Sat, Dec 31, 2011 7:48 AM Central
Swallow Cliffs 8mi Loop
Ran:    8.67 miles
Time:  1:25:08 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  9:49 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  30°

Angelica, Maria, John, Andy, Daisey and I at Swallow Cliffs. I hung back with Angelica, nice easy run just putting in the mileage and not worrying about the time/pace.

Last run of the year, 1,701.70 miles for the year, 138 miles for December and 41 miles this week. Best of all, I ran my first marathon this year!

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Fri, Dec 30, 2011 4:45 PM Central
Oak Lawn Pavilion Indoor Track
Ran:    5.10 miles
Time:  39:40 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  7:48 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  indoor

Solo at the Pavilion, another 5 miles, nice run feeling stronger.

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Thu, Dec 29, 2011 6:30 PM Central
Oak Lawn Pavilion Indoor Track
Ran:    5.10 miles
Time:  39:50 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  7:48 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  Indoor

Andy and I at the Pavilion. Nice run on the indoor track, I still prefer the outdoors but at least the track allows us to get the miles in when it is too dark to run outside. Well at least the days are starting to get longer so in a few months we can do all of our running outside!

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Wed, Dec 28, 2011 12:01 PM Central
Danada County Trails, Herrick Lake
Ran:    11.06 miles
Time:  1:33:33 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:27 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  24°

Lunch time run, cold but refreshing! I would rather run in the 20° cold than in the high +80° heat and humidity.

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Mon, Dec 26, 2011 7:54 AM Central
Country Lane Yellow Trail
Ran:    11.00 miles
Time:  1:35:41 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:42 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  28°

Solo, on the Yellow trail plus 1 mile. Nice sunny cold morning!

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Sat, Dec 24, 2011 7:42 AM Central
Turtlehead Lake, Palos Heights
Ran:    10.55 miles
Time:  1:29:10 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:27 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  24°

Angelica, John, Andy, myself and Daisey on the Turtlehead Lake trail, cold sunny morning. Started out a little cold, but after the first mile we were good to go!

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Thu, Dec 22, 2011 9:48 AM Central
Country Lane Yellow Trail
Ran:    10.21 miles
Time:  1:32:32 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  9:04 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  37°

Tough, tough run on the Yellow trail, sore and little energy, but at least I finished the full 10.

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Wed, Dec 21, 2011 6:00 PM Central
Oak Lawn Pavilion
Ran:    5.10 miles
Time:  40:38 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:00 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  Indoor

Andy and I at the Pavilion, 40 tough laps on the indoor track.

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Mon, Dec 19, 2011 12:00 PM Central
Danada County Trails
Ran:    10.99 miles
Time:  1:32:37 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:26 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  43°

Lunch time run, perfect weather sunny and in the 40's.

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Sat, Dec 17, 2011 8:21 AM Central
Country Lane Trails
Ran:    6.89 miles
Time:  1:04:00 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  9:17 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  36°

Angelica, John, Andy, myself and Daisey on the trails, first time running on snow this season!

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Thu, Dec 15, 2011 1:15 PM Central
Danada County Trails
Ran:    11.1 miles
Time:  1:35:00 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:34 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  39°

Another lunch time run at work. Very windy, which made it feel colder that it was. I had set my Garmin to run the Course to utilize the map function which worked but it did not track my run. It is very confusing using the Course, I select the Course, hit Enter at the "Do Course" prompt and then if it finds the Course it tracks the run, sometimes you have to hit the start/stop button, well this time I didn't hit the start/stop button, the Course Map screen worked fine showing me the my position on the Course so I assumed it was tracking the run, sadly it didn't track the run. Sometimes when I hit the start/stop button after hitting enter at the "Do Course" prompt it stops and I have to hit the start/stop button again. Confusing, I think the best approach is to always hit the start/stop button and if it stops hit it again.

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Wed, Dec 14, 2011 3:15 PM Central
Oak Lawn Pavilion
Ran:    5.1 miles
Time:  42:47 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:20 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  Indoor

40 laps at the Oak Lawn Pavilion today, just didn't feel like running in the rain.

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Mon, Dec 12, 2011 12:16 PM Central
Danada County Trails
Ran:    11.01 miles
Time:  1:33:31 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:30 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  45°

Lunch time run. Nice sunny afternoon, but a tough run after a light week, I'm sure all of those xmas cookies didn't help. NO cookies this week!

