Centennial (just like the Cubs)

The 100th post. Really I wish I had something more profound to write but I don't. I just smashed 8 days of clothes into a teeny tiny suitcase that I still have to check tomorrow. First time in nearly 1 1/2 years that I need to check luggage. I am sure it will get lost. That's how it rolls with me. Bad luck. I accept it and move on. I got a workout in sort of then of course I drank too much wine with dinner. This time so not my fault. I was not going to open the second bottle but Jacob wanted to so I obliged ;) But I am convinced I will not stay up much later and will miraculously wake up early to go for a run in the chilliness tomorrow a.m. before the flight. I am actually excited to wake up early in Florida on Weds for a run outside though! yeah! I hope there is somewhere to run on the island...Oh and the Cubbies lost. Go figure. I didn't go to Wrigleyville for the game (thunderstorms anyone) but it was a fight until the 10th. here's hoping they got the first game jitters out of their system and they sail all they way to the World Series!!! (ha) And I have decided after today's game I need a Fukudome t-shirt. yeah that's a real last name - I am not creative enough to make that up.

Getting it Done

I haven't necessarily been the dedicated runner over weekends. Things keep coming up and this weekend was going to be no exception. Yet another bridal shower for a different friend this time. I know it may seem like I have a lot of friends. It just so happens that my two closest friends (and pretty much only friends in Chicago) are getting married the same month. So in my case it means busy weekends and a little need for some pre-planning which I am not too good doing. I knew not much was getting done tomorrow since the dang shower is a brunch and starts earlier and goes until mid-afternoon. Long day and I would be tired later. Instead I got my mid/long run done tonight. It's a mid distance run to others but the longest run I have done in awhile. 7 miles! In the cold. Yeah I was wearing shorts two days ago to run and today dressed in running tights, warm running turtleneck, gloves, and a hat. Spring where are you? I know I keep asking but all I am feeling is this cold, crappy weather. Maybe next week. After the Cubs home opener. Because if you are a true Cubs fan you know that there is never a warm home opener.

This week also brought about my last week of freedom from traveling for work. It was a blissful month of not having to go to the airport, hang out in an airport, get lost going to my hotel, so on and so forth. But as of April 1st I am traveling again. At to kick it all off a freaking 8 day meeting. It is going to suck. These kick off meetings are long. Think 7 am - 10 pm at night with approximately a 1 hour break. I may be going to Florida but I don't actually get to enjoy Florida. It could be in South Dakota for all I care. We sit in a conference room, have breakfast and lunch in a different conference room and are transported on a huge bus to a long dragged out dinner to schmooze. I despise schmoozing. I have no reason to schmooze. But before I leave on my last day of freedom I am going to bar to enjoy the home opener. I can't wait!

just one of those days

Today was one of those days. You know the days. Where not much seems to go right and everything is wrong. I woke up to one of my Lead leaving a freakout voicemail at 8 am (yeah I work from home so I don't get up until 9 when I'm not traveling). Then my computer kept freezing and took an hour to re-start after I shut it down. Plus freaking Chipotle put rice in my burrito bol. Don't they realize I am trying to be good and I don't like oil fried rice? That's just the minor crap that happened. Today was just crap pile upon crap right up until 5 pm. At 5 I was able to break free for a run and for 30 glorious minutes the day was mine. Everything was right. And I was happy. You really have to love it when that happens :)

Wardrobe Malfunction

While digging through my long sleeve running shirt drawer. And yes, I have separate drawers in separate rooms for my running long sleeve, short sleeve, shorts, and pants. It's sad I know. While digging I found a sweet shirt I haven't worn in a long time. Score! Now to find some shorts. Hmm... where are those navy blue shorts that match this sweet top. Found those. Then when running I realized why I probably haven't worn this sweet shirt that matched these shorts. I hate the shorts. They suck. The right short leg rode up to the nether regions the entire 5 mile run. Guess I need to buy some new shorts ;)

