I'm Gonna Do Another 26.2

These shoes were made for running

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 21:43:00 +0000

...and running, and running, and running.

Folks, I am here to tell you that Saturday was our 16-miler, and both Agnes and I finished it with relative ease. Which is to say: it was really hard. But compared to my 14-miler agony, it was a breeze! What a difference the weather makes...

Saturday was overcast and drizzling a bit as we made our way to the 31st-Street Beach running location. This is not where we usually go, so I was simultaneously looking forward to a change of scenery and dreading the unknown. The weather actually gave me hope, as I was (and still am) convinced that I was knocked out during the 14-miler by: a) the sweltering sun and b) improper hydration in the week leading up to the run. This last week I did a much better job of drinking water and I could tell the difference even as I was getting ready Saturday morning. I felt more energetic, and I didn't feel thirsty at all. And when I saw the weather, I was heartened because I wan't going to have to deal with the sun so much. The temperature was mid-70s.

Right away when we started I felt pretty good. To run 16 miles starting from the 31st-Street Beach location, we first run 4.5 miles north to Oak Street Beach (just north of Navy Pier), then back past our starting point, then 3.5 miles south (just past the Museum of Science and Industry)

...okay, apologies... I started this post days ago and got to that last bit before I got interrupted, and I only now have been able to get back to it! The thrust of it was that the 16-miler went really well. We took the gels that we knew that we liked and hydrated really well and all in all it was great. The one thing that I wish that I had done differently was to have done a better job applying sunscreen. I run wearing a racing singlet, which exposes the backs of my shoulders to sunlight, but I forgot to apply sunscreen there. So I ended up with a totally sexy patterned sunburn that looks kind of like this:

Anyway, tomorrow is a recovery distance run of only eight miles. Thank goodness!

And a quick fundraising note... look up there! > $4000 and there is still time! So if you haven't donated, or you want to donate again, or you want to pass this along to someone else, now is the time. Thanks so much for reading and for helping me to raise this money!

Take care and I will talk to you again soon...

Holy crapola

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:56:00 +0000

Okay, so maybe the fourteen-miler kicked my ass. Maybe.

The truth is that the fourteen-miler kicked my ass, rubbed my face in the dirt, and made me say "My name is Kenny and I like to eat poo poo" until I finally burst into tears and started begging for my mommy.

I don't know for sure what it was, though I have theories. For one, I'm pretty sure that I was dehydrated. I did an okay job of hydrating the day before, but I think that throughout the week before I was having too much caffeine (a diuretic, though there is evidence that it might not have as large of an impact on hydration as previously thought) and not enough water. Another thing was that the heat and sun were just brutal. The third possibility (and the current front-runner in the race for Kenner-ass-kicking causation) is that I am fat and still not in good enough shape.

Whatever the reason, I was really struggling. We ran from Foster down to Oak Street and back, and by the time we were turning around to head back I already knew that I was in trouble. My group was good to walk a full interval with me to let me try to get back in my groove, then we ran again. But in the last mile, after a bird defecated on my shoulder, I decided to walk again. The ignominy! Agnes walked with me and then we ran in the last quarter mile or so.

It bears mentioning that Agnes was in strict contrast to me; she seemed like she could have gone on for miles. She only walked because I was walking.

Yes, I like to think that I function as the anchor in this relationship. Get to know me and I can drag you down, too...

Anyway, I plan to bounce back. I am hydrating better this week and this morning's 40-minute run felt pretty good. This weekend we are scaling back again to just do seven miles, and I am glaaaaaad. The next week is sixteen miles, and I'm hoping to handle that a little bit better.

Fourteen is only two times seven

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:45:00 +0000

Howdy, kids. Welcome to another installment of Kennerpiece Theatre.

Just got back from this morning's run, about to hop in the shower. Agnes and I really did not feel like running today, but we did it. And, as usual, we are glad that we did. As I've mentioned, the weekday runs are only forty minutes, so it's not really the distance that's the problem. It's the getting up out of bed so early! Evening is not a good option so our only real choice is to do it in the morning. That means we have to haul ourselves out of bed while it's still dark, and that is just not my nature.

Anyway, the run didn't feel very good at first but I loosened up over time and by the time that it was over, I was feeling pretty good.

