Toeing the Line in 10 Days

Last weekend, our next-to-last training run, saw us split into two units for the first time since training began, with Ross running with the Bright Pink group at the Lakefront and Joy running closer to home at the gym. Thankfully, what was posted as a 13.1 mile run turned out to be a 2-hour timed run—so, all you can get in that time-frame.

For Ross, cool temps and the threat of rain proved to be a great motivator—especially when the rain started to fall with about 20 minutes left in the run. He ended up running the last 1.5 miles considerably faster than his now-usual pace.

Joy split her run into two one-hour runs—one of the great things about tapering is that you can pick and choose how you get your run in, as long as you're doing something—and managed to get it done even though the training is definitely taking a toll.

Then on Saturday night, we hosted a fundraising event at Silvie's Lounge. See video from that event here.

And on Monday, Bright Pink hosted us for a Spa Night. Which our legs and feet really, really enjoyed.

Now that we're tapering pre-race, things have settled down a teensy bit on the time management front. As every coach predicted, there's too much time to think. And while we're happy the physical toll has diminished somewhat—but only somewhat—the mental strain is beginning to show. Things we have too much time to think about:

"How many days until the race?"

"We only have four more training runs before the marathon!"

"Holy crap! Do I have everything I need?"

"OMG, what's the weather going to be like?"

"Uh-oh...my knee is creaky today...."

"We only have to run 45 more miles and we'll be totally and completely done! ... Wait? What???"

What began in January with Ross offering, "Hey, Joy.... Um.... Since we're in pretty decent shape and registration is Monday, I'm going to sign up for the Chicago Marathon this year. If you'd like to run with me, that'd be great. But if you don't, that's totally cool, too. Completely up to you."

"Well," she likes to say, "since you're going to be waking me up at ridiculous hours all summer long, I may as well run with you."

A couple of weeks later, Joy went to an informational meeting for Team Bright Pink, and we were on our way. Though training didn't begin until the end of May, here are a couple of stats we're proud of:

• As of this writing, we've run more than 425 miles since training began

• Of greater importance to us, and thanks to the stunning generosity of nearly 80 members of our circle of family and friends, we're probably going to raise more than $7,000 for Bright Pink

That fundraising number, to us, is mind-boggling.

We are so grateful for the encouraging words of support, the incredulous words of "I could never do that" (yes, you totally could), the financial support, and everything that goes with it. Thanks to all of you.

Bring on the Taper!

We're 15 weeks into this madness, and finally—FINALLY! Praise creator being of various mythologies!—we get to taper.

That's right, sports fans: We ran our 20 miler. We finished our 20 miler. And we fought through the insanity of our 20 miler.

It's not possible to be happier that it's over.

We woke before dawn, as we usually do for our long runs these days, dragging ourselves out of bed at 4:30 to eat breakfast and get ourselves ready to run. This week, instead of sticking with our Bright Pink teammates, who ran Saturday, we opted for Sunday's Newton Ready to Run 20 Miler, presented by the Chicago Area Runners Association. (Momentary aside: Whenever Ross hears "Newton," he thinks of these, or this guy, and not these, which were the actual sponsors, and not this, even though this.)

Right.... So.... We woke up. Ate. Got ready. Took this picture:

There is complete darkness outside over Joy's shoulder.

Then we hopped into a waiting cab and trucked over to the Lakefront at Wilson for the "wave" start in which 77 groups of runners would begin the run 30 seconds apart, the runners expecting to finish quickly at the front. (Note: This wasn't a "race" in the typical sense—it was, however, a very well supported run for a few thousand people. No timing chips. No competition. Well—except the length of the run itself.)

With the temperature hovering in the mid-50s, it was a little chilly to be hanging around in short sleeves and shorts, but we managed to make it through the 45+ minutes in the parking lot until our wave—wave 76, which should tell you something about our expected finishing time—was called to the start.

The first few miles, while the sun was coming up, went fine. And it was really fun to be in a new part of our running world. We even ran into one of our wedding guests—and Ross's former training client—C.P. running with his puppy near Irving Park Road.

