and so it begins...

Ah, nothing like the first run of the season. Especially when you can only muster up through half of it :(

Yup. 3 mile run turned into 1.5 miles. More like 1 mile run and .5 mile walk then run then walk. Boo. But I got over a mile, which is great! I haven't done over that since my leg started hurting. And it felt pretty good at the start. I just have to get back in the swing of things.

I also chopped up and froze my bananas the other night, so protein shake season is SO BACK! Yay! I'm not gonna lie, I sort of miss the tasty recipe me and Dad came up with, so it will be a nice welcome back, and affordable for my broke budget. So affordable, I may start living off protein shakes alone, good times.

So yeah, one run down, many more to go. I'm heading to bed now so I can get up and run. See, I'm being such a good little runner, go me!

Hope everyone is keeping warm back in Chicago, and keep running!

OH! One other little fun thing...

So last week I got an e-mail in my inbox with the following in it...

"Congratulations! Based on past performance in the Shamrock Shuffle, Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon and/or Chicago Marathon, you qualify for Wave 1 and a Start Corral (Top 100 or Corral A-D) at the 2008 Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K. If you have not already registered, you can register now to ensure your spot in the 2008 event. Registration has already exceeded 22,000, and will close when the maximum 30,000 participants has been reached."

HEHEHEHE!!! I qualified for a starting corral?!?! Um, so my dad thinks that had to be a computer glitch, because we both qualified. I reminded him that we may have qualified in the very back of the last corral, or at least I'm really hoping that is the case, and not some computer glitch. Regardless, it made one chubby girl (hey, I'm working on that part) with big dreams one very happy lady :)

Too bad I moved, I totally would have ran in the Shuffle and used my starting time, regardless of glitch or not, which could have made for an interesting race? haha.

Here we go again...

Well, hello again. Since I last saw the interweb, I have been resting the good old shin, trying not to piss it off because tomorrow starts the longest period of running EVER!

Ok, so I'm being a tad bit dramatic, but tomorrow marks the start of 1/2 marathon training. Hurrah! It's a bit of a lackluster start, with just stretching and strength on Mondays, but Tuesday I get to run 3 miles, so we'll see how the shins do then, and see what type of training the next few months will be (either "yay my shin is fine" or "WTF GET BETTER LEG" months of training).

Feel free to join along in the training, as I mentioned in the previous post. What's more fun than running a ridiculous amount and conversing about it online with a stranger, right?

So back to why tomorrow marks the longest period of running EVER...

You're probably saying, "what are you talking about Lisa, this is just a damn 1/2 marathon, no biggie."

Well folks, did I mention that I merge directly into marathon training after Indy 1/2 marathon? Yup. I do. As of tomorrow I will be consistently training until mid October. Wowie. That is a long time.

But I digress, I am looking forward to the challenge and journey of training again, and especially excited because I have a few friends (and good old Dad again) training with me! Yay!

So keep Me, my Dad, my friends (Erin, Sammie, David) in your thoughts and running prayers, and keep checking back in, because I'll be back blogging as of now. VACATION FROM RUNNING IS OVER! GET A MOVE ON LISA!

Are you pumped yet just reading this? Because I sure am!

Ok, off to bed and then up to do my S&S (stretch and strength) before work! Here we go...

-Lisa

PS Me and Dad got spots in the Chicago 2008 Marathon already , so hopefully I'll see everyone there :)

Back in the saddle?

Well, I finally got to run on some running hollowed ground, and boy did it kick my ass! So I figured what better a way to spend my first Saturday as a New York City resident by having a nice run in Central Park, right? WRONG. Well, not so bad that it warrants all caps wrong, but things didn’t go as nicely as planned.

Have no fear folks, I didn’t get mugged or anything (the worse case scenario my mom envisions, she keeps watching too much Law & Order: SVU), but it was no normal run for me. Why? Because Central Park has something Chicago doesn’t have: hills. Yup. I never ran on hills, ever. The lakeshore path was pretty flat, as were the trails around my old place, so this was a whole new bag of tricks. And let me just state that I have the utmost respect now for people that run a very hilly course.

So anyways, I didn’t even finish my 2 miles run. Granted, I haven’t run in a few weeks, so I’m a bit out of shape anyways. I stopped running so much, because I got a wicked painful case of shin splints. It hurt like hell, but I stayed off high impact workouts (like running) for a bit, and I’m glad to report that my shins did not hurt during my Central Park debut! The left one hurts when it rains or when the temperature drops (I’m assuming this has some sort of correlation, otherwise I just sound like some old person saying “I can feel rain comin in my bones kiddies!”), otherwise the major pain has stopped. So yay for non-hurting shins! YAY! But boo for being a lazy butt and not going the full 2 miles that I wanted to do. BOO!

Anyways, I’m finishing getting settled, and going to try to get into the swing of a running schedule soon. I’ve looked up and found two runners associations in Brooklyn, and found a few ads for running partners on the New York Road Runners Club website, so hopefully I’ll get in with some runners up here, feel more at home.

