Chapter 2 page 410 - During the race: friends and fun

As you've all gathered by now, I ran this race alone.  MOA was in a corral ahead of me and I had encouraged her to run the race she had trained to do.  She was awesome.  She did her first half in 2:53 - wow!!!  Congrats MOA!  That's awesome!!!  That's real proof of all of those HOT training runs, hard work, and inner strength to push!!!  I was so honored to be part of her first half . . . although, I crossed 9 minutes later.

Many of you who read my blog know that I'm extremely social.  I talk twice as fast and much as I run.  For me, running has to be social. I'm not the kind of gal that turns to running for some inner problem solving or "me" time - nope, I run in order to hang out with my friends, laugh, and have fun chatting about stuff!  So during a race, no surprise I'm a social butterfly (hence the tutu, so serve as a topic of conversation).  At each mile mark I hooted and celebrated like a winning coach on a soccer field!  I talked to dozens and dozens of participants, spectators, police officers, and race volunteers.  Below are some interesting stories of my encounters:

Story #1:  "Hey Fort Wayne, get moving!" -

At about mile 10 while listening to my ipod this man ran past me and said "Hey Fort Wayne (my hometown), you better get movin'!"  I paused my ipod and said "HUH?"  Then he repeated it and I asked how he knew I was from FW.  He said I had spoken to his wife and her friend back around mile 3 and she had told him that he should catch up to me because I was a lot of fun!  I asked what his wife's name was and that wasn't ringing any bells so I asked "Where are you from?" (that's one of my standard "get to know a complete stranger running in a destination race next to you" kinda questions) -he said "Auburn, WI" and I totally remembered talking to his wife.  The remaining 3 miles we were back and forth but mostly he was kicking my tail.  Every now and then I would get close and yell at him, "Hey Auburn, Fort Wayne is in the house!!!!".  He would always speed up.  At the end, I gunned it and he said that I beat him - not so sure, but nonetheless, it was certainly made the last 3 miles a lot of fun and will be retained as a fun race memory.

 Story #2 "Keeping Pace" -

These 2 blue shirted awesome ladies were fantastic fun for several miles (maybe miles 4-6 or so).  These 2 ladies were power walkers - and man were they moving!!!  Since I run then walk, they would pass me when I was walking then I would pass them as I ran.  They said at one point that they knew if they could see me that they were keeping pace.  At about mile 7 we all had to turn a corner and I really lost most of the people that had been around me up till that point.  At the end, I was standing around and bam, there they were - quick photo and congratulatory exchange - FUN!

 Story #3 (sorry no photo) "Cheese Head Motivation" -

At mile 8 (or so), I was still on the phone with "C" and was integrating into a new group of people.  We all know how annoying it is to have a fellow racer on the phone and although I was this annoying person, I tried to play it off and hung up from "C" and said aloud to the group around me, "Sorry to have been on the phone, but I had to call my running coach and tell he I was kicking butt in Chicago.  She said to tell you all HI and good luck."  Everyone seemed to forgive me and a man with a cheese head hat immediately said, "Come on Princess move those feet!"  He'd yell out things like "Pick it up Princess."  He was fun and nice and super encouraging.  He was an avid runner who was trotting along with 2 women perhaps as their coach or pacer or something of the sort.  He was a lot of fun. I lost him during the crazy mile 9 water station.  Wish I would have had a finish line photo of him, but even so, it still makes for a fun race memory!

Chapter 2 page 409 - Who's MOA?

A question many of you have been wondering is "who did I do this race with?"  The answer is my new bestie . . . MOA!  Here's a little background (fun photos to follow):
-MOA (MO = Missouri; A= her first initial  = MOA)

-MOA has been a loyal reader of my blog for about a year (give or take) and was a frequent commenter.
-She had asked some questions about training and running and that began our email friendship.

-Over the past 9 months or so, we've emailed HUNDREDS of times and discussed everything from training to just plain ol' life.  She ALWAYS cracked me up.  This was definitely a girl I wanted to meet!

-Back in the beginning of April, "C" and I signed up for the Rock n Roll St. Louis so that we could come down to meet MOA and run a half marathon together.  Fun - that was the plan!

