Finally got in a good work-out this week. Speedwork always makes me feel better about my running life. Even though these aren't the fastest intervals ever, I thought I was going to die so that's a good thing:) (Only runners say "I thought I was going to die" and "that's a good thing" in the same sentence.) Two comments about my 6 x 1200 m intervals tonight:
1. Knowing the treadmill is going to automatically shut down at 1 hour makes me time my workout to 1 hour. When I happened to pick the one treadmill that does not shut down at 1 hour, did I extend my cool-down to a full mile? I did not. Hello, 180 second cool-down. Ooops.
2. During my last interval (in mph: 7.2, 7.4, 7.6, 7.3, 7.5, 7.7), about 1/3 of the way in I knew it was a bit harder than I'd hoped. I started to feel a bit lightheaded even, which is quite unusual for me. So I told myself, "Self, your options are finish this interval or pass out trying, and your teeth and face will thank you if it's the former". So I kept breathing, kept a focus on one little area of the treadmill front plate and ran. And yes, all of my teeth are still in my mouth. Phew!
Good night to all!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Good Times in 2011
Rather than doing a month by month remembrance, I thought I'd use this opportunity to post about fun events of 2011 that I didn't have time to formerly blog about. I've really enjoyed my work life the past 6 months. I like being a Heme/Onc doc. But I'd like it even more if I could be a Heme/Onc doc for a few less hours a day! All in good time. One of the many downsides of working so much is that I got hopelessly behind on blog posts and I likely will never catch up. So here's my chance to at least give mention so some of the blog posts that could have been.....
Events of the Summer:
**Coldplay- Adam scored us All Access passes to Lollapalooza which we used to see Coldplay. They....were....amazing. Such great performers. The lead singer, Chris Martin, was so engaged with the audience. He was working the crowd like I've never seen. It was ridiculously hot and humid but I didn't even notice- I was so caught up in the music, the performance, the fireworks at the end. It was truly glorious. I'd definitely try to see them again....even if I have to pay next time:)
**'Da Bears- One of my colleagues has season passes to the Bears and was nice enough to offer Adam and I two of her tickets to a pre-season game. The way it happened was funny. At the time, our work team was composed of 5 women and 1 man and the guy was a trooper tolerating our incessant girl talk. So one day, I suggested we talk about something manly like football at which point the tickets came up. There's no question I was every bit as enthusiastic as "the man" at the opportunity to see the Bears, so maybe football is more girly than I realized? ;)
In a further blurring of gender stereotypes, I spent much of the game talking to the guys next to me about who Jay Cutler was talking to on the phone. We hypothesized that it was Kristin Cavallari and he was begging to get back together (which they did a few months later). Don't worry- I watched the game too, it's just that the second stringers were in for most of the game, so the big names were on the sidelines easily viewable through my excellent motion control binoculars:)
***Colorado- Last August, Adam and I spent a week in Breckenridge. We hiked, ran, explored and then attended our dear friends' wedding festivities (see below). The weather was simply amazing and the wildflowers were in full bloom. We celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary out there as well with a wonderful home cooked meal eaten in full view of the mountains.
***Bonnie and David's Wedding- With all due respect to every other wedding I've attended, this was truly the most spectacular celebration I've ever attended. Bonnie is one of my very closest friends and I am beyond thrilled/happy/relieved that her now husband has become one of my closest friends as well. You know how sometimes one of your closest friends marries someone and you think "Well, it's going to be harder to maintain our friendship now" because you just don't love her man? (Admit it, this has happened to all of you.) Not the case here- David is beyond wonderful.
The wedding was great because of the happy couple, because of their wonderful parents, because of their amazing friends most of whom were already were or have become our friends, because of the beautiful setting on a Colorado mountaintop. It was glorious:) Here's proof:
Events of the Fall
Events of the Winter:
***Blackhawks Game- Anheuser-Busch has a HUGE penthouse suite in the United Center and we were invited along with some other Goose Island peeps to attend a Blackhawks game. Earlier in the year I tried to get Blackhawks tickets for Jay, Adam and I for Adam's birthday. They were ridiculously expensive and I couldn't even get three seats together. Looking back, I'm glad we went to Second City (comedy club) instead because this Blackhawks experience was far superior that what that one would have been! The view was amazing!
When we got out of the cab at the United Center, the cabbie said "Cheer during the Star Spangled Banner for me!". I had no idea what he was talking about until I heard uproarious cheering and clapping as the singer began the Star Spangled Banner right before the game. Apparently it's a tradition foe everyone to start going nuts right from the start rather than waiting for the last refrain. It was pretty moving- a really powerful show of support for our troops, a communal act of patriotism. (The fact that the crowd was equally uproarious during the first fight during the game did take away from this a bit- I think maybe Blackhawks fans just indiscriminately go nuts??)
***The Goose Gourd- My cousin and my Mom pass back and forth a dressed up ceramic goose every year. So I was quite surprised and pleased to find a gourd shaped like a goose at my in-laws house. Maybe I should up the ante to exchanging goose shaped produce every year?
Here's to more memories in 2012!
