Comments (9)

By kilax, August 7, 2011 9:26 pm

I am training for the Milwaukee Marathon on October 2nd.

Day 652 | August 1, 2011: cross

I was going to run during lunch, but I turned in to a pissy pants when my garmin wouldn’t work and sulked back to my office. I ended up using my new bike trainer that night instead! I rode for 30 minutes and got all nice and sweaty. I really like the trainer. The only downfall is how noisy it is!

Day 653 | August 2, 2011: 6.5 m run + strength

I ran early in the morning before I left my home to drive to a conference. I don’t remember much from this run (that is what happens when you write your recap post at the end of the week – I usually write it as I go – too busy this week!) – just that it was muggy. In the evening I stayed with Erin (since the conference was so far from my home) and we did a strength workout together. The highlight was being able to do one 90-second plank. Then wanting to die. We also did some deadlifts that still had me sore on Saturday. Awesomeness. Those are the kind of strength workouts I like. Doing strength is a lot more fun with Erin! Erin, please move closer to me.

Distance: 6.5 | Temp: 77° | Dew Point: 72° | Time: 1:05:06 | Avg Pace: 10:01 | 1: 9:11 | 2: 10:20 | 3: 10:11 | 4: 10:17 | 5: 10:12 | 6: 10:02 | 7: 4:51

Day 654 | August 3, 2011: 7 m run (4.4 + 2.6)

Well, this was kind of a funky run. I ran the hilly trail behind my home, and the garmin thought I hit mile one in under 8 minutes. No way, garmin. Something was off. The whole run ended up being off by about .2 miles but luckily, I had run the course before so I knew how far I went overall. The garmin being off was so bizarre! Has that ever happened to anyone else? The funny thing is, I run these routes a lot, so I know when I am hitting the miles splits – I knew something was off right away.

I was surprised that the hills were feeling easier during this run, but I think I was just going slower! Or maybe it was the weather – although it was in the 80s, the dew point was in the low 60s so I felt a lot cooler.

After I ran in the house to double check my mileage, Steven decided to come out with me for a quick bike ride, so we went a couple more miles. Here I am going up one of the hills:

Yay, hills.

Distance: 7.0 | Temp: 83° | Dew Point: 63° | Time: 1:16:40

Day 655 | August 4, 2011: rest

Day 656 | August 5, 2011: 5 m run + 3.5 m bike + 3.5 m bike

I ran in the early dark morning, before I went to work. I couldn’t even see my watch and was surprised to have negative splits! I also rode my bike to and from the train station.  It was actually somewhat difficult, riding my bike up those hills with a heavy backpack! But I still thought it was fun.

Distance: 5.0 | Time: 51:47 | Avg Pace: 10:21 | 1: 11:10 | 2: 10:28 | 3: 10:17 | 4: 10:05 | 5: 9:43

Day 657 | August 6, 2011: Just Book It! 5K

I ran our club’s inaugural 5K – the Just Book It! 5K – with Bobbi.

Day 658 | August 7, 2011: 17 m run + cross

I got up at a time that felt super duper early (4:00 am) to meet some fellow running club members on the Des Plaines River Trail. I ran the last 15 miles of this run with Bobbi. Ugh, I was NOT feeling it. Seriously. I knew I could do it, but I didn’t want to. We were both pretty meh about the run until I would say about 8 miles in (for me). Then I started to get more in to it. Nothing was hurting, I just didn’t want to do it. I think I was too tired. BUT! I got it done. And, mostly in the rain. It rained on and off on us, but toward the end, it was raining hard enough that the trail was collecting huge puddles and I had squishy socks. At least the rain makes me feel less thirsty (I think I still drank around 90 oz of water though, and took GUS at 4, 8, 12 and 15).

It was rainy and muggy enough that we could wring water out of our clothes.

It was also a bit muddy.

And I got bathtub feet. But no blisters! And hardly any chafing!

The other awesome (not) thing about this run, is that there were mosquitoes everywhere. You stop for a second and you were covered – good encouragement to keep going! Right? Right?!?!

Distance: 17.0 | Time: 3:14:33 | Avg Pace: 11:26

In the afternoon, I tried something new – kayaking! I will try to blog more about that tomorrow.

Week Summary: 38.6 miles

I thought I could push myself to 40 miles this week (just to see if I could do it). Guess not. There isn’t really any reason for that. I have just been running a TON of junk miles. It’s not really getting me anywhere. Not speedier. I am not sure if it helps with my endurance. I don’t eat healthy enough to lose weight. Oh well. Good thing I like to run!

Plantar fasciitis has slowly been sneaking up on me in my left foot, I think because I have been wearing flats to work lately (so many meetings) instead of sneakers. It was so bad yesterday after the race (it never hurts while running) that I didn’t want to put pressure on my foot at all. I am going to go back to wearing sneakers at work AND in the house. No. More. Flats.

Comments (12)

By kilax, August 6, 2011 11:28 pm

Today was the big day – our running club’s first ever 5K – the Just Book It! 5K. All of the proceeds are going to be used to expand the Grayslake Library’s children’s youth theme reading bags (read more about that here).  And there was a huge turnout – 419 5Kers and maybe about 50 in the kid’s race.

I didn’t really have many volunteering duties the day of the race (I was in charge of the website) so I just showed up an hour early and helped when needed (Steven was a course marshal, so he helped out much more than me!). The race provided a chance to hook up with a few blogger friends – Erin, Lauren, Marcia (my first time meeting her!) and of course, Bobbi (who is also a club member).

