Minneapolis-Star-Tribune-runningkellometers

Hi y'all! I'm back in town from New Orleans after having a fabulous and relaxing vacation. On our super-duper long ride home on Friday, I texted Maggie to see if she was up for hitting a few miles with me on Saturday. I felt great on my run down in NOLA so I wanted to keep things going. I didn't have a particular distance goal in mind, I just wanted to go as far as I felt like going. We met up at the local hilly trail (but the non-hilly end). Maggie was gracious enough to keep with my pace and let me lead.

Shoe twinsies

 

Friday night I had my office holiday party so I decided to move my long run to Sunday. On Saturday, it was unseasonably warm with temps in the 50s. On Sunday, there was a high in the 30s and snow was expected. Although we didn't get snow, we got rain that turned to ice.

I met up with Maggie and Kate for a 10 mile run at a local trail that I haven't been to in awhile. I was really happy to have the accountability because it was one of those days where it seems much more appealing to stay wrapped up under the covers! Despite the temps and the conditions, we got out there and got it done. When the trail was icy in spots, we ran in the grass. Our splits weren't really consistent since there were some rolling hills, but I always love when the last mile is the fastest! :)

I took half of a Picky Bar at mile 6 with a pretzel and then took another pretzel about a mile later. I took a little more Picky Bar and another pretzel at mile 8.5. My stomach felt good so that was very exciting! I think the mixture and adding in the pretzels was helpful. Do you eat pretzels when you run? Do you think they help settle your stomach too?

Post-Run photo with Kate (left) and Maggie (right)

As I may have previously mentioned a few times before, I run with the Frankfort New Lenox running club. We call ourselves the FN Runners. This past Saturday, the group put on a supported 20 mile run out on the trail with help from a local grocery chain (Berkot's supplied water, cups, Gatorade, bananas, and oranges) and a local running store (Running For Kicks provided Gu). The stations were manned by other members of the group and helped by local high school kids. So many people helped to make this run great and I was happy to be a part of it! I didn't help by manning an aid station, though. I cheered at the half way point, helped direct some folks where to go until I met up with Maggie and I ran the 2nd half with her. I know Maggie's had a few posts lately about how she's burnt out on running and tired all the time. It is at that point in the training cycle so I was happy to help lend some fresh legs and fresh energy out there for the 2nd 10 miles!

I hadn't run 10 miles in a few weeks so I wasn't sure how things would go. However, knowing someone was depending on me, I knew I couldn't let them down. In some of the chaos of the morning, I forgot my Garmin. I was kind of glad because I wasn't obsessing about how far we were, etc. we chatted a lot about food (what can I say? I like food) and the miles seemed to breeze by. There was tons of support along the way which was really amazing. (This running club seriously rocks. And there isn't a membership fee to join! You just have to show up!) Before I knew it, we were at mile 8 and only had 2 left to go. I think I said a couple times, "Only 2 left?!" We had a little fun quoting Dylan from Modern Family. (I couldn't find a YouTube video of the clip.) "This is the farthest I've ever run....... Now this is the farthest I've ever run...... Now THIS is the farthest I've ever run." that never got old (to me at least).

Thanks for snapping this great photo Amanda!

Best in the city.

In case you all haven't noticed, it has been a hot summer here in Chicago. It has been one of the hottest summers of my entire life actually (not an exaggeration). Now that fall is approaching and it is getting cooler, it seems that the mosquitoes are in full force out there. They are huge, brutal, and hungry. Being outside for only a few minutes can lead to several bites, let alone out on the trail. Even after my run a few days ago, I had 2-3 bites from standing around for 10 minutes in the dark.

Oretta in Midnight

I had originally asked for a small but was told it was probably best to go up a size so I ordered the medium instead. It was a little too big but I think the small would have still been too small. Either way, I suggest going up a size if you're looking to purchase one of your own.

I wasn't sure what to expect before heading out on the run as it was kind of chilly and I wasn't sure how many bugs we'd actually see. After taking our group photo, we headed out onto the trail.

L to R: Me, Maggie, Kim, Amanda W, Jill, Bob, Kim and her daughter. Front: Amanda C with Aby and Michael

Turns out the trail has a big gnat problem. There were swarms/clouds of gnats or whatever kind of bugs, and I was pretty much unaffected in my Haeleum shirt. My fellow runners were coughing/choking on bugs as I just smiled and may have squealed "It works!" Coming from someone who is pretty spastic when it comes to bugs, I was excited about my shirt. The run continued and we had some more bug problems and I continued to remain pretty unaffected compared to other runners. In the end, everyone was jealous of my shirt and wanted one of their own!

With my shirt, they also sent me a bandanna/scarf that I'm going to giveaway to one lucky reader! Sorry Pepper, no new fashion accessories for you!

I held up my hand to help scale