Chicago Marathon plans are scrapped...

Hip problems have pulled me up short on all of my runs lately. I am now going to focus on training for Disney. First a visit to a sports physician will be necessary.

Yesterday's easy 3 mile run had my left hip and right hamstring feeling like they were going to snap. That must be related. I can't see how those two issues are coincidental.

Chicago Rock N Roll Half Marathon

My diet sucked the day before and I only had about 4 hours of sleep....

I happy that there's such a thing as Powerbars.

Overall time was 2:00:06. I'm too tired to share thoughts about the run right now. It's time for a nap.

Three miles on a gorgeous day...

The temp said 48 degrees, which I don't believe for a minute. It was absolutely beautiful - clear sky, slight breeze.

Today was 3 miles. I used the Runkeeper app on my IPhone, which is pretty cool.


Three miles at a10:38 pace. This was a little slow, but there are hills. The important thing was to get out there. Next week I start training with John, my running coach.

Didn't feel like 2.74...

More like 3...so there.

This one was done for two reasons - to get started again and to clear my head. The second reason was the most important. To any runners reading this - I know, I know - why did I stop in the first place?

This ain't the place for a mea culpa. This is about my training.

It was about 36 degrees out there and a little windy. Ah well...time to hit the shower.

Thursday, Zero Week

I am feeling pretty good today. There is some slight pain in my hip, but nothing serious. I have an appt. on Monday the 22nd to discuss with the Doc.

I did a light 2 miler today in accordance to Hal Higdon's Recovery program. It was nice. Let's see how things go...

Marathon Fallout...

Mike Downey of the Tribune is entitled to his opinion, but he makes himself out to be a tool. It takes alot for a Monday morning quarterback to get on his soapbox and chastise runners for being foolish to run. Stong work, Mike. You've got a whole new group of fans.

Another writer in the sports section said they should narrow the field for future marathons. That idea has some merit. He goes on to say that runners should have to qualify. I can't say I agree with that. Without knowing the breadth of the marathons available for runners, I have to ask how it is people new to the sport get a chance to break in. Does it mean we need to go to Milwaukee next year? There's nothing wrong with Milwaukee, it's a great city, but...

Let's talk about what went wrong.

Was there enough water/Gatorade? No. It's just that simple. Let me quote Carey Pinkowski, race director for the marathon: "Our participants were not drinking the water, they were pourng over their heads. That's something, I'll be honest with you, we didn't anticipate."(Chicago Tribune, October 9, 2007; Section 1, p.12) Excuse me, Mr. Pinkowski, but have you ever watched ANY part of a marathon or taken part in one? That's a question, not an accusation, by the way. To say that they couldn't forsee runners pouring water over their heads is ludicrous. That's poor planning. A mantra for ALL project managers out there:

Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

And that goes for the runners as well. I can only speak for what I experienced. I saw plenty of runners out there that brought nothing with them. That means they probably used as much water to drink as they did to pour over their heads. If there was a little planning on their parts, plain and simple.

The blame has to go to both sides. But let's talk about the real world. The culpability will rest with the event organizers. And I am waiting to see the litigators come out of the woodwork. I think I might pass on any class action suits that come out of this, if any do.

For more incendiary stuff, take a look at the letters to the editor(Voice of the People) of the Chicago Tribune. This one is really good.