Marathon training week: 4
Marathon plan: 3 miles

Time of departure: About 7:30pm

Sunrise: 7:03pm

Sunset: 4:20pm

Phase of the moon: Waxing cresent (6% full)

Temperature: 22F

Wind Chill: 12F

Dew Point: 19F

Humidity: 89%

Lake Temp: 34-40F

Route: Lakefront

Approx Distance: 3 miles

Running buddy: Amelia Peabody and the Crocodile on the Sandbank story

Clothing: I am finding it unbelievably easier to dress this winter. Is this an implicit wisdom gained from last year's experiences?

Shoes, socks, ARMY pants, long sleeve, short sleeve, wind breaker, gator, hat, gloves. Mittens in my pockets, but I didn't put them on. After yesterday's run, when my feet were wet, cold, and frozen, I decided I have to do something about my shoe/sock situation. Today I called the running store an old friend used to work at. They advised me to not buy a new pair of shoes if this one seemed to work (Brooks Adrenaline), but to try either duct taping the mesh parts of my shoes and/or to buy some synthetic fancy socks (cheaper than a new pair of shoes). A wonderful idea! They advised that trail shoes would be clunkier than I'd need unless I was to do a lot of running at Palos. (Palos is apparently a good place for trail running SW of the city.) So I spent fifteen minutes or so fashioning some tape to neatly cover the mesh of my shoes. And about fifteen paces into my run it already was peeling off. Eventaully, all the tape came off both shoes. Perhaps I'll find it next time I run in the morning. And I'll have to use more tape next time, I suppose.

The Drive Activity: eh. There were some cars. Why is this here? I forget why we found thi interesting.
People tally: There was one woman walking on the bike path. She had a funky black and white stiped coat on and seemed rather out of her element. Probably because no one else was around and it was snowing, dark, and cold. Where could she be coming from, where could she be going?

What did I eat pre-run? I think I had eaten something at work before I left.

How did I feel? Pretty good. I have to make myself run faster now. I know I can, but I'm lazy when I'm by myself and find I'm always slowing down unless I think about it.

What do I like about running? Oh, golly. How many things can I come up with?
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There's a lot of talk of writing in my family. And how discipline is every bit as important as natural ability or skill. And how, if you want to accomplish anything in life, discipline is a necessity.

Personality Quizzes...

A run blog

Marathon training week: 2/18
Marathon plan: 9 miles

Time of departure: about noon
Return: not sure

Phase of the moon: 100% full!

Temperature: 36°F(2°C)
Wind Chill: 27°F (-3°C)

Route: Down the lakefront, almost to Belmont
Approx Distance: 9 miles
Running buddy: self
Clothing: shoes, socks, striped athletic pants, long sleeve t, windbreaker, hat, gloves. I felt a little underdressed when the wind was blowing, which it was most of the time. A sweatwicking t-shirt would have been nice.

What did I eat pre-run? 1/2 bagel, a sip of water. I should have drank more water.
How did I feel? I felt like my knees were tightening up. It was cold.
What do I like about running? It gets me out the house on a sunny day when it's cold.
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Today was one of those crisp, cold, beautiful days. And I spent the morning making my (relatively new but untouched) mp3 player work. I downloaded a book from the library and uploaded it onto my mp3 player! Ugh. I hate doing that sort of thing, which is why I've resisted (procrastinated) for so long. So I spent the run listening to a story...I forget the title and the author, but the main character is name Amanda Peabody...more on that later.

I'm watching the American President...Oh, how I love Aaron Sorkin!

Yay! Week 2!

Marathon training week: 2/18
Marathon plan: 3 miles

Time of departure: 8:40am
Return: 9:25am
Sunrise: there is no sun. 6:46am
Sunset: 4:26pm
Phase of the moon: Waxing Gibbous, 79% full

Temperature: 46F/8C
Wind Chill: 42F/6C
Dew Point: 42F (why do I care about dew point? I can't remember).
Humidity: 86%
Lake Temp: 47F

Route: 3 miles on the lakefront
Approx Distance: 3 miles
Running buddy: just me.
Clothing: shoes, socks, cotton yoga pants, t-shirt, wind breaker. too easy!

The Drive Activity: there were cars.
Dog beach Activity: didn't get that far. I did see quite a few dogs though.
People tally: I didn't count people but there were quite a few people out.

What did I eat pre-run? A few sips of water. (Yay! 3 miles, I don't have to eat beforehand.)
How did I feel? Awesome.
What do I like about running? It got me out of bed and out of the house this morning. Else, I may still have been there.
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This morning was a very gray and foggy morning. This made me very happy, of course. The lake was gray, the horizon line obliterated by mist and low clouds. Small but frequent waves rolled in against the shore. Near Foster Ave beach, when I shut my eyes, they sounded almost like the wind in the trees. Ah, so nice. Most of the trees are without their leaves, their spindly branches appearing to reach up and disappear against the light gray sky. I know summer is a great season. And I do love how I can go swimming and drink frozen vodka lemonades on the beach and just relax in the sun. This is all very nice. I love those times, I really do. But there is something about these darker days that resonate with me on an entirely different level.

It was fun today to go out and run 3 miles and know that I did what I was supposed to do, that I wasn't supposed to run longer, that I was not slacking by not going further. As much as a routine and a plan gives you structure, it also gives you freedom I'm seeing. Rest days, take the day off. 3 mile runs, do the 3 miles, don't run 6. How nice! Follow the plan. No decisions to made. There is a liberty in this.

Today, I only had to stop for one street light, which was super nice. I've decided I won't do any stretching mid-run for these 3 miles, unless I really feel a need, of course. I'll just be easy on myself early on and let my body warm up. I also ran on the grass as much as I could and did all along the lakefront. I figure there is less force of impact going into my body (than if I were to run on asphalt or concrete) and my legs have to work harder to stabilize of the uneven terrain. So long as I don't sprain an ankle, it makes them stronger. I'm not particularly prone to strains, for which I am grateful, so I think this is good for me.

I've started picking up the pace since I'm now remembering how to run. I was experimenting with trying to engage my mula and udiyana bandhas and witnessing how the force of the impact of my feet hitting the ground may distribute differently in my body when they were engaged versus not engaged. It's a subtle sensation, but I felt like there was less slaming and clonking between my shoulders and rib cage, between my ribs and pelvis, with my spine on my sacrum. I'm sure I'll be paying more and more attention to this in the coming weeks. It's a very subtle sensation.

the first of the long runs

Marathon training week: 1 of 18
Marathon plan: 8 miles

Time of departure: 2:30pm
Return: Not sure.

Temperature: 40°F(4°C)
Wind Chill: 33°F (1°C) (It was windy. And it felt cold).
Lake Temp: 47F

Route: Down past Addison and back up.
Approx Distance: 8 miles
Running buddy: Self.
Clothing: I felt under-dressed. shoes, socks, long striped pants, short sleeve t-shirt (this was the problem, I would have appreciated a long sleeve), wind breaker, hat.
The Drive Activity: busy and noisy south of montrose

Dog beach Activity: There was a big red kite flying.

What did I eat pre-run? Two tacos and guac & chips from Rocky's on Clark. This was lunch.
How did I feel? Good. Cold. Slightly bored.
What do I like about running? Today? It was all about feeling good that I had the discipline to make sure it happened today.
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My friends and I had our Traditional Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner tonight. This was quite delicious, but went rather late into the evening. It's after 1am now and I'd like to just crawl into bed, but I realize I can't get behind on these blog posts. Everyday is some day in marathon training.

