stay high, lie low - san francisco.

ladies and gentlemen, i have an announcement to make.

it is not specifically running related. but it is my life related. and since my life involves running, i thought i should post about this.

i got a job.

in san francsisco.

woot woot!

so yes, i will be relocating across the country. i am leaving the flat running paths of chicago for the hills of san fran.

and i couldn't be more excited.

in running related news, i am continuing to recover from my 20 miler. i biked yesterday, and have a 5 mile run planned today.

not only did i get a job yesterday, i got my tax refund. which means i am now going to order myself a cute marathon outfit....

get down girl, go 'head, get down

20 miles done! it was not the best it could have been, but it was far from the worst.

friday night was a beautiful night, and all my roommates were drinking wine on our roof. i wanted to hang out so badly but knew that i couldn't, so at about 8 pm i made myself stay in my room. i made my playlist, filled my fuel belt, and tried to relax. i put on an arrested development dvd to watch as i fell asleep, and i think i ended up getting to sleep by 10 pm or so.

of course, my sleep was interrupted a bit by friends calling and txting, because they were out and drunk and forgot i was being all runner-y and staying in.

at 7 am i got up to eat a bagel and drink some coffee. i was so nervous and excited! i had butterflies in my stomach. for a 20 mile run? weird, but ok.

the weather was crazy on saturday morning....some sun, then overcast, then sun, then raindrops. but perfect for a run. pretty comfortable. i had shorts, a t shirt, and a hat on. my hair was in pigtail braids - which, with the hat, is my new favorite way to wear my hair during a run. it worked really well.

i was so excited i felt myself start a bit fast. the first few miles my calves were really tight, but by mile 4 or so i loosened up. i ate some sport beans at mile 6, and miles 8 - 12 were probably my best miles. lots of people on the lake to watch, i was warmed up, and not tired yet.

i kept thinking, its a 12 mile run to start your 8 mile run. so at 12 miles, i was at nicole and kevin's house (the lovely couple who bring us jumping in with both feet). i refilled my water bottles, got laughed at for looking so disgusting, and got sweat all over their couch.

nicole and i headed out for our run, and my legs were already getting stiff. basically, i owe her big time for 1. getting my through my run and 2. still being my friend at the end of it. she is a great motivator, and put up with my slow butt as i creeped to our finish line. so thank you thank you thank you nicole, for running with me and still being my friend after seeing me at my disgustingest.

when nicole and i do anything, it is typically a comedy of errors. this run was no exception. i had on a great nike dri-fit white t shirt, and a blue sports bra from target. well, as i sweat, the blue from the bra was bleeding onto the white shirt. there was a line where the bottom band of my bra was, and two blue nipples. nicole told me it looked like a smiley face. it was ridiculous.

i wish i could write a better account of what happened, but a lot of my run was a blur. it wasn't awful but it was painful at the end. im glad i got through it, and now i am glad to finish up my training and get to cleveland for the race! just 20 days away. wow.

my advice to you with 20 mile runs coming up - after you run, take a shower. then eat a lot. then sleep a lot. then go meet your friends at the bar and drink a lot. it worked for me.

yesterday, i ordered new shoes as a reward for my 20 miles. they should get here in the middle of this week, which should give me plenty of time to test them out before the marathon. i got nike pegasus in light blue/white. woo hoo!

cartoons and forever plans.

happy friday! its beautiful out today. absolutely perfect. the good thing about living in the midwest is that while we have fewer sunny and warm days, we definitely enjoy them. in fact, on a nice day, i feel obligated to spend as much time as possible outdoors. i have already managed to have a meeting outside, take a walk to the bank, and chit chat outside. im sure i will figure out more ways to be outside be the day is through.

no big plans for me tonight, just grocery shopping and eating carbs and drinking water and going to bed early in preparation for tomorrow. i have my 20 miler all planned out...most of it will be on the lake, with a detour to nicole's house to pick her up. because she is my awesome running friend she is running the last 8 miles with me. we will end up at millenium park, which leaves me in close proximity to jamba juice, hot dog vendors, and a bus i can catch to head home.

the weather should be perfect, ive got gu and gatorade for my fuel belt, ill work on a killer playlist tonight, nicole will help carry me through the last 8 miles, the lakefront path will be filled with people to watch....

