Sweet T and a Honey B
Food, Fitness, and the Adventures That Make Life Sweet

Rock N Roll Chicago – My First 10K!

How many times can one say they had a weekend of quality time with their loved one, good food and sightseeing, accomplished a long time goal, enjoyed beautiful weather, and didn’t have to go far from home to do so? This was easily one of the most fulfilling weekends I’ve had in quite a while and an experience I was so excited to share with my husband. 

Not long after our last lengthy race, Bry and I decided to begin training for the Humana Rock and Roll Half Marathon (or in my case, the 10K, let’s not get crazy here). Runner’s high is a real thing and finishing our races in April left us with the need to push ourselves a little further. The timing also worked out perfectly because our two year wedding anniversary was on July 11th. We figured an overnight in our own city  (that we don’t explore nearly as much as we would like to) would be an ideal way to celebrate – and a shiny new medal wouldn’t be bad either 😉 

We drove downtown to the Health & Fitness Expo on Saturday afternoon to pick up our bibs, shirts, and take a peek at some new running gear. Being around all of these people who are working towards the same goal that weekend is pretty cool and the energy at the expo made us even more ready to begin our runs the following day. After browsing a bit and taking some pictures, we headed to the Hilton to drop our stuff off and grab some lunch. I had been hearing about a restaurant/cafe called ‘Goddess and the Baker‘ for quite some time and luckily it was a 15 minute walk from the hotel. Holy..cow..did I love this place. I am so sorry I had not ventured downtown sooner to try it. Their menu boasts fresh and seasonal choices for breakfast, lunch, and dinner complete with a HUGE selection of delicious looking/tasting pastries and a heavenly coffee bar. It was really difficult for me to pick just one thing to eat off their menu but I chose their Chicken Club sandwich and kombucha to drink. Bryan and I sat by the window and enjoyed the people watching. I also couldn’t pass up a macaron and cold brew on my way out. This is easily my new favorite spot downtown and I am already looking forward to trying the naan bread grilled cheese next time 🙂 

We quick stopped at CVS to stock up on Larabars and water for the morning (I forgot the city doesn’t provide grocery bags anymore..) and walked back to the hotel for unpacking, a small nap, and stretching. Before we knew it, it was time to explore again and we certainly wanted to enjoy the 80 degree weather. Since we had to call it an early night, we wanted to stay close, so we ended up where every other tourist in the city ends up – Millennium Park. Though this time, we didn’t take the typical ‘Bean’ selfie, but stopped under the bandshell to listen to some classical music and perused the new Maggie Daley park. Did I mention how perfect the weather was? It seemed like everyone and their cousin was outside enjoying the music and the breeze off the lake. We enjoyed some dinner al fresco at the Plaza in Millennium Park underneath my favorite string lights and headed back for the hotel to rest up before bed. 

Let me tell you – 4:30am comes early on a normal day, but when you have to run 6.2 or 13.1 miles, it comes extra early. We rolled out of bed, stretched, and tried to shred some pre-race jitters. Bry and I each went our separate ways and headed towards our corrals around 6am as the race officially began at 6:30. It wasn’t long before my corral was up to the starting line and I started my first 10K! Running along the lake shore was so much more scenic compared to my usual runs at the park by our house. The view certainly made the first three miles go by really quickly. I started feeling a bit tired at mile 4 and while I hit my ‘wall’ about mile 5, the live music along the route, light shows, and cheering crowds as I neared the end motivated me to push through. Before I knew it, I was sprinting (okay, after 6 miles I guess I couldn’t call it a sprint) the last quarter mile to the finish line. I quickly hobbled over to the teams handing out water bottles and chocolate milk, received my medal, and hurried to the side of the crowd watching the half marathoners roll in to watch Bryan finish his very first half. Bryan finished the 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 12 minutes which he was super proud of – and so was I. We had both finished the longest runs we’ve ever completed so we headed over to the post-race party to grab our free beer and share in the excitement of everyone else finishing the race. We didn’t spend a ton of time at the party because it was time for brunch – probably what we were looking most forward to this weekend. While I am not a fan, there is nothing like a huge post-run Bloody Mary to my husband. 

As much as we would have liked to enjoy some more city time, we were so glad we decided to not spend the second night and head home for a shower and very long nap. We finally ended our anniversary weekend with a pasta dinner at Gattos, one of our regular Downers Grove spots, and live Irish music and darts at Ballydoyle. I was so tired by the end of Sunday evening, that I found it hard to stay awake past 10pm. Between all of the fresh air, running, and contagious energy downtown, I was so ready to hit the pillow. It was a much needed weekend spent celebrating all the hard work training we’ve put in the last few months and two years with my very favorite person. 

