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meet my new dog!

ava mullen.  wheaten terrier.  soon to be world's most awesome dog ever.  we're still in training for now.  working on a little thing called housebreaking.

digital camera goodie

found this goodie on the digital camera tonight: a "picture" taken by my father before the chicago marathon this year. little did he realize that camera was on video, so what you see is the result of several failed attempts to take a picture.

you know the scenario well. big family moment. kodak can only dream of capturing these moments. digital camera on hand, but new fangled technology befuddles all. my parents arguing over how to take the picture -- "no, larry, a little more to the left. smile dear or your face will stick that way." from my mother. for my father, the neck strap has to be around his neck to take the picture for some bizarre reason. younger brother, the only one in the group who really knows how to do this stuff, looking off in the distance, mildly bored with the whole affair and only half awake at the hour of 7:30am. taking one picture involves 7.3 attempts, but never actually works out ad inevitably somebody's head gets cut off in the final image. like i said, you know the scenario.

hilarious. i especially like the commentary by my father "oh, now i take both of them together. ok." (hubs to be comes in for the pose) "say peanut butter sandwiches!" (my father)

tiart: pain in the butt

two days late for tiart, but nonetheless...  this week's topic is to post your favorite stretch.  

ummm... this post would have pretty much been blank since for most of my runs i'm lucky if i touch my toes once before or after the run.  i don't stretch.  well, least not in the traditional sense.  throughout the day, i do flex my foot to stretch the backs of my calves.  ahhh, that feels good.  i probably do that almost once or twice an hour.  it's divine.  but that's not the stretch i'm blogging about.

so, i'm a non-stretcher and that was serving me just dandy until sometime last summer.  don't know if it was the increased mileage or if my butt finally decided it might be time to stop jiggling about, but man did it hurt!  i literally had pains in my butt.  sore muscles all around.  tightened legs.  at times i could barely walk.  well, i finally figured out everything (for the longest time i thought i'd pulled a groin muscle -- yuck!) and came upon this fantastic glute stretch.  

oh dear heavens did it feel fantastic.  a few of these before a run and i'd be loose and good to go.  and it was so nice to know there was muscle back there.  so, moral of the story is: be nice to your behind.

2 weeks!

it's been more tha 2 weeks since i last posted!  heavens.  not sure if that sounds too much like the start of confession, but it is what it is.  forgive me.  i've been busy.  

moved in with hubs-to-be into a gorgeous apt.  same building i was in, just a floor up and more of an east facing view.  we overlook navy pier perfectly now.  get to watch the ferris wheel all lit up every night.  and we'll have a first rate view of the fireworks and air show in the summer.  hard wood floors, nice amenities, good size kitchen, big bedroom.  and thanks to hubs-to-be it looks like it's straight out of a crate & barrel catalog.  it's perfect.

sorta in a new job too.  well, at least i'm working now.  still at the same agency, but on a fantastic new account.  we do work.  we're busy.  we produce stuff.  our target audience will actually read the stuff we produce.  i'm sure of it.  we respect each other.  and our client pays us.  oh... and it's all about curing cancer, not advertising for... well... let's just say karma's on my side again.

still running -- although probably ought to be doing more.  note to self.  next marathon is just 2.5 months away.  

i suppose that's about it.  went to the opera two nights ago to see tristan und isolde.  i should have known it'd be 4+ hours long as it is wagner.  what i didn't expect was the uncomfortability of the seats at lyric opera.  worse than an airplane.

why run a marathon

1. running a marathon appeals to my inner-child that likes to do things that most people who probably advise against.  
2. it's a great way to enjoy the outdoors and see a city.  
   
3. a perfect excuse for overindulging on candy.  
4. it requires dedication.  training.  hard work.  and regularly pushing yourself beyond previously concieved limits.
5. you get a free tshirt and tons of other freebies at the expo and along the way.  and who doesn't like free stuff?
6. it's kinda bad ass.
7. all the running does nice things for your body (and um...well...aforementioned part particularly).
8. you get a medal.
9. everyone wins.
10. toenails are a totally useless part of the body.
11. to achieve pain on a level only described as "fascinating" is a feat.  i do it often on runs over 18 miles.  by the time you hit 24, total delirum sets in.  
    
