3 Races in Less Than 30 Hours

Some of us focus (often for months) on training for one race. But once that race is over, what's next?

By mid-October, running season winds down as temperatures drop.

Still, there are runners who continue running in to the winter, and there's quite an alarming number of us. The Hot Chocolate 15K started in 2008 with 3,500 runners in Montrose Harbor. In 2010, the race has expanded to Grant Park, includes a 5K option and has added 26,500 entrants.

Last weekend, I ran 10 miles with Carrie and Jen as they prepared for the Monster Half Marathon. During the run, they told me our friend Sara would be doing the Half Marathon as well on Halloween.

She' also be doing two other runs - all in less than 30 hours.

At 8am on Saturday morning, Sara ran the Carrera de los Muertos (Run of the Dead) 5k in Pilsen.

At 6pm on Saturday evening, she ran Everybody PRs 6.9 mile run in west Lakeview.

At 8am on Sunday morning, she ran the Monster Half Marathon starting in Grant Park.

Sara and I talked about her multiple race weekend last night after Everybody PRs. Everybody PRs was a 6.9 mile run organized by F^3 Events and Universal Sole. About 30 runners (including Kim S, Kim A, Sara and I) participated on a course that went through Lakeview and North Center.

She said the Carrera de los Muertos was her best 5k time since 1997. She ran the race in sub 9 minute miles.

She said Everybody PRs was a little tougher, she could tell her legs were tired. After a few celebratory drinks, she headed home for a good night's sleep before this morning's Monster Half Marathon.

I'm anxious to hear how the Monster Half Marathon went for Sara, Carrie and Jen.

Running a half marathon three weeks after a marathon makes you rockstars in my book!

Congratulations!

Continuation of the Saturday Long Run

On the morning of Saturday, October 9th, I woke up after 8am.

The first thought in my head was 'It's strange to sleep past 6 on a Saturday.'

That's certainly not normal.

Although I'd run the Chicago Marathon the next morning, October 9th was what I could have only assumed to be the first Saturday of many with something missing - No Long Run.

The following Saturday continued the 'No Long Run' tradition. Instead of getting up early and running I went kayaking in the afternoon with Tricia.

But by last Saturday, truthfully, I couldn't stand it anymore. So when Carrie asked if I'd want to go out later Saturday morning to run 10 with Jen and herself, I said yes.

We would take it easy we agreed. This run was for fun instead of training.

However, during the run, I found out that they are both participating in the Monster Half Marathon on Sunday. At first I thought it was too soon for a half marathon, but as we continued on our run and I felt ok, I started thinking about it.

We started running in mild temperatures with overcast skies. We ended the run with sheets of rain and a cool breeze.

We talked about 'Everybody PRs' Kim's 6.9 mile race which happens this Saturday evening and then discussed the Hot Chocolate 15K on November 6th.

That's when I realized...I had replaced CARA's marathon training long runs with other Saturday long runs, thanks to friends suggestions and organized races.

It goes to show that we really don't know what to do with ourselves when we're not training.

Post Race Routines and Recovery [Afternoon of 10.10.10]

Yay! I crossed the finish line.

Now starts the road to recovery as I walk through the chute and grab a banana, bagel, mylar blanket, and most importantly, beer.

A transformation happens as you walk through the few blocks of the chute - You go from being in motion to completely stiff as a board. Walking becomes, quite quickly, a difficult thing to do. Your feet are swollen, so priority #1 is to take of the running shoes you've been in since 5am and get in to a more roomy shoe or sandal. Before you make this transition however, you're going to need to sit, and that's where the problem lies.

My quads are shot. I can stand and I can sit in a chair, but can't do anything in between.

Remember the blog entry 'Curbs and Stairs' from a few weeks ago, after the 20 miler? They are by far my worst enemy now.

My walk resembles more of a shuffle. My stride has been shortened by 3/4 it's normal length. Routine movement are now difficult.

