Good Race Strategy?.....Or a Lazy Runner?

After taking a brain numbing multiple choice test all day (Step 3 for medical licensing), I set out for what I hoped would be a 20 mile long run. I wanted to get at least one 20-miler in before my spring marathons and this was really my last chance since Rockford is on Sunday. So despite 20 mph winds and 40% chance of thunderstorms, I set out. Because of the storms, I chose an unusual route so I'd never be too far from home in case lightening became a problem. So 5 miles south, then the Northerly Island loop adding 3 miles, then 3.5 miles going north.

The run started off great. Nice temp, a tiny bit of drizzle for a few miles, and then the sun peaked its head out just a bit. It was a very fragrant run. Ew! Not that kind of fragrant. Why do you always assume the worst? It was the GOOD kind of fragrant. Lilacs, other flowers whose names I don't know, freshly cut grass. It was nice.

I was feeling pretty good, cruising along at an average 9:40 pace, when around mile 12 I ran out of water. I had my Nathan hydration pack and filled it about 1/2 way, but now that it's warming up, that's just not enough water. Fine for winter, not for spring. I ran a couple more miles but at 14 I realized there was no way I was going to finish 6 more miles w/o water. (I wish they'd turn the water fountains on on the path already!)

I had some money so was going to find a store and buy water and keep going. But then I started thinking. Rockford is on Sunday. That's only 6 days away. Since my training this cycle has been all screwed up, I was thinking I'd do 20 today, 26.2 Sunday, then taper for the Madison Marathon on 5/29. But then I thought, my 18 miler went well last week, this 14 miler is going well, maybe I could actually try to do decently well in Rockford on Sunday!?! Not with super high expectations or anything- I know a PR is not realistic- but maybe it won't be as bad as I'm imagining.

I went back and forth for a few minutes, trying to decide what to do. In the end I decided to trust my base training and stop at 14(.3) miles, hoping it will make for a more pleasant race on Sunday.

Good race strategy or a lazy runner? Probably a bit of both, but it's certainly the strategy that is most likely to keep me injury free!

The Marathon: A Race Too Far?

My cousin, Karin, facebooked me this really great article from Running Times magazine. It's called "The Marathon: A Race Too Far?" and is a thought provoking commentary by Jonathan Beverly on marathoning and runners who choose to primarily focus on the 26.2 mile distance.

I strongly, strongly suggest that all past or present marathoners take the time to read this well thought out, super insightful article by clicking here. I've read it a few times to ensure I fully digested the key points.

Throughout the article, Beverly (a pretty accomplished runner and 27 time marathoner) is very careful to not offend marathoners of any ability level and he has a completely non-judgemental stance. But he posits that perhaps "the marathon, as a race, is too far for many runners most of the time". He specifically refers to "serious runners" who have run marathons multiple times in the past and know they can complete another, but who haven't been able to "take their training to the level necessary to make the marathon truly a race rather than a survival test".

Wow. Already, I'm hooked on hearing more. What he said is so true for many of the marathoners I know (both in person and virtually). We run marathons, we are challenged by marathons, but we don't yet 'race' marathons, rather we 'just' finish them. I hope you can see my tongue wedged firmly in my cheek when I say 'just' because, no matter how experienced the runner, finishing a marathon is a huge accomplishment. There is no 'just' finishing a marathon; it is always something to be proud of. (Well, maybe Dean Karnazes 'just' finishes them, but he's clearly not human:) )

Beverly notes that this very fact - that completing a marathon no matter the pace is always an athletic accomplishment- may be why so many of us do it. Our non-running peers seem so impressed by the 26.2 mile distance that by running a marathon 'slow' runners "unlikely to win their age groups in local races receive the same accolades as someone almost twice as fast who completed a 1/2 marathon". In Beverly's words "it's difficult to explain that a 17:00 5K is harder than a 3:30 marathon. The same is true in our daily training: When our office-mates ask, 'How many miles did you do today?' answering 10 is far more impressive than, 'Five, but three of them were 800m intervals at 5:20 per mile pace'. (They stopped listening at 'five')."

So true, right?

Now if you love, love, love marathons, then by all means runs marathons! But if you merely enjoy marathons and the sense of accomplishment after completing them, it may be worth taking a step back and consider whether the 26.2 distance should continue to be your main focus week in and week out.

Until yesterday, I was beginning to think that I was in the latter category and should start to think about my big picture running goals. I do enjoy marathons and plan to run them the rest of my life. But, I'll admit, maybe too much of my pride in marathons comes from the look on other people's faces when they hear that I've run x number of marathons (7 if you care), or that I ran 22 miles over the weekend or that I want to run a marathon in every state. Part of my pride is because I am proud of myself- really, who DOES stuff like that ???- but I like impressing others as well. But is my goal in running to impress others? Obviously, not. But what is my goal??

