Well, it was a day late, but I got my 7.5 mile run in! I ran it on Saturday and then yesterday put in a small 1.5 with Yow-Yow. Good times. Now I’m off to the gym…
Holy crap. Having the right shoes can definitely make a huge difference. I normally just use my trail running shoes for various excercise related activities. However, since I’m running in a relay, and by “a” relay I mean “the” relay, out in SFO (feel free to donate, it’s tax deductible!), I figured I should go a little bit more professional, especially since I normally have a hard time running long distances on pavement.
Well, I bought the shoes on Monday, a pair of Saucony ProGrid Triumph 5’s, and this morning was the first time I was able to try them out. Now, I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve been running a lot with hills on the treadmill and this was the first time this year outside or the new shoes, but I was able to go >2x further this morning than I ever had been able to outside. Plus, I was hauling or at least it felt a whole lot faster than I normally go. The best part was, the parts of me that normally hurt when running on the pavement for long distances, didn’t. In fact, nothing really hurt. I just kept crossing more and more streets since I wasn’t hurting like I normally do.
Next loop will be up to Addison to make it 7.5 miles. Hopefully I’ll do that tomorrow or Friday now that I’ve broken in the shoes. Plus, now that I know that 5 miles is not that big a deal, I’m going to start running to the gym and back. What’s really wierd is that I’m actually excited about this. I thought I wasn’t going to be in that great of shape for this relay, but now I’m not too concerned. I just want to be able to hit 10 miles or more prior to shipping out, since I’m not doing any hilly stuff.
When I first moved up here, I was very excited about living in the city. I think the excitement has started to wear off. That’s not to say that I want to move out to the suburbs or anything drastic like that. I think it’s more than I’d rather move somplace where I can do more outdoor things that I’m in to. After going on vacation to Canada and Montana, I realized that I like it out there a lot more than here.
The ability to go climbing, hiking, biking, skiing, etc really has its benefits. Stuff that’s a lot more difficult to do in and around the city. There’s only so many times I can take the same paths or the same indoor climbing gym. That’s not to say that I haven’t been walking about everywhere again, but at the same point, the city streets are a little bit different than the rockies…
Sometime in September, Erin and I are planning on riding from Chicago to South Haven, MI. Now, since this is incredibly further than I’ve ever ridden before, there needs to be some training (specifically for the posterior).
Lately, I haven’t been riding at all. In fact, the last time I had gone was over the fourth. Granted, we did probably put in just over 20 miles that day. So, Erin found a workout schedule online that prepares you for a 100 mile ride. Basically, you ride 10 or so miles a day, and then ever Saturday you put in the large miles. Last weekend we were supposed to put in 30, which isn’t that far, as long as my rear end keeps up. Thankfully every time I’ve ridden it’s been able to keep up with longer and longer distances.
Well, like I said, we were supposed to put in 30. Instead, we put in over 40. Oops. This weekend we’re supposed to put in 37ish. For some reason, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.
Today while I was walking to work, I past some guys that were putting up a new billboard. This isn’t one of those new fangled billboards though that they just stretch the advertisement over, they actually have to glue the pieces in place.
Anyways, I couldn’t believe the ropes that they were using. Maybe I’m spoiled with the ropes I use for climbing, but these things were huge. I’d hate to think how much they weighed. I mean, I’ve got a 10mm rope, which by climbing standards is quite thick (typically used as a gym rope because it lasts longer). However, the more hardcore climbers all have 8.5mm ropes.
Now, by contrast the multiple ropes that the workers had were at least double the thickness of what I have. Plus, they looked like they were from the 60’s, and I highly doubt they were dynamic. That means, when/if you fall, the rope doesn’t elongate at all, it just stops. Talk about a painful fall.
And it’s not even like my rope was expensive. I mean, if this is all these guys do, you can surely afford a $150 rope that weighs probably one tenth of what they currently have and won’t rip you in half were you to fall.
I don’t care how much you love a baseball team, or any sports team for that matter, this does not make it ok to drop an f-bomb when something does not go your team’s way. Especially at levels in which I can hear it on the other side of the gym. Additionally, this is not limited to f-bombs either, any sort of outburst of derogitory names or anything similar.
Oh, and wearing headphones with your music blaring while you do this makes it worse.
Summer is most definitely here, and on the correct weekend no less! As I type this, it is 81 degrees outside with 55% humidity. Welcome to the midwest.
To kick off summer right, Erin and I went for a bike ride. It wasn’t that hard to convince her to go, especially since she just got her new bike. We started out in Lemont at Waterfall Glen, and then headed down to Lockport and did the I & M Canal trail between Lockport and Joliet. Grand total, probably ~20 miles. Not bad, especially since we put in ~20 miles earlier in the week.
So, I had never taken the I & M Canal trail that far South out of Lockport, which means I had never seen the old steel mill ruins (steel mill closed in the 1930’s) that are down near Joliet either. Talk about awesome. I definitely need to get my camera down there. Certain parts looked like a bombed out town, and the old locks that are still in the old part of the canal are awesome too. It’s interesting to see what it used to look like through various photographs, because it sure doesn’t look that way now.
Oh, and for all you Prison Break fans (Aaron), the trail goes right by the old Joliet state prison, which is the one in the show. Definitely need to get pictures of that too.
