Fun Blogs

Can I just say that this chick is hilarious? These shoes exist in real life. I really enjoy her fitness/nutrition blog. You probably will too . . . Shedding It & Getting It.

Go! St. Louis Half Marathon Nike+ Challenge

I created a motivational challenge for Nike+ users training for the half marathon in April. Two people have joined so far! One more than I hoped for! Hopefully more users will join in on the fun! I'm so excited, notice my use of exclamation points!

Meetup Run

Two realizations today. Runners are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, and I run super slow. This morning I met with some of the members of the Chicago Running Meetup Group to run along the lakefront. The group leader set the distance and pace, which everyone agreed would be 5 miles at 10:00. I knew I could do 5 miles, but not at 10:00. My best pace is about 11:30, but I tried to hang in as long as possible. After about half a mile I fell behind the group! Thankfully, one of the other runners stayed back with me. I felt bad slowing him down, but he said he had a sore knee and wanted to take it easy anyway. I hope he wasn't just saying that to make me feel better! We ended up doing about 4.5 miles in all. After we met the group on their loop back, another runner stayed back and finished with us. Very nice group of people, everyone's skill level is definitely more advanced than mine, but I will definitely run with the group again as a way to push my self.

Half Marathon Is On!

12 weeks until the half marathon. It kind of snuck up on me. Today I printed off the training program from the race website, started counting the weeks backwards and realized this is week 1! I compared this training program to the one on the Runner's World website; I definitely like this one better. Runner's World's program is a combination of time and miles. I prefer just miles. Weeks 9 and 10 should be interested since I'll be on a mini vacay in Vegas. I'm researching a run on the Strip. My main concern is whether it is safe to go alone. None of the girls I'm going with like to run. Bummer. I'm thinking if I go early enough in the day, I can avoid many of the tourists on the sidewalks. I may just adjust my off days to fit in my miles before and after Vegas. I think the mileage is attainable. The timing is perfect; we've been having 30 degree weather lately which I'm comfortable running in. I'm slowly weaning off the treadmill, yay!

Cabin Fever

With a gym membership, I've been able to keep up my mileage during winter. But, Bosley the dog's workouts have been suffering! His warm weather schedule consisted of a quick two miles in the morning, four days a week. With frigid temps and icy roads and sidewalks, he gets a mere walk around a couple of blocks in the mornings and the evenings. Before I started running, he had behavioral issues, mostly due to boredom. He was destroying my shoes and one day he ripped and chewed through the entire arm of my love seat! He's pretty energetic and needs an outlet to burn it off. Doggy daycare is great, but expensive, so he only gets taken there once in a while. We both benefit from getting out there for a run, and it's free! I can see his energy level is starting to ramp up since we haven't been on a run together lately. Today I bit the bullet and took him out for a run in 24 degree weather. I'm going to have to sacrifice a few more cold mornings to stave off the little terror I know he has the potential to become

The St. Paddy's Day 5K

I was a bit disappointed when I realized the Shamrock Shuffle 8k conflicted with a work event. St. Paddy’s Day 5k to the rescue! I scoured the CARA schedule and finally decided on running this 5k in March as my pre-half marathon race. An 8k or 10k was my preference, but none were scheduled in Chicago before April. Doing a 5k will be better for me than no race at all before the half. A little race warm-up. The St. Paddy's Day 5K Run/Walk & Leprechaun Leap route is along the lake, and in true St. Patrick's day fashion, the post-race party is at a nearby pub.

Treadmill Update

Running on the treadmill has been going great. I like the fact I can practice speed work without feeling like an idiot. I never tried it outdoors because I thought people may think I had a problem if I suddenly broke out into a sprint for no apparent reason. I'm comfortable up to the 5.5 speed. I feel like I'm pushing it, but not overdoing it. I run between 4 and 5, and when a 'powersong' comes on, I increase to 5.5, run the entire song, then decrease back between 4 and 5. My workout is between 45 minutes and an hour. I want to take full advantage of the gym membership, so I've been doing arm weights 2 or 3 times a week. I run for 10 minutes to warm up, then using 8 pound weights (I drop down to 5 in the middle of sets if the 8 is too much) do 3 sets of 10 bicep curls, tricep curls, and flies, then hop back on the treadmill for 4 or 5 miles. I'm glad I've been able to adapt to the treadmill, but I'm still ready to get outdoors!

Shamrock Shuffle No More

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! The new year started off with a bone-crushing blow. Registration for my first race in 2010, the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k opened on January 1. I went in to register and realized it is on the same day as an important work event I have to attend. I'm so disappointed. My next scheduled race isn't until April. I'm on the hunt to find an earlier race.