14 miler at Waterfal Glen!

Location:  Waterfal Glen 

Distance:  14 miles

Time:  2hrs

Temperature:  38-42 degrees

  This was a really great run and actually was not planning on running this distance.  This is currently the furthest I have run. Prior to this run my longest distance was the Rock'n Roll  half marathon in Chicago.  The run today started pretty slow and I was stiff but after a few miles I felt quite a bit better.  The trail was kind of a mix of ice and mud which was a bit challenging for my footwork.  I was happy with the beautiful weather today, it felt like spring.  

  After about mile 7 I was kinda thinking that going a little further then 10 miles might be possible, since I was feeling really good during this run.  So I decided to set my goal for 13 or 14 miles.  By  the time I got to 13 miles I thought why not just do the 14, so I did.  Near the end of the run I was getting pretty sore and my legs were so stiff, but I was very happy I pushed my self to finish it! All in all a great day on the trail

Downers Grove

Location: Downers Grove
Distance:  6miles
Time:  46min
Temperature:  38degrees

This was a very nice evening run right at sunset.  The route I did has been as of lately my regular everyday type of route.  Is start off  from my house and head down main street till I hit down town Downers Grove, then just kinda run through all of the side streets through the town and then back.  I really enjoy this route because I always tend to run into people I know in the town and I stop and chat for a few min before I get back to the run.  I felt pretty strong on the run this evening and actually felt like I could of gone a few more miles, but decided to stop because I hope to get some solid miles in tomorrow on some trails.

Benis Woods To Brookfeild Zoo 12mile

Date:  12-31-2011

Location:  Bemis Woods Cook County 

Distance:  12 miles

Temperature:  35 degrees 

I have been wanted to run this trial for a while now.  I work right up the road from it and still have not managed to get my self over there.  The run started pretty slow actually, possibly because of the cold damp weather, but I picked up the pace later on.  Despite the cold I did feel pretty good the whole run.  My knee did start to give me problems around mile 8ish but after a while the pain finally faded away.  Other then my knee everything else went well. Got some good pics and chatted with a few other runners out there today, the trail was full of people.  I hope to be going back there running soon!  

Catching up from last week

1/26/2011

Location:  Springbrook Prairie

Time:  51:24

Distance:  6miles

Well there is not much to say about this run other then that it was horribly windy and cold.  I defiantly did not pick the right path to run on that day.  There are no trees or hills to block any of the freezing wind, and it seemed like it was just blowing in my face every direction I was in.  The run wasn't all bad though.  The snow was packed well enough on the trail so I didn't have to wear spikes, and I could actually keep a pretty steady pace.

1/27/2011

Location:  Greene Valley

Time:  1:12 min

Miles:  ???

This was a great day with lots for fresh powder on the ground.  I woke up and saw all the snow coming down outside so I wasted no time on packing up my winter running gear and getting out on a trail.  I went to Greene Valley because of how close it is to where I live in DG, and It dose have a lot of fun trails.  This was a much more pleasurable run.  Minimal wind and lots of fresh snow.  I ended up wearing my microspikes which helped a lot.  I didn't really plan any specific time or distance for this run.  I just wanted to have fun and explore the woods for a few hours basically.  The total time I spent running was 1hour and 12 min, but spent  a lot more time out there just taking pictures and checking out the scenery.  I felt very strong running and was impressed at the distance I covered especially in the snow.  The next day I did a few miles at the gym and then took a few rest days.  Not sure how much running I will get done in the next few days with the blizzard thats coming through.

spikes next to deer track

Long week

  Well today I finally made it to the gym and got about 5.35 miles in.  Currently I have not been a very good runner.  My head chef was on vacation all week so I took over the kitchen.  Everything went well, and I had a lot of fun leading the kitchen but after 9 straight days of doubles I was worn out.  Yesterday I wanted to go on a trail but being my first day off in 9 days I decided to do pretty much nothing.  Today though I woke up went straight to the gym and did some fun hill climbs on the treadmill.  It felt great running again.  Because of the schedule I had, I only managed one run last week.  After the gym I hit up the grocery store and made a great tuna salad sandwich with avocado, tomato, and cucumber, on a fresh onion roll it turned out really good.  Also I haven't really made a race schedule yet for the year but I hope to figure things out soon.  I want to continue with some 5ks but also get into some 10ks and even half marathons. Since I haven't done a vacation for a while I am also thinking of doing a race out in Colorado area possibly.

10 Mile

Location:  Waterfall Glenn
Time:  1 hour 14min
Distance: 10mile
Temperature:  27 degrees

Well finally I had a sunny day to go running. I woke up and  went right over to Waterfall Glenn Forest preserve and did the loop there.  I actually wasn't planning on doing the full 10 miles there but I felt really good today.  My calf muscles were pretty much healed up from last week so they didn't bother me much, and I had a ton of energy.  I think switching from water, which I usually drink, to Gatoraide may of helped.  Also I did have one Gu and had it with in the first 25 or 30 min which may have helped as well.  Last time I ran the same trail I became very weak near the end, but today I felt very strong and was kind of thinking of just doing a full 13 miles to get used to doing a half marathon.  Well I Once I saw my car in the lot I decided that I will call it quits after 10miles so I could grab some lunch.  It was a great run with lots of sun and minimum snow/ice.  

Springbrook Prairie

Location:  Springbrook Prairie
Miles:  6
Time:  46.38 min.
Temperature:  26 degrees

  Well today I am off of work and decided to hit up Springbrook Prairie.  It was actually my first trail run for a while with out any snow on the trail.  I decided that it would be a good day to try out my new trail shoes for the first time.  They ended up working out pretty well.  I was surprised to see that the New Balance 101s were actually pretty comfortable, although it was quite a bit different running with almost no support or cushioning.  I am looking forward to using them on more of a single track trail this spring.


  The run went pretty well, although I think I started at a faster pace then I should have.  Towards the end my calf muscles were getting a little sore.  As for the weather the sky was over cast and even though it was a nice 26-30 degrees the wind was pretty much non-stop in my face.  Anyways after the run I went and picked up some coffee to warm up and made some excellent quesadillas for lunch.  Tomorrow I have another day off of work but may just do a light day on the treadmill.  Don't want to push my sore calf muscles to much.

    Picture of the model airplane runway