Just kicked of my NYE run and i slopped around the streets of chicago for 62:20. I again used MiCoach's free option. I hate digging thru my clothes to stop/start at every light so i just stopped my watch. Came out to 7:02p which is totally fine for what im doing.
Tonight bring going to the Double Door to see Electric 6 and Local H. As it looms laying on the couch and avoiding the madness sounds more appealing. totally not wanting to wait on cabs and watch drunk assholes....or be that drunk asshole.
It seems I can't quite commit to be a responsible blogger, possibly too many social networking fired brewing that are keeping me at bay.
So a quick recap: Sales meeting-- missed 2 days but had 3 quality days that week with a very hard 12miler and got in solid week otherwise while killing my liver and subjecting myself to pink eye and other diseases from establishments not on the Zagat surveys list.
The next week was fantastic as I did a couple of killer workouts including some 400's in 73-74 that felt completely at ease then a nice 72min run with 8x90sec on in the middle with Costello that was again totally at ease. After this I had to head to Mnlps for sell in but only managed to miss two days on the week, both being travel/work days in a blizzard so it wasnt too bad.
This week currently is shaping up pretty fair with all the travel included. Monday was an easy 45min slop around in the muck but Tuesday I got in an 8/4 double for a whopping total of 12. Today I tried to get in a workout despite the awful conditions for running fast. I managed to find a 2min patch of good running and did 10x80sec on and 80sec off running back and forth on a one way street. My hamstring has been pretty tight(right leg) so I have been careful not to exert anymore than necessary on the snow/ice.
As for music...well....lets see. Last night I saw The Good Life which was suprisingly good despite being the oldest guy there and a swarm of EMO sing alongs and fist raising. The Fleetwood Mac cover of The Chain was the highlight although I may have been one of 3 people who knew it was a cover.
Got up early for some reason and knocked out 41min and felt pretty good. Thinking of a double but i need to run downtown for errands later on and ill need my rest i reckon. Last night was spent hanging apparel samples. This season is a large bag with many colors and many new styles...lots of hanging.
Last week was spent in Portland indulging in their fine city's establishments that we probably shouldn't go into much detail about lest you lose some respect for me. We also had our sales meetings and got to see whats new coming down the pipe for the fine 3 stripes brand.
Running is always a crap shoot at these meetings as we start early and end early in the AM each day. Monday was an easy 30min run with T-Will, Mcgrane and Jones before we had to head to catch MNF at a fine little bar where you could play shuffleboard, pingpong or drink heavily. If you are a woman of fine charachter they will also let you play shirtless....classy.
Tuesday was an off day---mainly due to Monday night and Wednesday we ran 72min hard as hell. This was supposed to be a 40min loop but old man Vonny's directional sense led us astray but I feel he knew where he was going the whole time and wanted us to suffer. Thursday was another easy 30min run while testing out MiCoach. Awesome stuff I tell you.
I landed late Thursday night and went to catch Scott band, Scott Lucas and the Married Men at the Whistler. Started out by cabbing to Willisons to have some cocktails then off to the Whistler then per the usual we topped it off at the Burlington. Both of us were in rare form and i will just say don't be a dick if you dont want your messenger bag emptied out all over the floor.
Friday was spent catching up on emails for the morning and pulling my head out of the gutter. Scott and I ended up catching "The Road" at Pipers Alley then a few pints and some mac and cheese at Corcorans before heading our seperate ways. A good night in was just what I needed. Saturday was 56min on the path where I need to stress the importance to adidas of building a wind brief. Come on guys! Sunday was an easy 45min run.
Snow has started falling...winter is officially here...so the time to suck it up and get tough has come. I wanted to do a fartlek on the park course Baum and I do but I figured the snow would make it worthless so i stuck to the roads. I ended up doing the long bucktown route and throwing in 8-9 70-90sec surges along the way. Nothing special but enough to get the legs moving.
This morning I met Costello for an easy 64min slopping thru a snowstorm. I need to wear sunglasses for this stuff now that it looks like I smoked a pound of meth since my eyes are all red.
So when I last left my few faithful followers I had come down with the black death down in Austin, Tx and was pretty much on my deathbed.
The following week consisted of 30-40min a day with 62min on Saturday that was very slow and relaxed. My legs felt ok but I still had a lingering annoying cough and was a little weak.
This Past week marked the 1st return to "real" running as I started off the week with a workout on Monday. This was 6x600 with 70-80 sec rest. I felt smooth on the first few but was running much slower than what I came thru on the 400's a few weeks back. I wasnt too surprised as it had been almost 2 weeks since any effort harder than an easy run had happened. As is per usual I was spot on the whole workout and a bad rep was only 2 sec off a good rep. I was hitting 80-81 on the 400's then finishing off the last 200m in 40 so it was paced very well. Unfortunately my upper body was weak and the fatigue hit pretty hard after the 4th one which surprised me.
Tuesday was an easy 7m run while Wednesday I met up with Greg Costello and ran just short of an hour. Again on this run despite a moderate pace I was left feeling pretty worn out by the end...not a good feeling to have with a race coming up the next day.
Thursday was a 5mile turkey trot and I figured if I had a good day I could run 28:30 pretty easily and if it was a bad day I would be right around 29:00. Well I fell far short of that with a 29:25. I started off pretty strong and felt ok with the opener at 5:40 and the second mile in 5:38. I suspect the 2nd mile was a bit short as the 3rd was 6:04 into the wind and the 4th was 6:17 into the wind still and I was just trudging along at this point. With zero change in effort I ran the last mile in 5:43 with the wind so it was pretty gusty. At the very least I got a nice hard tempo run out of it that will serve me better a few weeks down the line.
Friday was a recover 43min run around Wrigley Field while Saturday I was forced to run early in the morning at 7am since my dad was coming to town. I met up with Jeremy Borling and while he was going 2hrs I kept him company for 49min before turning around and while taking a bit shorter of a route home( school instead of addison) I managed to log 95min which was my longest long run in quite some time.