To sum up, suddenly, I'm....old.

It's weird because I have a recent amazing accomplishment of physical and mental strength, yet now, I'm weak, tired and slow.

It's easier to list the body parts that don't hurt rather than the ones that do hurt.

So what to do?

Move, slowly, to the beer tent and follow it up with a lunch.

There's no way I'm taking the two flights of stairs down to get on the red line at Jackson, so my Dad offers to drive us home. Suddenly even a small SUV is luxurious for it's easy in and out access.

Once I'm home, it's time to sleep, at least for a little while. Later on that evening the 10:30's got together to celebrate the day. After all, it's a great reason to wear the finisher's medal around town. Dave gave Kim and I old lady aliases as we walked out to the car. We feel like we're 70 anyway, so it's fitting.

The top priority Monday is an afternoon massage. It is worth it's weight in gold. I'm feeling more flexible, but stairs and transitioning from sitting to standing is still hard. I'm hovering around 65 years old on Monday.

Here's a great video from Flora, the sponsor of the London Marathon, depicting the the day after a marathon:




Tuesday it's back to work. I can't take the chance of going through the crosswalk on a flashing red because I won't make it to the other side before traffic starts moving. I'm feeling better though, just moving slow. maybe about 60.

Wednesday's a big day. Stairs are no problem and my stride's coming back. I'm still a bit achy, but around 50.

Thursday I'm easily in my 30's again. Thursday's the recommended day for a two mile recovery run. I go out for a walk instead, but I feel pretty good. I've somehow started to forget how hard the race was and start thinking about how tomorrow at lunch, I'll get out there and run. Just an easy three or something...

Spectators [A Group Project]

Race spectators - Runners love them.

We love their encouraging words and noises. Even just their presence is nice. We appreciate their travels through the CTA's tangled web of transit to get to us.

While running through a city lined with thousands (maybe close to a million) spectators, you are bound to see examples of good and bad.

Here's an attempt (with feedback from some fellow running friends) at outlining -

GOOD

1. You're handing out stuff.
We are not picky. If it's edible and sounds halfway appealing, we're on it.
Special mention to anyone who hands out alcohol like the group of guys handing out beer in Pilsen in 2008 or JHo's friends at mile 24 with jello shots in 2010.

2. You have a creative sign.
You don't have to even cheer if you have a great, original sign. We'll remember it and then play 'Where's Waldo' looking for your sign as the race continues.
Some great ones we recalled -
It's OK to crap your pants.
You are ALL crazy.
Beer Up Ahead.
I Bet a Hangover Feels Worse
You are all Kenyans.

3. You Cheer.
You may be waiting for your friend to cross in front of you, but in the meantime, you're cheering for everyone in front of him. We don't care of your clap or whistle or scream. We are fine with all of it (except what is considered bad cheering).

4. You Have Good Music
Anything motivational and upbeat. It doesn't even have to be in English.

5. You Dance
If you've got a routine to entertain us as we pass by, we love it. Costumes or props make it even better. Anything goes. Good examples: The Boystown Cheerleaders and the Dragon in Chinatown. I look forward to seeing them each year.

BAD

1. You have a bad choice of words for cheering.
You mean well, and we love you for that, but your choice of words is killing us!
Examples -
At Mile 17 - "The Hard Part is Over."
At Mile 12 - "You're finished with the first half!"
At mile 22 - "The rest of this is easy."
At mile 23 - "You're in the home stretch"

2. You have a bad sign
This may be the graphic designer in me coming out, but any blown up photo of a person's head doesn't look good on a sign. The rest of us don't get it.

3. You run across the race to get to the other side of the street
We've been running for awhile and have one speed which we are trying to maintain efficiently. Everyone is moving is a one-directional sea, then suddenly, someone appears in front of you in his effort to cross the street. This really gets on our last nerve, because in most cases, they aren't even trying to get out of our way. We have to dodge these people so that we don't run in to them. Just stay on one side of the road while the race is going on, please.

