Half Marathon & Vest Party

The North Face Endurance Challenge half marathon race report:

The night before the race I met up with Christy, Liz, and Hagan for a pasta dinner at Picasso's. The weather was absolute crap- it had rained all week long and we were worried about the state of the race course. The NFEC website promised that the run would take place rain or shine.

I woke up early Saturday morning, had some coffee and a blueberry muffin from the co-op. I dressed in layers- it was an overcast day and pretty cold out, about 38 degrees. I wore my new Pearl Izumi fleece-lined running tights, a long sleeve base layer T with a short sleeve T layered over it, plus my windbreaker jacket and fleece gloves. I decided to carry my water bottle with my water/heed mixure for the entire race. I like hydrating constantly. My distance wasn't set to start until 10:00 AM, but the drive is about an hour so I left the house at 8:15 AM. I got there in plenty of time, picked up my packet, put on my timing chip, ate a Gu pack, and waited about 20 more minutes for the race to begin.

They didn't stage us so we just lined up and started when the gun went off. It took about 7/10 of a mile to get to the actual off-road section. Once we hit the trailhead, we hit the first big climb, a huge hill that went on and on. This weeded out the strong runners right away. The pack immediatly started to get strung out. My game plan from the get-go was just "finish," so this is all I intended to do. No pressure, just do my best, run as much as I can but save my energy and walk up the big hills. So I did.

After the big climb there were several rolling hill sections, but at mile 4 we came upon a relativly flat section that lasted for about 2 miles. A small group of 4 of us were running together for this entire section. I was wearing my Garmin, so I knew what kind of pace I was keeping. We did 10:30 miles for miles 4-6, then hit another hilly section in which I lost the other 3 people.

The first aid station was at mile 6.5. Thankfully Plymale was there to take my gloves and jacket which had become a burden. After ditching my stuff, I grabbed a water and a Gu and went on my merry way. I was pretty much by myself for the rest of the race. I ran whenever I could, but walked up the big hills. I just chugged along, and totally took in the gorgeous woods and fresh fall scenery. The trails had a few muddy sections and the fallen leaves played optical tricks on your eyes, but the trails really weren't that bad. The sun came out at noon, and it was even prettier out. The shade from the trees kept it from getting too warm. Checking my pace, I was making decent time so I set a goal to finish in under 3 hours.

I didn't pass by the aid station again until 1.7 miles from the finish. I was glad I had packed my Heed- they should have had another aid station at like mile 9.5 but they just had the one. I was started to really hurt at this point, my knees were fine but my calves felt like they were going to knot up, and my hips and shins hurt. I was walking quite a bit at this point, but then some of the folks who had been out running the 30 mile loop passed me, so that inspired me to get the lead out again. The last part of the race was running down the huge hill we ran up in the beginning. I was pretty happy about this and felt like it was pulling me forward. It was funny to see all the layers of clothing discarding along the side of the trail- hats, gloves and jackets.

Once I got to the bottom of the hill I had about .7 miles to go on the pavement. I wanted to walk but I just couldn't because there were cars everywhere- people who had done the 10K or the fast 13.1 finishers were exiting the park as I was running in. Once I came around the bend and could see the inflated red arch I had one thing in mind. Keep running towards the red arch. When I hit the grassy straightaway, I picked up the pace and "sprinted" through the finish. Hooray!

The NFEC crew before the race- Hagan, me, Christy, Liz

Mile 6.5- feeling suprisingly good (obviously)

Finish!

***

Saturday night, the same day as the race, was also the date I had agreed to host a party at my crib. Tawnya and Matt have been collecting cases of beer through thier Miller connection, and needed a place to host a party for our group. As one who loves gatherings, I volunteered. I do wish there were more hours in the day though, because I did not have a chance to nap after my race and thus was pretty sore and exausted by the time the party started. I slammed an energy drink, and the adrenaline kept me going. I had spent the 4 hours leading up to the party cleaning the house and making butternut squash soup and sausage balls. Thankfully my darling AJ was there as my right-hand man to assist with the preparations. The place looked pretty nice, I must say, and the party was a blast. At one time we had 27 people there, all mingling and wearing wacky vests. I took a few blurry iphone pics, but they aren't fit to be seen. The party disbanded around midnight at which time most of us ended up at the Crystal.

