Getting out tomorrow

I feel like it's been a week. I'm finally getting out tomorrow morning to go for a run. Billy is been very restless and needs to be exercised. We went on a super long walk tonight around the loop which he enjoyed. I always feel like he gets the best exercise when I run him for a few miles on the leash.  

I feel like I'm over the hill for the mouth hurting and tomorrow seems like a perfect day to run until I'm tired. Hoping for 8 but will settle for a strong run. 

Billy looks super disco eyed in this picture and it makes me laugh. 

Mouth pain

My mouth has been killing me. To top it off my temporary crown fell out last night. I have missed 3 training days so far. Not too pleased with that.

Oh well, tomorrow is saturday and as long as I get my crown/tooth situation figured out I am hoping to put in at least 6 or 7. The 1/2 marathon is a little over a week away!!!! Excited!

Although I wish that the expo was not at Navy Pier.

Fractured tooth, dead phone, and further update about my last few runs

To start off, I want to talk about dental care. Take care of your teeth and go to the dentist. I thought I was taking good care of my teeth. I have one of those fancy $100 Sonicare toothbrushes. I flossed sometimes...but I didnt go to a dentist for a few years. That being said, I have had a few root canals done lately. One of those root canals fractured a tooth so it is going to have to be removed. how does a fractured tooth feel you ask? It feels like butt. At least it is a molar all the way in the back, so no one will notice that the tooth is missing. I am originally from the south and now I can say I am southern and toothless. Toofless?

On top of that, my iPhone has been super janky lately and as of this morning, it is no longer charging or turning on. Awesome. I have an appt to see a "Genius" at the apple store today. So hopefully they can fix it because I really dont want to buy the 5s. I wanted to hold out for a few more months until the 6 came out. Oh well...such is life.

Okay, the 10 miler! I am really proud of myself for this. This is the longest solo run I have ever gone on. Normally I dont do "long runs". I just do my normal 4-5 miles at my normal 4-5 mile pace. Im not out there to win or to prove anything. Im out there to keep my soul clear and to exercise the dog that never gets tired. I might have said this before, but the 10 miler really tired out the Billy. He could barely make it up the stairs. It was cute. However as soon as we got in the house and he drank some water and ate, he was all wound up and ready to play. I could tell he was sleepy because he was a lamb on the leash. He walked right next to me with no tension. Ever since then he has been amazing on the leash. I really am proud of him. He is my best friend.

The 5 mile run on Monday sucked...it was sooo humid. My training schedule told me to run 6 miles today, but I skipped it because my jaw hurts like a mother and my legs were just dead on my Monday run. I might try to get out for 4 or 5 tomorrow depending on how I feel. I am taking pain killers in addition to everything I have to take for my depression/bipolar nonsense. So I am pretty zombified.

On a side note, I finally got some trees today. Hooray! Now when I have an episode of going crazy or being a dick, I can rid myself of it fairly quickly instead of taking a Rx that takes hours to kick in. Love it.

10 miler on saturday, 4 miler this morning

Saturday morning. Hot and humid. Billy and I did 10 miles. The first 7 were straight run, the last 3 were intervals because the heat completely drained me. I hope to science that the half marathon isnt this humid. It really kills my spirit when I am sweating but not because I am working hard. Ugh. I sweated so much that it felt like I dunked my shoes in a pool. They were squishing and shit. Never ever had that happen before.

This morning I did 4 miles. Actually 4.25...it was supposed to be 5, but fuck man, that humidity is a killer. It just breaks my spirit so fast. I dont know how I lived in Florida for as long as I did. Now anytime I think of Florida I think of pedophiles, the rat, and humidity. I was hoping to make a longer post about this...but...ya know. Stuff happens.

Zoo RunRun! Sometimes I like the peeps I work with

So one of the more approachable VP's at my job is paying my entrance fee into the ZooRunRun at Brookfield Zoo. I asked her in jest if she would sponsor me to run it, and she said she would...and then she did. This thing is only a 5k, but it should be fun. I really want to get a gorilla costume to wear.

