.)
I rounded the corner and saw the finish line up ahead. Looked from side to side and back a bit to see if I could see Celia...then I turned my eyes back towards the finish line and saw Celia right in front of me! So she finished, with me right behind her. I tapped her shoulder and she was surprised to see me behind her (I think.) She finished in 36:50, me at 36:52.
So that's it.....next race up? Well I'm running with Lou at the marathon...I mean, since I have a bib number and all, why not put it to use. So she and I will arrange where I will run with her on Sunday. It will be towards the end, I'm just not sure of the starting point.
Mileage: 2 miles, plus 1/4 mile warmup and 1/4 mile cooldown
Time It Took: 23:49 for the run part; 4:18-warmup 4:06-cooldown (and yes, I'm counting the mileage towards my goal which I probably won't reach anyway.)
Pace: 11:54
Miles this week: 2/running and .5/walking
Miles this month: 24.1 + .5 = 24.6
2008 Goal: 488.97
Thoughts/Comments: Are you crazy? 2 weeks and no running? I mean, ok, I'm not running the marathon, but I AM supposed to be there to support Lou and will be running the last 8 or 10 miles with her...but I can't be all weak and unready while she needs me to be strong, right?
So the louder my legs protested and the louder my inner self ridiculed me, the louder I turned up my iPod. Didn't stop once. And just like that? Back on track. I felt pretty good.
As for the post title, yes, I had cookie orders totalling 885 cookies, which is why I've been ghost on this blog and not running at all. It has literally taken up all of my free time and included to all nighters IN A ROW to get them done. From the baking to decorating to labeling individual bags...I've seen enough cookies to last me a lifetime. Also, I've got my website up and running and almost ready to take orders ONLINE....so exciting. I will pass on the link very soon.
To those sweethearts who will still have me, and have commented on my blog with nothing in response, THANK YOU and I will be visiting your blogs TODAY.
Place: Jackson Park (like 5 minutes from home, YAY!)
Mileage: 13.1 miles
Time it Took: 2:55:36 (official chip time)
Pace: 13:25
Miles this week: 19.1
Miles this month: 22.1
2008 Goal: 486.37
Thoughts/Comments: I will add more to this later, but to those of you who have not experience the rain that we have had in Chicago for the last three days, I'm not sure if I will be able to adequately explain what it was like to run in the driving, pouring and windy rain for 3 hours. I'll write more later, it's been a long day.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ok, so I didn't lay out my clothes and gear the night before. Not sure why, other than the thought that "I've done this so many times, how can I get it wrong?" I get up nice and early, around 5:30, still contemplating what time I should leave, since the race start line is only about a mile away. So I get ready, only to find that my favorite long distance Wigwam socks are nowhere to be found....Oh there they are! IN THE WASHING MACHINE. I can't run in wet socks now, can I? (Ah, life's funny little way of foreshadowing.) So I threw the socks in the dryer and figured 20 minutes should be fine.
So I leave the house and drive about 3/4 mile up the street and park. I wasn't about to walk in the rain. Who wants to be soaked even before the race starts? (Ah, life's funny little way of foreshadowing.) During this short drive I get phone calls from Lou and Sheena (I work with her). So off I go to the start line. It was raining but not too bad. The race field was PACKED. Wait, is it raining out here? Aren't some of your basements flooded? I met up with Lou after a few phone calls of "I'm right behind the 2:20 finish sign (wishful thinking)" and "Do you see the guy waving the purple umbrella?" Sheena called and said she couldn't make it through. While standing in the field of runners, I realized that #1) Forgot my i-pod. and #2) Forgot to charge my Garmin Forerunner and it was dead before it even found a satellite. (Note to self: Prepare the night before. Even if you don't think you need to.) Nice job, Lindy.
And we're off! The start line was right at the Statue of the Republic in Jackson Park, which is a bronze replica only 1/3 the size of the French original. Purty gal, ain't she?
Miles 1 through 5: I feel like complete crap. Puddles. Stepping. Squish. Squash. Legs aching. Knee. What. The. Hell. Am. I. Doing. Out. Here. Lou kept asking me "you ok?" and I felt like I was slowing her down. Some idiot, as in every long race, says "Only 11 more miles to go!" BITE ME. Around 3 miles I saw Jill, a friend and fellow runner cheering along side the course! So we come out of Jackson Park and do a short turnaround loop on South Shore Drive, pass a street sign that reads "LAKE SHORE DRIVE", and I hear some guy (also running) saying to his companion "I wonder when we're going to get on Lake Shore Drive." He says "No we're not." And I said "Yes we are. We just looped on South Shore and when we turned, we came onto Lake Shore Drive." He said some crap about the outer drive, and I'm all like what is this guy talking about? Look at a course map, fool! I don't know why I was so annoyed and irritated. Maybe b/c it was pouring down rain. Maybe b/c I was having trouble keeping up with Lou? I don't know. Around this time, I relieve Lou of her duties and sent her on her way, as I decided to walk for a few (more) minutes.
