Chicago Runner Girl

Chicago Half Marathon Race Entry Giveaway

2013-06-18T08:24:00.004-05:00

By now it should come as no surprise that I love half marathons,

even when they don't love me back.

Sharing the half marathon love today by giving away an entry to the Chicago Half Marathon on Sunday September 8th to one lucky Chicago Runner Girl reader.

This half starts in Jackson Park, right around the corner from the Museum of Science & Industry, before heading onto LSD. The course provides some of the most breathtaking views you'll ever have of beautiful Chitown as you are heading north on LSD into the skyline. LSD is closed entirely to the runners, and as you head back south you see all the runners who started after you flooding the opposite side of the road as the air is filled with cheers and footsteps from the other 10,000+ runners hitting the streets that day.

It's pretty dang neat.

On the course in 2012

This race is also part of the Windy City Challenge, where if you raced the Allstate Chicago 13.1 that was held on June 8th you receive an additional medal.

All you have to do to enter is:

Leave a comment below telling me below the coolest race medal you've ever received and why it's special to you

For an additional entry:

Tweet "I want to win an entry to the @ChicagoHalf from @ChiRunnerGrl"

(for your entry to count, you will have to leave a separate comment to say that you've tweeted, but you have to actually tweet as well)

***Giveaway is open to all interested parties and anonymous comments will be counted as long as a name is included (first/last/nickname/etc.) somewhere in the comment***

Contest will run until Tuesday June 25th at 12 pm CST where a winner will be chosen shortly after

2013 Allstate 13.1 Chicago

2013-06-14T14:12:00.000-05:00

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."

Oprah Winfrey

Never has that been so true for me.
That Auntie O is so smart.

photo courtesy xaarlin

Remember that quest?
The one where my audacious spirit set out to slay that dream dragon lacking all logic and having no remorse?

No?
Well let me refresh.

Last year, my mind was settled on it being THAT year. That year where I put everything I had into my goals, pursue the seemingly impossible, and become the running powerhouse that always danced around in my head. I was going to be unstoppable.
Fast. Fierce. Fired-up.

What I instead got was a beaten and battered body,
a weary and worn soul,
a million miles away from my desired destination,
and in the end a very fresh start.

I put everything into my running in 2012.
Life was handing me some pretty rotten lemons, and my cooping method was to pour myself into the one thing that was consistently mine. It's been no secret where that led me, effects of which I still feel from time to time these days. I let myself become nothing more than a vapid running machine where everything else important in my life took a back seat to my running goals. Faith, family, career, love, health, and happiness.

Not my brightest hour, yet not my darkest.

That gal, the one who consistently puts her head down calmly powering forward in solitude when the road gets a little bumpy will always live inside of me. That's who I am, driven and independently rampant. But that wild-beast needs a bit of taming every now and then.

Even when dreams still lay unfulfilled, I wouldn't change the course of events that have led me to where I am now. I've worked my way through more heartache in the past 18 months of my life than I ever dreamed possible.

photo courtesy xaarlin
what a terribly fake smile, pretending like my stomach isn't seeking revenge on me

Countless career dead ends,
leaving the city I'm madly in love with,
the not-so-patient wait for a babe,
dreams that I've had to shelf,
the realization that I'm not as together of a lady as I've always thought,
and the fact that running is just a small piece of the life puzzle.

You live, you learn, and you move on.

Running is still very present in my life, but it isn't the center of my happiness and worth. Fulfillment of my running goals no longer trumps my to-do list and instead running is just a piece of my life that brings a bit more beauty to the simpler less important pieces of the life puzzle. It's just there, patiently waiting for my heart to ready itself for big hairy goals once again.

I ran. I had an off day. I got out of the race exactly what I put into it, which sadly wasn't much. And I'm 100% at ease with that.

photo courtesy Nina

There will always be another opportunity to go for a PR when the timing is right.
Maybe then late nights out with irreplaceable friends won't be as important as long runs,
proper fueling prerace will surpass the desire to indulge in a once in a lifetime fatty-fat-fat filled amazing dinner,
and water intake will exceed cider beers, Not Your Father's Root beer, and cold glasses of white wine.

Day before race, taking in Chitown by foot like a tourist with break taking rooftop views

This wasn't that time, but I know that PR is out there when my heart is ready to take it on and all my priorities are right where they should be.

Until then I'll be celebrating the victories that I have made, small as they maybe.

At the end of the day, I finished in 1:33 and some change, which is by no means anywhere close to a PR for me as I've had workouts better than this in recent months. But that's what the bod was willing to give me on that day with the fragmented "training" I put in leading up to the race. And I'll take it because honestly, I wouldn't change a damn thing I did before the race for a better result.

Stats are stats and cannot replace some of the sweet romantic life moments I've had in the past few months. I'll take those bliss filled moments with friends, old and new, over another PR notch in my belt of racing any day.

After all, life is only as sweet as the people you hold in it.

A winner and shoes

2013-06-07T07:38:00.000-05:00

The randomly selected winner for the Bastille Day 5 & 8k is...

Congrats Sara!

Excited that you are healthy and racing again!

Email me at chicagorunnergirl@gmail.com and I'll get you the registration info.

Thank you everyone for entering.

Race day for the Allstate 13.1 Chicago is less than 24 hours away, and I'm in the midst of a shoe dilemma. Lately, I've been wearing a lot of different shoes running. While the Brooks Ravenna's have been my favorite training shoe for a few years now, I'm trying a lot of different things on the feet lately just because. Honestly, working at a running store has peaked my interest in shoes now more than ever and my closet is having a difficult time keeping up.

The Brooks Cadence and Asics Cumulus 15's have pretty much stolen my heart.

Brooks Cadence, Adidas Adios circa early 2012, and the Asics Cumulus

While I've always loved the way that the Adidas Adios feel on my feet, they don't tend to work for me in distances over an 8k. My feet start to get that hot-burning sensation and sometimes even a bit sore, like after running 13.1 miles on concrete at this race.

Back in March I wore the Cadence in a half on the lakefront, where I think they felt okay. Hard to remember since I was racing extremely distracted and had quite possibly the worst attitude in any race I've ever ran. Been sporting the cadence on several speed workouts and longer runs where I always seem to feel light on my feel and like my turnover is a lot smoother than normal. Could be all in my head, or it could be the lower heel profile and beveled heel.

