Training Week One Down

Hill training in Baraboo, Wi., just outside of Devils Lake State Park.

Well, after some nice time off of no running the week of June 15, I started week one of my 16 week Chicago Marathon training program. I spent my last free weekend just thinking of the lessons I learned during last year's training. It's sort of a strange feeling, and my mindset is different going into the program. I have to eat better, sleep better, and my mind is constantly churning over the details of my upcoming long runs on the weekend- averaging now between 10 and 15 miles.

I ended week one with a trip up to Baraboo, Wi. and the Devils Lake area for a six mile run which included some major hill training. I think the hill training I concentrated on leading up to my personal best at the Northshore Half-Marathon really helped. God bless Highland Park, IL. for some of the most intense hills I've ever experienced in a race, as awful as they were!

Unfortunately, I started out kind of late in the morning, and it warmed up quite a bit when I got started. I also didn't bring enough water with me, so I was depending on the hydration I took in the night before. Even though I was doing ok, I could of used an extra 8 oz. of fluids. Yup, it's going to take another week or two of these hot weather runs to get things right.

The hills along my route in Baraboo were extreme enough that I ended up slightly bruising a tendon on the top of my right foot near the end, but it may have had something to do with my shoes being rather tightly tied. Fortunately, it happened near the end of my run, so the damage was minimal. The area is still a bit sore, and I've been icing it a bit. I will say that it was one of the most intense and satisfying training runs I've had in a long, long time!

On to week two for June 29. Here is my schedule the next few days:

Mon: 6 miles
Tue: Rest
Wed: 5 miles Speedwork
Thur: Stretching/Rest
Friday: 2 miles
Saturday: Fourth of July 5K, then down to Chicago for another 9 miles for total of 12.
Sunday: Weights/Stretch

Lilies starting to open

Lilies starting to open
Originally uploaded by automatic_man2

The lilies in one of the two flower gardens outside my house are beginning to open. They come back every year.

Seeing these is a sure sign summer is here.

A couple of years ago, I spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $1500 to landscape the front of the home I own, taking out the old, dated facade, and replace it with a couple of flower gardens.

I'm a sucker for a pretty flower, and I think I get my green thumb from my dad, who always dabbled in this kind of stuff. It brings a smile to my face every year.

The growing gallery of shots can be found here - most of the photos are taken with my Palm Pre smartphone.

Jesse M.

jessejstreet.blogspot.com
twitter.com/jessejstreet

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Poison dart frog

Poison dart frog
Originally uploaded by automatic_man2

These have to be my favorite in the animal world next to chameleons.

Taken at the Shedd Aquarium, Chicago.

Jesse M.

jessejstreet.blogspot.com

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Racing bling

Racing bling
Originally uploaded by automatic_man2

I was still giddy after my great run this past Sunday that I had a little fun with a Michael Phelps moment and took this shot :)

Medals left to right: Melbourne & Beaches Half Marathon, Florida - Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon 2008 - Chicago Marathon 2008 - North Shore Half Marathon 2009 - Go! St. Louis Half Marathon 2009. Total miles: 78.6 !

Jesse M.

jessejstreet.blogspot.com
twitter.com/jessejstreet

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

My race filled weekend

A photo taken after finishing the North Shore Half Marathon on 6/14/09. My finish time was a personal best in the half at 01:56:18! I was super, super excited. I think this was my best run ever. The shin problems I complained about a while back did not show themselves this time around. I think doing a 5K the day before really helped me relax (more on the 5K later).

The race was held in beautiful Highland Park, IL. I'd heard of this race before, but this is my first time running it. It was very well organized, and went off without a hitch. The course was disgustingly beautiful and very scenic despite all of the rolling hills. I'd strongly suggest doing some hill work before hitting this race, as a big part of the middle of the course is quite hilly, culminating in a rather steep one near the 9 mile mark.

Somewhere around my winter training, something happened to my running pace. I've managed to find a 'sweet spot' that has me running very close to 8:30 per-minute miles on a consistent basis these days instead of the usual 9:30's I was running. It might have something to do with running with pace groups during my winter training. The 'sweet spot' is hard to explain, though. It's a pace that I feel comfortable running, as fast as it is for me. I think my strides are bigger, and my breathing is now 3x3 (three breaths in/out) instead of 2. This makes a difference in keeping up my endurance, I think.