Miles 5 through 9: The rain was no longer bothersome at this point. I was wet and there was nothing that was going to change that, other than finish the race. So I just ran and when I felt like walking, walked for a minute or two at a time. Jill was out there again, standing in the rain, waiving and cheering like a maniac! Me like screaming maniacs that yell me name.
The field was thinning out here in the back. I see some skinny chic shuffling along with some big ol dorky headphones (??) and then as I come up along side of said dork, IT'S SHEENA!!!! So we chatted a bit, and shared a few words of encouragement, and then I went on. Next I came across MM, Lou's main squeeze. (LOL...I used to love it when the Fonz would introduce his #1 chic as his "main squeeze"). Now what in the heck he was doing back here, as his pace is a 7:30, I knew something was not right. He was running with his cousin in his first half marathon race. Awww, cute. But I guess his cuz' had a tough go of it. I left them and went on my way. YES! THE FIRST AND ONLY TIME I CAN SAY I PASSED A 7:30 RUNNER!
The turnaround wasn't far ahead now, so I started looking for the Lou-ster on the other side. When I saw her, i screamed my head off and she waved and asked if I saw MM. I hooked my thumb over my shoulder and pointed to those two losers behind me. HAHAHAHA I'm kidding.
Miles 10 through 12: Once I hit 10 miles I knew I would finish, and under the course 3:00 time limit, but it would be close. Since the marathon on May 4th, this was my highest mileage to date, but oddly, I was feeling ok. Not great, but ok. It's always weird to me when the body and mind stop protesting the insanity of a long run and just go with the flow. I like that "zone." During these miles, there were still a few stragglers on the other side of the course and I noticed police and buses picking people up. Damn that! That lit a fire under me and I picked up my pace to a wild-n-crazy 11:55 or so. I figured, as long as I make it back to The Museum (in the South Shore neighborhood "The Museum" is the Museum of Science and Industry and the last major turnoff street, they can't make me get on that bus! So I hustled it on up to 57th Street and breathed a sigh of relief.
Miles 12 through 13.1: I'm gonna finish! I'm so undertrained, but I'm still gonna finish! As I turned I approached the 63rd street beach in all its familiarity with many morning runs having started there, I knew how close the finish was. Keep. Going. Keep. Going. YOU GOT THIS ONE. There was Jill yet again!!! Crazy girl, don't you know it's RAINING OUT HERE? So I turned the corner onto Hayes (63rd Street), that finish line seemed a long way. And I made it across.
4th half marathon. PW (Personal Worst), though this same half marathon last year was my PB (Personal Best). I dont' care, I'm glad that I finished under those awful conditions and questionable training readiness. It's not an excuse for my performance, it just.....IS. It is what it is, ya-know-whut-im-sayin?
The moment I stopped running I was cold. Shivering cold. I was soaked to the core. In the only moment of doing something right with my gear, I had my cell phone in a ziploc bag. I caught up with Lou and we shivered together under a tent while we waited for her people.
The icing on the cake was the medal. Below is a picture of last year's medal on the left, next to this year's medal. You probably wouldn't remember, but last year I blogged about the crappy crackerjack box prize they dared to hand us as a medal!
PICTURE COMING SOON!
p.s. As of yesterday (Wed), my shoes are still wet.
Place: home on the treadmill (why is that room so HUMID?! UGH!)
Mileage: 3
Time It Took: 35:38
Pace: 11:52....I'll take it
Mileage this week: 6
Miles this month: 9
2008 Goal: 473.27/1000
Thoughts/Comments: What's worse than running on a treadmill in a humid room at 5:30 in the morning? Running on a treadmill in a humid room at 5:30 in the morning WITH NO IPOD! (needed charging.) And what's worse than THAT???
(If you're easily grossed out, stop reading...)
Ok, so I set my clothes out the night before, where are those pants? Dangit. Dare I go back up the creeky stairs and more than likely wake up the world's lightest sleeper known as Zoe. Out of the corner of my eye I spied the laundry basket.,.with MONDAY'S running clothes in it. And in my mind it was my surest option of getting in that much needed run. So I put on my stinky running shorts. Still, some 3 days later, WET. Eeeeeeew, nasty. Disgusting. But Zoe didn't wake up and dangit, I met my goal of keeping my legs moving before my date with the unknown....the Chicago Half Marathon. It's not unknown in ever having done the race--or the distance...it's an unknown with the extreme lack of training and poor preparation.
I've found in running you sometimes do crazy things that you wouldn't normally do...drink from a water fountain on the lakefront path b/c it's hot as hades, you're out of water and who cares if that dog just left from getting his water-lapping on (Yes, I've done this). Now I will add "wearing 3-day old nasty stinky running clothes" to the crazy things I wouldn't normally do. Please be assured that I would never, EVER do this while running outside or with people...offensive odors before you've broken a sweat, (clothes, morning breath, et al) are absolutely unnacceptable. I mean, runners, am I right or am I right? Help me out here!
Anyway, carry on friends! I've got a busy weekend and upcoming week. I'm baking/decorating 500 cookies (yes, you read that right) for an event next week. from now through the end of the month, I will have baked and decorated 870 cookies in cookie orders. YIKES x 3.
