More favorite race medals

Greetings from Fort Lauderdale!

Adam and I are embarking on our cruise tomorrow. We were originally scheduled to fly to Florida tonight. Then over the past few days, we saw the winter storm warnings for today and said:

Since cruise ships wait for no one, we opted to fly out last night, instead. Thank heavens for Southwest Airlines' flexible ticket policy in combination with dirt-cheap last-minute airfare on United Airlines!

Today, I am belatedly linking up with Marcia, Patti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run on the topic of "Favorite Race Medals."

I talked before about my favorite medals in in 2015, so today I'm going to share some of my favorite race medals from prior to 2015.

These are in no particular order.

1. The Disney Coast to Coast medal

This one is a no brainer! I earned this baby from running the Disneyland Half Marathon and the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon in the same calendar year. I love everything Disney and I get teary-eyed whenever I see the statue of Walt and Mickey at the parks. It's so precious!

2. 2014 Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon

This was my second year running the Wine and Dine Half Marathon (my first year's race recap is here). Unfortunately, the weather was awful that second year, but I made the best of it. Both years' medals were beautiful, but the 2014 medal was a notch up since it was a rotating double-sided medal. Besides, how could you not adore anything with a running Mickey on it?

3. 2014 Illinois I-Challenge medals

The Illinois Half Marathon and Illinois 5K medals were fabulous because they have the symbol of my beloved alma mater on them. The University of Illinois is very near and dear to my heart. Plus, the medals symbolized a moment of huge personal triumph for me. That weekend I set a half marathon PR, which at the time bested a prior PR that was well over a decade old.

4. 2012 Chicago Get Lucky Half Marathon

I had a bad day at the Chicago Get Lucky Half Marathon. It was probably the closest I'd ever come to passing out from overheating, which was a scary experience. But the stained-glass medal design is really stunning, in my opinion.

5. 2013 Wisconsin Half Marathon

The Wisconsin Half Marathon was so much fun in every way! I love the year's annual cheese themes, which are always really creative and funny. The 2013 medal was so cute, unique, and quirky. Huge kudos to the designer for such a clever medal!

6. The 2012 Chicago Marathon

Finally, I hold a tremendous amount of sentimental value from my Chicago Marathon medal. It's not the flashiest medal. But to me, it symbolizes the glory and relief of finally achieving a goal that at the time I'd held for decades.

Your turn! Please tell me more about some of your favorite medals from all time!

Training week recap: Feb 15-21, 2016

Alternate title to this post: "Hill training calamity" because that is most of what I'll be talking about today. You've been warned.

Here's how the week went:
MONDAY: Run 3.1 miles on treadmill
TUESDAY: Stationary bike 10 minutes, lift 50 minutes
WEDNESDAY: Zumba class
THURSDAY: Run 3 miles on treadmill (1-minute incline ladder intervals up to level 7)
FRIDAY: Yoga class, stationary bike 10 minutes, lift 40 minutes
SATURDAY: Rest
SUNDAY: Run 10 miles, interspersing inclines and hill repeats

Yesterday was my first outdoor 10-miler with real incline repeats (not treadmill simulations) on bridges and overpasses throughout the entire run, instead of just during the end. While the Pittsburgh Half Marathon course does have a monster hill at the end, it also has hills throughout. So I figured this was a more realistic training simulation.

The hillwork was challenging, as it always is. I felt okay through most of it. It wasn't until the final mile that I contemplated dying. I ended up doing the final mile primarily on flatland to keep myself at bay. Even so, I had never been so relieved to see my Garmin beep the 10-mile split.

Based on the location of the inclines I was using, I anticipated completing the mileage away from home. Accordingly, I planned in advance to ride a Divvy bike back. The bike ride was only about a mile, but it was tough. My legs felt like jello. I was milking all the rolling momentum I could and cursing anytime I had to brake for a stop sign or red light.

After I got home, I felt beat up physically, but in a "stable" sort of way. Comparatively, from a mental standpoint, I felt worse as the day went on. I began to question why I put myself through this. Last night, I was in tears while reflecting on the challenge and how more work I still have ahead of me. Nothing worth having ever comes easy, right?

