Stupid Air and Water Show

The Air and Water Show was in Chicago this weekend.  Being my last full weekend in Chicago, I was very angry at the Air and Water Show for two reasons:

1. Green City Farmer's Market was canceled.  The market takes place in a large grassy field where a lot of people would be sitting to watch the show, so they canceled the market this weekend.

2. I didn't get to run along the lakefront.  Even though the show doesn't start until 10 am, I remember form last year that the lakefront gets crowded and hard to run through even early in the morning as people and stands set up.  I opted to avoid it and skipped a lakefront run.

Despite this (and the ridiculously loud, terrifying noises from the planes), I saw part of the show on Saturday and I'll admit part of it was pretty cool.  My first few years in Chicago, I watched the show but this year I just caught parts of it as I walked around the city.

And, to be honest, it is probably better that I didn't run on the lakefront this weekend.  My knee has been starting to hurt and act up again.  This past week, I took a running hiatus and plan to not run this next week too.  Good thing I'm not running the Chicago Half Marathon anymore so that I can give my knee some time to heal and come back stronger than ever!  I have been sticking to the elliptical at the gym.  I'll admit that doing the elliptical at the gym has been a little boring. However being overwhelmed and upset about leaving Chicago, exercise is important for me for my mental sanity.

After talking to the people at Fleet Feet and reading some articles online, I have realized the importance of using the foam roller and stretching in order to prevent and lessen injury.  

A foam roller is literally what is sounds like.  It is a long circular piece of foam used to loosen your muscles.  They are usually in the stretching area of the gym.  I had the people show me the correct way to use the foam roller.  I definitely felt a difference once they showed me how to do it properly to best help my knee pain.  It is amazing what just a few minutes of rolling out my muscles can do.  

In regards to stretching, it is not something Im usually very good about.  I am the first to admit that I regularly skip out on stretching after running.  I have recently made a better effort to stretch after the gym because I know how important it is for my recovery.

For a lesson on foam rolling click here (videos included).

For good post run stretching click here.

9 Miles on a Treadmill and a Taste of Texas

I'm back in Chicago!  I had a great time seeing my family and friends in Houston this past weekend.  It was so great seeing everyone, especially this cute little guy...

In just one month since I last saw him, he started not just walking...but running!  He is so active, energetic, and happy.  I loved spending time with him and the rest of my family.

Since I went out with friends Friday night, there was no way that I was going to wake up at 5 am to beat the Houston heat and humidity (let's be honest...it was still probably too hot and humid at that time anyway) to run my scheduled 9 miles.  Instead, I did it on the treadmill.  I was dreading running for that long on the treadmill, but it ended up not being so bad thanks to the Olympics.  During the first part of my run I watched men's cross country.  Talk about inspiring and perfect timing!  It was like I was running with them.  The second half was men's beach volleyball and who doesn't like looking at cute guys while they run?!

After 60 minutes (and before resetting the treadmill), went 6.28 miles.

Finishing the last 2.7 miles after another 25:55 minutes.

I felt a little silly (and crazy) having to restart the treadmill since it only runs for 60 minutes.  The girl running next to me definitely gave me a funny look.  Overall, I have to say that I impressed myself.  I kept a 9:30 min/mile pace and felt pretty good afterwards.

That night, I went for some well-deserved Tex-Mex.  Whenever I go back to Houston, I make sure to get some Mexican food.  When we were deciding where to go, I said that I didn't care where as long as the had good guacamole and tortillas.  My sister, brother in law, and I ended up going to El Tiempo...great decision!  We didn't even bother looking at the menu because we knew right away what we were getting: chips and salsa, guacamole, and chicken fajitas.  What else could you want? It was all delicious!  The tortillas were soft and warm, just the way they should be.  The chicken fajitas came on a hot plate along with grilled onions and peppers.  I loved the onions!  I definitely loaded up my tortilla with the onions (good thing I was just out with family haha).  

The fajitas (and Noah peaking out from behind them)

The rest of the delicious meal (clockwise: guacamole, beans, salsa, and rice)

After an impromptu decision, we got a sopaipilla for dessert.  A sopaipilla is basically fried dough...and it's awesome!  It came with a side of chocolate dipping sauce, honey on the side, and whipped cream.  Always being someone who loves to finish off a meal with something sweet, I was very happy about the decision.

Can't resist a little something sweet to complete the meal!