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Thu, Dec 8, 2011 9:08 AM Central
Country Lane Yellow Trail
Ran:    10.00 miles
Time:  1:35:53 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace: 9:31 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  37°

John and I at Country Lane, nice leisurely run on the Yellow Trail.

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Sat, Dec 3, 2011 7:43 AM Central
Country Lane
Ran:    6.01 miles
Time:  56:38 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace: 9:26 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  43°

Rhonda, Andy, John, Daisey and I at Country Lane. Cold and rainy but still a decent morning run!

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Thu, Dec 1, 2011 3:18 PM Central
Country Lane 5mi Loop x2
Ran:    10.10 miles
Time:  1:27:35 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:41 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  46°

Solo run on the trails. Just finished as it was getting dark, geez dark at 4:50PM?

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Wed, Nov 30, 2011 3:50 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    5.14 miles
Time:  42:49 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:19 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  42°

Solo, around the neighborhood. Only 5mi but still tough.

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Mon, Nov 28, 2011 12:24 PM Central
Danada County Trails, Herrick Lake
Ran:    11.01 miles
Time:  1:30:43 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:14 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  40°

Solo, my Monday lunch time long run. A slight improvement on my average pace by 4sec.

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Sat, Nov 26, 2011 7:47 AM Central
Country Lane/Bullfrog Lake
Ran:    7.73 miles
Time:  1:16:12 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  9:52 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  52°

Nice leisurely Sat run with the group(Angelica, Maria, John and Andy) on the Bullfrog Lake trail, AKA Loosey Goosey trail. The trail John nicknamed Loosey Goosey because of all of the rocks, roots, ruts, turns, ups and downs. Each one of us have fallen at least once on this trail. Today it was Angelica's turn.

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Thu, Nov 24, 2011 8:04 AM Central
Palos Park Turkey Trot
Ran:    4.0 miles
Time:  30:34 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  7:39 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  43°

Andy and I running the Palos Park Turkey Trot. The wind made if feel a lot colder that it was. Nice turkey day run through the 4 mile hilly course!

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Mon, Nov 21, 2011 12:05 PM Central
Danada County Trails, Herrick Lake Out & Back
Ran:    11.01 miles
Time:  1:31:20 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:18 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  44°

11mi run during lunch break from work. Nice refreshing run, sunny and cool!

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Sat, Nov 19, 2011 10:01 AM Central
Orland Hills 5K Turkey Trot
Ran:    3.1 miles
Time:  21:49 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  7:02 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  48°

5K Turkey trot with the group, Angelica, Maria, Maria's sister, Rhonda, Sal, John, Andy and myself. Set a new 5K PR for myself, but still not good enough to beat John!

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Wed, Nov 16, 2011 10:03 AM Central
Country Lane Yellow Trail
Ran:    10.00 miles
Time:  1:25:17 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:32 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  38°

Solo, Nice run on my favorite trail, cool and sunny, second best time on the Yellow Trail!

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Mon, Nov 14, 2011 1:00 PM Central
Danada County Trails
Ran:    10.73 miles
Time:  1:32:03 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:35 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  51°

Solo, ran the Danada County trails by work today, @1 mile street running then all lime stone trails. Nice afternoon run!

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Sat, Nov 12, 2011 7:10 AM Central
Turtlehead Lake, Palos Heights
Ran:    10.70 miles
Time:  1:36:34 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  9:01 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  36°

Maria, John, Andy and I at Turtlehead Lake, cool leisurely group run on a sunny Saturday morning.

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Thu, Nov 10, 2011 3:18 PM Central
Country Lane 5mi Loop x2
Ran:    10.04 miles
Time:  1:25:03 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:29 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  39°

Solo run at Country Lane, just got my 10miles in before sunset. Tough run today, nothing like yesterday's 5mi run.

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Wed, Nov 9, 2011 4:01 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    5.10 miles
Time:  41:28 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:08 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  39°

Solo around the hood. Cool and wet run. Despite the weather, this is really the first time since the marathon that I felt really good physically, no soreness in my quads, helped me maintain a nice pace for 5 miles.