I have skipped over a few updates (sorry!), so to bring you up to speed... we ran our 12-miler a couple of Saturdays ago at Mount Magazine State Park in Arkansas. Hold on, though, before you get to enthralled by the majesty and wonder of running along beautiful nature trails; we ran it in the workout room at the lodge there. It was just too difficult to try to measure out twelve miles precisely up on the mountain, so we opted to do it where we knew that a) we would do the correct distance, and b) we would not be attacked by bears. Anyway, it went pretty well. The only lowlight was afterwards, when I (gross) finally lost that toenail that was giving me trouble. Things have actually been a lot better since it came off, so I don't really mind. That toe hasn't hurt at all. But... now the same toe on the other foot is having the same problem. I'm pretty sure that it's my shoes that are causing this phenomenon. In any case, I'm actually just sort of hoping that the other toenail comes off soon, too. Because it's really no big deal, and that puts a stop to the pressure pain on the toe. (end gross)

In gel news, for the 12-miler I had Powerbar's Double Latte, Gu's Orange Burst, and one other that I forget. I really liked the Double Latte one; it was less like a gel and more liquid-y, making it more like doing a shot of coffee than a throatful of gel. Plus, it has 50mg of caffeine, which punched up my run a bit. The Orange Burst one was less enjoyable.

Last Saturday was a six-mile recovery run with our pace group, who we rejoined after a couple of weeks' absence. It was good to get back with our group. We will definitely all need to support one another for next week's run: fourteen miles. Get ready.

Hope all's well with all of you out there... thanks for stopping in and reading! Have a great day.

Double digits

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:24:00 +0000

Hello again, friends. Hope you are all having (or, did have) a great weekend. On this end, Agnes and I ran our 10-miler today! We normally run with our pace group on Saturdays, but because of various things that we had to get done in a very small amount of time, we had to miss yesterday's group run and instead do it ourselves today. Anyway, it really went pretty well. We are both groaning and complaining about various aches and pains now, but I think that we really did a pretty good job and don't have that much to complain about.

But don't get me wrong... I am sore.

This week we are starting to really step up (read: "start") our cross training. So far we have been running almost exclusively, but we really need the cross training both for additional endurance and to strengthen our respective core muscles. We have put together a plan to make this happen, now it's just a matter of execution!

As I said, the run today was pretty good. Part of this was that yesterday we went by Fleet Feet and bought scads and scads of different flavors of gels. For those of you that don't know, "gels" are little packets of... gel. They are very accessible carbs and other nutrients like sodium and (in some) caffeine. The prescribed method for running these long distances is to consume carbs about every 45 minutes of prolonged activity. So, in today's run, we had half a Clif bar each before we started and then we had two gels during the run. Now, gels are not the kind of thing that you would ever reach for when you want a snack, but they are just the ticket when you need that quick carb boost during your run. I like those with caffeine, as well, though you have to be careful because, of course, caffeine is a diuretic. Anyway, today I had the "Espresso Love" and "Lemon Sublime" flavors of GU brand gel. I'm here to say that the Espresso Love was pretty tasty, and maybe it was the 2x caffeine content, but I definitely felt a little bit of a boost. Later, the Lemon Sublime was somewhat less satisfying. It tasted okay, but it made my water (which you always want to use to chase your gel) taste a little bit funny. But later, when I had to (gross) belch (end gross), it actually lent a pleasant taste to an otherwise generally un-pleasant-tasting occurrence.

I will keep you informed about gels. Because I know you want to know alllll about them.

I realize now that I mentioned gels before, so I probably didn't have to give the whole "Gels: what are they?" description. But oh well.

Anyway, otherwise, I'm not having any significant pain in my training so far. Fingers crossed!

More later. Have a great week, kids.

K

40-minute clank

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:45:00 +0000

That was how I felt about my 40-minute run Tuesday morning, like I was a big bucket of clanking, rusty metal parts. It always feels a little bit rough at the outset, but usually things improve as the run progresses. Not yesterday. It was just an off day, and they definitely happen from time to time.

Part of it was that my stomach was a little bit upset and the city parks bathrooms are always somewhat of a crapshoot (no pun intended ...well, maybe a little). One was missing toilet paper, another was infested with flies. And meanwhile I continued to feel like I was going to physically fall apart at any moment.

Hopefully my next run (with Agnes again!) will be better. Until then...

K

8 miles down

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 04:37:00 +0000

Well, after checking in with Agnes (after my last post), we decided to go ahead and run separately this week. Because of her travel schedule it made more sense for her to go ahead and run her 8-miler while still in Poland. So, I went ahead and ran with our pace group on Saturday.

This weekend's run went so much better for me. I remembered to bring a gel this time and I seriously think that it made the difference. When we finished, I still felt pretty good, and that was after a pretty hellish two weeks, the details of which I will mostly avoid here. But I will share that the night before I had undergone a very emotional experience--giving up the dog that I raised from a puppy for the last 5+ years--and I was pretty emotionally exhausted. But while I started the run with creaky bones and rusty joints, by mile 2 I was feeling pretty good. By the time it was over, I felt great.

And, even better than that, Agnes got back safe and sound, which has been terrific!