My first hour flew by and it was time for the 5K. My goal was to pace Bobbi to a sub 30:00 PR, and I had permission to be as mean as necessary to keep her on target. I didn’t have to be too mean, and our official time was 28:55! She did awesome!

We hung out after the race and stuck around for awards. The time seemed to fly by since we were all chatting. I love my blogger girlfriends! I wish I got to see them more often!

And after awards were over, I “just booked it” (ha ha) home. I had house guests and felt rude being gone so long. I wish I could have stayed later to help at the race, but almost everything was taken care of – they really had a lot of volunteers!

Anyway, I am really impressed at all the work that went in to this race and how well it went together. There was just so much planning and coordination – and I was not even a part of a lot of it! I am really proud of our club for putting it all together! And I am happy the library will use the funds for the youth theme reading bags!

Comments (12)

By kilax, August 5, 2011 6:57 am

Pretty views from my bike ride to the train this morning:

It makes me crazy that I have to commute for so long and far to get to work, but I love living so close to all the parks/trails/nature.

And besides, if I didn’t take the train to work, I would miss out on all the funny incidents, like the guy telling a family off this morning for talking on the Quiet Car. Ha ha ha. People are so uptight. It’s Friday! Don’t be such* a doucher!

*I mean, sure, tell them they are in the Quiet Car and what the rules are, but don’t be a dick about it. Just say your piece nicely then shut up and watch your Star Trek Voyager on your iPad, you big dork**.
**I can make fun of him for watching Star Trek because we are currently watching Star Trek Next Generation from start to finish. We’re on season 5. We’ve been working on it since the winter. Yes, we are dorks too.***
***But it’s unlikely I would tell someone off on the train.

Comments (12)

By kilax, August 3, 2011 10:05 pm

This week I feel like one of those bloggers that is constantly receiving new things to test. Only I am not that popular, and the things I am testing were all gifts (that means no one paid me to say these things).

On Monday, it was my new bike trainer, the Kinetic by Kurt. Verdict: Love it. The resistance is strong enough that I got quite a work out on it! And it’s easy to put the bike on (I just had Steven do it). Only complaint – it’s loud. But that’s because I am pedaling like a maniac.

On Tuesday, it was my new Xersion fitted shorts from JCPenney. Now, I wish I had a (store) link for you, but of course, since I actually like them and want to buy more, they are not available online. Verdict: I wore them for a 6.5 mile run that was very steamy and had no ride up or chafing. Want. More. Pairs. One more XL and two Ls. Let me know if you see them anywhere.

On Wednesday, it was my new North Face tank that Erin got me for my birthday! (pictures below of the front and back – she also got me that orange one because she knows I love orange!!!!!!!!!)

Verdict: Love it! it’s lightweight, very good at wicking sweat, and has cool key holder pockets on the shoulder straps! And it has orange on it, which is always a plus! And it makes me look slimmer? Okay, just throwing that out there…

What will I review tomorrow? Maybe I will put together our new weight bench and test it out. Uhh… with what weights? Ha ha.

If you could review any product on the market, what would you review?

BIKE SHORTS!!!

In other news, signage (and fencing?!) has been added to the trail by our house!

This sign is right at the entrance near our home. Apparently they can’t get things worked out with the city. Oh well.

And these signs say the name of the trail and the streets! Schweet!

I was really geeking out today when I saw the new signage. It’s the small things in life…

Comments (24)

By kilax, August 3, 2011 8:23 am

I was really excited when Steven sent me the text “Look what I found on the floor” and this picture yesterday:

When I got back from my late June trip to Louisville, I was unpacking on the bed, when my jewelry spilled all over. I found everything except for ONE diamond stud earring. I was really upset and looked all over the bed and floor for a few days but couldn’t find it. I thought there was a slight chance it was in the truck of the rental car, so I called them. They were really helpful but never found it.

So I thought I lost the earring (of course, my most expensive pair of earrings). I was really upset with myself, because this would be the second time I lost jewelry Steven gave me. In college I took a necklace off to play a game of intramural soccer and had a friend put it in his pocket. He lost it in the soccer field. I looked and never found it. And it was the first piece of jewelry Steven gave me!

Anyway, I felt awful about the earring, and kind of gave up looking, but then Steven sent that text yesterday! He found it in our office, buried in the carpet under my desk chair. I have NO idea how it got there, but am really happy he found it! I felt so naked without my stud earrings – they are the ones I wear most of the time because they are so simple and go with everything.

Have you ever lost anything really valuable or important to you? Have you ever found anything you thought you lost?

I rarely lose or misplace things, so when I do, I feel really stupid and get pretty upset. Mature, I know.

Comments (24)

By kilax, August 1, 2011 6:59 pm

My parents got me a new running outfit for my birthday – check out those shorts!

Shorty McShorterson! They have elastic on the bottom and are supposedly “chafe-free.” I brought them to work today to wear during a lunch run, but when I went out to run, I effed up the garmin and it wouldn’t turn back on, so I got pissed off and went back to my office. Because I am awesome. Yay, temper.

Let’s see if I can fix the Garmin tonight and try them tomorrow. I am curious to see if I like them as much as my bermudas. If I do, I will have to buy 4 more pairs.

And this isn’t related, but I have to post a picture of my brother’s ridiculously awesome boat. Would you ride in that thing? I did. It was the most awesome ride of my life. It goes about 60 mph and just glides (and sometimes jumps) over the water… it’s really exhilarating. Nick, please come back to the river in two weeks and take me on another ride!