Filed under: Cheat Meal, Lindsey, Long Runs, Road-Running, Travel, pain, video, water bottle
Patrick and I spent the week in Southern Illinois. On Saturday, we carb loaded and headed out to run. This time, we ran a portion of the Tunnel Hill trail. The trail is actually an old railroad bed, so it’s flat and very long. We began in Vienna (pronounced Vie-Anna), and ran to Belknap and back.
Neither of us ran this week. I tried a bit on Friday, but didn’t get too far. Luckily, we were able to finish the 16-miler. We loved running this trail. It felt good to run a softer surface. There are extremely small rock fragments over dirt. And, there were mile markers on the trail! The scenery was also nice. We started off seeing corn fields, ran over several bridges, through a tunnel, saw some horses, ran next to the Cache River Wetlands, which looks like a bright green swamp, and close to a huge tomato garden. There was a detour and we had to run on the road. It was dangerous. A rickety car was inches away from me as it passed going about 65 miles an hour. It didn’t get over. If anything, the driver tried to get close to me to perhaps scare me. It did. I’ve had to cover too many incidents as a reporter where someone gets hurt or even killed because a driver it trying to make a point or be funny. On the way back, I ignored the detour signs and continued on the portion of the trail that was closed. I had to jump over two ravines and cross the railroad tracks. I felt much safer than if I would have had to go on the road again.
I was extremely thirsty during the run. I continuously gulped down water while I was running, and chugged it when I walked. I did a good job at keeping myself hydrated throughout the run, but I really wanted more water. At times, it felt like my heart skipped a beat and I couldn’t catch my breath. I decided to take longer walking breaks, and at one point, I probably walked for 10 minutes straight. I just couldn’t breathe well. Finally, when I was ready to run, my legs began to cramp up. Finishing was difficult. Although I could see the end of the trail, I couldn’t keep my body going. I had to walk.
During the run, I thought some of the twigs on the ground were jumping. I also thought I saw a horizontal street sign in middle of the woods. It was actually a branch of extremely bright leaves where the sun was beaming down. Other than that, my mind didn’t play many tricks on me. But I did find some of the comments from passing bicyclists annoying. Because I run faster than Patrick, I’m usually about a half to an entire mile ahead. I’m also in the zone with my music turned up loud. I kept having to pause my music and ask the bicyclist to repeat what they were yelling at me, which was always something in the neighborhood of: “Slow down, so that guy can catch up! You’re going to fast,” and so on. I kept thinking something bad happened to Patrick, and I would slow down and look back and try to see if he was alright. I love humor, but it’s distracting when you’re in middle of a 16-mile run. Why can’t they just say “Hi! Good morning!” and move on?
I finished running in 2 hours and 45 minutes. I immediately went to the car and drank a bunch of ice cold water. I ate a banana, stretched, and waited for Patrick to get done. I could tell he was in a lot of pain. I had trouble walking for the rest of the day. In fact, it’s been more than 24 hours and I’m still having trouble walking!
After our run, we got all dressed up for the Inspiring Women’s Gala at SIUC.
Sometimes, I want to give up. I think running a marathon would be nice, but could I ever complete a full marathon? And what about completing the marathon between four and five hours? Will I just give up and walk, or give up and duck into a casino? After listening to so many women talk about what’s inspired them to keep going, I felt much stronger. One woman joined the Peace Corps when she retired! I found myself thinking: “I want to be like her!”
Plus, the entire evening was extremely special. Patrick and I were invited to sit with our friends at WSIL-TV, and we had a great time together. (All of us happened to wear black dresses!) Everyone was dressed up. When I say it was fancy– I mean it. Take a look at the butter: (It’s in a shape of a flower)
And this is just a sample of what we could have for dessert:
The next day, we went on an adventure in Cairo, Illinois! I’ve been wanting to take Patrick to Cairo for some BBQ, for about two years now. Today was the perfect time to take him there. I took him “downtown” and showed him where all the hustle and bustle used to be:
We could park anywhere, get out, and do just about anything. There was no one around! Makes us wonder why there are so many stop signs?
I even showed Patrick where an entrance way used to be to a major store. Now, you can just see a little bit of the intricate tile-work where the doorway used to be. Patrick acted like the building was still there:
Then, I took him to Fort Defiance State Park, which is between two bridges; one to Kentucky and one to Missouri. It’s as low as you can go in Illinois.