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10.10.10: One Warm [Race] Day

Finally, after months of long runs, short runs, cross training, stretching, foam rollers, loads of laundry, countless bottles of water, gatorade, packets of gu and hours of sleep, the day has come - Race Day.

Goodbye taper madness. I'm standing in the corral, ready to run the 2010 Chicago Marathon!

With the exception of the ankle sprain in week 16, training was a success, so I guess I'm ready.

What's the one thing you can't control on race day? Weather.

Sunday morning was warm, even as we stood in the corral waiting to start.

My training group, for the most part, started together at 7:53. For the first 10 to 12 miles, a small group of us operated like clockwork and according to our plan - slightly slower than a 10:30, consistent miles. The north side of the race is the fun part. Your body's well rested and ready to go. There are a ton of spectators and great sideline entertainment [Hello Boystown Cheerleaders!].

It was shortly after the half marathon mark [which I checked my watch to see we had done in 2:24] that the well laid plans started to unravel. Not due to anyone's fitness level or desire, but rather due to the heat. It was now 80 degrees, and we still had a half marathon to run.

In the next few miles we'd broken in to pairs. Traveling out west towards the United Center is tough mentally. As you're running west, you can look a block south to see everyone in front of you traveling back east.

Carrie and I pushed through mile 19 together, but it was getting really tough. The sun was draining us. In the later teen miles, we took full advantage of walking through the aide stations and using the misters.

As we came up to mile 20, I needed to use the restroom and Carrie wanted to push on. I wished her luck and told her to go ahead - I would have Kim jumping in with me at 21.

Getting from 20 to 21.5 was a journey. I passed a bank's sign in Pilsen that read 87 degrees in that stretch.

Then Kim picked me out of the crowd (as she always does). She jumped in, asked if I needed anything, then called Brian. Brian jumped in with us shortly thereafter for a short while. It was so nice to have people talking to me through that part of the race!

The remaining miles few miles were the longest, hottest and toughest. This is where the race becomes a mental race - almost every muscle in your body hurts. Your body wants to stop [to at least some degree] but mentally you know you're strong enough to get to the end. So you keep pushing. You find sources of inspiration to keep you moving forward. Sometimes you have a friend besides you saying things like 'You look great. You're doing a great job.' Even though you may feel defeated at that moment.

I was lucky enough to have Kim there.

Soon we reached a sign that read 'One More Mile.' Kim said that there was no walking from this point on. I agreed with her - I needed to finish strong - even though Michigan Avenue seemed to be the longest street in the world that day.

Kim stayed with me until the corner of Roosevelt and Michigan. She ran along the other side of the the bridge and spoke words of encouragement as I used my arms to work my way up the hill. At the top of the hill was my Mom and Dave cheering me on. The next thing I knew, we were turning the corner on to Columbus to the finish line.

Crossing the finish line of a marathon is a one-of-a-kind experience. Even if you have crossed a marathon's finish line before. Some people are overcome with emotions. Others just want to grab their free beer and take off their shoes.

I have completed my third marathon. I have run the same course three times, and each time, I have had a completely unique experience. I have loved each year. The feeling never get old.

Will I do another marathon? Let's just say there was talk of another marathon between Kim and I during mile 24.

Yes, we're all crazy.

Marathon Morning

It's 4:30am on a Sunday.

I put on an outfit I'd laid out days before.

The night was somewhat restless, spent in and out of sleep and making multiple trips to the bathroom.

Must be the morning of the marathon.

I eat my regular breakfast, grab my bag, and head downtown on the El. The weather is warm, even for 5 in the morning. I leave my place with just my raceday outfit on. The train goes from nearly empty to completely packed, all full of marathoners and spectators.

