So Oregon was really fun, and Portland was a cool city. I tried to keep my training going, but dialed down the intensity for the week (it's vacation, people). Eileen and I had an awesome time. I'd say that my running highlight for the week was taking a long run in Portland...we ran from downtown up a fairly large hill to the campus of Oregon Health Science University. We got kind of lost but then ended up running in this protected woodland area right beside OHSU. So having a single run comprised of city streets and complete wilderness was awesome.
Since then the training has been going well; I ran a 15-er the day we got back from Oregon and this morning I ran a 12 miler, with 2 breaks at one of the parks along the lakefront path to do some chinups on the monkey bars. I'm a little nervous about how the athletic obstacles will affect my running, because it is hard to get into a rhythm again. I figure I'll just pace myself and do my best.
3 weeks to go! Keep sending me good vibes.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Consumer Report
So, I ordered a Flat-D.
I think this might be too much information, but then again, so is this entire website.
Anyhow, I'm happy to report that for anyone who is interested, the product is (as Borat might say), a great success! It really deodorizes as promised.
The irony of the situation is that I have been considerably less gassy (almost next to nothing) since the product arrived, so I don't really much reason to use it. Hey, that's good news, too.
If you have days when you are a little stinky (like I do), I would highly recommend this product (even despite its sketchy website ).
Now my wife loves me again.
;)
I think this might be too much information, but then again, so is this entire website.
Anyhow, I'm happy to report that for anyone who is interested, the product is (as Borat might say), a great success! It really deodorizes as promised.
The irony of the situation is that I have been considerably less gassy (almost next to nothing) since the product arrived, so I don't really much reason to use it. Hey, that's good news, too.
If you have days when you are a little stinky (like I do), I would highly recommend this product (even despite its sketchy website ).
Now my wife loves me again.
;)
Woo-hoo!
I finally reached my max training mileage yesterday morning: 15 miles.
I am going beyond the distance for the Urbanathlon (approx. 12-13 miles) because 1) I don't know how winded the obstacle courses are going to make me, and 2) I only trained up to 22 miles for the Marathon 26 years ago under the assumption that "the adrenaline of the day would carry me through the last 4.2 miles." What a load of hooey.
I was excited because the weather was perfect for running, and I finished the whole 15 in 2 hours! So holding 8 minute miles made me happy (especially because when I was in 6th grade I couldn't even run 1 mile in 8 minutes...so I'm healing old psychological wounds). The cool thing about running this time of year is that while running North (I ran to the Shedd Aquarium from Hyde Park), it was all dark, and as I made my way back home, the sun started to rise. So it was like I was running in two different locations since the trail looks completely different with and without sunlight. On mornings like yesterday, it makes me think that I should go out for fun runs like that even if I'm not training for something.
But I know that without the goal/motivation, it ain't gonna happen.
Best part of yesterday: no resistance from the GI tract. Yay for my body!
I am going on vacation with Eileen to Oregon for a week, so this will likely be my last post for a while (maybe I'll get one in on vay-kay).
I am going beyond the distance for the Urbanathlon (approx. 12-13 miles) because 1) I don't know how winded the obstacle courses are going to make me, and 2) I only trained up to 22 miles for the Marathon 26 years ago under the assumption that "the adrenaline of the day would carry me through the last 4.2 miles." What a load of hooey.
I was excited because the weather was perfect for running, and I finished the whole 15 in 2 hours! So holding 8 minute miles made me happy (especially because when I was in 6th grade I couldn't even run 1 mile in 8 minutes...so I'm healing old psychological wounds). The cool thing about running this time of year is that while running North (I ran to the Shedd Aquarium from Hyde Park), it was all dark, and as I made my way back home, the sun started to rise. So it was like I was running in two different locations since the trail looks completely different with and without sunlight. On mornings like yesterday, it makes me think that I should go out for fun runs like that even if I'm not training for something.
But I know that without the goal/motivation, it ain't gonna happen.
Best part of yesterday: no resistance from the GI tract. Yay for my body!
I am going on vacation with Eileen to Oregon for a week, so this will likely be my last post for a while (maybe I'll get one in on vay-kay).
