Come Run With Me!

March 23, 2015 by kpjenn

Back in January I alluded to some exciting news:

Welp, I’m happy to share that I’ve been chosen as one of the 2015 Navy/Air Force Half Marathon Ambassadors!

This year, the race will be run on September 20 and as an ambassador, I’m ambassador-ing all of you to join me. Well, you know, if you want. But it’ll be a great time.

Anyone who has done a race in DC knows that few things are greater than running past the US Capitol building, the monuments and the White House. Living in the Nation’s Capital spoils me – I can run on the National Mall right alongside history whenever it strikes my fancy. To finish a run on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial is one of the best feelings there is.

‘Merica

The Navy/Air Force Half winds its way through the District, starting on the National Mall in front of the Washington Monument (within view of the White House), around Hains Point, past the Lincoln Memorial and up through Georgetown along Rock Creek Parkway. You’ll get to see some of the best parts of the city!

I’m really looking forward to this race because it supports a great cause: mental and physical fitness for our troops. As the race website says: “The Navy-Air Force Half Marathon is an annual race hosted by Morale, Welfare & Recreation (MWR). This prestigious race began 11 years ago as the Navy 5 Miler and has grown to over 6,500 runners! The year 2015 will mark the 4th year for the Half Marathon and the 12th year for the 5 miler. Our mission is to foster and support high productivity for our Navy-Air Force audience through mental and physical fitness, personal growth, a sense of community, positive values and Family well-being.”

It’s a win-win situation – the joy of running with a purpose.

Registration is open and if you register using my Ambassador Code: KYLE, you’ll be entered to win a tech shirt!

Click it. You know you want to.

And if you’re coming in from out of town for the race, I’ve got the low-down on places to stay and, more importantly, where to eat. So, come run with me!

Spring Means Summer and Summer Means Frozen Treats!

March 20, 2015 by kpjenn

According to science and planets and stuff, Spring is here. Allegedly. As I’m writing this (Thursday night), I’m looking at a snowflake in my forecast for tomorrow, so really, I’ll believe that Spring is here when I see it.

But, being that Spring is technically here, I think it’s fair to say that Summer is right around the corner. That makes me really excited. Because Summer means sunshine and warmth (and humidity… but I’m not really excited about that part). Summer means running outside and sunburns (I’m Irish and German. We don’t do tans). Summer means movies in the park and laying by the pool. And Summer means frozen treats to beat the heat!

Last week… I cheated and got a head start on Summer because I’m impatient and I just couldn’t wait. Here I was, meandering through Whole Foods, and while I was in the frozen foods aisle, I was struck with a craving for my favorite smoothie meal.

Acai Bowls.

Acai amazingness

These things tho.

I think I’ve had one of these a day for the last week. I’m not exaggerating. I might need to get some variety in my diet. Right now though, I really just want another one of these beauties.

“Caveman” Bowl

Half of a frozen banana or a handful of frozen blueberries

1 Sambazon unsweetened Acai smoothie pack

Tablespoon of Peanut Butter (or 2 TB of PB2)

1 cup of almond milk or coconut water (or whatever liquid you want. I don’t usually measure it, I just throw it in the blender and add more if I need it.)

Dates

Unsweetened Coconut flakes

Granola (Gluten-free if you can find it. Trader Joe’s has a couple of delightful varieties.)

Chia Seeds

Throw the frozen fruit, acai, PB, and liquid of choice into the blender. Make it creamy dreamy. Pour into a bowl. Top with sliced dates, coconut, Granola, chia… the options are endless. Mostly, just fill it up with delicious stuff. Then nom. Hard.

Those acai bowls fill me up and keep me full for hourrrrrrssssss. Not joking. I’ve made one for breakfast the last couple of days and I haven’t even felt a little bit hungry until lunch… six hours later. Brilliant. Sometimes I like to experiment with the plethora of possibilities for these delicious treats. I think the next one will be green – I have some spinach that I need to use up – and I have some frozen mango and strawberries that might be tasty together. We’ll see. We’ll see.