BUT, those Asics Cumulus are just awesome. Kind of a heavier shoe, and just a standard trainer, not exactly the most ideal shoe for racing. Just can't get over how soft they feel on my feet, and how they just fit "right". Been doing the bulk of my training in this shoe lately and I don't usually want to take it off when I get home. Seriously, if you haven't had the chance to try this model on with the updates they've made this year...RUN, don't walk to your local running store and give them a go. This shoe is seriously awesome.

And thus, the dilemma...

Staying downtown all weekend and don't have space to be taking my entire closets worth of shoes with me. Pretty sure that whatever I pack this morning I'll most likely be regretting by this evening when I can't change anything about it.

Half marathon footwear, what do you wear?

5 days and counting...

2013-06-03T08:36:00.002-05:00

until the next half marathon.

If my adding skills and memory are correct, this should be number 11.

4 of those being post PR.

It's actually quite an interesting thing to mull over, that PR. It's been almost 2 years since and I've never really come close to meeting that same standard, unless you count 2+ minutes slower "close".

I don't, so yea.

At this point it's actually kind of an odd thing that I even still like the distance. I've had more strike outs, surrenders, and vomit filled mornings trying to cover this distance than I'd care to remember. Maybe that's part of it, and my memory just blacks out the extreme weather conditions and sickness that always seems to come hand and hand with this race.

When I initially committed to this race, I had hopes that maybe if I could get things together a bit that I could put an end to that "no PR streak". But, things change and really I haven't done the work needed to earn that PR so I've decided to instead just keep the bar low. Maybe I'll come close, and maybe not.

In the past few weeks, workouts haven't exactly been easy.

It's been a pain trying to figure out how to appropriately fit them into my schedule,

I've been having a hell of a time adjusting to the weather,

and I just haven't had the focus.

The humidity seems to be kicking my butt lately. I'm a rather salty sweater, and it seems as if I loose almost all of my electrolytes on a hot sticky day within the first few minutes I'm out. Maybe I'm just sweating out all the potato chips I eat, or maybe my body just doesn't efficiently hold on to things and operate properly when in extreme conditions. Thinking it's the latter of the two, which would explain a lot. Personally I feel like I do so much better in the winter than the summer months, but that honestly could all be in my head.

Electrolytes

Minerals in your blood and other body fluids that carry an electric charge. It is important for the balance of electrolytes in your body to be maintained, because they affect the amount of water in your body, blood pH, muscle action, and other important processes. Electrolytes exist in the blood as acids, bases, and salts (such as sodium, calcium, potassium, chlorine, magnesium, and bicarbonate) and can be measured by laboratory studies of the blood serum.

(via webmd)

Still haven't quite figured out that secret fueling brew for race day and longer workouts as the tummy seems to get a bit upset easily. But, this all kind of makes sense when I really sit down to think about how uncontrolled and erratic my body and mind have felt during my past few half marys. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.

Well my heart is beating hard
And I'm off with a shot at the start
And my legs tremble from strain
But by the finish line I am drained

Who knows what #11 will hold, but at least this time I've got the company of a great friend to keep me going and a pressure free attitude.

Time for version 2 of Kara & Shalane.

Bastille Day 5k & 8K Chicago Giveaway

2013-05-28T09:17:00.001-05:00

There's something about twilight races and running on the lakefront as the sun is setting that makes my heart skip a beat. The city's beauty looks amplified and things just seem a bit more peaceful.

Evening races are hard to come by, but a staple in my racing schedule for the past few years has been the Bastille Day 5k in Lincoln Park. It's one of those token Chicago races for me that has a pretty neat post race party, a "merveilleux" block party.

There were the worlds tiniest cupcakes at the finish line of the 2011 race, when I broke 20 minutes for the first time.

And the 2012 race holds a special place in my heart as the first race I've ever won and stands as my current 5k PR.

The Bastille Day 5k & 8k will be held on Thursday July 11th in the evening. The race starts and finished in Lincoln Park right in front of the Peggy Norbert Nature Museum where the course weaves through the lakefront path.

Excited to offer one Chicago Runner Girl reader the opportunity to win a free entry to either the 5 or 8k race.

To enter leave a comment below telling me your favorite summertime dessert.

For an extra entry you can tweet
"I want to win a free entry to the #BastilleDay 5 or 8k from @ChiRunnerGrl #runCHI"

****Giveaway is open to all entrants, however for anonymous comments to count a name needs to be included somewhere in comment****

Contest will run until 12 pm CST on 6/4 where a winner will be chosen shortly after

Twilight Tempos

2013-05-20T08:48:00.001-05:00

"Discontent is the first necessity of progress."

Thomas A. Edison

I used to love tempos.

The satisfaction that came from the building sensation of lactic in the legs.

The steady deep breath that would power my engines.

The intense internal focus which whisks me in my own little world.

Then last year happened, and I pretty much have had to stay clear of any and all work even remotely resembling tempos. I couldn't hold the pace, and if by some miracle it happened the workout would knock me out for a few days. Really thinking back, this was probably my last good run with a tempo...back in late August of 2011.

That's quite awhile ago.

Not really expecting much these days from my body, but I've been feeling fairly decent lately and finally like myself again.

Energized. Focused. Relaxed. Confident.

Healthy.

Some workouts are a hit, and still some are a miss. The tempo has been a very challenging thing for me this past year, and honestly something that I've been lacking the urge to tackle. It can be easy to talk yourself out of the things that you fear, and my mind has been on a non-stop reel of "don't do this or that" for several months now. And the tempo was at the top of that list.

Last night I slayed those fears.

Laced up my well worn in Brooks Ravenna 3's that have 700+ miles in them but are still holding strong,

strapped on my ornery Garmin,

and headed for shaded paths in the humid air.

It's not much, just 4 measly miles, but they felt terrific.

Peppy. Propitious. Prolific.

Felt challenging, but laborious the right way instead of the "oh.em.gee if I go one more minute at this pace I'm going to be severely hurtin' tomorrow because I feel completely out of control" kinda way.

I'll take progress in any form these days.

And this, this is progress.

PR's: how long are they good?

2013-05-16T09:14:00.003-05:00

I've been mulling over some PR thoughts lately.

How long can one consider them current?

Can they have birthdays?

What's the expiration date and when do they transition into lifetime-bests?

In the past year, I've ran 4 half marathons...most of which haven't been anywhere close to my current PR of 1:27:53. That was ran in September of 2011.

Since then I've had quite a few challenges, some self-destructive races and training regimes, and two 13.1 races where I just barely squeaked in under 1:30.

2012 half marathon madness

With the next half marathon now about 3 weeks away and my current personal best at this distance nearing it's second birthday, can't help but wonder if this PR is now just old news.

