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bad math post-tri

bad math post-tri

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This past weekend was the world’s largest triathlon, so come 4am, I was at Monroe Harbor “body-painting” — taking permanent markers to strangers’ arms and calves to write on them their registrant and wave numbers.  Apparently it’s no longer necessary to do this, but many tri event organizers still do out of respect for the tradition.  (Think of the marathon’s pre-race pasta binge fest: you don’t have to eat boat-loads pasta in advance of a long run or your big race, yet tradition always seems to win out.  I guess eating rice or potatoes just smacks of disrespect).

Post-body-marking fun, I was shufflin’ along on what was meant to be a 13-miler that had eluded me on Saturday a.m., since I had committed a classic novice ill and chugged a bit too much Gatorade immediately before I began running: my GI system didn’t appreciate that, at all. Anyway, Chicago had unbelievably cool August weather on Sunday, so it made for a very relaxed, refreshing long run.  And to boot, I ran on the lakefront’s south side, from Roosevelt to La Rabida and back.  Apparently my math faculties failed me, for my planned 13-mile trek morphed into 15 miles, and I wasn’t the wiser.  [It wasn’t until nearly 20 minutes after I finished my run, when I couldn’t figure out why my time made my 13-mile run seem so slow, that I realized that my math was off.]  Reason #1001 why running buddies are a good idea…

All told, an enjoyable Sunday stroll.

An a.m. romp in the rain

An a.m. romp in the rain

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How to celebrate finishing my summer obligations of a PT internship and a grad-level statistics class (whose final I took last night)?  Do one of the things I’ve neglected all summer: run.

I entertained the idea of running home after last night’s stats final, but with a rash of burglaries and assaults in my otherwise safe ‘hood, I was a bit hesitant.  This morning seemed like the better option.

Enter: Chicago, late August, about 68 degrees, and it has been raining nearly all night long.  Add: lakefront path, big waves, and wind so hard that it feels like for every step I make forward, some one (a wind monster, evidently) is trying to push me backward.  Luckily, the wind seemed to let up once I passed Navy Pier.  Before I stepped outside, I entertained the notion of doing a fartlek or maybe some 800m strides.  The weather made me decide otherwise!  I was satisfied with my solid 8:30s for about 7 miles.

Besides the wind, the weather could not have been better for an a.m. trek.  Putting in 7 miles before I get to work makes Erin a happy, content girl.  And why not?  If you had a summer full of school and internship and work and statistics, you’d want to celebrate by running it all “away,” too.