Went running by the lake for the first time in months Tuesday night. I made it about 2 miles before any sharp pains in my shin. My doctor told me to stop running at the first sign of pain, so I walked a bit longer.
At first I wasn't going to go. I was sitting in my apartment in full running gear, petrified. I couldn't get my body out the door. All the old fears of feeling stupid and being worried about how I look when running came rushing back to me. I went and got the ziploc bag I saved with words of inspiration from last year's marathon, took each one out, and read them all. Seeing the amazing things my friends and even strangers said about me running made me realize it didn't matter how I looked, it just mattered that I was out there. So I tucked in my favorite sage advice in my running pack, and walked out the door.
Running, music pulsing through my body, feeling strong as my feet pounded against the pavement, felt so amazing. As I was finishing the run and waiting for the bus, a rain shower exploded around me, and here I was, standing on the beautiful museum campus, the Chicago skyline behind me, under a giant oak tree soaking wet and grinning like an idiot, completely in love with my running and that moment. I just forgot how alive running makes me feel. It just felt so amazing.
It feels good to be back. Run Lisa Run is back on the course...
Now if only this damn leg will stop acting up. Hrmph. Come on feet (well in this case shin), don't fail me now!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
is this thing still on?
Sigh. I never could follow through on keeping up with things like blogs, resolutions, ambitions, or running.
I was suppose to start training for the marathon last week. I still have yet to run. I had an MRI done on my still bothersome left leg, and they told me I should get some rehab, that it wasn't cracked or fractured, but it was inflamed. I don't have money or time for rehab, so I'm hoping for the best. My doctor says as long as I ice it and stop running if I have intense pain, I should be alright.
I really need to get back into routine and order, and back to running could do just that. My life has just been complete chaos thus far this year, and I need to get order restored.
So welcome back Lisa to your running blog. Get your butt in gear, lace up your shoes, and back out on the lake front you go to running.
Chicago Marathon 2008 training...here I come...
I was suppose to start training for the marathon last week. I still have yet to run. I had an MRI done on my still bothersome left leg, and they told me I should get some rehab, that it wasn't cracked or fractured, but it was inflamed. I don't have money or time for rehab, so I'm hoping for the best. My doctor says as long as I ice it and stop running if I have intense pain, I should be alright.
I really need to get back into routine and order, and back to running could do just that. My life has just been complete chaos thus far this year, and I need to get order restored.
So welcome back Lisa to your running blog. Get your butt in gear, lace up your shoes, and back out on the lake front you go to running.
Chicago Marathon 2008 training...here I come...
Monday, March 31, 2008
Well, I'm not dead...
Hello there internet people that actually sometimes read this site.
I'm back from the dead, or so it seems. I've just been having grand adventures.
I recently, as in the past two weeks, moved back to Chicago! Oh crazy times, crazy life. I just wasn't feeling NYC. It's a lovely city to visit for me, but not to live in. I'm a true Midwest girl, and since things are starting to pick up with my own company, I headed back to fully start things rolling. For those not in the know, I graduated with a degree in music management and marketing, during a time when the music industry is in great peril and falling apart. So needless to say starting my company (albeit being a crazy idea) maybe the best way to save this dying industry right now. I left behind a great label I was interning for in NYC, but I'm facing this scary world head on, and I think sometimes the scarier and braver the choice, the better the reward in the end.
So everything is new and unknown and exciting, but I'm so glad to be back in sweet home Chicago in my new place! Now if only the weather was better for running, I'd be set :)
So I've been slacking on the running, which is NO GOOD since the 1/2 marathon is in 32 days. Eek! BUT I am going to Fleet Feet to try to participate in the Jeff Galloway easy run tonight. Yup, the Jeff Galloway who popularized the Galloway method. He's leading an easy run, then speaking about his method and using it to better train for marathons. Should give me a mixed dose of guilt for being lazy, and also pump me up to get back on track. Fun times, fun times.