Mental funk aside, I believe I may have physically overdone it yesterday. I haven't had much of an appetite or desire to stay hydrated, which is extremely atypical for me. I also had trouble sleeping last night, which was the worst feeling. There is no bigger bodily betrayal than when you are exhausted but can't sleep.

My training schedule calls for me to lift today, but I am going to take a rest day instead.

I'm now reflecting on where to draw the line between challenging yourself versus going overboard. It's such a tough line to draw, yes?

I am going to take things easier this week. Adam and I are departing soon for our extended-weekend cruise, during which I have a planned training stepback. The timing couldn't be better! Thank goodness.

P.S. Sorry that I continue to be relatively MIA on all of your blogs these days. My motivation is low but I am trying to get back into the spirit of things.

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Linking up with HoHo and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap.

Scatterbrained

I'm having an existential blog crisis.
As much as I enjoy writing about health, fitness, and life in Chicago, these days I'm more compelled to write about the Blackhawks than anything else. (This is why I've been quieter in the blogosphere during the past week or so.)

Over the years, I've been comfortable sprinkling occasional hockey content into my blog, with heavier coverage during playoff season. However, hockey talk targets a much different audience - and I have plenty more to say than what I've actually posted.

In summary, I am once again considering starting up another blog focused specifically on hockey.

I am really, really balking at the thought of maintaining two sites, though. So we'll see.

In the meantime, before I take any separatist action...

High-level Hawks action
Last Monday, one of Adam's business colleagues, Andrew, invited us to watch the Blackhawks-Leafs game from their suite. Oh my goodness! What a privilege to live the high life for one night.

Thank you to Andrew and Kelley Drye & Warren, LLP for the golden ticket!

The view during the national anthem with the six Stanley Cup Championship banners framing the rafters

From the dessert cart: Blackhawks logo cookies.
These are too precious to eat!

The company hosted a Blackhawks jersey giveaway in between periods. I should have played the Lotto that night because Adam's name was the first winner drawn. Wow! As a result, I got to add a black throwback Panarin jersey to my Blackhawks closet:

Dual Panarin jerseys!

(If you missed it, you can read some of my Artemi Panarin fangirling here.)

I've already told Adam we can dress as a Panarin couple at future Hawks games. (He wasn't as enamored with the idea as I was, LOL.) I don't think it's a coincidence that Artemi got his first career hat trick last night, either. =)

Not pictured: our friend Paul also got selected as a giveaway winner that night. He received a Crawford jersey - and he very generously gifted it to me. WOW. Thank you again so much, Paul!

Sometimes it is just your night!

Life is a Cabaret
I had mentioned that Adam and I went to see Cabaret last Sunday night. It was an amazing, stunning production.

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The show had a wonderful blend of great music, humor, and symbolism. The storylines included extremely poignant messages that resonated with me for days afterwards. Even though I had read the synopsis in advance and knew the ending upfront, my jaw was still on the ground at the close. It's a rarity for me to want to see any musical more than once, but I would enjoy seeing Cabaret again in the future.

Shout out to Maggie - what a pleasant surprise to run into her and her family at the theater that night!

Left: Adam and me
Right: Maggie and me

NEXT UP: I've always wanted to see 42nd Street. I consider it to be a very iconic production with terrific music. What a thrill to find out it is coming to Chicago next month! Tickets will be on order veddy, veddy soon.

Second City
Last night, Lindsay was in town from Pittsburgh to attend the AC/DC concert. It was great to catch up with her over dinner. She has gotten to know Chicago so well that she has honorary Chicago residential status, in my book!

We are already scheming future get-together plans for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon, plus outings to PNC Park, the Bell Centre in Montreal, and a Steelers road game in Indianapolis. So many plans, so little time...

Run for the hills
We are supposed to have very unseasonably warm weather in Chicago this weekend. Temps are forecasted to be in the 50s! I fully expect to see folks running amuck in shorts and t-shirts because that's what I'll be doing. =)

After weeks of incline training on the treadmill, yours truly plans to do my first-ever outdoor hill-training-infused long run on Sunday. I am looking forward to finally getting some practice running downhill, too. The whole run will be quite a challenge.

I am planning to bring my Divvy bike-share key along for moral support. Just in case I need some help getting home afterwards...!!!