My friend Sara and I went to a Mosaic workshop this morning (yay!), so finally the mystic of the mosaic has been de-mystified a bit for me. We also made plans to get together and do a little mosaic-ing together. (yay!) So, yea, maybe I'll have photos to post of my mosaics soon.

But about the run? I felt good getting out the door, good starting to run. I had a sense that it was going to be long. And it was gray and cold and windy and I have no running buddy and I lost my mp3 player at the Old Town School and...yea. I did a lot of counting (my running mantra when I'm not talking and not thinking about anything productive). I count to one hundred, and then count to one hundred again, and again, etc. I have no idea how many times I do this. I would say most of the last 5 miles involved counting. Jeez. I need to get an mp3 player working again and start listening to some philosophy lectures. Or start running 6:30 min/miles and convince Matt to run with me again.

Overall, I feel good. I did all the runs in my first week AND I even respected the rest day. Tomorrow is a scheduled cross train day, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with that. Maybe I can swap it out with Monday.

Running really does tighten you up though, because of the knee jerk reflex. Did you know that?

Sleep at night, rest on Rest Days

Marathon training week: 1 of 18
Marathon plan: Rest

Do you ever feel, at night, before you go to bed, I'm too tired to do "x" thing tomorrow? And then you remember that between now and then you get to sleep and so you think, oh, okay, I suppose I can do "x" thing tomorrow...

Well, this morning I woke up thinking, I don't think I can run 8 miles tomorrow. I'm too tired. But then I remembered that today was a Rest Day. And then I decided that I would sincerely respect it as such and made plans to NOT attend a favorite West African Dance class.

Ya'll should be proud of me. Restraint is not necessarily what I'm most known for.

But if I wasn't going to exercise, I was going to think about exercising. So I ordered a new bicycle seat for my Pista. This one. It is much like the one I have on my road bike, which is quite comfy as bicycle seats go. And I read quite a bit from The Anatomy of Hatha Yoga which was quite fantastic and made me really excited about massage AND yoga AND Thai Yoga Massage! I love being excited about learning new things and learning old thing again and more thoroughly.

I also made this Cranberry Sauce With Port and Cinnamon for our Traditional Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner tomorrow. Though it doesn't quite look like the picture. I did the prep work for stuffing (like chopping onion and celery) and as much prep work as a I could for this Apple-Cranberry Crisp with Polenta Streusel Topping.

Oh! And for breakfast I made Scrambled Tofu and Potatoes! Yum! I AM training after all--a girl's gotta eat! And while I was cooking breakfast, Helen Money or Alison Chelsey was being interviewed on eight forty-eight. I love her songs Birds and Song for My Sister, which you can listen to on her website. Enjoy!

Run to yoga!

Marathon training week: 1 of 18
Marathon Plan: 3 miles

Time of departure: 5:20pm
Return: 5:53pm

Sunrise: 6:41am
Sunset: 4:31pm
Phase of the moon: Waxing crescent, 33%
Temperature: 34F. Cold!
Lake Temp: 50F

Route: From Yoga Now down the lakefront, back to yoga class. It's easier to do a yoga class after a 3 mile run than doing a WAD class after a run. Because there's less jumping!

Approx Distance: 3 miles
Running buddy: Just me.
Clothing: shoes, socks, yoga pants, long sleeve t, wind breaker, hat.

The Drive Activity: there were a lot of cars.

People tally, on the path:
0 Walkers
4 Runners, 3 of them were women, 2 of whom I saw twice
6? Cyclists, 5 men, 1 woman.
0? People with dogs

What did I eat pre-run? A salad. It was good.
How did I feel? Good. I started to feel like I had more control today; for instance, I could sense I was bopping along and then shift my stride so that it was smoother. I felt like I could manipulate more where the effort, or lack of effort, would occur in my body.
What do I like about running? It's a good way for me to check in with my body and means to gage how everything is working. For instance, I was feeling a bit of extra tightness or something behind my lateral right knee. And I had a sense that my left hip wasn't quite happy in it's socket. None of this was pain, and nothing would be noticed sitting on the couch, but while in motion I had more of an awareness of the inside of my body.

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These 3 mile runs feel almost ridiculous now, which is kind of cool. It's as if I don't want to get all sweaty and dirty my clothes for 3 miles. It takes me 2 miles just to feel warmed up, and then I only have 1 mile where it starts to be fun. :) Yet I understand their place in a training program. SOoooo...my compromise seems to have become: run to WAD, run to yoga. This way, I only get sweaty once each day! Plus, well, you know me, I love to cross train and do multi sport sorts of things.

It was dark though. I was thinking about safety and what is involved with being a woman out on the path. I was thinking, maybe I should get a foghorn and carry it with me. AND some pepper spray. Or maybe a foghorn would be enough. I kind of like that idea. But interestingly, it was most solitary women I saw on the path.

This was my first 3 mile run on the route where I usually do 6 miles. It was fun! Kind of like those days of school when you only go for half the time. It feels worth it, going to school, just so you can go home early.

Yoga was awesome. I'm really like this Ashtanga yoga stuff. Something about me I've realized is true: I like routine. Ritual. Consistency. I know knowing what's coming next. I also like not knowing what's coming next, if we're talking about life on a grander scheme, but I do appreciate a certain bedrock. I liked that about Army training and certain things about the Army in general. I like taking the monkey mind out of it and learning to do things in a flow. I like being able to witness the most subtle increases in strength, flexibility, knowledge and body awareness which is easier to do when the routine is constant from day to day.

I'm beginning to know the Ashtanga series a bit now. I'm able to make guesses about which posture is coming next, and sometimes I'm right! I feel my body is beginning to learn how to move into postures that 3 weeks ago it was very confused by and ignorant of. Oh, growth is so fun!

the beginning of a journey

Time to bring back the stats.

Marathon training week: 1
The plan: 5 miles

Time of departure: 7:30am
Return: 8:45am

Phase of the moon: It's waxing. There was a new moon...Thursday, I think?
Sunrise: 640 AM CST
Sunset: 432 PM CST
Temperature: 50F
Lake Temp: 50F. Brr. That's too cold for swimming.

Route: Down to Wilson on the lakefront and back up. I hugged the lake most of the time.
Approx Distance: 5 miles
Running buddy: Just myself
Clothing: I wore running shoes, socks, blue pants with white stripes, long sleeve t, wind breaker.

What did I eat pre-run? Oh, I don't think I ate anything. I forgot about this step.
How did I feel? Pretty good. Like I'm finding my running legs. They're a little sluggish about remembering how to run.
What do I like about running? Oh, I like that it takes me out of doors on beautiful mornings like this one.

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Last night I left my mp3 player at my dance class. I think. (I should see about getting that back tomorrow.) So this morning I was sans mp3 player. I am also without running buddy because Matt and I are currently having differences. He wants to run fast. I...well, I don't run fast. He wants to run at night. I want to run in the morning. I want to follow this marathon program to facillitate a successful run of the Rome marathon. Matt scoffs at marathon training programs. And so it goes. We're working out a compromise, but meanwhile, I'm in Week 1 of a training program.

Yay!