Mayhaps these delicious frozen treats will help propel me through marathon training (because if you haven’t heard, I’m toying with a few options for 26.2 this summer. San Fran? It could happen. Or Baltimore? To be determined.) Or maybe they’ll just make me feel better after a long day at the office and in the gym. I’ll eat them either way.

What are your favorite summertime treats? Do you have any tried-and-true, go-to meals to fuel your training?

Jog. Hog. Jog. Giveaway!

February 25, 2015 by kpjenn

Here at Scootadoot, when we celebrate, we celebrate big.

Ron Swanson says it best, and we certainly don’t half ass anything around here. Certainly not things like our Blogaversary.

We’ve done it up big this month, with giveaways and race recaps and doing crazy things like jumping into a frozen lake. But now, it comes to an end and we’ve saved our best giveaway for last!

As you know, the Scootadoot chicks are big fans of running (duh). And we’re big fans of ice cream (double duh). But we’re really big, BIG fans of Uncle Dave’s Jog n’ Hog.

For the past two years, Team Scoot has been represented at Jog n’ Hog, because we are a group who just can’t say no to races that are all about having fun. And Ron Swanson’s sentiment still holds true. We definitely whole ass it when it comes to Jog n’ Hog.

I mean, what could be better than a race where you run a mile and a half, wolf a pint (or, if you’re ambitious, a quart – Whole Hog indeed), and then run another mile and a half? Nothing. That’s what. Nothing is better. Because it’s awesome.

In 2013, we amassed a great team an ran the miles and ate the ice cream (and didn’t puke). It was glorious.

The first time we were united. FOR ICE CREAM.

In 2014, our team was smaller, but our will was not. Mer and crew took on the ice cream and the Pig with great success.

In 2015? Oh, you guessed it. We’re heading back to the farm. And we want to take YOU with us!

We need your help to eat all of this ice cream.

We want you along for the ride. Bring your sprinkles and your fudge and your iron stomach and join us in our race against the Pig.

That’s right!

Thanks to our good friends over at Jog n’ Hog, our last giveaway this month is ONE FREE RACE ENTRY (image I said that like The Count). AH AH AH.

Yes. Exactly like that.

We are so so so excited about this opportunity (the guys at Jn’H are pretty amazeballz) and we can’t wait to have one of you join us! (Or more of you, because even if you don’t win, you should still come run and eat ice cream and partake in the frivolity.)

So, click below and enter right meow for your chance to join Team Scootadoot in Yardley, PA on National Ice Cream Day this year. July 19. Bring. It. On.

A Taste of Try the World

February 18, 2015 by kpjenn

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Valerie of Valerie & Valise tweeted her vlog about her latest Try the World box.

She’s a travel guru and on any given weekend is traipsing about the globe visit fabulous places, taking beautiful pictures and eating amazing food. Needless to say, she inspires wanderlust in me on the regular.

Anyways… she tweeted about this Try the World thing. Not being one to turn down a good subscription box, I decided I needed to check out this nonsense. Generally, I’m of the opinion that if Valerie endorses something, I’m probably going to like it. This has been true since I was about 13. Things haven’t changed much.

The gist behind Try the World? Discovering the world through food. Every two months, you get a box of gourmet food from a different country. Simple and delicious. It’s a little pricey ($39 a box for the subscription that auto-renews every two months), but you can cancel any time and for what you’re getting (and where it’s coming from) I can handle that cost every two months.

I decided I needed to try this magic out, because if I can’t travel places, then at least I can eat the food.

When my first box arrived, I greeted it with glee!

Happiness is a box of treats from a foreign land

This is the Paris Box, and let me tell you, France is a wonderful place to start. Inside the box was a beautiful array of things that almost looked to pretty to eat. I didn’t let that stop me though, because I’m all about those snacks.