Events of the Summer:
**Coldplay- Adam scored us All Access passes to Lollapalooza which we used to see Coldplay. They....were....amazing. Such great performers. The lead singer, Chris Martin, was so engaged with the audience. He was working the crowd like I've never seen. It was ridiculously hot and humid but I didn't even notice- I was so caught up in the music, the performance, the fireworks at the end. It was truly glorious. I'd definitely try to see them again....even if I have to pay next time:)
**'Da Bears- One of my colleagues has season passes to the Bears and was nice enough to offer Adam and I two of her tickets to a pre-season game. The way it happened was funny. At the time, our work team was composed of 5 women and 1 man and the guy was a trooper tolerating our incessant girl talk. So one day, I suggested we talk about something manly like football at which point the tickets came up. There's no question I was every bit as enthusiastic as "the man" at the opportunity to see the Bears, so maybe football is more girly than I realized? ;)
In a further blurring of gender stereotypes, I spent much of the game talking to the guys next to me about who Jay Cutler was talking to on the phone. We hypothesized that it was Kristin Cavallari and he was begging to get back together (which they did a few months later). Don't worry- I watched the game too, it's just that the second stringers were in for most of the game, so the big names were on the sidelines easily viewable through my excellent motion control binoculars:)
***Colorado- Last August, Adam and I spent a week in Breckenridge. We hiked, ran, explored and then attended our dear friends' wedding festivities (see below). The weather was simply amazing and the wildflowers were in full bloom. We celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary out there as well with a wonderful home cooked meal eaten in full view of the mountains.
***Bonnie and David's Wedding- With all due respect to every other wedding I've attended, this was truly the most spectacular celebration I've ever attended. Bonnie is one of my very closest friends and I am beyond thrilled/happy/relieved that her now husband has become one of my closest friends as well. You know how sometimes one of your closest friends marries someone and you think "Well, it's going to be harder to maintain our friendship now" because you just don't love her man? (Admit it, this has happened to all of you.) Not the case here- David is beyond wonderful.
The wedding was great because of the happy couple, because of their wonderful parents, because of their amazing friends most of whom were already were or have become our friends, because of the beautiful setting on a Colorado mountaintop. It was glorious:) Here's proof:
 |
| Bonnie and David, the happy couple |
 |
| After a 20 minute rainstorm, the cool, calm and collected bride and groom were married with a rainbow in the background. Truly stunning. |
 |
| Adam and I |
 |
| Adam, me, Mara, Deepa and Rob at the rehearsal dinner. So good to see old friends! |
 |
| Bonnie and I |
Events of the Fall
***Proof in Louisville, KY- The night after the Louisville Marathon we had dinner at a really cute place in downtown Louisville called Proof. It's actually a hotel, museum and restaurant. We experienced the latter two. The museum was neat- mostly modern. It was nice to have drinks and olives, then wander around the museum, then have a leisurely, multi-course meal surrounded by art to enjoy and discuss.
 |
| In honor of my cousin, A-L. |
The restaurant was decorated with animals made with interesting materials. For example, the walrus below was made from beetle shells. Then there was the S and M deer which was pretty funny. He's wearing all leather- do you see the zipper? The food was quite good- up to Chicago standards. The grits were truly out of this world. Certainly worth a stop!
 |
| The Beetle Walrus |
 |
| S and M Deer |
Events of the Winter:
***Blackhawks Game- Anheuser-Busch has a HUGE penthouse suite in the United Center and we were invited along with some other Goose Island peeps to attend a Blackhawks game. Earlier in the year I tried to get Blackhawks tickets for Jay, Adam and I for Adam's birthday. They were ridiculously expensive and I couldn't even get three seats together. Looking back, I'm glad we went to Second City (comedy club) instead because this Blackhawks experience was far superior that what that one would have been! The view was amazing!
When we got out of the cab at the United Center, the cabbie said "Cheer during the Star Spangled Banner for me!". I had no idea what he was talking about until I heard uproarious cheering and clapping as the singer began the Star Spangled Banner right before the game. Apparently it's a tradition foe everyone to start going nuts right from the start rather than waiting for the last refrain. It was pretty moving- a really powerful show of support for our troops, a communal act of patriotism. (The fact that the crowd was equally uproarious during the first fight during the game did take away from this a bit- I think maybe Blackhawks fans just indiscriminately go nuts??)
***The Goose Gourd- My cousin and my Mom pass back and forth a dressed up ceramic goose every year. So I was quite surprised and pleased to find a gourd shaped like a goose at my in-laws house. Maybe I should up the ante to exchanging goose shaped produce every year?
Here's to more memories in 2012!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Running Year in Review 2011
2011 is officially over so like running bloggers throughout the blogosphere I will write my year in review. Overall, by the numbers, this has been a great year. I had many running achievements. However the past few months I've been in a non-running tailspin mostly because of my work hours but there's been a touch of amotivation as well. Looking at the below numbers reminded me that despite working out way less than I'd like and not seriously sticking to any kind of training plan, I made some improvements this year and I should be proud of that. One of the many joys of running is that it takes a long time to get better; incremental improvements should be celebrated! So celebrate I will.
Number of miles I ran this year
***************************
Number of days I ran at least 1 mile
***************************
Number of races I ran
***************************
Number of PRs
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Lincoln Park Turkey Trot 8K (44:03) |
 |
| Chicago Monster Dash 1/2 Marathon (1:58:29) |
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| Maui Oceanfront Marathon (4:20:58)- PR at the time |
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| Rockford Marathon (4:05:18) |
***************************
Number of marathons I ran (all with Adam!)
 |
| Maui Oceanfront Marathon, January 2011 |
 |
| Rockford Marathon, May 2011 |
 |
| Madison Marathon, May 2011 (two weeks later) |
 |
| Louisville Marathon, October 2011 |
***************************
Number of new states in which I ran a marathon
***************************
4:05:18
New marathon PR time:)
***************************
7:19
New mile PR time (on the treadmill):)
***************************
Years until I (expect/hope to) qualify for Boston
***************************
Age Group Win!!
Happy New Year to all!!!
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