Rudolph Ramble 8k 2009

Yes we did run an 8k on the morning of Eric’s birthday.

…and Yes it was a Christmas-themed one.

The Rudolph Ramble was a blast, despite some icy patches on the roads (I saw more than one runner bite it, and almost went down myself as I turned the final corner) The race officials diverted us around the worst patches of ice as best they could. (Cheers to Capri Events for yet another well-organized race.)

Fortunately for December, the weather was mild.  No fifteen layer outfits necessary. 

My goal was to finish in under an hour, and I just squeaked by.  I’m pretty sure my time will be around 58 minutes when official times come in.

We finished the race by watching the 4-5 year olds compete in a 50 yard dash. One little boy who began the race busting his butt eventually wore himself out and was passed by a kid who clearly knew the concept of pace. Runners, let that be a lesson.

Ah, running.

We really ran the race as an excuse to indulge in Eric’s official birthday dinner at Texas de Brazil. Let’s not lie.

Hot Chocolate 5k recap…

I have run a fair amount of 5ks since I started running in summer of 2008, and I need to say right now that the Hot Chocolate 5k I ran this morning (and hauled my butt out of bed the morning after Halloween for, mind you) was the most disorganized race I’ve participated in.

It started a few weeks ago.

Bob had already signed up long before I did. When he convinced me to sign up, I went to the site and saw that the packet pick-up Bob had told me about was no longer listed on the website. They changed this key piece of info and hadn’t emailed the registered runners to let them know.

Whatever. Could have been a fluke, right?

Nope. 

First of all, we’re pretty sure they oversold the race, as the place was packed to the gills.  It took us 8 minutes from when the race began to actually cross the start line, which is not an altogether uncommon thing in a big race, but the race path was packed the entire 3.1 miles, and the course had some precarious turns, a stretch right along Montrose Harbor that could have easily ended with someone falling in the water, and I saw a guy in the last mile trying to pull his sneaker out of a hole it had gotten lodged in.

Regardless, I had a nice run – The weather was perfect and my admittedly nice race hoodie kept me the perfect temperature.

Then we finished the race, and immediately made our way to gear check.

Easily, we spent 20 minutes in the looping line for gear check before someone told us that runners with numbers of 15,000 and higher(Eric and I) could go to a new line.  So we did, and soon realized what all the hold-up was. The gear check people had essentially taken everyones bags and thrown them into a great big pile with no arrangement, so when it was time to collect the volunteers (god bless ‘em) were basically looking for a needle in a haystack. Once Eric and I got our stuff, we returned to where Bob, Gina, and Laura were still waiting to get theirs, and took it upon ourselves to inform all the new runners in line with numbers 15,000 or higher not even to bother with the line they were in.

Race times haven’t officially come in yet, but we’re nearly positive we spent more time in line at gear check than we did actually running.

(To put things in perspective, the 2009 Shamrock Shuffle has significantly more runners and we maybe spent a grand total of 3 minutes in line both checking and collecting our items pre and post race. And, you know, that was in a blizzard, so..)

While we waited in line, we heard people complaining that the free shuttles took forever to get to and from the race site, that the 5k finishers were walking in the path of the 15k runners, and that this race was WAY better organized in 2008. A girl told us that the company who put the race up this year was a brand new company, and you could tell.

So, finally, gear collected, we headed to the food tents. As this was the HOT CHOCOLATE 5K, sponsored in part by Hershey, all the press had promised TONS of chocolate. Not really. Though the chocolate fondue we recieved was great (if in small quantites) the Hot Chocolate itself was really bitter and gross. We threw it away.

UPDATE: According to this blog, they also ran out of chocolate.

(Thats another thing. 15,000 runners and there were maybe 4 trash cans on the entire site?)

Though we all ran well, and the day was lovely and it’s always nice to run with friends (Congrats Gina, on your first 5k – and doing awesome!), event organization kept it from being a really awesome experience.

I won’t be running this race again in 2010.  I’ll get on a treadmill and have a Snickers when I’m done, instead.

(Once again, I remain an ardent fan of Capri Events races..organized, accessible, easy-going, and safe courses. I’ll stick with them.)

Check out Bobs blog – chitheatreaddict.com – where he’s blogged an open letter to RAM Racing, and is recieving some interesting accounts from fellow runners.

