Sore Nipple and Bloody Wounds
This weekend has been a long weekend, as it is Memorial Day today. To me, this also marks the unofficial start of the summer season. Hence the reason why I decided to turn on my air conditioners for the first time in 2006. And it has been hot!
To jumpstart the unofficial beginning of summer weekends, I lined up a few endurance sporting events to keep me busy {and entertained}. On Saturday, I woke up bright and early so that I could run the Fleet Feet Soldier Field 10 Mile race. I was particularly proud of myself, because I did it in 1:39:47 with an average pace of 9:57.
Now, mind you, I did not train for this, and the last run I did was over two weeks ago during the three mile pancake fun run. Going into it, I knew that I had to take it easy and pace myself slower than usual so that I did not hurt anything. And I accomplished it without walking any part of it {except at water stations}, and with a relatively constant pace. I could have gone faster, but I didn't want to injure myself like I did during the Phoenix Rock 'n Roll Marathon earlier this year. Ha ha ha.
During the entire race, there was this cute girl who did a lot of alternation between fast running and walking breaks. And against my constant running, I keep on passing her during her walks, and she kept on running past me during her speed runs. And this kept on going on and on, each of us bunny hopping each other. I was starting to get annoyed by this, as by mile 5, she decided that she would not let me pass her during her walks. Whenever she walked, she would turn around to see how far behind her I was, or to discern how much more rest she could have before starting to run. LOL Finally around mile 8, she and I kept on running together at my steady pace.
Then with just a quarter mile left, as we inched closer to the Finish line at Soldier Field, we started to race each other. Once we got into the stadium and the Finish line was in sight, she kicked up her sprint to a good 7:45 pace. To hell with that, I thought, so I gave chase and kept up the pace along with her. Finally, with about 20 yards left, I picked my pace up to 7:00, and if there were any pictures of us finishing, you will see that I was one stride ahead of her at the line! I know, this is really stupid, considering that I wasn't even running hard and aiming for time, but I was just a bit annoyed by her antics the entire time. For all I know, she could well have crossed the starting line a minute after me, which would make her a faster runner than me during the race. But it's part of the mind games we play with ourselves at these sporting events. You just have to be an athlete to understand the fun in all this. Of course, I remembered her bib number, and it turns out that she is from New York! And she did beat me at the race indeed, clocking in 26 seconds faster. So congrats to her!
So yeah, that was a fun day with great weather perfect for running. And I certainly learned a lesson too. If you are ever unsure about the distance and the physical beatings you will get, always err on the safe side. Why? After the race, as I changed into my dry shirt, while pulling it down from my head through my torso, I could feel my right nipple scream bloody murder! Yup! I was iffy about using body glide before the race, as I was thinking about the 10 mile distance. I thought it was short enough not to use it. WRONG! =)
After the race, I went home and accidentally fell asleep on the couch without showering. The next thing I realized after waking up, it was midnight! I took a quick shower, and ate something as I was starving to death. And knowing that I had to be up in less than five hours to meet up with some friends for a 30 mile bike ride along Lake Shore Drive, I tried to go to sleep. But unfortunately that didn't happen till around 03:00. Ugh!
So with just a couple hours of shut eye, I dragged my butt out to Buckingham Fountain. I was going to jump on the Red Line, but thought it would take too long and that it would have taken me just the same time if I rode down there, which was a good eight mile ride. Wrong again! With the wind blowing hard, I struggled. But I finally made it down there at the nick of time, as my friends were about to leave me. Never ever underestimate what the elements of the weather and lack of sleep can do to you mentally and physically!
Things went fine when we headed north and back to downtown. Nothing fanciful happened. Then we started heading south for the other loop in the course.
Somehow, I managed to wipe out while preventing to run over a dog in a narrow stretch along the Lakefront Trail, as we collectively decided to take a scenic route instead of Lake Shore Drive. That was no fun at all. But after we turned around to head back north towards downtown, I wiped out yet again! This time it was due to some stupid Traffic Management officer, which I have always thought were overpaid and under qualified city personnel for the job. She saw me coming, yet at the cross road where cars get off Lake Shore Drive to go towards the museums, she decided to let traffic go while I was approaching! I hit my brakes hard when I was about three yards away from the curb, and crashed to prevent getting hit by a passing Ford Taurus with just three feet between us! I banged up my knee yet again, and ripped a better one on my forearm. Great! Two injuries on tarmac in a single day! I would have expected this while on some technical single tracks, but on flat, paved roads in Chicago? Infuriating! Maybe I should have not used the clipless cycling shoes.
To nurse the pain and the bruise to my ego, I dashed home for a quick shower and headed over to Aarthi's place at Wrigleyville for a barbeque! Since Matt was taking his sweet time getting there, Amy decided to be the grill master. She did a pretty good job, I have to say. Three bratwursts, two burgers, plates of pasta salad, four servings of grilled veggies {I love Amy's mushrooms and her secret marinade}, six beers, three Diet Cokes, four shots, seven wigs/head gears and a giant bowl of reduced fat ice cream later, I was done. And a bit drunk. It was a great way to end two days of physically challenging sports with friends.
