iPodding It for Four Miles

4.0 miles (39:16.44 - 9:49/mile)
1.0 miles hard walk

total: 5.0 miles

80°F
Current: Clear
Wind: N at 3 mph
Humidity: 51%
course: Glenbard South track

Carried my iPod as I ran. Not so easy. 80 GB is heavy. It has, at least, a billion songs, all of them very long. Some heavy metal (get it?) Seriously, it is heavy from a running perspective. If I'm going to do this, an arm band is in order, or a smaller iPod.

I'm tired, and tomorrow will probably not run. I added a mile today, and kept my pace around 9:50. My last lap I picked it up a bit more than I should have, to 1:57 for the 400 - 7:48 pace.

Someone asked me why I log a hard walk. True, in the grand scheme of accumulating LSD, it isn't even a junk mile. It, though, wear-and-tear on my body, especially as I am cannot yet claim fitness. My Achilles hurt, for example. I also burned a good 100 calories in that walk.

Fourth day running within seven days. Haven't done that in many months. February 2009 was my last decent month of running.

(purchase one of these bad boys and I'll get a cut from Amazon)
Apple 80 GB iPod AAC/MP3 Video Player Black (5.5 Generation)

Illinois Marathon - May 1, 2010 - Your Thoughts?

I'm not commited yet to run the Illinois Marathon. Too early in getting fit again. Quite seriously thinking about running at least the half.

I chose it because it is relatively close (2.5 hours away, I have friends in the area, and it is not a massive race. Also, the course sounds fairly flat.

Any readers of this blog have a runner's viewpoint on the quality of the race?

Nothing to Crow About: Three Miles Logged

3.0 miles (27:07.93 - 9:03/mile)
1.0 mile hard walk warm down

total: 4.0 miles

73°F
Current: Cloudy
Wind: N at 0 mph
Humidity: 53%
course: Glenbard South track

My want to lose five pounds by August 31. This means running as many miles as I can log, and a sensible diet. Starting back into running, though, I must add miles carefully.

I'll be aggressive, but I fought the temptation to pop on another four laps. Added up, I need 165-170 miles if I rely on running alone. I don't have enough time to get that done by then.

My pace was satisfying on the lonely track.

Two crows flew sentry, diving close to the football field, looking for snacks wandering in the grass.

Each mile was 9:03. I don't click my splits, and so all times are rolling guestimations.

Suspicious heat. My guess is closer to 80. I get the weather from typing my zip code and the word 'weather' into Google.

Smokey Gets in My Eyes as I Run Three

3.0 miles (29:00.60 - 9:40/mile)
1.0 mile hard walk warm down

total: 4.0 miles

77°F
Current: Cloudy
Wind: N at 0 mph
Humidity: 49%
course: Glenbard South track (see photo)

Mile one, about 10:00
Mile two = 9:27
Mile three = 9:33

COD's track is being rebuilt. Not sure when it will be done. This meant tonight's gallop would be at a new place, the nearby Glenbard South track.

I'll be sore tomorrow, and do not plan to run until at least Monday. Tonight was a good sweat, the second in a week.

Meanwhile, tonight, Smokey sings just down the road.

There and Back Again: Coneflowers Are On the Move

3.4 miles - 33:29.93 (16:42 out, turnaround :03, 16:29.93 back) (9:51/mile)

73°F
Current: Clear
Wind: E at 0 mph
Humidity: 57%
course: COD Loop

finish
71°F
Current: Clear
Wind: E at 0 mph
Humidity: 59%

A slow run, tis true, but it is the longest in a long while. No apologies. No excuses. Thanks to Bob Vishanoff for encouraging me to get out there today. Mind you, he told me as I sucked down a chili-cheese dog and fries and he looked as fit as ever.

Beautiful coneflowers crept outside a fence along the road. I thought how I felt them. My face flushed purple, all hanging low, yet trying to bloom. The sun shines on both myself and the flower.

My new old friend Loretta suggested I think about the famous Disney tune, "It's a Small World." So I did. And I thought how it fit so nicely with the themes I have been dwelling in as of late in the rest of life (obviously running has not dominated my life much recently). Besides thinking a lot about my international friends here, I am inviting my Facebook friends together for an evening of coffee at a favorite cafe, bringing into one place, so some degree, my worlds. One world. As the title of my personal blog says, "All of It: One Man, One Place, All Said." I hummed the tune, and wondered.