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Linking up with Amanda's Thinking Out Loud Thursdays.

Training week recap: Feb 8-14, 2016

Happy Valentine's Day!

Who watched the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials yesterday? I got together with Xaarlin and Vicky to watch and had a blast!

I could write an entire post about the trials, but in semi-short:

• I was completely blown away by Galen Rupp's breakout performance
• Loved seeing Meb Keflezighi and Desiree Linden hamming it up in the final stretch
• Was heartbroken for Dathan Ritzenhein and Kara Goucher
• Got tears in my eyes watching Shalane Flanagan fighting through her distress and collapsing after crossing the finish line
• Had so much appreciation for Amy Cragg's loyalty to Flanagan during those final miles
• Wish Deena Kastor had been able to participate

*deep breath*

After watching the trials, I felt so inspired to go running! But that feeling instantly dissipated when I stepped outside into the single-digit temperatures, LOL.

Back to reality, here's how my week went:

MONDAY: 10 minute warm-up on stationary bike, 45 minutes of weight-lifting

TUESDAY: Yoga class (45 minutes), plus run 3.1 miles on treadmill

WEDNESDAY: Zumba class, 45 minutes

THURSDAY: Rest

FRIDAY: Run 3 miles of 2-minute incline intervals on treadmill at Levels 0-6, plus 30 minutes of weight-lifting

SATURDAY: Yoga video, 40 minutes

SUNDAY: Run 5 miles on treadmill - 10 minute warm-up, 3:1:1 run/Level 5 incline/walk ratio

Notice the weirdly timed rest day on Thursday? After writing about my running shoe availability issue on Thursday, I ended up not even running that day. I kept procrastinating. As I was finally planning to go, I got pulled into a meeting. I had after-work plans to meet up with Erin and Margaret, and when my meeting ended there wasn't enough time to run. Oops!

No problemo, I'm all about flexible training schedules. I also made sure to bring shoes in the next day. =)

The stepback in mileage this week came at the right time. Going into the weekend, I was thinking I wanted to do more, but it ended up being a relief to not have to worry about squeezing in a lengthy run. I did still challenge myself by including some hillwork with today's 5-miler. It was tough, as always, but I felt good afterwards.

I finally bought a pair of lifting gloves. I was tired of dealing with hand callouses from weight-lifting. I tried the gloves on Friday for the first time. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. The gloves made me feel like I had a less stable and less controlled grip on the bars. I could still feel friction on my hands, too, especially where the gloves bunched up under my knuckles.

From a functional standpoint, the gloves are a toss-up. Admittedly, though, I do like how bad-ass they make me feel from an appearance standpoint!

I've got another new song playing on repeat repeat repeat! I recently discovered the Chicago Blackhawks Radio Station on Pandora (what an ingenius idea!) From there, I found this awesome remix of U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name":

It was played at the 2012 London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. I don't remember hearing it back then, but when I listen to it now I can easily visualize the ensuing grandeur. Such a fun twist on a classic song!

How was your weekend?

Last night, Adam and I went to the Blackhawks game and tonight we are going to see Cabaret. Many, many thanks to him for my V-Day gift, which included a very cute box of "Emily's Chocolate-Covered Fortune Cookies." So clever! Here is a picture.

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Linking up with HoHo and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap.

Three Things Thursday

1. Shoes at your service

Today I've got a hill-training workout on the schedule. Usually I keep a pair of running shoes at my desk for treadmill wear. Unfortunately, I took them home last week and forgot to bring them back. Right now, I only have a pair of retired running shoes in my gym locker, which I wear just for lifting, biking, and Zumba. ARGH!

I debated going home to retrieve some in-service shoes. Unfortunately, it's about 10 degrees Fahrenheit outside, which makes this idea sound very unappealing.

Xaar suggested going to buy a new pair of running shoes at lunchtime. I would wholeheartedly embrace her solution!!! Heck, I'd "accidentally" leave my shoes at home maybe once a week!!! =P But the sad reality is that my office isn't convenient to any stores that sell legit shoes.

This mean I'm likely going to suck it up and run in retired shoes today. First world runner problems!

I wish there was an Uber-type shoe service that could deliver shoes in 10-15 minutes for purchase and/or testing. You know there have been many critical instances where runners needed shoes "on demand." Wouldn't that be awesome?