PR's, what's your take?

How long do you consider them current?

What happens to a running blog when you don't blog about running...

2013-05-06T08:36:00.000-05:00

Amazingly, life still goes on and runs still happen.

Shocking.

The blog just kind of sits there. Getting stale as cobwebs start to generate.

My last race was about a month ago, and my next is coming up in about another month. This would usually be the time that I would get on here and blab all about the the workouts I've been doing, reflect on the mileage ran, and really start honing in on what the agenda for race day will be. But not this time around.

I've managed to get in some workouts here and there

There was a day with 12x400's

A few different fartleks

One really solid steady run

3x1 mile repeats with the quickest splits my life has ever seen

A 12 mile long run that felt like a death march

And one really really bad almost, but not quite, tempo run

Life is busy, things change, and running goals don't always seem to hold that constantly steady high importance for me.

It all boils down to this...

I'm a runner, but that is simply just something I do and not definitive of who I am.

I still run.

I still do workouts when they fit into my schedule.

I still dream about PR's and that perfect marathon.

And I still love every. single. mile.

Life is just in a steady state of change these days, where running and training aren't entirely fitting into the puzzle like they used too. Maybe I'm getting old, but it just seems really silly for me to be in this constant pursuit of something better instead of absorbing the perpetual goodness that is my life. I'm enjoying the pressure free runs and the lack of focus in my fitness. There isn't the feeling as if I'm falling behind or that I need to squeeze this workout or that workout in, instead training has just become a daily retrieval. And I like it that way.

Enjoying the journey more than the outcome these days.

And keeping the window cracked so that possibility may sneak in with a strong gust of wind.

The Promise Walk for Preeclampsia & 5k Run

2013-04-28T08:53:00.000-05:00

Because some causes are worth mentioning...

Chicago Making Strides to Raise Awareness of

Preeclampsia

Local Promise Walk and 5K Run for Preeclampsia™ calls attention to serious pregnancy disorder affecting mothers and babies

The Preeclampsia Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing maternal and infant illness and death due to preeclampsia, is proud to launch the fourth annual Chicago Promise Walk and 5K Run for Preeclampsia™ on Sunday, May 19, 2013 at the Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village/Schaumburg, Illinois. This annual event is part of a nationwide effort to support innovative research and raise public awareness about the warning signs of preeclampsia, a life-threatening disorder of pregnancy.

This year, up to one in 12 pregnant women in the United States will be diagnosed with preeclampsia. Worldwide, nearly 76,000 mothers and half a million babies die each year because of preeclampsia, and rates of preeclampsia, maternal deaths and prematurity are all rising. The Preeclampsia Foundation is committed to reducing maternal and infant illness and death due to preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy by providing patient support and education, raising public awareness, catalyzing research and improving health care practices.

The Chicago Promise Walk and 5K Run for Preeclampsia™ is an opportunity for Chicagoans to show their support for the urgent need to find better outcomes for those whose lives have been or will be touched by preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. That “promise” includes finding a cure, supporting families, and ensuring education and awareness for all pregnant women.

“With the support of our local volunteer team, we are confident that we are going to build on the success of the Chicago Promise Walk and 5K Run™ in previous years and bring even more awareness to this important issue,” said Preeclampsia Foundation Director of Community Relations Laney Poye. “Greater awareness and knowledge will result in healthier birth outcomes for mothers and their babies.”

“We truly appreciate the support of everyone who participates in this family event -- from our teams of dedicated walkers to those who make a donation to support the cause,” says Chicago Promise Walk Coordinator Elizabeth Pebelske. “We are also grateful to our generous sponsors Advocate Lutheran General Hospital and Evanston Subaru for making the Chicago Promise Walk and 5K Run™ possible.”

Visit www.promisewalk.org/chicago for more details and to register for the Chicago Promise Walk and 5K Run™. Those interested in forming teams or participating individually are urged to register at the Promise Walk website, though walk-up registrations will be accepted on the day of the event. Non-walkers are encouraged to support other individuals or teams to help meet Chicago’s fundraising goal of over $36,000.

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About Preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is a disorder that occurs during pregnancy and the immediate postpartum period, and affects both the mother and the fetus. It is a rapidly progressive condition characterized by elevated blood pressure and protein in the urine; other symptoms may include swelling in the hands and face, headaches, and visual disturbances. Preeclampsia affects the mother's kidneys, liver and other vital organs and, if undetected or untreated, can lead to seizures (eclampsia), cerebral hemorrhage, failure in vital organs and death. The cause of preeclampsia is still not fully understood, and the only cure for the condition begins with delivery. Approximately five to eight percent of pregnancies are affected by preeclampsia, which, in the United States, translates to approximately 300,000
pregnancies. It is a leading cause of preterm birth, and is responsible for approximately 76,000 maternal deaths and half a million infant deaths worldwide annually. There are several types of preeclampsia, including HELLP syndrome, a particularly dangerous variant.

###

About the Preeclampsia Foundation
The Preeclampsia Foundation is the only national nonprofit patient advocacy organization for the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Through their national fundraising events the Promise Walk for Preeclampsia™ and Saving Grace - A Night of Hope™, the Preeclampsia Foundation works to achieve its mission to provide patient support and education, raise public awareness, catalyze research and improve health care practices. We envision a world where preeclampsia no longer threatens the lives of mothers and babies. Knowing the warning signs can lead to more timely diagnosis and better outcomes. For more information on the Foundation’s ongoing mission and resources, please visit http://www.preeclampsia.org.

To find out more info about this race, feel free to visit their website and Facebook page for more details.

Runners For Boston

2013-04-21T09:08:00.000-05:00

If you are located in the western suburbs, all Dick Pond Athletics locations will be hosting a fun run tomorrow evening in support of Boston. All proceeds from the fun run will go to benefit the One Fund Boston.

Speechless, but faithful

2013-04-17T09:26:00.000-05:00

Speechless still.

In all of us exists a bit of evil because that is simply the downfall to being human.

But in life, love always trumps hate.

So, continue to pray.

Pray for those who have been wounded and emotionally branded,

the awesome spectators that seem to line the streets of every. single. race.,

people across the globe who constantly question their safety,

those who's lives have been forever changed by this event,

for all evil to find light,

and for the sick mastermind behind this.

There comes a day when we all will receive the justice of our lives works, and we will no longer be able to hid behind the shadows of our doings.

Have faith.

Live your life and don't let the tragic events of what will most likely be a very broken and disturbed soul dictate your path. Life's short, keep marching on.