-In the meantime, MOA was training for her first half marathon which was suppose to be on 8/14 and was to be just outside of Las Vegas. 

-After training for her first half marathon, she received word in late June that her friend wasn't going to be able to go with her to Vegas . . . . huge bummer.

-MOA asked if I would do Chicago with her since she had been doing all the training and now wasn't going to be able to do the race she intended.  And so . . .I registered for Chicago!

-We met up on Friday 8/12 for lunch and instantly hit it off.  She's as hilarious in real life as she was in her emails.  With the hundreds of emails exchanged it felt like I had always known her.  We had a blast and definitely rocked Chicago.

-MOA decided to take the train and brought her mom as a travel companion and race cheerleader.  Her mom was a HOOT and a real trooper especially since the weather was less than optimal for spectating!

Here are some photos of MOA and her mom . .  such fun folks!!!!  Can't wait to meet up with them again in St. Louis in October!!!!

Fortune teller at the expo.

I loved her spirit - she really enjoyed the expo even though she wasn't there to run.

HUGE Reese's cups at the Hershy's store - YUM! 

Aren't they adorable!!!!

Post race fountain photo - Notice the sun is starting to come out . . . finally!

Chapter 2 page 408 - Gettin' motivated to Rock Chicago

As you may remember, I had laid out a multi-level plan to be successful during the Chicago RnR half this past Sunday.  As I described the plan last week, I'm sure it sounded over-the-top and full of non-racing hoopla; however, the plan worked perfectly for me.  Here are some photos of "what it took" to help me succeed:

1st - having a crazy training partner is always helpful.  "C" wasn't able to do this race with me so she did the next best thing - she cut a photo of herself out and glued it to a Dilly Bar stick!!!!!

She's nuts isn't she?

Here are "C" and I in line for the porta john then we're "heading" (ha!) to the starting line!!!

2nd - it's all about the accessories.  You know how I like matching my nails to my outfit - I doubled up for this race to paint them pink and overcoated it with sparkle paint.  SWEET!  

3rd - wear a costume that will spark conversation and bring smiles . . . and embraces my love of pink . . . princess - SCORE!  A tutu - check; A crazy tulle pony tail holder - check; a tiara - check (this is a great story - check out my expo post later this week to hear how Rachel & Rebecka from Bondi Band saved the day); pink, pink, and more pink - check! (shirt, compression sleeves, shoes).  I wasn't able to work out the princess sash ribbon (boo!) - the bib was just too big!

4th - lifesavers . . . candy that is.  "C" hooked me up with a variety pack of lifesavers to eat at each mile.  Turned out the package included 13 different flavors.  How fab - one per mile!!! I had one of each flavor packed ready to go except I struggled to open the wrapper so I only ate 2 - but they were hugely helpful when I ate them at mile 10 & 11.  

5th - write motivational sayings on my arm so I can read them over and over until either I cross the finish line or start to believe them!  MOA (you'll learn more about her soon I promise) was soooo kind to do a little skin graffiti on me!

That is the saying from "I'm A Sleeper Baker"  - LOVE it. . . Thanks Molly!

The 4 quotes I used were:
A.)  You are capable of more than you realize!  (Molly @ I'm a Sleeper Baker)
B.)  Run hard, be strong, think BIG! (Percy Cerutty)
C.)  All it takes is all you've got! (Marc Davis)
D.)  It only hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get worse! (Steve Prefontaine)

 6th - stay on track with pacing.  This race was really suppose to be a slow, easy training run in prep for my September half (as you know I'm doing 4 halfs, in 4 months, in 4 states - Chicago was the first of them).  I opted to put a 3:10 pacing guide on my arm so if I was a little slower, it would still be alright . . . UMMMM, yeah, I went a little faster instead :)  

7th - Have your training partner send you a tear provoking text while you are setting out your gear minutes before bed that is just too awesome NOT to put on your arm . . . by your watch so you'll look at it hundreds of times during the race!!!!  She used the letters in my name (Lisa) to make a motivational saying "Look I'm Super Amazing!".  Perfect!  Thanks "C" for the last minute pep talk!!!!

