Last 2 Runs...

Gonna keep this short and sweet.

Went on a run on Thanksgiving that started out as a short run and ended up a little bit longer then planned. The smell of turkey was in the air the entire run. Here's the route I did along the Prairie Path.

Total Miles: 4.5 miles
Total Time-?? Accidently deleted time
Pace: pretty fast

Then again on Thursday the 29th I made myself finally go out on the road again. I had been so tired from working Black Friday and the days following. I really only wanted to do a short run, until a friend of mine told me to do a longer run, so I ended up doing my Eola run from home.

Total Miles: 5.8 miles
Total Time - 42:44 out-22:38 back-20:06
Pace: 7:22 min/mile

Slacking...

<p>I promise to actually get something up on here soon. Its been a crazy week in the retail world and its not getting any easier with Black Friday coming. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, in case I dont get a post up by then. Happy Running everyone!

New Night Run

Saturday Night's Run

After having a stressful day yesterday, I managed to get a bunch of stuff done today, but was tired from running around everywhere. I knew in the back of my head that I posted on here that I was going to do a long run today, so I did. It was a quiet run from my place down Diehl to Hwy 59 and back. Once again I managed some really good negative splits.  Here are the stats:

Total Miles - 8.6
Total Time - 67:07
Pace - 7:48 min/mile
Temp - 63*, S 15-25 mph winds
YTD Miles - 194.0 (365 was year goal)

Splits: 4.3 miles each way

Home to Eola - 20:00
Eola to Hwy59 - 15:26,  Total time-35:27,  Pace-8:15 min/mile

Hwy59 to Eola -14:39
Eola to Home - 17:08, Total time-31:47, Pace 7:23 min/mile

Workout After:
50 Situps
30 Pushups
35 Flutter Kicks
35 Crunches
25 Diamond Pushups

Gear:
UA Storm RPM Spine Shoes
Nike Basketball Shorts
UA HeatGear Compression Tee
FA Cloud Layer
EB Headlamp
Bear Grylls Knife
1 water bottle

(Check previous posts below for gear websites)

Breaking Point

My body has gone through so much over the last few days, that when I woke up until now it is utterly sore beyond belief. I decided to take the day off and try to rest as much as possible today. So when I came home from work i completely crashed. I was intending to do some errands but my mid afternoon nap went a lot longer then expected, and I missed a beautiful day to go run.

Hopefully if I can get my butt up early enough to take care of the things I wanted to do today I can get out and enjoy the supposed 70 degree day we are supposed to have on Saturday. I want to try to push to 7-9 miles, since my last few have been shorter, its time to push myself a little and go the longer distance. Well I hope my body and mind feel up for it tomorrow. Talk to you soon.

Happy Running

Oops..I did it again.

After last night workout and run with Bobby, I was pumped all day to do it again because I felt so good today. I didn't manage to lift like we did yesterday with his weights but I was still really sore before I hit the road. The trail was so peaceful and quiet, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone without a headlamp, knife and hand to hand combat skills. My runs through the woods aren't for the faint of heart. Then I came back and finished up my situps and then clipped my kitties nails.

Well, tomorrow I hope to continue my streak of running, it would be 5 days in a row, if I sneak one in and I'm sure I will.

Happy Running Everybody!

Thursday Night Trail Run

Total Miles - 2.5
Total Time - 19:04
Pace - 7:37 min/mile
Temp - 35* no wind

YTD Miles - 185.4

Workout Before:
Tri Pull Down w/band - 15/15/15
Pushups - 45reg/15diamond/20diamond
Pullups - 12wide/12reg/11wide
Situps - 35/25/20
Plank - 1 for 75 sec

Workout After:
Situps - 30

Gear:
UA Storm RPM Spine Shoes
UA Fleece Pant
UA Green Catalyst T-Shirt
FA Cloud Layer
UA Hat
UA Run Gloves
Bear Grylls Knife
Timex Ironman Watch
EB Headlamp

Night Trail Run!

Wednesday's Trail Run at Night

Total Miles - 2.5
Total Time - 20:07        out-10:59 back-9:07

Pace - 7:46 min/mile

Weight - 164.4#
Temp - 41* 3mph wind
YTD Miles - 182.9

Gear:
UA Storm RPM Spine Shoe
UA Shorts
UA Run Tee
UA Run Gloves
EB Headlamp
Fridley High School Basketball Hoodie


Workout Before:
Pullups - 10Wide/12Mid/8Curl
Cleans - 10 @ 72.5#
Bench - 12/12/10/10 @ 112.5#
Rows - 12/12/12 @ 102.5#
Curls - 10/10/10 @ 62.5#
Tris - 10/8/6 @62.5#
Delts 10/10/10 @ 62.5#

Workout After:
30 Pushups
5 Pullups

Election Coverage

I know most of you are glued to your TVs, I've been enjoying the coverage on NBC. Not much else to say but enjoy the excitement tonight. Go USA!