Pics that make my day

2013-04-11T08:30:00.002-05:00

Via Pete

Looks like those legs need some sun.

So translucent that I feel like I can almost see through them.

Think the Irish skin was in full force that morning to help me get in the Shamrock character.

Pete also took a pretty cool video and some classic photos of Sunday's race. He managed to capture everything I love about the day. BTW, he is toeing Boston this Monday so go on over and send him some well wishes!

So many awesome things going on in this pic that I don't even know what to say other than team "Shalane and Kara" kicked major booty for the day. Just out chickin' like it's no big deal.

Stay tuned for part 2 of that saga...

For the first time ever in my race history, I was snapped multiple times on the course with both feet off the ground. I didn't even know that was possible for my body. I've actually be working on smoothing out some of the rough edges with my cadence and gait for awhile now, and it looks like it may be catching up with me a bit. Maybe my legs can turnover better than I thought.

Awesome.

I was on a roll, two strides in a row!

And of course, my outfit choice for the day has got to be the best part of these photos. Looks like I'm going bottomless, which almost would have been a better idea than wearing the shorts I chose for the day. Felt like I was giving everyone a free show as they rode up my bum the entire race and I didn't bother fishing them out.

Thank you Marathonfoto, you made my day.

2013 Shamrock Shuffle 8k

2013-04-09T09:41:00.001-05:00

And the PR streak unexpectedly continues.

Looks like Sunday I had the luck of the Irish on my side.

"Any idiot can train himself into the ground; the trick is doing the training that makes you gradually stronger."

Keith Brantly

PR's have become synonymously interchangeable in the running world where the term more often than not seems to leave an underlying assumption that the miles were some awesome experience that made a runner feel like they were on top of the world and felt unstoppable.

That was not how Sunday's PR went down for me.

Going into the Shamrock Shuffle, I had really no expectation. It was going to be just another race for me where my goal was to run by feel instead of relying on a watch to dictate my pacing. At this point in my life, this shouldn't be such a difficult thing for me to execute yet it somehow has become my hearts latest ambitiously laborious pursuit.

Coming back from burn-out has been very challenging for me mentally. Physically my body has repaired, recharged, and recovered, but mentally I'm still a hot mess. Learning my limit has left me cautious and questionable about racing and training just all around, so I've been playing it safe. Keeping to mainly fartlek style workouts, taking extra days off, and not making any mileage goals. The most important thing for me right now is staying healthy and balanced where PR's are no where close to being on my radar.

My head is still doubtful about pressing it, and speed feels foreign to my body where even at my quickest paces it seems like I'm moving in slow motion at times.

Race morning I met up with a very speedy girlfriend of mine that I planned on racing with. She's a former rockstar collegiate athlete and has some amazing natural speed in her legs. Before the race even started, I had my doubts that I'd be toe-to-toe with her since workouts have been lacking in my neck of the woods and in my mind I'm not exactly in race shape.

Blue top, shades, and pink shoes in middle of frame. My speedy friend was in the blue top ahead.

Having gotten the luxury treatment the past two years of this race, I had no idea how chaotic getting into corral A would be. With about 15 minutes to spare until the corrals closed, we figured we had plenty of time to scoot off into our respective start areas. But as we stood like a herd of cattle marching off for slaughter, the clock ticked by quickly and we weren't making much progress towards the gates. As 8:15 neared and the volunteers starting to slowly close the corral gates, the runners behind us begun to panic. I'm not great in crowds, and I had a mild panic attack as I feared being tramped by crazed runners.

this gal has a bit funnier account of the pre-race mania

That was basically my worst nightmare as people were infringing on my personal space as I begun to sweat profusely and have shortness of breath.

Not exactly my ideal pre-race situation.

I had a hard time getting my head together after that and just never really mentally checked in for the day before I crossed the finish line. Thinking back now, I have no idea how my legs were moving because I felt like it was all going by in slow-mo where it felt kind of like a dream. My thoughts were racing, I let my running partner get ahead a few strides, and my stomach begun to hate what was happening...again. The only vivid recall I have of the race was when I saw my girlfriend round the corner of Roosevelt after feeling as if she was light-years ahead of me and counted just about 7 seconds until I passed that exact point.

At that point I remember thinking "7 seconds is nothing...why did I let her get so far ahead?".

But, by then it was too late and the race was pretty much over.

Unexpectedly I worked my way to a 13 second PR and finished just a 5 measly seconds behind my girlfriend, who crossed the line in 30:58.

5. Measly. Seconds.

It's funny how I ran without a watch, did substantially lower mileage, got in just a handful of workouts, and took more days off as a build up for this race over any other year that I've ran it yet I still hit a PR. Curiously odd...but pretty much confirms things for me about how I should be training.

My #1 fan, Mr. Chicago Runner Girl

The Shamrock Shuffle is still my favorite race, despite the fact that the PR streak continues and that I felt like Mufasa being stampeded beforehand. After all, it's tradition.

Update as of 4/17/13...finish time may have been 31:01. Looks like they've updated some stats, which would have put me 4 measly seconds behind my girlfriend and only 2 seconds away from breaking 31.

A shamrock tradition

2013-04-05T09:29:00.000-05:00

This Sunday I'll be toeing the line of my 7th Shamrock Shuffle 8k. This race has become an unintentional spring tradition for me where I anticipate the start all winter long. In this dreary grey place, it seems to be the glimmer of hope for me that sunshine and warm weather is just around the corner.

The first year I ran this race was in 2007.

I didn't train and didn't have any clue what kind of split I would put up because those were the days when I would run and run with out any sense. The night before I even worked an overnight shift where I didn't get home from work until about 7:30 am. Going on 24+ hours of no sleep, I have no idea how I crossed that finish line. But I did, then passed out for about 14 hours later that afternoon.

The only pic I have from this race. Terrible quality, but apparently I ran it was the Mr. before he was officially the Mr. Had no idea until I found this pic.

36:43

Then in 2008, I thought that I could finish faster.

Even though I was injured and hadn't done much of any activity, I assumed that a good nights rest would be enough to finish just a wee bit quicker. And it was.

35:48

This race is HUGE, and that's why I love it. You are running on the streets of Chicago with thousands of runners all around you. It's pretty awesome.

In 2009 I was finally healthy.