I head over to Charity Village in an attempt to be part of Salute's team photo. It is completely dark out with no wind. The city looks stunning as I walk over the 12th street bridge. I reach charity village which breaks the morning's silence - with Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance.' There are dozens of tents - big, well known charities like the American Cancer Society and much smaller ones like Friends of Prentice for Northwestern's Womens Hospital. I get to Salute's tent to find I had missed the team photo by a few minutes.

I then head to gear check to turn over my bag. I pass by a 'Last minute runner preparation' booth which has jars of vasaline, band aides, safety pins, maps, and more. It is jammed with people. I then head over to the CARA compound at the Congress Hotel. This three step process takes nearly a half hour through crowds and pure distance, and I wonder if I'll be regretting all the pre-race walking later.

Up in the CARA compound, I find the 'Mmm Mmm Good' balloon, which is Kimberley's call sign of the day. Under the balloon stands most of the Saturday 6:30am Montrose Harbor 10:30 pace team. There's a mix of emotions here, varying from excitement to pure fear. We're all, to some degree, concerned about the weather. We sit, wait, watch the sun come up and get more nervous. Then we head out.

But one quick stop along the way - portapotties. This year, CARA had a special section of portapotties just for their Marathon Training members, located just off Van Buren and Michigan. Our group arrived at the portapotties to see a three-layer security detail in place, comparing to going through airport security with the TSA. On the other side of the security line stood a line of clean portapotties with NO line. This is the sort of thing a marathoner dreams of for race day morning. We took full advantage of the situation, even sitting down for a few minutes to regroup before heading to the corral.

The 'Mmm Mmm Good' balloon meets a group of red balloons with a 4:45 finish time sign, which is Tomas, another one of our group leaders. Now we stand and wait. Kim releases the balloon now that the group is together. We are in a sea of 36,000 people. We are somewhere in the middle of the sea, just waiting for movement. Motivational music is playing loudly and there's lots of talking between members of the group.

7:30 passes. We are so far back that we do not hear the gun go off or see the elites start. Shortly thereafter though, the sea of people does start slowly moving forward. We walk til 7:53, when we finally reach the start line.

Our 10.10.10 marathon now begins.

Marathon Motivation, Expo and Charity Luncheon

Above is a preview for the documentary, 'Spirit of the Marathon.' It followed 6 people training for the Chicago Marathon in 2006 - two elite athletes, two experienced marathoners, and two first time marathoners. It is great motivation, so I made sure to watch it earlier this week.

Yesterday [Friday], Kim S, Maggie and I went to the Marathon Expo at McCormick Place. The Expo is an event within itself. Nine rows of everything you could ever want or need was available. We met Kim A. and Sara there. We found our names on the 'We Are All Marathoners' wall along side the Nike booth. After spending some time walking the isles, picking up our packets, and buying some 10.10.10 gear, we headed home.

Friday evening was a 10:30 pace group dinner in Andersonville. We had 38 people in our party, which essentially took over the entire bar area of the restaurant. We had a good pre-race carb load and all got to bed early.

Today I headed down to McCormick Place again - this time to attend a luncheon held by my charity, Salute Inc. It was a great event. We met soldiers the charity has been able to help over their seven year existence. The charity continues to grow, and this year has 110 runners as part of their Marathon Team. These 110 runners raised a total of $80,000, which is absolutely amazing. Again, I thank everyone who donated this year.

It's the stories I heard today that I'll take with me tomorrow morning as I stand in the corral waiting to start the race. It is amazing how doing something so simple as volunteering to fundraise for a charity while training for a marathon can be so rewarding. My training is different, for certain better, than in years past, due to this.

The Big Mac Meal and Other Indulgences

A question commonly pondered by runners -

"Do I run to eat?" or "Do I eat to run?"

One may quickly say "Eat to run, of course!"

But then consider the delicious meals they've enjoyed while training. After all, if you're burning off 1,000+ calories on a Saturday morning, you can have whatever you want for breakfast! Here are some I've enjoyed this season.

