I'm Back!

Welcome - Internet Friends!

Long time, no type from my end.  Nothing special, just got out of the habit.  

Let's get caught up!

Since I last blogged...

Running:

-- I've completed 3 marathons (Kiawah Island, Rome, Wisconsin) and 1 half marathon (Schaumburg Turkey Trot Half marathon)

Life Stuff:

-- We travelled to London in February and Italy in March

-- We FINALLY only own one piece of property in the city!  And we're loving our new hood!!

That's about all.  Oh.  And Abita Strawberry Wheat is BACK!!!!  Like me!!

NY Marathon Race Recap!

On Sunday, November 3rd I ran the NY Marathon.

It was my 2nd marathon of 2013, and my 4th lifetime marathon.  My legs kind of hurt just typing this.

I had three major goals for this race: finish.  don't get injured.  have a ton of fun.

Short story: Mission accomplished!

The background: I have been trying to run this marathon since the fall of 2009.  I have dutifully given $14 to NYRR every fall for entry into the lottery.  And every year I haven't been picked (sad face).  Good news for me - NYRR had a 3 fails = in policy!  This was my 4th year entering the lottery, so I had guaranteed entry.  I think I paid $266 to register, but considering I got a boat ride, a bus ride and a helicopter escort, totally worth it :)

The arrival: Mr Sharkie and I flew into LaGuardia on Friday evening.  We ordered drinks on the plane and weren't charged for them.  Yay! We took the M60 to the 4 train and checked into our hotel in the financial district.  Sharkie's hot tip: consider staying in the financial district if you're coming into town for the marathon.  It was super easy to get to the Staten Island Ferry in the morning, and super easy to get back after the marathon!

The carb loading:  In true pre-marathon tradition we spent Saturday morning watching EPL (CHELSEA!!) at an Irish bar.  I had the world's tiniest most disgusting bloody mary

Ladies and Gentleman.  The most disgusting Bloody Mary in the Universe

and a yuengling.  Also free.  It seems that it was free drinks weekend!  Lunch was Shake Shack (totally worth the wait, and the screaming children, I swear).  Dinner was at this phenom fancy pasta place called Scarpetta.  Then we hit up CVS for food for Staten Island and a throw-away hat.  Yep.  I was that chick sporting an elf hat on Staten Island.  What?  It was only $3.99!!

The expo: OMFG, what a cluster.  We got there at about noon on Sunday and the line to get your ID checked to enter packet pick-up was down a block, then down another block.  People were cutting like crazy.  The line did move pretty quickly, and packet pick up was pretty efficient.  I wanted to do some shopping, but I was hot and on the verge of a mass of people panic attack.  I picked up a fly neon yellow jacket, and off we went.

The arrival to the start line:  My wave was scheduled to start at 10:55 AM.  I set my alarm for 6:30, and headed out the door of the hotel around 7 am.  It was one subway stop from my hotel to the Staten Island Ferry.  My ferry was scheduled to leave at 8 am, so I was super early for my ferry.  It was pretty hard to be anti-social waiting for the ferry.  The atmosphere was pretty electric.  I talked to some nice folks from all over the country and swapped marathoning stories.  The ferry left promptly at 8 am and arrived around 8:40 or so.

Then we were shuffled to a bus line, which wrapped down and around a block.  Best quote of the bus line - "anyone every been to a rave?"  I made my way to a bus around 9:10 or so and made it to the start line around 9:40.  Quick trip through a metal detector (!!) and we were in the start village.  I then spent ~ 30 minutes trying to find my friend in one of the start villages.  Overall, very organized, I'm just discombobulated before a race :)

The start: We entered our corral at 10:35 and were off promptly at 10:55 am.  Very, very cool to take off to NY, NY!

I'm going to stray from my normal mile by mile play by play and pass along thoughts I had along the route.  This is by far the most emotional I've been while running a marathon.  I think I was grinning from ear to ear for the vast majority of the race.

• Favorite borough - Oh Brooklyn.  I think I'm in love with you.  From the dude shouting welcome to Brooklyn, to the pep band, to all the adorable restaurants I wanted to visit - it was never a dull moment.  Thank you.

• The bridges - I could say a lot of bad things about the bridges.  They were windy.  They were hilly.  They were boring.  But they were also a really good time for reflection.  For bonding with fellow runners.  For amazing vistas of the city.  
• The crowd support - First and foremost.  Thank you to Mr. Sharkie for spectating at miles 8, 17 and 24.  It was amazing to have a familiar face among the crowd.  He also takes amazing race photos if anyone wants to hire him.  