There are seven items in the Paris box – six pictured here, and a mystery treat (that I ate and forgot to get a picture of. Sorry I’m not sorry). Some things look or sound familiar (dark chocolate in any language is fine by me) and some I recognized with a little help from my high school French classes. Thank goodness the box comes with a card that describes each item!

What was in my box? Well, let’s take a look! The following descriptions are from the card… there’s no way I could describe food like this. My take on the food is in italics after.

La Mere Poulard, sables – The famous restaurant and bakery namesd after its founder, La Mere Poulard, remains to this day a benchmark in French gastronomy for its variety, originality and light touch. With only five ingredients including salted butter from Brittany, these delightful cookies are loved by locals and visitors alike! These cookies were the bomb dot com. They are simple and don’t need any adornment – not too sweet but so, so yummy!

Maison d’Armorine, salted butter caramels – This delectable recipe was born in the summer of 1946 when the French celebrated the return to leisure at the beach in Brittany. Maison d’Armorine makes these salted butter caramels using Breton butter and Brittany’s famous fleur de sel. For any French gourmand, each bite of these chewy caramels evokes childhood memories of seaside holidays. It’s caramel. You can’t go wrong. I’ve only had one, but it was TASTY.

Domaine des Vignes, whole grain mustard – The origin of mustard production in France dates back to the Roman Empire, who exported the mustard seeds to Gaul, centures BC. Vineyard Domaine des Vignes uses vinegar produced from its grapes as a base for the mustard. Enjoy this mustard with charcuterie, with roasted meat, or as a dip. I tried this in a marinade with some roasted chicken last week. Serious flavor. Definitely excited to find more things to use this with!

Charles Antona, Corsican jam – Charles Antona is a Corsican brand whose secret lies in its ingredients. Each fruit is ordained with the scent of herbs from bushes that cover the island, and staying true to his grandmother’s recipes, Antona combines Mediterranean herbs and local fruit in his line of preserves. Mine was cherry. I tried a little on one of the sables cookies… I didn’t regret it.

Celement Faugier, chestnut spread – This unique recipe was created by master confectioner Clement Faugier in 1885 and combines chestnuts picked in the Ardeche region with a delightful hint of vanilla. This delicious puree can be used alone as a dessert, enjoyed with cookies, used as a sweet topping for yogurt, or spread on toast, a croissant or fresh brioche. I totally put this on one of the cookies as well, and I’m newly obsessed with it. I want a croissant right now, because I’d slather this nonsense all over it. Chestnut spread. Who knew?

Flagrants Desirs, dark chocolate bar with raspberry – With this 72% cocoa chocolate, Flagrants Desirs continues the tradition of the greatest European master chocolatiers. They achieve this rich cocoa taste by using only real cocoa butter, unlike industrial chocolate producers that ofter use other vegetable fats. This fine selection of cocoa beans mixed with a delicate balance of fruity aroma is a perfect midpoint between milk and dark chocolate. I don’t even need to say anything else about this. Because that pretty much summed it up. Rich, dark, chocolaty deliciousness. More please.

The mystery treat? Two gummy candies – one pear-flavored, the other apricot. Both were very fruity, but in the natural way, not the fake candy fruit flavor way. The pear one tasted just like I was biting into a pear. Swearsies. Super yum. And not too sweet! I usually don’t enjoy candy that much because I don’t eat a lot of sugar and even a little can sometimes be too much. These were very good, and just enough sweetness to do the job.

I don’t get another box for another couple of months, but I’m excited to see what’s next! Try the World is a great way to travel the world on a budget – the world comes to you!

If you’re interested in Try the World, use my referral link: http://fbuy.me/bVMjQ and get $15 off your subscription!

Cleared For Takeoff!

January 28, 2015 by kpjenn

Huzzah, I say! Huzzah!

Yes, friends, the day has come. The #bustedankle is no more.