Thoughts/Comments: well, i guess i'm just "maintaining" until the half marathon on Sunday. I don't know what's going to happen, but I will be there and I will finish. Can't say it will be pretty though.
Place: Near lakefront at Museum of Science and Industry, probably low 60's or maybe even upper 50's. Perfect.
Mileage: 3
Time It Took: 35:09
Pace: 11:43
Miles this week: 3
Miles this month: 3 (I sense a pattern here)
2008 Goal: 467.27/1000
Thoughts/Comments: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I took the one less travelled...because while driving over to the lakefront I discovered a hole in my running pants...right in the crotch area. Unsure of what was or was not visible, I took a path that I felt would be less travelled. So nothing poetic here friends, move along.
And I still ran into a friend!
This week in running has been non-existant. The girls (thus I) have new schedules. I have to get up at around 6am (latest) to get ready, and then get the girls up absolutely no later than 6:45. Zoe goes to a daycare near our house, and then Jada and I have the privelege of driving up Lake Shore Drive, my favorite place to be in the entire city-even with traffic-up to her school. REAL SCHOOL, Inter American Magnet School. We drive from 7100 S. (71st/South Shore) all the way to 4000 N. at Irving Park Road.
So after doing this week of mayhem and playing fully the role of mommy and leaving behind the role of runner this week (and sorry I could not travel both), it has occurred to me that weekday runs will now only be possible on the treadmill, and starting probably no later than 5am-ish. (well I could run outside in the pitch dark, but I don't trust my neighborhood or the pitch black lakefront.)
Good news though. So far, absolutely no knee pain during or after running today.
Time It Took: 35:02, which included walking 3:30 of it
Pace: 11:40
Miles this week: 9.17 (sheesh what a joke)
Miles this month: 41.18
2008 Goal shot to hell: 464.27/1000
Thoughts/comments: Well. I did something. Thought tempted to turn on the tv and watch more Hurricane Gustav coverage, instead I just checked the most recent stats, threw my running clothes on and headed out the door. Nice morning, though the sun seemed especially bright. Surely the difference between running at 6am and 7am.
I can't quite call it, why I'm so mesmerized by Hurricane coverage. I will tell you this, I was the exact same way about Hurrican Katrina, well before it hit. I literally lost sleep. At the time I was sleeping on the couch because at 7 months pregnant with Zoe, it was the only semi-comfortable place in the house. So I would doze and then "oh! where is that hurricane now!" Hurricanes (and people) are fascinating. It's like abig wreck that you can't avoid. You know it's coming, you don't want to believe it. Some get out, some don't for a variety of reasons. And it's mind boggling for me to understand that some people don't leave b/c they don't want to. Even more mind boggling that some people can't b/c they have no money, no car, no nothing (that is very sad and makes me realize how lucky...no, how blessed I am.) I remember watching the random interviews before Katrina hit. This one woman with a small child on her hip was like "Yeah, we live on a shrimp boat out on the water....No we're gonna just ride it out, we've never had a hurricane hit directly, we've never run now, we have nowhere to go, we'll be ok," I always wonder what happened to her and that poor little baby with her risk-taking mother. And I still marvel at all the different lifestyles in our country. People live on shrimp boats?!
If you're looking for inspiration, don't stop here
This quote keeps playing over in my mind, as swiped from RBR's blog:
"...In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or brilliance. They either have what they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reasons why not."
~ Anonymous (taken from Matt Erbele's, It Takes Time to Get Good)
So right now, some 900 or so people are running the Half Madness half marathon in Batavia, IL in the far west suburbs of Chicago. I am not one of them. Why? Here's my "detailed list of all the raional reasons why not", a list that grew in my head throughout the day:
1. I'm not ready. I have hardly run this week and my longest run of 10 miles was 2 weeks ago.
2. Knee still not 100%. It's wayyyyy better, but not 100%.
3. Worried about pace. This is a small race and small races tend to attract faster runners wth very few "penguins". Course closes in 3 hours. (My pace is 2:37-ish, but that's assuming no walking breaks...and i have NOT been hitting that pace with my longer runs.
4. Unfamiliar course, and running "alone".
5. Ugh. Have to pack up my clothes, the girls clothes and drive 50 miles to stay overnight at my parents.
6. Running a much more comfortable race, one I've run, starting line 2 miles from home, running buddy Lou is running with me, running buddy Meg cheering us on and meeting us for breakfast afterwards, running with some 15,000 other people, no worries of the course shutting down before I finish.
So these are how the thoughts added up in my head yesterday in the late afternoon as I sat at yet another baby shower unscrambling baby words and chatting with good friends from my college years.
Instead I came home and obsessed about Hurricane Gustav, "Decision 2008" (switching between MSNBC, the Weather Channel and CNN, all of which were covering both.) And then I made some cookies to attempt some new designs. And no, I didn't eat any.
So anyway, if you're looking here for inspiration, don't stop here.
Purty gal, ain't she? 