• The bands were amaze-balls.  The signs were awesome.  The kids gave amazing high fives.  I'd also like to thank the dude who yelled at me at mile 23 to start running.  He said I still had it in me, and I did.  I ran it all the way home.  There is also no better noise in the world than the roar of Manhattan after the silence of a bridge.
• The runners - It is an amazing feeling to never feel alone during a marathon.  There were so many inspiring runners out there and it was a true inspiration to run with all of them.  
• Central park - Hands down the second best section of the marathon.  It was so gorgeous that I didn't even really notice the rolling hills

Rolling hills?  What rolling hills?  Also, my apologies to Fran.  She looks uncomfortable.

The finish - Quick turn of of and into central park, and you're done!  You grab your medal, then a picture, then walk ~ 12 blocks to the exit.  I had chosen early exit so I got my finish line poncho (look for them on Ebay, they are seriously that amazing) and high tailed it to the subway.  And then a bar.  Post-marathon beer is amazing!

Overall, I had an amazing NYC Marathon experience!  It's easy to get hung up on the minor annoyances of the day.  But then you remember that you just participated in the largest marathon in the world.  And then the ear to ear grin comes back.  If I ever got the chance to participate again, I would be there in a heart beat!  The city truly embraces the marathon, and that felt amazing.

So, thank you NY.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Oh - for those who are interested in finish times - 5:18:40.  A time I am very proud of.

Next up: Schaumburg Turkey Trot!

Monster Dash Race Recap - AKA Team Ortho Rant

On Sunday October 20, I ran the Monster Dash Half Marathon.  My 11th half of the year, and arguably  a pretty bad decision going in considering I ran the Chicago Marathon last weekend.

But...I was registered.  And I hate wasting money.  So off I went!

Warning: this race recap will probably degenerate into a rant about how much I hate Team Ortho races, but I promise to stick to the facts.

The packet pick-up:

Did Saturday pick-up at the Congress Hotel.  I was registered for the Monster Dash as part of their three race series, so all they had for me was my number.  Pretty efficient once I looked up my race number.  They are pushing the three race series for 2014 ultra mega hard, but I learned my lesson from 2013.  No more Team Ortho races for me!

The carb loading:

Went to Blackbird Friday night, then got up to watch the EPL on Saturday morning (CHELSEA!!), drank 2 ciders.  Took a nap, ate a bunch of pizza, then off to the Blackhawks game!  Drank 2 beers and ate sweet potato fries.  I like making terrible decisions and living on the edge :) 

The start line:

Start time was 9 am.  Yay for sleeping in!  I rode my bike to the start line at ~8:50 am, found my friend, took a couple of pictures, and off we went!!

0-5K: The race starts by the baseball fields between Columbus and LSD and Roosevelt and Balboa.  You do a couple loop-ti-dos in Grant Park then along the lakefront, then it's straight south on the lakefront.  TONS of people running in costumes, and TONS of people who didn't line up by the correct pace sign.  I did a lot of bobbing and weaving for the first 5K or so.  There was also a very solid lack of water during the first 5K.  I read on the website that there would be 8 aid stations, so figured that maybe there would be at least one in the first 5K

5K-10K: Sweet, sweet water.  And more running south.  I have run this route approximately a hundred billion times, but at least there were costumes to keep me entertained.  I also missed the out and back aspect of this course as they took advantage of different parts of the path.  One of the fun parts of an out and back is side fiving people you know all over the course!

10K-15K:  Up and over the hill on 47th street, then a turn around and straight north to home!  I think there was an aid station in here somewhere.  Starting to get pretty bored at this point.  I think my body also started to realize that I had run a marathon last weekend.

15K-20K: Doing a modified run walk at this point.  Mostly because I'm really thirsty.  Because there are ONLY 5 AID STATIONS TOTAL!!!  I honestly don't care if you're going to have 5 aid stations, but don't say that there are going to be 8 aid stations.  That's just dangerous!

20-21K: Blew past the Shedd and then up and over the hill to the finish.  Got my awesome (??) bling, water and a banana and hit the road.

I finished in 2:17:18, my second fastest half marathon of 2013!

Let's see what was promised by Team Ortho:

Monster Half Marathon

• Monster Dash Hoodie racer SWAG - Too big.  Can't wear it.  Very manly.
• 3D belt buckle medal - I have an awesome new belt buckle if anyone wants to wear it.  This medal also DOES NOT FIT IN THE MEDAL HOLDER THAT THEY SOLD ME FOR DOING ALL 3 RACES!!!!!!!
• Get your bib mailed to you (choose this during registration by October 4th)! If you email us requesting the mail-out after registration the fee is $30. - Does $30 seem crazy to anyone else
• Chip-timed - True
• USATF Certified - True.  I saw the map online
• 8 aid stations - FALSE.  There were 5.  Maybe they mean between all three races
• On-course entertainment - Do the bucket boys count as on-course entertainment?
• Costume contest - Didn't participate
• 3 1/2 hour time limit - True

Anyhoo.  For all of the above reasons, I will not give another dime of my money to Team Ortho.  

