A friend talked me into signing up for the Inaugural Chicago Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon. We signed up in March and the race is August 2nd. As of yesterday morning, my longest run was about 4.5 miles -- quite a long way from the 13.1 that I promised to run in just a few weeks.
So last night, I decided to push and see if I could run 8. If I could do that, I could push to 10 next week and finish the race with a bunch of walk breaks. The goal is just to finish right now. No breaking personal records -- although my time for the half is horrible.
At 5:15 last night, I decided to head out. That way, I could have a few beers after my run and could relax on Sunday. London was a crankmeister and demanded to come along for a ride. He hadn't taken a nap and I thought that he'd enjoy a nice relaxing hour (or two or three depending on how long it took me). Still, the kid is 30 lbs and the jogging stroller is at least another 10 which made the few "hills" (aka slight inclines) miserable.
We ran 5 miles in the sun which is always difficult for me. Not to mention my lunch of hot dog and chips with queso wasn't the best fuel. Still, we made it. I dropped London off at home and finished the last 3 miles without the extra weight and finished right in front of the beer store. (My cool down was my walk home from the beer store. Motivation is key for success.)
I thought that I'd be a mess after my run and that today I'd barely be able to walk. Au contrar mon frere. Besides the goofy clicking sound from my knee joints and sore feet, I feel great. Barry gave me a supplement called Acid Zapper before my run that is supposed to do something with the lactic acid generated when you exercise. You take 1 pill for every 50 lbs. -- so I took 3 -- about an hour or so before you exercise. I wish this stuff was around when I was training for marathons. It's so nice not to have super sore muscles today.
So, one long run down and a few more to go. Next weekend I'm at the Car Craft Summer Nationals in Minneapolis. Downtown Minneapolis has a great running path along the river, so I may try to get my long run in while I'm away from the kids. I wonder how many extra calories I burned pushing a toddler?