Awesome, amazing work everyone! I will catch up tomorrow.

They said I could walk so I hiked, 10 mi. in 6 hr. Wore my new Nathan hydration vest. Very comfy and it didn't move. Not sure how walking will feel tomorrowand if it is, I'll hit the gym.

Run strong and fierce!

MaryKay - that is some hike!  I hope you're not feeling it too badly tomorrow. 

AlfNiner - 11 minutes off your practice run is awesome!  Say "hi" and congrats on the race to Terranss (I hope his wife is doing ok).  How nice that the whole family went to the 5k/10k.  Great finish,  but,more importantly, great sportsmanship.

Long run report - 11.5 miles.  Miles 3-9 were pretty strong.  Legs got a little tired around mile 9 to 9.5 or so, but I pushed through and felt pretty darn good at the end.  I took walk/water breaks every 2 miles until mile 9 and then I took a walk/water break at miles 9 and 10.  I tried Hammer gels - much better texture than GU - and the chocolate was mmmmm.  I still can't believe I ran 11.5 miles.  Big sappy grin on  my face

Chicago Half Marathon preliminary results: 2 hours 17 minutes 53 seconds.  Fantastic day for a race.  Cool morning (65?)  Puffy clouds - no rain.

I have yet to participate in Bike The Drive, but today (as with the Soldier Field 10) I have run parts of it.  I can report that most of the pavement north of 57th street is nice and soopth. 

A race like this is a treat for running on (and falling over) uneven sidewalks.

I have no experience in road construction, but it seems that asphalt cracks at the top of a street's crown.

(The stuff ya notice when you're not in a car!)

Those transverse cracks made me nervous, so I stayed away from them.

Favorite sign seen on the sidelines: RUN?  I THOUGHT YOU SAID RUN

Also: RUN AS IF YOU ARE BEING CHASED BY CLOWN

(New Balance and Nike are making minimalist slap shoes?)

Although I would concede that clowns run faster than zombies.

Correction

The sign read: RUN?  I THOUGHT YOU SAID RUM

So many of you getting it done this weekend. You are all phenominal!!

NHLA - AmAzing times on your legs!! Yeah, looks better than billy goat tough from here. Can't imagine any part of that race being easy at 10 pm. It must have been an exhilirating experience to finish 9th on Saturday. "Ran into the girl who mooned me last year but did not recognize her till she turned around." ?? Guess she was running backwards?

Degregorious - 2 hours 17 minutes 53 seconds!! That must have felt great!! sounds like a wonderful day for a race and your report reminded me of Cleveland. I was thinking about the city engineers the whole way; they invited thousands here to inspect these roads and didn't think it might be a good idea to clean up the potholes and snow damage from 1995? Concrete jungle challenges.

Congrats AlfNiner on both of your races! Both sounded like a lot of fun along with the great run times! About that passing thing, I get passed at the end all the time and don't hold against the guy (and so far it's only been guys) but I know what you mean about feeling it might not be fair. Consider that you have no idea where the person started and if you started later, you likely passed him or her before you finished. Good luck with your move. Yeah, my hike was an accomplishment but your races were awesome, awesome!

Jmsab, great race for you and your daughter, especially since you weren't feeling well. It's amazing what our bodies can do. Glad it was good weather. 

Mel, awesome 13 m run!! You are so ready for your HM!! That must feel good. Love that you felt you could have done more and you outran the dog! Enjoy that family 5k!

Deb, You DID It!! 11.5 is fantastic and 13.1 is right behind. My fav Hammer gels are Hickleberry, Tropical and Vanilla but they are milder than the Cholcolate. I like that they aren't as sweet as GU.

Chell, great strides! You are getting so fast! You are beasting this running thing. Take care to protect.

Tony, welcome back. Cruise sounds like it was great!

OC - 20 mi. Wow!! And that bounce back trip to the mall, I don't know how you did it. Had it been me, my feet would have been up and my butt down for the rest of the day.

LInus, it looks like you are training for a full and not a half with those runs. You are so ready! Relax and enjoy so you can protect your gains. 

I'm looking into "dry needling" and stretching and I have a stick I'm using to roll the legs over. I was lost when I first heard I had to stop running bc all I could imagine was either resting and giving up on the 9/29 run or pushing to keep training for 9/29 and risk messing up the later races. Scott suggested I make no decision, set a date, focus on recovery work until then and reaccess whether I can run. So that's what I'm doing until Thursday. Wish I'd thought of it, though.

Forgot to mention, saw two does, two daddy longlegs and a box turtle on hike (bc someone pointed them out). Ya, I know it's not much in comparison but it's a start.

Run strong and fierce and enjoy!

The best part of my week.

Congrats igotwings!

love the photo webpro!

I got in a short 2 miler this morning in 24:18.  I am coming down with a sinus infection. I think it's from the race I did on Saturday and the fires they had going in the campground we had to run through.  Hopefully it moves out of my system quickly.  I ran through my last one in January as well. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!!!

Amazing runs everyone, holy cow!!  Congratulations to you all, you're all awe-inspiring!!  I am proud to associate with you all!!!       Webpro, nice photo too

I will second in on MelodyLea, I also ran 13.1 this weekend ahead of my first half-marathon!!  I went online and printed the race map for the Oshkosh Half Marathon, which passes a mere 6 blocks from my house.  So I walked out to that intersection then ran the race, basically.  I finished in 2:52:11, so now I have a solid goal time for my actual race.  There was a very nice stretch on the Wiowash multi-use trail which I have never run before.  It was beautiful and I will definitely be back!  I had water and some trail mix with me for fuel which did not upset my tummy like the Carb-Boom gel did the weekend before.  I just felt better all-around this weekend vs last even though the distance was greater.  Weather was nice and cool with bright sunshine and low humidity, aaaahh!

I need to taper starting next weekend though because my race is a week ahead of Melody's, so the plan is to do 6 miles next Sunday and take it easy the following week.  I also need to give my legs a break today, they are still tired.