Friday, March 25, 2011 at 7:00AM This quote has been inspiring me to give 1,000,000% in my running workouts lately:
"Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months, and years they spend preparing for it. The performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character." - T. Alan Armstrong
Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 7:00AM 
Today's post is about iPods and running. Lots of runners like to listen to music while they're out on the pavement... Lil Wayne, Black-Eyed Peas, Usher, Beastie Boys - whatever gets us going! For a very, very long time I operated off of all kinds of playlists... I had a 3-mile playlist, a 4-mile playlist, a 5-mile playlists - all the way up to a 16-mile playlist... after which I switched to audiobooks for the SUPER long runs.
Then Bossyboots came into my life and started running with me. Bossyboots does NOT listen to an iPod while he runs. I thought he was nuts. I mean really... a 10-mile run is a recipe for major boredom, if you ask me. A couple hours alone with my thoughts? No thanks - my mind is NOT that interesting. I just thought Bossyboots was silly, but... whatever! There's also the fact that running with music is not the safest choice - it hampers your ability to hear danger, whether it be of the auto or human variety.
Then one day, I gave a non-music run a try - surprise, surprise, I found I liked it. I think I was bored before because I wasn't paying attention. Actually, there's quite a lot to look at and listen to just on the street. I just wasn't looking for it before. If I get all spiritual about it, I think I was using the iPod to separate myself from the people and places around me - so that I could zone out in my own little world. Running without music is a pretty different experience than running WITH music, in a good way. You become one with the run - how's that for hippie dippie?
I can't say that I will always always run without an iPod, but I haven't used one in a long time, and for right now - it's my favorite way to run. I enjoy hearing the birds in the trees, the kids playing in their front yards, friends chatting in the streets, feeling the air whoosh by my unencumbered ears - I'm a fan.
Of course Bossyboots will use this as an opportunity to say "See, I was RIGHT!" ;)
Would you give running without music a try? If you try it, comment here with how it goes!
Sunday, October 17, 2010 at 1:31PM Just over a week ago, Bossyboots ran his very first marathon - here in the Windy City, his hometown! The Chicago Marathon is one of the world's major marathons. It's a Boston Marathon qualifier, and the city literally shuts down because there are hundreds of thousands of people crowding the streets. The race caps out at 45,000 runners, and sells out within a matter of weeks every single year.
As a briefer, check out this cool YouTube vid that shows the Chicago course from the runner's perspective:
I get tired just watching that video!!
Anyway, I took this year mostly off from endurance running, so I was excited to be a spectator this time!
Our day got started EARLY. 4:30a to be exact. Painful.
People that try to drive downtown on Marathon Day are kind of ridiculous, since many roads are closed, and you are dealing with literally hundreds of thousands of pedestrians. Anybody you see downtown is walking to the starting corrals. The subway is full of runners and drunk college kids - which often turns into hilarious people watching.
Bossyboots ran the marathon with one of his best buds, and then us two girlfriends were set up to meet them at miles 2, 13, 17, 22, and the finish line. We deposited the guys at their starting corral and took off to snag a spectator spot at mile 2.
The sidelines are PACKED, but the air is eerily silent. We're all waiting for the runners!
Finally, you can hear the roar of the crowds start to float down the street, and you know the wheelchair start is rounding the curve....
Ten minutes of quiet, and you can hear screaming, shouting, cheering for the Elite runners... I can't even tell you how shocking it was to see these guys streak down the street. They are SO ungodly fast. They run 4:45 minute to 5 minute miles... at marathon pace. This was definitely one of the highlights of my day, as a spectator. When I'm IN the race, I don't get to see them - this was actually my first time to watch Elites run. There are runner jokes about Elites - for instance, the funniest thing I overheard was one "average" runner joking about how his marathon race goal is to finish the half before the Elites finish the full. The funny thing is - these runners tend to finish the full in about two hours!!! Sheez. Elites also tend to be wearing the least clothing - it's a rule or somethin'.
