I am so not ready for this heat

Runs
Mon 5/22 - 7 mi 1:01 "Pace"
Tue 5/23 - 3 mi 27:30 "Recovery"
Wed 5/24 - 6 miles Threshold run 2x15 miles intervals @ 7:20 pace
Thu 5/25 -
Fri 5/26 -
Sat 5/27 - 10 miles 1:33
Sun 5/28 -

Totals: 26 miles

We went to Kansas City this weekend for a wedding reception. My cousin got married a few weeks ago in NYC. My aunt and uncle wanted to throw a reception locally for their friends and family, since the NYC reception was much smaller. It was a fun time seeing family from all over the country and world. I can keep using that term "world" since my one cousin from London showed up. It was hot and humid and I was hoping that my friends in Madison would somehow be the beneficiaries of some freak cold front that passed through, but alas that was not in the cards.

Back from Boston- See you in about a year

Runs
5/16 - 6 miles
5/17 - Flight to Boston. 6 mile run from my hotel, around the Charles, passing MIT and BU. Wonderful weather and run. I was breaking in my new shoes, Saucony Grid Omni 5 Moderate.
5/18 - 3 mile son the treadmill due to rain and my conference schedule.




Miscellaneous

I have broken from My Brooks adrenaline fetish If you have read my blog, you know that I have not been very happy with my GTS-6s. The guy at the store tried to convince me that they are the same as the GTS-5s. I don't think so! The Saucony fit pretty well, but feel more cushion-ey. So far they are working ok.

I was in Boston for a medical conference for my particular specialty, cardiac electrophysiology. The conferences are a great way to catch up with what's current in the field as well as enjoy some time with people I haven't seen in about a year. These are people that I spent more time with than my own wife, when I was a resident and fellow. It's a lot like the military. Long hours, working together during tough and stressful times. You develop a bond that stays forever.

Wed- Flight into Boston. Dinner at Grill 23. I know it isn't the ideal place for a vegetarian, but I had some great wine and an ok meal. The one from Darioush was particularly excellent. I was up until 3 am talking with friends.

Thursday - slept in and ran on the treadmill. The rest of the day was spent at the conference. The evening was spent at Tapeo reminiscing with former colleagues from St. Louis.

Friday - a full day at the conference. Dinner at Ristorante Lucia in the North End and two bottles of wine- a Silverado Cab and a Joseph Phelps- Insignia. Really outstanding. After dinner, a few of us went to a bar where mostly 20 somethings were. It was like Coyote Ugly, and several women dancing on the bar. My friend was getting hit on by 21 year old women (He's 36) I had way too much to drink - Lots of wine, 2 glasses of port, 3 Heinekens, a Kamikaze shot, and the topper- Red Bull and Vodka. I had no business NOT being hung over the next morning, but somehow I wasn't. I actually woke up after 3 hours of sleep (3 am-6am) b/c I forgot to close the shades and it gets bright really early. I actually woke up, without any real signs of a hangover. I thought I must not yet be sober and that must be the reason. But clearly the Red Bull is a magic potion. During the day we wandered around Harvard Square and had dinner on the north End again that night.

5/20 - Drove up to Marblehead, MA and had lunch on the coast. Flight back to Chicago.

Happy Mother's Day

Runs


Saturday
12 miles - combination of treadmill and indoor track. I sorta wussed out b/c of the threat of rain. The clouds looked like there was going to be a torrential downpour, so I decided on running indoors. The gym was moderately crowded, and I try not to hog the treadmill if it is crowded. However, It really isn't practical to stay on for only 30 minutes. So, I gauge the need to get off based on the number of empty mils. If there are some empty ones, I stay on. If it is full, I get off and get back on after re-signing up. Today, after 6 miles, there was an overhead announcement about the time limits and several people walking behind my mil to see my time. So, I got off after 6 miles, and went to another mil on the other end of the gym. I ran 3 miles there and decided to try the indoor track. I have never run on this 1/8th mile track, b/c I feel I will lose count of laps easily. This almost happened a few times, but fortunately, my pace was just under 8:00/mile, which made each lap, just under 1 minute. Thus when I lost track, I could easily tell what lap number I was on. The track is full of walkers and there are three lanes. The outer lane is supposed to be for runners, but the walkers often use it to "pass" people.

Sunday
5 miles, again on the treadmill. Same weather issues. A and I were supposed to run a 5K for the Y-Me Cancer organization. However, we didn't want N to be out in the rain, so we bagged the 5K. My legs were pretty tired from my run yesterday, and it took me about 55 minutes for this 5 mile run. I just didn't feel like pushing myself. I did catch up on Sportscenter though. Now that I listen to Podcasts in the car, I don't listen to Sports Radio anymore.

Culinary
Saturday night we went to some friend's house for dinner. I made some really kick ass Guacamole. I add cumin and Cayenne pepper for a slightly different flavor.