My knee had finally healed and for the first time in my adult life I decided to make attempts to actually train for a race with my eyes on the Shamrock Shuffle. This is when I begun to log my training and actually started following some type of logical progressions with my workouts. Race morning it was cold, windy, wet, snowy, and there was several inches of slushy snow covering the streets of the course. It took just over 4 miles for me to gain feeling in my feet on the course, and my husband sat inside a Dunkin Donuts to keep warm while I was racing.

Poor conditions and all, I somehow still managed to work my way to a pretty sweet PR.

34:22

2010 brought new momentum.

I was getting fitter, faster, and smarter with my training. Suddenly I begun to become more motivated to gain speed and challenge myself with my running goals. After hitting an 8k PR the previous fall, I knew that I wanted to set my sights high and go for a sub 33 split finish. I didn't rest the day before and instead did a long run because I was ramping up for a half a few weeks later...because it makes total sense to burn all your fuel stores before a goal race...

That was the race that taught me the importance of rest days on race eve. Ah, what a valuable lesson that has served me well.

33:15

2011. The year of Elite.

Ah yes, elite...such a funny word that brings such funny feelings for me. I'm no elite. I'm average where there will always be plenty of peeps ahead and behind me. Still think that this was some type of typo or clerical erro, but I was there...in the elite corral with the real elites. Excited but feeling very out of place, I lined up at the very back of the corral and went out way too fast.

This race was the turning point for me with my running and set me up for some pretty sweet PR's later in the year. I ran hard and fast (for me) and had fun while doing it, finally realizing that running can be a hoot if you just go out there to have fun.

32:38

2012. Elite, part 2.

And then there was last year...

I put up a pretty decent split for myself and raced like a weirdo on very unrested legs.

6:16, 5:42, 6:11, 6:32, 5:56.

I raced. It hurt. I had a blast. And earned myself a pretty sweet PR.

31:16

2 days out from race day, I've decided that the plan once again is that there is no plan and instead to just enjoy tradition. No watch. No goal time. Nada. Just my favorite Pam Beasley way to race...

Start fast.
Run fast in the middle.
And end fast.

Sometimes traditions change, and my PR streak for this race was bound to hit an end eventually. But PR or no PR on Sunday, I'm still going to head out there and run the best race my body allows and have a blast while doing it. And if that means my body is somehow able to magically produce a faster split, than that's great. And if not, the Shamrock tradition will still continue for many years to come.

Recovery Reflections

2013-03-28T09:27:00.002-05:00

"When it comes time to decide how many miles in a week you should run, the most important thing to remember is that it is better to be 20 miles a week undertrained then 1 mile per week overtrained."

Ryan Hall

It's been 4 days, and I'm still recovering.

As it turns out, half marathons aren't exactly the most forgiving on under-conditioned bodies.

With the Shamrock Shuffle a mere 10 days away, I'm counting my blessings. At this point, workouts and mileage aren't very important to me and instead I'm just grateful to be moving forward again without being exhausted and constantly achy. Today, the legs are still feeling a bit tired from Sunday's half where I'm currently contemplating if one last fartlek before Shamrock is even going to be worth it.

For me, the answer last year at this time would have been,

"heck yes...can't miss a workout".

But, that really ended up leading me nowhere.

Just produced a few sub-par half performances, one semi-decent 10 miler, and left me feeling as if I drilled myself into the ground.

DERP.

Sunday's race was a bit more challenging for me than I thought it would be. While I knew that physically I wasn't exactly the most fit to be chasing down a PR, mentally I hadn't given the race much thought beforehand and ended up not being able to get my head in the game during those 13.1 miles. Racing this distance without a watch or clocks on the course turned out to be more toilsome on my head than I originally anticipated.

Probably deep in thought here questioning why I ever thought the race was a good idea
Thinking I look a bit dazed and confused here...

There were quite a few times along those miles when I seriously considering pulling out of the race because it just didn't feel comfortable.

Kept pace with this dude for all but the last few miles when the legs started to fizzle.

One of my biggest challenges is always my head as I start to over think whats going on.

So hard to turn it off when things get uncomfortable, and Sunday all I could think about was everything that didn't feel right.

In the moment sometimes it's really difficult to appreciate what's going on, and it took me about 36 hours post race to realize what I did on Sunday morning.

While my time wasn't even close to my currently dated PR, I was lightyears off from winning the race, and mentally checked out for most of the miles between 6-12, I still managed a finish under 1:30 in rough conditions on a very off day with only a handful of workouts leading up to the race. Things have to start somewhere, and I'd say that this isn't a bad way to start out my year.

Now I know what I need to work on moving forward, and don't think that a half PR would be completely out of the question this year if I do choose to chase one down.

But only time will tell...

The Chitown Half

2013-03-25T10:10:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was one of those typical Chicago days where you're holding out for great weather and instead you get the exact opposite.

Cold. Blustery. Grey.

Perfect conditions for a race with an already quite caddywhompus course.

At this point in my life, races have become nothing new to me and are almost a dime a dozen. The days of over thinking the pre-race routine, splits, pace, and the like are well behind me where now all I worry about is oversleeping and keeping my breakfast down...both of which seem to be more difficult for me at this point in my life than they should be.

Having been out of the racing scene for sometime, I kept expectations for this race pretty low. It's only been about 8 weeks since I've been able to slowly start dipping my toes into the speedwork pool again. While progress has been fairly steady, it's also been slow and my body still gets confused from time to time when I push it to move quick.

2013 has thus far been the year where I'm going back to the start of it; mechanics, not exceeding the demands my body can handle, resting appropriately, slow progressions, and everything in between.

So the goal was that there was no goal other than to just run.

And of course, hang out with some very cool ladies.

Xaarlin, Jenny, and myself freezing our tushies off pre-race
Photo theived from Xaarlin

Before the race, Xaarlin, Jenny, Hillary and I all meet up and tried to ignore the fact that it was freezing out and the winds were slowly becoming a bit more steady. We were all bundled up, which felt so wrong. I hate racing in the cold and usually don't do races this early in the year because of that, but my longing for the lakefront trumped whatever the weather God's would have in store for us on race day.

My "plan" going into the race was nothing more than race not pace. I didn't wear a watch and figured that would be best for me at this point in time since I had no idea where my current fitness was putting me. Trying to hit a certain split would have been nothing short of nutty and frivolous, two characteristics I'm trying to stay away from these days. Having never run this half but already having 8 half marathons and 50+ other races under my belt, I figured that this course would have clocks along the route just like every other race does and I'd be able to do some quick math along the way if necessary.

