Is winter waning?

More of the hat.

New shoes!

Color-coordinated, am I.

Face off! (Beak off?)

Objects in mirror are larger than they appear.

 

Steinway

Took a wee trip to Chicago this weekend for my birthday.  John and Stephen and I set off for a wee 10-mile jaunt through the snowy forest preserve, where we were joined by 20 deer (who may have outnumbered the people) and my extra chin.

Dashing through the snow.

We also dined (and drank, of course) at the inimitable Fernando’s, and I took some photos of Michael’s vintage Steinway.  Played it, too!  (Click to enlarge.)

 

Hat hiatus

So unbelievably warm here, and all the snow is finally melting.  No hat on the last several runs – though it will undoubtedly return soon.  A sampling from Winter 09 So Far.

One needs a balaclava at 13 degrees.

Teeny tiny icicle on my porch railing. Teeny.

It's a metaphor.

This is fun. Really.

Where are all the pretty horses?

Because what one needs after a sub-freezing run is to ice things.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Buried in the snow.

 

Run like the wind…the icy, icy wind

Bring on the hat.

There's a really stoned looking wise man behind us.

Polar Inflatabear

I call this one Tundra Elmo.

He's sort of a snowconeman.

 

The return of the hat.

With the onset of winter, the hat is back!  Now it’s travelling around Grosse Pointe.

Liggett is on my 6-mile loop

A family of snowpeople!

Jim and the hitching post

Instead of big cows, we have big frogs.

A quick trip to Chicago!

Outside my garland bedecked home!

 

Never forget the hat…

In my sudden rededication to El Blog, I have realized that the inaugural winter running hat photos didn’t get their final say at the end of winter.  Keep in mind that the end of winter was in Spring.  The last hat photo I took was in May.  May!

Stephen and I trained together for our first long distance race, the Soldier Field 10-mile, which was May 24.

March 18, near Scooters.

March 23rd.

Still cold in April.

Early mornings at the lake.

Yes, we even attempted speedwork.

April 28, my friends.

Finally, the hat came off in May. Our first 10-mile effort, however, was in a howling windstorm on the lake. We had a tailwind for the first three miles, but those last three were a killer.

During a calm portion of the first 10-miler.

The Soldier Field 10-mile!

 

Steppin’ out

I ran my first Detroit race yesterday – the Grand Prix Shakedown 8k.  It took place on Belle Isle, the island park in the Detroit River and home to this weekend’s Indy and LeMans races.  Part of the course was indeed on the racetrack, which struck me as terribly narrow and dangerous (for cars, not for runners).  I brought my camera (though not on the race proper) hoping to catch some images for car-race-fan Matt, but couldn’t get back onto the track after the run to do it.  Besides, I was distracted by the free pizza, Miller Light, Faygo pop, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, and bananas.  (My $25 race fee also netted me a long-sleeved tee, a terry wristband, a blue livestrong-style wristband and a schmancy neoprene water bottle.  This was a swag-filled event.)

It also had a strange dual nature – two guys with mics had seemingly diverse agendas for the evening.  One was trying to get people to the massage tent while he blasted dance music, while the other was trying to raffle off the random prizes.  The guy with the dance music won out, in my view, and besides, when was the last time you saw something like this at your last road race?

The folks in blue are the Stone Steppers, a Detroit running group with style.  Looks like they do some other steppin’ when they’re not running.  And they run pretty fast.  Alas, I had forgotten about the camera in Jim’s pocket, so missed the best dancing (including the Cupid Shuffle), but you get the flavor.  The guy in the lead (with the paper plate and pizza in his hand) is (I believe) Coach Mike Stone, the founder after whom the group is named.

 

Naked and drunk

Alongside the 40th anniversay party were two events that are not likely to be repeated in the near future.

The first was the Bare Buns Fun Run 5k.  “Be Brave, Be Tough, Beat the Mountain in the Buff!”  Yes, it was a clothing optional run at the Fraternity Snoqualmie nudist camp.  Yes, I can see the question forming in your mind.  I did not run naked (fear of pain) but in a bra and skirt (because I thought I would feel dumb in a bra and no bottoms).  Melanie and John also did not run naked.  We were conspicuously clothed.  Jim, however, did run naked.  As he put it, “I was going to be uncomfortable whether I had clothes on or not, so I took them off.”  No, alas, there are no photos, save this one, of us in our souvenir tees.

Honestly, for me, it wasn’t all the nudity that made the experience unusual, it was having to run straight up a mountain.  An impossible task for me, I might add, but DOWN was fantastic!  Who knew I could run so fast?

Bikini bottoms at the Flamingo poolside bar

After that, there was a wee trip to Vegas.  I decided to be brave and wear a bikini.  My first.  It was a wrong-headed decision, and no, there are certainly no photos.

However, because I know y’all like a good bikini as much as the next person.  Here you go.

My favorite stop in Vegas?  The bar at

One (of three) vodka tasting flights at the bar at Red Square.

- a fabulously kitchy Soviet-era themed, very red establishment with a bar made of ice that specializes in imported vodkas.  Need I say more?  John, Michael and I were very, very happy with the twelve samples we consumed.

 

Last Chicago hurrahs

The running photos did not end with the wearing of the winter hat, my friends.  I even upgraded from my phone to a wee gem of a camera that I can carry while running and take real pictures.  We’ve only just begun.  And, as is my wont, I coerced my friends into running with me and submitting to photographs as well.  I only hope Detroit brings as many running adventures!  (Click on any picture to enlarge.)

John and Michael live very near a forest preserve, and also very near Superdawg! What better excuse for a nine-mile run followed by tasty junk food?

Note our nifty team shirts. I warned you I was wont to overorganize. These first appeared in April for the Ravenswood Run and have been rearing their ugly heads every since. Perhaps I will create them annually? Who can say?

Bless his little pure beef heart.

Stephen and I trained together for the Chicago Distance Classic half marathon and discovered the joys (?) and benefits of the post-long-run ice bath. Though if it’s early enough in the year, you can just wade in the lake instead. Does he look cold to you?

Cool off those tootsies, do.

This was after a twelve-mile run. We actually swam after the 14-miler. That combined with the massage of walking barefoot on the warm sand is really quite refreshing.

Most of Stephen’s and my training runs were early in the morning, to beat the heat and the 9-5 workday. Exactly one time we were accompanied by Jim. I think 6:00am is too early for him.

Stephen’s favorite training run, which we did once in the spring and once in summer, was a 10-mile jaunt that included Navy Pier. On this trip, (John came, too) Stephen even ran into (almost literally) Carl Kassell.

At The Bean (okay, Cloud Gate) in Millenium Park. None too crowded at 8:00am on a Sunday. Who knew?

 

Post-virus running rehab

Wow. I was hit with a virus and sick for three weeks. Still have a lingering cough that makes me sound like a 5-pack-a-day smoker. I’ve gotten a lot of reading done, but my progress on training for the Soldier Field 10-mile race in May slowed quite a bit. During day two of the illness, my birthday, when I thought it was a 24-hour thing I was getting over, I went on a short 3-mile run. I spent the next week in bed. But I’m back on my feet now (if a big wheezy)…and so is the hat.

This guy lives about a mile and a half from my place. I think of him as Mr. Potato Turd.	The courtyard of Beyond Design. What they do there is beyond me, but the fountain is pretty and they have stalks of wheat on their gate.
A harbinger of green beer and drunken revelry. The sign says, “St Pats Weekend Giant Party”	My local greasy spoon. Pancake anyone?