If anyone needs me - I'll be trying to put this:

Round.  And 3-D

Into this:

Not my medal holder.  But you get the idea.

For the rest of the afternoon.

Next race: New York Marathon!

12 Seconds and a PR. Chicago Marathon Race Recap!

On October 13, 2013 I ran the Chicago Marathon.  It was my third overall marathon, and by far the greatest I've felt both during and after a marathon.  I had a not so secret goal of finishing the marathon in "something starting in a 4," and got SUPER close to that goal.  Do I smell a revenge marathon in my future??

The short version: I finished in 5:00:12, an almost 20 minute PR over my 2009 time!

The longer version:

Packet Pickup:
I went twice!  I had arranged to go with a friend from CARA training on Friday evening since I wanted to save my wheels for Sunday.  We took the CTA to McCormick place which ended up taking a very long time since traffic was so horrific.  We finally got the expo and picked up packets and t-shirts very quickly, then wandered around the expo for about 45 minutes or so, which was just enough time to give my self a stomachache at the Power Bar booth.  I seriously can't resist free samples.  After wrapping up at the expo we took the free school bus from McCormick to Roosevelt and then I took the Green Line home.  All in all, about 3 hours total.

Upon arriving home on Friday evening, Mr Sharkie begged me to take him to the expo on Saturday morning so he could get his packet even though he wasn't running the marathon.  We drove to McCormick place on Saturday morning at 9 am sharp, scored free street parking, and dove right in.  All in all, about 1 hour total.

Definitely do Saturday AM packet pick up if you're in town!!

Race Day:
Following the traditional poor night's sleep before a marathon, I woke up around 5:45, got dressed, and headed down to the Hilton for the CARA VIP Marathon Experience.  Everyone who participated in the program this summer had free entry to the Experience.  It was set up in one of the banquet rooms in the Hilton basement and was a warm place to meet up with the group, drink a little water, and check bags in a hassle free environment.  I ate a Larabar, and we headed out to the start corrals around 6:45 or so.

The start: Amazing job with the corrals Chicago!  Very different from 2009 where everyone was wandering around all over the place.  We were in corral H, and crossed the start line at around 8:15 or so.

The first 5K (34:50, 11:19 pace): The first 5K felt much less crowded than in previous years.  Yay for a wave start!  I was running with ~ 5 runners from our CARA group and for once we didn't start too quickly.  It was eerily quiet for the first half mile or so, with no spectators on Randolph like usual.  I also got a nice glimpse at all of the fun signs, mostly saying that we were running better than Congress. Take note, Mr Sharkie - I'd like a giant sign of my noggin the next time you spectate a marathon.  Mr Sharkie and gang were hanging right at the 5K mark, so I got my high five, and headed into the second 5K.

5K-10K (34:11, 11:00 pace): out of downtown, and into the zoo!  This part of the marathon went by really quickly for me.  We were still all chatting, and I kept running into people I knew.  There were also some pretty cool bands right by the entrance to the park.  I was still adhering to my water, gatorade, sport beans for water stops and felt nice and hydrated.

10K-15K (33:45, 10:52 pace): FINALLY headed a direction other than north.  At least that's what I starting asking very loudly for once we got to a couple of blocks south of Addison.  This is also one of my favorite parts of the course.  Great crowd support, fun dancing (anyone else "jump around"), and you're still not too tired yet.  Mr Sharkie and friends were also at this stop to say "hi!"

High Fives are Fun!

15K -20K (34:28, 11:06 pace): Back into downtown!  Elvis!  More dance party!  This is also a fun part of the course.  I always love running into downtown because there are a TON of spectators.  I also had hit my 4th best half marathon time of the year with a 2:24:49!

20K-25K (35:02, 11:23 pace): Headed west!  Mr Sharkie and gang were supposed to meet me at mile 14, but they had a CTA snag, and I ended up being too fast for them!  The trip west can be a little lonely at times, but a ton of folks were out cheering at charity village.  I was headed towards mile 16, and I spotted Mr Sharkie and gang!! With the pooch!!  The pooch was pretty excited to see me so I stopped and loved on her for about 45 seconds (this becomes important later).  I peeled myself away from the pooch, and headed into Greektown.  It was about this time that my left ankle started to feel a little wonky.  Every half mile or so, just for one step, it felt like my ankle was going to give out on me.  I'd wobble a little, right myself, and keep going.  I don't have any soreness or anything from it, so maybe just a little race day nerves?