what else? am i missing anything?

today i asked my friend at work whose run a few marathons for last minute advice. she gave me two pointers.
1. dont stop
2. dont drink tonight

ok, i think i got that. no stopping when im tired cause it will make it even harder to keep going, and no way am i drinking tonight at all.

anyone have any other pieces of advice to get through this 20 miler?

in music news..maria taylor's new song "cartoons and forever plans" is awesome. listen up.

add it up.

for today's 9 miles i ran my same route as last wednesday's 9: through the loop. this week, however, i left my house a little later so my run was not as crazy as it was when everyone was getting out of work downtown.

about 2 miles into my run, i think THE most terrifying thing that has EVER happened to me while running occurred. keep in mind that this part of my run (blue island/roosevelt area) is pretty much running through the projects. someone grabs my shoulders while i am running and yells "grrrrarrrrr!"

turns out it was runner boy. for some reason he had found himself on that street at the same time and saw me running and decided to scare the shit out of me. it was not one of the better encounters ive ever had. in fact, i found it downright creepy. regardless, it was entertaining and gave me a boost of energy.

what else gave me energy during my run today? my kick ass playlist! today i decided to make a playlist of songs i onced loved but don't listen to anymore.

some highlights:

• add it up by the violent femmes
• molly by sponge
• please take me home by blink-182
• free at last by g. love
• manifest destiny by guster
  
• caress me down by sublime
• scarlet begonias by sublime
  
• shoebox by the barenaked ladies
• follow you down by the gin blossoms

see, these are all really great songs, but not 1. new or 2. classic. so they get lost in the shuffle of my itunes library. a little effort, though, and they helped me to rock out today on my run. i reccomend digging through your older music to find some gems!

i am getting excited/nervous/pumped/terrified/intimidated/exhausted just thinking about my 20 miler on saturday. but if i can do that, then i can do the marathon, right?? isnt that how this works??

these are a few of my favorite things

some (mostly running related) things i wouldnt want to live without:

1. vaseline. this stuff saves my feet from blisters by putting it all over under my socks before long runs. also, awesome for chapped lips, cuticles, any dry parts.

2. purpose face wash. super simple face wash with no scent, color, or anything exciting, but works so well. its really gentle, too, which is great when you have to wash your face extra times during the day because of runs.

3. tazo passion tea. i have loved this tea since i was 16 and started working at starbucks. its hibiscus, purple, and smells exactly how i want a perfume to smell. this winter, i always drank it when i came in from cold runs.

4. runningmap.com. my nike plus lies to me sometimes, but i have found this website to be trustworthy in mapping out my runs.

5. oatmeal. specifically: oatmeal, brown sugar, granola, craisins, cinnamin and lowfat vanilla soy milk. i think i ate this for breakfast for 4 months straight. in fact, there have been days where i have had it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and ate nothing else that day. its that good (and i have that much of a compulsive/obsessive personality). go humans go!

6. emusic. i love music a lot. on this site, you can get 30 downloads for something like $12 a month. they dont have all the music itunes does, but they have pretty much everything i listen to. also, they have a free song a day and some great free sampler albums. ive found some great artists playing around on here.

7. theragesic. much like icy hot, but for some reason i am stuck on this brand. after a hard workout, i love putting this on and laying down for a nap. the mint smell isnt bad, either!

8. my ipod. this is so obvious i debated even mentioning it.

hm, thats all i can think of right now. what would you hate to live without?

please remain calm.

eek! its been a while since i posted. im going to go ahead and blame the spotty internet connection at my house.

updates on training: thursday i ran 5 easy miles. fridays i usually stay in, rest up, and go to bed early to prep for my long run. well, there was a dance at school friday night which i was chaperoning, so that couldn't happen. i danced quite a bit too, so it was not really a rest day!

my 14 miles saturday morning went okay, though, even without adequate sleep. it was so nice out that i ran in shorts and a tank top. i got so excited about the idea of running without layers of clothes that i got a little carried away and decided to go without my hydration belt. i put 2 Hammer gels in my tank top pockets and headed out.

