2011 is History. Total Miles and Song of the Year

34.64 miles for the last week in 2011.

2,232 miles for the year = 42.92/week.  Was it worth it?  Yes, and no.  Loved the incredible fitness and qualified for Boston. But the inevitable injury that happened due to high mileage meant that I had to run New York with one good leg.  The fact that I couldn't run for 8 weeks was definitely not fun.  Don't want a repeat of that in 2012.

Best song of  2011 is an instant classic about chillin' in New York by a woman from Oak Park:

Best running themed song of 2011 was also a #1 international super smash hit.  "All the other kids with the pumped up kicks, you better run baby run, outrun my..."

Indiana Dunes on the Day After Christmas

I went hiking at "The Dunes" yesterday.  Although it was mostly all walking, I did manage to run down Mt. Baldy.  Therefore, I credit the trip as a running trip and thus, I will post a couple of pictures here:

 Mt. Baldy

  Mt. Baldy

 Skyline in the far distance

Along with me, the only other people in the area were German tourists and a few die hard runners.  The runners are probably training for the Boston Marathon doing hill work.  They will likely be passing me with ease on "Heartbreak Hill".   Well, at least I ran 3 miles in the morning around pancake flat Welles Park!

Lakefront Run Pictures

Getting back into my marathon training.  Boston is about 16 weeks away.  So I have been averaging about 20 to 30 miles a week the last 4 weeks.  Mileage is low, but I have also been swimming twice a week at the Park District Pool. Trying not to overtrain, which seems to be my biggest problem.

Some pics from this morning's 7 miler:

 At the Montrose Harbor "The Dock" bar and grill where I dine during the summer.

 If you enlarge this, you can make out the Bahai Temple in the distance.

Someone had decorated one of the evergreen trees near the lake.

Santa Hustle 2011 Videos

I went to watch the 2011 Santa Hustle 5k at Chicago's Montrose Harbor yesterday.  A few neighbors were running and I wanted to see the thousands of Santa Clauses running.  Quite a sight!