No rest(room) for the weary…

In the race pack for last weekend’s Trick or Treat Trot, there was the ubiquitious copy of Chicago Athlete magazine.

I perused it, mostly out of boredom, as I don’t consider myself anything near an athlete. However, I find marathons interesting, and am always on the lookout for a fun 5k.

I came across an article on tips for marathon runners – and the following sentence;

“If you’re qualifying for Boston (and plan on doing it by a narrow margin) or are being paid to run this race by a major shoe company, you’re allowed to pee your shorts. Just make it discreet.” (Chicago Athlete Magazine.  September/October 2009 issue.  Page 46.)

………..Really?

The notion that marathon and other long-distance runners would have to use the restroom mid-race was never something I even pondered, until I started running myself.

Granted, my longest race so far was an 8k which I finished in an hour and was not in need of a restroom during, but… on a 26.2 mile marathon, I can imagine you’d have to go at some point.

As an adult, I don’t think it’s ever okay to pee my shorts. I’m just sayin’… Endorsement deal or not,  don’t pee yourself. If you’re qualifying for Boston or being paid by a shoe company, you’re probably pretty damn fast and can finish the race in like 3 hours. I understand that running on a full bladder sucks, but seriously – how long does it take to relieve yourself? There are port-a-potties all over a marathon course.

I’d rather add 45 seconds onto my time than have to run in filthy shorts for miles.  Can you imagine? And in the heat of a summer race? It’s the stuff nightmares are made of!

runr26 recently wrote on the runnersworld.com forum – “you are going to look and smell pretty bad when the marathon is ending so just poop and pee on yourself. Sometimes during a training run i pop a squat and do my business and worry about the clean up later on after the run.”

………..Really?  Like, in the middle of a park you just… ? REALLY? (..Isn’t that illegal? It’s really gross, if nothing else.)

Dude.

Go before.

Go in a port-a-potty during.

Go after.

(In the interest of forewarning, both Bob and I googled this topic. You don’t want to know what images come up.)

My new goal as a runner: Never get to a point of being so obsessed that I can’t stop to pee.

Seriously.

Plodders, unite!

The New York Times ran a super interesting piece yesterday.

Plodders have a place, but is it in a marathon? by Juliet Macur explores the sentiment among some more “elite” marathon runners that, basically, slower runners shouldn’t be welcome in marathons. 

Some of these runners seem to be even resentful that slower runners are allowed, like this lady – >

“It’s a joke to run a marathon by walking every other mile or by finishing in six, seven, eight hours,” said Adrienne Wald, 54, the women’s cross-country coach at the College of New Rochelle, who ran her first marathon in 1984. “It used to be that running a marathon was worth something — there used to be a pride saying that you ran a marathon, but not anymore. Now it’s, ‘How low is the bar?’ ”

And this person ->

In a debate on the Web site slowtwitch.com, someone posting as Record10 Carbon wrote that more than half of the people at a marathon are just overweight and “trying to get a shirt and medal … looking to one day tell a story about the saga and the suffering of their 11 minute pace ‘race.’ ”

This lady, too ->

Longtime marathoners like Julia Givens, a 46-year-old marketing director from Charlottesville, Va., still find ways to differentiate the “serious runners” from those at the back of the pack……  “I always ask those people, ‘What was your time?’ If it’s six hours or more, I say, ‘Oh great, that’s fine, but you didn’t really run it,’ ” said Givens, who finished the Baltimore race in 4:05:52.

Dear Ms. Givens, How dare you. “Those people” paid the entry fee, traveled to the marathon location, and hauled their tush the same 26.2 miles you did. They trained, they sweated, and they finished the marathon. How dare you detract from their success because of your own snobby qualifications? They crossed the finish line, too, and shouldn’t have to apologize for not being as fast as you.

Dear Record10Carbon, You know what? Many of the people at marathons have used running as a way to get in shape. I’m a Motivational Member of Sparkpeople.com, and I can’t even tell you how many pages I’ve seen where people turned their unhealthy lives around using running/marathon training as their workout of choice. Like you “elite” runners don’t run in part for the bragging rights. Shut up.

The article points out that it’s the slower runners who make up the bulk of marathon participants, and that their entry fees pay for a lot of the substantial costs of putting on a marathon.

You’d think snobby elitists like Givens would be pleased that THEIR entry fee is more affordable thanks to these slower runners.

