Soul ran the Hot Chocolate 15k and it was great.

Yesterday was the Chicago Hot Chocolate 15k. I swore after running it last year that I wouldn't run it this year. But...they lured me in by offering a medal...that is all I want now, medals and a fun run. However, this year around I got a dedicated timing corral. I was in the 2nd corral to start which was amazing because I hate standing around for 30-45 waiting on the race to start. It was pretty cold.

So it was my first run in a little over 2 weeks. I am very glad that I waited those 2 weeks to let my calf fully heal up. I had zero problems with it throughout the entire race, which left me very happy. However, I am super sore today in the rest of my legs, but

nothing serious. Figure I am going to take a few days off to let everything heal up and then I will get back out there. I miss running with Billy and I know he is missing his morning adventures. I started with a sweatshirt that I thought I was going to take off during the run once I warmed up, but around mile 6 I was super glad that I left it on as it was pretty chilly. After the run I had to wait in a line of at least 120 people to get to gear check. My body temp plummeted and I went home before I even got my chocolate reward. I feel kinda bad because my gf finished the 5k not long after I left...but I just needed to get to a warm place and get my body temp up. Next year I will make sure to have one of those foil blankets to trap body heat. no doubt.

My watch gave me a 9:26 pace, but the timing chip game me a 10:06 pace, which is probably correct. Overall I finished 1:34 chip time, 1:38 gun time. So hooray! I ran the entire time, I had a great time, and I got a medal with a smile on my face. I just enjoyed the run and the sights.

Knot in my calf the size of a golf ball

So for the last few weeks I have had some issues with my left calf. Nothing too major. It gets tight after a run, but I stretch it out and am good to go. It might be sore for the first 0.5 mile but then it loosens up and I dont feel anything.

Fast forward to Monday night. I did an easy 4. After I got home and stretched and cooled down and showered I noticed that it was difficult to put pressure on my left leg. I tried to massage it to find the trigger point, but without luck. Yesterday (tuesday) at work I massaged and rubbed and massaged and stretched and rubbed and finally the bugger rose to the surface...holy shit, it is pretty big. Ive never experienced something like this before. It is kinda exciting in a masochistic kind of way.

Slept with a heating pad last night o try to loosen it up. Sitting at my desk now rubbing and stretching. Hopefully this thing will subside before the Hot Chocolate in November. If not...Im going to be limping like a mother for a few days after the race.

I think I need to schedule a sports massage and hopefully they can work out the knot.

Nike customer support was awesome. I finally got in a run and made some bagels

A little over 2 weeks ago my Nike+ GPS Sportswatch band started to tear/separate from where the computer connector is. Bummer. I really like this watch. I decided to shoot Nike an e-mail and see what they could do. They said that since I bought it within the next year that they will replace it for free. Score! It was super painless and the lady I spoke with on the phone was American. That is a big deal to me. So kudos to Nike for not outsourcing their customer service phone numbers. They received my watch and are going to issue me a voucher to re-purchase a new one from their website. I kind of wish they would just send me a new one, but whatever. It is what it is and I am satisfied.

I got out for a run after work yesterday and it was glorious. I haven't laced them up in almost 2 weeks. TWO WEEKS! I don't know why, I think maybe my brain/body needed a solid break after recovering from the calf injury.  It was worth it. I felt light as air. I did under 4 miles because the president was in town and janked up my normal route. Whatever, it was still a great time. I missed it and my mental health really needed it. Big time. 

Sunday....so I think I am done rooting for the Bears this season. Cutler is just so off and on it makes it hard to watch. So, instead of watching I decided to bake bagels and Italian bread! I had never made either before but I love baking bread. I think everything turned out amazing.

Over a week...

So it has been over a week since my last run. My calf finally feels 100% and I have been stretching out to stay limber. However, I currently have no motivation to go run. I know I have a 15k coming up in a month...but I just dont really care. Hopefully Ill get in a run once the rain lets up and that will re-motivate me. It is too early in the season to stop running.

Dude with exact stride cadence blew past me the other day...why?

Am I missing something? I was on a run with Billy a few days ago and on the tail end of my run there was this guy who I heard coming up behind Billy and I. I could hear his footfalls and I realized that they were falling at the exact same time mine were. The guy caught up to us and quickly passed and put distance between us. I watched his feet and it was like we were mirror images in terms of footfall.....why was he so much faster than me? Is it stride length or something?...I want to run that fast.

Nagging injury

The last week or so I have been dealing with some lingering leg pain. I am going to take the rest of the week off and hopefully get out there on Saturday or Sunday. Im not sure exactly what the deal is other than my calf is sore..probably a strain...and my knee is sore...probably from lack of stretching or something. So for the rest of the week I am going to focus on limbering the fuck up. Im pretty flexible, but I need to really work on making my muscles longer.

It is getting cold and I have had to switch my running routine to after work, which I am not a fan of. I prefer to run first thing in the morning and get it out of the way. Running after work is fine, I just have to pay more attention to the food that I eat. Meaning I cant get a slice of pizza for lunch anymore. I also have to watch my coffee intake.

I do believe that soon I am going to be relegated to the gym dreadmill. Oh well, at least it will take some stress off of my joints for a few months. I really really really do not want to put on that winter 15lbs this year. It takes me all summer to burn that back off. That is my goal!

Chris Pratt, Hockey, Paint, and a good run

Chris Pratt hosted SNL this weekend. I love that guy. He gives fat guys a good name. Well...not really fat...but man sized. There are so many Hollywood actors with the frame of women so it is great to finally see a movie star that is pined after by the vaginal society, but is also the proper size for a man. So hooray for hopefully changing stereotypes. 

So last week the GF and I went to 2 Hawks game. They are so much fun to go to and I love live Hockey. the game is so fast paced and tough. Football keeps getting boringer...more boring....every year with the additional rules and replays and all the scandals. Other than the Bears and maybe the playoffs, I am not going to watch much football. It is just becoming too boring for me.


Since we finally got rid of our weirdo roommate, we are turning the other bedroom into a study, which I am very excited about. I was able to bring my electric piano out of the closet, which makes me very happy because I love playing it. We are in the process of painting the room a really light grey and a burnt orange. I think it is going to look really good once it is finished. This morning the GF said she would finish the entire room because I took the dogs out this morning... haha, we will see how true that is.

I had a good run this morning with Billy. We did 4 solid miles. I really need to up my morning runs to 5 miles, but getting up pre-6am isn't something that I really want to do. I don't want to cross that threshold into that time frame. I already get up early enough. I don't need a 5:55 wake-up call. 6:06am is good enough for me. So for now, I am going to stick to 4 miles.

So I was supposed to review a product. Some kind of new energy drink powder stuff...I sent the company my address and information almost a month ago, and then this weekend they asked me if I still wanted to review the stuff....come on now, get your act together. You said you would get it out to me over a month ago, and then you didn't get it out at all. Plus you signed me up for e-mail spam. I don't want to review the product anymore because I already have a bias against it. I am very schedule oriented and if you can't keep to the schedule you lay out, I lose interest immediately.