Sunday yet again started off early with knocking out an easy 6miles before 9am but then while carrying some boxes out with wet shoes and Liam nipping at my feet I took a digger down the stairs which left my ribs sore as hell and a knot on my head the size of a fantastically huge impant. I actually threw up from this a few hrs later which was odd so I'm guessing I was actually "concussed" from what Dr. Sarah says. So it goes....
Possibly be prepared for videos of sales meeting next week as I will try to get the flip camera rolling along with some pics.
This tops off a good week of running with ~57miles.
Last week finished up another mid 50's week and the next saw me on the road to Austin, Tx where I normally never run and instead drink my face off with no sleep and treat my body like a garbage dump.
This year figured to be different as I was going for the National Running Event and the adidas crew is rarely one to miss a 6am morning run which is never less than 45min. I got in on Monday around 11am and didnt want to wait around till 4pm to run since it was beautiful so I instead cruised up and down the strip then made my way around the capital building as well as the UT campus and football stadium. Coming from 50's and cloudy to 80's and sunny was fantastic. I ended up doing about 8miles of easy cruising on my own before heading back to clean up. I immediately did my core work and set out for a lunch which ended up being the Texas Embassy(?) which was across from the Levi's fader fort(which it is 1 week out of the year). Instead of relaxing i had a mojito, bloody and a lonestar along with my salad while it should have been gatorade. After this I wandered down the strip and up to Waterloo records to kill some time but not before stopping off for a few more cocktails before heading back for the first activity of the event...cocktail hour.
We took a few accts to dinner following at the Iron Cactus which was the site of my biggest boondoogle in industry history when I picked up a $400 no food all drinks tab while at SXSW in 2006. If you are wondering it did get passed thru without question and i was sent back again the following year. Somehow I cant seem to get potbellys for an acct expensed as quick these days...so it goes.
Tuesday we did 43min on the path at a pretty steady tempo and all that kept going thru my head was a text i got from Mike Willison saying "they have a nice running path. I barfed on it once". I'm actually in good shape but 6am runs do nothing for me...they hurt the same no matter what. Later on this night I went for, as keith would say, some scoops and ma have overindulged. I met up with some friends from Marathon Sports in Mnpls at an irish pub Fado and that was the death of me. Literally.
I couldnt sleep as my sinus's were acting up so despite not wanting to I rose from my slumber and ran down to the indie 5k, jogged with John Clark for 10min, then ran back home. It was chilly yet humid...odd weather. I saw my breath but it was too hot for a longsleever. Soon after this run I started feeling pretty sick( FYI i was out for 50min) but thought i could drink it out of my system--- with good fluids. I worked the whole day in the booth coughing...hurting....hammering dayquil....not good. I left dinner early to hit some z's but awoke thursday worse for the wear.
Thursday was a short day but I was dying, not able to think, I couldnt even email coherently and while showing a new coworker some computer ins/outs the effort to talk and focus was too much. I hit the airport at 130pm and was zonked out on the flight soon after. This day also marked the end of almost 7 straight weeks of running.
Friday I awoke yet again even worse....how could that be? Sarah brought me Liam, OJ, drugs and some food so I was grateful for that. The weekend consisted of rest, cold sweats, hot showers, lots of tussin, lots of nyquil, ignoring phone calls and being pissed I couldnt get down to the Peace to Meace run. That was a heartbreaker.
Also heartbreaking is the act of downloading itunes 9 as it wrecked my ipod. After my powerbook crashed I managed to store all my jams on my ipod yet about 1,000 songs couldnt be transferred over. The ipod remains but now there is no way to snyc or transfer anything over. I guess its better than not losing them all but god damn it, why should i keep paying hundreds of dollars for cool apple shit when it hasnt treated me very well? I'm salty to say the least.
Back in the saddle today. did 28min run to get a sweat and see how bad i felt. Like a baby fawn, all wobbly, i got going but a nagging cough will hold me back this week.
Packing should be simple and quick...unfortunately I get caught up in watching TV, responding to work emails and spending a few extra minutes reassuring the dog I am not leaving him with his keeper to go off and have fun without him forever. Whenever I start packing he immediately crawls into my travel bag and lays over all the clothes I'm packing but its hard to be mad at the little guy when you spend pretty much 24/7 with him and he's used to riding shotgun.
I forget where we left off but the week has been pretty solid with the track workout, a couple of 60+min runs and then on Saturday morning I did 71min pretty steady without any hint of fatigue which is pretty fantastic. Especially considering I had to do the same report not once, not twice but three times due to our wonderful system being shut down and not being able to transfer any files over. I also saw The Prairie Cartel play a set at Angels/Kings which was far superior to the show they played a few weeks back despite the venue being pretty...oh well i'll just say it was kind of douchey. Openr A&R were suprisingly good as well and you can download their EP free on their website. http://arsounds.net/
This lead to a random encounter with my old roommate and good friend RB who then lead to far too many drinks and the 7am call came too early for my liking. So it goes...
After a great run on saturday I capped it off with a nap but then awoke to my sinus's going haywire which is going to be brutal while traveling and living in a hotel room. The week totals off with about 54m total which is exactly what the last 3 weeks have been and my body has thanked me for the consistency. Upcoming races look like the Thanksgiving day 8k, Rock N Sole Trail Run, New Orleans 1/2 marathon and ING Miami. We will see how it plays out though, anything else I should look into?
So a few years back I would never have been caught dead in these but as it now happens I do the majority of my runs in these whenever its under 50 degrees. Yeah, they keep my hips looser and a bit warmer but the simple fact is that they are amazingly comfortable. Unfortunately my favorite pair, the adistar short tights, were never made due to retailers taking a pass for one reason or another despite trying to gobble them up after the fact...so it goes. My ill will towards these is similar to how I i feel about men's capri running tights as whenever Internet Celebrity Baumer wears them I ridicule him endlessly. Please tell me two years from now I wont be sporting these.
