New Shoes!

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill

On Friday I did my last run with the old shoes... after work I picked up my friend and we went to the running store so that I could take a few pairs for a spin on their treadmill. They helped me pick out a pair of Nike Zoom Structure Triax+ 14's ... they are so comfortable and extremely light weight. They are also Nike+ ready. This means there is a socket under the sole to place a small plastic sensor that will transmit data to a wristwatch that I have. It will track time, pace, distance, and calories burned for each of my runs. I can then detach the watch face and plug it into the USB port on my computer to transmit this data to Nike, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

I went for my first run with the shoes on Sunday, before I bought the wristband and transmitter. I put in 3.25 miles on the treadmill because it was raining. This morning my LEGS HURT!! I couldn't run this morning because it was just too painful. That's what I get for pushing myself... but the pain is already almost gone so I should be back on the path tomorrow morning.

Watchin' the Game with Kanye

On Thursday night I went to the United Center in Chicago with my girl and Kanye West to watch the Bulls play (and beat) the Miami Heat. It was a great game, I had upper deck corner tickets and a parking pass. This meant I got to drive my European sports car (a joke between my friends and me... I drive a black Audi TT) to the game and back. It also meant that I needed to keep my beer consumption to a minimum.

The game was very close, and we had a clear view of Kanye West in his court-side seat.

The Seasons Keep on Changing

"If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else." - Yogi Berra

Winter is starting to apparently dissolve into the sloppy mess that I call "pre-spring" ... but NOT SO FAST! We are expecting ten inches of snow tonight. This winter has been an emotional roller coaster, and I'm not just talking about my personal life. We are on track for the snowiest February on record! People like to say all these things like, "well yaknow when it's a snowy winter it means it's gonna be a great summer" or "yaknow when we get a mild fall it's gonna be a crazy winter" ... well this year it WAS a mild fall... and it HAS been a crazy winter. But I digress -- tomorrow's run might be on the "dreadmill"

The seasons keep on changing, soon it will be spring. But for now it's still winter, and this one just won't let us forget it!

If I keep pushing myself harder every day my potential might be limitless. I know some hardcore runners out there who probably laugh when they read my blog. Maybe in a few weeks I'll read these articles and laugh at myself, too. Today's running prescription was four repetitions of three minute runs and one minute walks followed by four more repetitions of one minute runs and one minute walks. If you don't run, and you think that sounds easy, GET OFF YOUR ASS AND TRY IT. I made it through the whole routine without flinching. My muscles are starting to get used to this and I logged a total of 2.65 miles. I'm starting to get close to the 5k mark (3.1 miles) and then it will just be a matter of improving my time.

Finding Myself by Losing Myself

"The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn." - David Russell

It's been pretty easy... this life of mine. It sometimes feels like things are handed to me right on cue. But every now and then, just when life seems to be clicking along there is a breakdown and I'm forced to struggle with something. Well for the past couple months I've been fixing myself after one of those breakdowns. When a long romance comes to an end, it forces one to take stock of themselves and find out who they are on their own. I needed to do some searching. This running thing is probably one of the biggest changes I've made to my lifestyle since high school. I never thought I'd become one of those guys I see jogging on the path at 7 in the morning, but here I am. I don't know where this is going to take me, but I love the new struggle because it's different from the old struggle.

I skipped a run and took a rest day yesterday because I needed to vote and the track was covered in frozen rain and fresh snow. That's how I find myself on day 7 after only 6 days. I didn't want to fall or twist an ankle, so I sort of chickened out. The upshot is that I vote at the Margate Fieldhouse, which has a public gym operated by the Chicago Park District. The price of membership is a paltry $17 each month, so I got membership through the end of March. Now I can run on the "dreadmill" there if and when the weather is not conducive to running outside. "What would that entail?" you may ask... considering I am willing to run in rain and in sub-freezing temperatures. Well, if it's pouring rain or if there are slippery icy conditions, then I'll resort to the old hamster wheel. Otherwise, it's all outdoor running for me.

