Rock N Roll Bike Tour - Hyde Park/Dusable Museum

Went on a bike tour....didn't think I'd have it in me to do so after the previous 16 miles but turns out .... I DID! It actually helped to relieve some of the tightness in my legs, thighs and feet that I had gained from the long training. It was pretty cool. Jill, McKenna and I rode the streets of Hyde Park and learned some history about the area. I enjoyed it and visited places I probably never would have had I not taken that tour. We guess that it was a 5 mile ride. The best part was that it trully was a leisure ride...no hard strenuous effort! The bikes were pretty sweet, they definetly made the ride a lot easier too. :0) We got to wear sweeeeeet bike helmets too! I can honestly say that was the first time I've ever worn a bike helmet. Now that I'm older and have heard a good share of horror bike stories when ppl weren't wearing a helmet...I wouldn't even second guess wearing one!

The tour guide (sweet long dreads huh?!), Jill & McKenna

Oh long training day .... how u come so quickly each week!

So normally long training days are Saturday mornings...but since the fundraising/volunteer event was on Sat this week we opted to train Sun @ 5:30am instead. Well...after volunteering from 7 til 4 needless to say I was already a little sore and quiet tired that I didn't exactly get out there at 5:30am. Which actually was cool with me bc it was still very dark outside at 5:30am. So instead 6am was the approx start time. My legs were already feeling pretty crummy from being on them the previous day for so long (they tend to swell up more & more now w/ training) but I knew I couldn't let it interfere with Sun's long training miles. (THE COACH wouldn't hear of it!!! LOL!) BTW...Sun was a 16 mile day. It was pretty decent weather out there which was so helpful with the long miles ahead of me. I finally put stronger efforts into my 3/2's and was what I like to say...TRUCKIN ALONG! I really don't feel like I have a lot to say about this weeks long miles ... other than...Yet again...I survived them. They are never super easy....but after they are finally done...then I can honestly comfortably say...it's one more goal checked off the training sched for me and it's one more milestone completed! Hip Hip HOOOOOOOORAY! Some notes from the day! I made sure I hydrated myself ridiculously the day before and the day of the long training. I again made sure I had me some pasta the night before. I took some aleve before bed and again in the morning when I woke. I think these tricks plus the weather really made the 16 miles bearable for me today!

More City Chase photos.....THANK YOU AGAIN GALS FOR ALL YOUR HELP & CONTINUOUS SUPPORT!

Jess, "These R my peeps", Lil Pnut & Tic Tac taking a moment to pose for a photo while there was actually slow traffic on the streets of Chinatown.



Lil Pnut had to try out for the hole puncher role today! We had to know she could handle such an important task! We had 2 give her 2 tries....Hahaaa! Sorry Pnut...had to call ya out!



Thank goodness she had a large breakfast to give her the strength she needed to punch the bibs....otherwise we may of had to find another task she could handle! Thank you Huck Finns for providing her a donut the size of her head!



Participants calmly pass thru HOY POLOI to the Zen room so they can meet their challenge. See....I told ya Jess was good with her lines!



Maggs & Magnet monitor and time the participants challenge! I'm pretty sure this was when the Funny guys were there breaking the puzzle unintentionally!



FAMILY love! .... maybe they're not as camera shy as I had thought!

City Chase Chicago - "These are our people, these are our streets!"

"These R our people, these R our streets!" Definetly the quote of the day! What a great group of gals that came out to help me for my fundraiser for the Marathon! These gals really made this day a one of a kind event. The stories we have to walk a way with. OH BOY!..a great day of LAUGHTER, FUN, FRIENDS, FAMILY and so much more!(photo lt. to rt.-Meg,Me&Lil Pnut)



Jess rdg the script to the participants...Jess was a pro with her lines! She had to tell the participants to slow down & enter the store quietly..so they could calmly enter to go do their task! The two fellas pictured...we're a riot! They were cracking us up as they tried to solve the puzzle they were assigned. Ummm...they were the only group to break a puzzle..it wasn't intentional...but they managed to do so! Great fellas!



(Linds,Lil Pnut & Maggs) The timers and the puncher! Great Work by these gals! These gals worked hard all day!



HOY POLOI in Chinatown! These were our stomping grounds on Sat. Sat's are busy in Chinatown! The man on the left w/his back to the camera is Rob/Ron? (we're still not sure) who is the owner's bro. He was a very informative fella and was extremely fond of educating Meg about all sorts of things! He took her on a field trip to the bakery next door. Then showed her all the memorabilia & it's history in HOY POLOI..(which is an awesome shop in Chinatown!)



(Jess, Marcy ,Tic-Tac & Meg)

Pre-event Meeting at Joe's Bar on Weed St!

The volunteers at the pre-event meeting! (Maggs & Marcy) "They love photos as much as I do......"