Here’s the thing. I’m not ever going to run a marathon, and I’m fine with that. If I ever do a half-marathon, I’ll consider myself a champion of the universe and brag all over town until people tell me to shut up. But, I did some math.

Hypothetically, let’s say I run an 11.5 minute mile. (Good enough for me, even if Record10Carbon looks down on it.) A marathon is 26.2 miles. Assuming I kept that pace the entire 26.2 miles, I would finish in 301.3 minutes, or 5.02 hours. But that’s assuming I never slowed down. Or stoppped at a hydration station. Or took a bathroom break. (I’m sorry, but being one of those runners who loses bladder control while running is NOT on my list of things to do in my free time, thanks..)

I can see my race time coming in at 6 hours, no problem.

The New York City Marathon officially ends after 6.5 hours (though they keep timing until 8 hours and 40 minutes..)

I’m a Plodder, and I’m fine with that.  I’ll never come in first, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy running and feel a massive sense of accomplishment even at the end of merely a 5k.

A runner prepares..

Life right now is kinda all about running.

This Sunday, I have a 5k. Then the following Sunday there’s another one. And then 6 weeks after that is a winter 8k.

Whew!

So, here goes!

Sunday, I’m joining Eric, Bob, Lindsey, and Kris to run the 2009 Trick or Treat Trot. 

Bob, Lindsey, and I ran this Halloween 5k last year and it was a blast, so we’re doing it again this year – and that’s how traditions are born. Eric runs often, but has never run this race, and it’s Kris’ first race, which is so exciting!  I would hasten to say the Trot was the most fun race I’ve ever taken part in, so I’m looking forward to getting going on Sunday.

It’s a Halloween race, so I’m going to try and attempt to run as a Zombie 5k Runner, complete with a face full of makeup (which will probably be ruined from sweat by the finish line, but whatever) and ratted hair (though it has to stay out of my face as I run.) This part is still under development.  Photos, hopefully, to come.

I spent 20 minutes last night looking for a remix of “Monster Mash,” to no avail. However, I have “Thriller” and a punk cover of the “Ghostbusters” theme, in addition to a few other horror themes and the score to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, so.. rock and roll!

I’ve been training pretty hard for this race, and hope to come in at a good time, maybe even beat last year’s time of 31:52.  I’ve got one more afternoon run today, and then tomorrow will serve as a day of rest (especially since my trusty old creaky knee has made its presence known again) and I’m going to eat some carbs.

Woot! Here we go!!

the honest bride: getting buff

No one wants to be a fat bride.

Say whatever you want about beauty being on the inside.

When it comes to wedding photos and dresses and everything else, beauty is the name of the game.

Basically, it’s the day you’re supposed to be as radiant as you can possibly be.

Thank goodness I lost 40 pounds over the last (almost) two years.

The photo to the left was the photo that started all my dieting and fitness focus. (Ironically, it was taken on the night I first met Eric, though neither of us realized our quick introduction would be life changing at the time.)

Seeing this photo triggered a life change for me. Gone was the super high-calorie cheese fries and mountain dew late-night diet. Gone were the bagels and cream cheese every morning. This photo ushered in a whole new life for me, and without it I wouldn’t even be getting married, I’m sure of it. Without the changes this photo inspired, I would never have had the confidence to tackle something like “Radium Girls,” which is where I re-met Eric and my whole life changed so much for the better.

All that said, I’m still thirteen pounds from the goal weight I’d like to be, which is actually quite perfect, timing-wise. I’m a person who needs dates and specific goals to achieve things, and having 6 months to lose 13 pounds is perfect (and almost too easy.)

I’ve slated 3 races before the end of the year, am back to working out every day, and back to calorie watching.

I’ve begun a Pilates program.

Because I will not be a fat bride.

I refuse.

Upcoming races!

I’m signed up for three races before the end of 2009. 

10/25/2009 – TRICK OR TREAT TROT 5K!

http://www.caprievents.com/trick/

Bob, Lindsey, and I ran this delightful race last year, and it was a great time. People in Halloween costumes run alongside you. I got passed by a really tall guy dressed as Ugly Betty and a man in a shark costume last year. This year it’s going to become tradition, as I’m again joined by Bob and Lindsey, but also by Eric and Lindsey’s awesome fiancee Kris (for his first race ever!) Woo!

