Winner Of The 13.1 Chicago Race Entry Giveaway

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Well, this officially is one of the shortest giveaway’s I have ever run.  With some changes today to the registration deadlines for the 13.1 Marathon Chicago I was afraid if we waited till the original closing date that the winner would not have a chance to register for the race before online registration closed. 

I am excited to get the amount of entries I did given the timing of this giveaway for a free race entry to the 13.1 Chicago with the race just one week away.  I am even more excited with how many people “Liked” this giveaway and Tweeted it from the buttons on the page.  This is a true indication about how much you liked this giveaway, even if you were not able to run this race.  Hopefully we can turn that enthusiasm into more race entries for upcoming races…. we will have to see.

Do You Want To Run The Chicago 13.1 Marathon?

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The 13.1 Marathon Chicago is just over a week away and I am sure there are many people that are getting both excited and nervous.  The course runs almost completely along the banks of Lake Michigan using the Lake Front Path.  If you have plans to run the Chicago Half Marathon in September don’t forget if you run both races you need to sign up for the Windy City 26.2 Challenge for some awesome rewards!

A Horrible Time To Run

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Let me start by mentioning that if you are planning on telling me how you run in the early morning before the sun comes up during the summer, and that I really should do the same, thanks…. I know.  I will follow that up by saying, please feel free to still leave those comments and be as hard on me as you would like to because sometimes it takes me a while to learn or in this case re-learn from my mistakes.

Yesterday my three kids and I went out for a run as soon as we got home from church, before even getting anything to eat.  The original discussion was that we would run after lunch and a short break to let the food digest, but as I looked at the weather the temperatures were going to be climbing steady all afternoon and with the temperature already near 90 degrees I knew the sun was already planning some destructive behavior at the current temps.

To Be Fair To BodyMedia

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A couple weeks ago you may recall when I posted a review about the BodyMedia Armband.  I was given an opportunity to take the BodyMedia FIT Weight Management System for a test drive, but I really wasn’t happy with it.  I was intrigued by the device and the service because of my history of being grossly overweight and the subsequent loss of 90lbs in 2007.

Defined By Getting Up

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This morning was not about running and was also not about the lack of miles.  This morning was defined by the fact that I got up and got my butt out the door to run, even when I was trying to talk myself out of it starting even last night.

My ankle hurt a bit over the weekend so I took yesterday off.  It was still hurting a little bit last night so when I went to bed late I had almost already talked myself out of running.  I even had my excuses lined up and ready.

Brady’s First Peachtree Jr. 3k

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This past Saturday Brady ran the Peachtree Jr. 3k put on by the Atlanta Track Club as part of the Peachtree Road Race that will run as always on the 4th of July.  He had a great time, and ran a great race.  It was cool enough, but very humid with a chance of thunderstorms.  Luckily the thunderstorms never came and the only ran we felt was right as we were getting to Piedmont Park shortly after 8 am.

Brady hasn’t been running lately.  In fact just last week when he ran a 5k run with me, it was the first time he had ran with me for around a year.  Since he had not been running I hadn’t even thought about entering him to run the Peachtree Jr. this year, but when a friend of mine contacted me on Friday saying that his son wasn’t going to be able to run I figured…. why not?  Their last name is also Wilson so I didn’t figure I would have any issues picking up the number, Brady would just have to be 10 instead of 9 and go by a different name this time :) Thanks Kevin and Noah!!!

Barefoot and Minimalist Running–Really?

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It has been some time since I first saw someone running barefoot.  At first it was a shock since this person was running through our neighborhood on the roads, and crazily enough – in the dark!  When I first saw him I had read a little bit here and there, but really never thought too much about it.  I thought of barefoot or any type of minimalist running as something that only a special breed of runners did, runners that were both much more dedicated, and honestly a bit crazy.

My Son Brady's First 5k

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OK, I need to start by saying that this was not an official race, but rather just a run with dad. Given the fact that he had nothing pushing him but desire I think that makes it all that much more impressive.

Brady is my youngest and is 9 years old.  He has run with me plenty of times in the past, but it has been nearly a year since he ran with me last. At that time, about a year ago, he told me he didn't want to run anymore. I decided not to push him because he is active in other ways and if I pushed him he would get a negative attitude towards running and the chance of him coming back to it later would be hindered.

Why I Am A Morning Runner

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I have had the conversation many times with other runners about why I get up early in the morning to run.  While I have found quite a few other early morning runners over the years, by the time I back the time up to 5:00 am the group gets much smaller.  The 5 am time allows me to get my run in before work and really kicks the mornings off right.

If you read my post earlier this week you can see I have been struggling getting back to those early morning runs since coming back from injury.  when I have talked to other runners that run in the evening I have been pretty blunt - if I left running to the evening it just wouldn't happen.  Life gets in the way too often for me.

Mizuno Wave Prophecy - Cool Looking Shoes

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As runners we all love our shoes, unless of course you are from the barefoot running crowd.  Barefoot running and minimalist shoes interest me, but I am still in the hmmmmm phase.  Today Mizuno launched the new Wave Prophecy in one of their biggest shoe launches to date.

I personally have not run in any Mizuno shoes, but my daughter's have, and have been very happy with their shoes.  The Wave Prophecy is a very cool looking shoe and will be sure to turn some heads and prompt some questions.  With the new infinity wave plates the shoe has a unique look, and one that will at first make you question what kind of support or cushion the shoe has.

Coming Back From Injury Can Be Hard

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If there is one thing that I don't do very well it is take my own advice.  As you will recall, during my training for the Publix Georgia Marathon this past March I was in a hurry to build my mileage because of the late commitment on my part to running the full marathon.  It isn't new with me, but I repeat the 10% rule often when talking to people about building their mileage, but I unfortunately didn't listen to my own advice.

It didn't take long before that mileage building took it's toll and I was busy trying to deny that I was injured.  I slowed things down and cut back my mileage hoping that I hadn't sabotaged my marathon, but unfortunately the damage had been done.  I will let my training since the first of the year speak for itself, but you can see when it started to hurt and when I started to cut the frequency of my runs back to hopefully keep healthy.

BodyMedia Review

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A few weeks ago I was contacted with an opportunity to take the BodyMedia FIT Weight Management System for a test drive.  The test drive was 4 weeks long and ran parallel to others test driving it at the same time I was.  I was provided with a BodyMedia Armband, which retails for $249, and a one month subscription to the online Activity Manager, which starts at $6.95.