Having a month long hiatus from any serious running gave me time to reflect on this. And I concluded that maybe it's time to step back the distance a bit- focus on 1/2 marathons and maybe even 5ks. I didn't really miss running all that much and had to do some serious self-convincing to get out there for my 18 miler yesterday.

But then I ran 18 miles. And somewhere b/t miles 8 and 15 I was reminded how much I love distance running. I didn't even start to enjoy my run yesterday until well over an hour into it. But then I became quite content trotting along, listening to my music, exploring the lakefront (I had to take some new paths to get in the full mileage). I like eating gu chomps mid-run. I like knowing for the rest of day that I covered serious ground on my own 2 feet. (I like feeling free to eat a couple hundred calories over my usual calorie goal.) And I like that I WAS NOT TIRED while running- my legs and lungs were FINE even though I've been off the running bandwagon for a month. Humans evolved to be distance runners so it shouldn't be a surprise that it feels natural (once you are in the shape to do so it really does become comfortable, as long as you keep it nice and slow).

I have 2 marathons coming up- Rockford and Madison. I was thinking of dialing back Rockford to a 1/2 because I'm not in the PR shape I wanted to be in and thought maybe "only" doing a 1/2 in Rockford would allow me to possibly PR in Madison. But after yesterday's run, I think I should do both fulls because I like marathons! I like them whether I PR or not. I've had some significant PR's this year- 5K, 1/2 marathon and marathon- which got me into this mind-set of needing to improve at every race. But sometimes weather, timing, and life get in the way of proper training and race day success. But I won't let those things get in the way of me having a good time on 5/15 and 5/29. Right now, enjoying marathons should be more of a priority than PR'ing anything. For now.

Next up, my revised running goals for next year (July to July). This summer, I'm starting a new job that will be even more demanding than the one I have now, so it truly won't be possible to train for marathons for a year or so. But I have a plan for that year that will make my marathoning even stronger when I return to distance running in July 2012:)

Il Mulino

In addition to stopping by Boka w/ Sara, I went to a 2nd Chef's Week spot, Il Mulino, w/ Adam. This is a traditional Italian restaurant in the Gold Coast. It's actually a chain, but a high end chain, with just 14 locations worldwide. In New York, it consistently wins Zagat's #1 Italian restaurant in the city. In Chicago, I'm pretty sure that honor belongs to Spiaggia, but it was good and a really fun dining experience. The restaurant is housed in an old mansion on North Dearborn Ave. It's homey yet elegant at the same time. There are multiple rooms in the house- you can tell they used to be a living room, dining room, etc. We were seated in what I'm guessing was the living room. It was large w/ a nice fireplace. We had a window seat so could enjoy the ambiance inside and the fact that it was 5:30 and the sun was still blazing (an exciting event in March here in Chi-town) outside.

While the food was definitely good (I had the prix fixe menu and Adam had veal), the overall experience is what makes me recommend this place for a 1 time visit on a date or with family (maybe not great for a group of friends). As soon as we were seated, various gratis appetizer snacks were put in front of us. A few minutes later, a server comes by with a HUGE block of parmesean cheese and breaks us off tasty chunks tableside.

When the wine we initially ordered wasn't available, our waiter made an excellent suggestion that was cheaper than the one we choose and absolutely delicious!

The combination of the appetizers, the cheese, the bread and the excellent wine recommendation put me in a good mood right away. We perused the menu, ordered a second round of apps (see why I need to run marathons?) and our main courses.

Dinner was tasty, but it was so long ago now that I don't remember exactly what I had. Sorry! But, like I said- go for the service, the ambiance, and the overall experience. The food will be good too:)

After we ordered dessert, we were in for our last surprise. Grappa! How did I make it thirty-something years not knowing about grappa! In case you have been equally in the dark about this delicious beverage, let me explain. Grappa is a a grape-based brandy of Italian origin that is ~50% ABV (alcohol by volume). So, hard liquor. It can be made with various fruits- lemon is common. The one we had was AMAZING! It tasted like good, clean water with a hint of cantaloupe. The only way I knew it was alcohol was that warm sensation you get in your belly with hard liquor. None of that harshness in the mouth. Just smooth with a hint of fruit. So, so good. We asked if we could buy some to take home and they said that it's a secret family recipe that can only be purchased in restaurant.

Anyone interested in happy hour at Il Mulino????

Well I've Never Done THAT Before

Alternate title: Why Danskos are the Best Shoes Ever

Last night I had a lovely evening with 2 friends from work. We started at a tasty spot called West Town Tavern and ended up at this really fun bar called the Violet Hour (will review both later). Because of some annoying things that kept me at work for longer than I anticipated, I had not yet done my mile run when we set out for dinner. That's no big deal- I've run after dinners out before. But when we decided to go to the Violet Hour and it was already past 8pm, I began to worry. Was I really going to get my run done after a Dark & Stormy?