I went slower on the run (averaged a 9:20) to get back into things as I didn't do much this past weekend. Whenever I go to central IL to visit Jacob's parents I eat like crap and work out very little. Although with the exception of chicken wings on Friday and cheese fries on Sunday the rest of my eating went better this time. But I still didn't workout. And the bad eating combined with sitting around makes me feel gross and I can't wait to get back to the city. So today I was happy to be running and back in the swing of things. Not that it's this horrible place to be but I can seriously only handle so much of my future mother in law. This time I got to break up the trip to go to my friends bridal shower so I got a bit of a break. However with this wedding coming up both future in laws are inquisitive and have an opinion on EVERYTHING! I am sure if my mom was still here she would be driving me up a wall too. However I only have my dad who is like "where do I need to be, how should I dress , and how much is this going to cost me" other than that not too involved. I know everyone cares and is very excited but sometimes it is just too much. And I was very happy to also hit the pavement running to get rid of some of that stress!

8 inches

That title can be taken the wrong way...

Just got back from my 2nd outdoor run in 2 days. That never happens! I very rarely run 2 days in a row just b/c I get so easily burned out and prefer getting some cross-training done especially when the weather is just okay out. Anyways it was going to be an easy run and I wanted to get a long run in tomorrow before I left to go to central IL for a friends bridal shower. Then I looked at weather.com. HUGE SNOW STORM coming tonight! What the hell. I am so over snow. 8 inches of heavy wet snow and ice. So yeah that changed the running and going out of town plans a bit. Instead I was so annoyed with the upcoming weather system I went out and decided to do a quick 5k instead of some easy schmeezy run. I would have gone longer but Jacob was supposed to be back to take me to lunch (yeah that didn't happen so I totally could have gone longer). Anyways it was a great 5k and I am looking forward to improving it even more in the upcoming month.

lap 1: 8:31
lap 2: 8:13
lap 3: 8:12
lap 4 (0.11 miles) : 7:31

Look I ended up in the negative - wahoo! These afternoon lunch runs are good for me ;) I hope to run the Run to Wrigley in or under 25 minutes. I know this seems slow but is a vast improvement over my time last year at this race.

Hey There Sweet Thang

The sun crept out today so that meant I absolutely had to go for a run. Its bright rays tricked me into thinking it was warmer than it really was though. Oh 50's and 60's when will you get here already? Except for the chill it was a good lunchtime run on the lakefront. Completely uneventful. I think I may have passed 2 people under the age of 80. Not too many non retired folks making it out there in the afternoon right now. I ran 4.5 miles at just under a 9 min/mile. I like getting my runs done in the afternoon. I feel like that's when I am at my peak. Plus with not many people (bikers, runners, random people walking to/from the fields and parks) or cars it is very relaxing and much easier to get into the groove. Hopefully I can continue to make the time to get out there over lunch more often.

The one thing that ruins a good run is the 1/4 mile walk back to my condo. It's a busy street in not the greatest neighborhood in the city (I swear it's coming around). Why is the men in this neighborhood (1/2 of which do NOT have a job so they have nothing better to do than walk around at 2pm and check out women) need to make some cat call or comment to any chickety with ta tas? I know I'm one hot piece of a** especially after a run but do these guys really think that I am going to be like all "hey baby how about you and me..." Yeah, not so much.

Have your cake...

