Thursday, March 14, 2013

Pi, WGN Blackhawks Live, and double trouble

Happy Pi Day to all!  I know many of you are celebrating today by running 3.14 miles.  I wish you all great Pi runs!!!

I, on the other hand, usually prefer to celebrate Pi Day the more traditional way.

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore...

Actually, I must be a mathematical guru because I've done a traditional Pi Day celebration at least once every few weeks for most of my adult life.  ;-P

Speaking of my life's biggest passions, I was fortunate enough to snag two tickets to a WGN Blackhawks Live radio broadcast event this past Monday.  The two featured guests: Blackhawks forwards Daniel "Car Bomb" Carcillo and Pittsburgh native Brandon Saad.  (Patrick Sharp was originally scheduled to attend, but Sharpie went down with an injury last week so Car Bomb took his place.)

The event consisted of dinner, photo opportunities with the Hawks guests, autographed pictures, and then the live viewing of a WGN radio show with audience-submitted Q&As.

Brandon Saad has become my new favorite Blackhawks player, so I was especially excited to get to meet him in person.


From L to R: Daniel Carcillo, me, and Brandon Saad

Based on what I saw during the event, Brandon is pretty reserved and very down to earth.  During the radio broadcast, he talked about his brother, George, being his biggest influence when growing up.  He described his game-day road routine as just resting and maybe watching a movie. He said he has a weakness for ice cream.  Then when asked if he went out and splurged on anything after finally making it to the NHL, he just said he got an apartment.  (Adam says that Brandon is a true Pittsburgh guy, basically one that never forgets his roots and where he came from.)  I think Brandon is really going to become a huge fan favorite in Chicago, especially amongst the ladies.

Daniel Carcillo, wow!  Car Bomb has a self-described reputation for being a rough, physical player that opponents really dislike.  Therefore, I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that he is actually incredibly personable and outgoing.  Carcillo talked about the influence in the NHL and in his career from Gary Roberts, divulged details about his "collapsible" fake teeth, told us about his pet rabbit amidst his Italian family, and shared that his favorite food was bone marrow.  Wow, just wow.  So unique!

The live radio broadcast

I loved seeing how normal the guys were in person (aside from collapsible teeth, of course).  If you saw either of them walking down the street in regular clothing, you might not even recognize them as NHL hockey players.

Overall, the event was awesome but went by way too fast!  I could have sat and listened to Brandon and Car Bomb answering fan questions and sharing details about themselves all night.  It is making me very excited for the Blackhawks Fan Convention in July where there is ample time to hear from the Hawks players and ask them questions, e.g.:

"How you score from the left side?"





OK!  Now on to running updates.  Here's a "run"down of what's going on:
  • I have made it my goal to do speedwork at least once a week.  I did some interval training last Wednesday and last night, and I'm getting into my groove with it.  After such a long period of time away from speedwork, it feels good to crank myself into another gear.  I am excited to see the fruits of the speedwork, hopefully soon!
  • I am attempting to whittle down the number of pairs of running shoes I have.  Therefore, I'm trying to focus more on wearing just one pair of shoes at a time as opposed to wearing whatever random pair catches my eye.  My practice is to retire my running shoes at around 300 miles, and I've got a pair at 255 miles right now.  It's actually become surprisingly motivating to log miles on the one pair and watch the odometer get closer and closer to 300.
  • I just won a free entry to the Chicago 13.1 Half Marathon on June 8, huge thanks to the Chicago Running Bloggers and Maggie!  I ran this race last year and had a great time, despite being so wiped out at the end that I turned down the Lou Malnati's pizza they were serving at the post-race party.  But not to worry, I am bound and determined to make amends for that this year.
Speaking of the Chicago 13.1, I didn't really expect to win the entry but its race date is the day before the PAWS Run For Their Lives 8K on June 9.  The PAWS race, given its cause, is an absolute must-do for me, so there is no way I am going to forgo it.  But given my history of injuries, there's the thought that maybe it's too much for me to run a half marathon on Saturday and an 8K on Sunday...



I have never done two races in the same weekend.  My physical therapy and cross-training efforts have paid off, though, so right now I definitely feel I could do it.  (Last year I was planning to run the Mad Dash to Madison 5K and the PAWS 8K the same weekend.  However, shorter distances are obviously more manageable and the Mad Dash ended up getting cancelled anyways). 

Maybe I don't "race" the PAWS run?  Or, PAWS also offers a 4K walk, and Adam said he'd be willing to participate in the 4K walk with me.  That would be fun!  Decisions, decisions.  Thankfully there's a lot of time to think about it, and the PAWS race offers a lot of flexibility.  To be determined.

Again, happy Pi Day to all as well as a very happy Thursday before St. Patrick's Day weekend!