2. The trials and tribulations
Who else is excited to watch the U.S. Olympic Marathon trials this weekend??? It's like Super Bowl Day for runners! For once, the commercials might actually be well-segmented towards my personal interests. =D

Speaking of running commercials, this one is unique:

I've heard the elites only compete in two or maybe three marathons per year due to the strain on the body. Realistically, this means the folks competing in this weekend's trials likely won't run 26.2 again until the actual Olympics in Rio. The timing seems like it would be tough from a mental preparation standpoint - but the elites obviously must be used to it.

3. Hockey talk
It was exciting to learn Chicago will be hosting the NHL Draft next year. I was a little surprised, to be honest, because I thought the NHL leaned towards "up and coming" markets for hosting these events. But hey, we'll take it! Between Chicago's hostings of the NFL draft in 2015 and 2016, and now the NHL draft in 2017, let's start calling Chicago "Draft Town"!

I was also excited to hear the Blackhawks will be visiting the White House (again) next Thursday to commemorate their 2015 Stanley Cup Championship. What an honor and a privilege. I am wishing I could be in DC next week to enjoy the buzz.

This picture doesn't have anything to do with the NHL Draft or the White House visit.
I just think it's a heartwarmingly adorable scene.

Long run retooling

The Pittsburgh Half Marathon is my primary training focus this spring. However, I've got some adjustments to make after adding the Rock N Roll DC Half Marathon to my race schedule next month. I don't plan to change the weekday workouts, but I do want to reconfigure my weekend long run schedule.

In the spirit of vastly overthinking things and driving myself bananas, I've put together three revised long run schedule versions: basic, intermediate, and challenge.

I am currently planning to default to the intermediate plan, but we will see how things are feeling on a week-to-week basis. It's always a delicate balance between training ambitiously versus red-lining.

Ready for massive data overload? Here are the three plans:

The immovable factors are obviously the races, and also being on vacation during Week 5. I prefer to NOT have to slug out a long run while on a cruise ship!

Notes:

• Xaarlin suggested using Hal Higdon's Intermediate Half Marathon training plan as a guideline for the long runs. Under that plan, you increase your mileage for two weeks at a time, then take a stepback week. That was my general thought process here, but race/vacation timing dictates stepping back slightly more frequently in all three plans.
• A "stepback exception" occurs with the challenge plan, where the first stepback occurs in Week 5. I believe I can handle an initial four consecutive weeks of build-up, but this is a "challenge" plan for a reason.
• I wasn't entirely sure what to do with Week 9 in "basic" and "intermediate." I elected to err on the side of being conservative, but who knows?

• Historically, I have trained up to a max of 11 or 12 miles going into a half marathon. Kim mentioned training above the race distance. I've never tried that before but I am considering it this time around. In the "challenge plan" I ambitiously go up to 15 - and this will indeed be a challenge!
• This was not my original intention, but I may even be up for throwing some hill work into my stepback weeks. (!!!)
• Not to further overcomplicate things, but there IS room for an "intermediate plus" plan in between "intermediate" and "challenge." I won't get into that today.

Any thoughts, suggestions, words of wisdom? Tell me about anything you might have overthought throughout your lifetime?

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Linking up with Marcia, Patti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

Training week recap: Feb 1-7, 2016

Happy Chinese New Year!

Here's how the week went for me:

MONDAY - Warm-up 10 minutes on the stationary bike, lift 45 minutes
TUESDAY - Run 3.1 miles on the treadmill
WEDNESDAY - 35 minutes on the stationary bike
THURSDAY - 3 miles of incline work on the treadmill (10-minute warm-up, followed by 2-minute intervals at inclines 1-5)
FRIDAY - Warm-up 10 minutes on the stairclimber, lift 40 minutes
SATURDAY - Yoga video, 45 minutes
SUNDAY - Run 8 miles (6.6 miles outside, 1.4 miles of 2-minute incline intervals on the treadmill, levels 1-5)

NOTES:

• Late last week, I had mentally composed a blog post about the cruelties and unusualities of hill-training. I was going to discuss how you experience a much higher total sum of pain from a) 3 months of hill-training torture, versus b) Just going out and dying on one single race day. The post was going to be titled "Training anti-synergies" or something similar.
  