*I’m a big fan of Capri Events races. I’ve taken part in 3 of them, and they’ve all been super well-organized and easy breezy, as well as fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/1/2009 – HOT CHOCOLATE 5K!

http://www.hotchocolate15k.com/

If you run this race, you get hot chocolate and hershey candy when you finish. Good deal, right? Here’s hoping. Though the goody bags and hoodies look cool, so far the race seems a lil disorganized (apparently they just changed the packet pick-up so you can’t pick up the day of, and the two locations are at UIC and in Naperville, neither of which is easy to get to for me personally) but I’m optimistic.

 

12/13/2009 – RUDOLPH RAMBLE 8K!

http://www.caprievents.com/rudolph/

Let me preface this race by admitting straight-out that I am a baby when it comes to cold weather. I was registered for last years New Years Day race, and then didn’t even bother when I walked outside and got smacked in the face by blistering cold. The cold, plus the idea of an 8k, scares the crap out of me, but I registered. I mean, I survived the 2009 Shamrock Shuffle (one of only like 1/3 of registered runners who bothered to show up) which was a completely heinous day weather-wise, hypothetically I can do this.. Right?

Whee!

“Those who run seem to have all the fun.” – Madonna

Can I eat chocolate every day for a year, please? :)

I’m little miss healthy, y’all know that.

I found this rather cool site the other day – http://www.natmedtalk.com - Which, basically, is a forum for people to talk about health issues.

Of course, the first link I click on is called “Wanted: Women to eat chocolate for a year.”

Before you go fantasizing away, like I did – Here’s the article.

LONDON, England (CNN) — Scientists in the UK are seeking 150 women to eat chocolate every day for a year in the cause of medical research.

The trial, at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, eastern England, will test whether a natural compound found in cocoa, the main ingredient of chocolate, could cut the risk of heart disease among women with diabetes.

A Belgian confectionist has created the special chocolate bar containing high levels of flavonoids — a plant compound that has been shown to reduce heart risk factors — to be used in the experiment. Soy, another natural source of flavonoids, has also been added to the bar.

Participants, who must be postmenopausal women under the age of 70, will have their risk of heart disease tested on five occasions during the year to see whether change occurs.

Dude. If chocolate can help heart disease…I’m so there. 

I love articles like this.

SELF workout in the park

I’m all about finding new ways to burn calories – and was feeling a tad burned out on running in recent weeks – so when I saw that SELF magazine was sponsoring a giant health and fitness festival in Grant Park (with a special appearance by Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser) I bought my ticket, got my dear Margo to go with me, and thought – “Woo-hoo! Awesome! This’ll be inspiring!”

And so…Saturday morning I trekked myself down to Butler Field along with (at least) hundreds of women of all ages, races, and types, clad in my workout clothes, armed with my trusty new backpack, and ready to sweat.

And – it was all rather.. meh.

First: Whoever organized the event either didn’t take into account the fact that if you’re going to have as many women working out in the same place, you have to give them room to move, kick, and punch. They fenced off this big area for the festival, and put the vendor/sponsor tents in the same area, which led to clusters of confusion when people in line at booths and participating in the workout were mere inches from each other.  This led to women who wanted to participate in the big open classes actually exiting the designated field and standing on the other side of the fence in order to have room to move during the workout. It was just all rather crowded all the time.

[Also, the event began at 11am. We were all told registration began at 9am. So everyone got here in advance of 11am and .... stood around. Then, the gates opened at 11am and everyone rushed in to sign up for the smaller specialized classes happening later in the day, and by rushing for that missed the first mainstage class. Margo and I managed to sign up for a resistance rebounding class - ie, trampolines and weights - but by the time we got to the front of the yoga line all the classes were full.  Meanwhile, at that point the line behind us for yoga classes was really long, and clearly none of the staff was going to tell ALL these women in line that there were no classes left, so Margo, being awesome, took it upon herself to let them know they were just wasting their time.]

Second: I know you can’t predict the weather (Especially in Chicago) but having hundreds of women doing cardio on wet grass = mud. Lots of mud. My legs were covered in mud, my socks were just beyond saving (I literally threw them away in Grant Park) and it’s going to take a serious laundering before my beloved old running shoes can see the light of day again.