One of my personal favorites is the Big Mac Meal -

I want the entire meal, in it's original form - no Diet Coke, no medium fries. Give me the all-american, fully-leaded Coke and large fry. I treat myself to the meal in the last few weeks of marathon training.


Another favorite is Garrett Popcorn's Carmel Crisp -

I don't know what their secret is, but I know it involves a lot of butter, and I LOVE butter. It just so happens that a McDonald's and Garrett Popcorn Shop are located on the ground floor of my office. Lucky me! I've gotten a small bag and devoured it in one sitting a few times during training.


My favorite meal by far is breakfast. Who doesn't love french toast? Or Captain Crunch for that matter? How about combining them, and topping them off with butter and syrup -

Captain Crunch french toast has become my post long run recovery meal, washed down with chocolate milk.


Certainly there's an adult beverage to add. My favorite this summer is Goose Island's Sofie -


What more can I say. It's just delicious!


It's easy to see I run to eat.

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Taper Madness

Less than five days to race day, and already, I can't focus.

Well, I can't focus on work or things to do around my condo, or anything I would normally be consumed with.

No.

Instead, I am focusing on things like -

Checking multiple weather websites at various times in the day.
Newsflash: They haven't changed...today.

My boss said he didn't feel well this morning. Am I going to catch his cold?

Reading the Marathon website and runner participant guide...again.
You never know, I could have missed something.

Varying degrees of positive and negative thoughts.
For example, "Training went really well. I can do this. [Then I think] I sprained my ankle just over a week ago, what am I doing?!?"
Scenarios like this go on and on.

Hoarding race day gear.
I've checked that my clothes and clean and that I have enough Gu.
I'm sure I'll check it all again...tomorrow.

Hazards appeared on my normal lunch time run to Buckingham Fountain.
None of them are new - cracks in the asphalt, cyclists, crosswalks - but today they are all safety issues.

Suddenly I have a quite vivid account of the last few miles of the race last year. They were hard. This experience is tough. Why am I doing this to myself again? How can anyone love inflicting pain on themselves?

Even with those thoughts, the pros still outweigh the cons, and I can' t wait.

I'm ready for you...Wednesday.

The Last 5 Miles

[26M marking at the crest of the Roosevelt Street Bridge. One week after the 2009 Marathon]

The first 20 miles of a Marathon are much easier than the last 6.2.

For the Chicago Marathon's course, that's on the South Side as you travel through Pilsen, Chinatown, Bridgeport, IIT and then the South Loop.

Last year Kim agreed to jump in with me around 21 off of Archer Avenue. I asked her to bring some good stories and jokes. I may not be talking much at that point, but I'd need her to.

Her placement was key. I wanted her to be after 20 but before the busy Chinatown area so she'd be easier for me to find.

The last few miles, leading up to 21 were challenging. But mentally, I told myself I just had to get to Kim.

She picked me out of the crowd. She jumped in, asked how I was doing, and then asked me what I needed. She had her pockets filled with any thing a marathoner could need (advil, gu, gum, water). I didn't have to tell her what to bring - She knew exactly what someone needs at mile 21.

Running through Chinatown and down to Sox Park wasn't all too bad, but that changed as we turned to go east over the Ryan. I knew I still had some work to do, and this is where Kim really turned in to my coach.

Heading north felt like a warp zone. I was still moving close to my pace, but it felt so slow. Each block seemed to be a few blocks long. I started calculating how many blocks I had left. We remember being at Cermak (2200S/22nd) and thinking that Roosevelt was (0). I was out of it.

Kim continued to be encouraging, telling me stories and asking how I was feeling.

We had talked about her jumping out in the South Loop before the crowds became too thick. Around 17th she asked me what I wanted her to do. I asked her to stay with me, so she did.

As we headed further north, it dawned on me that my previous calculations were wrong. Roosevelt was 1200S or 12th, not 0. I was closer than I thought. Ok, I thought, just make it to the bridge. Once you're at the bridge, you're just about done.