And so it is interesting to be running a route that is super familiar to me with nothing but my thoughts. And no one to compromise with or discuss changes in route...so today I stretched near the lake and ran along side it as soon as possible all the way down to Lawrence where the path turns inland a bit. I think, while I'm running, what is it to run without a buddy? What will it be to run this winter essentially alone? Where will my thoughts take me? Will it feel like a fun adventure when it's -2F plus windchill? Or will it just feel like a bad idea becoming reality? How much does the sharing of an event determine the essence of that event?

I don't know yet. But it's mornings like this one that remind me that this is without a doubt my favorite season, that even with the trees half empty this city is glorious, that the colors of burnt orange leaves against a deep blue sky are one of the most miraculous of color combinations and I want to say to someone, isn't this incredible? And I look around, looking to see if there is someone looking for me, looking to lock eyes and nod and smile.

The lake was a deep and glorious blue color, almost completely still. Certainly, it was flat. There weren't any waves, just a textured surface, as if made by the hand of an oil painter. Along the shore it did show like glass, dotted with some mallard ducks and seagulls with their beaks tucked in their feathers...

Anyhow, it was a beautiful morning, by anyone's standards.

Day 2: 3 mile run to WAD

Today I began to remember that a big part of the challenge of training for a marathon is finding the time. Or, shall I say, creating the time. I biked to work, worked, biked home from work. Sat down. And realized I had to be at my West African dance class in an hour. And I had to run 3 miles. And then meet up with a friend.

So I thought to combine commuting to dance and my run by running to dance!

My dance class is about 2 miles away, so with the help of google pedometer I figured out a little addendum. (yay! google pedometer!)

When I arrived at dance, the warmup had already started--so I had no break!--that was tough. Bike, Run, WAD = the new triathlon. It kicked my butt.

DAY 1: Rest Day

Today is Day #1 of Marathon Training. But this feels like a joke, because today is a Rest day. How silly, I first thought.

But then I got to thinking:

Anyone who is good at teaching you how to breath properly is going to teach you to exhale completely first. If you first clear out your lungs of stale air, a full deep breath will occur naturally.

It is best to eat when you are hungry, not when you are full.

My sister and her boyfriend tell me that, back in the day (of biblical times, I think it was) a day actually began with nightfall. First came nighttime and darkness, then came daytime and light. The light moves into the void. But first there was a void.

Perhaps it is only a coincidence, but our new year begins in winter, when much of life is hiberating and resting. Like an empty womb before the birth of a new life?

A fast, a period of time of giving up something, is commonly used by people as a way to begin a new spiritual journey.

And so as I had these thoughts I, of course, realized that it makes perfect sense to begin with a rest day.

(I still did do an Ashtanga yoga class...but it was a beginner class.)

Thinking about Rome...

This is the plan:

Marathon Training Schedule: Intermediate - I:
"Marathon Training Schedule: Novice 2
WeekMonTueWedThurFriSatSun
1rest3 m run5 m pace3 m runrest8cross
2rest3 m run5 m run3 m runrest9cross
3rest3 m run5 m pace3 m runrest6cross
4rest3 m run6 m pace3 m runrest11cross
5rest3 m run6 m run3 m runrest12cross
6rest3 m run6 m pace3 m runrest9cross
7rest4 m run7 m pace4 m runrest14cross
8rest4 m run7 m run4 m runrest15cross
9rest4 m run7 m pace4 m runrest11cross
10rest4 m run8 m pace4 m runrest17cross
11rest5 m run8 m run5 m runrest18cross
12rest5 m run8 m pace5 m runrest13cross
13rest5 m run5 m pace5 m runrest19cross
14rest5 m run8 m run5 m runrest12cross
15rest5 m run5 m pace5 m runrest20cross
16rest5 m run4 m pace5 m runrest12cross
17rest4 m run3 m run4 m runrest8cross
18rest3 m run2 m runrestrest2 m runMarathon"

Monday will mark the beginning of the 18 week training program for the Rome marathon. It begins with a Rest Day. How fun! Today though, Eric and I are planning on doing some running, hopefully more on that later.

I'm hoping to resume blogging on such mundane things as the weather and how my body feels and who else encounter out there. This idea of running a marathon in the spring and training for it over the winter began with the idea that 1) I want to do triathlons in the summer and so don't want to train for a marathon and 2) someday Eric and I would like to do an (heaven forbid I'm jinxing it) but an Ironman. Someday. While Eric has done 3 marathons, I have not done any and one must run a marathon or two BEFORE they swim/bike/run an Ironman. And last year we ran through the winter, driven by the novelty and the...oh, well, the challenge and adventure of doing something we thought a little ridiculous: running miles through slush and snow, crawling up bridges covered with ice, sliding down the other side. But this year, perhaps we need something more than just the challenge of "can we run through the winter? outdoors?" to get us outside, because we know we can.

Some runs I expect to be noteworthy: The 11 mile run will be on my 30th birthday. The 15 mile run will be the day after Eric's 29th birthday. Comparing last winter's temperature stats and this year's marathon plan puts the 18 mile run on what may be expected to be the coldest weekend of the year, ALSO the second weekend of a Thai Yoga Massage Therapy program I'll be attending, so it'll be challenge enough just to find the time for it. My 12 mile taper run is expected to be in Paris, France and my 8 mile taper run in Milan, Italy. And, of course, the marathon itself will be in Rome, Italy. Roma, Italia!

Yea. Okay, time to head out for my last pre-season run. (Sorry, Eric, I'm running late writing this...)

WAD update

I thought I'd mention here that I went to a WAD (West African Dance) class tonight and it was very enjoyable. We did a dance that I had done before in an Old Town School level 1 class. It's a slower song that is a "seduction" dance. There is a greater focus on the slighter, more isolated movements in the torso, and less in footwork and faster, more enthusaistic movements. It was good for me because I felt like I was able to focus more on dancing with the intention of it being a seduction dance (you know, trying to look pretty and graceful and whatnot) than trying to get all the moves. I also felt like I had a different idea of what the dance should look like, compared to some of the other dancers. It wasn't about, to me, being as enthusiastic as possible. There was something more than blatant exuberance to try express and convey. So this was fun and challenging in a new way.

Btw, I love WAD.

Uh...Do I still have this blog?

I can't even remember what color I left it.

Next month I'll be starting a marathon training program for the Rome Marathon in March and I would like to get back into the habit of writing about my runs. Trying to keep up with this summer's activities was just too much...

But the summer basically boiled down to this:

(This post is about me reconciling with universe who is watching and listening and is holding me accountable for whatever it is I say I'm going to do.)

Sundays: work, sometimes bikram, triathlons/road races
Monday: sometimes run, sometimes bike, work
Tuesday: sometimes run/bike, work, West African Dance
Wednesday: like Monday
Thursday: like Monday and Wednesday
Friday: swim in the lake with Eric, drink Vodka lemonades that beachtro after swimming....awesome
Saturday: long runs/bike


Batavia Sprint Triathlon: Awesome. Good chance I'll do it again next year

Springfield Tri, Sprint: Swimming in Lake Springfield sucks. I probably won't do it again

10K Proud to Run: Not bad. Let's face it, I"ll do it again, it's a tradition among my friends.

Muddy Buddy: It f*cking poured the night before and that morning. If Eric and I hadn't been sleeping in my tent, I'm not sure we would have made it there. I took a pretty bad fall down a hill. I had to carry the bike a good half of my biking legs. It would have been very cool had a group of our friends did it, but with just the two of us it was kind of goofy. Why was I carrying this heavy mud-caked bike?