We’re certainly ready to give our knees a bit of a rest from hitting the pavement, but are looking forward our next two races: the Stan’s Donuts 5K in August and and Ditka Dash 5K in October.  Do you have any races you’re training for? What is your biggest fitness goal? 

 

Hal Higdon and a Relationship with Running

When I think back to the worst parts about being a pre-teen/teenager, gym class and the dreaded mile run would be at the top of my list. I would do everything in my power to cheat (running REALLY slow during the 9 minute run so that I only had to do two laps instead of three), or to skip out on it altogether (your gym teacher didn’t want the awkward argument when a 13 year-old girl said ‘she wasn’t feeling that well’ that week) . My asthma had a lot to do with it, but I didn’t like it in general. Though, I did envy the girls who could go out there, run a 7-minute mile, and not spend the rest of 7th and 8th period with a beet red face. It wasn’t until I got to college and lost a little bit of the weight without evening trying/changing any habits (the constant uphill walk to the business school will do that to you), that I decided to step foot on the track at our campus workout facility. I’m not saying I was running miles and miles at a time, but half a mile here, a mile there, and slowly I wasn’t dreading it anymore. Once I made up my mind to change my bad habits (read here), I was able to run further and begin actually enjoying going for a run around campus. It became a wonderful way to relieve some stress before a big exam or just enjoy how gorgeous the IU Campus was. 

It was a coincidence that Bryan found his love for running in college too. During Thanksgiving breaks, we started signing up for the annual Bonfield Express 5K Turkey Trot. Jim Bonfield was a teacher, coach, and dean of Downers Grove South High School and passed away in 2003 due to complications with Hodgkins Disease. The Bonfield Foundation was started in his honor and the foundation works to support and build character and community commitment in high school students in the area. The annual Bonfield Express 5K is a very special event that we look forward to every year. Being able to support our community is another reason we began to fall in love with running. 

Most recently, Bryan decided he wanted to push himself and set the bar a bit higher. He will be running his first 10 Miler in April and has been training for a few weeks already. He discovered the Hal Higdon Training Program and what I find interesting about this program is that there is a Beginner, Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced schedule for any race distance: 5K, 8K, 10K, 15K/10Miler, Half Marathon, and Full Marathon. It provides a healthy way to gradually introduce running distance to the newest beginner yet a challenge for those who have been running distance for years. I am so incredibly proud of his dedication to the training schedule (and even more impressed he’s been running OUTSIDE in January and February). The schedule includes weight training, stretching/strengthening, and a rest day and he has taken each part of this as serious as the run days. 

We’re optimistic he won’t need this cold weather gear much longer. 🙂

In some ways, I have admittedly been pretty jealous of the hubs when he goes on his long runs. For about a year now, my long runs have been very sporadic. I found myself struggling to climb stairs, run, and sometimes even get up and down from a sitting position without some killer pain in my knees. In September, I finally decided to get some x-rays and learned that my knee caps are basically not where they are supposed to be- aka all of the cartilage in my knees is not protected by the knee cap. I was instructed to work on strengthening the muscles on the insides and outsides of my legs to try and pull my kneecaps back into place. From what I can tell, it’s made a difference but I still have really bad days and somewhat good days. Without surgery one day, I don’t think I will ever be able to train for a run that’s much longer than a 5K which gets discouraging. Though,I try and remind myself why I love running to begin with and that I can still feel as good after 2-4 miles as I would after 6-10. 

In addition to strengthening exercises, the only other thing that has allowed me to be as active as I am is Kinesiology Tape (or KT Tape). This tape is used by professional athletes and Olympians to basically provide an additional layer of support for sore muscles, ligaments, and tendons. You can leave it on for days at a time and withstands sweat and water. I have noticed this tape provides DAYS of support even after I remove it. It’s literally like a second skin. For runner’s knee, I wear half a piece straight across each knee just under the kneecap, and anchor it with two additional pieces crisscrossed over it and adhered to my mid-thigh down to the top of my shin. If you have any ache or pain related to fitness activity I HIGHLY recommend purchasing some KT Tape. It works really well for elbows, shoulders, lower back, and knees and I love that each package comes with instructions on how to apply the tape for each kind of ache or pain. You can purchase the tape right on the KT Tape website or through my Amazon link below.

 

 Needless to say my relationship with running has been an interesting one. I’ve learned to listen to my body and not overwork myself when my knees are telling me not to. Bryan’s dedication to stretching and strengthening in addition to those long runs has been a huge eye-opener because this allows him to push himself a little further each day. I’m hopeful that with a few more months of strengthening exercises, icing, and continually wearing my KT Tape to support my knees, that I can get back to more of a routine, especially as the weather gets nicer! For now, I’ll enjoy watching Bryan’s progress as he continues to train for his 10-miler and hopefully I can join him in a few shorter distance races later in the year. I cannot wait to watch him accomplish his goal and cross the finish line in April!