And then? The sun was out in full force. Though it wasn't as hot as a few weeks ago, it was hotter than it needed to be, and we really felt it on "The Broiler" from North Avenue Beach to Ohio Street Beach—where there's no shade for more than 1.5 miles. We lost some flat banana somewhere between Ohio Street and Wacker Drive, which was unsettling. And by the time we got to Grant Park at Mile 12—where we looped around the softball fields at Hutchinson Field, there was much unhappiness.

Miles 13–17 were more of the same temperature-wise, only getting hotter still, so we slowed things down a bit to save some energy for the last few miles, and this was all on very familiar territory: past the Shedd Aquarium, Soldier Field, McCormick Center, the 31st Street Beach House and the Skate Park. By the time we hit 4000 South block, we thought we had just about 15 blocks to go, even though the math wasn't adding up.

Needless to say, our math was off. And we ran through Promontory Point (where we saw a young Wheaten Terrier, which made Joy very happy) and further south to 63rd Street and UP A FREAKING HILL into Jackson Park. (The only good thing about that hill? The marathon's last three-tenths of a mile includes a hill from Michigan Avenue onto Roosevelt Road before turning toward the finishing chute on Columbus Drive. We've been running that hill just about every weekend in reverse.)

So, we had done it. Ross's first 20 mile run that was far more running than walking, and Joy's first 20 mile run. We grabbed some mini bagels, granola bars, coconut water, our new Newton Ready to Run technical shirts, hopped on a waiting bus back to Grant Park, flagged a cab, got home and took a really, really cold bath. Good times. And we met a new friend that we've named "Buster."

"Buster" is a blister. Not a marble balancing on Joy's foot.

20 miles. We started at 4600 north, ran north to 5600 (just one block shy of the north end of the Lakefront Path), turned south and ran to 1200 south, then up to 600 south, and then to the Jackson Park Beach House at 63rd Street and back up to 6100 (the Lakefront Path ends at 67th Street). Since it's eight city blocks to mile, we'll leave the math up to you. We're too loopy to figure it out.

Interested in seeing a map of our route?

Eighteen and Life.

Well, we've made it to the home stretch.

This past Saturday, under a gloriously blue sky, a ten mile-per-hour breeze blowing fairly steadily out of the northwest, in upper-50s/lower-60s temperatures, we ran what will soon be our third longest run of the year.

Eighteen freaking miles.

Or in the words of Sebastian Bach....

The weather makes such an enormous difference when it comes to these things. Last week's 16 mile run was considerably more difficult. But it was also about 15 degrees warmer. There's something about a picture perfect 63° day that makes running a longer distance seem breezy in comparison.

"Hey, wait a minute," you thought. "Eighteen miles is breezy?"

No. It decidedly is not.

As we're gearing up, or down, or however it's classified when you're just about done with the training and prepping for race day—just a few weeks away—we're trying to focus on how our bodies feel. Sleep, or lack of it, really hurts. Food is both a friend and foe. Are we drinking enough—or too much—water? 

For both of us, the past couple of weeks have been killer—and for different reasons. Joy is battling some pretty difficult leg muscle issues. She's working through them, focusing on and drawing strength from the support we've received from so many of our family and friends. Ross has developed a weird hip/lower back thing that requires some TLC, if by "tender," you mean "rolling around on a foam-covered PVC pipe" to keep it loose. So we each have our moments.

But we've also raised more than $6,000 for Bright Pink, and have set our sights on raising more. If you haven't already, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Bright Pink on our behalf. Our donation page is here. And if you'd rather make a donation in person, come to this in a couple of weeks:

Laboring Through

After a week that saw us running eight, six, five and 16 miles, we thought we'd take a day or so to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary (which Joy has given the wonderful name "Cinco de RoJo") before we started running again.

So we did.