So back to the running. Wednesday I did a morning run that took me down towards FF Pipers Alley then onto the lake then home which logged me 63min and I felt loose, smooth and easy the whole way. So good in fact that I was contemplating another 30-40min run in the evening before deciding to settle down, rest and stay the course/plan. Today I wanted to do a fartlek with Baum but had no desire to run at 6am or at 4pm so I set off again solo to do what has become the standard 2min on with this time only 1min off on the lakefront path. The total time was 54min as I looped around Diversey Harbor and essentially did an out and back. I felt good but not fast and more than a little tired but once the meat was done I felt like I could do a second set.
On the entertainment front I have been a bit out of the loop this week due to being slammed at work and trying to get ready for Austin on Monday-Thurs then the Peace to Meece run a day after I get back. For those that don't know my best friend recently passed away due to a freak accident and left behind a wife and 2 little ones at the young age of 34. He was a 5th year senior when I was the only freshman to make the traveling team and he took me on like a little brother and had become something of a mentor/big brother to me. As it normally happens married folk head to the burbs and you don't see each other as much as you should as the thought of a 45min drive doesn't seem to appealing on both ends. Despite that we both had similar jobs and each week was filled with hours of window time (5am driving to appts in different states for example) talking about everything from family, my amazingly crazy ex-girlfriend situations(note the plural), odd nights out or simply not talking but speaking dialogue from movies for miles and miles. Anyhow, our friends and coach are starting a memorial race that will not only serve to honor him but also provide some funds this year towards his family then a scholarship each year for an EIU track/xc athlete. http://peacetomeece.com/
The grind continues on and I think this jam kind of sums up a little bit how most days lately I just want to chuck it all, take the day off and act 10yrs younger.
To those that are confused the title is NOT a homage to the hair band of the 80's known as RATT. Today marked the first day returning to the track since last February so I did not know what exactly to expect. The workout was going to be easy and hopefully smooth, consisting of 10x400 w/70sec rest. Goal times were 80 feeling easy but I figured it may be ugly.
Amazingly despite dodging the burrito cart/onion ring bike i ran 76-77 on all with a 75 closer and they felt really smooth. I only strained in the upper body with the arms a few times but then again I have not run faster than 6:00p officially in some time. All in all it was pretty solid and easy which I'm very pleased with.
I do need to change up my Ishuffle as the Fruit Bats kept getting played over and over today. Combine that with RadioHeads "the bends" and it was a pretty depressing workout jam.
Five straight weeks of running and being healthy are now behind me and I've gotten my legs underneath me, retired the larger clothes i bought just a month ago and lost ~20lbs. Moderation has never been a strong point as its either all or nothing these days. The weeks tally brought me up to 53m again which is exactly what the last 3 have been. Key runs were both fartleks with 6x2min on and 1min off on tuesday which hurt something awful since i was still dead legged and then on Friday i did 10x 60sec on w/60 sec off that also stung a bit. All in all not bad and I even managed to have a sxsw night on friday in the city followed up by an easy 65min morning run....then napping all day saturday.
Tuesday i saw the Prairie Cartel/Neon Indian show and Friday I saw Mason Jennings which is about as bipolar as it gets. Despite a small ticket debacle is worked out well and i got to hang out with Chris and Jake Hanson a bit which is always good fun. Bidding farewell to the friend that came to the show around midnight I then managed to fire it up with recent Ebony member Marsden and also met Willison out who had been having it mad since 2pm. Good times ensued so I'm told.
Ive already tossed up some Prairie Cartel vids and really dont feel to high on Neon Indian so here is a Mason jam. Be warned, its not much like the show as most songs are lowkey although the cover of the "the weight" slayed and inspired me to learn that on guitar this week. Win/Win for all most would agree.
Embedding disabled at Request. Thats some weak shit. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV30CSS5Zy0&feature=PlayList&p=DD4478920C055B26&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=58
and since copying and pasting is so hard check this:
What's with the blues when you got the grey's? It's fantastic question from Frightened Rabbit that I cant help but thing about on these grey and nasty morning that will be commonplace until April.
Yesterday I did my longer Bucktown Loop down Milwaukee ---> Ashland---> home. It's crazy to see how that area has changed even in the short time since I have moved to Chicago. I first looked at an apartment there in 2003 and lets just say it was pretty awful and the "neighbors" looked a little dicey. Now with the money i squandered away at the time and the price I could of bought something makes me regret not plunking down there although I now think it has a Lincoln Park vibe which i detest.
Anyways the run was 53min of easy cruising and there were no major problems other than my hips feeling like they needed to be adjusted. I think the next few days will consist of easy running then a track workout of 400's or 600's will commence on Thursday and a long run this weekend.
The agenda for tonight consists of checking out Neon Indian and my good friends The Prairie Cartel at the new Lincoln Hall. Friday I also may check out Mason Jennings at the HOB but thats a definite maybe.
Here is a clip from the Disciplines who headlined the show I saw on Friday. Ken Stringfellow of Posies fame is the frontman. Music is ok but the stage show wasnt too bad.
Today marks the end of my 4th week of non-stop running and recommittment and the first "race" i've done since the Corn Fest 5K in 2006. While I have done both Chicago and Boston marathons i do not consider them races but rather long sustained runs. I think in a race you try to beat people while in the marathon you just try to not beat yourself. Philosophical i know but then again I did get up at 7am on a Sunday for the first time in ages, slam a mucky breakfast of bloody mary's and chilequilles and then watched the Bears get throttled before passing out for what some call a nap...i will just call it going back to bed. It was pretty epic.