Monday, September 10, 2007
Party Time: Details
Both the Urbanathlon and our Fall Event at Harry Caray's are little more than a month away.
And Marla and Allen are getting married the weekend after that!
But I digress.
If anyone is wondering what the night is like, it's tons of fun. It's all you can drink, and it's GOOD alcohol, not swill like at a college kegger, in case someone out there has reservations. The food is also a selling point (for me, anyway): tons of fried goodness, but also healthier options (broiled chicken and lean steak skewers, veggie platters with hummus, fruit salad, etc.) for more health-minded individuals. Since I will have run a half marathon and done some ridiculous obstacle course stuff that morning, you can direct me straight to the chicken wings and Carol's cookies.
Mmmmmm...Carol's cookies.
The silent auction always has good stuff too: restaurant gift certificates, trips to exotic locations, tickets to Chicago places (Sox games, Shedd Aquarium, etc.), spa treatment kinda stuff, and then many one-of-a-kind items (hockey sticks autographed by Blackhawks players, framed photographs or works of art, etc.).
So if any of this sounds good to you, come out and support us!
Or even better, if you want to help us get stuff for the auction, ask your favorite establishment/well-connected friends to lend a hand.
Email girf@earthlink.net and they can tell you how to help out the Associate's Board.
And Marla and Allen are getting married the weekend after that!
But I digress.
If anyone is wondering what the night is like, it's tons of fun. It's all you can drink, and it's GOOD alcohol, not swill like at a college kegger, in case someone out there has reservations. The food is also a selling point (for me, anyway): tons of fried goodness, but also healthier options (broiled chicken and lean steak skewers, veggie platters with hummus, fruit salad, etc.) for more health-minded individuals. Since I will have run a half marathon and done some ridiculous obstacle course stuff that morning, you can direct me straight to the chicken wings and Carol's cookies.
Mmmmmm...Carol's cookies.
The silent auction always has good stuff too: restaurant gift certificates, trips to exotic locations, tickets to Chicago places (Sox games, Shedd Aquarium, etc.), spa treatment kinda stuff, and then many one-of-a-kind items (hockey sticks autographed by Blackhawks players, framed photographs or works of art, etc.).
So if any of this sounds good to you, come out and support us!
Or even better, if you want to help us get stuff for the auction, ask your favorite establishment/well-connected friends to lend a hand.
Email girf@earthlink.net and they can tell you how to help out the Associate's Board.
Ally's Law
I'm glad that I'm doing something to help other people with Crohn's Disease, but other people are doing much bigger and better things than I am.
Ally Bain is a younger sufferer of Crohn's Disease who basically wasn't allowed to use the restroom at a store when she was having what I term a "bathroom emergency", and as a result she had a very public and very embarassing accident. I can't even imagine what that must have been like for a teenager, but I'm glad that Ally and her mom turned it into a positive for everyone else. After this happened, they contacted their state legislator and eventually managed to get a law passed in Illinois: the Restroom Access Act, or "Ally's Law." As a result, now anyone with a Crohn's-y/unfortunate GI condition (where needing to use the bathroom can occur quite suddenly) must be given access to a restroom when they request it. I've been fortunate that this hasn't ever happened to me, but I know that many other CD sufferers have to schedule their day around having a restroom nearby, etc, and I think that this law is huge.
If you want more information about the Act, you can read it in its entirety here.
Or if you want to know more about Ally and exactly what went down (they can tell you better than I can), go here. Apparently not all states have this law...but they should! Individuals are trying to organize movements across the country to get similar laws passed throughout the country.
Way to go, Ally!
(Y'all know what's coming....)
Holla!
Ally Bain is a younger sufferer of Crohn's Disease who basically wasn't allowed to use the restroom at a store when she was having what I term a "bathroom emergency", and as a result she had a very public and very embarassing accident. I can't even imagine what that must have been like for a teenager, but I'm glad that Ally and her mom turned it into a positive for everyone else. After this happened, they contacted their state legislator and eventually managed to get a law passed in Illinois: the Restroom Access Act, or "Ally's Law." As a result, now anyone with a Crohn's-y/unfortunate GI condition (where needing to use the bathroom can occur quite suddenly) must be given access to a restroom when they request it. I've been fortunate that this hasn't ever happened to me, but I know that many other CD sufferers have to schedule their day around having a restroom nearby, etc, and I think that this law is huge.