So, I did something ridiculous. I know it's ridiculous. I appreciate my friends humoring me and actually encouraging me to do this (I know it's so they can have a story about "this goofy girl they know who.....", but that's okay!). Before I stepped into our after dinner bar, I went for a mile run. In my dress clothes....in my work shoes.....with my winter coat on.

There's really nothing else to say about the whole thing. It was actually a really nice night and a good run. I went real slow so I wouldn't sweat. And I have a new appreciation for the ugly but comfortable clogs that many of us wear at work (see right). They actually double very well as running shoes;)

Get your mile in people, no excuses! ;)

ruxbin

My friend Wendy recommended a wonderful restaurant, Ruxbin, that we tried a few weeks ago. Wendy has good taste, so I expected this place to be great and I was even more excited when I was at the Time Out Eat Out awards the night before our date and saw that it was nominated for Best New Chicago restaurant 2010. Another great place called Girl and the Goat won- you can read my review of G & the G here.

Ruxbin could have just as easily won, however. G & the G has a celebrity chef in Stephanie Izard which might have had a role in their sweep of Best Restauranteurs and Best New Restaurant.

Anyway, Ruxbin is definitely worth a visit for many reasons: the food, the interesting interior and the fact that it is BYOB baby! Love BYOB. Ruxbin's website describes itself as an "American Bistro" with "steam-punk decor in a sepia-toned menagerie". After looking up a few words (what the heck is "steam-punk"??), I agree with the description. According to Wikipedia, steampunk refers to a sub-genre of science fiction or "speculative fiction" that involves an "era or world where steam power is still widely used" such as the 19th century such as Victorian era Britain. Often steampunk works feature futuristic innovations as Victorians may have envisioned them. The way this translates into Ruxbin's interior is that they have used various objects from yesteryear and incorporated them into a restaurant environment. They call it "Triple-R: Refurbished, Repurposed and Relcaimed."

This actually works really well and it was fun to read about the various 'surfaces' before heading over to dinner. For example, some of the seats are baptist church pews from Southern Illinois, some of the wall coverings are flattened apple juice shipping crates and there is a wall covered by tin ceiling tiles from a previous Rockford Mayor's mansion (see right).

While enjoying this fun interior w/ our glasses (ahem...bottles) of BYOB wine, we perused the menu. Ruxbin describes the food as "American comfort punctuated by [Edward] Kim's Chicago-born, Le Cordon Bleu trained, Korean American palate". That's a mouthful. Can we just say high end American w/ a Korean twist? I asked a friend for food recs before arriving and we ended up ordering based on them. Everything we had was delicious, met or exceeding my expectations for a restaurant of this caliber.

For dinner, Wendy had the Hanger Steak w/ crispy greens, kimchee potato hash, caramelized yolk and guajillo ketchup. I had the Pan Seared Trout w/ bulgur wheat tabbouleh, asparagus, dates and basil (pictured right). For the full menu, click here.



Since we were still busy plotting our take-over of the world (read: future vacation destinations), we ordered dessert. I've professed my love for panna cotta on this blog in the past so it's no surprise that we ordered the panna cotta w/ lychee and toasted coconut. Yummers!





I'd definitely recommend a visit to this unique, fun and BYOB haven. It's over in West Town, on a very ugly street, but once you are inside, it's divine. I'd be more than happy to head over there again. The interior is interesting and worth seeing. However, I'd recommend going w/ a friend or friends rather than a date because it's a bit on the cramped side- not much privacy. So grab some friends and head over!

Goofy Easter 2011....Part 2

I was able to go see my family for Easter this year, which was great. My initial plan was do a do a Bunny 5K around my mom's neighborhood but I was still sick so instead I donned the bunny suit for the kids Easter egg hunt. My cousin was super excited about the suit and we did a little dance. A good time was had by all:)

Stay tuned for part 1 of Goofy Easter...some very funny pictures, I promise:)

Illinois Half Marathon Spectator Report

Given my recent and very persistent cold, I thought it best not to run the Illinois Marathon on Saturday. I packed all my gear, and even carbo loaded (ummm....pizza) the night before, but after spending much of the night coughing it seemed downright stupid to subject my body to 26.2 miles. I knew I would finish but I knew it would be painful and I would be disappointed with my performance. Since this particular race wasn't helping me meet any of my long-term running goals (like 50 marathons in 50 states for example- I already have Illinois), I decided to SPECTATE!