It was right before the bridge at Roosevelt that Kim jumped out. The course was on the north side of the bridge and the south side was closed off. Kim jumped onto the south side of the bridge and ran along with me, just on the other side of the planter dividers.

Through all the cheering from the hundreds of people on the Roosevelt bridge, I could hear Kim saying -
"You look great. You've got this. Use your arms!"

Then I looked to the left and saw my Mom, Dad and my best friend. I thought, how lucky am I to have people I love supporting me?

I looked over to my right and saw just her head over the planters. That's when I started tearing up. How lucky was I to have a friend that was coaching me through the toughest part of the race?

I turned the corner onto Columbus and saw the finish line. I could still hear Kim cheering me on above everyone else. I crossed the finish line. A wave of emotion came over me. I had not felt that way during my first marathon.

I walked through the corrals and saw Kim at the fence. I walked up to her and thanked her. I could not have imagined doing that last leg of the race without her.

Seeing how different the last five were in 2008 and 2009, I wonder what 10.10.10 holds?

Red Light, Green Light

Training can be like driving in traffic.

You catch the green lights for awhile, then you're stuck at a red.

Yesterday I visited my doctor to get her assessment on my (k)ankle.

Me: "I twisted my ankle over the weekend while running."

[show kankle]

Me: "It doesn't hurt to walk on. It just looks bad because it's bruised. I am running the Marathon in 11 days."

[Doctor shoots a crazy look]

Dr: "Sorry, you're not running a marathon." She went on to explain how I could injure it more by continuing to run or cause a longer recovery period later on.

RED LIGHT

[Surprise, surprise; I start tearing up]

The Doctor did say she'd call to get a second option.

In the meantime, I called my Mom, who's very good at understanding sob talk.

Then I called Kim.

Kim is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to any aspect of running. She suggested I first and foremost listen to my body. I have time to still recover, and there's nothing you can do right or wrong during the taper.

Then, later in the evening, I went to see Erin, my massage therapist. Erin echoed what Kim said.

As I was driving home from the massage, the doctor called. She had spoken to an orthopedic surgeon. Turns out, the OS thinks a marathon can be pulled off while recently recovering from a sprain.

GREEN LIGHT

Running for a Reason

Every runner has a reason.

To lose weight. To get in better shape.

Some of us run for bigger reasons than ourselves. We use running to benefit causes we hold close to our hearts.

The above photo is of a building along the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago. Each summer, the building is transformed into the Chicago Marathon mural. One of the people featured on the building this year is William Beiersdorf. William is the founder of Salute, an Illinois-based charity benefiting active military and their families.

William, a Naval reservist, was called to active duty for more than a year the day after 9/11. While serving his country away from home, his family endured severe financial hardships. After completing his duty, William and his wife founded Team Salute to provide financial assistance to military families. William and the organization now operate a running team at the Marathon each year to raise funds and awareness for the cause.

As my brother prepares to head to Afghanistan in early 2011, [his 4th deployment while serving in the US Army, and now as an Army Reservist] I am hard pressed to find a cause that effects my family more. My brother has served in the Army for most of his adult life. I cannot think of a service for which I could be more grateful.

It is for these reasons that I am running as part of Team Salute on 10.10.10.

The Big Fall

Everybody falls sometimes.

I do more than others.

I'm constantly running in to stuff. Tripping. I'm a klutz.

But Saturday's 12 mile run turned ugly at mile 11 where, somehow, I fell and twisted my ankle. Luckily no one else was injured in my massive plummet to the ground.

The entire 10:30 pace group stopped to see if I was ok. [Thanks again guys for not leaving me in the dust.]

I got back on my feet, and Sara, Tomas, Carrie and Jen walked with me.

I was so touched that they would stop and walk back with me. When I said something along those lines, the response was 'We're tired and were looking for a reason to walk!'