Saturday's long run was put on hold as i checked out the Nike Human Race and ran that 10k at an easy clip then tacked on some time to get in just over 60min for a solid run. Today's run/race was intended to be a tempo run at 6:00-610p with nothing more than a solid effort. The course split were all over the place but i did feel I kept a solid effort, neither pushing nor fading, for the whole way minus a few minutes around 4.5m were i questioned why i was making myself hurt to run over 5min slower than my personal best but....well lets just say we have a lot of work to do. 5:49, 6:10(11:59), 5:49(17:49), 6:21(24:09), 6:01(30:10), 6:01(36:11) 1:04= 37:15
While marking my return to action(insert joke) the race also marks the first time I've lined up wearing the shuffle. I added the new Prairie Cartel record which despite having/hearing most of the songs I bought on itunes last night and they have managed to change quite a bit since they were first debuted. Highlights include Suitcase Pimp, Jump Like Chemicals and 10ft of Snow( no, its not a homage to a fantastic Canadian rapper named Snow). I also have been on a Radiohead kick of late and put "The Bends" back in the mix partly because I have spent the last few days trying to learn many of the songs on guitar and also since I have had the title track stuck in my head for days. Rounding it out was the Doves, Fruit Bats, Glasvegas and last but not least Earlimart.
And I simply love the tone of this plus the line of slipping inside your pocket. I think Keith is tearing up somewhere that i referenced the mighty Radiohead
Big week coming up with a trip to the burbs to try and put together a new adidas aBE unit which is sure to be a cluster as i have to be on the other side of the burbs for a halloween fun run at a great account in Elmhurst,Il called The Runners Sole. Tuesday bring about the Prairie Cartel set w/Neon Indian and the new Lincoln Hall, Wednesday I travel south to Bloomington where an account has rented out a movie theatre to show the York HS XC documentary and have an official adidas night. The rest of the week is same old same old.
Wow, i apologize to the faithful readers that i went almost a week without an update after i committed to keep blogging. I think you'll get over it but ill try and stay the course.
Last week ended pretty solid with doing 1:28 with Baum even though he dropped me and i felt like absolute garbage then managing to followup that run with a solid 45min on Sunday which put me right about 54m for the week.
This week started off ok with 40min on Monday, 48min on tues again doing the 6x2min on 2min off at Horner Park and then getting up for an early run on Wed to knock out 65min heading down toward Fleet Feet PA then hopping on the path for the return trip.
I felt like I dodged a bullet yesterday as I ended up having to run in the rain for 44min which was less then enjoyable and I managed to feel fine until I had a snack and then all of a sudden i was bundled up on the couch hoping H1N1 wasnt getting ready to introduce themselves to me. No change today so I'm guessing I just didnt agree with the broccoli soup i hoovered down.
Wednesday night also saw me take in Dead Mans Bones which is probably more mentionable for having Ryan Gosling as its singer/creator. Going in not knowing what to expect i will say I came away really enjoying it and thought while it was definitely set up for more of a stage show that it played well especially with the time of year it is. The only way to describe it is like watching a spooky, evil, cajun/folk Charile Brown play. Below is a picture a friend of mine snapped of Ryan along with the childrens choir that accompanied them.
The rest of the week has shaped up to be a 40-60min today, 8-10m tomorrow then I'm doing the Trick or Treat Trot as a tempo run on Sunday before heading to the playoffs for our kickball team. Some serious business I know. On the non running side I will be checking out a band tonight at Subterranean a few of my friends play in called Scott Lucas and the Married Men. They have finished a fantastic record that is very Heartbreaker-ish in theme and a cross between old Sun Volt, Neil Young...and Scott Lucas. The video is from Martyr's a few months back.
One day past hump day. Awesome. I got up early to knock out a morning run and check emails as i stretched but for some reason THE INTERNETS (kenny powers line) was not working and i can only assume my roommate/squatter of the last SIX months was too blame. An hour was spent fixing this then it was too close to a looming conference call to get the workout in so I waited...and waited....and waited.
I ended up hooking up with Jeremy Borling and Adrian Campbell around 630pm as its dark, rainy, windy and too cold for my liking. We knocked out a solid 61min while lamenting that our old training groups and group runs are in no way like they were a few years back and not nearly as fun. Just one of the groups below from a few years back with a mix of college friends and club teammates. I believe this was my first attempt at a comeback from the now legendary car accident and I ran Chicago in 2:44 off light jogging....I wish i could do that again at this point.
The week continues to go well, work has been unspectacular as the expected slow down after the marathon has taken effect rendering the launch of the Ride 2 almost fruitless and necessitating a relaunch in January. The diet remains in tact and i actually found a picture on my phone of what would be labeled the staple and core of my nutritional intake.
That is about all I suppose...big meeting in the AM tomorrow in the northern burbs then the weekend comes and the only thing on tap is finally, please god finally, ridding myself of the roommate. Fingers crossed.
I leave you with a song that should of been mega, but wasnt even close. They wear adidas also.
Week two has started off solid and I am getting antsy so to keep from being complacent I have planned on some races to at the very least give me some solid tempo efforts. I have officially signed up for the Trick or Treat 10k and am thinking of the Hot Chocolate 15K. Some have asked why i dont do a 5k but i dont think i would get enough out of running mediocre for 17min at this point in my non-career of running.
Diet still holds with chicken ceasar salads, soup and sereal(had to keep the 3 s's theme) this week but i need to hydrate better. I have also been off of the coffee which if nothing else will save me $50 a week.
Monday was a pretty awful 41min run around bucktown + a small add on around roscoe village at 830am. Tuesday i met with Baumer and rolled about 46min nice and easy but i was getting the feeling i had to do a workout of some sort so i didnt get into the rut of shuffling everyday and to keep the boredom at bay.
This morning at 830am, 40 degrees and misting i ran to Horner Park with Baum who stepped up and ran a suprisingly good workout on the grass, or XC style as he called it. Essentially a 20min wu, 6x 2min on and 2min off then a 20min cooldown. Total time for me was 61 min but with the slow jogging it was probably only 8.5 or so miles.
My good friends also have a new record out and its pretty tasty. This video comes from an award winning Japanese director and i honestly have no clue what the theme is but supposedly its political. The oppression of bears or something...i dont know. All i know is thats its a tight jam. Enjoy.
Last week marked the second straight week of consecutive running and also my first week without fastfood(subway included) in possibly a year. The week ended with only 43miles but every day was over 40min except friday's 30min run and wed 60min run.