Rainy River Run

Tuesday's Rainy Run along the Fox River

Waterfall near Hollywood Casino in Aurora

Total Miles - 6.9
Total Time - 54:09 
out-27:33   back-26:35
Pace - 7:50 min/mile
Temp - 37* rainy & overcast 12mph wind
Weight - 166.0 lbs.
YTD Miles - 180.4

Gear:
UA Storm RPM Spine Shoes
UA Leggings
UA Run Pant
EB Long Sleeve Tee
FA Soft Shell Jacket
UA Run Gloves
iPhone & headphones
1 water bottle

Not too much to mention, today's run was cold, windy & rainy. It was nice having the parh conpletely clear because of the conditions. Only saw 2 people, and that was when I was by the casino. Not much wildlife either, just saw a couple ducks in the river and squirrels in the park.

My favorite part of the whole run was the smell by the casino. The whole area was scented with fried chicken, it was heavenly. Which I now have a serious craving for some chicken now. Maybe if I make some, I'll post my recipe on my Hobby Corner Blog.

Here are some pictures of the run:

Night Run!

Monday Night Marywood Run

Total Miles - 4.2
Total Time - 32:33   out - 17:39  back - 14:53
Pace - 7:45 min/mile

YTD Miles - 173.5

Weight - 167 lbs.
Temp - 44*


Gear:
UA Storm RPM Spine
UA Run Pant
UA Leggings
UA Run T-Shirt
UA Wind Jacket
FA Cloud Layer
EB Headlamp
Timex Ironman Watch

Another Blog?

Yes, I'm going to attempt to keep up with another one. If your interested in cooking, woodworking, gardening or anything else random I come up with to do, keep an eye out for my page.

Ronnie's Hobby Corner

Exercise Calendar

Here's a look at my workouts over the past few weeks.

Run with Bobby!

Thursday Swamp Preserve Run with Bobby.

Total Miles - 2.6

Total Time - 20:11

Pace - 7:45 min/mile

Temp - 45* 10 mph wind

YTD Mileage - 169.3 miles

Gear:

UA Storm RPM Spine Shoes

UA Run Pants

UA Long Sleeve Tee

FA Cloud Layer

Jack Daniel's Mesh Trucker Hat

iPhone + headphones

1 water bottle

Here are a bunch of photos that Bobby and I took:

Spooky Woods Run

Halloween Night Run Route

Total Miles - 5.5
Total Time - 42:50
Pace - 7:46 min/mile

Gear:
UA Track Pants
UA Charged Cotton
FA Cloud Layer
UA Storm Spine
iPhone + headphones
1 water bottle
Suunto Watch t3c



Good sprint down hill past Broadway.
Lots of geese in Memorial park, used tunnel
Cop blocked trailhead and had to improvise
Passed two sets of 3 kids, neither of them was dressed up, just up to trouble.

Sunday Sunset

Sunday Night Run Route

Total Miles - 8.8             Total Time - 71:16               Pace - 8:06 min/mile

1st Mile - 8:16                 Last Mile - 7:45             Out - 36:42   Back - 34:34

 After watching the Bears come back to win against the Panthers, I attempted to watch the late games but neither the lackluster effort of the Cowboys to start the game against the Giants, otherwise my only other option was the Cheifs/Raider game, no thanks. So I decided to get outside and run.

Moon over Bridge

The temp had started to dip by the time I made it outside around 5 pm. The temp was around the upper 40s for the start of my run. I had mapped out a path on the Prairie Path heading east and ending just past 88 by the kids store. It ended up being one of my longer runs in a long time.

Running towards a rising moon and away from a setting sun. Battling or Fighting Spheres as I mentioned in the video. Enjoy!

Squeezed In Another Run

So this morning I managed to sneak in another run right before I went to work. Once again, I just run down the IL Prairie Path down to Indian Trail. It was the same route that I did yesterday, but I smoked my time, cutting almost 4 minutes off. With the music pumping through my headphones, helped me keep my fast pace. After the run I made sure to chug a EAS protein shake.

With my early work schedule tomorrow, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a run in before work, but I'm gonna try to make sure I do yoga and then go for a run after my dentist appointment.

Happy Running everyone!

Total Miles - 2.5
Total Time - 17:48    out-9:03  back-8:44
Pace - 7:07 min/mile


143V

Run for a Cause!!

Tuesday's Run Route - Run to the River Lot

Total Miles - 4.3
Total Time - 38:45  out-19:54 back 18:51
Pace - 9:00 min/mile

Wednesday's Run Route - Run to Indian Trail

Total Miles - 2.5
Total Time - 21:31 out-10:57 back-10:34
Pace - 8:36 min/mile

The last few days have been some of the toughest ones ever. So far the only way to get a clear head was to go for a run. Having not really done to much at all over the summer, makes me very disappointed. My year-to-date total is 149.9 miles. Which is well below what I wanted to be at so far this year, and my 2 races are much less then I wanted to do. With new found energy, I've been hitting the pavement hard this week and hoping to avoid previous weeks, where I end up following them up with nothing is a thing of the past. I still plan on trying to qualify for an Ironman Triathlon  by the time I'm 35, now I just have a little more work to do.