An epic finish to a great day. Good times!

Chicago in the Fall

The Chicago mini-vacay this weekend was absolutely wonderful. What isn't fantastic about two days off from work, 500 threadcount sheets, sleeping til 10, HDTV, a 16th floor city view, room service, and all the shopping you can handle? I can't think of a thing except returning to reality.

We got in at about 7:30 PM Sunday night and spent the first hour settling in, checking out the details of the room room and laughing over the contents of the minibar- including a bottle of Patron. I immediately cracked open an ice-cold Goose Island 312, poured it into a cocktail glass and gazed out the window to the promising city lights below.

The room was small, but nice, with all the features you would expect from the kind of hotel it was. Nicely decorated, well-designed, and the bed was really comfortable with no weird odors. There were white terrycloth bathrobes that I had to slip into just because I could.

My favorite feature was the red heating light in the ceiling of the bathroom, designed to make the bathroom nice and toasty while you bathe. If you turned off the regular light and just kept the heat lamp on, it cast a red glow throughout the entire bathroom. Being the sophomore I am, I kept turning on the red light, dancing around in the mirror singing, "sex party woot woot, sex party woot woot!" Seriously, it was total red-light district sex party lighting.

Since we had spent Sunday morning at the Cam Rock cx races and were in a hurry all day to get to Chicago, neither one of us really eaten much and were simply famished! It was getting a little late- after 9 at this point, but we set out to explore the surrounding dining establishments. We ended up wandering into Bin 36, a restaurant next door to Hotel Sax that features wine and cheese flights. I ordered the Sexy Reds wine flight- a collection of 4 spicy rich red wines, and Michael ordered the Shiraz flight. We got the waiter's recommendation on a cheese flight that would pair well with both of our selections. He recommended the house cheese flight but suggested we add a piece on, a semi soft cheddar, coated with ground coffee and lavender - from Beehive Cheese Co. in Utah. Wow! Lavender and crushed coffee beans, who would think? But awesome.

After sleeping in Monday, we hit the town to check things out. We walked and toured and shopped. They've really done a nice job with the Millenium Park area. There are interesting art structures, nice gardens, and lawns that really enhance the downtown area. Lunch was great- Chicago style pizza from Gino's East- and we had to walk a mile out of the way to get to it!

We got back to the hotel around 3:30 at which point I needed a NAP! I slept for a while, and watched some TV.

At 6:30 we walked 4 blocks to Starbucks to get latte's to keep us revved up for the concert. (Note: having an iphone with Google maps is a HUGE help in the city! We used it constantly!)





We then caught a cab to the UIC pavillon. I'm not a huge Wilco fan but they did thier best and the show was pretty good. We got back to the hotel around 11:30, and were simply starving as we had not eaten since lunch. The hotel package had provided us with a $50 gift certificate to any restaurant nearby that we still hadn't used. Most places were closed by then, but lucky for us, Smith & Wollensky's, a fancy schmancy steakhouse chain, was still open. We enjoyed $20 burgers and a piece of coconut cream cake. Maybe we were just starving, but it was delish! The view was gorgeous too- right on the river:

All in all, a fun fun trip. I didn't utilize the workout room, or eat clean, but isn't that what vacation is for? It's all about balance and enjoying yourself.

Nuts and Berries

Today is day 15 of The Project. I need to make a logo.

I have been going strong except for for a little blip Sunday evening. Plymale and I decided to hang out and have dinner together, and as my best friend, he is able to easily twist my arm into going out for a cocktail. I don't think he had to twist it at all actually....but anyways, we ended up going to the Tornado Room and to Gennas. I think cheating with cocktails, especially dessert martini-style cocktails, is absolutley decadent because you get the delisciousness of dessert, plus the kick or booze, baby!