what a great morning to run! it was sunny, warm, busy but not too crowded on the lakefront path. and the water fountains were finally turned on! yay! i had a apple cinnamin hammer gel about 6 miles in and i have to say, it may have been the most agreeable gu i have had yet. i wont say i liked it, but it was not bad, at all.

after last week's 18 miles, i had told myself that 14 miles is nothing. well, its not nothing! it was still a demanding run and i was hurting at the end, but it went pretty well.

i came home to discover some very attractive tan lines: ipod arm band, racerback tank top, socks, shorts. my tank top tan line reminds me of the speedo tan line i used to have every summer when i was a kid and lived to swim.

which reminds me...

with about 2.5 miles left in my run, i really needed one last sip of water. i was near UIC, so i poked my head into a rec building to find a drinking fountain. i did, and i also saw what appeared to be a masters swim meet. the smell of the chlorine, and people with wet hair sitting in the hallways eating bagels, and team t shirts made me nostalgic. it also gave me an idea of my next athletic endeavour after i accomplish this marathon! i would love to get back into swimming.

today i biked for 45 minutes and did a yoga for runners podcast. im looking forward to a full day of rest tomorrow to get ready for my highest mileage week of training - 40. thats a lot of miles for this girl! i am nervous about my 20 miler but excited, too. hopefully i can get some people to run parts of it with me...nicole, you in? kevin?

also...GO WINGS! i was watching the game at the bar last night, and two different guys came up to me to ask what CBJ stood for. one said, "i really hate having to ask a chick, but....whos CBJ?" haha. columbus is a recent franchise and its their first playoff appearance but seriously. dont come up to me during a game to ask silly questions!

im keeping my fingers crossed san jose gets eliminated in the first round, so go ducks, i guess.

shawty got low low low

thanks for the ideas on splitting up runs or moving miles around throughout the week. i managed not to split up my run today and just got back from a great 9 miler. running through the loop at 5.15 is pretty entertaining, but crowded.

when i registered for the cleveland marathon an insanely long time ago - like november or something crazy like that - i had registered so early i got an "early bird gift." i had totally forgotten about it until yesterday i got a lovely black beanie cap. it has the cleveland marathon logo and the hat itself is really nice microfiber bambo charcoal or something wacky like that. i cant imagine even wearing a beanie cap, but it was pretty fun to open my mail.

nhl playoffs start today!! woo hoo! LETS GO RED WINGS! here we grow! the beard is back!

in case you havent seen the latest youtube sensation enjoy it here. this kids dance moves are so awesome! i hope my hypothetical children are that badass.

down by the schoolyard

i recovered fairly easily from saturday's 18 miler. i think that ice bath really helped! i cross trained yesterday morning, and today i am hoping to get 5 miles in.

two major running issues on my mind today...

1. my weekday mileage is getting pretty high. i am thinking about splitting up runs - like tomorrow, i need to do 9, but can't figure out a way to do the miles before school or after school because i have plans with runner boy. so, maybe 4 before school and 5 after? has anyone done this with their weekday runs?

2. today i am starting to run with our hs's cross country team. our school is in the hood so its not really cool to ask them to run outside with all the gang activity, so we are taking buses of them down to the lakefront to run twice a week. im helping chaperone on tuesdays. what fun! its crappy weather out (surprise surprise) but hopefully a good number of kids show up. it should make tuesday runs fun! because if you work with high schoolers, you know that its always entertaining.

if i did it then its nothing and i did it as well

who has two thumbs and ran 18 miles this morning? THIS GIRL!

i got up this morning around 8.30 am, drank some coffee, ate some cereal and did some final route planning. since i didnt bring my fuel belt to michigan with me, i planned 3 loops around my parents house so that i could stop in twice for gu, water and HEED. i tried to keep things interesting by planning 3 slightly different routes - 7 miles, 6 miles, and 5 miles long.

it was a very sunny day out but chilly and windy, so shorts and a longsleeve shirt worked well. im trying to rock shorts as much as possible because i started getting a bit of a capri tan and thats pretty gross. a runners tan is nasty enough, id at least like my legs to be as tan as possible.