I had a very productive and non-productive weekend. How is that possible? Well it was productive on several wedding issues but non-productive in every other sense of my life. We had 3 cake tastings. The first one on Friday was extremely disappointing. This well established, and expensive, bakery called Thursday to confirm the appointment then Friday 3 pm rolls around and they are not ready. We waited for nearly 30 minutes. Ridiculous. Plus the cake and butter cream frosting were both extremely disappointing. But we still had 2 more to go on Saturday. We ended up staying out a little to late on Friday night and Saturday morning rolled in way too soon. I think I may have been slightly drunk or at the very of beginning of a hangover when we met with the 2nd bakery at noon. Not so good eating very rich cake and sweet frosting and fillings first thing. The owner knew her stuff and was nice but also slightly pushy. The cake was much improved from the day before so it made up for her wanting to make a deal attitude. She really does some amazing things with cakes too! Great thing in talking with pushy lady was she had a zillion florists to refer to me. She went super high at first and I laughed but then she told me to walk two storefronts up the street and visit the family owned floral shop in her neighborhood. Let me tell you this is such a cute place. The "mom" was super sweet and quoted me on the bridal party flowers nearly half the price of quote I have received elsewhere. I may have found a winner! We asked her how she can do that and she told us she loves what she does, charges enough to pay the bills rather than over charge to make a huge profit. You have to love that. But back to cake tasting we decided to take #2's quote and see how it compared to the last place. The last place is an old European bakery that has been around for over 40 years and is still absolutely heavenly. However after cake stop #2 , #3 fillings didn't even compare! #3 came in slightly under cost wise but I'll pay the difference for the fresher fillings.

So the cake winner is tier 1 - carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, tier 2 - chocolate cake with raspberry preserves and chocolate mousse, and tier 3 - yellow cake with strawberry preserves. That's the cake above except it will be with light blue swirls and smaller pink flowers. I hope everyone else enjoys my cake b/c I think I am caked out.

Oh and the weekend was non-productive b/c I barely got a workout in and I slept the remainder of my Saturday away once I got home around 4 pm.

Thursday Update

Not much to report on today. It was gorgeous here in the city mid-50's. I hear it's not going to last; just a teaser day. Jacob actually went on todays run with me and that rarely happens. But that means although I have someone to run with I have to change things up and not go as far. Since we only just about 3.1 miles I threw a couple 400-800 sprints in there. That didn't feel good but it is a reminder of what I need to work on these coming months.

lap 1: 9:01
lap 2: 8:43
lap 3: 8.49
lap 4: 9:31

In one month we have the Run to Wrigley 5k. I know only a 5k you say. I love this race. I have run it every year and I love seeing the progression of the race and organization every year. Plus it's cool to end under the Wrigley marquee after running through Wrigley (no not the field unfortunately). It will be the boys first race in a over a year. I'm a bit worried for him. As long as I keep getting him outside a couple times a week he should be okay. This may be the one year I'll beat him! I'm looking forward to this race it's a time when all our non-runner friends make an appearance and run their one time a year.

Friday and Saturday bring the cake tastings. Bring it on! And with that I will definitely need to get a workout, or three, done. But hopefully by Sunday I can have that second to last vendor checked off my list.

I have a problem

I need help. That's the first step, right? Realizing you have a problem. Well I have a problem. It is an affliction I am sure many a 9, 10, and 11 year olds have dealt with. I am addicted to my Wii. I have done little else since it arrived yesterday via my weirdo UPS man (seriously he creeps me out. There are days I wish I hadn't moved just so I could have my old very nice UPS man back delivering to my house) My arm hurts from my forearm up to my shoulder from playing so much tennis. I am nearly at the pro level and kicking Jacob's butt everytime (well not EVERYTIME but enough times). I am a poor sport. I hate to lose. I have little Miis. (This is the little wii guy that is supposed to look like you). I have bowled so many times I have a new ball color because I reached a certain level. I am even thinking about asking my friends if they want to come to my house for a Wii bowling party. I seriously need help. But it is so much fun!!!Thankfully it is supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow so I have no excuse to not go outside for an hour run. After yesterday's sad attempt I need to get back out there to redeem myself. No, I don't want to discuss yesterday's run. It was just one of those days that 4 miles got done but it wasn't pretty. Now I need to go and get back to my tennis game...

