I Won The Lottery!

Chicago Marathon LogoNo, I didn’t win the kind of lottery that would let me quit my job. I did, however, get selected for one of the 33,000 public lottery slots in the Chicago Marathon! Come Sunday October 12th, I’ll be running my ass off in an attempt to prove to myself that spontaneity, insanity and months upon months of physical training can be fun and painful! That reminds me, I’d better put in for a vacation day on October 13th. I think I’ll have earned a day of rest by then.

In the meantime, I have 180 days to kick my training into high gear and get ready for the most physically challenging event I’ve ever undertaken.

Time to Think

While I’m running on a treadmill, I like to let my mind wander.

So last night at the gym, I’m chasing the end of a road that goes on to infinity (or until you turn it off), and I look up and see that I’m right in between 2 television sets. One has the Olympics on it, and the other starts airing a show called “2 Broke Girls.” Of course I have Slash and Myles Kennedy on the headphones, so I’m not listening to either. That leaves me to draw my own conclusions as to what these shows are about based solely on what I can see. One was fairly obvious, but I had trouble figuring out the one with bobsleds.

The show about the poverty stricken chicks was 30 minutes long, and you can bet I spent that entire 30 minutes trying to think of a way to take in all that I was seeing and make it funny. This image is the result of my mind’s attempt to occupy itself.

2BrokeGirlsvsBobsledding

28,510 Paces Next Year

Long RoadI’ve toyed with the idea in my head for a while now. About a month ago, I started telling friends and family of my plans (many of which just thought I was drunk). Yesterday, I began my training, and on October 12th 2014 I will put my year long commitment to the test. I intend to run the Chicago Marathon in 2014.

It has been nearly a year since I have been to the gym, so going there after work last night seemed strange yet vaguely familiar. I wasn’t as far behind physically as I thought I would be. I was able to keep up a brisk walk on the treadmill (3.6 mph) for an hour without the heart rate monitor telling me to stop and call an ambulance. As unimpressive as that sounds, it’s better than what I expected. I’m not a fan of tread mills (or stationary bikes for that matter) but the consistency and control they offer over my pace at the beginning stages of my training are definitely welcome. I’ll stay indoors on the treadmill until spring, and then transition to actual pavement once the weather is a bit more cooperative.

Road-Race-Online-Sports-RegistrationBut wait, there’s more! So Jenn had been discussing my plans to run a Marathon with one of her co-workers, and he said that he ran a Marathon once too. He also said that “it’s one of those things that you do once, and then never need to do again. Twenty-six point two miles is a very long distance to run.” I thought about that, and decided to amend my plans. Not only do I plan to run the Chicago Marathon in 2014, but I vow to continue my training and improve upon my time in the Chicago Marathon in 2015. Yep, I’m going to at least run it twice. Don’t ever let it be said that I do anything half-way.

And just in case you were wondering, a pace is an actual measurement from Roman times equating to approximately 1.48 meters. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.