The Ever Evolving Race Plans

 Shortly after I finished the Chicago Marathon I had visions in my head of completing another marathon this spring.  Those who know me know that I'm determined to accomplish my goals.  Chicago was my very first marathon and I didn't quite hit the 4 hour mark goal I was aiming for.  I wanted to get right back on the horse and give it another shot.  After dealing with some aches and pains for the rest of the year I finally gave things a rest and picked up running again in January.  Things went well, but I might of did too much too soon.  After completing a run streak of 41 days I wound up taking a week off to start March.  I've eased back into running, but know that I'm too far off in training to be ready for any marathon before summer.  Let's be honest, I'm not going to do a summer marathon since the heat would definitely derail any plans of making 4 hours.

I finally signed up to do the Wisconsin Half Marathon on the same weekend I originally hoped to run a marathon.  Now there is no excuse to try and train like I'm running a marathon - not yet anyways.  This race also gives me a gauntlet of 8 races in 11 weekends.  My spring/summer schedule is looking like this:

3/30 - Shamrock Shuffle - 8K
4/6 -  Good For Like - 5K
4/27 - Ravenswood - 5K
5/3 - Wisconsin Half Marathon - 13.1M
5/18 - Chicago Spring Half - 13.1M
5/24 - Soldier Field - 10M
6/6 - Ragnar Relay - ?
7/10 - Bastille Day - 8K
7/12 - Devil's Lake - 13.1M
7/15 - Strike Out ALS - 5K
7/20 - RnR Chicago - 13.1M
8/23 - North Country - 13.1M
8/24 - Wine Country - 13.1M
9/7 - Chicago Half

I still might throw in Heatbreaker or BTN Big 10K on 7/26.

I had always envisioned doing a fall marathon as well and that is definitely still in play.  I threw my name in the lottery for NYC.  I'd also do the lottery for Chicago and would of most likely done Grand Rapids as a back up.  Well those plans all changed as well.  My friends were going to get married the same weekend as Chicago so I with held entering the lottery for that.  I did get great news today though...

I got accepted into the NYC Marathon!  I was of of the 9,170 runners chosen out of a pool of 77,087 who entered the lottery.  I'm very excited and feeling pretty lucky.  I have to start making travel arrangements.  November is going to be a crazy month now since I'm also doing RnR Las Vegas again on November 16th.  For someone who is in only their 3rd year of running and being able to do Chicago and New York as their first 2 marathons is pretty special and pretty crazy.  Disney world will be my 3rd marathon come January.

Good Life Race

Just  a month from now is a great Chicagoland race.  For those who like 5Ks, this one is one of the best around.  I ran in the race last year.   Its super well organized and held in Oak Park.  Its easier to get to for suburbanites and still on the green line for the city dwellers.  The race is HQ is at a local school that gets transformed into packet pickup and gear check as well as a post race area to regroup.  There are plenty of port-o-lets at the start of the race as well as room to jog around and warm up.

One of the unique features of the race is that the men and women run separately.  The guys and girls can still watch each other start and finish in spite of having different paces.  The course has more of a small town feel to it as it runs through a more suburban like setting.  There are runners of all speeds, but enough speedier folks to help push you to new limits.  I broke my PR at this race last year without that as a goal.  It served as a morale boost for when I shattered my PR later at Race to Wrigley.  Also the best part of the course - the last half mile is pretty much downhill.  Nothing like a strong and fast finish.

Use code CHICAGOSBEST2014 to get $5 off and CARA members still get an additional $3 off on top of that.

First Setback of the Current Cycle

I'm tentatively planning to run a marathon either May 3rd or May 4th.  I've been eyeing the Wisconsin Marathon and the Lansing Marathon.  Both have their pros and cons which I'm not going to get into right now.  I haven't registered for either race yet because I've been wanting to make sure that my body felt up to the task.  Its no secret that I had knee problems after the last marathon.  I took time off from running and used other exercises to work on core strength and still get a little cardio in.

My return from injury has been absolutely fantastic so far.  I've been able to ramp up without many issues.  I still get occasional soreness, but it has been manageable. Case in point:  There are still 3 days left in February and I've run 54 more miles this year for the month than last year.  I've also had a 34 mile increase over January of this year.  My pace has been slower, but steady.  I've done absolutely no speed work and that is ok for now.  I wanted to make sure I built up the endurance first.  I think the lack of hard miles has helped me to run consistently.  It's also allowed me to have a run streak that is currently at 38 days.