Celebratory snapchats required

After my physical therapy appointment last week, I got the clearance to run – albeit only for short intervals – but that didn’t matter. I’m allowed to run! And you know what? It felt gooooood (regardless of the fact that I was on a treadmill). While my ankle didn’t feel 100% that first go-around, after a few minutes, things loosened up and it felt better than it had in a long time.

Yesterday, I had my last physical therapy appointment – I graduated! Yay! Cleared to do all the things (except play basketball… that has to wait another month, because lateral movement).

Pivot. You know. Basketball.

With clearance to run again, now comes the hard part. Deciding which races to do! This is a seriously important question. I know I want to aim for another marathon this fall, but I’m not sure which one, yet. I have at least one half marathon on the docket in September – the Navy Air Force Half (more on that in my next post, exciting announcement to come!) – and probably another go-round at Bird-in-Hand, preferably with better temps and conditions than last year. There will be Jog n’ Hog again (because what beats ice cream in July? Oh. I know. RUNNING THEN ICE CREAM THEN RUNNING).

Team Scoot? Try Team Cute.

My first race back will be at a work function – the association I work for always has a 5K at our annual conference – so, my first race of 2015 will be in the great state of Texas! I’m teaming up with my friend Nichole to help her take down the boys we’re running against. Can’t wait for some friendly competition – just the motivation I need to get back in gear.

I am fortunate enough to live in a place where during the spring and summer there’s 5K or 10K or 10 miler nearly every weekend. There are so many options! Choosing is the hard part. I’m going to spend the next few weeks working those intervals and trying to narrow down my racing options. Bring on 2015, folks. I’m ready!

What races are you looking at/interested in/already planning for? Do you have any local favorites? Dream destination races?

This is How You Train with a #BustedAnkle

January 21, 2015 by kpjenn

Remember back in November (GOSH that was a long time ago) when I did a dumb thing and my ankle ended up looking like this?

Not. Bueno.

Well. It looks less like that now and more like a normal foot/ankle situation, albeit a little bit puffier than one would like. Two months of physical therapy later, and I’m still not allowed to run. Yet. My orthopedist made mention of “coming back to see [him] in a month if the ankle still isn’t better.” That was before Christmas.

For those of you that can count, Christmas was nearly a month ago. Ankle? Still not 100%. But, I’m waiting to make that appointment until my PT gives me a re-evaluation. (I really don’t want to have to do the surgery-thing. I want to avoid the surgery-thing as much as possible.)

Anyways. In trying to avoid the surgery-thing, my PT has me doing all sorts of fun things. Strengthening exercises, ultrasound, stim… and he’s cleared me cycle (THANK GOODNESS), do the elliptical, and walk briskly on the treadmill. So, I’ve headed back to the gym, with gusto, to continue to train and strengthen my sad ankle and try to stay in shape (a shape that isn’t a circle).

So, how do you workout with a sort-of busted appendage? Let me count the ways:

Cycle:

I’ve been spinning for about two years now and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t one of my favorite things. I try to go at least three or four times a week. Lately, I’ve been going nearly every day. Because when my options are either spin or “walk briskly on the treadmill,” I’ll take spin every time. Not to mention the fact that it’s a great cardio workout and if you focus on form and power – it can be a great strength workout too. #quadzilla like whoa.

Spin is good for the soul.

Weight Training:

I love lifting. Like, a lot. Because when you do it right, lifting weights burns a ton of calories, builds muscle, and works your whole body like crazy. I like to get in a session after a cardio workout, when I’m warmed up already. I haven’t been as disciplined about getting in the weight room in the last few months, and I’ve felt it. So, this month, I’ve made an effort to lift at least four times a week, and I feel SO much better.

Musclessssss. Sort of.

Rowing:

Chick Vic is a real rower. I just like to hang out on the Concept2. This is a great upper body and core workout. And it doesn’t hurt my ankle which is an even better thing. I like to do this on days that I’m not spinning, because this wipes me out! Added bonus, if you row, you can be a cool cat like Frank Underwood:

Maybe I watch too much House of Cards…

I’m supposed to be cleared to run this week (I go back to my PT today), but in the event that I’m not, I’m going to ask about swimming. I haven’t been allowed to do that yet for fear of hyperextending my ankle, but now that it’s on the mend, I should be able to. Fingers crossed I get some good news today!