my first 7 mile loop went well. at the beginning of long runs (or any runs, really) i tend to psych myself out thinking of how far i have to run. or, i think about things i dont want to think about and stress myself out. so, i played a little game of making lists. like, how many sporting arenas have i seen professional games at? or, how many outdoor concerts have i been to? or, how many airplanes have i been on (that one was hard!)? once i got into the groove, the first loop went well.

during my first stop home i had sport beans, heed, and re-vaselined my feet. sport beans are great! way better than gu. i gave my dad the hour warning heads up, because he was planning on running my last 5 miles with me.

my next loop - miles 8 -13 - was pretty solid. the hills started to kill me and i did take some walking breaks, but i felt like i was going pretty strong. at this point in the run, i no longer had to try to think about things other than the run. in fact, i dont think i had many thoughts at all - mostly just ran. other than the hills, it felt great.

i've gotta say, when i stopped home after my 13 miles, i kinda wished i was done. drinking water and eating a raspberry clif shot (not that bad, actually), i would have been happy calling it a day. BUT, i also was thinking about how i was only 5 miles away from finishing my second longest training run. so that was my main focus heading out for the final 5.

my dad and i headed out for the final stretch (well, my final stretch. his whole stretch). the first mile or two were easy and we chatted about my marathon and my goals and if i had figured out a run/walk strategy (i havent. but ill blog about this another day). with about 2 miles left, i got in my crabby runner mode. my dad tried to make a joke and i muttered, nothing is funny right now, and told him i wasnt talking until i finished my run. i started thinking about all the shortcuts that would get me home sooner, but i just kept trying to think about what an accomplishment 18 miles is. so, i trudged on, and though my last few miles had more walk breaks than i would have hoped, i finished fairly strong.

i came home, drank more heed, ate some brussel sprouts (weird choice, i know, but they were left over from last night and tasted really good!), and headed upstairs to make myself an ice bath. this was my first ice bath experience, and i have to say, i liked it more than i would have thought! ok, i didnt like it....but it worked. when i got in my bathtub of cold water and ice cubes, i was making some weird noises - a mix of shrieking, moaning, and cursing. but i settled in and it wasn't too bad. i txt runner boy to brag that i had finished my 18 miles and to get some congrats and encourgement in return. i flipped through my may runner's world (yeah, the one with kara goucher on the cover!) and after about 12 minutes, i decided that was probably good enough and got out.

after a hot shower, i could safely say that i felt good. the ice bath really helped! im not limping nearly as much as i normally would be after a long run. plus, i feel badass, and i think that counts for a lot.

in a perfect world, my recovery today would have included a nap, but it did not. instead, i layed on my couch and watched the wings play the hawks and lose to the hawks because of a garbage call in the last minute of the game. it wasnt even a penalty, let alone a penalty shot! ugh. at least our boys looked sharp in their winter classic jerseys. see you tomorrow hawks, you were lucky today.

my brother and his family are over today to spend the night for easter. i read my niece 21 berenstein bear books. thats every berenstein bear book we own! phew.

happy easter to everyone! after 18 miles, i think i get to eat everything i want at easter brunch tomorrow.

out at the pictures

as someone who does not currently own a camera (i have broken 2 digital cameras and lost 1. until i can prove to myself i am more responsible, i am not allowed to purchase valuable electronics), i really enjoy when i get pictures from others. facebook is very helpful for this, as are races with photographers.

ladies and gents, i present you....

pictures from the martian half marathon!


could i not even manage a smile at the end? geez.

pretty anticlimactic pictures, i know. but who doesn't love their race photos, even if they don't look stellar?

let it rock

inspired by da 8 count's playlist post, i'm dedicating today's entire post to sharing some of my current favorite running tunes. if i've mentioned them before, it just means i really really love them!