18 comments:

  1. Again, you are one busy lady...you are seriously my hero...love to read all that you are doing and keeping up with...Happy Pi day to you as well...I'm thinking actual pie sounds pretty good but not going to do that...shin problems may force me to walk 3.14 miles...lol but hey it's okay! Blessings sweet lady!

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    1. Aww, you are too sweet! I've missed your posts, too, but I know that you have been going through a lot lately. I am so, so, so sorry to hear about the shin splints and I definitely understand the frustration of wondering if injuries will ever go away. =( But not to fear, you are an incredibly strong woman and nothing will ever stand in your way!!!

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  2. OMG BLACKHAWKS SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

    So. SO. Jealous! :) What a fun thing to get the chance to participate in! Loved that Brandon Saad is just the way I pictured him to be - and damn is he a natural on the ice...a great addition to the Hawks lineup...

    I'm excited you are running 13.1! I am planning on that one as well :)

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    1. Your first line was exactly what I said when I got the confirmation for this event!!! =D

      Isn't Brandon Saad awesome? I am incredibly excited for his development as a Blackhawk - he has SO. MUCH. POTENTIAL. Talk about a whirlwind for him - a rookie skating on the first line with Tazer and Hossa!!!

      Yay, I am so glad to hear that you are planning on doing Chicago 13.1, too!!! Can't wait to see you there!!!!!!!!!!

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  3. What a fun event! I am happy you got to go to it!

    Hmm. Definitely pick one race not to "race." But you can totally do them both!

    While you are minimizing shoes, are you going to use two pairs at a time, or focus on one?

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    1. Thanks, Kim! I'm torn on which race to "race" because I've got a slew of half marathons on the calendar this year, meaning I have plenty of opportunity to hit my goals with the halves... but the distance is more challenging and therefore harder to "not race." Comparatively, the PAWS run is the only 8K I have on the calendar. Decisions, decisions! But either way, one will be just for fun and I'm excited!

      Honestly, since I have the one pair so close to retirement, I have been focusing on just the one until it gets to 300! But then all of my other pairs only have between 40-70 miles on them, so at that point I'll probably start using just two at a time. Amazing how much strategy goes into our shoe rotations, isn't it? :)

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  4. We need to run again soon! Maybe once it starts getting lighter in the mornings we can go before work? I actually miss our pre-work runs!

    Wow, did they move the PAWS race earlier? I swear it used to be in September...

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    1. Absolutely we need to run again soon! I was thinking the same thing but I know that you are in the hardcore weeks of your marathon training where you are doing much higher mileage than I am! But for sure once it starts getting lighter in the mornings we should resurrect the Thursday pre-work runs! Maybe we can start up again in another week or two, depending on your marathon training?

      Yes, the PAWS website is listing that the race is going to be on June 9th this year instead of in September! I was surprised by it, too. So far there are no race details, but I'm keeping an eye on it. If it really is going to be in early June, presumably they'll be opening registration fairly soon. Are you up for it this year!?!?!?

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  5. You are so lucky! Looks like a blast. I'm jealous. :) Go Hawks

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    1. Thanks, Katie! I was very lucky to snag tickets because they sold out almost instantly! Go Hawks and to quote you, oh yeah Oduya!!! =D

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  6. I don't think that I could actually race back-to-back races. I might race one and walk/jog the other. I am too scared of injuries.

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    1. I am very scared of injuries, too! I've definitely learned my lesson the hard way after pushing too hard just once, and then being sidelined for weeks afterwards. Amazing how a moment's action can have so much backlash, eh?

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  7. That's awesome that you got to meet some Blackhawks!

    I didn't log my mileage on my first few pairs of running shoes. I would wear one pair at a time, and if I got shin splints or anything, I would replace them. I probably put only 100 miles on each pair when really what I needed were some compression socks and a better training plan! Now I track every mile on every pair (if you use DailyMile.com or RunningAhead.com you can track there - I don't think Garmin offers this option, but they should!)

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    1. Thanks, Maggie! Up until about about a year and a half ago, I'd just buy whatever pair of running shoes were on sale at a department sale. No professional fitting and no compression socks for me! And heck if I had a good training plan back in those days, too, LOL.

      I actually use the runnersworld.com training log to track my shoe mileage, but it's good to know about those other two sites, too. That would be AWESOME if Garmin offered shoe-mileage tracking. What would be really great would be if the shoes themselves had some kind of indicator that they needed to be replaced, kind of like those toothbrushes that change color over time with use. =D

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  8. I have done races 2 days in a row - one for fun and one for speed! Works like a charm!

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    1. Woo hoo! I am all about it! I actually just got my husband to sign up for the PAWS event, so we will be doing the 4K. It will definitely be a "fun" race. =)

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  9. Hello,

    I have a question about your blog, could you please email me? Thanks!!

    Melanie

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