After running 40+ miles last week, we're all exhausted.

As for the ankle, it's turning in to quite a sight to see of purple and gray bruising.

I'm resting, icing, compressing and soaking in epsom salts.

No running til at least Saturday I've decided.

The good news is, although it's a bit stiff, I've not lost range of motion or am I in pain.

I'm hoping in time the swelling will go down and I'll be back to normal.

In case anyone's counting, the marathon's in 13 days.

You Know You're A Marathoner When...

[taken from a friend's email forward]

Your "easy" runs top the weekly mileage of 95% of the general population.

You eat like a 400 lb. man, and look like you're starving.

You miss a run and you're irritable and pissy all day and evening, as well as the next day.

Your friends gag when they catch a glimpse of your toes.

You roll your eyes when people talk about low carb diets.

"18 weeks" becomes your most important unit of time.

You start debating about Higdon.

You'd rather run a marathon than go on a "real" holiday.

You no longer think people who run marathons are crazy.

After finishing a really tough 26.2-mile run, your first thought is: "Next race, I'm going to...."

You have a pile of shoes in your closet because you feel like you have to have new running shoes every 400 miles.

Any run less than 16 miles feels like an easy workout.

You spend too much time on the Internet reading about other peoples' workouts.

You say you're going out for a short run and come back two hours later.

You think high 40s/low 50s and overcast sounds like perfect weather.

You get up earlier on weekends than you do during the work week.

You shower about 12 times a week.

Every time you see a runner when you're driving you feel like you too should be running, even if you ran 15 miles earlier in the day.

Your favorite shorts, singlet, socks and shoes cost three times as much as the clothes you got married in.

You tell your wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend that you want a marathon entry as a birthday present.

You think 40 miles is an easy week.

When you're driving somewhere and you see a distance to next town sign and automatically calculate how long it would take to run there.

You plan your vacations around your training schedule. A trip to Colorado is an opportunity to get some great hill work in. You could never imagine going on a cruise or a small Caribbean island. Trying to map out a 20 miler would be too hard.

When someone asks you how far you are planning to run, you say "I'm ONLY doing 10 today".

When your non-running friends stop calling you to hang out the night before you do your long runs.

You start planning your training for the next marathon before you finish the one your training for now.

You wear more electronics on a run than are in the dash of your car.

You tell non-runners you ran 5 miles when you really ran 15. Just so you won't have to sit through the "Wow, that's far!" conversation.

You gasp when you see someone running in everyday gym socks.

Your car smells a little sweaty from your running shoes in the back seat.

Your tan line is just above your ankles

Curbs & Stairs

Post 20-miler, routine movements become difficult.

Meet your new worst enemies:



and



Suddenly, negotiating these concrete and wood obstacles are a challenge as your entire lower body is, to some degree, sore.

You find yourself planning routes ahead of time that avoid them.

Is there a ramp or an elevator near by?

You know you're sore and entitled to taking it easy while you recover.

Other people see you walking funny and think you're either injured or just plain lazy.

You think about telling people 'I ran twenty miles yesterday.' as an excuse, but you worry that they'll entire think you're gloating or crazy. So instead, you say nothing, and let people assume what they want.

During your much-slower journey to where ever you're going, you see someone else mimicking your moves. You smile or nod at each other. You think, 'Yeah, that guy gets it. He just ran twenty too.'

Ready to Run

Today marked the longest training run I'll do this season.

CARA organizes a great event - The Ready to Run 20 Miler.

The event is not a race, rather an organized training run to simulate the marathon experience. Groups of 50 people who run the same pace are formed for a wave. Many paces have multiple waves.

We started this morning at Foster Avenue Beach, heading north on the lakefront path, right around 7:30am.

We went north til about Bryn Mawr, then headed south.

The lakefront path is 18 miles long, so CARA throws in a few diversions away from the path to make up the difference.