• brother sport by animal collective
• the jimmy choos by chester french (yeah mtv is in love with this song but i still love it, too)
• the tornado lessons by cloud cult
• cha cha slide by dj chip
• get down lil mama by dj funk
• bad things coming, we are safe by emmy the great
• steer by the future laureates
• i like you so much better when you're naked by ida maria
• soft by kings of leon
• be somebody by kings of leon
• fashion glam and coke by mickey avalon
• hush hush by natalie portman's shaved head
• maria by willie nelson (its a good song even if your name isnt maria!)
• whatever you like by TI*
• jacking the ball by the sea and cake
• swing by savage (im still not over this one)
• jenny don't be hasty by paolo nutini
• party like a rockstar remix by pitbull
• touch it/technologic by daft punk
• lay it back and drop it by girl talk
• like this by girl talk
• play your part by girl talk
• ok...ANY girl talk : )
• happy alone by kings of leon
• U.R.A.Q.T. by M.I.A
• me and armini by emiliana torrini
• keepin it real by mason jennings
• cuddle fuddle by passion pit
• where she was on monday by TAB the band

*i really like this song because i have decided that the lyrics are "snacks on bed, patron on ice." who wouldn't want snacks on bed??

alright, i think thats about all for now! im off to pick up my parents from the airport. they have been jamaica-ing for the last 5 days. little do they know that i am picking them up from the airport but will need to be dropped off at the bar on their way home....

poker face

i got a 7 miler in today around my parents house in michigan. its so much more interesting to run hills and not just pancake flat land like i do in chicago! while the elevation was more diverse than my usual and i enjoyed it, i did remind me to start doing some hill treadmill workouts because i think cleveland has more hills that chicago. they have an elevation map on the marathon's website, but to be honest, i cant figure out how to translate that to treadmill language.

the snow we had at the beginning of the week was super crappy, but it really made me appreciate the sun today, and how everything was melty. running outside so much has made me extremely grateful for any signs of spring!

my marathon training is about to crescendo with my 18 and 20 milers coming up, and im nervous, excited, burnt out, and just about every other emotion you can think of. here's my cry for help to veteran marathoners (or anyone who has some good advice for me!) - whats the best advice you have gotten/ the best lesson you have learned about marathon training?

thanks!! happy holy week to all!!

ps...tomorrow i will be posting a big list of songs you should be listening to.

pps...i do not like the song poker face. but ive heard it like 30 times in the past week and its always stuck in my head, so i couldnt think of anything else for the title!

no one said it would be easy

ive been dreading writing the race report from the martian half marathon on sunday. that should give you an idea of how it went.

did i make ANY of my goals?
NOPE! if you recall, my last goal was to have a fun race with my friends. nope, that didn't even happen.

the race started at 7 and was an hour away. andrew and i had plans to meet up with dustin at 6, which means we had to leave at 5, which meant we got up at 4. the night before, we were up til midnight. which leaves me 4 hours of sleep. not great.

anyways, we all got some coffee pre-race and i could already tell it wasn't my day. i have been fighting this cold for weeks, i haven't gotten a lot of sleep the last few days, and i just wasn't feeling it. you know that excitement you get before a race? the adrenaline that gets you going? yeah, it never happened.

before the race i gave the boys full permission to leave me if they wanted to run faster. we all started together. i think they thought they were running slow enough for me, but that was not the case. their slow running was my sprinting. so, not even 2 miles in they left me and i was already tired.

the rest of the run was uneventful. it was a small race, in sort of a boring area. during most of the race, i completely freaked out mentally. when i got to the turnaround, i thought, halfway done, actually only 1/4 done for the full. i really got nervous about the full marathon, spent a lot of time worrying about my training, etc etc.

i think i was completely delusional when i created my goals. breaking 2 hours? no where close. i ended up finishing at 2:13:36, 37 of 66 in my age group.

so it wasn't my race. the worst part was that andrew was planning on running the half in cleveland, and right after i finished he told me that he felt so great during the race he is going to push through training to run the full with me in cleveland. i tried to be happy for him, but i was mostly a very crabby runner that morning.

we came home and made an enormous mess of a breakfast - fried eggs, fried potatoes with cheese, and toast. and beer. and then a 2 hour nap. so, that part of the race day was fun!

while it wasn't a great race, it was valuable. i learned i need to really focus on my training, especially my mental game. i also realized that i am not a fast runner, and right now i am working on distance and not speed. my goals should be based on me and no one else - even if my friends are way faster than me.

race aside, it was a great weekend having andrew here. we hadn't seen each other in over 2 years, and it was so surreal to see him. but, like any good friends, it was like we had just seen each other last week. my brother and his family came over sunday and andrew and i had tons of fun playing with my niece.