To my surprise i felt fantastic the day after drinking for 12hrs(saturday) yet felt awful this morning.
Yes, i did a morning run today. No, its wasnt of the 6am variety as in the past but i was hitting the street at 830am after walking the dogs and checking some work emails. I felt flat and was shuffling around and it felt like i was throwing my legs out in front of me with no power. As good as last night was today was pretty awful but i did feel great that i got the run in early. The rest of the day was spent stopping by a few accts dropping off shoes and doing inventories and also an ill advised run to Target. Eastbound and Down on sale for $15 was a spectacular find to go along with some blinds and a new toilet seat. Happy Columbus day indeed.
Check out the video below. I havent been able to get the title phrase to todays posting out of my head. Essentially i have been taking it as i can do more...maybe i should get off facebook a bit more and do some more running, stretching...hell anything non running and productive would be a plus im guessing.
Chicago Marathon Expo begins today and yet again i found myself with nothing to do but run errands for fellow reps and pop round to say hello and remind some of my retailers that yes, we are committed to running and to remember the improvements we have made the past year. That said i would still love to have an extra $100k added to my sales #'s to boost my territory and make me look just that much more fantastic.
Despite only wanting to stay 90min i was roped in for over 5hrs shaking hands, kissing babies and running for coffee despite only having hot coffee and tea...no latte's or mochas. Bummer. On the bright side i did have fried oreo's. Big time win.
The diet is still intact for the most part although i realized on the ride home i had yet to eat anything other than a granola bar and a few fried oreo's all day + some coffee (one of the last mochas= score) before getting home, having an apple and out the door for 30min.
Tomorrow I'm meeting up with britton for a longish run before doing god knows what...maybe day drinking and meeting up with T-Will.
Lastly check out this jam by the Doves. Fantastic record. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhbK8kQW4LI
Day 1 (monday) ended with 43min with Baum and some core work. Nothing special but better than the 25min jogs followed by baconators. Soups and salads were the meals so that was cool but all i could think was " is this all im supposed to eat?".
Tuesday was another 45min run with baum followed by core work and the same diet as above. This was ok and I'm itching to do something uptempo or quicker asap. Possibly a race/workout on the 26th but that still seems so far off.
I did book my travel for the National Running Event in Austin, Tx in early November and I am going to check out Langhorne Slim while i am down there.
So it comes to my attention i didnt do a boston recap so heres goes a short synopsis. I left you as i did my boston test route that went pretty awful by my standards. Once in beantown i tried to stay rested, lay off the beer and eat somewhat healthy but thats hard to do when you are there for work and have to entertain your account base.
race day came and i felt pretty good and alert on the drive over. I had a good spot and didnt have to weave in and out the first mile or so and actually got passed by loads of people. Myself, travis jones and alex white ran together thru the 1/2 string 6:30's which did not feel as smooth and easy as i thought. At 11m my knee/IT band was clicking so i pulled over and gave a quick few stretches which solved the problem while only losing 30sec or so. I hit the half around 1:25:30 but this felt like more work than it should have and as i figured my quads felt like they were getting dinged up.
Reality hit that the hills were going to kick my head in very early as we turned into the wind/hill at 16 i went from 640p to a 730p or so. That hurt. I was caught by Ryan Price but passed him as we came out of the hills. I got smooth once again but was moving slowly, 7:teens and such. At 22m i had the goal of running 2:55 which seemed fine if i could just roll in at 7:20p. I tossed my hat and immediately regretted it as i believe i started to become hypothermic as it got colder the closer we got to boston. Long story is that my last 2.2m took 21min and my last 1.2 was over 13 so i was in the hurt shop something fierce. Walking up Boylston in my adizero kit was embarrassing but at least Price and i did it together.
Final time of 3:02 which was incredibly unsatisfying. Last one on the roads. Im very glad about that.
Short and sweet. After Boston i had a huge letdown and let my self go by eating like shit, not running much and generally being sedentary other than work. Despite Hood to Coast looming i did not deviate much from this. I managed to have a 60m week then would have 3 straight 20's then a 50 then some 20's....so it goes.
I'm ready for a new challenge and what i have been thinking is that i need to hit the trails. Huff 50K may be far too soon but a winter marathon near asheville could be in the cards. Let me know what you think.
On the music front i have been loving the Doves, Phoenix, Floating Action and Matthew Ryan of late.
Chicago Marathon this week and to say that i am upset that adidas chooses again not to participate for one reason or another is an understatement. I will just be glad i do not have to slave thru and expo schedule i suppose and have some fun.
This week, due to the marathon and all accounts in chicago area being involved will see me doing office work, packing samples and helping out on the floor if needed.
So again ive fallen off the blogging wagon which is odd when taken into consideration all the hrs i spend pissing away on facebook, dlisted, perez and other music blogs.
I have done a couple more 800 workout since then, each one progressively better and easier plus a bit faster. My simulator run was pretty rough but the upside was that I recovered within 36hrs and was good as new. This run was out at argonne and was going to be 7.5 the regular with cruising the downs hard then turning around and running steady on the ups. It was a dreary 40degree day with loads of wind. The first half felt ok, nothing special but i did not feel extra peppy, merely average. On the way out I saw JJ (2:19 marathoner and huge douche), costello(2:20 and a great dogsitter despite working for nike) and matt withrow(many time all american and 13:30 5K despite being in a body cast) hammering a tempo. To say they looked like shit was an understatement. Soon i would know why.
While the regular way at argonne is easy, running in the opposite direction is a shitkicker, The nice long gradual downs of the first 8miles end up being long unrelenting climbs that keep coming at you. The wind was directly in my face drowning out the sound of Pete Doherty's awful solo record as well as the fantastic 2nd record from Primal Scream which i have been into far too much to not be living in Manchester. With about a mile to go i was almost reduced to a stagger and merely jogged it in. Not what i was hoping for as i was completely wrecked for the day. The good news is that I was able to go out and do an easy 60min the next morning no worse for the wear and sunday i did a bit of tempo in my easy "off day" 6miler.
