Chicago, Chipotle, and a Not-So Step-Back Week

Friday morning came last week and I woke up after a whopping 4.5 hours of sleep. I stayed up way too late cleaning and packing for the weekend trip to Chicago and my almost two-year-old was fighting a cold up a good part of the night. Still I got my tail out of bed at 5:00am and made my way to Creve Coeur Lake for a 6-mile run before work. It wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be. Wish I could say the same for the work day - it dragged, and dragged, and dragged. After multiple caffeine injections, though, I was good to go for the drive to Chi-town.

After the I-55 trek, I hit the hay hoping Saturday morning's run wouldn't be a disaster. I woke up at 5:00am to the pouring rain and thunder. Checked the radar, and though it looked like it could be clearing up within the hour, I had to be to the lake and back before 8:30, so I passed on the opportunity to get caught out in another storm. So, just like last week, I did not do a run the day immediately before my long run. Instead I cross-trained.

What did that entail? Well, it wasn't exactly ideal or focused, but I chased my daughter around on the beach and in the water in Lake Michigan up by Evanston. That was plenty exercise, trust me. I was pretty bummed all day, though. Just aggravated, much like last Saturday. I don't like missing workouts and having to change things up.

That being said, I had no choice but to get up early Sunday, hit North Avenue Beach, and get my 12-miler in. And that I did. At the beach by 6:00am, I headed north. In the past I've only gone south, but my buddy recommended a trip north thanks to more shade and the packed gravel paths. Up for a little exploring, north I went. It was a perfect, gorgeous morning. I enjoyed every step, every second of that run. Turns out, hugging the trail, it was just around 6 miles to where the trail ended, which happens to be where Lake Shore Drive comes to an end up north. I stopped at the beach to suck down a PowerGel and take a quick pic with my iPhone on the beach (check it out to the left).

Then I was back on my way. There was a part of the trail where the packed gravel veered off closer to the lakefront away from the paved bike trail. I missed that fork on the way back. As a result, I ran what I estimated as about a quarter mile less on the way back. So that meant, running past North Avenue beach towards Oak Street for a quarter mile.

A couple things I noticed on my run... 1. That skyline about made my cry with excitement on my return trip. It's perfect. Man, I really miss this town. 2. People aren't nearly as friendly heading in the opposite direction as they are on the St. Louis trails. Tough to get a return wave, hello, or g'mornin' from my fellow brethren on the trail. I blame this on volume alone. In St. Louis it's definitely a smaller community on the paths, so you feel a close bond to those few brave souls you come across while training. In Chicago, you're one of tens of thousands daily, I'd imagine.

It was an emotional run. I thought a lot about my family, my friends, and all those who have been supporting me on this journey. I thought a lot about St. Jude, the kids there, and their families. I finished the run in just over 1 hour 47 minutes (about a 9-minute pace) - much faster than what is advised, but I felt good the whole way. After the run I grabbed a little swig of Gatorade, courtesy of the nice ladies working a free aid station for all those folks training on the lakefront Sunday morning. And then I walked out to the point for a pic with the Chicago skyline in the background. North Avenue beach is, no doubt, one of my favorite places on earth. And with this skyline to the left, why wouldn't it be?

Sunday was the first day that I had a 10+ mile run and I didn't take a nap sometime afterwards. In fact, I was going a mile a minute all day long visiting with family and friends. And my wife and I even got to take in the Cubs vs. Cards night game. Yes, I didn't even fall asleep on the El ride home at 10:00pm. Motorin' through the day like a champ!

We drove back to St. Louis Monday. I had a 3-miler to get in, and I opted to wait until I got back to St. Louis to run it. Well, that got pushed off until after dinner (a big, fat Chipotle burrito - no El Faro, but still good). I ran 3 miles at 9:00pm in the dark in my subdivision after woofing down that belly bomb - probably not the best of ideas, but I got through it. I went to sleep not too long afterwards and got up again at 5:00am for a 5-miler on Tuesday. So let's go over this: Chipotle and two runs totalling 8 miles inside of 10 hours. Ugh, what am I doing?

To top it off, I ended going for a 4-mile walk with my family Tuesday night (12 miles walking/running inside of 24 hours, oh and a Chipotle belly bomb). And then, somehow, this morning I managed to get up and get in my Wednesday 3-miler and a strength workout at the gym. This step-back week hasn't been much of a relief. It's my own fault for my screwball running schedule. And obviously, that walk probably wasn't the best of options for evening entertainment last night. But as my friend Mike told me today: Life sometimes interferes with marathon training, and vice versa. But I'm committed to sticking to my program. These variations might not be best, but I'll live and learn. Today I'm learning that my legs are tired after pushing myself the past few days... very tired.