Hung over, no run, beautiful day

So last night at our work outing I had a few too many drinks. I normally do not drink to excess because I am super prone to...wait for it...hang overs! I can have 2 beers and wake up with a headache. Normally I only have a drink if we are out to dinner. Otherwise drinking bores me. I discovered my poison of choice is not liquor related. Below is a pre-drunk me.

So tomorrow I have 10 miles to do. Just checked the weather and at 6am it is supposed to be 70 degrees and 95% humidity. Gross.  But at least it will strain my body more than normal and hopefully in the end make me mentally stronger. One can never be too strong mentally. Know what Im sayin.

Day of rest # 2, sore jaw, arthritis, an office booze cruise, and some awesome dreams.

Today is my second off day. Technically it is strength training day...so today I do body weight squats and wall squats to help my glutes and quads. I like to feel the burn. I am a masochist sometimes. I will also do a few sets on the ab wheel to help my core. I actually probably need to do the ab wheel daily. Tomorrow is 4 miles, but the forecast says rain up the ying yang...so we shall see.

By the way, my jaw is killing me on the right side. I cant even touch my back teeth together. I'm not sure what I did. I am guessing it is all of the dental work I have had done over the past few months is taking its toll. So I am chewing gingerly and hoping that it will go away on it's own. I have another dental appointment coming up in the next week or so for my perm crown, so if it is still sore by then Ill ask the dentist to see what the deal is.

So I woke up to the sound of rain this morning. Was coming down hard. I also woke up to my wrist hurting from where I had a bone re-shaped from my Navy days, my right shoulder hurting for whatever reason, and my right ankle felt touchy. Stupid science and rain and barometric pressure making my joints hurt.

Tonight is my office's booze cruise. Technically it is a "boat tour on the Chicago River"....but these things are really just a shit show. It starts out innocently enough. Some light chit chat over a few drinks. Food. A few more drinks. A few more drinks. Then someone is singing or slurring or stumbling. My office is a bunch of drunks. Seriously. Drunks. It is funny to see what happens. That is the main reason I am going. I got all of my partying out of the way when I was in the Navy, so I have a few drinks and keep composed.

My shrink gave me some new meds to help take the edge off since I am not currently smoking pot. This stuff knocks me the f out. It is wonderful. I sleep so soundly. One side effect of not smoking for awhile is that I can remember my dreams now and they are very vivid. Last night I dreamed that Patrick Kane was Erica's secret brother or some shit, and we became best friends. Laughing and joking. Going to sports authority. Him telling me to not put stuff on YouTube...strange stuff. Im not sure if I am going to stay on these meds though, because they dont really take the edge off, they just make me go to sleep.

Well this post ended up longer than I thought it would. Tomorrow is 4 miles and I cant wait to lace them up. I really hope the weather is clear enough for an hour.

8 Miles...4 miles...and a sad little 3

It's been a few days since I last updated. I have been a little pre-occupied with procrastination nation.

My 8 mile run this last weekend was aces. I ran the entire time and finished in a little over 80 minutes. At the very beginning of my run I caught up with a Fleet Feet running group that was running right at my pace, so I just kept up with them. It was great. I think I might join a training group next year because running with the group really kept my spirits up during the hard parts. Billy loved every second of the run. Of course he wasnt tired at all. As soon as we got back to the house he started running around with his toys looking for someone to play with him. Jerk...I wish I had his stamina. The weather was perfect, it was in the 60's at the start of the run with a little breeze.

On Monday I knocked out a solid 4 miles. It felt great and I felt super strong. Im starting to add sprints to the end of my runs to help build my stamina. Billy almost caught a bird because it was dumb enough to not fly out of our path. Stupid bird.

My Tuesday run was a different story. I was supposed to do 5 but I only ended up doing 3. Excuses coming up.

1. My legs were dead and my feet felt super heavy. I was hoping it would even out after the first mile, but they just got worse.
2. It started raining. It's not that I dont like running in the rain, but I havent been feeling so hot the last week, I didnt want to make it worse.
3. I didnt poop very well before the run, so I felt like I had to poop mid-run, which is never a good feeling.

I am glad that I did the 3 miles instead of just calling off the entire day. I guess a solid 3 is better than a terrible 5.