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Mon, Nov 7, 2011 12:28 PM Central
Lisle 5mi Loop x2
Ran:    10.30 miles
Time:  1:29:60 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:44 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  55°

Solo, 5 mile loop(times 2) around work at lunch time. With the changing of the clocks, it is too dark to run 10mi after work, so I decided to take a long lunch to run 10 and work 2 hours later. It was a decent loop but I think I will experiment with some trails that close by. My goal to to run @35 miles a week. I am figuring 10mi on Mon or Tues, 5mi on Wed, 10mi on Thurs and 10 on Sat with the group. I figure I can run the 10mi on Mon or Tues during lunch at work and run the 10mi at Country Lane immediately after work since I work from home on Thurs.

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Sat, Nov 5, 2011 7:49 AM Central
Country Lane 5mi Loop + 4mi Loop
Ran:    9.29 miles
Time:  1:31:44 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  9:53 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  38°

Angelica, Maria, John, Andy, Daisey and I at Country Lane. Nice Saturday morning run, started out a little chilly but turned out to be a great morning for a run!

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Fri, Nov 4, 2011 8:05 AM Central
Country Lane Yellow Trail
Ran:    10.06 miles
Time:  1:29:48 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:56 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  43°

Solo run on the Yellow Trail, beautiful morning run, not one of my better times for this loop, but still a nice enjoyable trail run!

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Tue, 1 Nov 2011 16:06 Central
Country Lane Yellow Trail
Ran:    10.00 miles
Time:  1:26:18 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:38 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  63°

Solo run on the Yellow Trail, nice run, I can't remember the last time I saw so many people on the trail, runners, trail bikers, horse riders, walkers and a 8 point buck! Everyone was probably taking advantage on the nice sunny autumn afternoon.

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Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:55 Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    5.14 miles
Time:  43:32 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:28 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  50°

Solo, around the neighborhood run on Halloween.

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Sat, 29 Oct 2011 7:20 Central
Country Lane 5mi Loop x2
Ran:    10.00 miles
Time:  1:32:29 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  9:15 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  43°

Angelica, Maria, John, Daisey and myself at Country Lane. Nice run, a little nippy at first but a very enjoyable run.

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Thu, Oct 27, 2011 3:43 PM Central
Country Lane Yellow Trail
Ran:    10.01 miles
Time:  1:26:46 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:40 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  51°

Solo on my favorite trail. It has been 6 weeks since I ran the Yellow Trail. This was my longest run since the marathon three weeks ago. My quads are sore. This is a great trail any season of the year, great colors, winding trails along Maple Lake, it doesn't get much better than this.

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Wed, Oct 26, 2011 5:35 PM Central
Palos Park Turkey Trot Course
Ran:    3.67 miles
Time:  31:59 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:43 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  49°

Andy and I running the Palos Park 4 mile Turkey Trot course. We attempted to use a map of the course loaded on to our Garmins but took a wrong turn and only ran 3.67 miles. Beautiful tree lined course with several large very cool homes.

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Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:22 Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    7.23 miles
Time:  1:00:30 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:22 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  66°

Solo, around the hood, I was sore after two days of walking around the Covered Bridge Festival in Parke County, Indiana, so I skipped the trails to run on the flat streets. Sore for the first 3 miles but tolerable for the remainder of the run. At this point, I guess I have not completely recovered from the marathon.

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Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:50 Central
Swallow Cliffs 6mi Loop
Ran:    6.16 miles
Time:  50:20 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:11 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  54°

Solo, at Swallow Cliffs, I was sore the first 2 miles but felt good for the remaining 4 miles. The falls temps are great!

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Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:38 Central
Country Lane
Ran:    4.01 miles
Time:  33:38 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:24 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  60°

Andy and I at Country Lane. Still a little sore, I had to push to keep up with Andy's pace.

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Country Lane

Ran:    4.89 miles
Time:  45:19 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  9:16 minutes/mile
Temperature:  52°

John and I at Country Lane, Our first run after the marathon. Still a little sore but nice to get some cool temps for an early morning run.

During my recovery time I thought what a better time to recap the key factors that helped me complete my first MARATHON! So the following is my review of Hal Higdon's book and training program that was instrumental in the successful completion of my first marathon.

Book: Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide

Author: Hal Higdon

Publisher: Rodale Press; 3 edition (September 30, 2005)

I bought Marathon, The Ultimate Training Guide and read it cover to cover when preparing to run my first marathon, the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. I am not a big reader(of books) so for me to read any book is rare. But Hal's book is a great read and provides invaluable information about running a marathon, including the history of a marathon, both pre and post training, as well as interesting and motivating anecdotes.