So back to work I go, which is a very odd thing, since I work for myself now. It's very strange to say "ok Lisa, it's 9 am, time to go set down and do your office stuff and not play around for the next few hours." Looks like I'm growing up, eh?
Take care, and I promise I'll be posting more again soon!
Hugs and Kisses from Chicago!
-Lisa
I'm back from the dead, or so it seems. I've just been having grand adventures.
I recently, as in the past two weeks, moved back to Chicago! Oh crazy times, crazy life. I just wasn't feeling NYC. It's a lovely city to visit for me, but not to live in. I'm a true Midwest girl, and since things are starting to pick up with my own company, I headed back to fully start things rolling. For those not in the know, I graduated with a degree in music management and marketing, during a time when the music industry is in great peril and falling apart. So needless to say starting my company (albeit being a crazy idea) maybe the best way to save this dying industry right now. I left behind a great label I was interning for in NYC, but I'm facing this scary world head on, and I think sometimes the scarier and braver the choice, the better the reward in the end.
So everything is new and unknown and exciting, but I'm so glad to be back in sweet home Chicago in my new place! Now if only the weather was better for running, I'd be set :)
So I've been slacking on the running, which is NO GOOD since the 1/2 marathon is in 32 days. Eek! BUT I am going to Fleet Feet to try to participate in the Jeff Galloway easy run tonight. Yup, the Jeff Galloway who popularized the Galloway method. He's leading an easy run, then speaking about his method and using it to better train for marathons. Should give me a mixed dose of guilt for being lazy, and also pump me up to get back on track. Fun times, fun times.
So back to work I go, which is a very odd thing, since I work for myself now. It's very strange to say "ok Lisa, it's 9 am, time to go set down and do your office stuff and not play around for the next few hours." Looks like I'm growing up, eh?
Take care, and I promise I'll be posting more again soon!
Hugs and Kisses from Chicago!
-Lisa
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Lisa vs. the dreaded bridesmaid dress
Sometimes things can seem very daunting.
I am in a wedding on June 21st. Yup. A good friend called and asked me to be a bridesmaid for her upcoming wedding, and since the lovely couple are going to have to rush the wedding a bit (he's got a job and they have to make a big move for it, plus they've been dating since our freshman year of high school, so I think we won't miss much on the planning, haha), so it's June 21st.
And the dress we shall wear? Strapless.
The fear of God is now coming down upon me. Do you know how much effort and coaxing it took me to wear a one piece bathing suit this past summer? And I still kept most of myself covered in the damn thing. I've never worn a strapless outfit of any kind. I am fat. I have fat arms. No one needs to see them. Oh god, I'm about to hyperventilate...
so yeah, that has been the thought process the past few hours since I got the e-mail with the "what do you think about these dresses?" link in it. I think I'm gonna look like a whale next to the size 2 and size 8 or 10 bridesmaid. Blimpy McGee, here I come down the isle, waddle waddle waddle.
As strong as I've become since I started running, as much as I've changed and realized that I am a beautiful women despite my size and that I am amazing, these negative horrible thoughts still pop in my head from time to time. Hey, I know, nobody is perfect, but I've just had a long history of dealing with body image, so it's a pretty big hurdle I've been jumping over (and I'm getting there!) the last almost year since I started this crazy journey.
So, enough bellyaching. It's just a dress. And I WAS fat, I'm just working on it at this point. Hell, I'm currently typing this while wearing jeans that are four years old and until now haven't worn in years. I have all the way until June 21st to make myself even more snazzy. The day isn't about me, and no one should or will care what I look like, but I still want to look my best for my friends, because they will cherish these photos and wedding video forever. I want to look nice for them, and a bit for my sanity too.
SO FOLKS... Who here has some killer techniques to work on my upper arms? What's the best type of exercise to gets these puppies looking better? Any suggestions?
If this doesn't keep me getting up and running in the morning, I don't know what will. I think the marathon is less scary to me then a bridesmaid dress, because in running we are expected to look ridiculous in our outfit, and who cares at that point, we are amazing athletes. But I'll be damned if a bridesmaid dress is going to beat me down.