I was actually really excited about the chance to be a spectator. I've had so many great family members and friends take the time to support me in many of my races, not to mention my AMAZINGLY supportive husband who spectates at every race- in freezing rain, in snow, during vacation- you name it, he's there with a camera cheering. So it was nice for me to have a chance to return the favor at least once.

I did my best to be a super spectator the day of the race, and was generally successful, I'd say. But- full disclosure- I was a TERRIBLE pre-race supporter. You're not going to believe this but I forgot Adam's running shoes! I was in charge of bringing his bag and shoes to the car and at the last minute forgot a totally unimportant item and in grabbing that item dropped his shoes and never picked them up again!

We realized this in Kankakee, far away from Chicago already. I felt terrible. Who DOES that? Even more absurd, I had TWO pairs of my running shoes in the car (my race shoes and my spare that I always keep in the car) and I wasn't even going to run!! I'm a dope.

Thank god we found a pair at Dick's in Champaign that worked okay!

Here are my observations from being a spectator:

1. It's cold. Maybe not always, but frequently. Perfect race weather for runners is 40-60 and overcast. That's COLD if you are not moving. Once again, kudos to Adam, my parents, and my Grandma Nelson for spectating at my first marathon- the Chicago Marathon in 2006 was a cold one.

Adam at the start line:













2. Sometimes you feel silly. I was determined to be an enthusiastic supporter throughout the race, not just when I saw Adam. So as I took the short way (3 miles) to get to mile 8, I walked along the marathon course, and later the 1/2 marathon course, cheering every 5 seconds or so. I alternated b/t "Way to go, runners!", "Keep it up!" and "Looking good, runners!". I'd clap and shout, walk a few feet, clap and shout for the next bunch, walk a few feet, and clap and shout...you get the point. I did this for over an hour. I felt really silly. But then I thought about being a runner and being really grateful for the random people cheering on the side of the road. Many folks said thanks for coming out, which was really nice.

3. Seeing your runner is the highlight of the day! No matter how accurate you think you are on your timing, you inevitably end up spending quality minutes staring as hundreds of runners go past you while you play 'Where's Waldo' trying to see your runner in time to shout and get a good photo. Luckily, Adam's really easy to see- very tall with a red shirt and dark sunglasses, so I had no problem. Here he is at miles 8 and 10 looking good!




5. It is really hard to photograph runners. While the above 2 photos are pretty decent, there were many other photos that were more like this:

Adam was here at some point, just not at the same time that I took the picture:) A corollary to 'it's really hard to photograph runners' is 'blame the runner, not the photographer'- he was just too fast!





And this:

I don't have a great excuse here. Just a lousy picture:) Actually, it's a pretty good picture of the lady in pink- I just have no idea who she is:)







4. Good planning is key. I was not the best planner. I saw Adam at miles 8 and 10 as planned. Good. Then I had to somehow get the finish line in Memorial Stadium in time to see Adam finish. And Memorial Stadium was three miles away. Hmm....3.1 miles left and I have to run faster than Adam to get there?? In my jeans? Carrying a bag of stuff (water, clothes, etc)? When I looked at the map I didn't realize there wasn't a good shortcut b/t mile 10 and the finish. So, I had no choice but to run. As fast as I could. Now Adam had a killer race (more later) and he was MOVING. I really didn't think I'd make it to the finish in time.

I took off sprinting trying to find a way to carry the super-awkward bag. I never found a good way and now have a big gash where the strap was digging into my clavicle. Awesome. I considered hitchhiking. I considered giving up. Finally, I made the wise observation that the only way I was possibly going to beat him is if I ran a shorter distance than him. And the only way to do that was to cut directly across South Farms. Since this is U of I, agriculture's a big deal. The whole southern part of campus is just farms, stinky farms, and even more stinky stinky farms. I rolled up my jeans like a farmer (thought it might help me blend in) and booked it perfectly diagonally from the corner of Windor and Lincoln to Memorial Stadium that I could see in the distance. I jumped a fence, dodged some folks hitting golf balls (in my general direction) and, once I got to Memorial Stadium, blazed past the lady blocking the door who said "runners only!!". I yelled, "I am running!" over my shoulder and ran down the steps to the 50 yard line, i.e. the finish line.

5. Making it to the finish line is worth it. Cheering at the finish line is really fun! People sprinting it in, the excitement or disappointment when they see the clock. It was really awesome. And it was especially awesome to see Adam get his kick-ass PR of 1:54:14!! 12 minutes faster than his previous half-mary PR!! It was really great and I'm super proud of him. I'm really glad I chose to spectate instead of run. I'm even glad that I ended up doing a bit of running (see #4 above) because not knowing whether or not I'd make it to the finish made it all the more exciting when I did!

Congrats to Adam on a great race! And thanks again to my spectators and all the spectators out there. Races would not be the same without you!