After that, we had BBQ!
After all that, we were tired! And… my legs still hurt!
It’s 2:30 p.m. and I’m extremely tired. Patrick and I decided (or had no choice) to run on Sunday. We both felt very sick on Saturday and had to postpone the run. We both had very trying weeks. I only ran about three miles the entire week because I was so busy and stressed. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to finish today’s 15 miler because I didn’t get in my practice runs. But, I did it!
Patrick woke up at 5 a.m. He used several different methods to get me to wake up, including beating on a tambourine. That helped me get into a good mood, but I was still nervous about running. We got to the park around 7 a.m. and ran the first four miles together. I thought I was going to give up. My knees and my feet didn’t hurt, but it was a struggle to keep going. After about seven miles I felt great.
I found my mind wondering while I ran. At times I would find myself thinking, “how did I get here? I don’t remember passing the Planetarium or the stables.” I lucked out when it came to traffic. There were minimal cars and I hit all the green lights– or little blinking signs that looked like people encouraging me to walk.
Unlike Saturdays, there were very few runners. And almost no one said hello. My music gave me encouragement. Then, after a lap and a half, I saw Patrick. He decided to run the last lap the opposite direction of myself. We waved and even high-fived when we saw each other which helped keep me going. The last two miles were horrendous.
I didn’t think I could finish, but I knew the faster I ran, the sooner I’d be done. I just kept pushing it. I found myself praying for my Yia Yia who is in the hospital, and for Patrick’s niece who is having some medical issues. I also prayed that I would be done running soon. I could see the finish line (aka, some bushes, the racquetball courts and a Band-Aide pasted to the ground. Okay, I couldn’t see the Band-Aide, but I knew it was there.)
As soon as I was done, I felt very emotional. Patrick told me about mile 14. Apparently mile 14 is a very difficult mile to get through. I went through it just fine, but as soon as I was done, it caught up with me. I couldn’t catch my breath. I stumbled to the Visitor’s Center and gulped down some cold water from the fountain. I was heading to the bathroom when I felt faint. I thought I might tumble over. I even saw stars. I had to hunch down and try to catch my breath. I still couldn’t.
I went into the restroom and washed my hands and face with cold water. I was still breathing very heave and a woman in a stall asked me if I was alright. I told her I was fine, I had just ran a very long way. She said, “okay.” I went to the car and got my water bottle. I stretched and ate a banana. Finally, I could breath again. I grabbed the water, the bananas, and some bagels and headed back to the Visitor’s Center to wait for Patrick. We cooled down for nearly 45 minutes in there before going home.
Then we went to my favorite place! Red Robin’s. The only bad thing is they don’t have their nutrition information online. But after running 15 miles, it doesn’t really matter. All we care about is an endless bowl of fries with mayo-bbq dipping sauce, and juicy gourmet burgers with glasses of ice water. It was a great day!
Finally!!! Temperatures were under 90 degrees! In fact, we began our 5-mile run at 7:30 a.m., and it was only 75 degrees! We started out at the Visitor’s Center just like last time, and then ran the entire park. We stopped a little bit short because the park is 5.6 miles around.
I put my headphones on at the beginning of the run and listened to some Bobby Darin music. I didn’t hear or say “Good Morning,” because my music was on. After a mile, I took my headphones off and started to say “Hi,” which made the run a bit nicer.
I tried to keep up with Patrick because I wanted to run the entire park without stopping. I’m a better runner when I run fast and then take a walking break. After getting about half the park done, I decided to take off. I found this run quite difficult and I’m not sure why. I actually find it easier to run in extreme heat. I think it’s because I push myself hard to finish faster when it’s hot. I have the mind set, “The faster I run, the sooner I’ll be done.”
Because it was so nice in the morning, I wanted to walk, relax, and take in the atmosphere. I just didn’t want to run. And, I couldn’t think of anything to think about. Usually I think about one particular subject which occupies me through the run. On this morning, I could only think about wanting to have something interesting to think about. Besides enjoying the beauty of the park, the run started out boring.
I also started to know the layout of the park, which means I knew what to expect. It makes the run seem longer when I know just how much further I have to run. People on bikes were passing me up so fast. I had to keep an eye to make sure I didn’t get run over. The park was quite packed.