12. you meet all sorts of people along the way.  
13. you develop a new system of distance measurement.  your friend that lives 3 miles away is just a quick jog over.
14. time is relative.
15. old men are fast.
16. free beer.  free beer.  free beer.
17. you enjoy eating bagels, bananas, broccoli.  (i read somewhere something about broccoli being good for runners)
18. if you didn't run a marathon, you'd be buying $100-150 shoes for no real reason.
19. large deep dish pizza.
20. it's kinda cool to not be able to feel certain parts of your body.
21. the feeling of taking off your shoes post race and putting on the flip flops. ahhhh.
22. you like to have a fan club.  it's pretty damn awesome to see people screaming and waving just for you.
23. you like to have moments of quiet.  those moments when you focus inward.  do a mental self-check.  find yourself.
24. you believe in god, but just want to make sure.  (tell me you can make it through a marathon without prayer and i'll call you a liar)
25. you want to learn something new about yourself.  you will.
26. because running anything less isn't worth it.

moving in and up

hubs-t0-be and i are moving in together... as of saturday!  and into our new place the next saturday (feb 7)!  

men and women

this is probably the funniest five minutes you'll have all weekend.  watch this first video and then click through to the second.

and for those who just can't get enough of beyonce's song, there's a mashup floating around of tom petty's free fallin' with beyonce's if i were a boy, that's ever so lovely.  thanks to dj earworm.

link to mpw: http://www.earwormmp3.com/if_i_were_a_free_fallin_boy.mp3

13.1

today's TIART topic is half-marathons.  to be honest with you, i'm not too sure what to say here.  i've never raced a half-marathon, but i've certainly run the distance plenty of times.  this past sunday was a dreadmill half +.9 (for 14 miles on a treadmill).   but let me say this, i really like half-marathons.  is that possible without having raced one?  top 13 reasons why:

1. they're happy runs.  everyone running feels like a pretty okay athlete, because the distance isn't a small feat, but it's not so far that you pretty much want to die at the end.  it's just far enough that you're smiling about 80-90% of the way through and right back to smiling within seconds of finishing.

2. you can break it down to a 5k with a 10 mile warm up.

3. you have to train for it.  again, it's the distance thing.  not so long that it'll kill anyone (i don't think i've read about too many people dying in a half), but long enough that you'll feel the muscles work.

4. they're generally put on with full marathons which means there's decent support staff and cheers.

5. you burn something equivilant to a big mac, chocolate milkshake and medium fries, which is the *perfect* mcdonalds meal.

6. gu is perfectly acceptable.  well, at least one is.  more than that and maybe you're overdoing it.  but nothing like a delicious chocolate outrage about mile 8 for a sweet reward for the work already in ad fuel for the next 5.1.

7. none of that mile 20 temporary insanity nonsense.  those of you who've run something over 18 miles more than a few times know what i'm talking about.  that moment when you totally lose the ability for rationale thought.

8. in the summer, you'll get a pretty good tan running this distance, but probably won't burn if you have an okay base and forget sunscreen.  so long as you don't mind the sports bra and running shorts tan lines.  tres chic.

9. 9 or 10min miles at this distance = about 1 movie for those days spend on the dreadmill.

10. unless it's a bad running day, you should probably be able to maintain control of and feel all of your muscles the entire way.  none of the "i couldn't feel my legs for the last 3 miles" that you get with full marathons.

11. training takes about half the time.  sorta.

12. the full marathon is the next day (if/when you're running the goofy!!!)

13. the medals are just as cool (i assume).

family

i love this spot.  "he's not my real uncle, but he doesn't owe me money, so he's a keeper."  kills me every time.

5ks and 10ks

A day late for TIART... The topic of the week:  5K and 10Ks. As you are building your training plans for 2009, tell us your plans for training and racing in 5K's and 10K's. Share your favorite off the shelf or home grown training plans. Tell us about your favorite 5K and 10K races, where they are and why you do them. Give us some tips onhow you work 5K and 10K's into your half marathon and marathon training plans.

5ks: Just don't.  This is a personal preference as I really don't enjoy running until about 3miles in.  If I were to sign up for a 5k, I'd probably suffer all but the last .2 and that's just not worth the t-shirt.

10ks: Great for a mid-week run.  I wish they did more mid-week evening races.  Especially during the summer time.  Most weeknights I run at least a 10k and it feels like the perfect distance for a good workout without over doing it.  