Anyway, one of the people in our pace group has a friend who is a photographer, and he has been taking some photos of us while we've been running. If anyone is interested in checking those out, they can be found by clicking here.

Have a great week, everyone, and thanks for checking back in. And, thanks to everyone who has donated! I really appreciate it.

Yesterday, and sunburn

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:20:00 +0000

So work has been rough since I got back from Europe. We had a really big deadline and after some loooong hours we met it on Tuesday. So my boss told me to take Wednesday off.

I spent the day doing some errands and hanging out with my dog. And, of course, running. Because of the crazy work schedule of late, I hadn't run since our 7-miler on Saturday. Not good. And boy, could I feel it. My joints were very stiff, and I had difficulty getting into a good rhythm. I took it a little bit slower than I've been running lately, and after about 2 miles I started to feel okay again. By the time I was done (40 minutes, so ~3.5 miles because of the 5:1 intervals), I was feeling pretty all right, and like I could definitely have kept going for a while. Because I need to get a second run in this week, I am going to run tomorrow (Friday) instead of taking the day off like we normally do before a big run. Then, I am going to miss Saturday's 8-miler and hopefully run it the next day with Agnes!

That's really good, because I have missed her a lot while she has been gone. But one thing I also have to confess to her: I got a sunburn. She and I have gone back and forth about when we need to put sunscreen on and when we don't. I never wear sunscreen for early morning or late-afternoon to evening runs, because that's not when you get burned. But for the long runs, it's pretty necessary because even though we start at 8 a.m. we won't leave to return home from the run site until about 10:30 at the earliest, and to return from there we are generally walking about 1.5 miles, fully exposed to sunlight. And that's burnin' time, folks.

Well, as could be expected, this Saturday I forgot to put on the sunscreen that Agnes is always reminding me to wear (see how I need her?) and by the time I got back to my condo after the long run I was a little bit cooked. It's actually been a couple of years since I had a sunburn, so it's been interesting to re-experience.

Okay, have to run, but just wanted to do a quick update. Hope all's well with you all!

Lucky number seven

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 03:03:00 +0000

So our group (minus Agnes -- please come home Agnes!) completed our 7-miler yesterday, and this was really my first tough run. I mean, not that there haven't already been challenges. But this was the one where I really hit a point of fatigue and didn't recover well. We were at around mile five and I just started to notice that I had NO energy. I hadn't thought to bring a gel or an energy bar or anything, but that was definitely the time for it. Instead I just struggled through. I finished all right, but I really didn't feel very good when we were done.

No more running without gels! You're supposed to take in some carbs about every 40 minutes or so, and this was a pretty clear reminder of why that's a good idea. Also, I need to do a better job of doing the recommended cross-training. I'm still failing to keep up with that very well.

Oh, one other thing about yesterday's run... and this is sort of gross so if you are squeamish at all, just skip this paragraph. Okay, for those of you that are left: I got my first bad blister. I first noticed it after my run in Ireland, but I thought it was just a bruise on the second toe of my left foot. I remember occasionally having those from last time. But after I took off my shoes on Saturday I realized what it really was. The reason I was confused was because it was sort of (start gross part) black and blue and under my nail. Ew! Anyway, it's drained now (end gross part) and doing better. ...What, what? Too REAL for you??! Awwww hell. Kenner be sharin' ALL the nitty gritty details!

Anyway, things have been a bit hairy since I got back from Europe. Work and dog drama have led to me being a bit frazzled, but I'm happy to use running as an escape from it all! Once Agnes gets back things will be better.

Okay, I'm trying to get some work done so I have to get back to it. Tomorrow morning is another 40-minute run, we'll see how it goes. Have a great week, everyone.

K

Feet back on the ground

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 21:52:00 +0000

Happy 4th of July, all! I hope that you are all out there celebrating safely and having a lot of fun.

I have returned to the US and just wanted to update you on how everything is going. On Saturday I was still in Paris, and I had to check out of my hotel by 11:30am. Running that day's 6-miler before then wasn't really an option, and of course I didn't want to run it after that because I couldn't take a shower anywhere. So, I just burned some time wandering around the city until my evening flight from Paris to Dublin. And, when I say "burned some time," what I really mean is "moped around because I missed my girlfriend, who left earlier in the morning to continue her vacation." I was very seriously bummed.

Anyway, my flight to Dublin was delayed and when I finally got there, the hotel where I had my reservation told me that -- despite the aforementioned reservation -- there was no room for me at the inn. They shunted me off to a different hotel, a lot further away from Dublin proper. This one was still in Dublin county, in a small little town called Ashbourne. The hotel was gorgeous (only 3 months old!) and my original hotel paid for my stay even though it was more expensive than what I had paid them. So that was nice.

