Lucky Number Seven

This week, in addition to Joy having to perform the worst of HR Manager tasks and Ross launching two new internal (beta) websites, we had two four-milers, a three-miler and a long run of seven.

Instead of recounting how Joy reeled off all seven without any problems, and how Ross ran six, walked .5 (briskly!) and then ran the last .5, we'll share some photos that we snapped along the way. Based on the views alone, it's not a bad way to start a Saturday morning. Although we'd prefer if someone had been dragging us in a wagon instead.

First, a pre-run stretch at The Agora, a sculpture at the corner of Michigan Ave. and Roosevelt Rd., just a hair's breath from the last .5 of the Chicago Marathon course.

And heading toward the Shedd Aquarium on the Lakefront Path.

Past the Field Museum, thankful we don't have to run up this hill. ... Just yet.

Around the back of the Shedd to a beautiful morning, past the Adler Planetarium, Soldier Field, McCormick Place and beyond, to the 12.5 mile marker as our turn-around point, and back.

The downhill from that earlier uphill that we didn't have to run just then. It came moments later.

The boats at Burnham Harbor, ready for a lazy day of sailing.

Into the tunnel under Solidarity Drive, with the Planetarium to our right. You can just barely see Joy on her way out the other end in the white top at the right.

Looking out over a tranquil Lake Michigan.

Back around the Shedd's Oceanarium and looking out to Navy Pier.

Skyline view.

Week 2: A 50% Increase

Okay, so ... the first week was pretty easy. And you know something? This week was pretty easy, too, in its own way. Except for the jump to a six-miler yesterday. And the speed work. And the tempo runs.

Training with a group is different for us. We're usually training for races on our own. Using schedules we download from the running section at About.com. And you know what? We've been good at it—keeping to our daily runs, our days off, our cross training ... even on vacation.

Though it's extremely fun to say because we're adolescents at heart, we're not used to Fartleks. Or tempo training (except for this kind of Tempo training).

This week, we ran 50% further than last week. Thank Prometheus (this one), we're not increasing weekly mileage by that much every week, otherwise we'd be running 54 miles a week by the middle of July.

Ouch.

Luckily, it's only two miles further this week, a total of 18. Eighteen miles in four days feels totally do-able.

You know what else? We had some great news this week when Joy got a completely clean bill of health from a couple of her half-yearly monitoring tests—an in-our-face reminder of why we're running, and why we've joined up with Team Bright Pink.

We've been so lucky to have such amazing support from so many people, which gets us even more motivated. Thanks! (And if you'd like to contribute to our effort, here's where you can!)

Week 1 Down, 17 To Go....

Well, we had our first "long" run of the summer, a five-miler. Not just our first long run, though; also our first team run and our first early Saturday morning, complete with 5:30 wake-up. (We're really not super-psyched for the time when that 5:30 wake-up becomes a 4:30 wake-up down the road.)

Joy had been traveling this week, so her body clock is well messed up. Ross is able to add back one ingredient into his diet at every three days or so (hello, eggs!), so that's fun. But whatever. We digress....

We took off from Michigan and Roosevelt and headed to the Lakefront path, down past the museum campus, around the Shedd Aquarium, under/past the Adler Planetarium, then Soldier Field and the Field Museum, on to McCormick Place and then a turn-around, back to home-base at State and Roosevelt.

The temps? Unkind for this early in the day, and this early in the summer. This photo? A lie. It felt like it was in the upper 70s—at least.

But we finished it, and stretched, and then had a whole day to get our errands done before anyone was really even awake. Nice.

We also picked up our training schedule for the summer. Looks like we have about 450 miles left to run before race day.

On another note, we are completely blown away by the amazingly generous support we've received thus far—we're more than a third of the way toward our fundraising goal in less than a week. Thanks to you. And you, and you, and you.

If you want to make a donation right now, you can do so here.

Thanks!

Some delicious motivation.

This morning, neither of us could sleep in. (You're welcome!) Total bummer. But on the flip-side, we got our first official training run in early. A couple of three-milers this week, to be followed next weekend with our first Team Run, a five-miler.

Piece of cake.

So we hit the 'mills at Wicker Park Fitness (for the A/C) and got it done did.

When we left the gym for the very short walk home, we noticed ... across the street ... that butcher paper that had been covering some windows in a store front had been torn away....

This is what it said:













And there was much rejoicing!

(Now if only one of us is allowed to have dairy, eggs, sugar and chocolate again. And the other one of us can break her no-chocolate/no-dessert solidarity fast. Hopefully soon!)

And so it begins....

So we went to our first team meeting at the Fitness Formula Clubs location in Lincoln Park a couple of Thursdays ago. The purpose: To kick off what is sure to be a cuckoo-nutty summer of training for the LaSalle Bank Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

We met our coach. We met our support team. We met Wendy Avner—mother of Lindsay Avner, founder of Bright Pink—and we met some of our fellow cuckoo-nutties.

For Joy, the nerves, a distant echo when we signed up for the race, have gotten a little bit louder. For Ross, he'll just be psyched when he can have a chocolate Zico again.

Our next step: Today's trip to Team Bright Pink partner (and one of our favorite stores) Running Away Multisport for some hydration belts and other goodies.

And now we await (anxiously) our training schedule via email tomorrow—our master for the next four months or so.

But who's counting?