This past weekend I went to visit family.  This meant a 4.5 hour drive each way.  All that time spent sitting isn't very kind to the body.  My knee aches after my hour commute to and from work.  When I arrived I quickly realized that the outdoor conditions weren't ideal.  Instead of 40 degree temps and rain melting snow, my parents got sleet and snow and streets covered in ice.  I still made a go of my run on Saturday.  I started on the sidewalk but realized the piled up snow on the lawns turned them into canyons full of ice.  I moved to the street where I could dip and dodge and find bare pavement and fewer occurrences of ice, but it was still there.  After jogging back and forth on the main street of the subdivision a few times I decided I gambled enough and wanted to quit while I as ahead.  There was still too much ice plus traffic to deal with and that was a bad combo.  My 7 mile run wound up being just 2 miles.

On Sunday I was supposed to do 15 miles according to my plan.  I knew there was no way I was going to accomplish that outdoors.  I instead tried to use my parents busted up treadmill that ran but didn't have a working display.  It was also next to a litter box used by 3 cats in a dirty basement.  To top things off the treadmill had so much bounce to it I felt like I was on a mini trampoline.  Needless to say I wasn't happy about meaning on it and the bounce made my knee angry.  I eked out 50 minutes which I estimated to be about 5 miles since I had no display.  My weekend ended 15 miles short of the goal.

I thought maybe I could make up the 15 miles on Monday after work.  Nope, that wasn't in the cards.  I got home a little late for it plus I just didn't have the energy for it.  I did a few workout programs on the Xbox and ran my mile instead.  Today I woke up and my legs didn't have the same pep they usually do after a cross training day.  I think I might have over did things and one of the workouts had a lot of lunges and squats.  After work I got on the treadmill anyways with just 4 miles to put in and I threw in the towel at just over 2 miles.  I couldn't coax anything more out of the knee and decided to roll and stretch instead.

It's still over 2 months until either potential marathon so I'm not in any sort of panic mode.  It is just a little frustrating to be doing so well and then go through a rough stretch.  I'll bounce back though.  I've learned what works and what doesn't.  Funny enough it's my right knee bothering me now and not the left that was so troublesome after the marathon.  I think I wasn't very good about doing my rehab exercises on both sides so now I'm paying for it.  There's another lesson learned.

Return to the Lakefront Path

If anyone saw a weather report I definitely didn't head outside for a run today.  It is fun to run in the falling snow, just not in the wind and when the rate of snow is 1-2 inches per hour.  My return to the lakefront path actually occurred yesterday for my weekly long run.

How long has it been since I've been on my normal training grounds?  I had to dig deep to find an answer.  I did a 2 mile loop back on November 3rd while my knee was still giving me issues.  I ran 3 more times outdoors after that before taking nearly a month off from running to rehabilitate the knee and let the broken toe mend.  Those runs were a fun run from Roadrunner Sports, Rock and Roll Half Las Vegas, and November bonus pint night at Fleet Feet Lincoln Square.  I wouldn't run again until I hit the treadmill in the waning days of December.  I did manage to get through a 10K on January 11th along the lakefront path, but that was much further south than my usual stomping grounds between Oak Street and Wilson.

The plan to hit the path was sort of half baked.  I couldn't picture myself doing 14 miles on the treadmill.  I suffered through the 12 mile run I did 2 weeks ago and that was just torture.  I had thought maybe do part of the run outside and part of the run inside and even left my apartment with that being the plan.  I filled the 2 bottles on my water belt with Gatorade since it was about 25 degrees out and water would of just froze in the 2 plus hours the run would take me.  I figured I would loop back to the inner path between Diversey and Fullerton and hit the CARA water fountain that is kept on all winter.  I also brought along an Accel-Gel to try out.

My run started on the inner path near Diversey and headed north to the Belmont underpass where I turned south.  The first part was a little tricky since the path was still quite covered in snow, but I trucked along keeping the strides small.  The actual path was fine until I got south of Fullerton and saw that it was diverted to the upper portion above the ledges.  Everything here was a muddy quagmire and people made a path on the snow to go around it.  So much for the plan to just do loops from Diversey to Castaways and back so I could keep hitting the fountain.  I continued down until I hit Oak Street and turned back.  This is where the wind hit me and things became a struggle.  I've been running for other a month with no wind so I definitely wasn't prepared.  My face numbed and my eyes stung, but I gritted it out.  When I got back to Belmont I turned back to the inner paths to hit the fountain.  I was at 6.65 miles and figured I should just take my gel while I was there.  I liked the Accel-Gel. It tasted alright and went down a lot smoother than Gu normally does for me.  I continued back to Fullerton and onto the path and turned back north.  The wind wasn't as bad north of Belmont which helped me decide to just truck on with the run.  I wound up going a little bit north of Lawrence instead of looping around the Cricket Hill area like I normally do since the paths weren't plowed.  I was at 10.5 miles and turned south and still felt pretty good.  I had enough energy and the legs still felt strong.  I wound up picking up the pace ever so slightly.  I realized I didn't go far enough north and would have to add a little loop to my run to finish at 14 miles so I overshot Belmont by 1/3 of a mile before coming back and heading down the path for the final stretch.  My legs finally started to burn a bit that last mile.  I actually had quite a bit of Gatorade left and only hit the fountain once.  I guess the cold water helped me not need as much hydration.  I even had a negative split by a minute the second half.

