I just read about this place opening up on Irving Park. After reading the Friday night challenge I decided I need to take off a Friday from school and work, run 20+ miles, and go in there and lay down the authority on taco eating.
Looking forward to seeing this flick
http://showntellshow.com/post/343167078
I’m a bit slow in getting my weekly post out from last week but here goes.
It’s official. Racing has commenced! I spent Saturday afternoon in Rockford, IL. for second race in the winter, Rock Cut Trail Series. Since the race was a short 10k race I didn’t freak out about my lack of training since I’m targeting late Spring and Summer ultra’s. Regardless, I still like to go out and compete at the top even if I fail.
I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. The drive up to Rockford, one hour away, reveal lots of snow as I made my way up I-90. The series is being held at Rock Cut State Park, a super great place to come overnight camp and trail run. With temps in the mid 20s I wasn’t super thrilled as I had planned on sunshine and mid 30s. But that’s how it goes. After signing up I had about 30 minutes to attempt to warm up. As I started to warm up on the roads around the starting area I discovered the trails were all snow. Uck. And on top of that we are talking 4-6 inches of loose snow.
So after a brief 20 minute warm up I made my way to the starting area. Umm, exactly where do we start??? Yeah, its straight up this 30 yard hill in the snow. I could tell this race had some fast looking doods which made me pumped for good competition and the expectation of real racing finally. So we start, the mad dash up the hill begins. It’s a struggle but I find myself in second place tracking down the lead guy. I’m all over the place as we enter the trail and begin the onslaught of pain. I sure as heck wasn’t ready for this intensity. I’ve done maybe one speed workout this year on top of going through physical therapy to fix some hip strength and muscle knot issues.
During the first mile I could barely breathe. My nose immediately froze and I couldn’t breathe through it so I had to rely on my mouth for air. Cold, freaking air. I wasn’t sure the trail was marked for mileage and I just refused to look at my Garmin. So when we crossed the first mile marker my immediate thought was screw this lets drop out. But I decided to keep going. My hips couldn’t keep the intensity up trying to maneuver through the snow and sliding all over the place. This was quickly becoming one of the hardest races I’ve ever done. And so my second place position quickly fell to fifth.
I suffered through another two miles before I could finally breathe and find a decent rhythm. Then I had a freak out moment. These midwesterners are so use to cold temps and freezing they aren’t scared to leverage frozen lakes as part of the chaos. So at mile 3 we crossed a lake that had to be at last 1/3 of a mile across. WOW. That was a bit freaky and was added motivation of freaking don’t stop or look down. And so the craziness continued as the trail took us back across the lake not just one more time but twice. It wasn’t until the last time across that I decide to look down close to the end of the crossing. Yes it was then as I approached the end that I looked over and saw some mushy areas. DOUBLE FREAK OUT!!!!!
Finally off the lake and onto the last 1.5 miles. I hit the five mile mark and could just feel the burning in my hips as I struggled to pace myself up a hill. Seeing the final .5 mile I began to be thankful and question the next race if this was going to be the racing experience. But I finished in 12th by the time it was finished. Considering the terrain, weather, and my racing shape I decided to be please with my result.
Finished, I grabbed some hot chocolate and decided to walk back to my car. Let me tell you this as well. My race day wear is go minimal. When I’m in the heat of competition i’ve discovered my body will keep warm so I don’t need lots of layers. So as I walked to the car I went to get my car fob from my jacket…….Whatttttttttttt FFFFFFFFFFFFF SHHHHHHHHH*T. The ultimate please don’t ever happen to me happened. My jacket zipper wasn’t all the way up and my fob popped out!!!!! Immediately I began to freak inside. WHAT THE HECK AM I GOING TO DO. I’m easily an hour away from any friend that could help me and even then I can’t remember phone #s. The panic even escalated as I thought well maybe just maybe I left my car unlocked. No dice. Locked like Fort Knox. I bumped a cell phone off the people parked next to me and called Subaru Roadside Assistance. Thank you Subaru for this service it really got me out of a pickle. SRA located a local locksmith who could be out to the state park within 40 minutes. Quickly I thanked God for providing the resources necessary.
Did I say I barely had anything on???? That 40 minutes I almost froze. I was so happy to see that locksmith but even more impressed how she manuevered my window open. Wait. I’m almost worried seeing how a criminal mind opens a car up. Geez, nobody’s car is safe. So 10 minutes later she had my car open and to my final release of worry I’m finding the car keys and jacking up the heat immediately.
Within 15 minutes I’m back on target and getting back to Chicago. What a day this turned into be.
And for the record, I’ll be back Feb 20 for the 15k race. Hopefully in a bit better shape and with little expectations.
So I’m officially on day 4 of sinus infection. I’m officially about to go stir crazy as I’ve been locked up in the apartment all week. My only outs have been to Trader Joes and to the physical therapist. I was hoping to run in the snow as it’s always been an enjoyable thing for me in years past but with temps in the teens I’m boycotting for at least today I think.
Anyways, I came across a cool a video from a design agency, Mind Castle, on the making of their holiday card. Really cool video to watch and be inspired.
our creative process/. 01 from Casey Warren | MIND CASTLE on Vimeo.