Best.  Cheerleader.  Ever.

25K-30K (36:40, 11:49 pace):  Land of the shot block fail.  My number one rule of marathoning is not to take anything new on race day.  Fail.  I stole some shot blocks from Mr Sharkie, which should have been fine, but I neglected to notice the little coffee cup on the shot blocks.  Stupid caffeine!  I got pretty nauseated during these miles and had to stop, walk a little bit, and collect my thoughts.

30K-35K (37:47, 12:10 pace): Now I'm getting hot, too??  It was around 12 pm at this point, and the sun was starting to wear on me a little.  I was working on keeping up with the 4:55 pace group, but lost them at one of the water stations.  I knew that I needed to finish by 1:15 to hit the 5 hour goal, so I started doing a ton of math, figured it was still possible and worked on picking up the pace!

35K-40K (39:03, 12:35 pace): Number two regret of the marathon - not taking beer from the Hash House Harriers at mile 23.  Next time?  I swear it felt like I was running faster than this, but that always seems to happen during the last several miles of the marathon.  I remember hating this stretch in 2009, but I was so focused on staying ahead of the 5 hour pace group that I didn't even notice the lack of crowd this year.

The finish! (14:16, 10:28 pace): Negative split!  I dug deep and hauled my a$$ up Mount Roosevelt.  Slightly annoyed that some chick named Erin (that's what you get for putting your name on your shirt, Erin) was running up the left side of Mount Roosevelt yelling at EVERYONE in her way.  Lady, you're the one who's running, maybe you should go around all of the people who just ran 26 miles?  I hit Columbus and high tailed it to the finish.  I knew that I was super close to sub 5, and knew that I would have to wait for the results to see.

I began the slow shuffle to the exit, grabbing my mylar blanket (too hot!!), medal, water and a banana.  I decided to skip the beer, just wanting to go get my stuff and head home.  I made it back to the CARA gear check, got my stuff and rode my bike home (and excellent cool down, btw).

I met up with Mr Sharkie and the gang for post marathon drinks, which I would also recommend as an excellent cool down.

Beer is good.

Overall: Amazing experience!  So much better than my first marathon.

Would I stop to pet my doggie again and risk losing 12 very important seconds: YES!  She was like a high five times a million!!

Next up: Monster Dash!

Mad Dash to Madison Race Recap!

The short version: I finished this race with a shiny new PR!

The slightly longer version:

Registration - a breeze!  Mostly because I drunk registered.  Someone should really take my credit card away from me when I've been drinking.  Seriously?  Anyone else out there get a little drunk and think that signing up for races is a good idea?  I'm also drunk registered for the Kiawah Marathon this year because "it was only $10 more than the half marathon"

Packet pick-up - a breeze!  Mostly because my friend picked my packet up for me.  Seriously though, I heard it wasn't terrible.  And the t-shirt is awesome!  Love the little Stanley Cup on the front.

The start - I had 5 miles on the calendar for the evening, so a friend and I ran from my house in the West Loop to the start line.  Easy!  From others, though, I heard that parking/traffic was a nightmare

The run - The was the second time I had run the Mad Dash to Madison, so I was familiar with the course (read: boring, industrial, and slightly smelly).  Nothing super exciting.  The first quarter mile or so was straight into the sun, and then wound around the West, west loop neighborhood.  Super flat, not too crowded, and one water stop around mile 1.5 or so.  Oh, and someone stopped to tie their shoe directly in front of me.  Pull it to the side, chickie!!  I didn't have a lot of expectations going into the race, just that I was with a super speedy friend, and I wanted to see how much marathon training had paid off this year (my fastest 5K's have always come at the tail end of marathon training).   I couldn't really gauge my 5K time because I didn't reset my watch after the 2 mile warm up, but I knew we were flying!

The finish - 28:25!! A new PR!!  My last PR is from 2009 with a time of 29:21, so much speedier!  Kind of makes me wonder what would happen if I stopped registering for marathons and worked on speed for a little bit.

After the finish, I grabbed a water and a banana and headed into the UC for my bobblehead.  We'll just say that I have a tiny little collection going

Sometimes my co-workers worry about me

Would I do it again?  YES!! I love the Blackhawks and I love 5K's!

Next race: Warrior Challenge in Maui!!

Madison Mini Race Recap!

August 17th 2013 was the 5th running of the Madison Mini Marathon, and my 1st time running in Wisconsin!