After a weekend of incredible food and eating (including a bagel Sunday brunch, my favorite Mediterranean restaurant, and an awesome home cooked dinner with swordfish and peach sauce), it's back to being healthy!  I hit up the grocery store and got some great staples and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Weekend Running

Saturdays are my long run days and this past Saturday I had 7 miles on my training schedule.  After forcing myself to get up at 5:45, I head out for my run.  As much as I hate waking up at the crack of dawn (literally) on Saturday, I love the feel of running early in the morning.  Walking to the lake and seeing Michigan Ave almost completely empty is such a cool feeling.  It's a nice change from the typical city craziness.  

Almost car-less Michigan Ave

I am always surprised how many runners are out early Saturday morning.  However, it's a lot of people in a good way.  It's not so many that I feel like I'm weaving in and out between people but enough to create a feeling of comfort and camaraderie (yes....it's corny, I know).  When I started my run, it was in the mid 70s and a little humid.  Definitely run-able weather!  It was also a beautiful morning.

Start of my run

I had a great run this weekend for a couple reasons:

1. The past few weeks, my Run Keeper app (see this link for a summary from an older post) hadn't been accurately tracing my distance and therefore messing up my pace/time.  I was so happy that it miraculously started working again on my run!  Having the app helps me pace myself throughout my run...HUGE relief!

2. I saw some friends while I was running.  Seeing people I know always adds a little excitement to my run especially when they are unexpected.  One friend is running the Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon next weekend.  The other, is a new blog friend named Katie who is training for the Chicago Marathon.  Her blog is Peace, Love, and Oats, definitely worth checking out!

3. My final average pace was about 30 seconds faster than my 7 mile run at this time last year.  Seeing improvements always makes a run feel like a good one!

End of my run

One bad part of the run: I synced my Run Keeper with a playlist that was shorter than my run.  After mile 5, the music stopped.  For about half a mile, I ran without music.  I quickly realized that I would not last another 1.5 miles without it.  I had to stop and change the playlist so I could finish my run.  Note to self for future runs: always check the playlist length to make sure it will last the entire run!

Thought y'all might appreciate a little post run sweaty smile!

At the end of my run, I noticed a really cool thing that was by the lake path entrance:

You can rent bikes by the hour!  Such a great thing to keep in mind for visitors or for friends without bikes.  This bike rental was located at the Division St entrance.  I didn't see any others at other points during my run, but I am sure they are located at various spots.

The Need for Speed

Tonight I met a some friends for after work happy hour.  We decided to meet in an area that was in between the three of us called Wicker Park.  Finally, after 4 years of living in Chicago, I went to Big Star.  I had heard about it many times and have been wanting to go for a while now.  Big Star is a great Mexican restaurant and bar. We got there at 6:00 hoping for a table on the enormous patio (another gorgeous Chicago night).  No such luck!  There was already an hour wait for patio seats, so we opted for the bar inside.  We all got margaritas, chips, and caught up.

Unfortunately for me, if I had looked at the beer menu I would have seen this:

Lonestar beer! I happened to see the guy next to me drinking a Lonestar beer and immediately got drink envy.  It's not every day that you see a Texas beer in Chicago.

Before meeting my friends at the bar, I went to the gym for my Wednesday training run.  For me, Wednesdays are speed work days.  I always look forward to these runs because they provide a much needed break and change from my typical distance runs.  Speed work days involve one of two types of runs: tempo or HIIT.  Both help increase overall speed, but in different ways.

This is how fast I feel like I am running when I do my speed work training.

Tempo: The purpose of tempo runs are to build your anaerobic threshold, which in turn helps to increase your speed.  Tempos start with a 5-10 minute easy paced warm-up.  You then run for about 20 minutes (varies depending on particular workout for the day) at a pace that is "comfortably challenging".  You then end with a 5-10 minute easy paced cool down.

HIIT: HIIT stands for high intensity interval training.  These runs alternate high intensity, fast paced bursts and short, slow cool downs.  Similar to tempos, HIITs have a 5-10 minute warm up and cool down.  In between the warm up and cool down, there are usually 6-10 repetitions.  For example, my interval this week included 5 minutes of fast paced running with a minute cool down afterwards.  I repeated this 6 times.

Try adding one of these runs into your weekly work out to change things up!  Not only do they help improve your speed.  They also keep you body guessing by stepping away from your typical workout and burn more calories.

I'm Back (and Happy Sugar Cookie Day)!

After a week of vacation with my family in Colorado, I'm back! I had an amazing vacation with lots of food, family, outdoor adventures, and fun!  More details to come on that tomorrow.