I am also hoping to find some causes to run for. My obvious first few choices are anything for Mental Health, Concussion Awareness and Rehab, & Cystic Fibrosis. If any of you have any specific runs or charities for either of these please post below. I'm also up for any other 5K/10K/Half or Marathon that would support a worthy cause. If there are any runners who have been doing this for awhile and have good ideas for fundraising, please let me know.

As many of you know Vanessa has been overcoming her head trauma injury, but still has a long way to go. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. She is the kindest and sweetest girl I've ever meet, and has unfairly had to battle so many things that she never deserved to deal with. Keep her in your thoughts. I run for her.

Sunday Run

My Sunday morning run. Ran with some headphones and enjoy the cooler winds that were blowing the entire time. Overall, a very nice run down Indian Trail Rd. to Eola and past my new favorite horse farm.

Total milage - 5.75 mi
Total time - 46:58
Out - 24:19 Back w/ break - 22:38
Pace - 8:09 pace

Also knocked out 55 push-ups so far today.

Fantasy Video and 1000 Views!!

Here's the link to my Weeks 1 & 2 Video. Also thanks to everybody, I'm gonna make it over 1000 page views!!

Weekend Runs

I managed to get a couple weekend runs in one Saturday and one on Monday. Still don't know how far they were I'll find out that tonight.

Here are some notes I wrote down about Satruday's Run. May not make any sense, but at least I'll know what it means and it can help me remember how that run went. Here you go:

Total Miles - 6.9
Total Time - 55:41  out-27:53 back 27:48
Pace - 8:04 min/mile
# - 169.2
Temp - 77* 30% Humidity 2mph NW

Started off chasing biker on PPath
Lots of Cattails along the river
Heat hit me hard to start
Quick pace
Stops at Crossing
Lots of Wildlife; bunnies, butterflies, squirrels & birds
All the way to River Rd, Construction
Someones dog wanted to run with me
Hispanic Festival and Carnival in parking lot.
Boat on the river made some calming waves on the shore

40 Pushups before run
35 Pushups after
10 Pullups

Monday's Run

Total Miles - 2.5
Total Time - 19:25  out-9:59 back-9:26
Pace - 7:46 min/mile

Draft Board

Here are some shots of the draft board. A little late but oh well. Fantasy Video should be up on Sunday.

A Day for Andrea!!

An idea inspired by my Aunt Janet, turned into a bittersweet day. Vanessa and I are so grateful that Meleah was able to get a new pair of lungs to finally have the chance to breathe. At the same time we know someone or in this case a family had to lose a daughter. We all thank Andrea for being a donor, and our hearts go out to her family on what would have been her 17th birthday. You can check out all the other people flying balloons around the world for Andrea, here.

I'm a donor, are you?

Challenge failed!

Yesterday I challenged myself to do a short run before work. I did wake up to my alarms, but I didn't get out of bed. At the time, my stomach was not doing very well and continued to bother me most of the day. Also my allegries were really asking up so it was hard to breathe.

Excuses, Excuses!

Maybe by some miracle I'll actually wake up and get up tomorrow, even though I work 2 hours earlier then I did today. Well I'm going to make myself do some pullups and pushups before I go to bed, maybe that will carry over into the morning and motivate me out the door and onto the trails.

Happy running everyone!!

YTD Totals

So far in 2012, I have ran 127.9 miles. It's a much lower number then what I was hoping to have by this point in the year. I've got a lot of miles to make up if I'm going to be anywhere near my New Year's Resolution of 500 miles. Only 372.1 miles to go!!

Cat Video...

I have started producing a cat video of our little friends. I figure cat videos can drum up a lot of attention and I've got some cute kitties. Here's an uneventful preview:

I Challenge Myself To....

I challenge myself to run the route I did today, tomorrow morning before work. If I get up at 10 am I'll have plenty of time to get to work at noon. I ran west on the prairie path, taking a shortcut through the neighboring parking lot of one of the apartment complexes on my street which is next to the path.

Down the path and crossing over Church St. and underneath the dense canopy of the forest trail, which made it feel much more humid then it actually was. Coming to a clearing of trees you get to feel the cool air for about 35 seconds before being engulfed by the tree cover. Sprinting all the way to the northern edge of the trail on Indian Trail Rd. Then turning around and picking up stride in hopes of cutting 2 minutes off my time on the way back.

Zooming down the trail with the dark night looming,  I was consistently checking my 6,  I was always making sure it was clear. It makes you go so much faster when you just pretend that someone is chasing you through the woods, as long as you keep your form. The way back was a LOT faster, and was under a beautiful sunset sky of pinks, purples, and blues. It felt good to go fast and to get a good sweat in, in such a short time. Well here are the numbers:

Distance - 2.5 miles
Time :19:08, 10:19-out 8:49-back
Pace - 7:39 per mile
Temp - 75*
Hum - 53%
Wgt - 172.5 #

Purple Balloon Release for Andrea

My cousin, Meleah, received a double lung transplant from Andrea Cleveland, who would have turned  17 this Saturday, Sept 8. Take a picture of yourself releasing a purple balloon by 1pm and post here with your name and location. Thank you for your support.