Valerie Bertinelli Runs Half-Marathon

2:12 (about 10:05/mile).

Pretty impressive given she recently went from 172 to 123 lbs. Jenny Craig is winning big with her successful celebrity endorsement. Losing weight is one thing, but doing it while gaining fitness is even better. Some decent running too at age 49.

Way to go! See Valerie Bertinelli here.

I'M A RUNNER: SARAH PALIN - Runner's World Interview

Runner's World this month landed a great interview. She knows running. Sub-4 marathoner.

Stories From Real Runners
I'M A RUNNER: SARAH PALIN
The former Vice Presidential candidate opens up about her running life and explains why she's still on the trail.

Runner's World (1-year)

Just One Mile in My Shoes

1.0 miles - 9:48/mile

total: 1.0 miles

78°F
Current: Mostly Cloudy
Wind: E at 0 mph
Humidity: 53%
course: neighborhood loop

Just a mile.

Easy Mile Counterclockwise on a Sunny Road

1.0 miles - 9:50/mile

total: 1.0 miles

79°F
Current: Partly Cloudy
Wind: E at 0 mph
Humidity: 51%
course: neighborhood half mile loop

The goal was just one mile. After I couldn't fit into a pair of pants I wore last year, I knew things were in trouble.

Nothing more.

Volunteer or Run the PADS Run/Walk 5K - September 12

I helped guide traffic last year at one corner. Will I run this year or help? Either way, I'm involved. Any area runner will know where PADS HQ is. It is where the zero marker is at the Prairie Path.

Just show up between 6 – 6:30 am on Saturday morning September 12 at the PADS HQ at the Zero Mile marker of the Prairie Path at Liberty and Childs. If you volunteer, a volunteer shirt will be provided.

PADS Run/Walk

Saturday, September 12, 2009
8:00 a.m.
PADS Support Center
703 W. Liberty
Wheaton, IL

Join us as we hit the streets of Wheaton to End Homelessness. 2008 brought us over 500 people who ran or walked with us to end and prevent homelessness in our county. Registration is now available online. Raise $125+ in donations and your registration fee is waived! TEAMS are encouraged! Call Jen Williams at 630-682-3846 x242 for more information.

http://www.dupagepads.org/difference/community_events.html

Two Miles Around the Block

2.0 miles (16:52.84 8:26/mile)

total: 2.0 miles

72°F
Current: Cloudy
Wind: E at 0 mph
Humidity: 71%
course: neighborhood half mile loop

When a man steps out to workout after a long layoff, he cannot help be insecure. After all, he weighs more, and that added weight is not muscle or handy capillaries. No, no. It is pure fat, as if purity were the issue here. Solid fat? Hardly. That's a contradiction. Nothing solid about it. Just fat. It is heavy to cfarry, it heats up the body, and, the most important thing -- it does not help.

That's me, and more. An especially challenging week needed flushing out, and I have time today. No rain, not yet.

I tossed on my togs.

With my stiff neck, I wondered if I would last. My goal was a humble 15:00. I ran a little more.

My splits? I dare mention them. How did I speed up that much? I need to pace better.

0.50 - 4:28
1.00 - 8:50 (8:50)
1.50 - ?
2.00 - 16:52 (7:02)

1.62 Miles With Dreams of Pork Chops

1.62 miles - 15:10 (9:21/mile)

total: 1.62 miles

66°F
Current: Mostly Cloudy
Wind: E at 0 mph
Humidity: 64%
course: neighborhood loop

Mosquitos, pork chops, pork and beans and decent run. Felt well enough.

Tomorrow Begins Tomorrow

When else could tomorrow begin?

I have a couple mid-week days off this week, and intend to put them to good use.

Allistair Cookie presents Chariots of Fur (Parody of Chariots of Fire)

Given I have not run enough to even post as of late, I looked for inspiration in a classic source. Which runners are legendary? Grover and Cookie Monster.

Allistair Cookie presents Chariots of Fur
Parody of Chariots of Fire
my review of the actual movie
my review of the actual soundtrack