Sausage Fest Fun Run Recap

Declan's Daughter Loving Sausage Fest

Last night was the First Annual Charity Fun Run and Sausage Fest (aka "Wurst Fest") which took place at Anne's. I arrived there around 6:30pm, just in time to help lead the fun run. I stupidly wore my wool IceBreaker shirt, which although it has the advantage of being odor-free, it has the disadvantage of getting super sweaty looking super fast. Needless to say, it looked like I had stood under a sprinkler when I got back from the run. Luckily, I changed into my Chicago Brauhaus t-shirt shortly after our return.

Here is the awesome 3.1 mile sausage course laid out by Maggie:

Sausage Fest Charity Run Map

I helped Bob and Maggie lead the sausage runners, and I also acted as the official sausage photographer. Suffice it to say there were lots of Chicago Running Bloggers in the group, and a fun time was had by all (except when I heard a few grumbles when I led the group over the grass in Welles Park)!

Here are the pictures. Instead of spending time tagging everyone, I will just do a photo dump for other bloggers to borrow and then they can tag as they want!

Chicago River Bridge at Montrose:

Oh yeah, there were butt shots:

In Horner Park

 After about 30 minutes, we arrived back at the party to find Sausage Fest in full swing:

Declan had to get his butt shot in, as he was resting and didn't do the sausage run

Anne's dog doing a keg stand

Sausage Time!

Raffle Time!

#WRCE minus Declan and Erin

T-shirt of the night?

A fabulous time was had by all. Looking forward to the next sausage get-together!

Fleet Feet Pint Night Run #2

The second summit of our newly formed running club WRCE, took place last night at the Fleet Feet Pint Night run in Lincoln Square. I was "running" a little late, and missed the pre-run meetup at the Fleet Feet store. On my way up to the event, I spotted a gaggle of runners crossing Western Avenue at Wilson. I figured the WRCE members were probably either in that group or pulling up the rear. Luckily, I spotted them on the other side of the street, pulling up the rear.

Declan pulling up the rear with a traditional butt shot

Erin, Unknown Runner, Anne and Maggie crossing Western Ave.

I jumped in the group and we ran about 1.75 miles to the Chicago North Branch trail turnaround.  I crossed over the bridge to take a look at the progress at the North Park University track. It would appear that they are almost done with the renovation of the track. It looks pristine and appeared and smelled freshly painted:

North Park University track is almost done. It will be fun to test it out soon!

Then it was turnaround picture time:

WRCE (less Declan)

WRCE (less me)

After stopping off at Fleet Feet, where we got our free pint casino chips, we headed over to The Grafton. We were joined at our table by some random dude. This dude didn't like racing too much, especially distances over 5k because he says they are boring. Declan and I both ordered the delicious fish and chips and split some hummus. Maggie got a huge beer that I initially thought was a bottle of wine:

Maggie, her giant beer (with photo bomb by Erin)

After some stimulating conversation, including discussing t-shirts, websites, a potential WRCE 5k, and the Grand Geneva 5 miler, we left. We walked as a group down Lincoln Ave, and one at a time, one of the group would peel off and walk their separate way home. Next meeting is on Thursday for Sausage Fest '13. Looking forward to eating lots of sausage! I am bringing the sauerkraut!

Chicago Marathon Training: Week #1

So, the answer is "Yes", I will be training for the Chicago Marathon. After all, I will be profiled for the Chicago Tribune's Chicago Marathon edition and how lame would that be if I didn't run the actual race? I also got lots of positive encouragement from other bloggers, so I decided to test the ankle out and see how far it will take me in the next 7 weeks of training. Last week, I ran a total of 15.7 miles 8:08 pace. Nothing spectacular, but it's a start and I think my ankle was able to handle the load.

Blue sky

Tables at Fullerton

This morning (technically week #2 of marathon training), I did a run/walk to the lake to see all of the air and water show hub bub. Not much was going on, I think the lack of military jets this year may have cut back on the crowds. 

Looking South

This morning my run/walk to the lake and back was 10 miles at 8:38 pace.

