Tag Archive | running

Adjusting

Feb9

I start training in earnest on Monday. I am planning on running about nine races this year and the first really big ones are in May – the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon and the Soldier Field 10-miler. I have a race before those and I’ve already done a couple this year so far. However, I’m really excited about those races. Both races will allow me to run at some amazing football fields. Additionally, I get to express my inner sports meatball and wear Packers attire for both races. At Lambeau it will be feel right. At Soldier Field, it will just annoy Bears fans and I’m all about poking them.

running shoesAnyway, last week I got my training schedule and it caused a mini panic for me. HOW was I going to fit in all the working out I do along with the added running that would need to happen so I can smash my previous best half marathon time. I knew I was going to need help, so I emailed my trainer with the schedule. She was thrilled to see there were planned rest days because right now, I’ve been working out for over 430 days without taking a true rest day. I just have easier days where I will just do yoga, but I always have to be doing something.

The group I am training with has two different programs for the half marathon training. One that involves taking one rest day a week and another that has a total of maybe five rest days through the entire process. Since the Green Bay Half will be my ninth half marathon, I figured I should probably do the advanced program. But then I had this fear of will that make sense if I choose to run / walk it? Why can’t I just run the entire time? Then I started to wonder if maybe, just maybe I could run this race in under 2:05 because that would mean I could do something else later in the year. Seriously, why not? Continue reading →

I Hate Shopping

Nov15

Yes, I said it. Yes, for some people, that is a blasphemous statement to make. I don’t enjoy shopping. At least for clothing. Nothing ever fits very well. Even after losing a few pounds, clothes still just don’t fit well so trying to buy them is the world’s most frustrating experience at times for me.

Yet, there is one type of clothing that I actually don’t mind shopping for. Running and workout attire. Could that be because it is typically stretchy and therefore will fit? Probably not. Especially when I think of all the hassle and drama I must endure when purchasing new running shoes each year. And that time has just come and it looks like I still might not have a pair I really like. But that is a story for another day.

Last week, Fleet Feet Chicago had its annual Fall Fashion Show. And just like last year, this year’s show did not disappoint me. Last year, I walked away with the feeling that running outside was really no big deal. This year, the motto was “there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.” The outfits that we saw really seemed to drive that point home for me. And honestly, I can’t wait for it to be cold so I can run outside. Weird? Maybe, but it is al true that I’m more excited than ever to run outside. Continue reading →

New Personal Records

Mar25

Today was the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago. The race is known officially as the start of the running season. This was my second year doing the race and I really enjoyed it.

I was hoping I would run the race in under an hour, but as usual plans went awry. This was because earlier in the week, I was starting to come down with a cold. The weather in Chicago has been fantastic lately, so coming down with a cold was not something ideal. I was hoping it might just be allergies, but sadly it was an actual cold.

I did manage to keep it from becoming a full-blown cold however. Just a bit of a runny nose and stuffiness in the morning. It did make life less than idea since it interfered with my running. Somehow though, I managed to set a new PR with the Shamrock Shuffle today. Continue reading →

100 Days and Counting

Mar3

The last day I didn’t work out? November 24, 2011. That happened to be Thanksgiving. The only reason I didn’t workout that day was because I had traveled to my hometown for the holiday. Thought, it is entirely possible I did something that day once I returned home from traveling. In an earlier post, I talked about how my gym had a 30-day challenge to combat the weight gain the Average American experiences between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I breezed through those 30 days no problem. And I haven’t stopped. Yet.

February 29, 2012 was day 100 for me of working out. Nike even had a running challenge that day, which I did as part of my workout that day. At this point, I just can’t seem to stop. Every time another milestone, such as 90 days approached, then I would add more days. I even thought, I should stop after 100, but I didn’t. I worked out the next couple of days. Continue reading →

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 →

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 →