The Male Meat Market

Feb25

The NFL combine has been happening the past few days. If you aren’t familiar with this “event” it is basically where all these potential NFL players go and workout for scouts. In addition to the workouts (how fast can you run 40 yards?) the players also meet with various people and get asked tons of questions. The questions range all over the place. The other day when I was listening to sports talk radio, former NFL player, Matt Bowen said he was even asked to talk a priest!

Most people I talk to don’t really care much about such things as the combine. However, there is a large contingent of fans out there that does. I have even heard of some of them planning work around catching the combine so they too can scout who their team should draft. Personally, I have zero interest in the male meat market, eh I mean combine.

I don’t feel a need to watch these guys (many of whom have no necks anyways) trying to demonstrate their abilities, both physical and mental to play the game. However, I do find it amusing since the players are basically running around in their underwear. Why?

Because so often women are running around in their underwear and appraised as to their abilities based on looks. It would be awesome if this had more of this for guys to have to go through, but the combine can be enough for now. Should you choose to watch the prancing around of men in their underwear.

Fifty!

Jan13

I did it. I worked out for fifty straight days. Day 50 was actually a weight day and some yoga as well. I am slowly getting used to the fact that it *is ok* to have “easier” days of working out. When I was first doing the 30-day challenge at my gym to get a month of dues paid for, I was in a go-go-go mode. To not work up a serious sweat felt wrong.

But I knew my body needed the occasional break. After the thirty days and subsequent 50-day challenge from Julie, my spin instructor I started to add more days of weights to my workouts. And also the yoga. Sure, I will take the occasional hot yoga class which can be pretty intense. But I am also starting to really appreciate the easier days of just lifting weights.

This experiment has been good for me. It has made me feel guilty if I don’t move. As a side bonus, my clothes are starting to be looser as well. Always a bonus. The best part of the looser clothes is that I haven’t really done anything too drastic to make that happen. I think my body has just decided now is an ok time to do that.

In any event, I am now on a mission to see just how many days I can work out before I feel that enough is enough and I need a break both physically and mentally. I have a had a nice by-product of this experiment in that I am addicted to working out. It’s a wonderful feeling to have this kind of addiction. I’ll be sure to let you know when my streak of working out ends and what caused it. Knock on wood I haven’t gotten sick.

30 Down, 20 to go & Who Knows How Many After

Dec27

The average American gains 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Don’t be average! Take CAC’s 30-Day challenge and win!

That was the subject of numerous emails I got in the month of November from my gym. The challenge described? Workout for 20-24 days between November 25th through December 24th and get five free guest passes to use at any Chicago Athletic Club gym. Workout 25-29 days and get a $50 credit to use toward gym services in addition to the five guest passes. Workout all 30 days between November 25 and December 24? One month free gym membership in addition to the $50 credit and five guest passes.

I had been attending the gym fairly regularly for spin classes on Monday mornings and Thursday evenings. I’d also been going for mostly weekly personal training sessions and to get moving on other days. 30 days straight of working out? No problem so I decided to do the challenge. Besides, a month’s free membership? I was all over that. Continue reading →

Almost Done it All

Nov17

This past weekend I ran a 10K. It was supposed to be a 10-miler, but it was just a day that 10 miles wasn’t going to happen. It was also a chance for me to look back over the year of running and see exactly what I have accomplished.

After my hometown beotch “disaster,” I could look at the year as such a huge disappointment. However if I am realistic about it, it was a fantastic year of running for me. I ran pretty much every distance there is to do in some form or fashion. Maybe not necessarily as a race, but definitely putting in those miles in some capacity.

I started the year off with a 5K on New Year’s Day. Then a few months later I did a 10K. Then an 8K. A 5-miler. A half marathon. A 20-mile training run. An attempt at 26.2. Then another 5K and most recently a 10K.

Each race I managed to do something fun, in that I shaved time off of previous bests at these various distances. November 5th, I ran a 5K race. It was my first race since the Chicago Marathon. And I destroyed my prior best 5k time. When I say destroyed it, I mean that my previous mile splits were along the lines of 13 minutes per mile. In that 5K, I was averaging 10:55 per mile with at least one sub nine minute mile. All in all, I ran that 5K in just under 31 minutes. Continue reading →

No Excuses to Not Run in the Cold

Nov14

I hate running on the treadmill. When I do it, it feels like I am not making any progress. And it can be boring. Sure, there are televisions on the gerbilmills at my gym, but it gets tough to use them. Especially if I have to run longer than three miles.

In essence, I love to run outdoors. And the shorter days and colder temps of winter makes this hard to do. That is where one of my favorite stores comes into play.

Last week,  Fleet Feet Chicago held its fourth annual fashion show. Fashion show you may ask? Yes a fashion show. And the clothing featured served the purpose of looking good as well as keeping a person warm during winter weather runs when you don’t happen to live where it only gets as cold as 50 degrees. Continue reading →

I Think I’m a Football Fan Again

Oct29

I am not “really” a football girl. I can watch and understand what’s happening. If I am watching with other hard-core football fans, I won’t annoy them with questions while they try to enjoy the game.

Basically, I have knowledge of the game but not nearly to the extent I do baseball or even hockey. And because of this, if friends want me to come watch the game with them, I can and have a great time while doing so.

This season however, I feel like something odd has happened. I am *almost* back to being an actual football fan. This is news to even me. I think the whole lockout was the culprit to bringing me back as well as some of my wonderful friends and colleagues at Aerys Sports Continue reading →

Personal Demons

Oct9

My body hates me. Or at least refuses to cooperate when it comes to me doing certain things. Today, that thing was the Chicago Marathon. Temperatures were higher than anyone wanted. I could deal with them though. It was cooler than when I started, yet I would have loved for it to be much cooler than it was. Things did heat up as the day went along. Way too much for my tastes.

Things didn’t really start off the best in the race. For some reason, my heel and ankle on my right foot were bothering me early on. I probably had indication of this yesterday when I did an easy two-mile run as my last run before the big race. I had a twinge of something yesterday, but was chalking it up to last-minute nerves and stress. I really felt that thing would be fantastic on race day. Continue reading →

The Last Stand

Oct1

I went for my last long run this morning before it is time to conquer the hometown beotch. Initially I had planned to go out and do a specific number of miles. Instead, I just ran for time this morning. Two hours total.

I had a good reason however. A couple of people I work with have been hacking up a lung for the past month and riding public transit means you run into quite a few people who apparently never learned how to properly cover their mouths / noses if they have cough or sneeze. Continue reading →

Still Hurts After All These Years

Sep11

It was a nice September morning. Just like every other day recently, I had left early to go to school because the bus I took would actually stop in front of the building. Not that I was too lazy to walk the extra blocks, I just preferred to not have to walk as far when I was carrying around a ton of law books. I also had a study group that morning so I wanted to review notes and cases before.

Like other mornings, I went to the student lounge and was reviewing stuff while I was also watching the tv. It was usually on in the lounge tuned to a news station. As I was sitting in the lounge, a few other students were also in there and then more eventually came in. Soon, we were all glued to the tv watching the Today show. There were plumes of black smoke on the screen and the news ticker saying planes had flown into the World Trade Center.  Continue reading →