Not Quite 30

With yesterday being the big 2-9 I didn't do much in the way of running. For my birthday I treated myself to junk food and doing nothing. Normally I celebrate a birthday week but I decided to scale back a bit this year ;) For breakfast I treated myself to an Einstein bagel with not peanut butter but yes...cream cheese. Delish! I have been craving one for weeks. And I normally don't eat bagels so that was a weird craving for me to have. At Einsteins' there were a group of runners meeting after their morning freezing snow covered run. I have to say I was a bit envious of their gusto on getting out there and running in the nasty stuff. Later last night Jacob took me to Buca de Bepo, family style Italian at its best. I know this is a chain restaurant and I have many delicious and different restaurants to choose from in our huge city but buca is so yummy! He surprised me and had 4 of my friends meet us there and of course there was too much wine and food. But if you can't do that on your day then when can you?!? So needless to say I didn't get much of anything done today either. So lazy. And so not happy this weekend also brought the spring forward junk. I hate losing an hour and I think this whole changing our clocks twice a year is whack.

Oh and after weeks of calling around Jacob's dad was able to find a Wii this morning! I was all sad yesterday when Jacob told me he had been trying to find one with no luck in the city of Chicago, central IL, AND northern Ohio. But then today Best Buy was advertising them, Jerry went to ask, they got a shipment of 50 instead of 30 and there were 8 left. Wahoo!!! It is going to be in my hot little hands before the end of this week. I am soooooo excited. Can not wait to bowl and play tennis to my hearts content.

Milkshake

"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard and they're like..."

Every time I put on my running tights I think of that fantastic song by Kelis b/c my booty is just so big and it's exaggerated even more in the tights. Then when your fiancee joins in on the singing you definitely know you need to run to try to make the booty smaller. I think it may be hopeless in my case. Or maybe it's just the tights ;) Anyways I made it outside for another run. It was a beautiful sunny 36 degree day and I actually got a little warm during the run. Regardless I am excited to get the deep freeze that is coming (just in time for my bday) over with so we can move into spring.

here are the numbers...slightly better than Sunday's action.

lap 1: 8:53
lap 2: 8:53
lap 3: 8:47
lap 4: 8:46

Tonight I am meeting up a friend I haven't seen in nearly 6 months for some sushi. Whenever we decide to actually meet up she always asks if I like sushi. I am starting to wonder if that's all she ever eats...I'll have to ask her.

Oh and wedding drama #2 for the week. My florist bailed with 5 1/2 months until the wedding. Sweet. I have some new leads but the majority are already booked for our day. Hopefully I'll find someone absolutely incredible and for the right price before the end of the week. A girl can dream.

Sunday Recap

Instead of writing my 3 reports that are already 2 days late and completing 2 expense reports (you really think I would would want to be reimbursed however today I just can't be bothered) I am going to write a short blog. Priorities I tell ya. So yesterday I got a run in!!! Yea!!! And 6 whole wonderful, glorious, albeit sometimes water logged miles. We had a taste of spring. And yes I consider 42 degrees the start of spring. I was slower than usual but not so bad for not running in ohhhh 3 weeks. And pretty impressive I could still throw down 6. Here are the mile break down.

lap 1: 9:18
lap 2: 9:35
lap 3: 9:45
lap4: 9:39
lap5: 9:31
lap 6: 9:33

It felt great and the whole way I kept, well, trying to not fall on my a** or get soaked from the ice that had melted into small rivers on the path. That and wishing I could have the running laminator's times even with a broken clavicle. Even though I haven't been running I have been more focused on strength workouts and cross training. But I am looking forward to getting out there more and improving those numbers.

I have decided to pass on Chicago Marathon this year and am kind of torn up about it. Next year. With all the crap that is quickly happening every single weekend out of town I just think it is going to be too much. But I want YOUR recommendations for November or early December marathons. I think that will give me enough time to train around this wedding thing I have going on this year. I may decide to only do the 13.1 several times this year instead we will see. (If you haven't figured it out it takes me awhile to make up my mind about everything)