Pleasant Prairie Triathlon, International Distance: Again, it poured until 15 minutes before the race was suppose to start. They delayed the start....and then everything was great! The water temp: awesome. Bike course: very nice. Run: Okay, so Eric had major complaints about the back and forthness of the run route, but it didn't bother me that much. I would consider doing it again, though I may just want to check out a different tri. Maybe shoot for a 70.3???? Depends on my schedule, time, and how crazy I'm feeling.

Chicago Half Marathon: IT SUCKED. I went to the Hideout Block Party the two days prior. I drank beer. I danced on asphalt. I stood on my feet, in the sun, til late at night.... My feet hurt before I even started running. It was f*cking hot. AFter 5 miles I was ready to be down. AFter 9 I didn't care. But there were 4.1 miles left. Ugh. It made me hate running. Nevernevernever go to a block party the days before a race.

Lately, I've been taking it easy with the tri-sports. Lots of WAD, increasing amounts of bikram........

And that's all I'm saying right now. I'm not editing this. I'm not looking it over. Grammar-spelling-flow-phraseology-snobs can deal with it. Matt. I just need to make peace with this silly blog so that when the weather starts to be unpleasant, I can write about running in it. That, my dears, is a good time had by all.

ha.

The New Triathlon: Run, Bike, Eat Falafel

Exercising makes me ornery. And it makes me need more sleep. But it also makes me feel good, so I keep doing it.

Today/Yesterday I was pulled from my slumber by a "party line" phone call from e&m. So Matt and I biked down to Eric's. We ran 6 miles or so in the hot hot sun. Salt rolled down my forehead into my eyeballs and it burned and stung. I need a headband for next weekend, I think. (International distance triathlon next weekend). We ate Falafel Sandwiches from Old Jeruselum. ($6.15 + tax and not worth it except I was hungry). And then biked down to 53rd and ate Falafel Sandwiches from Cedars. ($4.50 + tax which includes TWO halves of pita, 6? balls, french fries, and a little salad. Very cool). Then we biked back...stopping to watch some people at Ohio St beach...30 miles or so total bikage. Not that far, really, but we spent many many hours in the hot sun.

And so at 8:30pm or so I was ready for bed. Now here I am, it's 3:45am and I'm just waking up. It is the perfect hour for watching Perseid meteors burn up on their way through our atmosphere but it is cloudy here in Chicago and I can hear waves of rain falling outside my window, to say nothing of the light pollution. What would it take to convince a city to have a voluntary blackout (or at least brownout) to facillitate shooting star watching? Would that be possible? Such things could happen by accident in the event of a power outage. Intentionally in the case of...you know, like during WWII. But to see some shooting stars? I wonder if Mayor Daley likes shooting stars... If I were running for mayor.......

Anyhow, maybe I'll straighten up my kitchen and make a salad for tomorrow and try and get some more sleep before the sun comes up.

I've not been posting, or writing at all because...I just haven't had any time. Well, okay, really, I've been watching Seasons 1-4 of Friends. But ALSO, when you're exercising everyday and sometimes multiple times a day, you need a lot more sleep. And if you're not eating enough spinach, you get extra ornery (that's me) and you really just don't want to spread the bad vibes around.

Our last Triathlon is next weekend. Then it's just the Half Marathon in September...and then it's chill time until Marathon training (for the marathona di Roma) begins.

And I realize I still haven't posted about any Triathlons OR the Muddy Buddy so sometime I'll have to catch up. Or maybe not, and I'll just say this:

Triathlons totally kick ass. Single sport? Bah. That's for the wintertime.

a long run to clear the mind

My Favorite post-run food: A banana, peanut butter, hemp protein powder, and some kind of nut milk smoothie. I'd like to figure out exactly how much peanut butter and hemp protein to add to make it the ideal carb/protein/fat combo (you know, that's best for recovery). I'll add that to my list of things I want to do. :) The list has gotten quite long. Or, it will, once I can cross writing the list off my list.....

Matt and I went for a run. And while we decided that sprints or tempo runs are really what I/we need to be working on, spiritually/emotionally/psychically/mentally I (we?) needed a long run. Long runs are satisfying and fulfilling in a way that I was needing.

It was AWESOME. For two main reasons:

1) It was a beautiful route. See here. I tried to save it zoomed out, but I don't think that was working, so you have to zoom out. See how we went down to the Montrose hook and out on the pier!! Beautiful. The lake was like blue rippling satin in that blue-ish gray color I find so perfect.

2) I had a new idea for the book I want to write AND insight into the process of writing such a book. Of course, I have many ideas, so we'll see where this one goes. But I've been looking for a way of combining my interests and skills and this may do just that. This is exciting!

I've been reading more from The Triathlete's Training Bible. I loVE this book! It's a lot to take in when you're new to scientific training philosophy, but I love it. I related as best I could the training intensities as described in the book and basic periodization. This is the idea that while you're in your prep and base phase you have a greater volume of training than when you're in your build and peak phase when you have a higher intensity workouts but less volume. The biggest challenge Matt and I face is that we have two very different Lactic Acid Thresholds and it'll be a challenge to figure out how we can train together at our LTs. But I'm sure we'll come up with some workable solution!

I'm almost done with Chapter 4 - Intensity. Chapter 5 is about Assessing fitness, so this'll be fun and hopefully not too painful! Chapters 6 & 7 are Building Fitness and Planning the Training Year. I love this Triathlon sport! It's totally my thing! They teach you to plan a year in advance!!! How cool?!?? I love planning!

So, about our run. It was 8.2 miles plus 45 minute cool down walk. It was hot though not as hot as it'll get. Probably in the 80s? I don't know, I have no sense of heat right now. It was less than a Bikram yoga class. But it was hot enough that I ended up taking of my COTTON tank top and wringing it out. GROSS?! or COOL?!? Well, I had said something about needing sweat wicking/quick drying fabric and cotton being to HOT. Matt, as is his usual, wasn't even sweating, so he didn't understand, until, of course, I took it off and wrung out all the extra sweat. Then he understood. :)

There were lots of people out; grilling, hanging out, working out, fishing...lots of people fishing. The lakefront down by Montrose was littered with fire cracker/fire work remains and empty vessels of alcohol. It was pretty disgusting. The sky was clear and the sun was out until it set. The horizon was kind of hazy...

Training Update

Okay, so, well, I haven't been posting. And I'm starting to take some jibes about it.

I've been running 3 times a week, biking to work at least half the time, swimming about twice a week...going to bikram once a week, plus one other yoga class. West African Dance again started last week. And...I think I'm forgetting something. I also started a creative writing class AND I've been working a ton AND I've had some other stuff going on so I just haven't had the time I had before to write about running and such.

So...it's roughly one month to our second triathlon.

BIKE. My legs are definitely getting stronger on the bike. I have glimpses of what it feels like to be "one with the bike." I'm not there by any means, but I have glimpses that I can connect with this bike in a way I never did in 9 years of riding a mountain bike. It responds to me in a way that I didn't know was possible. (And I don't even have cleats yet for my clips). It's a beautiful thing. I will have to write about that sometime. Sword of no sword idea, if you know what I mean.

