8/25/09

week 12

i confess. i did not run 16 miles on saturday. the only run i did last week was monday's 4 miles.

i took a break from running last week because my knees were hurting pretty badly after the 15. i've been sort of in denial about my knee issues, but this week i finally faced the music. i got off my butt (or more like i stopped running) and iced, got a knee strap from fleet feet, and also got some tips from the owner there. basically, i need to be better about stretching and hydrating, and i need to do strengthening of my quads and core.

ugh. i have to admit that i have sucked at stretcing. i really don't like to do it. and i hate drinking a lot of water because then i have to go pee every 5 minutes. and i haven't been doing strengthening exercises because dude, when do i have time to do more exercising after spending hours running every week?

but alas, all of this is infringing upon my running, so i must do them. i did my first set of strengthening exercises on sunday night: 3 sets of sitting against the wall for 1 minute, 3 sets of 20 lunges each leg, and 3 sets of 15 girl push-ups. my thighs are in major pain! it's a good pain though.

i'm getting back into it these week, and back to the training schedule. i have a feeling it's going to be really painful, after taking a week off. good thing it's a lighter week.

mon: 4 mi [done]
tue: 8 mi [missed]
thu: 5 mi [did 6]
sat: 12 mi [did 10]

8/17/09

week 11

i did 15 miles!!

i think it went pretty well. by mile 12 or so my whole body was screaming at me. but somehow i pushed through it to a good finish. total time was 2:33. my running team helped me get through it. i would've most definitely walked if i was alone.

speaking of which, i have to do 16 miles alone this week. i'm going to louisville this weekend so i can't run with the group. i'm trying to decide whether i should do it on thursday night here in chicago or saturday morning in louisville. i'm leaning towards doing it here in chicago, because there are hills in louisville, it's more humid there, and i'm not familiar with the area out there. it might be difficult to find a good 16 mile route. also, we want to do some site seeing in louisville and running will take up the whole morning. we'll see!

but back to the 15. i had my granola and i actually had no goo during the run. the only thing i did differently was that i usually drink only water, but i had gatorade twice to replenish salt into my system. that gatorade tasted SO good.

also, running together is really cool. i get to know my fellow runners better each week. they are from all walks of life and i feel pretty bonded to them. i only knew one of them prior to the training. it's awesome.

my midweek runs are getting longer. here are this week's runs:

mon: 4 mi [done]
tue: 8 mi [missed]
thu: 4 mi [missed]
sat: 16 mi [missed]

have a great week!

8/14/09

random thoughts about chicago

i haven't written about chicago in awhile, but i've had random thoughts floating around, like...

i can't stand the pedestrian culture in chicago. no one obeys the pedestrian signals, and i think it's very dangerous and unnecessary. is waiting 30 seconds really going to set you back that much?

i miss being in the food capital of the world. yes, LA. it's amazing that although i'm currently living in the 3rd largest city in the u.s., the food in LA is like 10 times better.

ok, i have positives too. :)

we have had the mildest summer EVER! it has been so nice. i think there have been maybe 7 hot and humid days total. otherwise, it's been in the low 80s.

i love summer in chicago. everyone is outside enjoying the weather, the park, the beach, the streets, the lake, the pier. it's awesome.

i found my favorite summer activity = free music at millenium park. there is an outdoor music pavilion. the seats in the very front must be bought. but right behind that, a great big lawn stretches out for the rest of us. people bring their blankets, lawn chairs, picnic tables, food, wine, cheese and relax and enjoy the classical music. it is awesome! i've already gone 6 times, and i'm going to milk it for all it's worth. i think it's my hollywood bowl equivalent, but it's much more accessible and it's free.

summer, please don't go!

8/10/09

week 10

i'm officially halfway through my marathon training. i ran 10 miles this week and 10 felt short after having run 13 last week. isn't that psycho? i ran 10.1 in 1:33, with an average pace of 9:13. this week i run 15. the heat is finally catching up to us after a graciously mild summer, so this week's runs will be challenging.

i downloaded about 20 of tim keller's sermons so that should keep me fueled for the rest of my training.

i don't have much else to say today! here are this week's runs:

mon: 3 mi [done]
tue: 7 mi [done]
wed: 4 mi [done]
sat: 15 mi [done]

8/3/09

week 9

so i ran a half marathon!!! i did 13.1 miles last saturday in 2:07. ryan hall, who came in 10th for the u.s. in the beijing olympics marathon event ran with us! he offered some encouraging words too.

here's the debrief:

overall - i felt better than i did last week after running the 12 miles. i know it's because i stuck to all of my short runs during the week.

goo - i tried out my homemade goo consisting of honey and cinnamon on my long run. i couldn't tell if it helped, but it didn't slow me down or give me cramps, which was good. and i like the taste of it much better than the store-bought brands.

water - i drank less water before and during, so i only had to use the restroom twice during the long run. and i was totally fine. lesson learned.

ipod - i borrowed my bro's ipod nano and listened to sermons while running during the week. it helped SO much!!! i think this is what pulled me through my solitary runs. listening to n.t. wright's view of jesus and the church while running a 6 miler was awesome.

pace - i'm in the 10 minute mile pace group and it feels a little slow. i think i'm more like a 9:45. but i don't want to run alone, and i don't want to burn out either. don't know what to do about this.

this week - might be a challenge. i'm hosting my cousin who's visiting from california, and i'm going to the willow creek leadership summit on thurs and fri.

this week's runs:

mon: 3 mi [missed]
tue: 7 mi [done]
wed: 4 mi [done]
sat: 10 mi [done]