What are your favorite workouts? How have you coped with an injury? Because it’s just the worst.

Whole 30 Holidays

December 31, 2014 by kpjenn

Remember how I sprained my ankle last month? Remember how that meant no running for an undetermined amount of time? Yeah. We’re still at no running status.

And for a while, #bustedankle meant no exercising at all. Which is generally a problem, because no exercising means eventually, my clothes don’t fit. Which is REALLY a problem because I’m in a friend’s wedding this weekend and there’s a dress that I have to fit in to.

Knowing this a month ago, I decided to preemptively combat the clothes-not-fitting and the holiday food and drink onslaught by doing Whole 30.

If you’re not familiar with the Whole 30 plan, the easy explanation is this: no sugars, no grains, no legumes, no dairy, no alcohol. No processed foods. Only meat, veggies, fruits, and nuts. (There are more rules, so check them out here: http://whole30.com)

I’ve done a strict Whole 30 before (when I was training for the Chicago marathon) and I generally try to eat Paleo most of the time, so I knew that 1. I could do it, and 2. It would be a good way to avoid most of the crazy holiday food nonsense and hopefully help me fit into the dress for this wedding.

I actually love eating Whole 30-compliant food and have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to paleo/Whole 30 recipes. My favorite this round? Bacon Brussel Sprouts. I seriously made them at least once a week.

Some of my other go-tos: apples and almond butter, guacamole and plantain chips, and any breakfast bake with eggs and sausage and sweet potatoes and all of the veggies.

Now that the end of December is here, I can say this about my attempt: doing Whole 30 during the holidays is really stinking hard. Also, I didn’t stay strict the whole time. Reasons: 6 million holiday parties. It just gets really annoying to say “oh I’m not drinking because…” Or “no thanks, I don’t need any cookies…”

Or really, quite frankly, to hang out with family and not join in the frivolity.

That said, I did do fairly well. I allowed myself a few nights of fun and treats (not too many), but stayed to the plan the rest of the time. Which is really the big takeaway. If you eat the healthiest you can 80% of the time, and use the other 20% to enjoy yourself, you’ll be okay.

I also got the okay to start exercising again, which helped, too. Back on the bike and in spin class, and on the elliptical and the rower. Thank goodness!! I’m still not cleared to run, but my PT seems to feel confident that I’ll be able to start doing that early next year. (In my head that means tomorrow. Because hello 2015!) Until then, more physical therapy and crossing of fingers.

A handful of my coworkers and I will be doing a Whole 60 when we all get back from Christmas break, so now that I’m on my last official day of this Whole 30, I’m excited to partake wholeheartedly in the wedding festivities this weekend. BRING ME THE FINEST DRINKS IN ALL THE LAND. And cake. Also bring me cake.

Tried the dress on this morning, and it fits, so SUCCESS YOU GUYS! Boom. Nailed it.

Have you ever done Whole 30? How successful were you? What are your favorite recipes?

This Post Was Supposed to Be About Marathon Training

November 17, 2014 by kpjenn

Last month, I ran the Chicago Marathon. But back in September, I also signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon.

Yes. I’m probably insane.

The reason? A group of my best girlfriends had also signed up for the Half, and my training partner – Sarah – had also decided on double-marathon-craziness, after having run the Baltimore Marathon just a week after I’d crossed the finish line in Chi-town.

Mer and Vic were also signed up for race weekend distances and I thought: “Well, I’ll already be trained and six weeks is plenty of time to recover… and Philadelphia is a great race.” So… I did.

Sarah and I planned out our training schedule in between the two big races and we both felt really confident that the intervals we’d been utilizing would serve us well in keeping our legs happy.

