Top 10 reasons why my trip to Chicago ROCKED

10. Our hotel was located on Michigan Avenue, right in the heart of the Magnificent Mile and all its glorious shopping.   Nordstrom and Neimans and Saks - oh my!

9. Chicago is a beautiful city, and the architecture is just gorgeous.  I mean, look at this place!

 

8.  The Chicago River runs right through the middle of town, adding to the natural beauty.  We ran out of time for a boat tour, but I'll definitely do one the next time I'm there.

7.  The food!!  Greek Town, a wonderful steakhouse, and even a breakfast place with an omelette named after Jeff Spicoli.  Chicago's reputation as a foodie's city is well deserved.

6. The food, part 2.  Because Chicago-style pizza deserves its own place on the list.  Oh. My. God!  So yummy.  Does anyone know if Giordano's delivers to the East Coast???  (It's probably best if it doesn't....)

5. Where else can you shop at fabulous stores, then walk 10 minutes away from them and end up on a beach???  

Oh Lake Michigan and Ohio Street Beach, how I miss you already!

4. Running on Lake Shore Drive!  I know I shouldn't have...  My glutes both hurt, but I got out there for just 34 minutes along the lake and it. was. glorious.  

3. Time with family!!   I have 7 sets of aunts/uncles and 20 cousins in Chicago, and my wonderful cousin organized a brunch with as many of them as could make it Sunday.   I haven't seen them in at least 12 years, and some even longer.   It brought tears to my eyes to be able to spend a few hours with all of them and reconnect.  I'll spare you the 87,000 pics we took that day and just post a sampling.

2. Time with my wonderful brother and his girlfriend, who didn't mind that I crashed in the hotel with them and ruined any chance they may have had for a romantic weekend.  I had a BLAST hanging out with them for 4 days.  Thank you, thank you, thank you A and D!

And the #1 reason my trip to Chicago totally rocked was...

1. PEARL JAM AT WRIGLEY FIELD.  Need I say more??

Can I get some cheese with my whine?

I'm injured.  Again.

It's my glute. Again. 

Actually, that's not entirely true.  It's BOTH glutes now.  (Hey, I'm a Libra!  I need to be balanced, even in my injuries.) 

Remember last year how I tore my right glute (and had a smaller tear in my hamstring)?  During the second run of the July 4 duathlon, my left glute was really hurting.  Yes, the left this year.  I didn't try to run again until that Sunday, and I turned around after 4 minutes because I could tell the planned 8 miles were going to do more damage than good.  Honestly, the pain in the left glute was not as bad as what I experienced for months and months last year with my right glute, but I knew as I set off on that run that it could easily get to that point if I wasn't smart. 

Since then, I have run a total of about a quarter mile as part of boot camp class (did not go well -- pain galore!) and have seen a sports massage therapist and a chiropractor.  The problems, it appears, are many.

1. My hamstrings are very tight. 
2. My hip flexors are apparently the tightest in America.  Seriously, I couldn't win a cool award?  I have to win Miss Tight Hip Flexor USA???
3. As a result of the super-tightest-worst hip flexors, my glutes don't activate the way they are supposed to. 
4. My left hip flexor is apparently even worse than my right, causing my hips to be uneven and creating an unnatural tilt in my pelvis.
5. I'm old. 

(#5 is not just self-mocking.  My advanced age is working against me here.  The massage therapist very kindly pointed out that my body at 46 is very different than my body at 26 was.  The cumulative effects of all those miles and all the thousands of classes I've taught over the years are taking a toll on me now.)

6. I do too much sitting at work.  Worse yet, my desk setup isn't even remotely ergonomically friendly, causing me to twist in my desk chair to see my second monitor.
7. I may be adding to the problem by always unclipping my right foot during cycling and then using my left leg (and, you guessed it, hip flexor) to get going again.
8. Doing three races in 2.5 weeks was probably not the smartest thing I've ever done.

Here's the thing, though.  Based on that list, you would think my left glute would be SO much more painful than my right.  Other than during the two short runs I've attempted since July 4, it's my right glute that's bothering me again.  Last night I taught a step aerobics class and kept my step lower than normal.  Afterward, I limped around the house for the rest of the night because my right glute hurt so bad.  What, it can't stand that the left side was getting a bit of attention and wanted to make its presence known again???  Seriously.

So, the upshot is no running or yoga for at least 2 weeks while we try to get this under control through vitamins, better posture, some key glute activation exercises, foam rollering (it's a word), and better seated posture. 

I can count the aborted run on July 7 as the beginning of the two weeks, right???   ;)

Tunes are my life, part 3

Last year I posted a list of all of the concerts I've been to.   Great list, great memories!  Well, I can add a few more bands to that list.

Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience
Get the Led Out
Heart

(Yes, I've been on a major Led Zeppelin kick recently!)

I'm hoping to add Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age to my list Labor Day weekend, too.  Finger crossed that it works out.

Rock on, cyber friends.

1 week, 2 races

It's been a heck of a week over here! 

