Just Plodding Along

Well spring has finally sprung!!!!  So that meant that Max had to play ball for about 12 hours.  Max had a very good weekend. I did too. Got two runs outside and in sunshine done. The last double digits until the marathon. That is right, running a marathon next weekend in case you missed it. Just kidding. No one has missed that nugget of information. While I was cruising along on my runs this weekend with the bunnies and the bees thinking about nothing and everything at the same time I realized that I really liked training for the marathon. That might same crazy but training for this has made me push myself more than I ever have before. I have run more than I ever thought possible. And endured more on the treadmill than I ever really wanted too (thanks never ending  Illinois winter). I know I haven't even run the darn thing yet and this will definitely sound crazy but I am excited to do it again.  I have already found the next ...

Well I have entered the phase of marathon training that I would like to term the Extreme Freak Out Over Every Little Thing . At this point, a week and a day until the 26.2 mile lead up to a race medal, I think every runner gets a little paranoid. I have seen it happen to the other marathon running bloggers I follow. Every little twinge, ache and off feeling is a muscle ripping, bone shattering race ending injury. This past week I have had either a head cold or some new found allergies to my environment of constant rain and flowering plants. Whether cold or alarming reaction to Illinois plant life it made it hard to breath. Running seemed so hard. Cue the panic. Oh god what if this is still happening on race day? How am I supposed to get through 26.2 miles with clogged breathing tubes? HOW WILL I CARRY THE TISSUES? What if this turns into pneumonia or the plague? HOW WILL I RUN WITH THE PLAGUE? ……well today I woke up just fine. So I only have seven days to survive ...

This weekend I went to Colorado to celebrate my sister's upcoming wedding. A little tequila, a little running, a little of this Ice cream bar at the bridal shower = brilliant I got several miles in with a view like this Overall a great weekend. On the plane ride home I finally pulled out this and came across this article. And it made me ridiculously happy. If you come across the May issue of Runner's World I would recommend giving it a read. The idea of these older gentleman meeting up once a week putting in a few miles and heading for breakfast in Hawaii seems ideal. The fact that they use note cards to make sure they are all at the correct place and have turned off their headlights struck me as funny and then extremely endearing. I can only hope that I am still running when I am half their age. The fact that they use running to keep not only their bodies healthy, but also their minds healthy was intriguing. This article made me think about how we a...

A coworker asked me if what has happened in Boston has made me rethink running the Chicago marathon. (And yes I torture everyone around me with my talk about running, not just my blog readers).  I understood the question. Chicago is a big race with a huge crowd in a big city not unlike Boston. Televised and watched by thousands. Many similarities. Enough to make someone hesitate for a moment. I looked at her as if she was crazy and said "hell no. I will run Chicago in part as a giant FUCK YOU to whoever thinks they can make people fear doing the things they love". This senseless violence made me sad but then mad. Really mad. This feels personal. How could it not. It is Boston. It is running. Those runners are me. Those spectators are my family and friends. That race is my race. It is every runners race.  Every race, marathon or otherwise that goes on is in defiance of this horrific act of violence. I will not let something as horrible as this take away from my joy of...

Not this kind more the musical variety. I am in need of some sweet new running tunes. So I will share some of my favorite music to run with and hope you give me some recommendations on your favorite songs to run to. New favorites: Country- might seems weird to run to country songs but I have always loved country The Band Perry: Better Dig Two Little Big Town Tornado  Carrie Underwood Two Black Cadillacs Miranda Lambert Fastest Girl in Town Pop & Rock- Britney and I will forever be soulmates Britney Spears Womanizer / w/ Will i am Scream & Shout Alex Claire Too Close Florence & the Machine No Light, No Light / Shake it out Muse Madness Foster the People Pumped up kicks Classic awesomeness- because some songs never get old Bon Jovi Living on a prayer , You give love a bad name, Wanted Dead or Alive, Bad Medicine- okay I love me some Bon Jovi it is true. You just can't ignore those lushious locks Aerosmith Dream On Okay now you share- what are s...