It probably wasn't the wisest decision to make my weekly long run my return to the lakefront path.  It was probably crazier still that this was my longest run since the Chicago Marathon.  I got through it though and wasn't too bad today.  My knees were a little sore, but nothing that can't be worked out with some stretching and core exercises.  The one thing I did notice is that my form and cadence seem to be better.  I kept focusing on form and engaging my core muscles better while on the treadmill.  I think the consistent pace of the treadmill helped with my stride cadence.  My final mile with the burning legs was still only 1 second slower than my overall pace for the run.  The overall pace actually surprised me since I didn't feel like I was over exerting myself, yet was faster than the training I've been doing on the treadmill.

Anyone else have experience transitioning from the treadmill back to the streets?  How does your pace differ between the two?

What I Drank Wednesday

Ok so I've been encouraged to blog about my drinking habits and so here it is.  I know Wednesday is almost over, but it ain't midnight yet!

I'm going to cheat and go back to last Wednesday which is what kicked this off.  After work I went on a date with a girl who lives up near where my office is.  We decided to pick a spot halfway to meet and that happened to be Ram Brewery and Restaurant.  I got there a bit earlier than her and grabbed a Blonde Ale.  I went for lowest alcohol content because I didn't know how long I'd be there and I had to drive back home after and don't condone drinking and driving.  That wound up being my only beer that night.  The date was also sort of a bust.  Oh well.

Friday night I went out for a friend's birthday.  Their choice for dinner was Hubbard Inn.  We got their before our reservation and hit the bar.  I started thinks off with a Metropolitan Krankshaft beer. I know its a kolsch and more of a summer beer, but I was trying to ignore the snow that was starting to come down.  After we sat for dinner I switched over to Pilsner Urquell. Dinner was a bison burger and was just so so.  After dinner we went to Bub City since the birthday girl loves her country.  Not me, but I dealt with it and drank lots of Shiner.  After awhile there we headed up to Galway Bay.  I drank a Labatt tallboy... its been awhile since I went Canadian. Galway Bay closed and we headed next door to Yakzies where I finished the night with Bud Light.  Once you reach a certain point its just not worth it to drink good beer anymore.  It marked the 2nd time in a month that I stayed out until the bars closed.  What have I turned into?  I still got up and did my 6 miles on Saturday... just a little later in the day.  Sunday was another 12 miles before I went to a "Big Game" party.

My friends hosted people over for the game on Sunday.  I got there a little bit late so I missed the safety and whatnot.  When I arrived I was immediately offered a beer... Smithwicks, but the label was a bit funny.

My friends had gone off to India and gotten married over there, but still needed to have their American ceremony.  It looks like they picked a date and asked me to be a groomsman.  I gave a tentative yes considering that the wedding is likely to be in Iowa and the Chicago Marathon is the following day.  I guess I should hope that I don't get in the lottery and have to choose another marathon since I've never been a groomsman before.  I also had a Guinness during the game along with the Smithwicks.

So yeah, I drank a bit more than normal this week but didn't try anything new.  I don't know if next Wednesday will be quite as exciting since I don't have plans to go out this weekend.

A Belated Look Back at 2013

If I took a short view look back at at 2013 it would be easy to be frustrated and disappointed.  I ended the year dealing with multiple injuries and taking a full month off from any running at all.  Now that I'm into my 4th week of my comeback and starting to get stronger its becoming easier to look at the prior year in the big picture and be proud of my accomplishments.

I ran 1060 miles.  That's an improvement of 337 miles over 2012.

I ran 13 half marathon races. Ok so it was 11 half marathons and 1 marathon.

I ran in the Chicago Marathon as my first ever marathon.

I ran 23 races in total.

I set new PRs at all distances.  I was most excited about dropping my 5K from 23:35 down to 22:00 and my half marathon time from 1:55:07 all the way down to 1:49:13.

I raced in 2 new states running halfs in both Wisconsin and Las Vegas.