I am in a wedding on June 21st. Yup. A good friend called and asked me to be a bridesmaid for her upcoming wedding, and since the lovely couple are going to have to rush the wedding a bit (he's got a job and they have to make a big move for it, plus they've been dating since our freshman year of high school, so I think we won't miss much on the planning, haha), so it's June 21st.
And the dress we shall wear? Strapless.
The fear of God is now coming down upon me. Do you know how much effort and coaxing it took me to wear a one piece bathing suit this past summer? And I still kept most of myself covered in the damn thing. I've never worn a strapless outfit of any kind. I am fat. I have fat arms. No one needs to see them. Oh god, I'm about to hyperventilate...
so yeah, that has been the thought process the past few hours since I got the e-mail with the "what do you think about these dresses?" link in it. I think I'm gonna look like a whale next to the size 2 and size 8 or 10 bridesmaid. Blimpy McGee, here I come down the isle, waddle waddle waddle.
As strong as I've become since I started running, as much as I've changed and realized that I am a beautiful women despite my size and that I am amazing, these negative horrible thoughts still pop in my head from time to time. Hey, I know, nobody is perfect, but I've just had a long history of dealing with body image, so it's a pretty big hurdle I've been jumping over (and I'm getting there!) the last almost year since I started this crazy journey.
So, enough bellyaching. It's just a dress. And I WAS fat, I'm just working on it at this point. Hell, I'm currently typing this while wearing jeans that are four years old and until now haven't worn in years. I have all the way until June 21st to make myself even more snazzy. The day isn't about me, and no one should or will care what I look like, but I still want to look my best for my friends, because they will cherish these photos and wedding video forever. I want to look nice for them, and a bit for my sanity too.
SO FOLKS... Who here has some killer techniques to work on my upper arms? What's the best type of exercise to gets these puppies looking better? Any suggestions?
If this doesn't keep me getting up and running in the morning, I don't know what will. I think the marathon is less scary to me then a bridesmaid dress, because in running we are expected to look ridiculous in our outfit, and who cares at that point, we are amazing athletes. But I'll be damned if a bridesmaid dress is going to beat me down.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
And we're back!
Well, just got home from Coney Island, and it was desolate, but safe, so all is well!
Actually, I think I may have found one of my new favorite spots in NYC, especially to run. It's barren, retro, a bit depressing, but totally beautiful. Granted you're running on a boardwalk, which somehow I feel wood planks aren't the best surface to run on, but you have a great view (one side is the ocean, the other side the pier and the people) and it's a nice path to do a decent size run on.
And the best part? MY LEG IS OK!!! Yay! It really hurt around .80 mile and 1.1 mile, but I ran through it, and it subsided. I also did more of an interval type run, which I think helped. It made me slower overall on pace, but it got me farther without feeling pain or feeling tired at the end. Here is what I did...
Every 1o minute mark, I would power walk for 3 minutes (so run until 10 minutes, walk to 13, run to 20, walk to 23, run to 30, walk to 33) and I did this all the way up to the 1 hour point, and then I just ran the rest of my workout, which wasn't far at all. In the next few long runs I'm going to slowly decrease to walking for 2 minutes instead of 3, and then walking 1 minute, and then try to space them out farther as I go along. I think this is a nice way to soften the shock of running again on my body, especially on my screwy shin.
I also noticed my stride more, and watched my posture while I was running, so I'm working slowly on improving my technique. Here are the final stats for my first "long run" of 1/2 training:
4 Miles in 1 hour 8 minutes and 3 seconds
Average Pace was 16:59 min/mi (damn you 3 minute walking pace cramping my style!)
Calories: 821
I'm also really stretching a lot more in general, and starting a plan to work on my core, since the weight I'm loosing is coming off in odd places (belly be gone, cmon!) and a tighter core helps you run better.