8th - have awesome friends, including bloggers, send you cards, emails, texts, and pictures that were so motivating.  I re-read each of them prior to going to be the night before the race.  Each one was special and meaningful.  Thanks girls!!!!   One of my FAVS was a sign from my newest little follower who sent a sign saying "Run like the wind . . . or a gentle breeze"  PRECIOUS!!!!  Thanks to everyone for your support!  Seriously couldn't have done it without you!!!

9th - Call your training partner between miles 7.5-8.25 just to tell her how you're Kicking Chicago's A##!!!!  She was able to give me feedback about my pace (it was getting faster) and to discuss my strategy change for the final 3 miles.  She was a nice distraction and helped that middle section of the race pass quickly.  I honestly can't believe I was able to call her - that's just too crazy . . . even for me.  Thanks girl for answering the phone and talking to me!!!  You're the best!!!

Chapter 2 page 407 - Chicago eats & treats

When in Rome do as the Romans . . . . errr, in Chicago . . . . EAT, DRINK, & BE MERRY!

Friday Night:  Bubba Gump @ Navy Pier - FUN!

Random photo to show you the outdoor eating area where we dined.

I had fish & chips - it's served on a fake Forest Gump newspaper - CREATIVE!

On Saturday we ate at Maggiano's Little Italy for our pre-race carb meal  - I don't have any photos but it was AWESOME and totally worth checking out during your next visit to the windy city!

After the race, we headed to one of the city's most recommended pizzarias for a bit of deep dish and spirits!  Ginos East was our destination - this place has ALL THE CHARM!!!!

Saturday night, this place had a 90-120 minute wait . . . must be good.  We waited about 30 minutes on Sunday for lunch!

Just a photo of the multi-story eatery.  Quaint, isn't it?!?!

MOA & her mom.  Who's MOA?  Stay tuned for a whole post on my awesome new friend!

As you can see, graffiti is encouraged so . . . on the left line in the "A" I wrote 13.1 LB

After a half marathon - it's important to hydrate so . . . I got a Rum Punch (left -YUM!), a diet coke (middle - also YUM!), and a water to keep up appearances (right - ha!)

Well, after drinking a Rum Punch while wearing your newly earned medal - you too can have a cheesy picture taken!

What's in that Rum Punch to enable such a "cheesy smile" you ask?  Well see for yourself . . . 1 part goodness mixed with 1 part delicious awesomeness and 2 parts "heck yeah I kicked Chicago butt!"

A round of post race spirits for everyone!!!!  Party at table 1!

One slice of authentic Chicago Style deep dish pizza with meat and veggies and tons of cheese - SOOO GOOD!

The rest of the pizza I brought home - wow, one piece, even after a half marathon, was filling!!!!

The GREATEST restroom sign ever!  Hilarious!

What's your "must go to" restaurant?  How did you discover it?

chapter 2 page 406 - All Aboard to Chicago

Chicago is just about 4 hours (without traffic) from my house . . . options to to get there include A.) DRIVING (it cost $43/night to park at the hotel + CRAZY big city traffic), B.)  fly (ummm, no!), or C.) Amtrak train.  Hmm, train . . ."L" has taken the train to Chicago and said it was AWE-SOME.  Well . . . I would NOT call it AWE-SOME, but it did have MANY advantages.

On the way to Chicago I took a single level train . . . it arrived at my departure station almost 3 hours late (BOO-I could have so totally slept in and taken my time getting to the train station).  While I waited at the "no real building only a small plastic bus shelter type" station, I elected to take a naparoonie in my car.  That was helpful as it gave me rest and passed the time.  Finally the train arrived - hmm, what a new experience.  I sat next to a guy who had been on the train since Boston (like 20 hours) - he was knowledgeable and was willing to "show me the ropes."  Here are some photos from inside the Amtrak train. . .

Seats recline like 4X as far back as airplane seats - nice!

Seats and aisles are far more roomier than airplane seats - also NICE!

Lots of overhead storage - nice!

 Now on my way back, I boarded the train at grand central station - insanity is the best way to describe it.  People were packed into the area like sardines and everyone was trying to go to a different place or line or terminal or whatever - it reminded me of watching ants at work at an ant hill.  NUTS!!!!  Absolutely hated this part.  Again, the train was running late and there were about 200 passengers for every one seat in the station waiting room so . . . after my half marathon, I got to stand for 90 minutes waiting on the train - yippee!!!!

