Sunday, May 03, 2009

Wide Open Spaces

...and a few tight ones.

Springtime in Chicago.

Executive Ninja in Kyle's car.


Me and Jaime at the Orange for breakfast. They had menu items like Green Eggs and Ham, and Frushi -- sushi made out of fruit.

My sister's dog, Phoebe. She actually barks " I love you." It sounds like Scooby-Doo saying "Rye Ruv Roo."

Getting some love.


Chicago has a bid for the 2016 Olympics. Banners are up everywhere.


The Sears Tower


...and one obligatory photo of a Mies Van Der Rohe building.


Activity: Run
Date: 04/27/09 10:00 AM
Distance: 4.04 miles
Time: 0:37:22
Speed: 6.5 mph
Pace: 9' 15 min/mile
Calories: 377


Here's my haphazard run that started along Lake Shore. I was supposed to run over to Navy Pier, per my sister's instructions, but I never saw the signs to get there, so I just kind of made my way up to the streets, ran around until my GPS gave me the mileage I needed and went back. I had no clue where I was going and couldn't find a single sign on how to get to Navy Pier. Usually, my runs are pretty much a straight line. I was running around a construction site and a ton of people. No, I didn't run on the Chicago river. I suspect there was a little GPS bouncing, especially with all the buildings and running next to a television station. It wasn't quite the 6 miles I wanted to do, but it was a mile walk from the hotel and back, so I technically did get in the 6 miles.

Yesterday

Activity: Run
Date: 05/02/09 09:46 AM
Distance: 16.20 miles
Time: 3:00:52
Speed: 5.4 mph
Pace: 11' 10 min/mile
Calories: 1553




This was my 16 miler with the track club. I did better than I had expected, but I didn't anticipate needing more electrolytes than I had on me. Calf cramps kicked in right at mile 16, and I ran the .20 just to get to the gazebo at Hospitality Point. Yay. It would have been awful if the cramps kicked in earlier. At least I was in sight of the end. After a little electrolyte drink and some stretching I was OK. Around mile 10 I ran with Cathy, who ran the Boston Marathon last year. She remembered me from volunteering at the water tables at mile 23.5 at last year's Rock 'N' Roll Marathon and my hip injury, complete with walker. I mentioned that I am expecting to finish this year's marathon at about 5:30 or thereabouts. She informed me that were were running at a 4:30 marathon pace at that point. Oops. After the next half mile I told her I was going to back off my pace and chat with her the end of the run. My split at mile 10 was a 9:58 m/m. I would have been toast well before the 16 miles were up if I had kept that pace. I guess it was good to know that I could carry that pace 10 miles into a 16 mile run. That was also my fastest split.

It was also kind of humid for our run. Look how nice and sweaty I am. Right behind me is Sabrina, who I met at the beginning of the run. We ran the first 8 miles together.


Hey, guess what??? I'm not lopsided anymore!


Wednesday's song:
My Kind Of Town - Frank Sinatra - Pat

PEACE

14 comments:

IronWaddler said...

Great post- I love the photos. All awesome job on the 16.

Mel-2nd Chances said...

Great pics! Love Chicago, was there before I started running, but the waterfront path to Navy Pier would be fun to run along! Sweet job on your speedy run too!

Lisa said...

Nice pics of Chicago! I haven't been there in AGES, long before I started running.

Great long run. That is one of my favorite routes. There is something really rejuvenating about Wind and Sea to the Cove. Nice job keeping up a good pace. At this rate you'll finish RNR under 5. My time last year was 4:54 and that is 11:15 m/m.

leslie said...

Great pictures and it looks like you had a great weekend. Congrats on the long run and not being lopsided too!

KatieFeldmom said...

Dixie Chicks

Very cool that you're not lopsided anymore!!! It was really humid here for my run this weekend too.

I like the GPS map for the Chicago run .... looks like you did some swimming too.

Deene said...

good work at becoming non-lopsided. nice photos, thanks for sharing.

I Run for Fun said...

Nice runs!

Love the pics.

Frushi sounds nice.

So funny that your sis's dog acutally barks I love you!

Rookie on the Run said...

What a pretty dog Phoebe is! Great pictures! I especially like the pictures of the tulips along the street. Gorgeous!

Great job on your 16 miles! It has been humid the past few days... crazy! It looks like a nice run, though. Long but nice.
And congrats on not running lop-sided! :D

Anne said...

This really is the best time of year to visit Chicago, with all the tulips in bloom. You and your sister look so much alike, too!

Dori said...

You look fabulous! You're going to do so well at RnRSD. Good job on your 16 miler. And the Chicago pics look great. :-)

Aka Alice said...

Not lopsided AT ALL! Very impressive! You're clearly getting back to where you were before the injury.

I'm going to run about 10-12 miles of the 22 this weekend. It's a nice, fun, flat run, so hopefully, I'll see you then!

peter said...

Ahh, looking at these pictures and reading this post remind me of my experience at the Chicago 26.2 mile Fun Run in 2007. Chicago is a great town.

Michelle said...

Great pictures!! You look so happy in all of them. I love that wiggly run route, it's funny as hell! Glad you had such a nice time.

Irene said...

Thanks, everyone, for the comments! I had a great time in Chicago and wondered why I hadn't been on a girls trip much sooner!