Once the race got off to a start, I was having a difficult time settling in. The legs didn't feel as rested as I hoped they would and I found annoyance with the 1:30 pace group that was just ahead. There was a guy with a heavy European accent that sounded cartoon-like being annoyingly encouraging to all those around and I just felt irritated by it. Pulled ahead of the pace group around the 3 mile marker and ran into Adam where we chatted it up for a few before he whizzed off ahead of me and I saw nothing but his back for the rest of the race as he sailed his way to a mighty tasty PR.

Coming into the finishing chute with my eyes closed. Typical.
Photo courtesy of Xaar

The course then became confusing where there were some gals complaining about how they wanted their money back and I saw Xaarlin heading into the finishing chute for her 10k when I just barely passed the 5 mile marker. I had a difficult time remembering the route of the race as the map online had quite a few curly-q's and hairpin turns for the lakefront, but it seemed off that she was already finishing. Turns out that quite of few of the 10k runners were directed to go the wrong way several times by volunteers and ended up with a race that was just over 5 miles, which doesn't surprise me because the signage for this race was mighty confusing.

Ummmm...still don't quite understand the course

At mile 6 I caught up with the gal I used to train with when I lived in the city where she brought along her nearly 7 foot tall boy and made him be my windshield for miles 6-10. Honestly, I don't think that I would have made it through this race without them. During those miles the winds started to pick up, the course was weaving like crazy, we seemed to hit nearly every incline the lakefront has, and the course somehow turned into a cross country course. My stomach began to ache and my mind officially checked out somewhere around 8-9. Thus began some of the worst mental talk that has ever existed in my head and I begun to curse out loud like a truck driver. And of course, it didn't help that people I'd passed long ago were now cutting the half short too because of janky and inadequate signage.

I could feel my pace slipping away and my stomach felt so wrong. I was never able to take in any fuels and I begun to realize that I may have been a bit ahead of myself when I thought a 13.1 mile race would be a good fitness check instead of going with something a bit shorter. Most of those latter miles of the race are a bit fuzzy in my mind now, but I do remember around 11-12 telling my girl Bronwen that I wasn't going to finish the race where she then tried to snap me out of it the best she could. It was useless for her because at that point I'd already mentally shut down and wanted nothing more than to not be running this terrible course in the wind any longer.

I still managed to get in a somewhat decent clip and squeaked in just under the 1:30 mark, which is a good start for me at this point. Racing without a watch on this confusing course which didn't have a single clock after the 6 mile marker (and only clocks at 2, 4, and 6) was quite challenging for me at this point in the year. Having put in only 2 tempo runs and maybe 6 other speed workouts building up to this race, I'd say this is a very fair finish time for me.

Post race the crew drowned our sorrows, disappointments, and the few joys we had about this silly, poorly executed course and the atrocious weather conditions with milkshakes of course.

Because who doesn't refuel on cold days with spiked milkshakes?

Team Oreo...I be grammin'

It was here where it was decided that ALL races should conclude with a giant boozey milkshake.

Hillary, Me, Xaarlin, Jenny, Chanthana
photo swiped from Jenny

At this point, I'm pretty pleased with the fact that I was able to muster out another sub 1:30 finish on a day when I felt off and just couldn't get my head and body in the game. The fact that I made a few new friends made the day worth the headache.

BUT, I will NEVER do this race again. Something about making a course more confusing than it needs to be and the lack of signage, check-points, fueling stations, and clocks makes a race a big N.O. for me to revisit. Not worth the $72 investment.

13.1 Giveaway Winner

2013-03-19T07:40:00.003-05:00

The winner of the Allstate Life Insurance 13.1 Chicago race entry is...

wait for it...

Noodle!!! Congrats!

You'll have 1 week to claim your entry. Please email me at chicagorunnergirl@gmail.com and I'll get you all the info necessary for your comp registration.

Back from the dead?

2013-03-18T08:48:00.000-05:00

After 2 days and about 100 attempts to revive my fickle Garmin, it looks like it decided to make it's return (yet again) to the land of the living.

Only took 48 hours before it would randomly decide to respond to a manual reset. Suppose 100th time is the charm?

I honestly don't get what this darn things issue is.

Pretty much I've decided that the watch hates me and needs a bit of time away from me every now and then. No big deal. Just wish it would decide one way or the other and stop toying with me in the moments I would like to rely on it.

Yesterday I drug my tired booty out of bed at the ugly hour of 5 am to make the 100+ mile round trip to the middle of nowhere and keep a friend company as they went for a half marathon PR. Brought ole trusty along so that I could hopefully be of some pacing help.

Turns out that !$#%* decided to work, but with a few kinks every now and again. She decided to go back to her old ways of erratically flipping through the various screen options and beeping like crazy. I kept her on overall average pace so that I would be of as much help as possible.

But I wasn't.

The course was hard as all heck.

This run was more than likely the hilliest route my legs have ever traveled along.

But, I found myself at a weird crossroad with those inclines where I was actually looking forward to going up them as they approached. With every climb came the satisfaction of driving a bit harder anticipating the moment it would crest.

Hurt so good.

Cruising through this course comfortably gave me just the satisfaction I need for the Chitown Half this coming Sunday. While I'm not expecting a miracle or PR and I'm still hellbent on not wearing a watch, I'm pretty sure that things will be a bit smoother than my last go at this distance.

Blowing kisses to Mr. CRG

Excited to see Ms. Xaarlin & smiling through it all

And that's all I'm really after...

a fun race along the lakefront where my body keeps all of its fuels down.

13.1 Marathon Chicago Giveaway

2013-03-12T09:00:00.001-05:00

Last year I was lucky enough to be able to run the the Allstate Life Insurance Chicago 13.1 Marathon alongside a handful of truly great bloggers.

Photo courtesy of MagMileRunner
Amanda, Kayla, Zach, Sara, Maggie, Deanna
Amanda, Cary
Charlyn, Kim, moi
pre race Chi-town (and 1 Miami visitor) blogger meet up

It was hot as all heck, the humidity was through the roof, and I was in the mid-stage of the overtrained summer that kicked my @$$. But, it was one heck of a time because the company of local bloggers has the ability to make things a lot more enjoyable.

This race starts at the beautiful South Shore Cultural Center and runs north alongside the lake until mile 7 where it heads back south on the lakefront path on Saturday June 8th. The course is fully supported and hosts a pretty sweet post race party.

Photo courtesy of Erin

It's a beautiful way to spend your morning as you take in some of Chicago's more nautical side, and today is your lucky day. The Allstate Life Insurance 13.1 Chicago Marathon has generously offered a complimentary entry to one awesome Chicago Runner Girl reader.