(Jess & Maggs) "Yummy pizza & a refreshing beer!"

UPCOMING ADDITIONAL FUNDRAISING OPPS & TRAINING EVENTS:

I have some upcoming events that will continue to assist me in training and work on my timing for the actual marathon day! I figured I'd include them on this page too so if anyone has the time and wants to come join me out there....you know my theory! "The MORE the MERRIER!" Also some fundraising events that are coming up....as always more to follow too! (As in look for pic and info to come!) LOL

Fundraising events:
Volunteers needed for The T-Mobile Chase Chicago Adventure on 8/21/2010
volunteer from 7am til approx 3pm. If interested in volunteering please send an email to Susan at scc@sochicago.org an be sure to mention that you would like to be apart of Kerri Hannan's volunteer group as we will have our own station to rock out at! There will be a meeting at Joe's on Weed St. on Thursday 8/19/2010 from 7-8:30 as well so that we can be informed of our duties. If you cannot attend the meeting that is ok...just be sure to email Susan to let her know you will join me on Sat am to volunteer. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR HELP!

8/29/2010:
Come out and support "The Coach" & I at the VERY SPECIAL YARD SALE
In attempts to reach the fundraising goal for the Chicago Special Olympics - THE COACH will be hosting a VERY SPECIAL MARATHON Yard Sale on Sunday, August 29, 2010 starting at 10 a.m. - till everything is sold. If you have been hoarding or have rid yourself of household clutter or just the need to purge your home and items have a purpose, are clean and can be legally sold - please contribute to this cause. I'll work out the details for charitable receipts for your tax deductions. If you don't have anything...PLEASE COME AND BUY THIS STUFF, THERE ARE SURE TO BE MANY TREASURES! There will be perrennial plants, antiques, jewelry, knick knacks, household items, electronics, unused Christmas gifts, prizes won from other charities and maybe even an Irish item or two!

Donations will be accepted at THE COACH'S home 10629 South Artesian Avenue from now until the the sale. Please call (773)239-9762 when you can drop off or if you need items picked up. Let me know if you would like to just lend a helping hand, bake cookies, walk the dog or do the laundry just to make this sale a success.

Thanks! Spread the word...bring your friends and most importantly get out your check book!


TRAINING EVENTS:
Monday September 6th,(Labor Day) 2010 Oak Brook Half Marathon beginning at 7am. 13.1 MILES

Saturday September 18th, 2010 Elk Grove Village 20 miler beginning at 8am. 20 MILES


Feel free to email me if you have any questions...THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT & FOR READING!

Dehydration ='s Legs of Concrete! 8/14/10

I think it's safe to say that the title says it all! I was severely dehydrated on Sat and paid for it during the 12 mile training that morning! I had my worse timing yet for 12 miles. I found myself pretty sick on the Fri prior to Sat's training and never took the time to properly rehydrate my body. Therefore while I was out there training at 6am on Sat morning I started out without any additional food (energy) in my system (due to fear of getting sick again) I only took in a bottle of water for the first 8 miles and at that point my timing didn't seem to0 bad. By the time I finished those 9 miles though I could feel in my legs and feet some crazy (different) pain than I had been accustomed to in the previous long training days. By the start of the final 3.1 miles my legs felt like I was carrying slabs of concrete and therefore my timing suffered! Bottom line...I gotta make sure I stay hydrated all week! So that on long training days my timing doesn't suffer! Still many high points being out there each week as well as this past week. The support from other runners/walkers training out there each week is always grrrreat! Many saying Keep up the good work, Nice job, Great work, You're doing it, You can do it...etc. I love how friendly & supportive those people are out there!

14 mile Sunday....oh wait it was 15! :)

Today was the 14 mile day! Tho it turned into a 15 mile day! Which hey no big deal right?! Unless you've had enough by the 13 mile mark. LOL! Hey who cares at this point.... I SURVIVED another long training day and battled another milestone! I really liked that we changed up our route today for the long miles. Before, I would train around the same 3.1 mile route. It definetly made sense bc then I could return to the car to get more water or a snack if needed. However, today we added two new paths to our training and it was ok that I didn't have more water after the first 3.1 miles. I had consumed quite a bit prior to starting and carried one along so it worked out well. Plus, it was a great change of scenerey and I knew how many miles I was getting out of it (for the most part!) even tho I had no clue when or where the path would end. The first round seemed to of gone great! I utilized a couple podcasts that I had downloaded the week before that included a lot more running than I had been doing so I think that definetly helped with my mileage timing. I hate admitting my timing because it's really nothing impressive at all. But, perhaps it's better I make a note of it so I remember later down the road that today my mileage timing was at 18:30 a mile. Like I said ... not impressive but it is where I'm at and it will help me get where I am going by owning up to it! I've been meaning to mention this...and heck I may have already & just don't remember. While out on the trail today...a fellow runner said some pretty nice things to me....& it's things like that, of course along with other things, that really make being out there so great! The fellower runner told me to "keep up the great work, it's a hard thing to do, but not to give up!" I thought that was so awesome...I didn't even know the fella. Thank ya dude...it totally made my day! So Yes, Coach (M.O) was out there with me like she is weekend after weekend! She told me to kick it up a notch around mile 12.5 or 13 or at least somewhere close to it...and man I just couldn't! I was seriously struggling to the point that I thought I was going to have a mini meltdown right there on the path, the emotions ran high at that moment. My breathing got crazy! I swear I must have sounded like I was weazing...but regardless I pulled it together instantly and put the tunage back on & got going. Maybe not as quickly as she would have liked to see me...but I did do my best & finally finished & finished 15 instead of the 14 we had set out to do. Thank you Coach for pushing me yet again! You're the best!