• Thankfully, last week's hill workouts went smoothly (which is why you are reading a calm training recap today =D). I'm already seeing some pay-off from all the hard work! I used to take notice whenever I ran over any overpasses, no matter how slight the gradients. Yesterday, for the first time ever, I did NOT notice. Yay!
• I need to come up with a contingency plan on using the treadmill to finish my long runs. Yesterday, both of my building's treadmills were occupied when I arrived. Luckily, I only had to wait a few minutes before one opened up. I may not always be so lucky, though. 
• ADVICE: If you ever need to free up a treadmill for yourself, it works well to stand in direct view and alternate maniacally between staring blankly at the users and staring at your watch. KIDDING, of course! Kind of.

• Work has been busy, which resulted in yoga taking a hit last week. I skipped both my usual classes on Tuesday and Friday. To make up for it, I did an at-home yoga video on Saturday. It was a really nice change to practice in the privacy of my own home. I need to do this more often. (Sorry, Adam, for kicking you out of the living room!)
• Lesley had suggested using the stairclimber as another incline-work tool. On Friday, I tried warming up on the stair machine before lifting. It was a solid jolt to my entire lower body! Going forward, I definitely want to keep mixing in more stairs.

• As I mentioned yesterday, I am now planning to run the Rock N Roll DC Half Marathon on March 12. I am trying to figure out how best to reconfigure my long run schedule for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon in May. I've got a couple versions in the works - a "basic" version and a "challenging" version. I feel like it's a precarious balancing act between trying to train ambitiously versus too aggressively. It's a frequent story of our lives as runners, yes? More on this to come.

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Linking up with HoHo and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap.

Coffee talk - February edition

I am linking up with Coco, Deborah, and Lynda for the February edition of Coffee Talk.

This link-up asks: "If we were having [insert choice of beverage here] together, I would tell you..."

Buckle up, folks! I am so excited for a chance to catch up!

Over my tall glass of orange juice, here are a few things I would share:

I am going all in on another Rock N Roll 3-Pack Tour Pass this year.

This came out of nowhere!

My best friend, Vanitha, moved to DC a few months ago. She recently joined a drumline, and it turns out her group might be performing at Rock N Roll DC! So cool!!!

Since V will likely be at the race, she asked if I was thinking about running the DC Half Marathon again this year. Initially, I wasn't. 

Later, just for giggles, I started looking at my work/training schedule and airfare. Lo and behold, everything would fall together perfectly. Completely perfectly. Who am I to say no when the universe paves the way?

Oh yeah, I am going for it! Rock N Roll DC, here I come! (Again!) It will be awesome to catch up with V and other friends/family that weekend.

From a running perspective, I want so badly to redeem last year's bad weather experience.

Rocking the ever-classic, yet understatedly stylish pre-race garbage bag dress at DC last year.

The course does have a few hills. I am super pumped to see how I feel this year after finally putting forth some decent hillwork. What a difference a year makes, eh?

Since DC is only about a month away, registration rates are very high right now. Therefore, the 3-Pack Tour Pass makes sense financially to lock in set race fees. I am more than happy to run RnR Chicago again this year for my second race, and there is ample time to select a third race.

Maybe this will FINALLY be the year I run RnR Las Vegas? Or maybe Vancouver or Montreal? There are so many choices!

Next, speaking of travel destinations...

I've got a majorly themed vacation coming up soon.

I mentioned before that Adam and I are going on a cruise at the end of this month. Today I'm going to spill some beans about the event.

The cruise is a birthday present to Adam. Why, you ask? Because this particular cruise is a specially-themed cruise for Pittsburgh sports fans - and Adam is one of the most fanatical you'll ever find.

Adam and I at the Pittsburgh Steelers Fan Blitz at Heinz Field a few years ago

Approximately 30 current and former players from the Pittsburgh Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates are going to be on board the cruise interacting and hanging out with all the attendees. There will be all kinds of fan-friendly activities, plus Pittsburgh-themed food, drink, and entertainment. In prior years, fans with Pittsburgh roots or connections have attended from all around the globe.