SWIM. Eric and I have been swimming in the lake on Friday afternoons (so far, it hasn't rained--that will be a test!) in our wetsuits. Last Friday it was super cold. Did I say cold? Yes, I mean cold. I don't know the temp, but for the first 100 yards, I had the feeling that I just couldn't bear to put my face in the water. And so I didn't. I swam backstroke at first so I wouldn't have to. But, well, you get acclimated. And the crazy part of me thrives on doing what I think is a little beyond acceptable. When we got out...Eric's feet and hands (he has sleeves, I don't) were purple. He's more dainty when it comes to the cold than I am, I wasn't all that purple.

Last Friday the lake was pretty choppy. As it was the week before that. So we swam at Ohio Street Beach. The Yellow Flag was out, which means something about E. coli. (Green being safe, Red being very dangerous and the beach is closed). But with the choppy conditions I swallowed a lot of water and so I wondered if I may come down with E. coli. So far though, I feel good. :) The first leg of the swim was easy. We were with the current. But the second leg--jeesh! "Do you feel like salmon," Eric shouted to me at one point. It took a bit for my numbed mind to understand he was talking about swimming up stream, swimming up waves and crashing down from the crest... It was wild. I felt little crazy being out there. Especially after an older experienced-looking swimmer got in, started swimming, and then got out. But, there was also the swimmer with the waterproof ipod...

RUN. Running is good. We did the Proud to Run 10K. If I have a large block of time maybe I'll write about that. Oh, and I have to finish my Tri post. Ug--so much to do. Running is awesome actually. I (usually) always start slow. But no matter how crappy I feel at the beginning, at the end of 6 (or whatever miles) I always feel good. I never feel sore. Unless we run sprints or something. I don't have any pain. One day I was feeling my IT Band, but that was just one day. I love massage! Massage, proper recovery, sleep, food, listening to your body, stretching, etc. It all works.

West African Dance. You know I love it. There's no doubt. And after one class I could tell I had seriously gotten OUT of WAD shape. Man, I was feeling it everywhere in my torso! Which is awesome. I feel more stable in my ankles while running, which I believe is attributable to WAD.

And that's all I have time for. If you want more posts, ya'll should comment or something...

My Bike-Affair!

Event: Bike
Total mileage: 18.8 miles
Ave speed: 13.2 mph
Max speed: 19.5 mph

Today I biked to work for the first time since the triathlon (which I still have to blog about). I need to/want to take my mountain bike in for a tune-up, and the road bike...well, we were having difficulties in our relationship. The problem? Well, first we were having derailer tension problems, then I was thinking it was too small for me, then the toe cage straps were on upside down... But I woke up early today. I started putting away laundry, and thought, this is stupid, do this later and bike to work! It's a beautiful day! So I rethreaded my cage straps and hit the road.

Yes, this bike isn't fitting me right, I concluded. How so? Like my center of gravity was too high, like I felt cramped behind the bars but uncomfortably thrust over them, like the angle in my knees wasn't quite right. And then a miracle happened--it is father's day!--and only my first 3 appointments were booked so I got out of work early--on a beautiful Sunday day when I had my bike--what joy! So I road down to Turin in Evanston and inquired for assistance with sizing my bicycle.

Mark helped me. I love Mark. He was patient and knowledgeable, and he smiled at my not-so-funny-Mary-style-jokes. He spent an hour and a half with me and his conclusion was that I didn't need another bike, but that I should ride this one, at least for this season. Incredible! I was so ready to be talked into buying a new bike, and said as much, so... Mark at Turin in Evanston is great.

Mark used a bunch of tools to measure my body. My inseam is shorter than the tool so we had to improvise that one. :) My arms are the same length. My torso is abnormally long for my legs, but this of course I already knew. Which means that I'm NOT a good candidate for a Women Specific Design bicycle because those are tailored to women with longer legs and shorter torsos. So it's a good thing I didn't win that Trek contest (I didn't, by the way. I finally found out).

He locked my bike into some contraption that allowed me to pedal. He adjusted that seat height, I had it set on the high end of acceptable. He measured my knee angle, and used a plumb line to figure out if my patella as over the pedal. He adjusted the angle and front-to-back of my seat. But the biggest adjustment was his suggestion of the removal of the handlebar extension that Deb, the women from whom I bought the bike, had had installed.

The problem with the handlebar extension was that it raised the handlebars above the level of the seat AND brought the handlebars back as the bar is on an angle. NOT GOOD. Because I needed them further away, and having them higher up was doing funky things to my mechanics. So for $10 the guys in the shop took them out. So much better! Then he watched me pedal and gave me advice on mechanics:

-Flatten the low back, as if I'm almost sticking my butt out.
-Support with the low back and core, not the shoulders and arms

Okay, so this bike fits me okay. It's on the small side, I'd probably perfer to stretch out a bit more, but it shouldn't cause me any injury. The main reason I want a different bike is that I'd like one with bigger wheels (so I can go faster, because fast is fun). The problem with my body is that I need 28" tube clearance or 48"/71-72cm frame, but I need 60cm in the horizontal direction and typically frames are made with the same measurements up-down and front-back. So I have a bike now with smaller wheels (which allows for the crotch clearance) and with the 10cm handlebar neck it's roughly 60cm horizontal. But...

Specialized makes bikes that have an angled horizontal bar, allowing for short leg-gers like me to straddle it, AND frames long enough to fit my long torso. After discussing with Mark my recent Triathlon, my biking history, and where I was thinking about going with this, his recommendation was to ride this bike this season (with the adjustments we made), then maybe next season consider getting a Tri or Multisport bike--with the bigger wheels! A "Multisport" bike is by Specialized that is basically a road bike with aero bars, which makes it more comfortable for long rides AND more maneuverable and easier to handle than a Tri bike. Tri bikes have a different geometry that put the rider more forward over the frame, supposedly putting more of the load on the hamstrings and less on the quads.

Mark and I walked around the shop and he told me lots of stuff about the geometry of different frames and the trends from one brand to another. It was awesome! He wasn't selling me anything! And he was super nice! (Unlike those Johnny Sprocket snotfaced-assholes). For the record, the guy who worked on my bike was super nice too. They weren't scornful in the way that so many Chicago-hipster-bicycle-shop-workers are.

So...basically, I'm ready to buy some shoes with clips and to get riding!!

First Lake Michigan Swim!

I've been meaning to sit down and write for awhile now. I started a blog about the Triathlon, but that's as far as it got... I guess I've been busy, though I thought I had simplified my life so I'm a bit confused about that. I have a way of falling into busy habits.

But I have to start somewhere!

Today was the first day Eric and I went swimming in the lake this summer. It was AWESOME. Swimming laps at a pool??? B-o-r-i-n-g! Swimming in open water??? Incredible.

I love the unpredictable-ness of water in it's natural state. Sometimes you turn your head to breathe and there is a wave there. Sometimes you ride up the crest of a wave and kind of slam down on the other side. I LOVE IT. There are cold pockets and warm pockets of water.

The lake was pretty calm today. There were waves, but they were gentle. The water temperature? CHICAGO SHORE...72CHICAGO CRIB...60 The visibility was incredible! We could see the ground the entire length of our swim. We swam 1 mile-ish from the Oak Street Beach. We saw minnows(!) which was fun. And I can see how swimming in open water would be so much more fun if there were pretty fish to look at.