That brings me to this morning's run. It was about 25 degrees outside (that's Fahrenheit for you foreigners, and it equals about -4 Celsius) and there was still some ice leftover from yesterday, but not enough to keep me off the path. I put on my not-made-for-running shoes and my sweatpants and hoodie and started off on my daily run. Today was pretty simple, just six repetitions of two minute runs / one minute walks. Somewhere around the fifth repetition, my right knee started to feel a little sore - but I was able to walk it off and the pain didn't come back.



As you can see, the shoes I'm attempting to run with are not quite what's prescribed for running. I'll need to head over to the running store and use their treadmill so they can recommend a more suitable pair before I injure myself! The good news is I made it all the way through today's run and also snapped a few nice pictures of the lake in all its icy glory. I think this is finally starting to feel like a routine, but I know I have a little way to go before I'm ready to run a 5k ... but I think I'm past the most painful days. The hardest part of this journey was starting to run in the first place.

"It's okay, good days and bad days"

That's what Jen said when I told her I couldn't complete today's run. I was already thinking the same thing, and had planned to make it the subject of today's blog. Today I needed to run five repetitions of two minute runs / one minute walks, and then five more repetitions of one minute runs / one minute walks. I pooped out at the third rep of the second set. I felt very defeated, but tomorrow will be the same routine so I get another chance to kick ass.

In every daily routine, I think we encounter good days and bad days. I recently got out of a ten year relationship with somebody and I have days when I feel happy and optimistic about my future and days when I think about all the could-have-beens and what did I do wrongs. For today's run, the weather was not cooperating. It was windy, a little rainy, hovering around 35 degrees. My legs were sore, my lungs felt like they might explode, and I was dwelling on the relationship and the loss of the Eastern team in yesterday's NBA All-Star game. Some of those things had a greater impact than others, but they all weighed on me. But my legs and lungs will recover. I've found a new romance. And the All-Star game doesn't matter anyway - The Bulls are still kicking ass!

“It is inevitable that some defeat will enter even the most victorious life. The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated...it is finished when it surrenders.” - Ben Stein

When I fall down, I get back up and fight on. This is not a surrender! I will recover and I will succeed.

Day 2 - 3 weeks to 30 minutes

"Aim at the sun and you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if you had aimed at an object on a level with yourself." - F. Hawes

Ouch! When I got up this morning, my legs were stiff... but what good will I do if I don't push myself. I gulped down some water and sat on the computer for a while working up the nerve to face a 28 degree morning run. Finally at 7:45 I pulled on my hoodie and shoes and hit the sidewalk. It's Saturday so there were more people out running this morning than yesterday, but still plenty of room for me to huff and puff my way along the lakefront path.

Today I did the same thing I did yesterday, one minute of running followed by one minute of walking ten times in a row. For some reason it felt a lot harder than yesterday. I found an interval timer for my Android phone, so that helped a little. Every time I felt like giving up, I imagined various people who have motivated me to push myself throughout my life... from my scoutmaster shouting, "PICK IT UP SPENCER!!" to Harriet Green (CEO of my company) telling me, "find your extra degree!"

Tomorrow is going to be a rest day, so I'll blog about something else... but so far I'm feeling pretty good about this running thing. I'll need to get a better pair of shoes before too long or my legs are going to stage a coup.

Day 1 - 3 weeks to 30 minutes

I decided to start RUNNING ... not to get away from anything but instead to get into something new. I don't think I am out of shape and I'm certainly not overweight, but I need a new hobby and one of my best friends has been running the Chicago Marathon for the past few years. This, and Lüc Carl's "Drunk Diet" blog have inspired me to begin a brand new running regime.

I signed up for an email course on about.com that is meant to coach me into a daily 30-minute running habit. Today was my first day... this morning at 7:30 I walked out to Lincoln Park along Chicago's lakefront and ran. I walked for 5 minutes, then did 1/1 run/walk intervals. This means I ran for a minute and then walked for a minute - ten times. Then walked back from the park. The weather was a little brisk and now I know I should probably wear a hat for tomorrow's run! I feel good today, but I always feel pretty good, so I don't think that's necessarily from the run. I feel like I accomplished something though. It also feels like I'm starting a project that will have no end but can only make me a better person.