Rough week! Thank you Stress!

Stress definetly plays a role in me not getting miles in every day! I know it's an excuse and it sucks...but it's the truth! Luckily, I have amazing friends that encourage me not to give up...to keep going with the training and that they said the words I needed to hear..."that this is for me, so I need to just do it!" Thank you friends! :0)
It was a rough week with miles...however, I did do swimming which it can count as my cross-training days. It's ok that I do cross-training days...but for me to improve my times, I should really be concentrating more on getting the miles done during the week.

No Weight Loss equals FRUSTRATION! ugggggggh!

The scale has not been my friend yet since I've begun. I've been told I look like I've lost some weight! That's a grrrreat thing to hear but when you're stepping on a scale and you don't see the numbers dropping...then it becomes very frustrating ... i know my eating habits may be playing a role in it...but honestly ... i rarely even eat poorly anymore...if anything I struggle with getting the necessary meals in bc either I'm too tired to eat or honestly I am just not that hungry and prefer to skip the meal. Unfortunately, even when I don't want to eat...i've learned that it's better to at least have something otherwise my body just starts to store the fat. So anyways...as frustrating as it has been...I do have some good news and this news is what has helped a lot since the scale is not cooperating with me! The news is that the hydration belt I bought when I began training did not fit around my waist. It was too tight and felt way to akward to wear .... so I wouldn't wear it! Well this weekend I decided to give it another go...and yey it fits now! It actually fits with quite a nice bit of extra length that I get to tuck into the belt! It's the only proof that I have that makes me see that my efforts are working!

Sat 7/31 & Sun 8/1 (Happy 22nd Birthday lil Bro!)

Saturday's training I felt went well! I'm still working on my timing and speed but getting the 9 miles in and done...I have to admit I felt pretty darn good by the time I ended it. Again...I have to get better with my timing and speed...but to actually not feel so awful when I finished (like the week of the 12 miles) I thought was a huge improvement! I did get to go out there on Sat with a blister on my heal bc I thought it was a BRILLIANT idea during the week to train without socks on.....turns out it was a HORRIBLE idea to even attempt to do that. Shocking..I chose to learn the hard way! :)
I definetly spent a lot of both Sat and Sun this weekend concentrating on improving my posture and breathing properly while kicking it up as much as I felt I could handle. I'm thinking that may be why my hips were killing me by Monday. Sun. went well too. Instead of stopping for a water after the first three miles I kept going so I could finish the 6 I set out to do and then go about my day. That was a hard decision...bc by the time I wrapped around close to the 4.5 mile mark...the hunger and thirst kicked in. Started getting some chills again bc it was starting to get a lil warm out there. But, I made it through it all and was super happy to finally be back at the car to take the shoes off and go about the day. After Sun's training I definetly felt worse than I had on Sat. which was weird since it was less miles. However, somehow I formed yet another blister on my foot...this time on the bottom of my foot. Of course it sucks but it gives me a reason to go get a pedicure and a foot & leg massage. Oh yea..and I got to see cousin Colleen out there running too! I like seeing her out there....she too checks in on me to see how I am doing w/ the training and I get to hear how hers is going too!
Coach (aka M.O.) was out there w/ me again this weekend too & THANK GOODNESS she is..bc she really is great at giving me suggestions on how to improve my trainings. I did promise her that eventually I would actually listen to her advice & that sometimes I am just slow at implementing what she's teaching me...but I will still give her the kudos for being the one that taught me it! :)
Coach kicked butt this weekend herself! She's continuing to improve her times and still blows me out of the water. Just wanted to say Great Job this weekend Coach! We completed a total of 15 miles over the weekend. 9 on Sat and 6 on Sun! We are scheduled to do 14 next Sat and will probably do 6 or maybe even 7 on Sun....I can hardly wait to attempt the 14 miles next weekend...lol...12 was so hard! I can only imagine how these 14 will go...tho I do not after it gets done..its just one more to check off the list until the next big one. YEY!