Since then i have managed to stay consistent but have lacked some workouts which i would like to have to get spinning and boost my confidence. Mondays have started up again with Usole runs but they dont bring back the nostalgia and good times from previous years yet. The core group who i was tight with has splintered and it seems many of my friends do the mondays at Fleet Feet. I will likely meander down there when i get a bit fitter but i digress. The mondays have served to be steady 10milers while injecting 15-18min of hard running in the middle around 6-620p. Perfect to just get a bit or pace in without killing myself.
On the music side I had to miss Andrew Birds show at the opera house which pains me since the venue and his record are great. SarahSmalls has procured National tix for Milwaukee at a great indoor venue....unfortunately in her enthusiasm to get these she failed to note we(the royal we as in I) have tix for pitcfork festival on the same night and the National plays there a day later. I suppose I'm ok with missing the Jesus Lizard but i only hope i dont have sales meetings on this weekend otherwise i will be eating more tix. Cursive comes to town....again. I love the new record as well as story of the year Scott is playing with his new band at Martyrs which I would really like to see. Travel across town to Bottom Lounge, have beers but have to drive back....no good. Walk up the street, see Whiskeytown/Replacements type music and drink as much as i want with no fear of worrying how to get home.....I'm leaning towards the latter.
Leaving for Beantown tomorrow and I snagged a new pair of trainers.
As for the race i believe ill be kicking it in the adios or aegis....its still up in the air.
That is all---probably knock a few off in the hotel room trying not to frequent the pub.
Last week I had my first real week of what i would consider training. Some hills, the track and then the long run. was hoping to do 2 loops at argonne labratory which would get me 19.6m and a good amount of hills.
we had a solid group of almost 10 people running together without pushing the pace which was nice. did the first 10m between 655-705p then picked it up until my 19th mile was 6:28. Finished by cutting down the last 5-6m which felt good but i was pretty spent. After staggering around the parking lot for a bit we journeyed into the suburbs for breakfast at some knock off chain rest. that served the biggest plats of food ive seen in a good while. It was wonderful except that i did motion over to kyle while riding in the back of Holland's new range rover that i thought i was going to get sick...held strong though.
I managed to NOT take proper care of myself and had someone tempt me with my vices which are basically picking up the tab and providing me company while i indulge in potent but tasty beverages. the next day it felt as if all mu muscles were knotted up.
Sunday was a light recovery run of 5miles then i napped until it was time to go see Primal Scream. Didnt know what exactly to expect but it was stellar. Each song was played like the last with great energy. It didnt hurt that we got passes and free drinks ...although it did hurt later that morning.
The week ended on 7 days with 66miles.
So far this week i have done easy miles although today was a tempo back at argonne. I did the same route fresh in July and went 24:10( i know i know i suck) but this time into a nasty headwind and not wanting to time trial like the last go round i ran 23:40 with ease. It was so easy i didnt repeat my puking from the summer. Once done i did some uphill/downhill reps on a short bunny hill.
My left hip/achilles and right hamstring have been bugging me since the long run so i need to take care of that.
I started off last week with a bang up job of posting only to fall off the wagon after only a few days.
The week ended up being 53 on 6 days with a long run of 1:46 on saturday. I would like to call it 16 but it was likely more than 15 but just short of 16. I ran with the Universal Sole crew and if you havent been in the store for awhile it may be worth another look as they have a new owner which has gotten product flowing back into the store. No better or no worse than some of the other options in chicago but the more stores that support running the better.
anyways, i did the majority of my run with McCully and Butler at just under 7:00p then Mike tossed in about 10min at -6:00p which i rather liked....for about 7min of the 10min. This led me to waddle the remaining 15min home.
Saturday was the big day/night out but i got home at an early hour. Partly from being wiped out from the run but also from going to the pub for breakfast directly after. Every time i drink Duvel I get totally pissed and blackout. This was no exception is the last thing remember is saying "split it" and then adding the tip wrong on my tab. I then woke up on the couch listening to a home buying seminar at 3am. After a trip to the bathroom i noticed my boxers were on backwards and they werent the same ones i wore out. Odd to say the least but im confident i did not bring home any stragglers.
Sunday was a day spent drinking fluids and getting ready to run. Legs were a tad beat up from wearing the Aegis on saturday but the longer i went the better i felt. Slow and easy to get the junk out.
Monday was a solid day with an 8/4 double that was good until the last 2miles of the night run. Tuesday i did hills for the first time since 2006. I went to the trails in Orland Park and did 6x1:10 up and 6X the down hard. The ups were nothing impressive, more for strength and form but the downs i wanted to pound a bit.
Wed i was in the car seeing a new account but managed to get out and roll 6miles. Felt easy but form was ragged from the previous day and the car ride.
Today indulged in the track once more but with no expectations at all. Getting close to finishing half the workout would suffice. The plan was 6x800 in 2:40. Yeah....nothing special and not even good by my dwindling standards but i need a slump buster and have to face it that i cant do what i used to. At least not yet. The rest was 2:10 and they went: 242, 2:40, 2:38, 2:38, 239 and 236. 40, windy and solo so ill take it and i felt easy doing it. Just lonely.
Saturday we have planned a group run at Argonne which has a a solid group lined up now and the goal is 2 loops which would be 19.6miles.
Yesterday was full of rain and shite weather. 40, chilly and drizzly all day. Didnt think i wanted to suffer 90+min while running in that so i did a steady 45min. Unfortunately my blackberry was abuzz with friends telling of their 20milers and 3hr runs. damn it...
Today was supposed to be a long day with holland but again its pissing rain and i have to drive to Minneapolis yet again later this afternoon. Luckily i'm going up for one appt then jamming straight home so i can get some running in with Jason Havey who coaches at UM and works at Marathon Sports.
