Victory was Mine!

Success! This past week was very successful for me in terms of training. I think my body has finally adjusted to my new schedule and I didn't spend the week exhausted. So finally, I was able to fit in a regular schedule of workouts. 

I kickstarted the week Monday with a short run with my roommate who is recovering from a stress fracture and finally back on the running path! Tuesday was gorgeous weather and I took a nice long bike ride to Navy Pier and back. Wednesday is a long day for me at work, so I decided that could be my off day this week. I was back running on Thursday and followed that up with a bike ride to the bar for a couple drinks and home again. Friday I biked all the way up to Evanston for my classes. I was definitely biking faster in the morning, and found my legs a little less willing to perform on the ride home. 

But the legs were back and ready to work again Saturday morning. I didn't go run with the T2EA group since my pacegroup partner was out of town. Instead I mapped out a route through a different part of Lincoln Park that took me down to the local farmer's market. The market is my favorite mid-run stop, especially if I can find free maple syrup samples to give me a little extra boost for the run home. When I left the market I decided to weave through and along the new Nature Boardwalk. They really did a great job on this, and I'm not always a fan of the native plant look. So after a nice jog through this area, I decided to take a jaunt through the zoo where I caught the lions passed out in the sun... just like large housecats. How lucky am I to be able to jog through the zoo, just for fun!

Like I said... it was a successful week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this next week. Happy 4th of July!

Gonna Fly Now

It's been another busy week. 

Monday... I wanted to go running, but I came home exhausted and thought I would go the next morning instead. 

Tuesday morning... I woke up at 4:30 am to go running, and realized the streets were still dark and desolate. Not a safe place for a solo female runner.

Tuesday evening... I planned to go running, but after another exhausting day, I felt great about garnering enough energy to go for a brisk 1.5 hr walk.

Wednesday... severe thunderstorms and tornado sirens. So I swam a mile at 11pm instead.

Thursday... another very long day.

Friday... I had the morning free, so I got up and went for a nice 30 min run! Victory! It was meditative, it was stress relieving, it was successful.

No long run this week, I flew to Connecticut for a wedding instead. Now I'm back in Chicago, trying to come up with a realistic schedule for the upcoming week.... and upcoming 12 miles Saturday!

Running for a Better Life

I guess I better get this blog going now that T2EA Marathon training has officially begun. I will also be swimming/biking and running the Chicago Triathlon, but I'll write more about that in a later blog.

First, I'd like to share something very personal with you. Not too long ago, my 55 yr old uncle, Dr. David Yanase, passed his physical with a clean bill of health. Then just a couple weekends ago, he was feeling tired and decided to go for a run as he often did. Unfortunately, he didn't return home from that run. While running, he suffered a heart attack and died. The autopsy indicated he had 100% blockage in his artery. There were no indications that he had any heart problems. 

For me, this is further reinforcement that when it's your time to go it's your time to go and there's nothing you can do to stop it. With this in mind, I've thought about why it is so important to me to train for a marathon and the triathlon. I train for fitness, not because I care about prolonging my life, but because I want to be able to live every day to the fullest with the most energy, comfort and strength possible.

In addition, no matter what your beliefs are about life after death, the fact is, we are all here for a limited time. This is why I try and do/see/experience as much as possible. I don't want to be laid up in a nursing home thinking about the things I wish I had done, or places I wish I had seen but can't anymore. I also don't want to lay there thinking wishing I had done more to make life more enjoyable, or better for other people. But, one thing I hadn't really thought about, was the thing my uncle did best. He made sure that every person in his life knew his love for them. He left nothing unsaid.

So while I was pushing myself to run my timed 3 miler a little faster on Saturday, I thought about my uncle. I don't know how far he planned to run, or how fast he ran, or even his route, but I know he died running. Note to self: don't think of sad things while running. Getting choked up, doesn't help your breathing. So I quickly dismissed these thoughts, and instead thought of how this was the beginning of my journey towards improving my fitness for all the reasons I listed above. 

I checked my blog from last year and found out I completed the 3 mile run with about a 13:00 min pace. This year, I finished with a little less than a 12:00 min pace. I'm still not breaking any land speed records, but Hot Damn! I'm proud of myself. So, I'll keep on running, biking and swimming.... and I think it's time to cut back on the french fries and save my arteries.