Gee, thanks for asking.

Spectators hold up clever signs.  I've seen ones saying "Run Like You've Stolen Something" or "Run? I Thought You Said Run".  Here are some held up near the start of the 2013 Soldier Field 10 Mile Race.

I know they're too far away to be seen in this photo, but the one that caught my attention was "Have You Pooped Yet?"

This next photo, by the way, is not the line to the portajohns.  It's my view from the start.  People were assigned to corrals, and were started in segments.  "Wave starts", they call them.

The road goes on forever - but not in a straight line

In my previous long runs to the Lakefront trail or to River Park  I've run long, straight stretches on main roads.  If I go to the Lake front, I return on Irving Park Blvd. If I return from River Park, it's on Foster Ave.... a long straight never-ending run.  Or so it seems.
I'm beginning to think that the  long straight runs are more psychologically tiring than physically tiring.
Come to think of it - is there a road race out there which features a five mile straight, flat segment?   The ones I've been in have turns and curves every 2 or 3 miles.  My route from the Lakefront is "straighter than a preacher/longer than a memory", as Steve Earle once sang.  Today's run would be a change.
Instead of the long hoof down Irving Park, I started down Milwaukee to Addison.  Then Addison to Kimble.  North on Kimble to Irving Park.  East on Irving to Western, and then South to Addison.  After that, there was a long stretch to the Lakefront trail.
After hoofing down the Lakefront trail to Grand Ave., I made it back as far as Belmont Ave. turned West and carried on until Clark St.  That was enough.  Public transit home.
The route can be seen here


Our crazy winter weather continues in the Chicago area.  It spiked up to 50!  You wouldn't know it because of the wind.  Nevertheless, I got my long slow distance run in while the sun shone.

It was another chance to briefly try the android version of RunKeeper.  I'm not crazy about the way it sucks up the battery life, but a 30 minute test couldn't hurt.
I started it at one of the mile markers, but noticed that when I got to the next mile marker it didn't announce that I had run a mile.  Huh?  It let me know when I ran 1.2 miles though.

On the way back, I tried the MapMy Run app.  At least it didn't deplete the battery life too much.

Dashing through the snow - with "new toys"

Today was the coldest weather I've ever run in.  It may have gotten up to 23 degrees. And yes, there were snow flurries.

A few days ago, I received the hi-viz vest I had ordered from Dick Pond Athletics.  I have tried running with a belt with pockets to carry my phone, etc.  However, I don't like the way stuff bounces around.  I have "re purposed" a couple of photo vests by cutting out the back, but black and olive aren't very visible at night.  The Fuel Belt vest fits the bill-pockets and visibility.

The other "new toy" is the android version of RunKeeper.  This is the second time I used it.  Previously, I had tucked the phone in my pocket only to hear my phone tell me my time, distance and pace.  
Oh, I had to wear the ear buds.  
Because I run on sidewalks, I have to be mindful of any cross traffic, and haven't wanted the distraction of music or any other sounds from ear buds.  Today I wore the 'buds while the RunKeeper app was on.  I decided to cross check the results with my stopwatch, and the MapMyRun  map charting tool.
My route took me from my home  to the trail in River Park The trail follows the North Branch of the Chicago River. (btw. the water level in that branch looks really low!) Along with  one trip up & down the trail, I did a mile around the track close to Argyle St.
. I intended it to be a long slow distance run.  How one does an "lsd" run in such cold weather, I don't know.  I'm not sure I did.  I'd consider 12 minute miles "lsd".  
I'm going with the figures gleaned from my stopwatch, and MapMyRun.  I'm claiming 13.52 miles in in 2:29:00 with an 11:01 a mile pace.
Mind you, I stopped my stopwatch before stopping the RunKeeper app.  Yes, there was some fumbling around with the phone. However, I find the RunKeeper app results..um... optimistic. 14.01 miles in 2:30:25.  OK, I'll buy that.10:44 pace?  Meh, I'll believe 11:00.
On the other hand, the route that RunKeeper charted out was fairly accurate. 
On the way home, I wanted to break up the monotony of a long, straight run down Foster Ave., so I took digressions through the newly renovated Eugene Field Park, plus some side streets.
RunKeeper did get those digressions.
I still want to test out RunKeeper on a path with mile markers. I have Monday off, so I might try it again on the Lakefront trail.

Rethinking the drinking...

....of water, that is.
Gone are the days when drinking water before, and during  a long distance race was a sign of weakness.  Go out on the the Chicago Lakefront trail, and you'll see runners wearing belts with one or more bottles attached.  Others run with hand held bottles. 
Reminder: Chicago is not a desert city, and the lakefront trail has functional water fountains.

I was one of those bottle carriers too.  I had a nice Nathan water bottle with a hand strap which I picked up dirt cheap at Marshal's.  I say had because I left the darned thing at the grocery store checkout line, and forgot to take it home.  It was on a day when I was shopping for Gatorade.

But losing my water bottle wasn't the reason I'm rethinking my hydration practice.  I've had a sudden attack of common sense.

Do I need that excess fluid sloshing around when I run?  Do I need to drink before a race.  Maybe just a sip.