Coming soon...

Work on Week 1 Fantasy Football Video is underway. We will have a Draft Breakdown, Trivia, Highlights and a Field Goal! Look for it next week!

Follow me @rondog24 on Twitter
Youtube Channel: boatonthewater
Facebook - Profile

Also should have my Year-to-Date mileage in the near future.

Last Saturday's Run

Took Molitor down to Church and went north over the closed bridge over Interstate 88 and through the construction on the other side. Once over I wove my way threw corporate warehouses and small start-ups. As I reached the top of warehouse hill I could see a few houses and a narrow counrty road would be my path. Having to jump from the ditch to the road as cars came by became a point of focus to distract myself from the steep climb over another bridge crossing back south over 88. I passed cute small houses packed together in the neighborhood behind the Church St. Park. Then I found myself home.

The run had some mist sprinkled in throughout the entire run. Which felt amazing and kept me cool

Here's my route.

Distance - 4.5 miles
Time : 39:07
Pace - 8:41 per mile

Fantasy Football Video

Check me out throwing out some football knowledge.

Just click here

3 Days, 2 Runs, 1 Tired Guy

On Thursday,  the 23rd, I did an interval run at night, along the river on the Prairie Path. Having the only light I could see being the lighter colored rocks in the woods makes you move a little faster. Broken into 4 sprints, here are the times in order; #1 (1.5 miles )12:32, #2 (0.9 miles )7:29, #3 ( 0.9 miles) 7:04, #4 (1.5 )10:22   Here's my route. In total  4.8 miles, 37:29

 In the middle of one of my breaks, I decided to shoot a little video for my fantasy football video blog.

Then on Saturday, I went for a hot midday run from home  along Indian Trail Road, all the way to Eola.  Temps topped around 92 degrees between 3:30-4:30. It was hard  to not focus on how dry my mouth was getting. I would give myself a mouthful of water every 3-5 minutes, to make sure I didn't over heat. Didn't see any other runners out, so once again I am either the most extreme distance runner in the area or the dumbest. The out was around 2.9 miles which I did in 24:44 and my back time was 23:35. Nice negative split! Here's my route.
In total 5.8 miles, 48:20.

Tennis, please!

On Saturday I got to do something that I hadn't done in awhile. I was finally able to have some time and someone to play tennis with. My buddy, Jim, invited me up to the local high school courts by his place. 

Before I left, I had checked the radar and I could see that there was a storm coming, but it looked like we would still be able to get in some good swings. The drive out was uneventful and no rain. By the time we started walking out to the courts it was starting to sprinkling. 

We were able to warm up but as soon as we started into playing a set it started to rain a little harder. As we played the wind picked up and well as the humidity. Then all of a sudden, I felt a really cold breeze and the humidity dropped and the storm got angrier. The rain turned colder and harder, then into very small hail. The rain started coming don in sheets, but we continued to play. Having to account for 50mph gusts made the match interesting. We finally had to suspend play, because there was about a half inch of water on the court and on a soft serve or a ball with any kind of spin would just die in the water.

Today I'm watching a little Olympics, right now its the Men's Gold Medal Tennis match between Roger Federer and Andy Murray. I plan on doing my quick circuit routine of Pushups, Pullups, Planks, Flutter Kicks, Curls, Flys & Situps, before I go for a run. Not sure how far I will go or even where, but i need to go for one. Anyways, hopefully I'll be back on later tonight with my run info.

I'm the worst Blogger ever!

Sunday, July 27th
Another Run with Bobby, this one was on the Prairie Path W1, as well as many more to come.

Distance - 4.5 miles
Time - 36:21=total, 19:03/out, 17:17/back
Pace - 8:04

Tuesday, July 31
After going to Hollywood Casino and stuffing myself on the buffet then watching Vanessa win big, then proceeded to refuse to walk away from the machine as it took all her money. Needless to say I needed to go for a run.

I decided to head east on the Prairie Path E1. Yesterday I dicovered the Woodland Swamp County Forest Preserve with a trail. It ends up onto Felten Rd. which ends up back at the path. The only problem with the prairie path is the buzzing from the electrical wires, it gives me a headache if I'm under it too long. So I sidetracked and on the way back home I cut through a park up to Molitor and head back home. Overall it was a fairly short run, but I pushed it and it was nice to get back out.

My calendar is now full of days to run. Since we've moved into the new place I have been putting things in my sight line to remind me to do pullups or pushups. I've noticed my self feeling stronger and having more energy, which is awesome. Now back to work for the next 48 hours, then I get my weekend off hopefully be bck on here and talking about a run on Friday as well as my updated, Year to Date Total Miles!

Dist - 2.7 miles
Time - 19:40/loop
Pace - 7:16

Another Farm Run

After a busy day I thought I should hit the pavement on this balmy June Saturday evening. I was battling with the brake pads for a couple hours in the afternoon heat. I also managed to do an oil change and grab a few things from Menards for the garden.

My run route wasn't decided until I had to make a decision on whether to run east or west on Theodore. Of course I decided to head west. I knew most of the mile markers so I figured I'd push myself a little bit.