This one is for Gingerfoxxx: Republic Services, servicing Fullerton Ave. and LSD

Lake Michigan Reflection

So, I'm super excited to be back running and especially to be back on the Trail again. Only seven more weeks, we'll see how this goes.

Rationalizing Running the Marathon. A Perspective from Injury Jail

Since I put myself in "injury jail" a few months ago, I have mentally run through several thousand reasons for and against running my up-coming marathon. One moment I'm all, "I simply can't run it", and the next second I'm all "What the heck, I'm gonna run it!" and I'll come up with lots of reasons to support my statements. These rationalizations range from the rational to the irrational. Here are just a few:

Pro Marathon Attempt:

1. I already dropped the $170 on the race so why not have fun just trying to cross the finish line?
2. If I at least walk/crawl to the finish line, I get a medal, and those medals are worth money, maybe even $100, which along with hawking my t-shirt would recoup most of my money!
3. I may get interviewed for the Chicago Tribune's marathon edition, and of course I wouldn't want to be featured in the newspaper and end up not running the race!
4. My doctor, after a two minute examination yesterday, gave me clearance, despite my symptoms
5. Maybe the current state of my ankle and foot is just how it is going to feel forever, so why not get on with the running?
6. It's not just any marathon, it's the Chicago Friggin' Marathon.
7. The Chicago Friggin' Marathon will likely go to a lottery selection system next year, so it may be my last chance to run it, at least for a few years.
8. Everyone else is doing it.
9. I could use a run, oh yes, I could really use a run!

Me at the start of the 2012 Chicago marathon (Yellow Hat at tip of arrow)

Anti-Marathon Attempt:

1. The $170 spent is already spent no matter if I run or not
2. I could do further damage to whatever is causing my leg issue (even though my doc gave me clearance), thus throwing my fall/winter training in jeopardy
3. If I over-train and then run a semi-fast marathon, it may take me maybe a couple of months to fully recover, thus setting my training back for a potential fast Spring marathon
4. I've only got about seven weeks left to train and thus, it won't be a pretty marathon. Likely it will be just a slog. If it's hot that day, it will be a death march.
5. If I simply rest for the next 8 to 10 weeks, I may feel a lot better heading into the magical fall/winter running season
6. It's only a race, just focus on getting better

I have been patiently waiting for my legs to "unwind", hoping that this would put less pressure on my leg nerve and stop the tingling feeling. However, my dogs don't ever seem to want to relax. They still feel "battle-hardened" and tight. This is probably from all of the abuse I gave them earlier this year. In fact, I bet they could handle the punishment of a half marathon right now, that's how tight they feel.  If I play my cards right in seven weeks I could probably get them to handle 20 miles. If I throw in 6.2 miles of walking, I should at least be able to cross the finish line in one piece. But will it be worth it?

2012 - Pre Race

So do the pros outweigh the cons?

Going to the Doctor. Finally.

So, I was in the ER about 10 days ago. I'm okay, just an infected elbow that I might have gotten while I was doing crunches on a hotel gym mat. A few days (and a round of antibiotics) later, I had a follow-up appointment with the doctor who had been treating me in the ER. It turns out his actual office is in a sports medicine clinic and he (unbeknownst to me) is a doctor specializing in sports medicine. So, after my appointment I decided to ask him about treating my tingling ankle. He said, sure he could look at it, but I needed to make another appointment. So make another appointment I did, and tomorrow in addition to looking at my elbow, I'm hoping he can give me some kind of prognosis. I'm thinking he'll say one of the following:

1) Just rest it for a few weeks (months)
2) Here's a prescription to see a physical therapist and you can start to rehab it
3) Surgery is the only solution
4) Keep running, there's not much we can do

Actually, I would be happy for him to say #1, #2 or even #3, as either of those would mean I would start on a road of recovery guided by an actual doctor. #4 would stink, but at least I could keep running and start training for a walk/crawl Chicago Marathon.

So, by complete coincidence, fate has landed me in the hands of a sports medicine doctor, someone that I should have probably seen 8 months ago.

I'll see what happens tomorrow.

In other news, I was at Lollapalooza. I had an awesome time!

Saw this at Lollapalooza on Sunday