I was also in pain almost the entire run. Everything hurt. My right ankle hurt first, and then my calf. My shoulder hurt during the middle of the run. I had a headache near the end. My left big toe was in extreme pain. I didn’t get any cramping though. That was nice. I was just really happy– and tired– when the run was over.
Then, it was onto Six Flags. We were taking Patrick’s sister Ellen and his niece Erin to the park as Ellen’s birthday present. Erin was afraid of many of the rides, so she ended up waiting for us and waving the whole time. But she enjoyed herself. Her favorite ride was the Scooby-Doo ride and the bumper cars. Ellen and Patrick loved Mr. Freeze. I love the Buccaneer, which is now– sadly– called the Joker. It was so much more of a thrill when it felt like the entire ride was going to fall apart. Now it’s all safe. Bummer.
The entire experience made us miss Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. I did find the rides and some of features of the shopping better. Although Six Flags had entertainment shows, we didn’t have enough time to see them. Even if I enjoyed the rides, while standing in line I kept thinking about the price of all the merchandise, food, and even parking. And, if people are sick of standing in line, at Six Flags, they could pay $ 25 extra and jump the line. So much for teaching kids about patience.
Here’s a comparison:
Admission:
$ 44.99, Six Flags
$ 37.95, Holiday World
Parking:
$ 15 per car, Six Flags
Free, Holiday World
Sodas:
$ 9.50 and $ 1 per refill, Six Flags
Free, Holiday World
Water:
$ 4, Six Flags
Free, Holiday World
Suntan Lotion:
Bring your own, Six Flags
Free suntan lotion stations, Holiday World
Food:
Around $10 a person for a burger and fries, Six Flags
About $5 a person for a burger, fries and a cookie, Holiday World
To Get In:
Go through medal detectors, get bags inspected, have an endless amount of people trying to sell you trips, Six Flags
Just go in, Holiday World
If Holiday World were closer, we would have gone there. It would have been a 3-hour drive one way and that would have been too long to take the girls. Although at Six Flags, I felt like I got a work out. We couldn’t find some the entrances to the rides, so we kept walking around and got a real workout. But after running 5 miles in the morning, I would have rather had more of a relaxing day. We did have fun. The girls will be talking about it for months to come.
For our cheat meal, we ate at Johnny Rockets in the park. Patrick and I had double-cheese burgers with fries. It was so hot and what was horrible is that there was no air conditioning or fans while we were trying to eat. We wanted a shake, but they were six bucks a piece. And we couldn’t find bathrooms. We ate our food without washing our hands. EEEWWW! You think they would have been requires to put a bathroom INSIDE the eating facility. We walked around for about five minutes after our meal looking for them. We finally found bathrooms about 400 feet away.
We ended up eating Dippin’ Dots at the end of the day. I got my wonderful chocolate mint, and Patrick had Cookies and Cream. By the end of the day, we were tired. We ended up falling to sleep pretty early. We can’t wait to get the pictures printed from our day at Six Flags and give a copy to the girls and Patrick’s mom.
What I want for my birthday is to run eight miles successfully, and that’s exactly what I got! Although I would have liked my pacing to be better, I have to admit I did pretty well. Patrick and I were only supposed to run seven miles. We felt so motivated, we went ahead and ran an extra mile.
We ran around Murphysboro Lake this morning around 7:45. The lake was beautiful. There was mist coming off the water and all I could hear were sounds of nature and my feet hitting the pavement. Unlike running close to my house, there were no foul odors from dead animals. I think it’s because I was in a state park. And there was hardly any trash. Just about a case of Keystone Light was sporadically tossed out someone’s window. Other than that and a couple of small items, there was no litter. It was refreshing to be a part of nature without seeing it destroyed.
There were many steep hills on the course. Take a look:
Another hard part of the course was getting away from all the bugs. I had several following me and some of them bit me. Many were bees. I must have squished about five of them. But whenever I could smell something sweet, like flowers, they weren’t there. I guess I don’t smell as sweet as a flower. While running, that’s a good thing!
Because it was my birthday, I was in a very happy mood. I finished running about four minutes before Patrick and felt great running ahead. When I was done, I felt like I could run another four miles around the park. Of course, now that a few hours have passed, I’m glad we stopped when we did.