Basically, it's going to be the most ginormous floating sports fan convention and party anyone can ever imagine!!!

Adam misses his hometown very much and he loves his sports teams like no other. This cruise is going to be epic for him. I am super excited!

Not to mention, I've got some epicness of my own coming up aboard the cruise...

I will be going into serious beast mode (for a few hours).
I've talked a lot about how through Adam's influence, I like all of the Pittsburgh sports teams in addition to my Chicago teams.

One of my all-time favorite Pittsburgh Steelers players is James Harrison.

As you can see in the above picture, I wear his #92 jersey.

James is going to be aboard the cruise. There are all kinds of onboard opportunities to hang out with players, and James is offering folks the opportunity to work out with him. No experience or qualifications necessary. It was open to anyone.

As you can probably glean from his picture, James is an absolute powerhouse. The man's biceps are bigger than my thighs. He regularly posts videos showing him lifting incomprehensible amounts of weight. Here is an example:

Are you kidding me?

How many times does anyone get the chance to work out with an NFL All-Pro linebacker??? Who am I to turn down an opportunity like this when the ocean paves the way?

You guessed it. I have signed on up!

Yes, I will look like this:

For this opportunity, I am okay with that!

Heaven knows that I very well may be the only woman among a crowd of meatheads. Yes, I am a little nervous. But in all sincerity, I really do want to learn more about strength-training. There's no better way to do so than to learn from one of the very, very, VERY best.

And finally...
Since it's Super Bowl Sunday and Peyton Manning is playing, I can't resist sharing this hilarious video of the Manning brothers from a few years ago. No reason other than it makes me giggle:

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Currently

Currently feeling:
Scattered. My to-do list keeps growing and growing and growing before my eyes.

At random moments, I keep remembering more things I need to do. Then I forget them before I can write them down. ARGH!

Currently reading:
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt.

My book club did a book swap over the holidays, and I got to bring this one home. I am just underway so no other thoughts just yet, but my expectations are high. This book came with extremely rave reviews!

Currently snacking on:
Clementines, aka "Cuties." I can go through three of them in one setting. I love how sweet they are and easy they are to peel.

I get a kick out of pulling the entire peel off in one piece. Maybe this helps make up for me never, ever, ever being able to peel an entire apple in one piece?

Currently craving:
Dumplings, dumplings, dumplings. Any kind. Pierogies, wontons, samosas, empanadas, pelmeni, you name it.

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Proclamation: If I ever get to do an eating challenge where I get to pick the food, dumplings would be my choice. Runners-up include pizza, sushi, and burgers. But I digress.

Current dish I want to perfect in the kitchen:
Mashed cauliflower. I've tried various combos of cooking stock, garlic, onion, cheese, milk, yogurt, etc., but haven't been able to get the recipe the way I want it. (Is there some secret ingredient I don't know about?) I am going to be experimenting again in the coming days.

Currently looking forward to:
So many things! Attending my next Blackhawks game in less than 10 days, going to see Cabaret, upcoming plans with friends I haven't seen in a long time, vacation at the end of the month.

Currently considering:
Trying some new-to-me fitness classes that I've always shied away from in the past, e.g. HIIT core, Step and Sculpt, Fly Barre. I'd like to throw more variety into my tried-and-true rotation of running, yoga, Zumba, lifting, and the occasional stationary bike.

Currently nervous about:
My next long run with a side of hill-work on the treadmill to finish. After experiencing how challenging this workout felt last week, I am gun-shy about trying it again.

Currently reminiscing about:
Going to Second City last weekend with Adam and watching Fool Me Twice, Deja Vu. It was HILARIOUS. Days later, Adam and I are still cracking one-liners from the show. I haven't seen live improv in quite some time and I had forgotten how much I love it!

I've mentioned before that I took three levels of improv classes a few years ago, which were so much fun! I was observing the artists' techniques and they were all amazing. True creative geniuses!

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Currently noticing:
The days are getting longer! It is glorious to both wake up and leave the office when the sun is above the horizon. Let's all start replenishing the Vitamin D. =)

Current favorite Blackhawks gif:
I am dying to know what happened off-camera to elicit Artemi Panarin's facial expressions here!

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Linking up with Amanda's Thinking Out Loud Thursdays.