Friday AM - I packed up Mr Sharkie and the pooch, and we headed for Madison.  The drive wasn't too bad except for the 30 miles of construction on 90.  We arrived at our hotel, got checked in and headed straight back out for packet pick-up.  Note to self for future travel half marathons - we're out in the boonies because it was the only hotel that would accommodate the pooch - maybe not worth it, especially when there's a metal festival at the concert center next door...

Guys?  Why am I in this creepy hotel room?

Packet pick-up - at the Union South at the University of Wisconsin.  A logistical parking nightmare.  I'm having flash backs to the last time I tried to park in a college town.  UGH!!  I idle out front and send Mr Sharkie in for the packets.  He said it was pretty organized in there, and I got a bib, so no big deal.

THE RACE

After a 5:30 am wake up call, I ran the pooch out, then we hit the road for downtown.  I had studied and re-studied the parking maps, and had a plan.  Unfortunately that was everyone else's plan.  It took us about 30 minutes to get parked, but it was free, so score!  We rolled up to the starting line with ~ 10 minutes to spare.  The pre-race port-potty situation was pretty dire.  ~ 20 potties for 5800 runners, so the lines were pretty gnarly.

Start line - there were corrals that weren't terribly well enforced so Mr Sharkie and I lined up between I and J.  After a quick national anthem, we were off on time at 7 am!!

Miles 1-3.  This race pretty much starts up a hill and then it's rolling hills all the way.  We run up to the capital, past an amazing looking downtown farmer's market (um, cheesy bread, anyone??), and then past the Kohl Center and Camp Randall.  Pretty nice tour of the University of Wisconsin!

Miles 4-6.  THE ZOO!! OK, the outside of the zoo.  But there are some beautiful bike trails in Madison.  It almost feels like they built the city with biking in mind versus Chicago where they're just trying to cram it in.  The course is a little crowded at this point, and the streets are pretty banked, but the weather is perfect!

Miles 7-9.  Enter the arboretum.  Rolling hills throughout.  Pretty.  But boring.  I guess you could call it pretty boring.

Miles 10-12.  Exit the arboretum.  Some little kid is handing out popsicles.  I totally took a popsicle from a child.  I'm pretty sure her mom is going to be pretty mad when she gets home today and she realizes that daddy/daughter were out handing out organic fancy popsicles, but it HIT THE SPOT.  I'm sorry ma'am!  I owe you $3!!  Still rolling hills.  Except for the random 0.1 mile out and back in a parking lot.

Miles 13-13.1.  I shall call this the trail running portion of the half marathon.  We were running along the lake at this point, but it was pretty narrow and crowded.  And hilly.

The finish: water, banana, medal, chocolate chip cookie, granola bar, chocolate milk, and popcorn!  Really organized, fast moving, and tasty!

The finish-line party: Honestly the only finish line party I've been at that still had beer and/or didn't have an obscene line for beer.  We lined up, and were promptly handed our party cup of free Capital City Beer.  Not my favorite beer, but pretty darn tasty :)

The medal is also a beer opener!

The walk back to the car: Frustrating.  We couldn't figure out how to exit the party, and probably walked an extra mile and a half to get to the car :(

Overall: The is a very well run race.  I realized that I still suck at rolling hills.  I'm not sure that I would do it again, but I would definitely encourage others to come out for the weekend.  Madison is a great place to spend a weekend away from the city!

Next half: Maui Half Marathon!

Marathon Training, Week Ten!

Also known as the week I had too much fun...

Sunday: rest day.  Worked and then cooked dinner for my parents at home.  Homemade penne a la vodka with meatballs.  Not really a rest day?

Monday: 4.11 miles in 43:06 (10:28 pace).  Really beautiful night and we took a different route than usual.  Downtown is pretty!

Tuesday: 45 minutes of strength

Wednesday: 6.88 miles in 1:15:05 (10:55 pace).  This was accomplished before work because I was meeting my parents and a friend for wine dinner at Vinci.  Seriously the best deal in the city.

Thursday: Rest day because we went to Ravinia to see Lord of the Rings Two Towers as accompanied by the CSO.  SO COOL!!

This was my first time riding the Metra, much to the amazement of my friends

This screen was seriously high tech

Friday: Unintentional rest day.  So.  Tired. From Ravinia.  Oh!  And drove to Madison for the Madison Mini!!

Saturday: 13.2 miles in 2:24:30 (10:54 pace).  Not the greatest half marathon ever.  But it's done!

Overall outlook: Good!  We're getting into the meat of training, so hopefully everything continues to go well.

Next Up: Warrior challenge in Hawaii!

Have a great week everyone!!