How to enter:

Leave a comment below telling me what you are looking forward to most this Spring.

****All commenters welcome. If you don't have a blog, please just leave a valid email address so that I can contact you****

For an extra entry, you can:

Tweet "I want to win a free entry to the Chitown @131Marathon from @ChiRunnerGrl"

****In order for you tweet to count, you will need to leave a separate comment telling me that you tweeted****

This giveaway will run until March 18th at 12 pm CST where a winner will be announced and chosen shortly after. Good luck to you all and hope to see quite a few of you there!

Photo courtesy of Xaarlin

RIP Forerunner 110

2013-03-10T16:53:00.000-05:00

It happened today...

my ornery Forerunner 110 took it's final breath before laying itself to rest for eternity.

Of course.

Seems pretty routine that the damn thing decides to lose it's mind in the last few workouts I'd like to squeeze in before a race. So, it's only suiting that within the matter of days after committing to the Chitown Half Marathon on the 24th of this month that it would feel that this is the perfect time to die completely.

Little did that !*&$%@ watch know that it was only 3 quality workouts away from keeping me a happy lady.

After a day of tinkering with it, looks like there is no hope left and this will be the end of our rather tumultuous relationship.

Christmas of 2010, when we first "met"
This was back in the day before I knew that the damn thing was defective...
didn't find that out until the warranty had lapsed.
Figures.

Can't say that I'm surprised, or entirely broken up about it. The Garmin and I have always had a love-to-hate relationship, and I think that this is probably as good of a time as any for us to cut our ties for a bit. Having already decided that I will be racing this spring without a watch, guess now would be a good time to get used to cruising naked.

Today I ended up bagging the planned workout and just going for a long comfortable run.

Since I still haven't created regular routes in my hood, I strapped on the hubby's 14+ year old Ironman Timex to keep track of how long I was gone.

The poor thing has seen better days.

But it's hanging in there like a champ!

Pretty surprised that a $50 watch that is 14+ years old can outlive a $250 watch.

Makes me angry when I think about it, but there isn't much I can do at this point besides just move on.

By my guesstimation skills, think I made it about 15 miles.

Which would be my longest run since the Chicago Marathon back in October.

Can't say it was the easiest of run, but I made it.

Since my only other timing device is ancient, thinking of getting either just a cheap stopwatch with more than 9 laps like Mr. Chicago Runner Girl's timex does or maybe even purchasing a Forerunner 10. Was really hoping to hold out on the watch until Garmin releases their new "live-tracker" feature on the up and coming Forerunner 220 version. But having some type of timing device would be nice so that I can make sure I'm not overdoing it.

This bod has limits, and unless I'm monitoring things it's really easy to slip into old habits and get a wee bit carried away.

Thoughts on decent stopwatches or the Forerunner 10?

Gaining Confidence

2013-03-03T15:58:00.000-06:00

Today was gorgeous out.

Mid 20's with no wind and sunny skies, pretty much my ideal running weather.

Tomorrow I turn 29. While I think you're only as young as you feel, and I feel pretty darn young still, it's becoming apparent more and more these days that my youth is slowly slipping away from me.

Getting irritated by loud music.

Wanting to spend Saturday nights wrapped up in a Snuggie on my couch with my pups.

Finding it difficult to stay up past 10 pm on any given night.

And...

The bod taking 36 hours to recover from a 3 drink night.

Can't escape it...age just happens.

To toast off my last day as a 28 year old, I laced up my Brooks Pure Cadence 2's and headed out the door for a little 13 miler. Goal for the day was nothing more than to get in some consistent steady miles and see if my body would be able to potentially handle the Chitown Half Marathon on 3/24.

Have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by how controlled and relaxed the miles felt. Seems like heading out the door without number expectations or goal splits is working for me these days.

Who would have thought that goal-less training with considerately less mileage would actually be working more for me than aggressive goals and heavily loaded and focused weeks?

Not me thats for sure.

Feels good to have that sinew feeling back in the legs.

Sometimes doing something different seems to be just what the doctor ordered for progress.

Respecting Progress

2013-02-28T08:06:00.001-06:00

"We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing and about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive."

C.S. Lewis

In my almost 29 years of life, I've made more than my fair share of mistakes.

I've said awfully hurtful things to those that love and support me the most,

I've consciously made the wrong decision on purpose on several occasions,

I've continually allowed myself to be blinded by my selfish desires,

And, I've let myself lose sight on what life is really about.

I'm not perfect.

Never have been and never will be.

Sometimes I learn from my short comings, and sometimes I don't.

It happens because I'm just like everyone else where I often get caught up the the less important parts of life and miss those monumentally great life lessons.

After beating the crapola out of myself last year, I finally came to my senses late fall and decided it was time to give the running and racing thing a bit of rest. Stop pining away at my senseless goals that make me turn all Natalie Portman in Black Swan and take care of myself. After all, life is short and you only get one shot where if you don't take care of yourself who can you really expect to?

So, I took 2 weeks off of running to let my body rest and that pesky foot heal.

Then I slowly started running again. Not too much, but just enough to regain a bit of my sanity.

At first the miles didn't feel easy and I wasn't convinced that my fitness would ever come back.

But I've kept on. Slow and steady.

Progress is hard to describe, and noticing it's imprints in my own life isn't one of my strengths. I've spent my entire life chasing it down, measuring, logging, charting, graphing, and blabbering on and on and on about it till I've bored myself and others to death. Uuughh, nauseating.

But a funny thing has happened recently, and I've finally begun to grasp the concept of what progress really means. I've spent a lot of time thinking that I have complete and utter control of my rate of progress for everything, especially running. The I want, therefore it shall be way of thinking has been relentlessly breaking my heart since the 90's.

Turns out that once you stop obsessing over the rate at which things evolve will be the moment things start to make a turn in the right direction.

While the snowy trails can put a damper on planned workouts,
they can do wonders for the soul.
...they shall be white as snow.

The time I took off wasn't the miracle cure to my over trained body and it hasn't magically created lightening speeds radiating from my legs. But it has given me perspective and appreciate of the process of growth within myself. Monday I was able to do something that was unthinkable and physically impossible to me 6 to 8 months ago, I was able to tempo.

4 painfully hilly tempo miles where my lungs were burning and my heart was fervently bleeding passion anticipating the next foot strike.

It hurt, my mind wandered, my splits were all over the place, and those hills played me for a fool.