They had my most favorite dessert martini of all time on their specialty menu- the Nuts and Berries Martini. The first and only other time I had tasted one of these was at the Blue River Bistro in Breckenridge this summer (those were a steal at 2 for 1 ...two $9 martini's for the price of one? Why, yes, I'd love another, thank you!)

The Nuts and Berries Martini contains Chambord, Frangelico, and Baileys. Totally sinful. Was it worth 2 days of puffiness and no progress? Perhaps. The mind needs it sometimes. Maybe not though- I sabotaged my Monday because of it.

****

So I tried on the jeans in my closet that I had been afraid to try on all summer-including the scariest of all...my skinnys! (I do laugh that they are a size 14 but still called "skinny" but what we are referring to is the cut and fit, not the way I look in them. We can call them tight and tapered...) I would not have been able to put them on three weeks ago. Well, I probably could have but it would have looked obscene. Imagine my delight as I ease them on, up, and zipped with ease! A small victory. I am not down a size yet but we will see what happens.

ZOMG

Being able to wear my skinny jeans comfortably is just enough results and motavation for me to keep on keeping on. My head is held up a little higher and I'm that much more confident. This week was off to a bit of a rough start- my late night cocktailing on Sunday cut into my grocery shopping time, so I want sent off to work on Monday without any meals. I had my oatmeal/protein breakfast, but I had to do a Gino's run for lunch. I had to skip my workout too due to a busy work schedule, and afterwork was laundry and groceries and cooking. See?Just like THAT it can all go to hell. Preparation is everything. 5-6 meals a day, clean workout clothes, and rest, rest, rest. Not to mention the workouts themselves and all that water. As much as I can drink.

It is starting to get dark by 5:30ish, and it is pretty dark when I get up in the morning. I'm finding it tough to get out of bed- the hibernating grizzly bear side of me just wants to stay in my den til I'm ready to leave it!

I have some fun stuff coming up. I get to go to Chicago this Sunday for a mini getaway to see Wilco. Michael got tickets and invited me along. Why not? Wilco is so-so, but Chicago est bueno. We are staying at Hotel Sax on the river downtown, and the place looks nice. I am trying to decide whether I want to go to the Field Mueseum or the Industry mueseum or the art mueseum, or just play try-not-to-catch-cooties-or-get-in-the-middle-of-a-bum-fight. Either way, I have Monday and Tuesday off from work. Oh and the hotel has a nice fitness center too!

Hotel Sax

***


The North Face Endurace Challenge is October 24th. I decided I am going to run it, even though I quit training for it 3 weeks ago because of Dr.'s orders. The race is 13.1 miles and I have 4 hours to do it. That's 3.3 miles an hour. I think I can do it. Plus I really want to go! I want my North Face tech shirt and socks!

NFEC Slogan

Oh, I will, thankyouverymuch. And I'll do it in approximately 3 hours and forty five minutes' time!

That same evening after the race, (and after a long nap...) we are hosting a Wall of Beer party at the crib. It's a vest party. Vests mando. MANDO!

Ocho

Day Eight since I've gotten back into things.

Today I stepped on the scale at the Y, the scale I am using as my base scale, and I am down six pounds! Not bad for one week. I probably couldn't lose that again, and nor should I, it's too much for one week, but the first week back always goes like that, you lose "water weight." I like losing water weight. A lot.

Today I went to the gym over the lunch hour to do back and biceps. I didn't have too much time so I could only sneak in 20 minutes of cardio, which was fine because my roommate and I had made plans to go to the Eastside Y after work. This time I did 50 minutes of cardio- 25 treadmill, 15 elip, and 10 more treadmill. I think I am going to sleep like a baby tonight. I'm amazed at how much more centered I feel when I workout on a regular basis. All these endorphins rushing around...I'm laughing and singling and and mentally calm and centered. So great. Stress levels are way down at the office too.