We knew that since we only had a few weeks in between, we didn’t need to do a super long run (super long is a relative term for marathoners). We decided that we’d hit 16 miles and then start tapering again.

Halloween long run means cat ears

With the race less than a week away at this point, I’d say I feel pretty good. Well, actually I’d say Sarah is probably feeling pretty good, because I won’t be running anymore.

Why, you ask?

Oh. Because of this.

Not. Bueno.

So, I decided to play basketball last week (which I do, all the time), and went up for a lay-up. Came down… on someone’s foot. Result? One very sprained and sad ankle.

However, I did make the lay-up and my team won. That’s the important takeaway here.

… or that size. or that shape.

Since it’s the fourth or fifth time I’ve sprained this sucker (years of basketball and volleyball, friends) my ligaments are apparently (according to a few docs) just hanging on. Hence the nasty bruising and lack of walking I’m doing currently. Hoping surgery isn’t in my future, but it is a definite possibility.

Mostly, I’m just super disappointed that five months of training just went down the drain. I do, however, get to wear this stylish accessory for the next three weeks:

These boots were made for… not running

So, that’s where we’re at this week. Trying to keep my chin up and not think about how much I’d rather be running. Or really doing anything that doesn’t involve this boot. I’m also trying to get my eating under control because my metabolism is a little confused. It still thinks I’m marathon training and therefore wants to eat all of the things. Not gonna happen, pal.

My mission now is to work on working out in ways that are no impact and trying to keep myself in a shape that isn’t a circle while I recover. Once I’m cleared, I’ll be hitting the pool and the stationary bike and the weight room. Until then my only bicep curls will involve lifting my coffee mug to my mouth.

As an athlete, learning to be accepting of injuries is necessary. They are going to happen and most of the time they aren’t anyone’s fault. But, the worst thing you can do is to not respect them. I’m guilty of this because I’m stubborn. I’m competitive and I hate hate HATE being taken out of the game. I have serious sports FOMO. I don’t like missing out on anything, especially when it’s something I’ve spent so much time preparing for.

I know, though, that if I don’t take care of this the way I’m supposed to, the result could be more detrimental in the long run. If I want to continue to be not only able to run in the future, but also continue playing the other sports that I love, I need to let my body heal and take the steps necessary to fix my brokenness.

Ugh. Sometimes, being a responsible grown up sucks. Big time.

So, this weekend, I’m still going to Philly. Only instead of running my butt off, I’ll be cheering my head off. Now, to come up with some clever sign ideas…

Race Recap: Chicago Marathon

November 7, 2014 by kpjenn

FIRST SOLO SCOOT POST! BOOM!

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, I’m ready to get started.

Last month, before officially joining the Scoot Chicks, I ran my second marathon in the Windy City. Chicago.

Chicago is my kind of town, let me tell you. I feel a kindred connection with the people of Chi-town. Probably because I spent the better part of the last 5 years living in the Midwest (Wisconsin, baby!) and Chicago just feels homey. I mean, their taste in football teams is questionable at best, but I have so many friends and family in and around the Chicago area, it felt like going home.

Going in to this race, I wasn’t feeling awesome about things. This summer had been incredibly busy and in the month before the marathon, I’d been traveling a lot and I felt my training had suffered. My last long long run was almost a month and a half before, while I was in Alaska visiting my family.

20 miles around Eklutna Lake? #AlaskaFTW

Running around Eklutna Lake was amazing and I’m so happy I was able to do 20 miles on my home turf. But once I got back to Virginia? Different story.

And of course, in the days leading up to leaving for Chicago? I got a cold. Like, nasty sinuses-all-congested-can’t-breathe kind of cold. So, I said to myself, “self, buy thee some sudafed and DRINK ALL THE WATER.”

Sudafed and other marathon-things organized neatly

Upon arriving in Chicago, I met up with one of my oldest and dearest friends, who accompanied me to the expo, where things were the smoothest I’ve ever seen any race expo run. Ever. Like, fancy ipads er’rywhere. Super fast. Super easy.