This Jack AHole was in line behind me (2nd man in the photo - black tshirt with red lettering)!  REALLY - WHO THINKS WEARING A "BOMB SQUAD" T-SHIRT IS A GOOD IDEA WHILE RIDING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION??????? It took ALL I had inside of me not to actually say something to him!

On the way home, I took a double decker train. . . any idea where my seat assignement was?  Yes, upstairs!  Any idea where the restroom was?  Yes, downstairs!  Any idea HOW.SORE.MY.LEGS.WERE.AFTER.THE.HALF?!?!  Torture!!!

Jury is still out on whether I would take the train again.  Here's a quick summary of the pros/cons:
PROS of AMTRAK:
-don't have to drive so napping may be possible
-roomy, clean, spacious
-fairly easy to navigate
-nice features at your seat like an outlet plug (to charge cell phone or computer), tray table, reclining seat, leg rest, foot rest, etc.
-restrooms, food service, etc.
-fairly inexpensive (especially compared to flying, or multi-night hotel parking)


CONS of AMTRAK:
-the closest station isn't really a "station" - it's a gravel parking lot and a small "sidewalk bus shelter" - so no restroom, and nothing to do while waiting for LATE trains!
-the trains were late (both coming and going) and there was NO apology or explination
-they ran out of food on my "to Chicago" train (I felt sooo badly for the folks who had been on the train 20 hours . . . eventually they brought everyone a snack pack containing cheese and crackers and a small cookie)
-Union Station was utter craziness
-No real say in where you sit or who you sit by (on the way to Chicago I had a chatty cathy and on the way back I had a Brazillian who didn't speak English but tried to and we obviously had a culture difference about deoderant usage - WOW!  RANK!!!)

Have you ridden Amtrak?  What did you think?  Would you recommend it or ride it again? 

Chapter 2 page 405 - TR 151 & 152 - nothing fancy here

Since this blog doubles as my training log, just wanted to include my 1.3 mile SLOW walk last evening with my hubs and pup to get things loosened up. 

This evening "L" & "C" and I got together to do an EASY 3.25 miler.  We did an extra long wu and cd of walking and then did an EASY 2:4 interval the rest of the time.  Nothing fancy - just loosening things up and getting back into running.  For my previous 3 halfs I have never gone further than 3 or 4 miles the week after the race, but my half mary teacher thinks I should try to see if I can get my long run of 10-12 miles done this week (ummm, not an amazing Olympic athlete over here . . . but we'll see!).  There are no words to describe how fun it was to have the 3 of us together again!!!  Man, I've missed that!!!!

Chapter 2 page 404 - Chicago Race Recap By the Numbers

Finished In: 03:02:13 - a NEW PR (by only 35 seconds, but still - it counts)!!!!!!!!  (7 seconds behind Al Roker . . . he finished only 9 people in front of me and at least 7 of them were his "people" who surrounded him during the race)

Overall: 14059 out of 15259 · Division: 1217 out of 1355 · Gender: 8532 out of 9480

Shall we look closer at those splits?  Okay - let's do:

1st 5K (miles 0-3.1) = 14:13 m/m pace (awesome pace for me - nice, easy, get out of traffic, get some confidence, don't start out too quickly)

 2nd 5K (miles 3.1-6.2) = 14:00 m/m pace (hmm, look at that, getting a little quicker . . . )

3rd segment (miles 6.2 - mile 10) = 13:46 m/m (wow - still getting faster . . . woo hoo)

final 5K (mile 10-mile 13.1) = 13:41 m/m (yeah, that's me negative splitting each segment of the race . . . this segment featured 15-20 mph headwind and driving tortential rain pelting directly in my face . . . oh and a hill at the 12.5 mile mark NICE!)

Average pace = 13:54 (not too shabby for doing it alone, in inclement weather, while wearing a tutu, and planning this race to be only a training run for my September Half)

One more thing about splits . . . I had written on my arm the splits to obtain a 3:10 finish = 14:30 m/m pace . . . .guess that went out of the window in the first 5K!