Once we finished our 16 miler—thankfully, it was overcast...and less thankfully, it rained a bit, but only for a few minutes—we tried to relax a little and then headed up to Ravinia to see Hall & Oates (who were great!). The show started pretty early and we were home by 10:00, which was just perfect. Sunday we slept in (til 7!) and went for much-needed massages at Urban Oasis. And then it was time for an early dinner at the newly refurbished Pump Room. Again, we were home pretty early—which was good since we had to get up for an eight-miler on Labor Day.

And it was very laborious.

Anyway, here are a few pictures. We're sooooooo close.

Only 158.7 miles left to run....

We've been experimenting with epsom salts. They haven't made us eat anyone's face. Yet. (And ice baths are on deck.)

Celebratory dinner. Five years. And a day with zero miles.

13.1 Miles in Photos.

This week was a recovery week, which included massages on our Sunday rest day.

They didn't take. And we were sore anyway. Recovery shmecovery.

And somehow, the whole notion that running 28 miles in a week—instead of last week's 33—doesn't feel like much of a recovery, either. Especially when, for 13 miles, the sun is a blistering, broiling ball that Satan himself hurled directly from the bowels of Hell up into the Heavens to rain down its inglorious, fiery evil.

Okay, maybe that's going a bit overboard, but it was hot.

We started at the usual spot—the corner of Roosevelt and Michigan Avenues—and proceeded north along the Lakefront Path, up to Lincoln Park, and then back.

Although it was nice to have some new scenery...

Did we mention it was hot?

So here are some photos taken while running. They're not awesome—bouncy-bouncy-bounce and all—but they do the trick.

The beginning, at about 6:20. The sun cresting over Lake Michigan (battling with the headlights). "Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning," and all that jazz.

Soldier Field off to the right as we sort-of-pass the Field Museum. 

We took a left just before the Shedd Aquarium and ran north past the sunrise. 

Hey, look! It's the Sears Tower! (No WAY are we going to call it by it's new name—The Abraham the Goldfish Tower.) 

One of MANY signs we passed today. We started at about the 8.5 mile sign, turned around where there weren't any signs, and then it's like they're trying to trick you—the signs on the way back are clocking the southbound route, so suddenly you see a sign for 4.5 miles even though you know in your heart (and your hamstrings) that you haven't run backwards. And that you've run further than the signs are telling you. Example, we passed two 7 mile and 11 mile signs. Neither of them was right as far as clocking our mileage. Too much math for our taste.

It's so early, even Buckingham Fountain is still asleep. 

We're too tired to look up the name of this harbor. But it is one. 

Oak Street Beach. The 1.5 mile part of the run (3 miles total) where there is absolutely ZERO shade. And look—there aren't even any Trixies out yet adding to their paid-for tans! (Although there was a garbage truck that nearly made us gag from the overwhelming stench. Coincidence?)

We ran past the Zoo, but not through it. Thankfully. The Zoo is REALLY hilly. We turned around at Belmont Ave. If you know the city, we started at 1200 south and turned around at 3200 north. That works out to 88 blocks, which is *only* 11 miles if you're driving it. (Eight blocks to a mile, out-of-towners.) But thanks to the zig-zagging of the path,  especially around Navy Pier and North Avenue, it works out to the appointed mileage. 

Statue of Grant in Lincoln Park. Neither Grant nor Lincoln are buried here. 

Running toward shade. And downtown. Through the south end of Lincoln Park.

Just past the North Avenue Beach House and heading back toward Oak Street. 

Blazing sunshine over the lake just past Oak Street Beach.

Looking back at North Avenue across the lake. The stand of trees in the distance is the only shade until Ohio Street to the south. Gross.

Turning the corner near Chicago Avenue with Navy Pier in the distance. Lots of triathletes in their wetsuits swimming the lake training for their races.

It must be after 9—Buckingham Fountain is finally awake.

It was our last recovery week until we "taper" two weeks before the race. Our mileage for the next three weeks: 35, 37, 39.5. This week, we run 8 Monday, 6 Wednesday, 5 Thursday, and 16 Saturday with a cross-training day on Tuesday. Should be super fun!