The other day my husband asked me if I was going to win my age group at the marathon. Just so we are clear: Number one marathon goal- finish. I was gonna say don't poop myself- but feel that should just be a given. Thank you hubby for believing in me and yes, maybe one day I will win my age group. Dream big! Fun Fact: In 2006 I ran the Colorado marathon. My first and only so far. It took me 5 hours and 33 minutes and 28 seconds. 2:20 for the 1st half and 3:13 for the second half. If there are no disasters or getting distracted by something shiny, I see a possible PR in my future Another Fun Fact: The marathon is probably all you will hear about between now and May 4th when I actually run the darn thing. I apologize in advance.

Last month......so many miles 166 miles. More miles then I think I have run....ever. Half marathons run: 3 March O' Madness  Chitown Half Egg Shell Shuffle Medals Obtained: 3 Some yoga, some weights, but not enough. The last three days I have taken time off. It has been pretty awesome. Though I do fear I will be a bit like this when I get back to running Sleeping in is just so delicious. Having energy all day is also kind of cool. This month I can stop running so much. And I am kind of happy about that. Things are starting to get tired, creaky and a little agitated. So achy that I cut a 22 mile run down to 14.5 due to my left foot feeling weird. Nothing is allowed to feel weird. NOTHING.  Only 4 weeks until the marathon

Warning: I loved this race, I ran really fast (really fast for me anywho), it was a perfect day and I am super happy about this. So this means too many pictures, words of love for the Shamrock shuffle and a new dedication to shorter races. Read on at your own risk. Packet pick-up was at Navy Pier. I had never been so I forced D to go with me so we could check it out. It was crazy crowded and parking was crowded and slow but only $10 with a race expo validation ticket- win. I have never done a race this big before, more than 33,000 people, my peanut brain can't comprehend. But everything was efficient and smooth running. Huge race expo, well marked, organized packet pick-up, lots of free samples and booths for lots of other races. It was fun to walk around. If I were a millionaire I would have bought a lot of stuff but since I am not I tried to steer clear of running gear. Having the expo at Navy Pier was fun. There is stuff to do and food to eat and lots of parking. Plus mul...

Sunday is the Shamrock Shuffle!  Stolen from here Just me and thousands of my closest running buds. It is gonna be great. Saturday I have my last loooonnnnnnngggggg run on the schedule. It is supposed to be a 22 miler. But with no medal or t-shirt to motivate me like the last few long runs we will see what happens. Due to the longest training run ever known to man I have no expectation of kicking this 8K's ass. I don't even know how long an 8k is- 5 miles? 4.97 miles- so do we just round up and call it 5 miles? This is all very confusing. What I do know is Saturday I get to head down to Navy Pier for packet pick-up and Sunday I get to run through the streets of Chicago! And if you are interested don't forget to give Kona Kase  a try. Get 50% off with the code JustPlodding at checkout!

After long runs - you know runs 15 miles or longer - I think about how many more miles a marathon is and I am just like and then I think about how my hamstrings are tight, my feet are sore, my upper body is tired, my abs have given up- basically I have turned into a giant ball of whiny pain and then begin thinking marathons are just too much but then I read about the ultra adventures of Yo Momma Runs ,  Fast Corey and 50 Marathon in 50 States  and I am all an ultra seems like a great idea. Just maybe not this ultra  that my friend warned me about which is her way of saying 'I know you are crazy so just a heads up this is off limits'. But seriously I want to do an ultra one day and I found this one near family so I am thinking next year maybe I can convince them to be my crew or at least come pick me up and carry me to bed. And if you could throw me in the shower too at some point that would be great, thanks. So I need a 'Bean wants to be stronger so she...

One of the sweet perks of being a Sweat Pink Ambassador is that we get connected with awesome fitness products. One of these awesome products is Kona Kase . For $15 a month you can have delicious food in a box show up at your door. I was skeptical at first- I mean endurance food doesn't always elicit excitement from me. But when this sweet orange box showed up at my door I was pretty excited. Partly because I like getting packages in the mail. Even better if they hold food. Get 8 different products every month Free Shipping Sign up for one month or multiple months- the more months you sign up for the bigger discount  My box held Wild Friend Nut Butter, TCHO craft chocolate, Suncups chocolate cups (can you guess what I tried first- the starts with 'choco' ends with 'late', Clif shot blocks, Clif Bar granola bar, Earnest eats bar, Perfect food bar, and a Brubar. I ate the chocolate for dessert. The cliff shots are being reserved for next weekends lo...