The first mile was slow an easy since it was so hot I didn't want to go crazy. After running down Theo, I took a left onto Ridge and pushed myself uphill for about a quarter mile stretch then it was a nice smooth half mile southerly length to Black Rd. which I finally head east.

The 3 mile marker is the start of the open field that I run through. It slows me down some, but I make sure I'm keeping my knees up and pushing it. The turn north onto County Line is mostly uphill. It's a nice way to finish a tough and hot run. My last mile was actually quite fast. Here are my stats:

Dist: 5.0 miles
Time: 37:57
Pace: 7:35
M1 - 8:03
M2 - 7:50
M3 - 7:15
M4 - 7:41
M5 - 7:06
Temp - 83*

Comments!!

I finally managed to allow anyone to post comments, sorry to those of you who have tried and were unable.

Night Run...

Last night I pushed myself and enjoyed a tough intervaled night run. With the tunes jamming on the iPod Shuffle, I was focused and was ready for this run all day.

I ran down Theodore Ave, past 59 to Bronk Rd and ran back. The back half of the run was so much faster then the first half. I'm itching to sign up for a 5/10K here real soon. I feel like its a much better distance to really gage my ability, after being disappointed about my Soldier Field time.

I made sure I sprinted in parts of the run. I focused on keeping my core tight, swinging my arms, lifting my knees and breathing. My right calf is a little stiff just above my new Achilles, I'll keep an eye on it and make sure to report how it feels in the morning.

After I was finished I knocked out 30 V-ups and 40 push ups, which I can add to the 35 I did on Monday as well and 10 pull ups. I feel that I really need to start adding in much more weight training, and stop falling back on running keeping me in shape. I know it will help me at work with lifting all those heavy tile boxes. Also as a side note for me, the whit UA Fitted Shirt felt amazing, and should be my new race shirt.

Here's my Stats:

Out: (M1) - 7:42, (M2) - 7:16, (M3) - 7:22, (M.4) - 3:20 = 25:40/7:32pc

Back:(M6) - 7:03, (M5) - 7:10, (M4) - 7:01, (M.4) - 3:11 = 24:25/7:10pc

Time - 50:09

Dist - 6.8 miles

Pace - 7:22

kCal - 849

Temp - 61*

Check out my Athlinks page

Soldier Field Run

First off, let me apologize for not getting this posted earlier. I was waiting for some of the pictures to post on Brightroom. I also wasn't sure of how I felt about the race, so I decided that I should give it a few days since I wasn't happy about my time. I enjoyed myself but I didn't want everyone to think I was upset about it.

I started off preparing for the race on Friday.   I made sure I drank plenty of water and didn't let myself have any bad food, no candy and no pop, which I know I need to cut out completely if I want to survive more race days with a time that I'll be happy with. I had a long work week which limited my pre-race run. I was only able to get my 10 mile and 5K runs in the 2 weeks leading up to the run. So Friday night after getting done with work at 10:15, I managed to get home around 11. Vanessa had made some pasta for me, so I could get some carbs in before bed. I hung out with her for a little bit and finally got into bed around 1, but I still couldn't fall asleep til 1:30.

I jumped out of bed on Saturday at 5:00am to my alarm. Luckily I had everything in a bag ready to go. So, all I had I to do was take a shower and try to wake Vanessa up. The shower was nice and easy, trying to wake Vanessa up wasn't so easy. She wasn't moving so I realized I was going to have to make the trip on my own. I grab an English muffin with some peanut butter and some water. I made coffee, but I decided not to have any, which might have cost me some time. Next time I'm not passing on the coffee, I've heard too many good things.  Then I grabbed my bag and finally let Vanessa know that I was leaving, since she was half awake.

The drive down was smooth right up until Lake Shore Drive. Once I got into my parking spot I had about 20 minutes to get to the corrals. I had to find a restroom and had to drop my stuff off at the gear check, since I didn't have anyone to hang on to it. The gear check and port-a-potty run went without any trouble, but trying to find my corral did. Since there are 2 color corrals and about 17 total, I managed to find the green corrals, but my race bib is blue. Once I went through the green sections I was able to spot the blue corral with about 5 minutes to race start. Finally in the right area, I turned on the iPod and let my mind focus on the music. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to get a decent warm up in aside from me jogging around trying to find the bathroom and corral.

The last few minutes seem to take forever before our corral start. Once it did the skinny pathway seemed to slow everyone down. I wasn't able to break away until the route turned into the McCormick Center underground tunnel. From there it was smooth sailing. The first 4 miles seem to fly by and felt great. I was running negative splits for those first 4 miles.

At mile 5 I started noticing it was getting harder to lift my legs. I was just trying to get to the turn around point at 4.8 mile spot and getting ready to push the last 5+ miles, but as soon as I turned north up the lake shore path, a very strong headwind hit me in the face. How had I not noticed it at my back, I kept asking myself. The next couple miles were a struggle, it felt like the winds kept getting stronger.

