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!

Exercise with Bobby!

Today I snuck in a decent workout in today after a weird and frustrating day at work. I was locked out from work for the first 30 minutes, because my phone isn't working so I couldn't call the store to let me in. Then it was just a burden to try to remove all the previous days' sale signs, then putting up the new sales, not fun.

So when I came home, Bobby suggested getting a little workout out in, and I was sold immediately. It took me awhile to pry Vanessa and Bobby away from their artwork that they were working on when I got home. I did manage to get them both in there, and everybody did a little aerobic activity in.

I finally remembered to wear my heart rate strap, so I could make sure that I was keeping my heart rate above 140, which I was able to do. I started off on the treadmill and to my surprise was able to run a mile, but it was at a slow pace, 12:20 min/mile. I'm happy that I was able to do run with no pain. After I slowed down the pace (5.7/12.0) I moved the incline up and slow walked a quarter mile uphill at a 9.0 incline with a pace of 4.1. My achilles was only slighty sore after, I could tell my running stride is a long ways away from what it used to be. I can feel myself being a lot more cautious with landing on the right foot. It's going to take some time, but I really won't start the real running until the new year.

I also got in a couple minutes of rowing, 30 pushups, 1 min 15 sec plank, 3 sets of 15 leg extensions at #7, 4 sets of 15 seated press at #10, and 2 sets of 12 of pull down at #7.

I also did some streching with Vanessa on the bar for my hamstrings, and heel raises.

Semi-productive!

Today managed to be productive, but that was only because Bobby made a surprise visit last night and convinced me to do a little workout. Everytime I'm in the exercise room, it feels like I should be there all the time. I don't know why its so hard to get myself to go on my own. I know that if I think I can do a marathon, much less the Ironman, I better get into the gym.

So anyway, today I ran on the treadmill for the first time. I didn't get the speed any higher then 5.0 (out of 10, I think.) My achilles and foot felt great, no pain at all. I'm slowly working my way up to probably trying to run a mile or 2 on the 22nd, which is next Tuesday. I still have about 80 miles to go to get my 365 for the year, which I think is possible running on the treadmill. I also did about 5 minutes of rowing and biking. It's nice getting a good sweat on.

I did manage to get a little weight lifting in. I did 4 sets of Seated Row, Leg Extensions, and Slanted Lat Pull Down. I just did them in a cycle in the order that I listed. I also added some calf streching, which felt good after the running on the treadmill.

After sitting in there I know I need to try a lot harder to get in there and help myself out, instead of sitting on the computer looking at nothing. I hope that anyone who reads this will, either give me their magic secret to motivating themself to get up and going eveyday, or else help someone else get out and do it for the first time. Happy Running Everyone!

Update!

Well I just got back from my surgeons office for a check up on my achilles and how its healing. Dr. Matlock said that it looks great and appears to be healing ahead of schedule. He's let me assume all duties at work and is giving me 2 more months until I can start doing high impact activities. I may still jump on the treadmill in a couple weeks to get back into it. I'm seriously considering not running the New Years Day 5K and just waiting until St. Patricks Day for my first real race.

I know getting back into my running shape is going to take some time and patience, which I hav plenty of both. I hear from a lot of people who are trying to get back in to sports after an injury end up injurying another part of their body because they haven't used all the muscles the way they should. I've heard lots of quad and hamstring injurys after an achilles tear, so I'm going to try to get myself into the exercise room at our apartment and actually used the machines and do quite a bit of strength training before I get back out onto the road.

The hard part is just getting up in the morning and making myself do something, I have a hard enough time making myself eat a meal in the morning but I know I'm going to need to if I really am going to take these dreams of running in an Ironman Tri seriously.

Well, it looks like I need to get something to eat and maybe put together a little workout before I start getting ready for work, and then tongiht I should try to think of exercise to do everytime to Vikings score or give up a Packer first down tonight. Go Vikings!

Still making progress...

I've been doing pretty well keeping up with a circuit training plan that I've come up with over the last week or so, I will figure out a way to post my Excel spreadsheet, in the workout tracker. Otherwise I'm going to have to catch back up with my postings on here.

I had my 10 week doctor's appontment today. He said everything looks good and that I should start doing two legged standing heel lifts. Which I have done today, the tendon is super sore when I do them. I only have been able to do about 15 up til now, 5 at a time. I've got a long way to go but I did I really extensive workout today, so I'm feeling good. 20 mins on the bike was enjoyable, it was the first time I've done cardio for more then 5-8 mins swimming or biking before. I need to find a lap pool close by.

I was motivated to do a bunch of exercises after watching the coverage of the Ironman Kona 2010 again. I'm glad it was on. Thank you Universal Sports!

Time to unwind and finally watch Transformers 3! G'night.