As i will be doing here is the daily consumption and again...it sucks
Breakfast: venti white mocha and donut Lunch: granola bar, fritos and hummus Dinner: 7-8 beers, chips and salsa Late snack: choc chip cookies and orange gatorade.
From the tone of the last email you'd be hard pressed not to notice that i have been struggling something mightily with my running over the past few weeks.
Friday marked my first workout since last summer before Hood To Coast but i was pretty optimistic since i have been running consistently since november and while feeling bad lately figured i would still get the results i was hoping for.
I set reasonable goals going in, 4xmile in 530 with 2min rest. This should of been easy, more of a tempo effort. I did the first mile in 5:36 and it was ok, a little slow but it was the first one. Still, in the back of my head i was embarrased by this. The next one was 5:30 but the last lap hurt. Not a stinging "this is fast" but more of a flat this is all i have got today kind of feel. My upper body seemed to be twisting too much, breathing was labored.....bla bla bla. It didnt feel good.
Started the next one and came through in 240 and just pulled off. Yeah, i pussied out but something just isnt right. My HR was 190 after the rep. waited 2min and did another that felt better but i think only because it was the last one.
Many reasons come to mind, i havent been under 6:00p since summer, probably still feeling the after effects of the flu, not mentally tough enough to do workouts on the track alone at this point, diet is awful and ive been on the road selling in.....the list goes on and on.
I talked to my yoda in San Diego and he basically said listen, your not 22 anymore and its time you start taking care of yourself. He advised getting a physical for the first time since hs, getting an iron supplement and buying a crock pot to cook for myself. I also thought that its high time to get serious about the core work. I relayed these back to my good friend in San Francisco and he says he is going through the same thing and by god, we are going to make some changes.
Fast forward 6-8hrs and im talking to him on the phone after going to the grocery store and buying some Cuervo and sitting in line at the Wendy's drive through as he was at In-Out Burger.
As for the consumption yesterday is goes as: breakfast: venti white mocha and glazed donut Lunch: 2 bowls of cocoa pebbles Dinner: wendys chicken sandwhich and biggie fries with large coke and 3 shots of tequilla added.
Now i sit here on saturday watching balls of fury despite it being awful but holy jeez the asian woman is beautiful and hope to find one like her at the ebony event.
Below is a video of my dog sitter, liams girlfriend, my old teammate/roommate and the author of an album i cant get enough of lately
So its been far too long since ive posted an update and my 3 followers have probably left me to cruise Perez Hilton a few more times a day.
Last month i really got cruising. Chicago had a few weeks when it was just cold, light wind and no snow. Promising weather, times and workouts loomed brightly on the horizon. Sadly enough a very adorbale 17month old baby is what did me in. That lil tike gave me the worst sickness ive had in the past 5 years as i was laid up from sunday-thurs. The nickel i ate when i was 4yrs old finally passed and im pretty sure i also puked up a lung.
While on my death bed i did feel that i finally hit my running weight but unfrotunately i have spent the last few weeks trying to regain strength and get my legs back under me. 80min was becoming routine now i want to walk home after 40min. I feel exactly as i did my last year in track. Overtrained, tired, flat and just worn down. That year i worked myself into the best shape i had been in throughout college only to be beaten down by an insane practicum schedule and could never regroup and my SR year culminated in an embarrassing 8:58 3K at Illinois in a last chance meet. Awful thoughts of Boston have been creeping into my head....i wont lie.
so instead of getting some great training im road weary from work and only suffering on the crete for 45m a week. Far from mediocre and definately less than what its going to take to even run average at Boston.
On the music front I got a few new records of late. Ben Kweller, Stone Roses, Balun....
Below are the few that ive been listening to the most
I have been slacking on the blogging and i apologize. I dont have any more or less subscribers but im guessing all the extra hit are coming from Keith's page which got linked in Letsrun.com thumbs up/down section last week.
Last week i talked of taking it up a notch, adding doubles and doing core work religiously. I did no doubles and only did core work twice as after the 1st day of 100 situps i felt like a gave birth to the thing in Aliens or an olson twin. Same difference.
I ended up getting in 55miles which in looking back was my highest total since June of 2008 and probably March of 2007 to be paint an even bleaker picture of the injured running of which i was participating in. Chicago's sidewalks have cleared up enough that one can stride out and get in some decent efforts if thats what they are looking for. After a couple of medium tempo efforts and a very late night out watching the Prairie Cartel on friday the saturday long run was looming. The temp had dropped to a mark hovering right around 0 and it was a balmy 4degrees when i left the house to meet the OMTC. This was simply the best run have had in a few years. Effortless and not wanting to turn back i started having hopes of making this the first 2hr run of the year. Unfortunately after turning around the small headwind started to chill me....to the bone. The last 25min were in silence with the pace picking up gradually with each block. I was in serious pain and pissed that the brush tights and runderwear were not enough and that i may not have kids in the future. I only made it 86min but covered almost 13miles and after 15min spent doubled over and in near tears all was well with the word.
As with every saturday for the last month i met up with the EBONY crew (emptyblogofnothing.blogspot.com) and this led to meeting up for a combo of britton and costello's birthday.
The first few days of this week have been very solid if not overly ambitious. Monday saw an actual morning run of 7m and then a 6pm run of 4miles and today i may have outdone myself with 10.5 in the a.m. and 3.5 at 7pm.
I have never been one to rely on technology to get me through my runs but the shuffle has been a godsend. This weeks jams have been:
Andrew Bird--lush, great hooks and chill with some great guitar and string arts, Coconut Records -Davy: poptastic. simple, straighforward and bright, The annuals band: much like whiskeytown which is never a bad thing and lastly Frightened Rabbit: Indie pop rock with amazing lyrics.
Met up with Rick and Kyle for a run which had me leery since i hadnt eaten a good meal since saturday night and was running on coffee fumes. I felt flat and shitty the whole way. Despite being cold and the path being in terrible condition Chicago's fair share of loonies were on the path.
we saw this guy but he was bundled up in 4 layers of sweatpants, bill rogers running gloves and had a medal around his neck from the 1963 Tippecanoe Marathon acting as his bling. I kid you not when i say he was wearing a medal. I hope i dont get senile when i get old.