Once I realized I didn't have a chance to beat my time from last year, my focus shifted. My mind went from race mode to enjoyable run mode. I made sure I took everything in, the view that I was enjoying running along Lake Michigan, smiling and high-fiving the spectators. Last year I felt I didn't get a good chance to take in the stadium. This year as soon as I finished I made sure I slowly walked over to grab a water, then I took a seat and stretched out a little and stared at crowd and the seats. Since growing up in Minny, the only big stadium I had was the metrodome. Soldier Field is a timeless stadium, even after the remodel. After finally being yelled at for sitting for too long I managed to get myself up and moved my stretching to the tunnels under the stadium until I was told to move on again. Then I moved on to get my finishing medal, food bag and blanket. Once I got outside I saw the Muscle Milk stand and made sure I got my free bottle of Cookies'n'Creme. My tired legs started walking to the car to head home. I made sure I used my foam roller and The Stick before I headed out, I didn't want to cramp up as soon as I started driving, which I didn't.

Now it's time to figure out what my next run is going to be. Maybe a 5K or 10K, but I'm still planning on attempting to run the Chicago Marathon, I know I will need to run a half marathon sometime soon. Still trying to figure all that out. What I do know is that I need to start eating a lot better, which I have been lately, and making sure I add in more strength training into my workout regime.

Here are my mile splits:

M1 - 7:43               M6 - 7:44
M2 - 7:26               M7 - 8:01
M3 - 7:13               M8 - 8:19
M4 - 7:08               M9 - 8:39
M5 - 7:31               M10 - 8:09

Total time: 1 hour 17 minutes 57 seconds


I have managed to get out on a run since my race. On Wednesday I decided to take a nice and easy run around the farms again. Check out my route here. It ended up being 6.3 miles and it took me 49:19, which is 7:49 pace. It was a really solid run, I managed to get some good intervals in.

Pre-Race Warmup Run

So I decided that my last little warm up before the race on Saturday, was to do my old 5K route. After looking at my times of running the same course last time, I don't feel to good about my split times, but at least they are decent. This time around I didn't wear any headphones and had very little water. I remember telling myself to focus on keeping my form right, by swinging my arms and getting my knees up on every stride. I tend to slouch over when I get tired and thinking about it makes me stand up a little straighter and run a little smoother. I also tried force myself to take long deep breaths every few steps, it help fuel my legs and keep them fresh longer and my arms didn't feel so heavy while I'm swinging them.

Run Stats:
Date - 5/21
Distance - 3.2 miles
Time - 24:01
Pace - 7:31
M1 - 7:40
M2 - 7:36
M3 - 7:26
M.2 - 1:18

Overall not a bad run leading up to the Soldier Field 10 miler.

So I do have a worry, I feel like I'm missing something from my Race Day List! If you don't see anything that I should have with me please let me know. Here's my list so far:

Breakfast: Banana, toast/pb, juice & coffee
Watch
iPod & headphones
Towel
Water Gallon
Race Bib
Race Clothes
Water bottle
Foam Roller & The Stick

10 Mile Run!

Here's my route=10 Mile Run

Sorry I don't have too much to say, but here's what I got:

Deer, 2 does, at mile 6 in Sunset Park at dusk.
The break at Theo/59 stoplight, really gave me some extra energy for the last 3 miles.

Mile Splits
1-5: 8:06, 8:16, 7:37, 7:38, 8:26 = 40:03
6-10: 7:43, 8:05, 8:00, 7:25, 7:35 = 38:48

Distance: 10.0 miles
Time: 78:56
Pace: 7:53
kCal: 1020

This Week's Runs, May 6-12

This past Tuesday I went on a run with Bobby that was ones of my favorite in a long time. We ran the scenic paths of Rock Run Forest Preserve. Here's our route. We path ed our a nautilus shell route. There were so many cool backdrops and the birds singing all made it a very enjoyable run. Here are the numbers.

• Distance - 5.1 miles
• Time - 39:50
• Pace - 7:48ppm
• Mile 1 - 8:30
• M2 - 8:44
• M3 - 7:33
• M4 - 6:35
• M5 - 8:26

    On Saturday I decided to take my legs on a Plainfield Farm Run. Below is a very rough video of my run around 2.5 miles. The sunset was so colorful and the video doesn't do it justice. My pace was slowed by the Chipotle that I had eaten earlier, I finished pacing around 8:00 miles. It was not my best run, but it still was solid and beneficial. Here are the stats for Saturday's run:

• Distance - 8.3 Miles
• Time - 67:27
• Pace - 8:07ppm
• Mile 1 - 8:55
• M2 - 7:39
• M3 - 8:10
• M4 - 8:00
• M5 - 8:07
• M6 - 8:26
• M7 - 7:44
• M8 - 7:45
• M.3 - 2:37

Well its official, I'll be running the Soldier Field 10 Mile again this year  on Saturday May 26. Last year I finished in 1 hour 11 minutes. So that is going to be my goal. I feel I still have some work to do. My goal is to stay vigilant and work as hard as I can over the next 2 weeks. 