Third: If you’re going to hold an outdoor fitness evening in the spring/summer that lasts from 11am to 3pm, you should really have water available for sale somewhere, and maybe some form of food available. As it stood, from 9:45am when I got there to 1:00ish when we finally decided we were over it, we had available to us the “complimentary” bottle of water that came in our goody bag – and that was it. In order to find anything to eat, we had to get a .5oz sample of Blue Diamond Almonds and an EAS energy bar, by standing in lines at sponsor booths. If there was a place water was available for purchase, we couldn’t find it.

Fourth: While there were some GREAT trainers from the Crunch gyms leading classes (I have to commend whoever the hee-larious girl was who taught “Latin Rhythms” and the powerhouse ass-kicker who taught “Cardio Tai Box.”) some of the others seemed a little… new at this? Margo and I were mad excited for “Movieography,” which was supposedly cardio dance set to routines from movie musicals – Footloose, Fame, Flashdance, etc. In reality, the class turned out to be a trainer and some backup dancers who certainly knew THEIR routine, but didn’t really bother trying to teach it to the hundreds of us who had no idea what was going on. The trainer mainly yelled “Yaaa!” a lot. Halfway through, I turned to Margo, and she nodded – we were done.

So, like good Americans, we skipped out on our trampolines/weights class (which we had at least 1.5 hours until the beginning of) and left SELF workout in the park to get coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts.

It wasn’t all bad. I don’t feel like I wasted my money – the tickets were $15 dollars and come with a year subscription to SELF magazine, which is like a $12 value, so.. $3 to hang out at the park with Margo, attend two fun classes, and leave with a cute headband from Ford? AND, I got to see Jillian Michaels speak, and she seems genuine and sincere and nice, so that was cool.

Yes, it could have been worse.

But I feel like it could have been SO much better.

SELF Magazine, if you’re listening, Margo and I would like to coordinate the event for you next year. We have lots of ideas -such as partnering with a bottled water company and pre-registration for classes online while you’re registering for the event as a whole – as well as a layout plan that puts the vendor booth and the yoga “quiet zone” out of the mainstage workout area. [How is yoga possible with loud music blaring?].

We’re willing to negotiate.

I’m just sayin’ – you should call us.

Hungry Girl @ Borders

It’s no secret that since January 2008 I’ve lost 40 pounds, started working out and eating healthy, and pretty much changed my life. There are a whole lot of companies, people, and products I could thank for the journey – but one of the most notable websites that’s helped me along my way is Hungry-girl.com, where founder Lisa Lillien and her team dispatch low-calorie, great-tasting recipes and let you in on products that can help a regular girl eat food that is satisfying and fun as opposed to living on carrot sticks to maintain health. Lillien is not a nutritionist or doctor – she’s merely a woman who wants to eat food, which is a noble cause I fuly support.

Last night, as part of her book tour for her new (New York Times Bestselling) book – “200 recipes under 200 calories” – Lillien came to the Chicago Lakeview Borders.  Since this Borders is less than 3 blocks away from me, I knew I had to go.  And I’m glad I did. I don’t think Borders planned on as many people coming to hear her speak as actually showed up, but it was a friendly crowd full of people who clearly are up on their HG.

Lillien is funny and personable, and spoke about the book briefly – then took questions from the audience, many of which were enlightening and interesting.

Would she ever consider doing a TV show? She has considered it, but doesn’t want it to detract from the website and the books – and also, most networks don’t want her to “name names” of the products she fully supports – which pretty much goes right against what the site is about.

Would she ever consider writing a book targeted specifically to men? No, because men aren’t as verbal about food – and there are plenty of men that like HG already. “6 people would read it, my publishers would drop me, and … no.”

What are her favorite products? Laughing Cow Lite Cheese (“I would have voted for Laughing Cow for President.”), VitaTops (of which everyone got a sample – and one lady won a year’s supply!), Fiber One cereal, among others.

I didn’t wind up staying for the actual signing part of the evening – as there was a mix-up with my wrist band and it would have basically put me dead last in line, but I’m still really glad I went. The new book is great, and if you haven’t experienced Hungry Girl yet, you should. She’s pretty bomb.

(Also, on the most random note ever – as I was standing in line pre-signing waiting to buy my book, I noticed someone who looked vaguely familiar – By God, it was my cousin Katie, my Uncle Greg, and my Aunt Sue, who were in Chicago for a few days to celebrate Katie’s being done with her first year of college. We talked briefly, and then all had to scamper on our way, but it was great seeing them! They’re from Gaylord, Michigan – so it was quite unexpected!)