Today I made it to 17 before the distance started to get to me. Getting to 18 was tough. Once I reached the 18 mile marker, I had to tell myself that running another 20 minutes was nothing. What's two miles, right?

The finish line was at the South Shore Cultural Center. Our pace group got together within 312's beer garden and had a few drinks to celebrate a great run.

Now we start to taper for race day!

The infamous mid-week 10 miler

This morning I headed down to the boardwalk to run along the Bay.

I headed north yesterday, so I headed south today.

The boardwalk went from sidewalk to a wider sidewalk to asphalt to a bike trail to...Sea World.

Somehow, without realizing where I was running to, I ended up in front of the entrance to Sea World.

I figured this run would be a journey being it is the longest run I'll be doing on my own, but I didn't think I'd end up at Sea World.

I've had better runs, but the weather was beautiful as San Diego so often is.

I was able to explore a bit and didn't get lost.

I think we'll call it a success.

Vacation Planning and Training

Tomorrow I'll travel to San Diego through Thursday.

Kim asked the details of my trip over lunch today.

As I began to explain my flight times and dates, she smiled and said, 'Oh, so you'll do your long run tomorrow morning in Chicago and then fly out. Do your weekday runs there, then fly back in time to rest before the 20 miler.'

Yes. Everything she had said was correct. Without realizing it, I had meticulously planned how I'd get training in while traveling.

The other two people at the table thought we were crazy.

It came to no surprise to Kim, she has done the same sort of planning while training for marathons over the years. We discussed terrain in San Diego. Ten miles could be rough through the hills, but the weather will be mild.

I used to worry about getting runs in when I traveled, even if I was just driving out to the burbs for the weekend. Now, it seems almost second nature to fit it in whenever I can.

Did I mention I have two issues of Runner's World packed in my carry-on?

Running in the Dark

I used to be an evening runner.

Then I became a lunchtime runner.

Now, this year, a morning runner.

Tonight, I went back to my roots - a 9 miler starting at 6:30 P.M.

I started late because I wanted to run with some fellow 10:30's in CARA's training group. CARA holds midweek runs on Wednesdays during Marathon Training at Montrose.

Tonight is the first time in three years I went.

I was spoiled in 2008 and 2009 - I was able to talk my friend and former co-worker Katie in to running with me. Katie was training for the Chicago Half (held in September) both years, so it was easy to talk her in to doing some mileage with me.

It also helped that our offices were right next to each other.

It also helped that she was easy to convince.

We might talk about running earlier in the day, but around 4 P.M, we'd certainly talk specifics.

Sometimes we'd start out doing just 5, then we'd turn it in to 7.

Sometimes we ran in flash floods, accompanied by tornado sirens.

Sometimes we'd be chased by Canadian Geese or attacked by nats.

Last week, I didn't get up at 5 A.M. to finish 9 miles before work. I went after work, by myself. I found myself thinking of some very strange things trying to keep my mind busy for an hour and a half. The underlying theme though was that running 9 miles alone sucks.

Which brings me to tonight. For the first time in three years training with CARA, I showed up to the mid-week run. I was happy to see some familiar faces there. The run went well. Right around North Avenue, the street lights started to come on. We were not to our turn around point yet and we'd be running home in the dark.

But somehow, even in low light, it was great. The pacing was outstanding (thank you Kim and Carl) and 9 felt great instead of a slow form of torture.

36 Mile Week

A 36 mile week consists of -

4 Tuesday Morning
9 after work on Wednesday
5 at lunch on Thursday
&
18 on Saturday

A 36 mile week feels like a truck ran over you.

A 36 mile week is not scared of calories, so you eat like a beast.

A 36 mile week requires multiple packets of Gu, including Roctane for the 18 miler.

A 36 mile week puts you to bed before 10.

A 36 mile week takes your social time and converts it all to prep, recovery, or actual running time.

A 36 mile week laughs at the sight of heels.

A 36 mile week is good friends with your foam roller.