When I'm in a race, I know when I'm thirsty.  I don't need to stop at every water station for a cup.

Saturday, when I ran 13 miles I didn't obsess over whether I should bring a water bottle, because a) the weather was colder so I might not sweat as much b) there are water fountains at my destination, River Park  If I need a sip-no problems.  c) If I keeled over, perhaps dehydratrion wasn't the problem, maybe it would have been excessive blood flow to the legs, and not to my head.

There's another reason my thinking's changed.  Dr Tim Noakes.  I've only read excerpts of his new book Waterlogged,  (I intend to get the book) but it's enough to make me re-evaluate my water consumption.  How much water can I process?  And if I do gulp down water and/sport drink, won't my "personal best" be the dash to the nearest toilet? 

What to wear & how much to run.

I'm going to run the 2013 Chicago Marathon next October.  There I've written it down.  Now all I have to do is remember to register for it in time.

"All you have to do is register in time?" You ask,  "Aren't there some other details to work on?"
Sure, but mind you, the damn thing fills up fast.  Registration starts...when?  As soon as the  2012 Marathon finishes, I guess.  I must check.

Anyway, on to details.

I don't know if I want to keep wearing the belt with pouches.  I've done some longer runs and it feels awkward.  I like wearing the mesh photo vest, but there certainly are lighter all mesh vests with pockets, so I'll look into buying one of those.  That might be the excuse I need to go up to the Dick Pond Sports store in Park Ridge.

Saturday, I ran 12 miles along the Lakefront. The next day, even though I felt it in my thighs, Iwent for another long lakefront run.  It was a beautiful Sunday -  I told myself - and days  like these won't be around longer.

Perhaps I should have done some interval training on a local track.  A few intense 1000 meter runs interspersed with recover jogs.  But no The Great Marathoner to Be had to run, and run long.  I made it from the Lakeview Y, down Lincoln Avenue, to Wellington, and then Ssouthward  a little past Navy Pier. I turned around and headed back into a breeze, which became strong enough to feel like resistance training by the time I reached Diversey Harbor. 

I don't know if I "bonked" but I had enough.  I walked back to the Y.
Why on earth did it hurt more walking down stairs than up?  Beats me.  All I know is that I didn't want to sit down on the bus ride back home, because it would be excruciating standing up when my stop came.

There but for Aspercreme go I.

Next time: long run one day, and...something else the next.

The Novelty of the New, Part 2

Even though my last training run was only seven miles, I figured that running  on a new course would add to the excitement, and carry me to the end.  Running all the way NO WALKING!  (OK, maybe a slow trot to the water stations.)  With such a new event as  the Chicago Half Marathon would be, I had to be careful not to get too excited,and run too fast in the beginning. I had predicted a finish of 2:24, based mostly on 11 minute miles.How would I  to keep myself at this pace?  Treat the first miles as a sightseeing tour.

My family moved to an apartment at 67th & South Shore when we moved to Chicago.  OK, it's not exactly on the corner, but it's tall enough to be seen.  If you're familiar with South Shore & Hyde Park, then you can see that in the beginning, the course winds through parts of Jackson Park

It's been a long time since I was down to the old neighborhood, so I would try to gawk and sight see as much as I could in the beginning, without tripping over people or cracks in the street. 
(I have no experience in road construction, so I'd like to know why asphalt cracks at the top of the street  crown.  There were large "transverse cracks" ie. cracks along the length of some streets. Those made me nervous.)
Oh yes, another factor that would slow me down: There were over 12,000 entrants to the Chicago half Marathon.
I wore two stopwatches.  One was to keep total race time, and the other was to check the times between various mile posts.  My early readings showed times slightly below eleven minutes.  Good enough.  Save it for the last few miles on the way back.
Once I left Jackson Park, I turned onto Lake Shore Drive, and was treated to very smooth pavement.  Fantastic!  We had cool weather, and some breeze.  Running on Lake Shore Drive was a reward for evenings spent running (and tripping over) uneven sidewalks, while worrying about cars pulling out of alleys.) There was enough room to settle into a groove without worrying about running up on someone too soon.

I kept the 10:50-ish a mile pace until the 11th mile, when I increased to 10:30.  By the last mile I was too busy weaving my way past slower runners to reset my other watch.  I was also remembering a t-shirt I saw at the pre-race expo that said: "13 and that point 1 is a killer."
Not an exact quote, but that point-one seemed to take forever!  Past the front of the Museum of Science and Industry, and then there was a finish line....um somewhere.  I don't remember the details.

The Novelty of the New

Labor Day was hot & crowded on Chicago's Lakefront trail. I wanted to get in one last 13 mile run before the Chicago half marathon on Sept. 9.
I only ran 7.  Was it the heat?  No. I think it was a boring routine.  I was staying on parts of the trail that had clearly marked mileage signs.  I was trying to insure that I'd run eleven minute miles.  Also, I was running on a course I had run over and over and....

Enough!  Next Sunday I would be running somewhere new.  Well actually, it was in part of a neighborhood I used to live in.  But for running purposes, it was new.
In the days before the Half, I tapered back my regimen, doing striders.

The final result.  Sub eleven minute miles, and a time of about two hours and eighteen minutes.