My New Tee

A great big THANKS to Bad Ben's Ramblings for offering this tee on his blog. The designer is a blogger who I have enjoyed peeking at his work over here......Ink Doodles.

Hopefully, next year I'll be legit in wearing this shirt as I plan to do one of Ben's wild ultras!!

A Full Weekend

On Friday, I popped into a running store in my town to get new shoes, and lo and behold, they had the new heart rate Garmins! Yes.....I asked to look at one....and yes, silly me had to buy it!! She's a beauty.....and RED! How is one supposed to resist that?

I tried on a few pairs of shoes on the list my orthopedic gave me. Seems he only wants me in neutral shoes so the new orthotics will be the main support. Okay...that makes sense. Picked out a pair of asics, a half size bigger, of course had to buy new socks too, and I was ready for my run the next day.

I was asked to pace the new guy in our group who's in training for a half marathon in June, so I really got to use my new toy for an important purpose!! I dont know if I was busy looking at my watch or adjusting to my new shoes, but I wasnt watching where I was going and my left foot landed on the edge of the street and twisted. Shit! shit shit shit!!! Oh the pain!! Sweety Todd ( when a man loves to run) stayed with me and walked me thru it. In his defense, he wanted to get his car and pick me up, but the pain stopped. I could walk on it, and yes, I started to run on it, but after about 1/2 mile I walked it in. We had about 3 miles to get back to the parking lot, but I made it.

We got to the Bagel and that's where the pain really kicked in. It hurt so much I thought I was going to faint. So ReenRuns insisted I go with her to the closest ER for an xray. Darn these good friends! Just let me writhe in pain and put me out of my misery!!

Well, it wasnt broken (praise the lord) but the pain was unbearable and they gave me narcotics!!! Weeeeeeeeee---didnt feel a god-damned thing after that!!

Haight's Hangout got me home safely and became my servant for the day (I could get used to this!!). One good thing, I got out of working on Sunday and just laid around all day!! The pain eased up enough that I could finally put pressure on the foot, and I babied it all day with compression, ice and elevation. See, nurses can be good patients too!

I'm walking again, no pain, but certainly not running this week. I'll stick to biking and swimming. So this year, Reen was on crutches, Haight is still down and out with knee pain, and I twisted my ankle. Remind me why we do this crazy sport!!???

Pulitzer

A GREAT BIG CONGRATS to Mike Luckovich, the 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner for editorial cartooning.

Happy Passover

Bayley found the matzohs and doesnt want to share. Think he'll get "clogged up" like us peoples do???

Happy Easter to the rest of ya's!

My Secret Hideaway

Can you keep a secret?? It's a magical place hidden away in my neighborhood---a friend that grew up here introduced me to it. I've only shown the way to Haight, my Mom and, of course, my pup. I share it now with you. Hardly a soul goes there.

A winding downhill road with a running stream alongside takes you to Lake Michigan...make your way across four beaches, with the skyline of Chicago in the distance...there's the hidden passage--wooden stairs leading to a steep uphill winding trail......there you'll find my Hideaway at the top where peace is found! Come listen to the waves crashing on the beach, hear the birds chirping, squirrels rustling thru the woods....breathe deeply and thank Mother Nature for her gifts!

Shamrock Shuffle

Haight, Me and Reen along with my daughter and me in our volunteer shirts. The race shirts were white so I think we got the best ones (though those of us that ran got both!!). I couldnt PR because the race was sooooo crowded and I also had to retie my shoes!!! But I had lots of fun. I felt the strength my arms gave me from my weight training, and my legs also felt stronger. It's a cool course to do because it uses the same beginning and ending streets of the Chicago Marathon. That killer hill at the end was easier with only 4.5 miles behind me! Word on the street is that the Chicago Marathon will fill up by May this year instead of the usual July fill up. I still am weighing whether I'll do it again, but I guess I'll sign up just in case. So those of you looking to do my city's Marathon---get in there early!!!!

I'm only an 8

What is your score??? http://www.danceswithdirt.com/images/trailquiz.pdf

Springtime Excitement

The first race of the season, the Shamrock Shuffle, is tomorrow!! It opens up our racing season here in Chicago--and it is the largest 8K in the World!! Khalid Khannouchi & Costantina Tomescu-Dita will be running. Cracker will entertain afterwards. 25,000 people will run. I can't wait. Today I'm going to Navy Pier to volunteer to give out the goodie bags...I will take my camera and post pics. Flowers are starting to bloom, buds are popping out on the trees and birds are chatting with me on my early morning runs. Life is good!