Hyundai Hope on Wheels 5k - Chicago, IL

Sunday morning I made the frustrating trip downtown to participate in the Hyundai Hope on Wheels 5k, which was run in conjunction with the Chicago Half Marathon. The morning was complete with fanTAStic running weather, a decent course and a fun racing experience.

 

Now I say the trip was frustrating because parking was horrendous... Since the race started near Jackson Park, I was assuming I could park at the Museum of Science & Industry and make the reasonably short walk to the Start/Finish line. Well that's not how it played out.

Long story short, I thought I could easily get to the parking garage. After a half hour of driving around trying to access Lake Shore Drive, I was greeted with a "you'll just have to find a spot somewhere" answer from one of the parking monkeys rented out to direct traffic. I finally found a parking spot at 7:30 and had to hustle myself and my wife 1.2 miles to the Start line...

As we were approaching our destination, I could hear the race starter saying "We'll be starting in 30 seconds!" Oh boy... Unfortunately, I had to sprint off to the start line, leaving my wife to fend for herself until I was finished. I arrived (winded) about a minute and a half after the gun went off - in plenty of time since half the racers still had yet to cross the start line.

As I waited to cross the starting line, I tried to get my iPhone set to play some music - only to remember that I had removed all my music to make room for my podcasts...which do little to pump me up on a run. So I found my wife further up the road and handed off my phone and headphones...leaving me sans music for 3.1 miles. Great.

The race itself semmed to go by very quickly. Now, don't get this confused with my actual speed - I said it SEEMED to go quickly! :-) With such a large crowd, you were always surrounded by people. There were a couple ripples in the street (one of which nearly caused me to eat blacktop), but for the most part the course was pretty smooth. But of course you always have to watch out for what I call the "Abrupt Stoppers" who just all of a sudden move from a run to a walk right in front of you. Maybe I should just shorten my race time so I'm not forced to run with these folks!

In the end, I finished strong and cruised hustled past some folks on my way to the finish line (which always feels great!) The clock above me read 34:12, but I figured the initial 1:30 or so would be subtracted to land me in the 32:00 mark somewhere. But after checking the standings this morning, I found they still tagged me with the 34:12 - not enthused...

As always, they had ample food and drink after finishing and 5k runners even got a finishers' medal! I won't lie - I wasn't expecting that! To be honest, it made me forget about all the frustration with trying to park and make it on time!

After my race, Karin and I stuck around for a bit and watched our friend Vinnie finish the half marathon - always fun to watch people turn that last corner and see their eyes light up as they spot the finish line! There's just something about seeing people down the home stretch - just a fantastic, emotional moment we get to share with them!

However, there was a somber moment as the paramedics seemed to cart off a runner while doing chest compressions on him... I haven't seen any report of a death in Sunday's race, so I'm hoping that means he's alright. Does anyone know anything about this?

 

September Goals

Well here we are, with yet ANOTHER month behind us in 2012, and ANOTHER month closer to the end of the world as we know it (if you're Mayan). That means we're also at that time where I lay out my goals for this coming month.

I know, I know... I still have yet to reach many of my past, monthly goals. Believe me, I'm more disappointed about it than you are! At the end of each 30 days, it really is kind of depressing to see the lack of progress in my weight loss journey. But the past is the past, and I can only focus on today! So here we go!

1. This may sound crazy to some of you, but I really want to be able to do away with soda this month. Some days it is a really big struggle to stay away from the carbonation when it's free for the taking (and unlimited) here at work, so I really want to buckle down and eliminate that. Going to be tough!

2. I also am going to start incorporating weight lifting into my workout routine this month. Once my race is finished on Sunday, I'm planning on focusing more on full-body fitness rather than just being able to log enough miles for a race.

3. I'm also going to work out 5 or 6 days per week (Mon-Sat). Even if I have weird work hours due to international shows, there's still no reason I can't find time to sweat a bit.

4. I also want to improve my stature as a blogger (see previous post). Instead of simply reporting on my progress, I want to improve my knowledge in the realm of health and fitness and therefore will be reading articles and such, and will be giving my response/thoughts on facts or articles I read. Let's get some knowledge, people!

5. Oh yeah, and let's lose 15 pounds this month, shall we? (would take me down to 260)

I also made a YouTube video today talking about these as well, enjoy!

Improving My Blogging - and Yours!

Since I've been kind of M.I.A. on the blogging front lines lately, I've decided to do some research on how to up my online game. Of course there's the obvious things like, I don't know... ACTUALLY BLOG, but I found out some other interesting things as well. Naturally, I first had to do the obligatory Google search for "How to be a good blogger."

Ah, good laugh. It's reassuring to know that if I ever want to drop my prime gig as a blogger that I could easily find out how to be a good bartender. Definitely would make more money! I also think babysitting is in my near future, but that will be a mandatory vocation - since the kid will be my own! (And no, mother, this is not me announcing that we have a baby on the way!)

Anyway, one of the things that I read was that your blog should be aesthetically pleasing. This made me wonder if I should try a different layout/design of the blog. Thoughts? I like this layout because it allows me to have all these nifty things on the right side here, but I definitely like the layout of some of the more dynamic layouts. I can't decide...

Another key to good blogging is writing about a topic that you know, and that your readers will enjoy or find useful. I think this is where I need to improve. I've been doing a lot of running over these last few years, and I can tell you how I did or how I felt, but when it comes to giving tips and recommendations, I really don't think I could confidently give you credible words.

In that same vein, I also feel that once I am more successful with my weight loss and can actually post some respectable times in my races (and my YouTube viewers start reading), that people may see me as more of a credible source as well, rather than a guy who can make you laugh here and there. The goal is both!

So while I take an introverted look at my own blogging highs and lows, feel free to do the same with yours too! But I must say, the blogs I've been reading lately seem to be doing pretty well for themselves! For now, I just hope you stick with me on this journey - things will get much better soon!