Unfortunately, after all the adrenaline has settled and the alcohol effects have worn off, the pain from the injuries sustained at Bike the Drive as well as a general soreness and aches felt all over my body are now pronounced more than ever. What can I say? I look back now, and say to myself, "What a great weekend!" I know I'm a freak in that sense of spending a long weekend, but what do you expect out of an amateur, yet aspiring, athlete? =)
P.S. Check out my beautiful farmer's tan after Bike the Drive! =)
To jumpstart the unofficial beginning of summer weekends, I lined up a few endurance sporting events to keep me busy {and entertained}. On Saturday, I woke up bright and early so that I could run the Fleet Feet Soldier Field 10 Mile race. I was particularly proud of myself, because I did it in 1:39:47 with an average pace of 9:57.
Now, mind you, I did not train for this, and the last run I did was over two weeks ago during the three mile pancake fun run. Going into it, I knew that I had to take it easy and pace myself slower than usual so that I did not hurt anything. And I accomplished it without walking any part of it {except at water stations}, and with a relatively constant pace. I could have gone faster, but I didn't want to injure myself like I did during the Phoenix Rock 'n Roll Marathon earlier this year. Ha ha ha.During the entire race, there was this cute girl who did a lot of alternation between fast running and walking breaks. And against my constant running, I keep on passing her during her walks, and she kept on running past me during her speed runs. And this kept on going on and on, each of us bunny hopping each other. I was starting to get annoyed by this, as by mile 5, she decided that she would not let me pass her during her walks. Whenever she walked, she would turn around to see how far behind her I was, or to discern how much more rest she could have before starting to run. LOL Finally around mile 8, she and I kept on running together at my steady pace.
Then with just a quarter mile left, as we inched closer to the Finish line at Soldier Field, we started to race each other. Once we got into the stadium and the Finish line was in sight, she kicked up her sprint to a good 7:45 pace. To hell with that, I thought, so I gave chase and kept up the pace along with her. Finally, with about 20 yards left, I picked my pace up to 7:00, and if there were any pictures of us finishing, you will see that I was one stride ahead of her at the line! I know, this is really stupid, considering that I wasn't even running hard and aiming for time, but I was just a bit annoyed by her antics the entire time. For all I know, she could well have crossed the starting line a minute after me, which would make her a faster runner than me during the race. But it's part of the mind games we play with ourselves at these sporting events. You just have to be an athlete to understand the fun in all this. Of course, I remembered her bib number, and it turns out that she is from New York! And she did beat me at the race indeed, clocking in 26 seconds faster. So congrats to her!
So yeah, that was a fun day with great weather perfect for running. And I certainly learned a lesson too. If you are ever unsure about the distance and the physical beatings you will get, always err on the safe side. Why? After the race, as I changed into my dry shirt, while pulling it down from my head through my torso, I could feel my right nipple scream bloody murder! Yup! I was iffy about using body glide before the race, as I was thinking about the 10 mile distance. I thought it was short enough not to use it. WRONG! =)
After the race, I went home and accidentally fell asleep on the couch without showering. The next thing I realized after waking up, it was midnight! I took a quick shower, and ate something as I was starving to death. And knowing that I had to be up in less than five hours to meet up with some friends for a 30 mile bike ride along Lake Shore Drive, I tried to go to sleep. But unfortunately that didn't happen till around 03:00. Ugh!
So with just a couple hours of shut eye, I dragged my butt out to Buckingham Fountain. I was going to jump on the Red Line, but thought it would take too long and that it would have taken me just the same time if I rode down there, which was a good eight mile ride. Wrong again! With the wind blowing hard, I struggled. But I finally made it down there at the nick of time, as my friends were about to leave me. Never ever underestimate what the elements of the weather and lack of sleep can do to you mentally and physically!
Things went fine when we headed north and back to downtown. Nothing fanciful happened. Then we started heading south for the other loop in the course.
Somehow, I managed to wipe out while preventing to run over a dog in a narrow stretch along the Lakefront Trail, as we collectively decided to take a scenic route instead of Lake Shore Drive. That was no fun at all. But after we turned around to head back north towards downtown, I wiped out yet again! This time it was due to some stupid Traffic Management officer, which I have always thought were overpaid and under qualified city personnel for the job. She saw me coming, yet at the cross road where cars get off Lake Shore Drive to go towards the museums, she decided to let traffic go while I was approaching! I hit my brakes hard when I was about three yards away from the curb, and crashed to prevent getting hit by a passing Ford Taurus with just three feet between us! I banged up my knee yet again, and ripped a better one on my forearm. Great! Two injuries on tarmac in a single day! I would have expected this while on some technical single tracks, but on flat, paved roads in Chicago? Infuriating! Maybe I should have not used the clipless cycling shoes.
To nurse the pain and the bruise to my ego, I dashed home for a quick shower and headed over to Aarthi's place at Wrigleyville for a barbeque! Since Matt was taking his sweet time getting there, Amy decided to be the grill master. She did a pretty good job, I have to say. Three bratwursts, two burgers, plates of pasta salad, four servings of grilled veggies {I love Amy's mushrooms and her secret marinade}, six beers, three Diet Cokes, four shots, seven wigs/head gears and a giant bowl of reduced fat ice cream later, I was done. And a bit drunk. It was a great way to end two days of physically challenging sports with friends.Unfortunately, after all the adrenaline has settled and the alcohol effects have worn off, the pain from the injuries sustained at Bike the Drive as well as a general soreness and aches felt all over my body are now pronounced more than ever. What can I say? I look back now, and say to myself, "What a great weekend!" I know I'm a freak in that sense of spending a long weekend, but what do you expect out of an amateur, yet aspiring, athlete? =)
P.S. Check out my beautiful farmer's tan after Bike the Drive! =)
posted by StHalcyon at
23:32
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