Then came the crushing push of everybody else. Runners of all abilities come to Chicago, so you get to see a huge mix of peeps. There are serious runners, people in costumes, people running to fundraise, young people, old people, first-timers, and people that run the Chi Marathon every year. It's truly one of the sports events of the entire year.
Unfortunately, one tough thing about the Chi marathon is that you never know what the weather will be like. Last year, it was FREEZING!!!! A couple years before that, the race was infamously shut down due to high heat - lots of people went to the hospital, including my good friend J-Rock, who is an experienced runner. It was really, really awful and so dangerous. I can't even imagine training so hard and then getting derailed by weather. A good end to my friend J-Rock's story is that she ran the 2009 Chicago Marathon and owned it! You just never know what will happen here.
As you can see by the photo below... we had a hot year this year. Running in temps over 70 really sucks a lot - not only that, but it can get dangerous: heatstroke, exhaustion, dehydration, you name it.
Bossyboots said that by the time the runners made it to Chinatown (mile 22), it was like a funeral procession. Almost all the runners were walking and feeling defeated - at that point the temps were over 85 and the race alert system was at RED, the highest and most dangerous level. Temps were at 88 the year they shut the race down in 2007.
Bossyboots and his friend Dave reminded themselves that they only had a few miles left, and pushed it to the end, running in to the finish line.
Look how excited this guy is to be finishing! You could literally feel the relief coming off the runners. The hot weather made this a rough day.
Bossyboots looks a lot better in this photo than he felt! He was definitely limping and couldn't wait for an ice bath!
Watching the Chicago Marathon this year was so fun - I loved being a spectator! Here are a few helpful hints if you have friends running an endurance race, and you want to support them!
HINTS FOR SPECTATOR SUCCESS:
1. First of all, if you have a friend or family member who is competing in a long race, definitely get out there to support them in person!!! Those cheers and encouragement aren't just icing - they're necessary. I can't emphasize this enough! Cheer for your friend, but also cheer for everyone else. This is a totally normal thing to do - the runners won't think it's weird. In fact, you'll probably see some of the competitors with their names taped or written on their shirts - that's because they want you to call out to them "Hey Joan, you're doing GREAT!" If they can, you'll likely get some "thank yous" from the runners in return!
2. Race Day is a long day for the athlete, but it's a long day for you, too! Make sure to eat a substantial breakfast. Marathon Morning, I had french toast and potatoes. Know that your runner will most likely have their own breakfast regimen and probably won't eat what you're eating. When I'm running, I eat a Power Bar and a banana. However, YOU aren't running, so go nuts with the yummy breakfast foods!!! ;)
3. Create your spectating plan at least a couple days in advance of the race and communicate that plan to your runner. Bossyboots and I had sat down and worked out the best places for me to try to meet him along the course. He knew exactly where to look for me. Also, plan out when you'll need to walk or take public transit, etc from point to point. Make sure they know which side of the street you'll be on - Bossyboots knew that I would always be on his lefthand side.
4. Be flexible and don't get disheartened if things get messed up. One of our meeting sites was supposed to happen at mile 22, in Chinatown. Our train to Chinatown was a total FAIL. It took us 25 minutes to travel two stops (it should have only taken us 10 minutes.) We had to drop that meeting site and just go straight to the finish line because we knew we wouldn't get to mile 22 before our runners. Thankfully, our friend Goober was spectating in Chinatown, so Bossyboots DID have a friend there to cheer him on anyhow! She even ran with Bossyboots for a little ways because she could see how much trouble he was having with the heat. <3
5. Be respectful to other spectators, and especially the runners. See this lady below? She drove me nuts!! She kept inching her way off the sidewalk (where the spectators were supposed to stay) and moving herself INTO the street (where the runners were trying to run!) Ugh. It started an avalanche of hundreds of other spectators nudging further and further into the street, and there were no officials to drive them back. Yes, you are there to cheer YOUR runner, but remember there are thousands of other people trying to run 26.2 miles. Their morning is tough enough, don't make it harder.