On a side note, just in case I ever wondered, I took some silly quiz in RunnersWorld recently and it said I was a distance runner.  I prefer the challenge of a marathon which feels like it's a distance you're body really shouldn't do, but you push it anyway.  Halfs are okay, but I suppose I feel with a good pasta dinner a half should be achievable pretty much any day of the week -- although especially cool for a weekend run.  So 5ks and 10ks are clearly not my thing.  Sorry for the sucky TIART.

ah, memories

6 miles

i realize it's mildly ironic to post this the day after i signed up to run just shy of 40 miles in 2 days (aka goofy), but tonight's mantra was "6 miles will not kill me today."  

it was repeated for the last 5.8miles of the run.  

i happy to report the first 0.2 were realtively smooth sailing.

so goofy!

just registered for goofy challenge 2010!  mark your calendars!  oh heavens.  having the same feeling as i did when i signed up for chicago 2008: a mixture of "oh crap what have i done?" and "ohmygoshican'twaitthisisgoingtobesofreakingawesome!!!!"  

goofy challenge is a weekend event in disney world every january.  on saturday you run a half marathon (13.1 miles) and on sunday you run the full marathon (26.2).  aptly named really.

dos and don'ts

take it and run thursday presumes i'm qualified to be some sort of expert on running and thereby asks i dispense advice on training "do"s and "don't"s.  ha!  i'm so not an expert.  but i give my advice anyway...

do:

- put one foot in front of the other.  repeat as necessary.

- double knot your shoes

- invest in those bubble laces that keep lace slippage to a minimum.

- pay attention to your socks.

- pop blisters.

- water, gatorade, gu

- eat pizza.

- record your mileage.

- celebrate little victories.

- celebrate big victories.

- race all the boys out there.  it's so much fun to "chick" them.

- make it look easy.

- dance while you run.

don't:

- trip

- invest in overpriced socks.

- forget neosporin on popped blisters.

- overdo water, gatorade, gu.  especially those last two.

- eat a greasy cheeseburger with all the fixing and fries and milkshake and whathaveyous the night before a long run.

- forget to push yourself harder.

- worry if you're a bit sore the next morning.

- run fast on the long run.  enjoy the time out there.

- pay too much attention to your breathing.  let it come naturally.

- worry about gloating a bit if you've just done something super awesome, like completed a marathon or pr-ed.

- buy running shirts.  just sign up for a race instead.

- underestimate the old guys.  they're the fastest cheetahs out there.

tweet

36 updates into it, i feel like i can officially say i'm on twitter.  tweet tweet.  follow me @ http://twitter.com/fishyillini 

new years resolutions

5 days, 23hrs and some odd minutes into 2009 and i thought it'd be a good time to making up some resolutions.  mind you, i don't really like new year's resolutions, so i hope you don't mind but i shall aptly call these "january 5th resolutions", which by name gives no indication of required length or prescribed dedication.  i will stick to them as i please.

1. either a) stop licking my lips before/while i am outside in the cold and/or windy chicago weather or b) invest heavily in many many tubes of blistex so that i shall never be more than an arm's length away from chapped lips relief.
2. once and for all, learn the difference between chow mein and lo mein and remember which one it is that i prefer.
3. take care of my toes.  this includes: bandaging appropriately so blisters are not to form on top of previously popped blisters, cutting my toenails regularly so that they don't just fall/rip off, painting my toenails in a hue that disguises any bruising/blood pools underneath, moisterizing.
4. stop leaving my tv on in my apartment when i leave.  always ensure my tv is tuned to a "safe channel" when i leave the apartment - this means no channels that inevitably turn from a benign "mtv cribs" or "who wants to be a millionaire?" to soft corn porn after 10pm 8pm sunset 12noon.  this means no mtv (omg, have you seen "a double shot at love?!), lifetime/women's channels, network cable, espn, special interest channels, disney, nickelodeon, and especially none of those movie channels.  my neighbors, who can clearly see into my apartment and tell what's on my tv, must think i'm one of the 17 sex offenders that live in my zip code.  for the record, i'm not.
5. eat more salt.  drink more water.  

  

mom/dad/munchkin: if any of you set the new year's resolution of running a 5k this year, count me in as your running partner.

2009's going to be great!

i finally get to say i'm getting married this year/september. i'm so excited.

we are living in exponential times

everyone knows that statistics are often multi-faceted and should be taken with a grain of salt because you can manipulate numbers, language, yada yada yada.  i say, who cares?  there will be at least 3 things in this video that will blow your mind.