This past week, temperatures in Chicago have been extremely high, like in the 100s.  Not your typical Chicago weather!  The day after I got back from Colorado, I woke up for my Saturday morning long run.  When I started my run at 6:45, the temperature was already at 85 degrees and humid.  Needless to say, the weather (and my week of vacation) did not make for a good run.  I was hot, tired, and dehydrated from the start.  I could barely finish and had to walk for a little.  I was obviously disappointed in my run.  It's hard not to get discouraged after a bad run. Instead of focusing on how disappointed I was after my run, I tried to refocus on the week ahead and doing better the next week.  It's important to remember that not every run will be your best (and this one was definitely not mine).  Also on those bad runs remember...

and...

Today is National Sugar Cookie Day!  It is also some of my students' last week of summer school.  I wanted to make the students a special treat for finishing summer school, so I used the holiday as inspiration and made Rainbow Pinwheel Cookies.  

How they looked pre-cooked (kind of looks like Play Doh)

I found the recipe here.  This recipe is ridiculously easy, especially because I used pre-made sugar cookie dough.  Let's be honest...the pre-made dough is so good why bother trying to re-create what is already so yummy?!  I loved how the neon food dye looked in the original recipe, but couldn't find it. So sad!  However, I think mine looked just as pretty and I'm sure turned out just as tasty.

Ready for the oven

I was very happy that I read the comments below the recipe.  People had said that after adding the food coloring, the dough became sticky and difficult to handle or roll.  I definitely ran into this problem!  It was a goopy mess and my hands were becoming covered in dough.  To solve the problem, put colored dough into the refrigerate for about 20 minutes before handling it.  This helps the dough harden and makes it easier to work with.

Finished product!

Ricky's verdict: "Looks and tastes great! My kids would love these."  Let's hope the kids in summer school enjoy them too!

Time to Relax

Part of my training schedule includes a rest or off day.  The schedule is structured so that I have 1 rest day a week.  Since I have my long runs scheduled for Saturday, I have my rest day on Sunday.  Also, I want to have one day off on the weekend so that I can go out with my friends and not worry about fitting in the gym the next day.  

Rest days are just as important as the other days of training.  But why?  According to Runner's World Magazine, rest days serve 3 main functions.  They prevent overuse injuries, prevent mental burnout, and restores glycogen.  The first two are easier to understand than the third.  Simply put, your body stores up glycogen and delivers it to your muscles while you run.  Once your glycogen is used up, it feels as though your body has "hit a wall" and moving (let alone running) because a burden.  Rest days allows your glycogen levels to replenish allowing your body to keep moving.

Even though it is important to take advantage of rest days, it is important to not just sit around and do nothing on these days.

Just like your mind needs to be continuously stimulated, so does your body.  Personally, I get bored and antsy when I just sit around and do nothing.  It is especially hard once your body is used to constant movement.  On my rest days I always go for a walk.  Living in a city that is easily walk-able makes this extremely easy!  For those who don't, use your rest day as also your errands day.  For example walk around the grocery store or park your car a little farther from the entrance.  Make sure to stay active.  It'll make you and your boy feel better and more ready for the workouts ahead.

Let the Training Begin!

Today starts off my 12 week half marathon training.  I have officially signed up for the Chicago Half Marathon on September 9th.  I was choosing between that one and the Chicago Rock 'n Roll Half, which is on July 22d.  I have done both and each has its benefits and disadvantages.  I ultimately chose the Chicago Half for three main reasons:

1. The course starts on the south side of Chicago and goes north along Lake Shore Drive and loops back to the start.  The Rock 'n Roll Half goes through the city and along the lakefront where I usually do my training runs.  I don't like running through the city, so I like that the Chicago Half is along the lake the entire course.  Also having the Chicago Half in an area that I do not ever run in provides me with a change of scenery for the run.

2. September is a better time of the year to run than in July.  Obviously, September in Chicago is not as hot as it is in July.  I don't mind running when it's hot out (especially since the run starts early in the morning), but I would obviously prefer to run during a time that there a possibility of cooler weather.

3. September 9th is close to my birthday which is September 17th.  I love having completed something big right before my birthday.  It gives me such a sense of accomplishment and gets me excited for the year to come.

My favorite training schedule to follow is from Hal Higdon.  Higdon is a runner and a writer.  As a runner, he ran in eight U.S. Olympic Trials and won four World Masters Championships.  As a writer, he has written 34 books and has contributed to Runner's World magazine more than any other writer.  Higdon has 5 levels for his half marathon training schedules: novice I, novice II, intermediate, advanced, and walk.  In the past, I used the novice II training plan.  Since I have a goal time, I am going to use the intermediate training plan this year (it has speed work training incorporated into the schedule to help improve your time).

I was always told to "finish your run strong".  That being said...this is my inspiration for finishing all of my long runs.  I promise to find the energy in myself to end running this way when I run the half.