I also started blogging about my running adventures in 2013 and made many new friends doing so.  I inspired a few friends to start blogging as well.

I know this is just sort of an abbreviated look at things, but it shows a lot of success and improvement in only my 2nd full year of running.  I'm looking forward to even more improvement in 2014.  I've finally added a solid cross training regiment in addition to my running which can only help.  I just need to show a little more constraint in what I eat and maybe I'll finally get rid of my pouch up front.  There will definitely be new adventures and challenges.  The Wurst runners will be rocking Ragnar.  I'm also running a double trail half gauntlet in Michigan in August.  Another fall marathon is also in the works as a warm up for the Dopey Challenge that will start 2015.

Back in Action - Chicago Polar Dash

I've been long overdue for a blog post but I've been busy with holiday and vacation stuff.  I also took a month off from running to let the knee heal and instead focused on leg and core workouts to help improve my form once I did start running again.   I finally returned to running while in Orlando, Florida for the week of New Years.  The place we stayed at had a nice fitness room so I actually jumped on the treadmill and took advantage of some of the other equipment while I was there.  I normally hate gyms, but this place was convenient and I was on a mission to get back on track.

I signed up for Polar Dash way back while picking up my packet for Monster Dash at the Chicago Half Marathon Expo.  Initially I wasn't going to do it, but they were giving out penguin hats and fleece jackets.  With all the half marathons that I ran last year, that distance did cross my mind, but with the race coming on my birthday weekend I figured a 10K would be long enough.  I guess it was smart I did that since they decided to change the half to a 14 miler and with all the time I took off, along with holiday weight gain, I was in no shape to complete the 14 miler - especially on just 4 aid stations carrying only water.

Mizuno Wave Ascend 8 won at RRS Xmas Party

So fast forward to race day.  After a couple weeks in which I finally returned to running and topped a distance of only 4 miles I needed to cover 6.2.  Mother nature was not helping with tons of snow that was now melting.  I guess I should be glad I wasn't running in negative windchills, but 40 degrees with soaked feet isn't much fun either.  I wore barely enough clothes to keep warm until the race started - and started to overheat a bit during the run.  I also put on my new Mizuno Ascend trail shoes since I figured the extra traction would come in handy on the slick trail - and it did.  I also decided to have a bit of fun with things and wore a Star Wars Wampa (snow monster from the ice planet Hoth) hat.  I coordinated the bus with Jennifer and off we went to the race.  Once their I ran into Natali who also had a wampa hat and we of course had to take a picture together.

Once it was time to start the race, all the slush and mud made it very difficult to get into the corrals.  We had to go through the start line and walk back towards the right pace area.  The race officials had a lot of trouble clearing spectators off the path so we could run.  I'm guessing that a lot of people gave up on getting back to their proper pace area because I wound up having a lot of slow runners in front of me and it made the early part of the race miserable.  On top of the slow runners, the race came to a practical standstill just a quarter mile in as the sidewalk was completely flooded in shin deep water and people were trying to tiptoe up the snow banks on the side trying to stay dry.  There just wasn't room to run unless you went straight through the water and I wasn't prepared to do that just yet.  There were a couple more flooded spots in the first mile.  This wound up being by far my slowest mile of the day at 10:20.  I had planned on easing back into things, but I didn't expect to go that slow.

I soon found a groove and picked up steam.  It helped that the course became a bit more cleared up and there weren't any further traffic jams for awhile.  I wound up running behind a couple girls for most the race who were chatting away.  They stayed a pretty consistent 8:45 pace.  This pace didn't feel easy, but also wasn't overdoing it for the fitness level I'm currently at.  I noticed I was passing runners during the race... a lot of runners.  The neat thing that Team Ortho does with its results is tell you your pace between checkpoints, runners passed, etc.  I wound up passing 118 runners between when I started the race and when I finished.  There were definitely a lot of slower runners lined up front that contributed to that.  I was passed by 27 runners during the race.  For the last 0.9 miles - especially during the last half mile where I finally sped up a bit I managed to pass 13 runners and had just 1 pass me.

By the end of the race my feet were pretty much soaked so I plowed through some of the puddles I had avoided earlier. The course was now choked with slow 5K runners as well as people who finished and were using the course to leave the area.  This was a bit of a logistical mess.  I did my best to just get through it and finish the race.  My overall time of 57:08 is my slowest 10K, but not by much.  I'm happy with it considering course conditions and the fact that I'm just starting to get back into the running routine after time off.  My knee was fine during the race, but got a little sore later in the day.

After the race I found Jennifer and we headed straight for the bus to go home.  We both wanted naps.