6. Also respect camera and sign etiquette. Don't stand in the street with your camera held high waiting for your runner. Stay back so that you don't obscure others' sightlines. When you spot your runner, lean out to get your shot, and get right back in line. When you are dealing with a crowded race like the Chicago Marathon, everybody has to work together to maintain that positive environment that the runners so appreciate. Same thing for signs - don't knock other people with them or hold them in a way that blocks people out.
7. You've been up since 4:30a. Starbucks - in the evil Venti size - is A1 necessary.
I have to say, spectating was so so fun! It got me excited to run the Chicago Marathon NEXT year though! I can't wait to figure out my 2011 race schedule.
What about you? What are your best spectating tips??
Advice, Bossyboots, Running Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 7:00AM This may or may not be a surprise to you guys, but I don't really believe in diets - at least not the kind that are restrictive or wild and crazy or where you're starving. Certain eating plans are better than others - for instance, you all know I've got the love for Weight Watchers. WW taught me how to cook and how to eat healthy food that didn't roll off a conveyor belt. It really changed my eating habits forever. For me, WW has been a great addition to my life.
Here's why I have a problem with diets... So often, I hear girls on diets talking about how much they hate themselves. They talk about how fat they are or how ugly or gross they are. Seriously? If somebody called you fat or ugly, you'd deck them - right? They'd automatically be on your sh*t list, and you'd tweet the heck out of badmouthing them.
So why is it ok to talk about ourselves that way?
Listen, I am all about having a hot bod. Sometimes my weight is a bit higher than I'd like or I'm flabbier than I want to be, in which event I Weight Watcher the daylights out of my eating. I lay off the cheese a bit and up the lean protein. Sometimes, I feel like a failure for gaining five pounds. I felt pretty crappy for gaining fifteen pounds last year after my marathon training was over. Since then, I've been paying better attention to really eating what my body wants, and that weight's been coming off - nine pounds of it so far. So you see, I get the whole "watching your weight" thing.
Sometimes, I even feel bad about myself, but then I realize I am being crazy. Because you know what? There's nothing wrong with me. Any bad thing I have to say about my body is just neuroses, and... nobody thinks self-abuse is okay. Girls that are constantly talking about how disgusting they are drive me insane. It's just... no.
I guess for me, I just really can't stand the whole self abuse thing. Where does that come from? Don't say the media, because that's such an excuse. We all have our own brains. I am well-aware that I am not a model or an actress. I am not going to be ridiculous and blame some TV marketing campaign for my lack of independent thinking.
I guess this turned into a sort of rant. Time for some cheese. ;)
Advice, Weight Watchers Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 7:00AM Emergency funds. These are the things that your parents talk to you about. It's that rainy day account - that pocket of money to tide you through the rough patches.
Do you have one?
I actually DO have an emergency fund, and it's about two months away from hitting my goal. Americans don't tend to be so great at saving, but with the credit and housing crash... I'd be willing to bet a lot of us have seen the value of socking money away!
I've always been a saver, but I found that my saving became EONS more effective when I created rules for myself. For instance:
Also...
Consistency is the most important thing. I don't skip payments into my account so that I can buy a new dress. If I ever feel the inclination to skirt my rules... I just remember that it's not a matter of IF I'm going to need this emergency money, it's WHEN. People lose jobs, have a medical emergency - I'm going to need this money at some point! I cannot even tell you how much peace of mind it gives me to know that if I lose my job or somehow find myself in dire straits... I won't be in crisis. I will have backup funds to buy food and pay my rent. Don't be fooled - emergency funds are an absolute necessity.
What about you - what are your very best tips for saving your dollars? What did I leave out?
EXTRA CREDIT: Other Helpful Money Posts Across the Internets:
Living Within Your Means: Nodakademic
Hidden Costs to Home Ownership: FortyTwentyFour
Why Rent When You Can Buy? US Meets UK
Affordable Groceries: That Wife
Savings Schmavings! Parenthetical Me