After our run, we drove around the park to look at the lily-pads one more time. They were so beautiful.
I’m a bit bummed about next week. We are only supposed to run five miles and work our way back up to nine in a few weeks. I want to run 10. I’m ready to go, I feel strong, and I’m excited to get going!
Tonight is special because it’s our cheat meal/my birthday meal! We are going to Fujiyama Steakhouse in Carbondale.
The chefs do these really neat tricks at the hibachi tables:
Patrick and I both got the Surf & Turf special which included lobster tail and filet mignon. Patrick just got hooked on lobster last weekend, and now it’s one of his favorites. I really enjoyed the unique taste. Usually lobster tastes like butter, but this time, it was much different:
And at the very end of the night, I was surprised with a grand ice cream desert and everyone sang a Japanese birthday song for me and hit the gong. It was such a wonderful night!
Filed under: Cheat Meal, Long Runs, bugs, hills, hot, patrick, toenail, video, water bottle
Lindsey and I are getting better at waking up early on Saturdays for our long runs. I’m sure knowing the heat is coming really helps, because by about 10:30, it really gets hot! The high temps this past week have been in the 100s! After getting up, having some breakfast and driving about 30 minutes to the course, we arrived around 7:30.
Lindsey picked out the place to run, since I drove to Southern Illinois this weekend. We were going to run around Murphysboro Lake, which is about 4 miles around, and since this is a 7-miler, we will run around the park almost twice, saving the last mile for a good walk/warm down. Little did I know that the location was FULL of hills!
The trail was beautiful and peaceful. The road was wide and covered with tall trees most of the way. There were a few people fishing with their boats, and a couple walkers. We weren’t sure how the trail would go, other than it was the road around the park, so we just kept on the main road, and did fine. My GPS unit worked until about a mile, then all the trees around caused me to lose connection with the satellite.
When Lindsey and I ran together, we had a few “interruptions” with bugs, specifically small horseflies. They really buzzed around us when there was shade, and I killed one on Lindsey’s butt while running. The hills came upon us so quickly, and they were pretty steep in a couple places. We tackled them pretty hard and were successful. It felt like the hills never ended. Right before the end of the first 4 miles, we ran across a small dam/bridge, and looking over at the lake was gorgeous. In my mind, I felt like I was in one of those professional posters where the guy is running across the lake and there’s some big saying about motivation or serenity…but really I knew all it looked like was a big fat guy sweating his ass off trying to just be done with it.
Lindsey arrived at the end of the first lap, and as I was coming down the hill, she handed me my water bottle that was placed under the” Smokey The Bear” sign. Here we go again, but this time, we ran the course in reverse. I carried my water bottle with me the whole second lap. The horseflies were really expecting us now, and miles 5 & 6 were bad…I was bit by one enough to really feel the pain, and it stung for a good mile before I was able to ignore it.
On the second lap, I just couldn’t handle the hills. I would start, but then end up taking my walk about halfway. These were the steepest hills I’ve ever trained on. And on the flipside, on the downhill slopes, I had to gradually pick up speed to take them on, otherwise I would have fell forward. I could feel my hamstrings kicking in on the downhills. I think my legs really got a workout today.
I had made a mental mark on where Mile 7 was, but it wasn’t a clear mark, and so when I passed it, I wasn’t sure it was really the right place. And Lindsey was about 4 minutes ahead of me, so I lost track of her mostly through the second lap. I just kept running as best as I could, and then suddenly the “Smokey The Bear” sign showed up, and BAM! I ran 8 miles, not 7!
I was so proud of Lindsey, she did very well, beating my time by 4 minutes. She was so energized from the run, she was saying she could run another lap. I was whipped, but felt great. And knowing the next couple big weekend runs will be smaller feels good. I can’t wait to run 7 again, and next time I’m hoping it will be easy. I did bruise underneath my big toe on my left foot. Going down the hills made my toenail squish against the front of the shoe, and it bruised it pretty bad. I think I’ll lose that nail in a couple months. It’s a throbbing pain right now, and it’s starting to turn blue (fun, huh?)
Happy Birthday, baby! Can’t wait to eat Fujiyama Steakhouse tonight!
Conditions: 78 degrees, cooler, shady, clear skies.