But I managed to make it through the workout in one piece and still be a functioning person afterwords. My splits weren't anything brag worthy, and this workout didn't exactly put me on the fast track into the elite world, but it was a baby step in the right direction for me and for that I'm extremely grateful.

"As long as you trust that things happen for a reason and just put your head down, focus and just keep working hard, then things usually work out."

Amy Hasting in the January issue of Competitor Magazine

Fighting the URGE

2013-02-18T19:40:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow, at exactly 12 pm Central Time, registration opens up for THE Chicago Marathon.

Even though I've made a promise to myself to not get too invested into training this year for a wide array of reasons, I can't say that I haven't thought about just throwing all that logic out the window and pulling the registration trigger on CM13. After all, Chicago is my favorite city in the world and nothing makes me happier than running 26.2 miles with a goofy grin on my face through the streets of practically every neighborhood in the whole dang city. Still can't erase those skyline views from my mind from the last go-around.

There has been a lot of speculation and hype about how long it's going to take to fill up.

Some think hours, and I've even heard other speculate minutes.

Yes, minutes.

MINUTES.

I honestly don't think that it would even be possible for 45,000 people to sign up within the matter of minutes. But, I'll probably be wrong and end up being shut out. Won't be the first time I was wrong, and it most certainly will not be the last.

Last year I registered for this race in early February when I was riding high off of a successful start and adjustment to my heavily-loaded-yet-highly-ambitious training cycle. Things were going well and I was more than certain that I was well on my way to a sub 3:05 finish. At the time I was even thinking that I would be able to squeak in just under 3.

In the 8 months since I dropped the $150 for what I was convinced would be "the race of my life" and when it came time to toe-the-line, a million and one obstacles got in the way of that dream race. Some avoidable and others not where I had to adjust my plan and expectations. Instead, the events which ended up unfolding that day turned out to be heartwarming and more memorable than any PR would have been where I had the time of my life with Mr. Chicago Runner Girl. That left a lofty marathon goal has to be shelved for another more appropriate and yet TBD time.

With registration opening a mere 16 hours from now, I'm really starting to miss the days when you didn't have to set an alarm to make sure you get one of those highly coveted race slots and instead could wait out the year a bit and not get shut out. What happened to those days???

The days when you didn't have to commit to a marathon 9 months in advance?

The days when you actually had the opportunity to make sure you were healthy enough to toe the line of your goal race for the year?

The days when you didn't have to shell out $175 to run a marathon?

The days when you didn't have to sit like a fool in front of your computer clicking away like a crazed-maniac seconds after race registrations opened?

I miss those days.

Hoping they come back soon.

But until they do, I'll be keeping myself far far away from any and all internet surfing devices on Chicago Marathon registration day.

Gettin' dirty

2013-02-13T14:56:00.003-06:00

This pretty much sums up how my speed session went today

Mud all the way up to my rump.

Those Brooks Cadence 2's were really cute until I made the ever-SO-wise decision to hit up some freshly thawed limestone trails for an interval session.

Headed out the door on this warm and sunny winter afternoon for a bit of focused speed work. Last month I decided to register for the Chicago Shamrock Shuffle 8k on April 7th. It's one of my all time favorite Chicagoland races, where this will be my 7th year racing this event. I've had a pretty decent streak with this race where I've always managed to squeak out some type of PR whether I was prepared or not on race day.

While I don't really have any expectations for this race other than to have fun, it would be nice if I could keep the streak going for at least another year. With just under 8 weeks until race day, I've got nothing but time to slowly start getting myself back on the racing bandwagon.

On tap for today was 3 sets of 2x400's & 1x800

Splits:

1:29, 1:30, 3:10

1:27, 1:30, 2:56

1:29, 1:24, 3:04

Still trying to figure out where my fitness levels currently are, which is basically a shot in the dark as of right now. At this point in time I'm still avoiding heavily loaded speedwork and instead focusing my efforts on being patient. Just like it has taken time for my speed and endurance to disappear, it's going to take time to build it back up. Feeling mighty thankful today that my body is as forgiving as it is, really don't deserve the healing compassion that it continues to bestow on me when I time and time again ask more and more. Avoiding setting any unrealistic expectations for myself at this time and instead just taking workouts for what they are, learning lessons and dress rehearsals.

Maybe I lacked a bit of consistency here today, but my legs felt great.

Every interval was controlled and I ended the workout feeling like I could have gone through another set of intervals. For me that is more important than splits.

Who else is running the Shamrock Shuffle 8k on April 7th?

all those other runs...

2013-02-06T13:22:00.001-06:00

You know, the ones most runners DON'T want to talk about. The one that you feel like hell through and you just want to throw in the towel quickly erasing them from your memory.

Yeah, those runs.

Well, I've had A LOT of them lately.

Honestly, I don't really expect much at this time from my running or body because I realize that it is just plain crazy to think that I could step back from focused training for 6+ months to get back at it like it's all a breeze and I haven't lost any fitness. It hasn't been, and I've lost quite a bit. Building my mileage back up has been challenging where these days I'm sitting pretty happy right around 40 mpw.

It's been a slow and often times sluggishly frustrating build.

Just a non-stop pursuit of one foot steadily planted on the ground before the other takes flight.

Most of my runs have been very unimpressive, challenging, and of the same monotonously dull pace. Seems only logical that when I headed out the door today with my scratchy-raw-winter throat for my first loosely "focused" speed work since August (or even April/May 2012 for that matter) that things weren't going to be all gumdrops and rainbows. They weren't, and I feel physically slow compared to where my mind thinks my fitness level currently is.

Not such a big deal as fitness peaks are meant to come and go, and as long as the mind is sharp thats really all that matters.

Eventually it'll come back. Just a long and slow road ahead before I can even dream about making progress or shooting for any PR's.

Keeping things exciting for myself by taking on one of my most dreaded of all things...

Inclines and hills.

Ew.

Running on the lakefront for nearly a decade made me tough in regards to handling all different types of weather, but soft in the elevation change category. The Chicago lakefront is quite possibly the flattest path to ever exist and has maybe a 50 ft elevation change along the almost 20 miles it covers. It's wonderful. Out here in the uncivilized world that I'm now living in, there seem to be lots of short climbs that to me seem like giant never ending hills making my heart want to beat out of my chest.

That run was a doozy

Doesn't look like much, but always gets me

What can I say? I'm a sucker for flat and fast.

Even though I'm feeling lightyears away from where I was last year at this time, feeling good about my 40 mpw average and know that there is only up to go from here.

Plenty of hard work and patience ahead.

Hills/Inclines...love em or hate em?