Week 11: The Air & Water Run

[Note: To listen to an abstract of this post in "song" form, click this link.]

This week's schedule called for seven "tempo" miles on Monday, cross training on Tuesday (Ross's cross training consisted of an hour of what he likes to call "lie downs" in bed, while Joy went to the gym and rode the bike for a little while), five "easy" miles on Wednesday and six "speed" miles on Thursday. And then 15 miles Saturday.

Fifteen.

Miles.

With each long run, Joy surpasses her longest-ever. It's fun.

Did we mention the 15 miles yet? We did? Well, we'll mention it just a couple of more times in this post. Promise.

This week happens to coincide with Chicago's Air & Water Show, a little display of (a) patriotism, (b) war-making, (c) Spandex limits-testing, or (d) public drunkenness, for about 2 million people willing to brave the ridiculous crowds, non-existent parking and ... well ... ridiculous crowds. No. Really.

So, thankfully, our early 6:30 start was just early enough to beat everyone but the earliest early birds to the Lakefront. We ran from the Museum Campus, past Buckingham Fountain and under Lake Shore Drive, past Oak Street Beach (about where one of Ross's old Wirestone colleagues, Phil Paris, yelled "hello" in passing with his running group), and up to the North Avenue Beach House (which was closed, "but you can use the porta-potties over there," said the testy security man).

Then we turned around and headed back, getting a great view of Navy Pier and the Hancock Center, and onto our usual route, south through the Museum Campus, around the back of Shedd Aquarium, past Soldier Field and McCormick Center, the new 31st Street Beach House and the Lakefront Skatepark.

A little further, and we turned around again to head for home base, the FFC South Loop. Thankfully, we got away from downtown before the "air" part of the Air & Water Show. NO ONE goes for the Water part. Apparently, boats are boring?

Anyway, week's over. We get a slight reprieve this week since it's a "recovery" week—our last recovery week before we taper before the race. Last week totalled out to 33.5 miles. This upcoming week is "only" 28.1, with all the weekday runs one mile shorter, and a long run of 13.1, or half marathon distance. WAY better than 15 miles! Easy peasy!

25° Makes All the Difference

So. We missed you last week.

Why?

It's a good question.

We ran our 12 miler. It was hot. Humid. Gross. Seriously. It was gross. In the upper 80s when we started at around 6 a.m. And it only got worse once the few clouds burned off and there was nothing but sun.

To give you a better sense of what it was like to run last week, Ross weighed in beforehand. Throughout the run, he drank about 70 ounces of fluids and "ate" five gels (another 5+ ounces of fuel) and returned from the 12 miles trek down 3.5 pounds. (Seriously. That's a freaking watermelon.)

So in addition to feeling like we were shells of ourselves after last week's run, Ross still had Lollapalooza to attend, Joy had her 20th high school reunion, and then both of us had a date with Coldplay later in the week.

This week? Different story.

Perfect weather. We started out our 14 mile run in the low 60s. Nice lake breeze. Sunshine, but Sol wasn't all obnoxious about it. Low humidity. Just perfect.

Remember a couple of paragraphs ago where it says something about 75 ounces of stuff just to keep from frying? This week's tally was less than 40 ounces of fluid and two gels (again, this is for Ross).

To illustrate what a difference 25° makes, here's something that caught our attention: Last week, we "ran" 12 miles in about 2 hours and 48 minutes.

This week? Different story. (Sorry if that's repetitive.) 14 miles in about 2:38. We ran the whole time. And Joy's relieved to have her longest run ever in the books—until next week's 15 miler, that is.

In case you're as bad at math as Ross is, that's two miles further, ten minutes faster.

We're 55% done with our training now that we've just completed week 10 of our 18 week schedule. It's hard to believe that something that was eight months away when we first signed up is now less than two months away.

Meanwhile, we're about 99.5% to our fundraising goal, and are so grateful for the support of so many of you. (Of course, even once we reach our goal, we'd like to blow it away, so feel free to pledge some cash on our behalf if that's something you'd like to do!) Thanks!