I found a Paul!

I spent Saturday toodling around Chicago with college friends (reunions are the best, btdubs) and resting my legs so they could run all the miles and drinking all the water (because, sickness. and also hydration). That night, I laid out all of my race gear and hopped in bed at 9:30 – because when you have to be dressed and out the door by 5:15am, you go to sleep as early as possible.

Beth and Catrina were marathon-supporting superstars

Flat Kyle: Ready for 26.2

The race start was a bus and train ride away from where I was staying, so in typical Kyle fashion, I grabbed coffee to keep me company. Chicago has a pretty easy-to-navigate public transit system, and coming from DC where I ride the metro regularly, it was no big deal to figure out where I needed to be to get where I needed to go.

All. Of. The. Coffee.

One thing about running in Chicago in the Fall: you never know what the weather is going to do. Having lived in the midwest, I know that mid-October could either be sweltering or snowing. Fortunately, race morning, temperatures were chilly, but perfect for running. To stay warm, I had on like, three layers (not sorry) and before I dropped my bag at gear check I was doing some sun salutations to loosen up and stay warm. The start corrals were super easy to navigate and once I ditched my stuff, I made my way into my corral and joined the other racers in the usual banter and bouncing around and huddling together to stay warm and loose.

Chicago Skyline in all its glory at the start

I didn’t have to stand around too long, as the race officials got the corrals moving fairly quickly, and before I knew it, I was stripping off my throwaways and crossing the starting line. We were off through the streets of Chicago. That was probably one of my favorite things about this race, actually – the fact that the entire course is a tour of some of the best parts of the city. From Grant Park, through downtown, from Wrigley Field to White Sox stadium, we ran all over that town.

It was a beautiful day and Chicagoans were out in droves to cheer us on. Seriously. So many people. In most places, the crowds were two or three people deep. I don’t think there was any place along the course that was quiet – it was awesome.

The other amazing thing about this course? The fueling and water stations. Evenly dispersed, on both sides of the road, water and gatorade and in the last few miles, bananas, too. The volunteers were amazing and they kept us runners in good shape throughout the race.

Because I was running intervals for this race (5 minutes of running, 1 minute of walking), I felt really good throughout – the built in walk breaks were great and given that I was still dealing with the congestion from my cold, definitely helped me keep my pacing and breathing in check. It wasn’t until about mile 22 that I really started to feel tired… and I could tell that my body was kind of reaching “done-zo” phase – being sick and running that far means fatigue. I slowed my pace and adjusted my intervals and kept pushing.

Now, the majority of this course is flat – Chicago is lauded as being one of the fastest (that’s a relative term. Ahem.) marathons around. But, what they neglect to tell you is that the last two tenths of a mile are uphill. RUDE. “Oh sure, you just ran 26 miles, and the finish line is like… right there, but run up this hill first.”

YEAH OKAY.

But, you know what, by that point I was just so ready to be done that I powered up that hill and turned back in to Grant Park to cross the finish line like a boss. Or like a wobbly-legged little girl. Whatever. I finished and I shaved 15 minutes off of my previous marathon time. So that’s a win in my book.

Another 26.2 done!

After the race, I hobbled my way to the meet up area and found Beth and Catrina who helped me sit down, helped me get back up and walked me back to the train. I’m so grateful for friends who join in the marathon fun, because truly, the experience is made that much better when there are people there to share in your accomplishments.

Chicago was an incredible race and I would definitely do it again – and hopefully without a cold so I can take more advantage of the storied speediness of this course.

#swag

Fun aside? While I was tweeting about the marathon, Mizuno hooked me up with a pair of their new Wave Rider 18s. SO PUMPED. These kicks are carrying me through training right now and are amazing. I’m looking forward to taking down another 26.2 in these babies in Philadelphia at the end of the month. Money. So awesome.

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Author Archives: kpjenn