I think I've got my nutrition plan figured out. Here is what I've been eating every day for the last week:

• 7:30 AM 1/3 cup (when dry) oatmeal w/2 Tbs ground flax, handful of blueberries, cinnamon & 1 scoop berry protien powder, coffee with splenda and a splash of cream (I know I need to omit the cream..)


• 10:30 AM 1 container fat-free 0% greek yougurt, 12 raw almonds, 4-5 celery sticks, small spoonful peanut butter

WORKOUT HERE

• 1:30 PM 10 oz soup made with: pureed squash, chicken broth, chicken breast, kale, spinach, blackbeans, sage, onions, garlic, and salt & pepper.


• 4:15 PM bok choy chicken salad, or 4 oz chicken breast w/veggies
  

OR WORKOUT HERE

• 7:00 PM Fish/chicken /scrambled egg whites with veggies. Maybe have a kombucha or some sweet potatos if I worked out in the evening and feel my carbs stores are really low.


• 9:00 PM If hungry- 1 scoop protein mixed with water and/or 1Tbs all-natural peanut butter.
  
• Plenty of water all day long, fish oils and glucosamine too.

This menu seems to be working for me, and I am enjoying it. Eating clean does not have to be bland. I cook my chicken breast with tons of different spices, and I add vinegars, lemon juice and spices and garlic or whatever to the sauted veggies. I haven't had to splurge on sugar-free popsicles or sugar-free pudding yet, and the longer I can hold out the better. That stuff just sparks cravings. Gateway drugs!

On a scale of 1-10 I would give my motivation level an 8.5 right now. Feeling good doing good.

Dirty Boys Disbanded

After a long work week, there is nothing better than Friday night unwinding. It's mandatory! By 5:00 PM Friday my mind ceases to process rational thoughts. Four times out of five, Friday eve meant starting out at Madison's Happy Hour at 6:00 PM enjoying $2 microbrews, then moving on somewhere to dinner, and possibly out after that to see music somewhere or catch up with my neightbors at the Crystal. That has all changed with the new sans-alcohol policy I've implemented this week. Tonight is my first Friday night at home in quite some time. It's actually been a pleasant evening. The internet, Kombucha tea, and good music...I feel really relaxed, and I'm not sure how to say this but, well, I feel "well." I ended up being at the office until after 7:00 PM tonight and decided to take today as my rest day. I was going to do heavy leg day, but my mind would not have been in to it and I needed to take a rest day anyway. I was having some spasms in my right calf muscle last night on the treadmill, so a rest is probably good. I think I have some knots that need to be worked out.

***

Today was the last day of work for 10 folks leaving due to company restructuring. Today was just plain sad. I was honored to go have lunch with the Dirty Boys one last time. "Dirty Boys," was the nickname given to the 8 guys who worked professionally as the Inside Sales and Service department. Corporate is relocating thier positions to PA, and so the era comes to an end. What the Dirty Boys had can never be replicated. What a great team. When I started at the Company I worked in the lobby, directly downstairs from these follows. They sat in a loft-like area above, with a winding staircase between us. I could hear most of thier louder conversations, laughter, locker room talk, and thier music which was either really good, or really really bad. We became great friends, I had so much fun then. The dirty boys were my heros. These were your dirt bag MTB riders, year-round commuters, cyclocross and crit racers, complete bike geeks, the absolute heart of cycling love. True passion. They were all over educated and smart as hell too. Each unique in their own way, it was thier differences that made thier synergy the best. I'm going to really miss those guys. I think the whole industry will.


***

Tomorrow will be my heavy leg day, and I'll do total upper body on Sunday. Despite the doctor's orders I've been doing some treadmill running. Intervals. I just love the workout if gives me. None of the cardio machines get my heart rate up so quickly. I am being very careful and I haven'd had any knee pain so far, just some weird calf spasms. I think I just need to work a few knots out and do some stretching.