I saw my shrink yesterday and he prescribed me some new meds, which is great. Since I have cut out pot my anxiety has been very high.  This new stuff helps me when I am about to have a break down. I tried it last night and it just made me super tired. Not sure if we are going to stick with this or change to something new. Ill give it a few tries before I decide.

Today and tomorrow are my off days, and man I feel like I deserve them. I slept like a log last night. Tonight we have agility class with Billy! Ill try to get some pictures up of him jumping over things tonight. I keep forgetting.

Easy 4, a new day, and Herbert from Family Guy

On my runs I always end up getting part of a song stuck in my head. MGMT, Rolling Stones, Bela Fleck....but today was different. I got a song stuck in my head that Herbert on Family Guy sings..."I know what boys want...I know what guys like..." etc etc etc. It was kind of funny because I cannot remember the last time I heard that song.

Anyways, the morning 4 were awesome. It was 55 degrees out and sunny. I finished in under 40 minutes, which is awesome IMO. We didnt see any wildlife, or should I say, I didnt see any wild life. Im sure Billy and his laser eyes and radar ears picked up and saw everything. However he did not try to chase down anything this morning. Billy is a curious dog. He loves to go after pigeons, but he wont even look at a finch if it walks under his nose. He likes to get rough and tumble with big dogs, but little dogs he will let bite his face and he wont move. Strange pup.

So today is a new day. A day where I try to keep myself more composed. Since I have stopped smoking pot I feel on edge all of the time. I smoked daily for...10 years? I was a heavy smoker and holy crap I miss it. It really helped take the edge off. I didnt want to quit smoking, but the guy who my guy gets it from is on vacation for a few weeks. So I have been taking it out on people close to me...mainly my gf, which I feel terrible about. Im not talking abuse or anything, Im just more critical and more vocal about it. Which is good and bad. It is good because some of this stuff needs to be said, but it is bad because I am very reactive and let my emotions speak for me without thinking first. Sooooo....all that being said, I am trying to be more present and aware today in what I am thinking and feeling. I need to do this for me so that I can keep those close to me around. I have a bad habit of chasing people off and I dont want to do that anymore.

Tomorrow is 8 miles! I hope I can knock it out. Supposed to go to some party tomorrow night, but I will see how I feel.

60 degrees, 5 miles, and a good shrink appointment

This morning was perfect out. It was 61 degrees with a little breeze. The sun was just coming up as I hit the road with Billy, my trusty sidekick. It was a really nice run this morning. I finished my 5 under 50 minutes. I saw a lot of other people running with their dogs today, which is always nice, especially when they are well behaved and dont try to attack my Billy. Since I missed the last 2 training days because of rain, my running schedule is a bit off. I am going to take tomorrow off and get back at it Friday and Saturday. The race is a few weeks away!
So I saw my shrink today for the first time since May. Normally I see him every few weeks, but because of vacation and scheduling and such, it just happened to be a nice chunk of time between appointments. I went in today thinking that it was going to be my last appointment, but every time we hit on something that I feel needs to be explored.

Note to self, I need to get a small-ish camera...something I can bring with me on runs that wont bog me down. I dont run with music or a phone, so as of right now all I have is my eyes to take pictures with...but I see a lot of cool shit that I want to share with the FB world.

Rain Rain go the fuck away

So I have missed my last 2 training days because of rain. Ugh. Hopefully tomorrow it will clear up so I can get back at it.

6 miles, a homeless man welcome to tourists, and Guardians of the Galaxy again

My traini ng had me knock out 6 miles yesterday. They did not go as well as planned because...

1. I woke up to my dog peeing on the floor.
2. Got into a tiff with the gf.
3. Didnt end up running until the sun was at midday.


Running around midday was a terrible idea. It was 75 and humid as all hell. There was at least a 10-15 degree temp difference between the shade and the sun. When there was a breeze blowing it was fun, but when that breeze stopped it was brutal! I ended up almost throwing up at one point. The run was rough and I was walking after 3 miles, so I started running intervals. Jogging along normally and when I felt like walking I would up my speed for 50-75 yards and then I would walk. So I almost lost my lunch, haha. I held it in though. Glad I finish the 6 miles.