But the BIG NEWS is that I start training for the Indianapolis Mini Marathon soon! And I’ve got 5 friends back home training with me! So I’ll have someone besides my Dad to bitch too about my training schedule, haha. I think majority of us are following Hal Higdon’s ½ marathon training program, so feel free to jump in his program (http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm) and join in with us! I also plan on really trying to work on setting and maintaining a pace, and trying to learn and apply some running techniques to my program, rather than my past marathon attempt of just shuffling along and trying not to die.

So there ya go folks (all five of you that read this site, haha)! I’m back with a vengeance! So keep checking in. I’m a lonely single girl in NYC with no one I know, so god knows I’ll have plenty of running time on my hands ☺

Love,
Lisa

PS To date I’ve lost 3 toenails. Haha. Just in case your keeping tabs. I’m just so hardcore, aren’t I?

I'm Still Standing...

Yup. Been a while, right?

Sorry for the delay people that actually still read this site (are they any, haha), I've been a bit busy.

Busy you ask? Well that is no excuse Lisa....

except it is. Because I've been busy...

MOVING TO NEW YORK CITY.

Yup. Flew in on Sunday, found a place, moved in a few hours ago. All of this NYC nonsense was started, decided, and done in less than a month. I literally flew out here, did some internship interviews, said "fuck it" and threw caution to the wind, packed my life up, condensed my life into two suitcases, flew out here.

Well, what I really came here for was two internships. I was offered three, and the job prospects and opportunities in the music industry are just greater in NYC over Chicago. And if I'm gonna jump, it's now or never.

So I'm interning now for two different record labels. Yes, I am nuts and moved to New York to work two jobs that don't pay. I also had no place to live when I got here. Crashed at a friends for a few days until I finally found a place that will do for now. It was the only place I felt safe walking home to from the train. Things are totally rougher in NYC then I ever had in Chicago.

So yeah, that is the big news and explanation of my absence. Everything is turned upside down, and my life has completely changed in a matter of days. I went from my two decent jobs and my lovely beach front apartment living alone and happy, to two no paying jobs, in need of a pt paying job, living in an apartment with people I don't know in a tiny room. Sigh. I know I'm being a Debbie Downer, it's just all a total shock. But I do live in a relatively safe area, and my roommates (a couple) seem nice. And I can always make any room feel like home. I'll be ok once I get my bearings.

Life is a grand adventure folks, and I am fully living it. Once I get back into the swing of things, I'll be in touch about RUNNING!!! The nice thing is I'm a short train ride from Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and I also have Central Park that I can do long runs in, so I'm really excited about that! Now if only I can find me a running partner, I'll be set.

Hope all is well in everyones crazy life, take care, and stay tuned!

Lisa

I'm on the phone with Lisa as I type...

"No one is awake and I had to tell someone! Dude, remember how I said my toenail was all bruised after the marathon? IT JUST FELL OFF."

"LISA, YOU NEED TO BLOG THIS RIGHT NOW! RIGHT NOW!"

"No, I am not blogging right now! I'm trying to figure out what to do with it!"

"I'M BLOGGING IT FOR YOU!"

"I kinda want to take a picture and put it on my blog. 'This is my toenail...'"


That's the gist of our conversation right now.

"Ahhh, toenail....RIP."

Greetings from the Arctic Tundra...

I wish I was kidding when I refer to my fair city as the Arctic Tundra, but yeah, I'm not.

IT IS SO FREAKING COLD!

Little background. I use to live downtown in Chicago, where it got cold but the buildings would stop a lot of the wind. I recently moved up north to a lake front studio, and although living on a private beach was GREAT during the summer, it is really going to suck now. I seriously was almost blown away when I went out to run tonight.

THAT IS RIGHT. I went running. In the cold. I don't do these types of things, well now I do, but I use to not do these type of things. So there I was at 7 pm (because it was the only time I had to run) in my spandex long pants and layers of shirts running against gusting wind. It was pretty intense. I've been running 2 mile runs in the morning almost every day (I've had a few off) to try to really work on my speed and running technique, and my pace has been hella improving (I've set my new personal best twice in the past week for a mile!) but this cold weather really killed my lungs tonight. I took a deep gulp of air, and it felt like someone was stabbing my chest. I only went 1.15 mile. Granted I made myself bust it out and not just stop and walk but kept running, still it sucked.

SO, good news my pace is rocking (YAY) and I totally will be ready by next year to complete the marathon at or under the required time (DOUBLE YAY).

Bad news? IT IS SO COLD AND IT HURTS SO BAD.

Anyone else have really bad side stomach pains when running in the cold?

I pretty much have it pinned down somewhat to the weather, because I was running in decent weather at the pace I'm at now, and I was fine. Then it got colder, and I just cramp up.

Any suggestions for a cold cold girl? It would be much appreciated.

Well, to the confines of my warm blankets I go, only to roll out of bed and go out into the arctic to run again.

Not gonna lie though. I'm totally looking forward to the whole running part of that last sentence :)