If you want more information about the Act, you can read it in its entirety here.
Or if you want to know more about Ally and exactly what went down (they can tell you better than I can), go here. Apparently not all states have this law...but they should! Individuals are trying to organize movements across the country to get similar laws passed throughout the country.
Way to go, Ally!
(Y'all know what's coming....)
Holla!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
1/2 marathon
Give or take a few tenths of a mile, I have now run a half marathon in my training. It was actually 13 miles, and I held about 8 minutes per mile, so I was really happy about that. It almost didn't come to pass, though.
I originally was planning on running in the morning, and it had rained overnight so I was prepared for mildly damp conditions. However, when I made it to the lakefront (about a mile from our pad), it started raining. And then it started pouring. And five minutes later, I could have been running through a waterfall or a stream and it would have been of equal difficulty. At first I thought I would just power through--what's a little wetness when you're running 13 miles? But I quickly realized that was stupid when my socks started holding about 5 pounds of water a piece. And then I remembered the potential for blistering. And I turned around to go home, covering 4 miles in the process. (Look ma! No blisters!)
Later in the day it got super nice, so once the sun had gone down a bit (I have sensitive skin and a family history of skin cancer, so I try not to tempt fate), I gave my 13 miles another shot. It actually went really well (see initial comments above), but when I finished, my body told me it was not happy with me. Running 17 miles in one day for a body that had previously built up to 11 miles is kinda a big jump. And my digestive tract revolted in protest.
I had the runs for the rest of the day, and then into the next.
(Again, sorry for the images in this one, but at this point I imagine there isn't much that I haven't candidly spoken about when it comes to my gut).
I have never eaten so much Pepto-Bismol (or Bis-Mate, because we buy Jewel brand) in my life.
Anyhow, I was trying to figure out what the deal was: did I induce a flare? Was my condition secondary to running too hard and maybe getting a little dehydrated? I wasn't sure if my symptoms were from my Crohn's or because I was stupid.
But I took it easy for a couple of days, and that helped a bunch, and I feel good about where my training is currently at. This morning I ran 12 miles, and again it went very well. So far, so good with my body's response.
But I think I learned an important lesson (which incidentally, I have learned numerous times in the past and then have promptly disregarded): don't push yourself too hard or too fast.
Otherwise, your body will make you pay.
:)
I originally was planning on running in the morning, and it had rained overnight so I was prepared for mildly damp conditions. However, when I made it to the lakefront (about a mile from our pad), it started raining. And then it started pouring. And five minutes later, I could have been running through a waterfall or a stream and it would have been of equal difficulty. At first I thought I would just power through--what's a little wetness when you're running 13 miles? But I quickly realized that was stupid when my socks started holding about 5 pounds of water a piece. And then I remembered the potential for blistering. And I turned around to go home, covering 4 miles in the process. (Look ma! No blisters!)
Later in the day it got super nice, so once the sun had gone down a bit (I have sensitive skin and a family history of skin cancer, so I try not to tempt fate), I gave my 13 miles another shot. It actually went really well (see initial comments above), but when I finished, my body told me it was not happy with me. Running 17 miles in one day for a body that had previously built up to 11 miles is kinda a big jump. And my digestive tract revolted in protest.
I had the runs for the rest of the day, and then into the next.
(Again, sorry for the images in this one, but at this point I imagine there isn't much that I haven't candidly spoken about when it comes to my gut).
I have never eaten so much Pepto-Bismol (or Bis-Mate, because we buy Jewel brand) in my life.
Anyhow, I was trying to figure out what the deal was: did I induce a flare? Was my condition secondary to running too hard and maybe getting a little dehydrated? I wasn't sure if my symptoms were from my Crohn's or because I was stupid.
But I took it easy for a couple of days, and that helped a bunch, and I feel good about where my training is currently at. This morning I ran 12 miles, and again it went very well. So far, so good with my body's response.
But I think I learned an important lesson (which incidentally, I have learned numerous times in the past and then have promptly disregarded): don't push yourself too hard or too fast.
Otherwise, your body will make you pay.
:)
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