At the end of my run, I was coming up on a family of tourists. How do I know they were tourists? City folk know how to walk a sidewalk in a straight line. Tourists b ounce from one side of the sidewalk to the other with no sense of surrounding. I saw this homeless drunk who I have seen around the hood many times coming up on the right. So since the bum was on the right AND the family was randomly drifting around, I decided to stick all the way to the left. The family and I passed the bum at the same time...and the bum spit right in the face of the entire family. Ew. Gross. I just kept going because you cant fight nor cure crazy. I will avoid that bum from now on.

After the run me and the gf went to see Guardians of the Galaxy for a second time...this time in 3d, which was a waste. I think 3-d movies are kind of silly....BUT...the movie was amazing again. I cant wait until it comes out on video. I am going to buy it day 1.

3 weeks until the half. I am feeling pretty good. I have 4 miles planned for tomorrow morning! Beat the feet to beat the heat!

4 miles of hardness....not a penis joke

So this morning was a bit of a rough one. It was pretty humid and I have a hard time filling my lungs when this happens. This knocked off my breathing cadence and I wasnt able to hit my groove. Normally I can knock out the morning 4 without much of a struggle, but today I was walking a little before mile 2. Ugh. Not ideal, but at least I got out there and did it.

I do not like to point fingers when I have a rough run...BUT...all fingers are pointing at me. First,.I put on the wrong hat this morning. I know that sounds silly but I am OCD when it comes to doing things like running and what gear I am using. I have to have the right hat, right socks, right shirt, etc etc. I grabbed the wrong hat because it was hanging up in the shower (so all the sweat from the previous run could drip off) and the bathroom was dark and I was in a hurry. I also blame it again on me for not putting the pronged collar on Billy and running him with just his flat collar. Normally the pronged collar helps keep him in line and at my pace and it lets me easily correct him. The flat collar does none of these things. So he basically pulled the entire time, which increased my pace, which annoyed me and that emotion helped expedite my demise. Oh well, tomorrow I have 6 ahead of me which should be fun. Hopefully the weather is nice and this cloud of humidity finally leaves.

There weren't too many people out on the path this morning, which was kind of a nice change of pace. Although I do enjoy waving at people who do not acknowledge or wave back. I know they probably dont see me, but still, EVERYONE SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE ME. Haha. Kidding. It would be weird if I was actually like that. I also do like seeing people smile when they see Billy trotting along next to me. It makes me feel good.

Half marathon training, running with my dog, and working from home

So, I decided it might be a good idea to start a blog to help me document my runs as I train for the upcoming Chicago Half Marathon as well as blurt out other random nonsense and insane ramblings.

I am into day 2 of a 5 week training program. 4 yesterday, 5 today. It was a bit rough in the middle of mile 3 and I walked a bit but I am glad I got out and beat the feet. I never went through the phase of the "feeling bad when I walk" problem like I have heard a lot of other runners have RUN into...haha...I love word play.

I have been running for a few years now, and last year my girlfriend and I adopted Billy.

Billy is my shadow, my training buddy, my long distance partner, and my "protector" from random ass rabbits on the LFT. He sure loves it when he see's a bunny. He never has the chance to get one as he is always on a leash and is never more than 2 feet away from me...but seeing his tail wag makes me smile every time regardless of how many miles deep I am. He motivates me to get up and out of bed more often than not and lace 'em up and hit the pavement.

I love it that I was able to work from home today after my run. It was a nice way to recover. Feet up, cartoons on, foam roller and stick at my disposal. What else can a man ask for? Well...a lot of stuff I guess. Like a sub 2hr half time. That is where my sights are set. Honestly I just want to beat my last poor showing of 2:22. I died at mile 10. My body just gave up on me...but I wasnt prepared. I didnt really train beyond my normal 3-4 runs a week, and I did not get as much hydration as I needed and I had no idea how to properly fuel during a race. I cramped up super bad...I was one of those guys...since then, I read a lot and I feel super comfortable with it now. I finsihed the Solider Field 10 miler with a very respectable 10min mile time.  I ran the entire time and did not walk once. That is always my goal during races. Yet if I have to walk...I walk.