I'm totally telling this story backwards...but I'm rusty. The other day I returned the wetsuit I had purchased prior to the Triathlon that had ended up being too large. Today I went to Fleet Feet and rented a Women's Medium-Small Ironman Triathlon. It felt perhaps a little snug in the crotch to neck measurement, but I think that is fine. IT IS SO MUCH FUN to swim in a wet suits (that fits). The added buoyancy is just...fun! And the coldness of the water? No big deal!

So:

Location: Oak Street Beach, Lake Michigan
Distance: 1 mile-ish
Time: No idea.
Water temp: CHICAGO SHORE...72CHICAGO CRIB...60 Not sure. I'm going to have to figure out the best sorce of information.
Visibility: We could see the bottom the whole time.
Wave action: Gentle waves. No big deal.
Buddy: Eric

Wildlife: Minnows

People: LOTS of people. LOTS of kids. At the beach. Only a couple other actually people swimming. Eric was disappointed by the lack of "hotties," I told him we could ride next time and go looking for them afterwards...maybe the "hotties" are up by the volleyball courts. There was a fire truck near the shore, some safety training going on, perhaps?

Post swim food: Take out from Garlic Chili Thai. I had the Lad Nar with tofu. FANTASTIC. They serve the fried noodles separately. Awesome. I'm ordering the same thing next time. No doubt. We ate on Eric's roof and my upper back got burned by the sun, but not too badly.

Perhaps tomorrow or Sunday I'll write a short blog about our first sprint day. It was awesome! And totally deserves a blog!!!! (it kicked Matt's ass, that's why).

My First Triathlon!

Blogging is a funny thing. I started with one purpose in mind (to hypothesize about all-weather runners, or something), which morphed into another (describing the weather and philosophizing about life on a winter running path, basically), which started morphing into something else...But I'm not sure what. Now that the weather has been pleasant I have been less inspired to write. I need to find another angle. I'm disappointed that I haven't written in the last month or so. It would be nice to have a record leading up to.......

MY FIRST TRIATHLON!!!


That's right! Eric and I did the Batavia Triathlon today!!! It was awesome. I'm in love. (Of course, I'm always in love with something.....)

The event broke down like this:



Friday night. I think I got 6 hours of sleep. 8 would have been nice, but the sun woke me up and I had some nervous energy.

Saturday. Ate a bagel with vegan cream cheese, I worked (4 massages), had an apple for lunch (not the best idea, probably), bought appropraite sunglasses (thank goodness!) and a water bottle, dinner at Dharma Garden, saw Lucy Kaplansky at the Old Town School (I love her!). I slept over at Eric's. I think we went to sleep at about 12:30am.


Sunday.

3:00-3:10am Wake up

3:30am Load up Eric's bike and head out of town

4:30am Pick up Eric's Tri Packet

5:00am Unload from car, walk over the chipping and marking station with bikes and trigear. Here we got our ankle straps with chips, had our shoulders marked with our race numbers, and the back of our calves marked with our AGES! It's rather interesting to be able to look around and see everyone's age. It reenforces in my mind the idea that age last little to do with the number. But more on that later.

5:30am-ish After "setting up our transition stations" (this is the jargon term for laying out your shit so that when you get back from the swim, you don't have to be searching through your backpack for your sunglasses), we went to the bathroom. This was fun. There's a long long long-ass line, but if you're a girl, you just skip the line and go into the women's bathroom (of course) where not only is there NO line, but there's an abundance of empty stalls! How fun! I wonder if some stars shifted in my astrological reading or something, because lately everywhere I go the men have the long line and I have no bathroom line (Shellac show, Propagandhi show...and apparently Triathlons too!). After I utilized the ladies room, I stood in line with Eric a bit...and right behind us was Mark McNeill! He is one of my favorite massage teachers and massage therapists of all time and he's an all around great laid-back guy. He's done quite a few tris and marathons and such at an elite level and it was great to see him. He really talked up this event.

I pretty much talked to everyone I was around, telling them this was my first time, and about how I was nervous, etc. And everyone was super nice, giving me words of encouragement, and asking me afterwards how everything was... Anyhow, I'm getting ahead.

So Eric's line was really really long. He said that all the urinals were open too, everyone was heading for the stalls. "Gotta get the shit out." Important stuff to think about for these sorts of events.

The big question of the hour for us was "to wetsuit or not to wetsuit." The water was definitely tolerable, but we had wetsuits, and it wasn't warm per se. So we decided to suit up.

5:55am. Back at the Transition zone. And....the Transition zone was closing. I had all these silly thoughts of not being in the right place at the right time. How silly! Of course with 500 people milling about, there's going to be someone telling them what to do!

And then everyone got in a long line roughly in numerical ordered, and every 5 seconds someone ran into the water. Two laps around (400m) the "facility" and out to the transition zone...Okay, now I'm finally trying to finish this blog in now Nov 2007...oh, dear. I was wearing a wet suit that was two big. I had bought that one at a scuba shop. It was a unisex shop (bad idea for someone with my build!). I returned it and bought an Ironman suit from Fleet Feet (a running/tri store), which proceeded to fit me very nicely for the remainder of the summer.

We changed into biking clothes. Went for a 13 mile bike ride, then ran 4 miles. What I wasn't prepared for, was how rubbery my legs would feel for the first 2 miles...

Anyhow, after finishing two more triathlons after this one, I know this one was really great. As awkward as the swim course was, the people were wonderfully friendly. The run course was very pleasant, along the river. The post-race deal was great too. There were some PT-type people there who were stretching people for free, everyone got a free beer with a tag on their bib, there was music...and it just had a joyous feeling to it! Yay!

And this is a very anti-climatic blog post. I apologize if you've read this whole thing. But perhaps that says something. For years (like, since I was a little kid watching my dad swim triathlons with binoculars) I wanted to do them. For (how many years?) I've been intimidated by them. But now? Not so much. Now I think, if I can do them, anyone can do them. How silly, right? In the end, they're not a big deal. You go out and do a little swimming, you put on some biking shoes and doing a little biking, you put on your running shoes....and, well, that's the hardest part, those first 2 miles of running. But everyone is feeling it then so it's okay. So you do a little run. You feel great, for a bit. Then you (I mean I) feel really cranky until I've had my nap...

:)

Fun Rain Run

Ooh. Now Blogger saves my drafts automatically. How fun!

Anyhow, I have totally not been keeping up with this. Perhaps I don't need it anymore? But that's how it begins, isn't it, the slide into inactivity? When you start thinking you don't need the universe keeping you accountable.

Tuesday I biked to work. (8 miles) It was a beautiful beautiful morning and I couldn't resist though I knew it was supposed to rain in the afternoon. It was beautiful ALL day until about 30 minutes before I biked home. (8 miles) But it was actually great. I figure you don't know if you would do something, you don't know what your limit is, until you do something and decide not to do it again. But I would definitely do it again.....

Hot Sun -- Cold, Cold Wind

Time of departure: 9:10am
Return: After brunch

Temperature: 51F, High of 62
Wind Chill: I don't know, but the wind was STRONG and COLD.

Lake Temp: Cold. In the 50s. Too cold to swim in, even with a wet suit.
Route: Matt and I met up and biked down the lakefront, meeting Eric by the Totem Pole at Addison Ave. From here we ran down to almost Division Ave and back.
Approx Distance: 6.5-7-ish miles

Running buddies: Eric and Matt
Clothing: Long pants, T-shirt, wind breaker. And this was really the right choice. I was hot during the run and wishing I was wearing shorts, but biking into the wind....MAN! It was COLD; I was glad I had the windbreaker.