I didn't have a map of Ashbourne or any readily identifiable way of estimating distances, so instead of trying to measure out 6 miles precisely, I just went for a 70-minute (ended up being about 72 minutes, actually) run in and around Ashbourne. The hotel was outside of city limits, so I got to see the Irish countryside as well as the town and its lack of much to see at all. The run felt really good. The temperature was moderate, and there was a light mist in the air. I would have taken the camera but for that mist and the weatherman's promise of scattered showers. But I did take a photo in my room, before I took off:

Why do I always have to try to make it look like I'm running? Did I think that anyone viewing this would actually think that I was running through my hotel room? I'm a dork.

Anyway, as I said, the run was great. But then, once I was cleaned up and ready for some lunch, I realized that I was just too tired from a week spent traipsing around Paris and then running that morning to take the bus (~1-1.5 hours) to Dublin, and Ashbourne didn't really have anything to entice me. So, as lame as it is, I ended up just hanging out, reading, in the hotel bar. I had both lunch and dinner there, as well as two (I chose moderation, as I am in training...) of the best pints of Guinness that I have ever had in my life. I wasn't sure if I'd even notice a difference between what I drank there and what I get here in Chicago, but it was no contest. Sweet, sweet nectar of the brewing gods... Guinness. Love.

So, I returned to the States and have actually been confronted with some pretty serious health issues with my dog that came up while I was away. Too much to go into here right now, but I'm really wrestling with some difficult choices and just thought that it bore mentioning.

Lastly, I went for our normal 40-minute run yesterday evening. I ran a little bit faster than normal (and missed Agnes a great deal - I have really grown accustomed to running with her) but still felt pretty good when I was done. It was good to get back on the path here lakeside, but hardly anything can beat running along the Seine and under the Eiffel Tower. Not to mention that the flies were out in FORCE on the path last night. Yuck!

Okay, that's all for now. Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to bring anyone who is following all of this up to speed. Tomorrow is another 40-minute run, then Saturday is the 7-miler!

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check back later!

Quick note and a photo!

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 11:58:00 +0000

Hey there, everyone! I am here in Paris, sitting in an Internet cafe, but I wanted to take a minute to let you all know how it is going. We have done two training runs since we got here, and let me tell you: it is pretty awesome to run along the Seine and under the Eiffel Tower! Here's a photo from our run a couple of days ago. The quality is pretty bad (the computers in the Internet cafe are not set up for good image manipulation) but you can get the idea. I will replace this photo with a cleaner version when I get back to the States. (Update: the photo has been cleaned up and replaced. Also, you can click to see a larger version!)

Okay, that's all for now. We are going on more adventures. In a few days I will do my 6-miler in Dublin and will fill you in then.

Take care!

Kenner

5 miles, and WHOOSH!

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:20:00 +0000

Hey there everybody. I don't have much time to fill you in, as in about 10 minutes or so a cab is going to show up to whisk us away to Paris! But I just wanted to let you know that we ran our 5-miler this morning here in Chicago (not in Paris, as I originally thought that we would do because I thought that our flight was in the morning) and everything went well. Very well, actually, as both Agnes and I felt pretty good and also felt that we could have easily continued if we had needed to do so. Hopefully the 6-miler in Dublin next week feels as good, though I doubt it will because I will be running it alone instead of in our group. It's amazing what a difference it makes.

We are going to be stopping by Internet cafes and such while we are abroad, so I will try to post more.

And thanks to everyone who has donated money to the cause! It means so much to me. If you have donated and do not see the amount that you donated reflected in the total posted on my page, don't fret. It takes 2-3 days for the donation to get processed by the AIDS Marathon people.

Okay, cab calling, time to go! Take care all and thanks for coming by!

Kenner

4 miles down

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 02:43:00 +0000

Howdy, kids. Did the 4-miler today, not too much trouble. I rolled out my I.T. bands when I got home and I am hoping that doing some proactive work on that will help me avoid the problems that I experienced the last time I trained for a marathon. I'm planning out what all I need to take with me to Paris so that we can keep on track with our training. We'll do our 5-miler in Paris and then I will do the 6-miler on my own in Dublin on my way back to the States.

Let's see, in other news... one thing that I need to do is to get myself some of those socks that keep your feet at a ninety-degree angle when you sleep at night. When I wake up in the morning, my calves are cranked so tightly; that's left over from the last marathon, too. It makes my feet hurt and I need to get on top of it if I am going to avoid that being a problem, I think.

Okay, have a few things to take care of before bed so I'd better sign off. Thanks for coming by!

This is my first test post

noreply@blogger.com (Kenner) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 22:31:00 +0000

I just need to see how this thing is going to look. I'm not sure yet how I plan to use this blog, if it's solely going to include training information or if I may let other things bleed in. Only time will tell, I suppose.