Runs w/ Bobby

On Monday, Bobby and I did a crazy trail run through the woods of Hammel Forest Preserve. We did his high school cross country meet trail, which was an even 3 miles up and down some unforgiving hills. After finishing, I left him at the car and decided to do a couple hill repeats which kicked my butt. Overall, I ended up running about 4.3 miles and did it around 33 minutes with a couple breaks, one was to do some elevated pushups off the path.

Here is Tuesday Run with Bobby.He decided to write our run through my eyes. Enjoy!

-What was meant to be no more than a banal Tuesday evening augmented into a noteworthy run for Bobby and I on this cool, spring evening. Fighting gusts and dodging cars along dirt banked roads were humbling in my "Welcome to P-ville" run.

The first mile was a bit more kinetic than planned, and the downhill, southbound stretch of Ridge down not placate our steady pace. At roughly the 2.5 mile mark I noticed I was starting to create some distance, so I suggested heading back East early to Bobby. He looked tired and didn't take much convincing. Starting our watches simultaneaously we took off down perpendicular paths and Bobby shouted out "See if you can catch me!", a tough challenge to ignore, but it was too early in our run to demand speed.

As the Muse poured out of the ear buds, I was only starting to hit my stride when I was surprised to see Bobby not far behind (I later learned that he felt invigorated after our short pause and changed his mind about cutting the run short). He signaled for water while making our turn at Rt 52, and I placed it on the gravel path. Enervated, Bobby sprinted to return the half-empty Sam's Choice bottle, and slowly dropped behind.

My pace was still steady at the 5 mile marker, and I charged forward hoping to make a dent in the last 3.3. The latter stretch of the loop was hilly, but the elevated sections were sparse, which worked to my advantage, enabling me quicken my turnover at appropriate checkpoints.

I finished the 8.3 in 64 min, and had to wait no more than 2 min for Bobby to finish. His watch told him 65, but he admitted to stopping for a minute to get his legs under him for the last 3. Overall, a great run for my first 8-miler back. I think it's safe to say I'll be having a partner for some of my future long runs.

Distance: 8.3 miles
Time: 64:04
Pace:7:21

M1-8:20
M2-7:51
M3-7:57
M4-7:36
Part 5-9:47
P6-5:31
P7-7:35
P8-6:53
End-2:42

Good Ol' 5K Run...

Today has been a great day off so far. I was able to sleep in on our new Sealy Euro Top Mattress and new pillow, which Vanessa has said has stopped my snoring, which sounds pretty good to me. So once I was up I grabbed a water bottle and a couple granola bars and checked up on Twitter and then got my alarm for the Barcelona/Real Madrid La Liga matchup at 1. The game was an unbelievable 2-1 victory for Real Madrid on a beautiful Ronaldo goal.


0Once the game was over I decided to get a run in. I did my usual 5k run that I've done so many times, except this time I was determined to push myself and have negitive splits for each mile, and I did. This was the first time I managed to get a sub 7 minute mile split in a non-race run this year, so I'm pretty excited about my recovery process. The cooler temps may have helped, the air had a bit of a chill in it. Temps  hovered around 52 degrees at 3:30pm. There were a few walkers out but only one other jogger.


Now I have to get ready to go see Snow Patrol at the Aragon Ballroom with Vanessa and my sister, Abi. Should be a fun night! 


And to whoever is reading my blog in Russia, Spasiba! Tell all your friends!!


Here are my stats:
Distance: 3.2 miles
Time: 23:12
Pace: 7:15
Avg HR-188
Peak HR-199
kCal-432
M1-7:41
M2-7:17
M3-6:57
M.2-1:15
#-173
Temp-52*, 8mph NNE, 43% Hum

My Legs & Feet Hurt!!

After putting in 2 long days at work, I finally managed to get a run in today after my half day at work. I decided to do a down-and-back on Theodore Ave. to Hwy 59. There was a nice wind at my back on the first leg of the run, but the way back took a little longer with the breeze hitting me in the face from the left side. The road was busy with traffic from the rush hour traffic, which was a nice backdrop to the tunes that were jamming in my ears. If you were interested in my run route here is the link here it is.

Totals:

Distance: 5.8 miles
Time: 44:27
Pace: 7:39
Calories Burned: 769
Avg HR: 183
Peak HR: 200

First Mile: 7:57
Part 2: 14:06
Part 3: 15:03
Last Mile: 7:20

Night Run

Did a nice little post-work run with Bobby.
Vanessa biked with us. Here's the link for our run

Dist-2.0 miles
Time 14:18
Pace: 7:09

Wilderness Run

I did manage to get a run in today while Vanessa had her appointment with Debra. It was a very quiet and serene run along the Salt Creek Greenway Trail. The trail started out as paved but then it got a little wild and became a nice dirt trail and skirted the river for a little over a mile. I was escorted by some birds for a little while, I'm sure they were protecting their nests. Here's the link to check out my route.

First Mile: 8:02
Middle Distance: 9:54/10:03
Last Mile: 7:28

Totals: 35:29, 4.6 miles, 7:42 pace

Windy Run

Today's run was a windy one, gusts reached speeds of 45mph, it was a formidable foe. Click here to see my route. It was very quiet out aside from the blowing wind. Hopefully tomorrow I can get a short jog in.