What did I eat pre-run? Some dates and water. My favorite pre-run food. They are so easy for me to digest.
How did I feel? I felt like I haven't been running in awhile. And I haven't. Because I've been biking a lot, and I decided my legs needed a break from something, and I didn't want it to be cycing. I want to start blogging about my rides, but I've been busy. Through much of the run, I was carrying tension in my shoulders and across my upper back. Perhaps this is from all the biking? I have to get in the pool, I think that will help with that tension. I had some discomfort starting out on the lateral aspect of my left heel and the medial distal aspect of right tibia. Stretching after being warmed up pretty much took care of that. Then I felt pretty good until maybe mile 5 or 6 or so. Thank goodness for Matt's taunting, it really keeps me going, cause I was feeling poopy. Not from lack of glucose in the blood, just my legs were TIRED. But I swear they just kept running faster and faster. Were they getting me back for that NYC run?
What do I like about running? It keeps you honest.
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Environmental commentary: It was a beautiful sunny day. The sun was hot but the wind was cold. So depending on where you were or what you were doing, you were sweating or shivering. And that's all I have to say today.

Evening run with Eric - Take 2

Still catching up...

Time left: 6:30-ish
Running buddy: Eric. No Matt, his knees were busted.
Route: The usual

Environmental commentary: Oh yea, this run and last run had really nice running weather. There were people out enjoying it. It was all nicey-nice.

After run meal: Steamed Artichokes with olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice. Garlic bread with the seeded sour dough from TJs. Salad. Vegan Pesto with Farafelle noodles. And a Chianti I brought back from Italy. Oh, eating after running is just grand. Matt joined us, busted knees and all, and then carried my new coffee table up from my car. That was his exercise. :)

Evening run with Eric - Take 1

There's something not as inspiring to me about writing about running since the weather has gotten nicer. Or, maybe I've been consumed with cleaning and organizing my apartment (yes, I do this a lot, it is one of my hobbies, I think). Either way, I apologize to you, Eric, for not properly blogging these runs, as I know you were interested in seeing reality turn to print.

Time left: 6:05 pm
Buddies: Eric and Matt
Route: The usual 5.5-ish miles.

Eric's comment: something like, "you guys have it nice up here" regarding the lakefront running path. Yea, we do.

Post-run activity: I think this was when we ate the Vegan Deep Dish Pizza that Eric made for ME at Matt's place. Because Matt never gave it to me... It was good.

Beautiful Hill Run, to Wetsuit or not to Wetsuit

Days to Batavia Triathlon: 43

Time of departure: 9:30am
Return: after brunch
Sunrise: 5:52am
Sunset: 7:46pm
Phase of the moon: Waxing Gibbous, 89% of the Moon is Illuminated

Temperature: 70s
Lake Michigan Temp: 44F-51F Not warm enough for swimming yet.

Route: Down the lakefront to the Montrose Hill, over, over, over... then down to the Diner for brunch.
Approx Distance: Not sure, really. 9:30am-11am
Running buddy: Alan Watts. Then Eric at the hill. Bernie/Bernard laid out in the sun and read a book, can you believe it?
Clothing: Shorts and a T-shirt.
Lake Shore Drive Activity: Noisy.
People activity: There was a 5K walk/run going on on the path. It had something to do with brain tumors. There were lots of people out and about doing lots of outdoor things. OH! and there were cute little kids playing soccer. Darlings!

What did I eat pre-run? Some saltines with almond butter and cherry preserves. Weird? Yes, and not recommended. It's better to stick with the dried fruit.
How did I feel? Tired. Crappy. My legs felt tired from the moment I woke up, and they still do.
What do I like about running? Oh, god, don't ask me. Today was hard. I suppose I like that with the increased body awareness that regular exercise brings, you can better gage what things your body likes and what it doesn't like. Knowledge is power.
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It's a matter of constant contention, between Eric and I, of what time we're going to run on Saturdays, or any other day. I prefer to run first thing. I like to wake up, get my crap together, and head out the door. Am I a morning person? Perhaps. Increasingly so. Though certainly, I wasn't born a morning person (ask anyone in my family). However, over the years I've decided that the morning is the best time of day and if you sleep in, you miss it. But that's not why I like to run in the morning.

I like to run first thing because it gives me less of an opportunity to procrastinate getting out the door. I'm more likely to find reasons to NOT run when I have more time to think about it. But Eric always want to push it back... I'm not sure why other than to sleep more? But I wake up at approximately the same time everyday so it's no gain for me.

And waking up at 7am when you've been out til 2am does not a happy runner make. Especially when you spent many of those late hours in a smoky bar.

But so anyhow, enough griping...

It was indisputably a beautiful day. Blue cloudless sky, warm sun, gentle breeze; the whole paradise thing. There were lots of little kids groups playing soccer, and they were adorable. I am not one of those people who, when they see baby clothes, starts gooing and cooing about how cute they are. (Except maybe for those baby Teva sandals I saw at an REI store once). But generally that's not me. However, apparently a group of pre-school or kindergarten aged girls playing soccer on a field the size of my living room, being coached by their doting dads, is enough to tic my biological clock.

While I was running down the path, I noticed route markers and Gatorade stands. The people tending the Gatorade were very protective of their booty and came forward to warn me off; I think they were afraid I was going to snatch some from under their watchful eyes. The event was a 5K Run/Walk for some kind of brain tumor. At 10am, the race must have started because at 10:03am I saw the first runners heading north. They were followed by a pack of slower runners. I went under the bridge at Lawrence Ave, and when I came out on the other side I saw a mass of people walking and wearing white shirts, packed shoulder to shoulder across the road that runs through the lakefront park. The sea of white shirts flowed off into the distance as far as my eyes could see, a huge mass of people walking for, presumably, something they believed in and thought was important. That's a pretty powerful thing. Images of protest marches came to mind, but somehow this was different, having more of the mood of a vigil than a march.

______________________________________________

After picking up with Eric at the hill, he and I got to talking on the subject of WETSUITS: to get them or not to get them. Since we'll be swimming in the lake together, it makes sense to decide to do the same thing.

Pros to getting wetsuits:
-Increased bouyancy: makes for easier swimming and SAFER open water swimming
-You have a longer swim season in the lake (ie. can tolerate colder temperatures)
-It seems that unless you are an EXTREMELY proficient and experienced triathlon swimmer, it seems to be recommend and expected that you wear. The woman at Running Away Multisport looked at me like I was crazy when I talked about NOT having one (and they don't sell them there, so she wasn't trying to sell me one).
-The Batavia June 10th Triathlon will have water temps in the 60s. That doesn't sound inviting sans wetsuit.

Cons to getting wetsuits:
-They're expensive (this triathlon thing IS more expensive than just plain old running... Of course it is, you've got gear for 3 events!)
-It's one more piece of gear for one more hobby that I'll have acquired that I'll have to find room for.

To rent or to buy:
-Well, I need to figure out the exact cost of renting one, and for how long a rental period is, but it looks like we're both leaning towards just buying them. That way we can use them all the time until the lake gets warm enough to go without.

In the Early Morning Rain

Before talking about running, let's talk about breakfast. Last night I had the marvelous idea that I'd make pancakes if I didn't have to rush off to work. I left the New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook opened to the (vegan, of course) pancake recipe. FYI, vegan pancakes are vastly improved by adding blueberries to them.