Saturday - Sprint Triathlon (my second in two weeks after nearly 2 years off from racing)

Swim (.25) - After my disappointing swim time in the race 2 weeks earlier, I was determined to redeem myself at this race.  Goal = 9:30.  Actual = 8:49.  Off to a good start!

Bike (13.2) - I was hoping to just do what I did 2 weeks ago, which was nearly 19 mph average.  Unfortunately for me, I did a double workout the day before the race (who does that???), and I really felt it on the bike.  It took 8 miles to feel comfortable, and the race was only 13.2 miles total.  Goal = 42:00.  Actual = 42:31.  Could have been way worse, but obviously if I were a smarter person (i.e. don't work out 2x the day before a race), I could have killed that bike course!

Run (5K) - Oh boy.  This is where the wheels came off.  I'd had a stomach issue all week.  It wasn't bad enough that I needed to stay home from work, lay on the sofa, and moan, but it was bad enough that food simply would not stay in me.  (TMI?  Sorry.)  The run course for this race was in a very nice neighborhood.  A nice neighborhood with not nearly enough shade.  Holy hell, did it get hot out there!  I suck in the heat anyway, but the combination of tired legs + direct sun + temps already in the mid 80s + literally no gas in the tank due to my stomach issues equaled a disastrous run.  Goal = 25:30.  Actual = 28:14.  (Honestly, I'm surprised it wasn't 38:14.  It felt that slow.)

My goal was a podium spot (I knew it would be tough) and 1:22:00 overall.  Instead, I got 4th in my age group, missed the podium by less than a minute, and finished in 1:23:29.   Aaaaaggggh!  So close!!!   :)

Thursday - Sprint Duathlon (very informal race put on by my running club each year)

I got smart and took Wednesday as my rest day.  :)   See, I'm not too old to learn new tricks!

Run 1 (2 miles) - I decided to treat the race as a hard training day, not a real race situation.  This was easy to do because it's SO informal.  No bike racks, no numbers, no entry fee, no course marshalls.  Just show up and do it.  My goal for both runs was to be around 17 minutes.  Actual = 16:19.  Ahh yeah.

Bike (13) - Rolling hills throughout, and after that first run my legs felt like DOO DOO!  Honestly, I could not get my legs to turn the pedals over.  Ugh.  Oh well, it wasn't a real race anyway, right?   No goal, other than to not suck.  Actual = 48:43 (16 mph - suckage!).

Run 2 (the same 2 miles) - My only goal here was for my legs to outlast my brain, which was telling me how easy it would be to just quit.  I mean, who would know?   And what would it matter?   Well, it mattered to me.  I went out there for a good, hard workout, and that's what I was going to do.  Much slower than the first run, but that was to be expected.  Actual = 17:06.  Hey, not as bad as I expected!

Total = 1:24:31, which is by far my personal worst for this race, but honestly I could not care less.  (In 2011 I did it in 1:21:32, in 2010 I did 1:20:58, and in 2008 (when I was kicking ass and taking names) I did it in 1:15:30.) 

The other interesting thing about the duathlon yesterday was that it was a forced experiment.  The night before, D and I went to a ROCKING concert -- Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience and Heart (with both bands together for a 30 minute Zeppelin set at the end of the show).  I didn't get to bed until 1 a.m., and the race was at 7.  Why did I do this, you ask?  Because on September 15 I am doing an Olympic distance tri, and the night before there's a concert I want to attend.  Now I know it can be done.    :)

Check-in

At the end of last year, I made some resolutions.  Since we are halfway through the year, I thought I'd revisit them to see how I'm doing (and to remind myself of what they were!!!!).  The results are very mixed.

1. Lose weight.  And since I know that specific goals are more likely achieved than vague goals like "lose weight" are, I will further specify that my resolution has two parts.
a) Lose 5 pounds by March 1.
b) Lose an additional 5-10 pounds by Memorial Day.

EPIC FAIL.  As of the last time I weighed myself (about 2 weeks ago), I was up two pounds.  Mother effer!

2. Put 50% more money in savings each month.  This is not as ambitious as it sounds, considering the paltry amount I am currently channeling into a savings account.  I can do better, and I will.

Done!  I upped my contribution to savings back in January .

3. Make it to yoga at least twice a week.  Yes, I said at least twice. 

This one was going well until June.  Now that I'm in tri training (and now that I've realized and accepted that yoga is one of the activities that most hurts my glute), I have backed down quite a bit.  I will try for once a week, but we'll see. 

4. Renew my fitness teaching certification(s) and attend at least one continuing education seminar, workshop, class, or conference.  I need to get psyched about teaching again.

In progress.  I am in the middle of renewing my Pilates certification, and in August I will attend a fitness cert seminar. 

5. Go to bed earlier.  Even if I don't turn off the lights to (try to) sleep, I want to get snuggled under the covers and read for a while every night. 

I have been reading like mad, but I'm definitely not going to bed earlier and/or getting more sleep.

6. Get a library card so I can read every night without spending a fortune at Barnes and Noble.  :)

Done!  :)