Let's talk a quick moment about my overall place:

I only beat 1200 people . . . not really all that impressive EXCEPT that I actually started the race with only 20 people behind me . . . . yeah, that's a bit more impressive, huh!  I was in the last corral and a bit late getting to it (such a LONG porta john line) that knowing this was only suppose to be a training run, I decided not to fight for a closer space.  Woot - I passed 1180 people!!!!!!!  That's slightly more impressive!

Next, I'm going to chat about the intervals I used :

you can skip this part (probably not that interesting to most of you):

Start line until the 15K mark:  I used 2:2 

15K mark until the 12 mile mark:  I used 4:2 (oh yeah, I did that!!!!)

Last Mile:  I ran the whole thing except the hill at the 12.5 mile mark which I elected to walk up (took 2 minutes) in order to conserve energy to push harder to the finish - really smart decision I think!

 What's important to know about my intervals?  I DIDN'T WALK THROUGH ANY INTERVALS!!!!

Fueling & Hydration by the numbers:

2 orange chomps before the start

2 tropical punch bloks at mile 3

2 tropical punch bloks at mile 6

1 vanilla gu at mile 9

2 tropical punch bloks at mile 11

In addition to drinking 1-2 glasses at each aid station, I drank one 16.9 oz bottle of on-board water

How about a few numbers about the weather (in honor of Al Roker beating me):

					Race Start (6:30 a.m.) Stats: temp:  61* dew point: 64* humidity:  91% winds:  10 mph NW
					During the race - there were cool temps and light sprinkles off an on - so nice and refreshing! Final 3 miles Stats: temp:  68* dew point:  71* humidity:  76% winds:  20 mph N precip:  DRIVING IN MY FACE DOWN POURING RAIN - the BIG DROP SIDEWAYS KIND!

Chapter 2 page 403 - TR 150 Chicago RnR Half Spoiler Alert

Spoiler alert . . . 

new PR

3:02.13*

*this wasn't a race I was racing, it was just suppose to be an easy training run in prep for my . .  . oops!  Hope to recover quickly and return my focus to my September half where I hope to get a sub 3 which is my 2011 goal!

Chapter 2 page 402 - Food Photo Friday

What's Wells L been eating lately????

Good question, see for yourself!!!!

BEST EVA' Buffalo Chicken Tacos as originally presented by Kimberly at Healthystrides HERE:

Finely chopped celery (hand cut) and shredded carrots (store bought).

Homemade blue cheese dip- low fat blue cheese crumbles, water, fat free miracle whip. YUM!  What's a hot wing without blue cheese dressing?  Exactly - like crack (not that I would know, but . . )

Cook up some boneless, skinless chicken breast and then toss in Franks Red Hot Wing Sauce - Ohhh that's just illegally delicious!

These are my FAV tortillas - low cal & high fiber & whole grain. What more can you ask from a tortilla?

These started off (in my head) as side dishes, but ended up going directly into my taco.  Spanish Rice (Uncle Bens 90 second MW bag) & Southwest Corn with Black beans and tomatoes (canned, but I will be making this from scratch when I return from Chi-town!).

Assembled:  20 second nuked tortilla, layer of rice and corn, then chix, drizzle of the blue cheese sauce, topped with carrots and celery.  Oh my goodness!  YES Bloogers, there is a Taco Fairy!  Low fat, High Fiber, Low calorie, High Flavor - not to mention quick, easy, and inexpensive! 

 

Banana Split Smoothie Bonanza

Start with a container of Pineapple flavor Chobani & a chocolate flavor of Oikos greek yogurt. 

Put into the blender cut up fresh strawberries and pineapple (you could put these in the freezer ahead of time for an hour or so to maximize smoothie frostiness  - I didn't exactly measure how much, but I'd guess like 1/2-1  cup of each

Slice up a banana and stick it in the freezer for about an hour then add it to the blender.

Empty the 2 yogurt containers and add a little drizzle of chocolate ice cream syrup for a more chocolate taste (optional).

Blend until smooth.

Makes a crazy large glass full - it tastes EXACTLY like a banana split - MORE fiber, WAY less fat, and WAY more protein.  Cheers bloggy friends!

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