A closeup of tasty blue berry pancakes...mmm. You see, I bought these blueberries at the Green City farmer's market last summer. I bought a big ole 10 pound box of them. Yes, I do like blueberries. I like good blueberries. These are great ones. And I froze them so I could enjoy them throughout the winter. Well, it's spring now and I realize I've been rationing them a bit too cautiously. Time to eat them all up!!! So, anyhow, they were delicious.

Okay, time for running talk...

___________________________________

Days to Batavia Triathlon: 45 Days

Time of departure: 7:00am
Return: 8:30am

Sunrise: 5:54 am
Phase of the moon: Waxing Gibbous, 73% of the Moon is Illuminated
Temperature: 42F
Dew Point: 44F
Chance of Rain/Thunderstorm: 80-100%
Lake Temp: 48-52-ish

Route: The usual lakefront route
Approx Distance: 5.5-6-ish miles
Running buddy: Matt (yea, Matt!)
Clothing: blue pants with stripes, neon green sweat wicker, purple windbreaker, army camo bandanna. yea, right, I know. What a sight, right?

The Drive Activity: Noisy. It was interfering with our conversation.
Dog beach Activity: I didn't pay attention.
People tally: I didn't pay much attention. There were a surprising number of dogs though. Cute athletic ones. And there were bikers. Bikers are hot, I've decided. Especially when it's raining.

What did I eat pre-run? Some dried apricots and some water.
How did I feel? Pretty good. Capable. My quads and Achilles tendons make their presence known, but they aren't a problem. They feel a little sore and tired, but also strong. At probably a 4 mile point, my proximal left Tibialis Anterior attachment on the tibia was twinging and the same spot but on the medial side of my right leg (so not the tibialis anterior), were twinging but not enough to cause a problem.
What do I like about running? It's as good a way as any to remember you're alive.
________________________________

I woke up early, before my alarms, in the hour of five. It was raining. Or could it be hailing? No, it couldn't be hailing. But the rain was hitting the window pane with more vigor than made me happy. Were we going to run in this? No, that would be silly. I turned over and fell back asleep.

Alarm number one went off. 6:30am. Ug. The benefits of jet lag have passed me by, I think, the ease of early rising, that is. Second alarm. 6:40am. Ug. It's still raining. Are we running in this? Should I text Matt...

What am I thinking?! Of course we're running in this. Of course he'll be there at (7:00am + x), get moving, Mary!! And so began the morning scurry. What is the temperature? Is this a warm rain or a cold rain? Where are my pants? Oh, where are my pants. Socks? Sports bra? Still in the laundry basket. Windbreaker? Long sleeve sweat wicker? What the hell is up with my hair? I need a bandanna, where's a bandanna. Oh, here, on the floor. That'll work. Brush my teeth. Wash my face. Eat something. What?! Oh, apricots, yea, that'll work. Drink some water! Where are my keys. Oh, where are my keys. Ah, a spare set on the hook! What else, what else... Shoes! Where are my shoes. In the closet? No, of course not. Under the table.

Ah.....

Out the door, and it's 7:00am.

Yes! I made it on time.

Loving that Discipline

Time of departure: 7:05am (See, Matt, it's not personal. I'm even late leaving to meet Alan).
Done: I stopped running at 8:05 at Broadway Ave.
Temperature: It was 52F when I got back.
Lake Michigan Temp: In the 40s.

Route: The usual, but straight to the lake on Ardmore, to the lake, down the path, over all the bridges (for some minor hills. In Chicago, you gotta take what you can get) over the Montrose hill, back north.
Approx Distance: 5.5-ish
Running buddy: Alan Watts. Matt's knees are bothering him.
Clothing: Army shorts and sweat wicking t-shirt
The Drive Activity: I didn't really notice it. Alan Watts was whispering his sweet-philosophical-nothings in my ears.
Dog beach Activity: I don't recall.
People tally: There quite a few people out. I didn't recognize anyone.

What did I eat pre-run? Some water and some dried cherries.
How did I feel? Kind of slow and heavy. I could feel that my legs were tired from the biking I've been doing.
What do I like about running? It's a catalyst for meditation, for discipline of the mind.

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I'm going to blame it on running through the winter. (Also, of course, the accountability of a running buddy and a running blog). But habitually getting out the door, without debate, when the temperature and conditions make it an unreasonable thing to do, to go for a run; this strengthened my mind. Doing something when you don't really want to do it, but without having to argue with yourself to get moving, that is powerful.

Matt again was unavailable due to knee pain. But I decided last night I was going to go running as usual. I woke up early as I'm still having a bit of a jet lag thing going on. And when the hour rolled around to 6:45am, I got ready for my run. I habitually scurried around, finding socks in the laundry basket, my mp3 player tucked under something, and my car key on the hook. I had to move my car before street cleaning when I was done with my run. There was no question of, do I feel like going for a run? Do I really want to run? How about I sleeping in and running later? This voice was non-existent as far as I could tell, it had fallen silent after months of being ignored. And besides, my body wanted the feeling of turning over the earth, breathing in the air off the lakefront, and the enjoyment of those post-run endorphins in my blood.

It is probably best that I have a set time that I go out the door. Because with this time constraint, the thoughts in my head are all about getting out the door on time. Like rushing around before you go to work, you don't stop to think, do I want to go to work? No. You just go. There isn't room for those nagging thoughts that slow you down and keep you from getting what you really want.

For years I had had elaborate routines to get out the door, with marginal success. The night before I'd set out all my running clothes, hoping to make it easier for me. But I could always talk myself into one more push of the snooze, one more moment with my pillow. Just one more. And so running never became the habit I always thought I would enjoy it to be.

It was a beautiful morning for a run. It is too bad Matt was not able to make it. The sky was clear and sunny. The air was cool. If I had checked the weather, I probably wouldn't have worn shorts, but I didn't regret it. It was invigorating. When I was at my stretch point, I observed all the dew drops on the leaves of grass, the budding leaves on the trees. The crabapple trees are budding little pink buds. They are one of my favorite trees, at least in this country and season.

I timed myself. Even this demonstrates the discipline I've developed over the last months. I decided I would time myself before I left the house. But when I started running, I felt heavy and slow, my legs tired from the 900% increase in cycling over the last 3 days. A perfect opportunity for me to decide to time myself a different day when I was running faster. But the decision had already been made. It broke down like this:

7:05am Left house/started running
7:18am arrived at stretch point
7:23am left stretch point, resumed running

at the 0.0 mile marker I started timing myself. At the 1.0 mile marker, it was 9 min 40 sec. Not too bad, really, considering I felt I was going super slow.

down the path, over the hill, around, over the hill (I paused one minute on top to take in the scene. It's beautiful up there), back up north...

at the 1.0 mile marker, I started timing myself again. At the 0.0 mile marker, it was 9 min 41 sec. Same pace. Still felt slow, still was slow, but I'm okay with that.

Stopped at 8:05am at Ardmore & Broadway. Which means, total time spent running was 54 minutes. At a pace of 9 min and 40 sec per mile...... d= (1 mile/9.6min)(54 min) = 5.625 miles

I felt like I really kept the same pace throughout (which I don't always do) but I think this is a pretty good measure. Also, this perfectly corresponds with what I had figured by using the gmap pedometer.