I am planting my garden seeds this week. I have about 35 little pods set up and will plant them in the ground in a few weeks. This year, from seed, I am planting:

5 varieties of tomatoes- most are Heirloom varieties
Okra
Beans
Peas
cucumbers
Jalapeno Peppers

Herbs
Basil, (Genovese, Thai and Greek)
Cilantro
Italian Parsley

Depending on what grows, I'll probably buy some plants to fill out the garden (Tomatoes, Peppers)

GTS-^6 You're dead to me

Runs
M/T - toe recovery

Wed - Speedwork
2x2000 = 8:34 and 8:43 (~6:58 pace)
4x400 = (1:34, 1:31, 1:31, 1:23) - (`6:18 to 5:33 pace)
1 mile warm/cool

-The home schoolers were there in force. For those who don't know, there is a family of 6 or 7 kids, all home schooled, varying in ages from around 13-14 to 5. They all come to Speedwork and the three oldest sons are all pretty fast. They don't always run all the repeats. They run the first one fast, take a few off, and then save themselves for the last one. However, when their Dad shows up, they give it their all. I was able to catch the third fastest kid on my 2000 repeats, but not the 2 fastest.
- On the 400s, I would get passed near the end by this very thin Asian woman. I got annoyed b/c she's overtake me really close. The last repeat (as you can tell by my time) I really smoked her. She pulled up even after 200m, and then I gunned it and she couldn't keep up. It turns out she is really sweet, and I am portraying her as some bit#$, when she isn't.
- I used my older Brooks GTS-5 and had virtually no pain in my toes. So, either the issue is gone, or it really was the shoes. GTS-6, you're dead to me.


Work has been crazy busy. My boss has been on vacation for 2 weeks, which not only makes me very busy, but creates more work in the long run. When he is on vacation, he sits around and emails Chairmen, volunteering my time for projects, etc. He starts off the email like it's going to be me and him, but by the end, I'm the one left holding the bag.

Next week, I'll be in Boston for a medical conference. A will join me for the weekend, and my in-laws are taking care of N from Fri-Sunday.

I think I understand why Football Players hate Turf Toe

Runs
Sat 5/6/06 - 5.17 miles, 44:36, (8:37 pace)
The ankle is holding up well. It is almost completely healed. The left middle toe continues to hurt.

Sunday 5/7/06 - 11 miles, 1:40 (9:06 pace)
The run was a little slow. My legs felt tired, probably from my "faster" run the day before. I can tell that I haven't built upon my gains. For example, just when I was turning the corner a few weeks ago, I turned my ankle. Hopefully, this toe issue will go away. I'm beginning to think my shoes may be playing a role. I have never really liked the Brooks GTS-6 that I bought before LBCM last year. I had been a faithful fan of the GTS-4 and 5. The 6 seems to be slightly different in its fit. It is lighter, and that is a plus, but there is something about this shoe that I don't like. I have nearly 300 miles on this and I'm giving up on them. The will be my short run shoe, maybe. After 3 1/2 years of All Brooks, All the time, I'm going a different direction. ?Asics, ?Mizuno, ?New Balance.

One of my friends had a baby girl and had the naming ceremony (Brit Bat) yesterday. His wedding was the first Jewish wedding I had attended and his daughter's naming ceremony was the first Brit Bat, I have attended.

I went to another kids birthday party yesterday. Too Funny.

The Big Apple

Runs:

5/3/06 - First Speedwork Session of the year
5x1000m repeats at 5K pace. 1 mile warm/cool= total 5.1 miles

First repeat was too fast. 3:45 (6:00 pace)
2-5 were better at 4:17-4:10 ( 6:40 pace-7:00)

Part of the problem is I don't really know what my 5K pace is. I've only raced a 5K once in the past 5 years. I'm a little sore. My ankle feels no different after this workout and my toe issue is not much of a problem. So, I think I'm good to go for returning to training. I'll try to get in another 15 miles this week.

Since my last post, we went to New York City for my cousin's wedding. We stayed at the Residence Inn, on the corner of 39th Street and 6th avenue. I recommend this hotel very highly. Free breakfast, large rooms with a kitchenette. It's close to the subway, and Times Square. The weather was great, and if I wasn't letting my foot heal, I would have had some awesome running weather. I would love to have spent some of my younger years living in NYC, but at this point, the drop in lifestyle to live there isn't worth it. Whenever I visit NYC, I realize Chicago is not NYC. Chicago is great in it's own way and in many ways, superior. But NYC has something special, that I don't have the ability to put into words.

N and A had a great time. N played in this very cool park in Central park with a very large stone slide. He was getting nudged out of the way by older kids who took a shortcut to get back to the top of the slide. This annoyed and frustrated him, but he didn't lose his cool, surprisingly.

The wedding was at the Brooklyn botanical Garden. Apparently, Manhattan cab drivers do not know how to get there. Many people attending the wedding has similar problems and my Dad arrived 5 minutes before the bride walked down the aisle.

I had my favorite Pizza in the world and some Indian food called "Kati Rolls" which were awesome as well.