Sick for the last two days, tired of running on the treadmill at the gym, and going a bit stir crazy after two days of the work week. What do you do? Take this show outside were its 15 degrees and attempt to run. Sort of surprised that I ran super strong maybe its all the incline work I’ve been doing on the treadmill. I don’t want to admit that to myself since I hate those devil machines so much.
I haven’t had a sinus infection in over 7 months. I knew it was to good to be true that moving to Chicago did the trick. I personally think its the influx of new germs at the gym since I’ve been there the last 4 days running.
Germville has invaded my body. Sinus infection here I come.
As I desired to stay in bed this AM I realized I work from home. I guess sick vacay doesn’t really exist in my case….I don’t know the policy on that but oh well, it’s a meeting free day so I can stay focused on doing my thang.
Something about looking out your window and seeing snow covered roofs. It almost becomes a reflective gaze that’s outward in. Add depressing music to the mix and you’ll find yourself at the border of SAD.
I’ve been thinking a bit today about the mind blowing year I’ve had and I can honestly say, whewwww. Giving up on things, having lots of faith, finding and discovering a new home, working through some tough spots in my life, starting and going through grad school the right way, and learning a bit more about who I am.
I finally made it home last night from Memphis and literally almost passed out when I get the couch. I keep wondering does the feeling of exhaustion ever end. I know I constantly push myself but geez I’ve almost forgotten what it’s truly like to wake up feeling refreshed. Maybe that’s just a boring myth anyways. All I can think about is wishing someone could knock me out for 3-4 days with uninterrupted sleep…doesn’t it sound amazing????
Anyhoo, it’s 30 outside, a bit warm by Chicago standards, and lightly snowing. Actually a very beautiful night out for the quick 5 miler tonight up and around through Lakeview.
Just read another follow up about the Netflix integration now possibly going to be inserted into the Nintendo Wii. So now there is XBOX, Playstation, and Nintendo…..What’s interesting to me about this is not the video component but the portability of game content. I actually did a school project a while back that looked at the used game market. Places like Game Stop make a killing off of people selling and buying games. I read Game Stop’s annual report which I believe it was there 2007 or 2008 iteration that discussed the downloadability of games wasn’t there and wouldn’t be for a while.
But I believe bringing in a partner like Netflix who is very much moving or beginning to transition it’s business model to a networked delivery system we might be just around the corner from seeing some truly remarkable innovations. We could see subscriptions services emerge or single game experiences emerge. What’s becomes fascinating about this is the consideration for the shifting of content. Recognition of my status in one game carried over to another to place me into particular game situations. As we see the benefits of OpenID, Facebook Connect, etc. evolve I think we’ll see more than just playing against friends in games.
Over the last year and a half I’ve become such a huge fan of La Sportiva trail running shoes. The Skyline and Crosslite models are lights out in comparison to the competition. Their shoes possess durability, a good balance of weight, and smart traction designs. So why would I even consider anything else?
Got me other than the fact a shoe, yes a trail shoe, could weight 6 oz. Well, the New Balance MT100 tempted my whistle. I purchased a pair the other day to test out. I knew it would be this weekend before I could hit the trails so I went out Friday night for a quick spin. As I ran, my opinions were all over the place. The shoe was almost in comparison to a true racing flat but a lot less cushion in certain places, like the forefoot area. But over the course of 5 miles I became one with the shoe. I even out ran some of the Halloween critical mass participants.
Sunday morning I found myself in a good spot. Not too hung over from a night of festivities and finding a hour back of sleep. I awoke at 630, quickly dressed and drove out to Pelos Forest Preserve to get in some solid training. And to put my new trail shoes to the test. The trails were slightly damp with covered the stacks of fall leaves beginning to rise from the ground. Pelos is slightly hilly but nothing drastic so I figured I’d have to go easy a bit not being able to see the true ground.
Within a couple of miles my legs begin to loosen up finally and I begin to find my rhythm. Such a beautiful morning and feeling I tell ya. It’s those moments were you want to humbly thank God for making you a runner and being able to play a part in the environment He has created. Celebration of a beautiful gift.
I quickly found myself wanting to explode parts of the trail system but I knew I should maintain and set in for the 2 hours I was scheduled to run. The MT100’s didn’t quite meet my expectation for these sort of conditions. The traction on the sole is definitely geared towards more dryer conditions as the sole nubs go from really small at the top of the shoe to medium at the back of the shoe. I had several spin outs going up little up hills with soft, slightly wet ground. Cornering also proved to be tough in these shoes as well coming off a down hill section.
The cushion, I mentioned earlier, also proved a bit uncomfortable at times. About 1:10 into my run I needed to cross a section of road maybe 2/10 long. Running on that pavement for that short of time was really uncomfortable. NB really should address this to improve the support. Then again at 1:25 going over some small sharp rocks I could feel some uncomfortable pushes back against my feet.
By then end of my 2hrs my feet felt overall ok. No blisters or major aches. Even with my hamstring tightening up my left foot remained solid and loose. Overall, I think the NB MT100 are good shoes. I think if they would insert a bit more cushion in the forefoot area, increase the length of the traction nubs a bit, and use a water resistant material I think the shoe would be a lights out competitor to the La Sportiva shoes.