Results: today: 8 miles; total: 32 miles; time: 1:38:14; pace: 12:16
Thoughts: I need to stick to a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday schedule during the week. It really helps. I can’t wait for the weather to be cooler, so I can do all my runs outside.
What I’ll remember the most: Those damn hills.
I did it! I ran six miles! Patrick and I woke up early Saturday morning and headed to Forest Park. Shortly after we began running, we were passed by several groups of runners who shouted, “Good Morning, Runners!” I felt so encouraged. It’s the first time I’ve ever been recognized as a runner, and to be recognized by other marathoners made my day!
Patrick forgot his music, so I kept my headphones off. We ran together during the first stretch. Just before we came across steep hills, Patrick gave me some advice. He told me to look down at the path and not up at the gigantic hill. He also told me to press on hard and tackle the hills. I did. I passed him up. He says I took off, but I felt that I just focused. He caught up to me around mile five. It was great to have him by my side.
It was so nice to hear birds, activity in the park and the gentle sound of passing cars. Some parts of the park were quieter than others. As the day grew on, the sun began to rise, and the other runners quit greeting us. It was all about finishing at that point.
As soon as Patrick caught up with me at mile five, we high-fived. That was a very, very bad idea. My body automatically began thinking it was done. I felt the rush of being happy to have accomplished five miles, that I nearly forgot I had one more to go.
The last portion of the run was straight with a slight downhill slope. I dislike straight courses because it feels never ending. It’s hard not to look ahead and see an endless path with no finish line in sight. The only thing that kept me going is thinking I saw the finishing point. Because I have never run the park before, I didn’t quite know how much longer I had to go.
When I finished, Patrick was about a minute behind me. I took off for the visitor’s center for some air conditioning and cold water from the fountain. I felt pain and happiness. I am so happy I completed my first big run. It’s given me confidence.
That night, Patrick and I celebrated our anniversary by going to the Melting Pot. We had the “Big Night Out,” which is a four-course meal that includes cheese fondue, salad, a surf & turf plate, and desert. We had Wisconsin Cheese to start with, followed by a California Salad, then an assortment of lobster, shrimp, filet mignon, fresh tuna, chicken, and beef. To cook it, we used our fondue pot and marinated the meal in Coq Au Vin. For desert, we had “Amaretto Meltdown,” which is a flambéed white chocolate with an assortment of fresh fruit and cakes. We were so stuffed by the end of the meal we both felt sick. But it was worth every bite!
Conditions: 70-something degrees.
Results: 6 miles; 1:06 hours
What I’ll remember the most: Encouragement from fellow runners!
We went to bed early Saturday night and set our alarm for 9 a.m. so we could get up and run early. After a few dozen snoozes, we got out of bed after 1 p.m. As soon as we ventured out to run, it began to pour. After driving all over St. Louis to find a place to run where there was no rain, we ended up back where we began.
About three minutes into it, I remembered how much my shoes hurt me the last time I ran. But this time, there was minimal pain. I was able to keep my mind on track. I thought about running heel to toe, keeping my arms and shoulders relaxed, relaxing my lower jaw, and taking deep breaths with my stomach. I focused in on my running technique, making sure I learned good habits right off the bat.
The three mile run was easy. Besides surviving the humidity, the hardest part was breathing correctly. I didn’t mind that it had rained because it kept the temperature below 80 degrees.
I completed the run in less than 30 minutes, averaging about 9-minute miles after my two-minute walk breaks.
After the run, Patrick and I shared a protein cookie, and then went to Subway where we had a double-meat club sandwich with olives and 100% whole wheat bread. No sauce.
But on Saturday, we splurged. (Patrick and I allow ourselves to splurge on food once a week. That means one meal– not a whole day of splurging. We call it a “Cheat Meal.”) We each ate our own 14″ pizza from Cecil Whittaker’s. I had shrimp and pineapple on mine. I usually only eat about 1,500 calories a day, but on that day, I had more than 3,500. I couldn’t even feel the pizza on Sunday. Because I’ve been eating healthy, the pizza didn’t stick.
The best part about eating healthy all week, and running, is how great I feel afterwards. Sometimes I really want to eat junk food and veg out in front of the TV, but after I run I feel more productive. This week, I am supposed to run 3-miles, three days a week. And next weekend, I run my first six miles. I can’t wait!