Next on the loon path we passed a woman who we could describe as.....a hippy/nature nut who sang the classic song by Gerry rafferty and stealers wheel "stuck in the middle..." as we ran by. Kyle wondered aloud if she was thinking of cutting mens balls off but oddly enough i only remember an ear being cut off in that movie. Kyle may have been watching the vivid version.
Emptyblogofnothing has added some features. check it out.
The hectic scramble of sell in is over for the most part, I still have about 5 accts to show product and get some orders from but due to our tight timeline sometimes you have to just take them when you get them and move forward and double back later.
Running on the sell in had been ok until the Minnesota trip as the weather totally ripped into the running week. I was stuck in a blizzard on Monday, temps were -20 on tuesday, i ran 6m in chicago on wed, thurs it was -14, Friday was -17 and saturday i just said to hell with it as i had a late night doing order entry and battling with our servers going in and out.
Its ok though on the running front as i wanted a little down time before i tried to take it up a notch. Originally i did not want to do the Boston Marathon as I have been hurt for some time and just wanted to run consistently for a good period of time and get some legs back. My comeback is nothing like KK's and even at our best we had nothing in common on the running front as he was world class and I was admittedly an average D1 runner who got good for one year out of college before an accident put my running on an hold for what has been 5yrs now. Having a job that allows me to run and have a flexible schedule has made this all the more frustrating as i have the time to do it, am around supportive people and get to run in some of the best product out there every day and travel to world class events on the company time(--sidebar---shocked we have to pay for our Boston entry but whatever...) so i cant complain one bit.
Next week I'm going to attempt to take it up a notch by incorporating some doubles and get in a good tempo effort. This will likely be dependent on the weather and condition of running routes but im sure i can manage.
Unfortunately i still believe in my head this is what im capable of:
unfortunately this is where I'm at....having Meb of all people think I am the "other" Ryan Hall.
On the upcoming shows front I think I am going to see Frightened Rabbit Saturday at the Empty Bottle
www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit
The previous day i am going to hit the bottom lounge to see my friends in the Prairie Cartel play which is always a festive time that should brighten up the dog days of winter. http://www.myspace.com/theprairiecartel
Being a deadline day i will ultimately consume to much coffee, fast food and not remove my sweatpants for the entire day as i feverishly type in orders i have recieved and will pray to get those that have not shown up yet.
That said after walking the dog and checking in on facebook this video caught my attention on VH1Classic:
Its safe to say the Stones sold out long before this but i cant imagine Keith sitting in Villa Nellcotte France shooting smack with Grahm Parsons and saying "you know what parsons, i can see us evolving and taking on a chubby actress and have her covering our songs in the 80's. Yeah, thats going to be the vision....pass me that spoon".
As i type the next video is good old John Cougar and the video is for blood on the scarecrow and blood on the plow....seems like it would fit well in with what is going on with the middle class these days in that it seems to be disappearing.
Last time I dropped in i was sitting in a hotel room in Woodbury, MN preparing for a round of acct visits in the twin cities area. With the deadline looming days away and again having to tell buyers they had precious little time to prepare them and get them to me i was dreading this but yet again they were more than accomodating and willing to give me time and feedback that was both critical and praising yet honest.
The weather was supposed to be 0 to -20 without the windchill but there was no mention of snow. To wake up early and look outside to blizzard like conditions + a bitter cold was no good. I was scheduled to hit my last appt at 3pm for a run then some food before showing the line and when i showed up it was snowing harder than i had ever seen it years. When i asked if the run was still on the reply was "lets go get some drinks". This had me taken aback a bit but before i could answer there was a sign on the door that said "sorry, due to weather we are closing early". A nice little session of some beers, pub food and pulling product out of a bag with the buyers and employees insued for the next 8hrs....easily my longest showing ever.
Riding home i was glad the trip went well and despite the constant talk of the economy and how accts are wanting to play it close to the vest in 2009 i remained optimistic...its going to be a good 2009....be positive.
I'm home, finishing up a run in 7degree weather which wasnt bad but only 6miles. I dont want to slog around much more than that in the muck. At least it wasnt -30 since i wasnt in Mnpls anymore. That was the end of a good start to the day. Soon after i got a call that many of my friends and people who i work in the same industry with were let go and now looking for a new gig. One thing i kept thinking of is how many people think just because you work for a large company, you have an infinte amount of product, $$$, time to provide them and should do this without giving much in return.
I feel awful for my friend and fellow blogger but know he will likely land in a better position and be more apt to buy me pints very soon.
The feeling i have at the moment is that i can not wait until the snow melts, the sun comes out and it warms up and things will be much....much much better.
Its been ages since i blogges this mofo(in the lingo thanks to some nasty girls at my new hot spot "the newport").
Things have progressed from 4m a day to having 4miles being my day off essentially. The last 5 weeks or so have been right at 50m except for one week of 33 when the weather made it near impossible.
Long runs have stalled out somewhat between 75-90min. This past week seemed like a great day to knock one out and the Old Man TC had 4 people show so it was a good turnout...Holland...WTF? For some reason i felt flat the whole run. Maybe due to a light dinner the night before, an extra layer of clothing, running the same pace every day or just a simple day that i was not on.
The one main problem i have been experiencing has been a nagging pain on the medial side of my lower left leg. It feels like bone but im hoping its muscle. Its aching like a sombitch as i type and ached all night while going out for some pints. There is little to no discomfort when i run but it aches all day after. This is the same spot that i swore was broken after H2C. Focusing on strecthing the calf a bit more and hoping that helps.
Some recommended reading goes out to my boys in the 907. I love their NYE resolution and hope to be part of a good portion of it. You can read about here: emptyblogofnothing.blogspot.com
Formerly fit runner on the constatnt comeback trail. Passionate about music and with all the talent and intellect of a garbage pale kids card collector.