So yeah, I'm stepping my game up in a sense. I spent yesterday and tonight I'll finish combing through some old Runners World and some other books, and I'm really making a more detailed training plan. Higdon has a good base for training, but I've got to do more to really improve. I've got three months to get ready for the 1/2, four months to get in better shape for being in a wedding (oh boy, bridesmaid dress), and then October is the next big date!
Feeling good, feeling confident, and glad to be back in the groove of running :)
-Lisa
PS I submitted an application to volunteer in April at the Boston marathon! I figure if I'm still living out in NYC at that point, I'll take the bus up to Boston, and help out! I'd love to actually be a spectator instead of running in a race, and so I put in my bid (although I'm hoping I'll have to decline and hopefully be back in Chicago). I picked my first choice as being a mile marker. Haha. How awesome would that be? The description says I stand with a mile marker sign for on the side of the road for the racers to see. So I can cheer them on. Yay!
Actually, I think I may have found one of my new favorite spots in NYC, especially to run. It's barren, retro, a bit depressing, but totally beautiful. Granted you're running on a boardwalk, which somehow I feel wood planks aren't the best surface to run on, but you have a great view (one side is the ocean, the other side the pier and the people) and it's a nice path to do a decent size run on.
And the best part? MY LEG IS OK!!! Yay! It really hurt around .80 mile and 1.1 mile, but I ran through it, and it subsided. I also did more of an interval type run, which I think helped. It made me slower overall on pace, but it got me farther without feeling pain or feeling tired at the end. Here is what I did...
Every 1o minute mark, I would power walk for 3 minutes (so run until 10 minutes, walk to 13, run to 20, walk to 23, run to 30, walk to 33) and I did this all the way up to the 1 hour point, and then I just ran the rest of my workout, which wasn't far at all. In the next few long runs I'm going to slowly decrease to walking for 2 minutes instead of 3, and then walking 1 minute, and then try to space them out farther as I go along. I think this is a nice way to soften the shock of running again on my body, especially on my screwy shin.
I also noticed my stride more, and watched my posture while I was running, so I'm working slowly on improving my technique. Here are the final stats for my first "long run" of 1/2 training:
4 Miles in 1 hour 8 minutes and 3 seconds
Average Pace was 16:59 min/mi (damn you 3 minute walking pace cramping my style!)
Calories: 821
I'm also really stretching a lot more in general, and starting a plan to work on my core, since the weight I'm loosing is coming off in odd places (belly be gone, cmon!) and a tighter core helps you run better.
So yeah, I'm stepping my game up in a sense. I spent yesterday and tonight I'll finish combing through some old Runners World and some other books, and I'm really making a more detailed training plan. Higdon has a good base for training, but I've got to do more to really improve. I've got three months to get ready for the 1/2, four months to get in better shape for being in a wedding (oh boy, bridesmaid dress), and then October is the next big date!
Feeling good, feeling confident, and glad to be back in the groove of running :)
-Lisa
PS I submitted an application to volunteer in April at the Boston marathon! I figure if I'm still living out in NYC at that point, I'll take the bus up to Boston, and help out! I'd love to actually be a spectator instead of running in a race, and so I put in my bid (although I'm hoping I'll have to decline and hopefully be back in Chicago). I picked my first choice as being a mile marker. Haha. How awesome would that be? The description says I stand with a mile marker sign for on the side of the road for the racers to see. So I can cheer them on. Yay!
If I don't return to blogging...
Um, call the police? Haha. I'm going for an adventure for my first "long run" of training. Heading out to Coney Island to run on the pier, since my "long run" is a very short 4 miles.
So yeah, time to adventure to run in a place I've never been that may or may not be sketchy? We'll see! Good times, good times...
I'll update when I get home later with the beautiful sites of Coney Island, and with a brand new addition to revamp my training plan!!!
-Lisa
So yeah, time to adventure to run in a place I've never been that may or may not be sketchy? We'll see! Good times, good times...
I'll update when I get home later with the beautiful sites of Coney Island, and with a brand new addition to revamp my training plan!!!
-Lisa
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