I wanted to send out a congrats to my sister for running the 5K portion of the race- her first since "retiring" a couple of years ago. She was my inspiration for starting to run again, after watching her finish her first half-marathon in 2006. Congrats sis!

On Saturday, I ran the always-fun Skirtchaser 5K in Bloomingdale, IL. as a warm up to Sunday. It's a pretty fun race series, and you can see the story behind it here. The majority of the course went through a grassy, muddy golf course, which was disappointing. I ended up slowing WAY down to keep from turning my ankle on the terrible, rocky path. I'm just not used to running on grass, which is what most of the course consisted of. Needless to say, my finish time was terrible, but it helped me tremendously on Sunday, so I'm happy.

Now, I'll take the rest of the week off before I start my Chicago Marathon training on June 22. I can't wait to start training on the Chicago lakefront path again. It's always nice to be around so many runners in that great city.

So now, I rest. It's going to be an exciting summer. My pace chart for North Shore is below for those that are interested :)

Early morning house garden

Early morning house garden
Originally uploaded by automatic_man2

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Palm Pre "Cards"

Palm Pre "Cards"
Originally uploaded by automatic_man2

Multitasking Palm Pre in action. Currently running a browser window watching a Twitpic chat, email, Tweed Twitter app, photo gallery, SMS converstation.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Why I'll be getting a Palm Pre

I love the iPhone.

There, I said it.

But I hate AT&T's service coverage.

If I hadn't had such a bad experience with AT&T as the IT guy that's responsible for making iPhone's work with our corporate email system, things would be different. It really sucks too, because as a lifelong Sprint subscriber, I would drop them for AT&T and the iPhone in a split second. This, my friends, is not meant to be. Sprint has been good to me, no complaints here.

Our Help Desk is usually busy with calls from our extensive mobile work force, using AT&T iPhones and 3G laptop cards, complaining about lack of service, poor coverage and dropped VPN connections while traveling. My two week stint with a test iPhone was a pleasant experience, but I would rate its coverage below my Sprint enabled Palm Centro, hands down.

That being said, I do question Palm's decision to release the Palm Pre just two days before the start of Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference and risk silencing the Palm Pre's thunder if a new iPhone is unveiled. As a long time Palm devotee, I truly want the company to succeed. If the Palm Pre is their ticket to once again becoming the giant of the mobile world as they once were, I want to be along for the ride, no matter what the end.

So, come Saturday morning, I hope to have my hands on this revolutionary new smartphone. It's fresh, it's new, and it's Palm. I've grown bored and tired with Palm's Garnet OS, and am ready for something new. It will be fun to see how it all unfolds.

I'm pretty sure I'll be posting my first impressions of the Pre once it's in my hands. Coming soon.

Update: Engadget finally has an extensive review of the Pre up. Read it here.

Thoughts on Marathon Training Anew

In a little over two weeks from now, I'll begin my 16 week training regiment for my 2nd full marathon in Chicago on October 11. Lots of thoughts are going through my head, mostly having to do with reflecting on last year's effort and what I'll be doing different this year. I won't go too much into what sort of goals I'll be setting for myself in this post, but it's a given that I'll be shooting to beat my time of 04:54:38 from last year.

Between now and June 22, I'm going to concentrate on acclimating my body to training in temperatures above 80F (if the weather cooperates of course). This means starting my weekday runs before 5pm, and my weekend long runs around mid-day to take full advantage of the heat of the day. Since I train in Chicago, I don't usually start until 8 a.m. on weekends, and end up finishing close to noon. It gets hot folks, really hot. I've done long runs of +10 miles in 90F heat without a problem, and hope to continue that.

I was new to all of this last year. I didn't know what to expect. This time it's different. I'm stronger, much more confident, and simply can't wait to get moving. As usual, I'm sure you'll read about my progress here, among other things, and I thank you for following me in my journey once again.

More on my thoughts leading up to Training Day One soon...