Saturday, December 29, 2012

The Chicago Marathon

Have you ever run a marathon with 11 miles as your long training run? And on the same pair of shoes that you've run other marathons? I stupidly did that at the Chicago Marathon this past October. Between my back/hip (which the WEA thinks is apparently a joke for insurance purposes) and my lack of training I was in for a real dogfight from the get go.

The weather was cold.. I wore a hat and gloves the ENTIRE race, which I rarely to never do. Actually, it was a beautiful day to run; I enjoyed that part of it. As far as the rest goes? It was a blur. Somebody asked me shortly afterward, "What'd you think about the course?" I just looked at them in disbelief.. "I dunno, I guess the pavement looked the same." You see, when you go into a run and you're not prepared you stare at the ground. A LOT. The people, the crowds, the buildings, the neighborhoods.. they all blended together. Chicago was EASILY the biggest marathon that I've ever run (and it's not even close) and I felt like there was only a few people on the course. I struggled that much.

The sad part was.. I don't even think I ran my worst time.. Actually, I know I didn't because the Lewis and Clark in St. Louis is another story. I don't remember the time off the top of my head; in fact, I didn't even order my finisher certificate. I guess I'll have to give that a shot here soon :)

Highlights: Native Foods. Will at the finish line. The crowd at the start. Paying $50 to park for 30 seconds so I could get my packet after waiting in a traffic jam.

Lowlights: Using the bathroom every 3 miles so I could take a rest. Staring at my feet the entire run.

Figured since we had to pay $2502 to park we'd snap a few photos pre-race

Will likes the bling. I bet he can't wait til he gets some of his own.

Okay, I guess I didn't wear my hat and gloves the ENTIRE time.. but this was right at the finish and I needed them off to look good for the camera.

Did You Know...

It's true. People, men even, can be vegan and enjoy "men" things like sports, beer, TV, video games, and competition. It's not just a fairy tale or something to giggle about at Buffalo Wild Wings anymore.. it really does happen. I know this for a fact because I live this life.

This blog will be about running and eating (duh), I won't blog about the other stuff here; that's on my other blog iyellyahtzee.blogspot.com which probably won't be as nearly entertaining.

So, what do weird vegan runners eat?


This is the Bistro Steak Sandwich from Native Foods in Chicago. Look at that and tell me it doesn't look amazing. It had "bleu cheese dressing," peppery seitan, crusty bun, messy dressing and oh so much more. 

Sometime I'll probably post pictures of things that I make.. (or more likely that Kayla makes.)