so starting today - its on with my marathon training. im sticking to my schedule, im going to keep a better eye on what i eat (and drink) and i am going to take care of myself and sleep enough. because that is what is going to make me confident on may 17!

i hope everyone is having fun at work - im lovin my spring break! my spring break is probably a lot like my students - lots of time on the couch watching tv!

everybody here is a cloud

this post is coming to you from the megabus! i am en route back home to michigan. megabus is great for their cheap tickets, double deckerness, comfy seats, and fast trips...but now free wireless? this is awesome. especially because i was really wanting to post yesterday, and earlier today, but things have been so busy i havent had the spare 15 minutes! hard to believe, i know, but true.

the margot concert on wednesday was out of control. it was friendship date night with one of my bests, so we got some dinner, drank some beers, and headed over to Metro in time for the openers.

good thing we did! all 3 bands that played put on amazing shows. ice palace was the first opener, and they were one of those bands where everyone plays like 3 instruments. incredibly talented, some catchy tunes.

around this time in the night runner boy made an apperance. he, too, listens to good music. he also is good to have around because he disapears and returns with 3 beers (me, friend, him) qite frequently. ok, ok, hes more than just a beer distributor, but its not a bad quality!

next up was cloud cult. i fell in love with them. i downloaded their latest album as soon as i got home -feel good ghosts (tea-partying through tornados). i really enjoy that album name, almost as much i like the name cloud cult. "pretty voice" (which is from a different album) and "everybody here is a cloud" are standouts so far.

cloud cult did something i have never seen at a concert, and something i have never heard of, or dreamed of. they had a painter on stage! he was painting throughout their set, and at the end, he had painted a painting that got sold in the lobby later. isnt that insane!? i did some band researching and it seems they are full of insane awesomeness. so, if cloud cult is coming to your town, go see them!

margot and the nuclear so and sos is who i actually went to see though, and they did not dissapoint. casey tennis, the crazy percussionist, brought his best drum banging, triangle tinging, and interpretive dancing. they played a lot of their new stuff, but of course played "skeleton key" and "vampires in blue dresses." im not sure how to accurately report the show, but let me just say it was everything id hoped it would be.

ok, on to topic number 2 of the post...

my half marathon on sunday!!!

i cannot even begin to express my excitement to race. im meeting my old roommate dustin at the expo tomorrow to pick up our packets and grab some lunch. then, my college friend andrew will be coming in from ohio to stay with me. cant wait to cook up some carbs, drink some wine, and catch up with him tomorrow night.

sunday is the big race day. as ive mentioned in previous posts, the boys have said they will run with me at whatever pace i want. they are being too nice. they should be running at their own paces. im very nervous that i will run even slower than i predict, and it will be dissapointing for everyone.

on the other hand, i really want to run this race well to give me a good predictor for my marathon time. and having 2 fast friends run with me might be just what i need to run the best i can. its a small race, so having a personal pacing team could be perfect.

i would love to break 2 hours. that means running a 10 minute PR. hmmm. just over 9 minute miles. i can do 2 or 3 9 min/miles, but can i do 13.1??

my goals...

goal a: break 2 hours
goal b: under 2:05
goal c: PR 2:09
goal d: finish after having fun with friends. (im reminding myself about the fun with friends thing cause ill be really sad if i don't PR)

this week has been crazy and busy and i havent slept as much as i normally do, but that has been good because ive been too busy to get in too many miles.....i took yesterday and today off cause i had to, so ive ended up with a nice easy running week. hopefully i can get in 2 or 3 miles tomorrow and have fresh legs sunday morning.

good luck to everyone else racing this weekend.

skeleton key

i got 4 miles in this morning. my abs are super sore from monday and tuesday. im still feeling kinda sick (yes, this is week 3 of being sick)

but none of this matters!

because im going to margot and the nuclear so and so's concert tonight!

ive been obsessed with them for almost a year now. "skeleton key" was my first favorite song but now i love all of it. they are so good live - i saw them at lollapalooza and then again in november at bottom lounge. tonight they are playing the metro.

they are "chamber pop" i guess. i LOVE the percussionist, casey tennis! he is hysterical. lots of interpretive dance moves, too!

check them out. you will not regret this.