57:28, 7.1 miles, 8:06 pace

Here's a good site for checking observed weather reports for any area. Click Here!

Trying to Keep Up

Here's Sunday's Run. Distance-4.9 miles, Time-38:40, Pace-7:53

And today's run with Bobby. Dist-3.2 miles, Time-26:28 , Pace- 8:16

This is my next race on the calendar that I'm going to try to do.
Rockdale Ramblin' Run 10k

Longer Runs

Today I decided to push it a little longer again. I went on a nice 5 mile run on Thursday around the farms inPlainfield. It was a beautiful late afternoon run. I 'm pretty sure I timed it in around 39:50. So today I decided to run in Oakbrook during Vanessa's appointment with Debra.

I found a forest preserve with a long river trail, I started out at 4pm and headed towards the Double Tree Hotel, that was across the street, and found my path and tried to find my breathe. I had on 2 shirts which at first I thought would help me out with the high winds, but instead it heated me up real fast, I had to shed my underneath layer and leave on the bright yellow UA Charged Cotton Tee. I felt so much better and was able to get into a nice rhythm. There were lots of people along the trail. Businessmen walked and talked about economics, dog walkers said hello while their puppies smell the new grass. It warmed up considerably from the early chill that was in the air in the morning.

The run was hard, alot harder then any recenlty, which tells me I need to run more often. I finished in at 49:03 for 6.0 miles. Not bad for me but could be a lot better. I'm still planning out my next few days which will dictate when I get to run next.

I'm eyeballing the Rambling Run in Joliet in 3 weeks if I can't get registered for the Blackberry Run in Aurora on the 31st.

St. Patrick's Day Wknd.

After a long and rough week at work I finally had some days off, and what did I do. I had a race paid for on St. Patrick's Day morning. I managed to get a pasta dinner with tuna the night before, so I feel that the carbs gave me a boost. I woke up about an hour and change before the start of the race. I hit start on the coffee and made some toast with PB. I took my Zyrtec, Advil, and 5 Hour Energy and headed on my way. In my race bag I had my headphones, watch, Gatorade G Series 1, 2 &3, Ironman gel, and warm ups.

Since it was St. Patty's Day I made sure my run gear matched the theme of the day. I wore my lime green UA shoes, black shorts, a green "I Need A Drink" tee with Snoopy on it, and a green felt top hat with bow. I thought it was photo worthy.

I left a little later then I wanted to but, I still manage to leave at a decent time. I knew 59 would be pretty clear and it was. I arrived at the Jefferson Ave secret entrance to the Riverwalk, at 7:45, which was perfect. I had my warm ups on and ran to the registration tent to grab my bib number(#49), free t-shirt and bag of advertisements for other races and causes. and ran back to the car. I managed to get back to the car at 7:53, which gave me plenty of time to take the G2 Prime, and take off warm ups and slowly jog back to the start line. I made it with a few minutes to spare. I got a nice spot up front and bounce around til the mayor got on the loudspeaker.

When the gun sounded, I took off. managed to goof on my watch and couldn't get it to start. While looking at my watch I got pushed by a couple of guys, no biggie. The start of the race was really fast, somehow i managed to stay with the front pack. I ran the first mile so aggressively that I missed the first mile marker. My Achilles felt fine and I kept pushing, it wasn't until about the middle of the second mile that I felt my body finally realized what I had done to it. I started to get passed by people rather then me passing others. I still felt like I was going at a solid pace my 2 Mile time was 12:13, so I know I was flying. I hadn't broken a 7 minute mile yet in any of my runs, so running 2 6:07 miles was unreal. The last mile was rough but a clear head got me through the downtown portion of the run. I got a few good deep breaths in and felt my legs come back which really helped me accelerate to the finish, I remember seeing the 3 mile time and thinking I have a chance to break 20 minutes. I hadn't felt that push in my legs in a long time. I ended up running a PR of 19:58.

I grabbed 2 glasses of water and 2 bananas and wandered back to the car. Once I caught my breathe I took a walk along the Riverwalk back to the race tent where there was a big party. A couple paramedics were taking care of the dehydrated and fatigued runners. There were about 3-4 ambulances and 2 fire trucks. I then took some pictures and headed to McDonald's for my post race reward of a Shamrock Shake.

The rest of the day, I went on a walk with Vanessa, had some Panera, and watched a lot of college basketball. My body started to shut down around 7pm. I was so tired from the week from working 56 hours, which was nuts. I didn't wake up til 11:00am. The shut eye felt great. I woke up a little stiff, after I walked around a bit i had to sit down. I watched some of the tourney and then decided to go for a nice slow run to loosen up my body. It helped some. My right calf is still somewhat tight but since I went to Road Runner Sports on 75th, I bought myself The Stick with Bobby's Christmas gift card. I've wanted one for so long, and it will help the stiffness go away.

Overall a good weekend, I'm looking at the Blackberry Farms 5K in 2 weeks on March 31st, as my next run. Happy Running everyone!