Using the book as a reference along with Hal's 18 week training guide from his website(I used the intermediate II training program), not only did I run and finish my first marathon, I was able to complete it without walking, in a time of 4hr 2min!

I can't imagine running my first marathon without Hal's book or training programs. I will be re-reading the book and following Hal's training program in preparation for my second marathon, the 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Hal Higdon's website: http://www.halhigdon.com/

Hal's Marathon Training programs: Marathon Training Programs

Note: The 4th edition was available Sep 27, 2011.

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Sun, 9 Oct 2011 7:32 Central
Chicago Marathon
Ran:    26.2 miles
Time:  04:02:41 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  9:06 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  63°

My first marathon! My primary goal was to finish, my secondary goal was to finish under 4 hours. I was close at 04:02:41. It was a lot tougher than I anticipated. I was using a marathon pacing tattoo for a 03:50:00 finish which was about a 8:47 pace. I was 30 seconds within the target splits up to mile 13, I felt good but it was getting warm so I slowed down a little and just tried to keep at a 9:00 pace. I was ok, until about mile 23 when I hit the wall, my quads were quite sore, and at that point thoughts of finishing under 4 hours was replaced with just finishing. It took every thing I had and then some just to finish without walking. Somehow I managed. During those last few miles, I swore to myself that I would never submit myself to such torture again and that this was my last marathon. Well four days later, after much thought, I figure that now I know what my weak link is, my quads, so if I can strengthen my quads I think I can beat my 04:02:41 time.

Everyone in our group six finished! What an amazing accomplishment for all of us!

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My Stats:

Sat, Oct 8, 2011 7:30 AM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    2.08 miles
Time:  18:13 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:46 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  62°

Andy and I on our last run concluding our 18 weeks of training for the Chicago Marathon on Sunday 10/9/10. It has been a long 18 weeks of hard work, training, pain and suffering, but now the day is just about here! I feel that I am ready. Now it is just a matter of lacing them up and going out and "Just Do It"(thanks Nike for the slogan, thanks New Balance for the shoes!)!!

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Wed, Oct 5, 2011 6:15 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    4.00 miles
Time:  36:00 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:00 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  63°

John, Andy and I on our 4 mile training run. I learned something about my Garmin during this run. After 1 mile it started beeping, I couldn't read the display because is was dusk and the print was small, so I just started hitting the lap and start/stop button to get it to start working again but nothing worked, I tried turning if off and on again, still no luck. When I got home I was able to read the display and found that the lap history was full and there was no more memory. At that point I realized that I never deleted or cleared the history, so every run since I bought the watch over a year ago was there. Good thing I caught this before the marathon. At that point I just went into history and deleted everything except for the last month.

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Tue, Oct 4, 2011 4:03 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    3.25 miles
Time:  26:43 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:13 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  73°

Solo, 3 mile run around the hood. Only 3 miles, it seemed like it should have been easy but it wasn't??

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Sun, Oct 2, 2011 11:48 AM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    4.11 miles
Time:  32:29 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  7:55 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  57°

Solo, 4 mile training run around the hood. This completes week 17 of the marathon training program. Next week is a light week 3, 4, and 2 mile runs before the marathon on Sunday 10/9. I am ready!

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Thu, Sep 29, 2011 6:04 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    4.04 miles
Time:  35:22 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:45 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  45°

Angelica, Andy, Shawn and myself at Country lane. We actually were cold this morning, still a nice refreshing run. Finished September with 166 miles down from the last two months because of the taper in prep for the marathon. It is hard to believe that I have the 17 weeks of training behind me, only 1 more week before the marathon, starting to get anxious and nervous. 45,000 runners and 1.7 million spectators, how can you not get excited!

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Wed, Sep 28, 2011 4:01 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    6.00 miles
Time:  49:33 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:15 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  59°

Andy and I on our 6 mile training run around the neighborhood.

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Tue, Sep 27, 2011 3:49 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    4.0 miles
Time:  00:36:00 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  9.0 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  60°

Solo 4 mile training run, Garmin Battery was dead, so time and pace are a poor guess.

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Sun, Sep 25, 2011 8:43 AM Central
5K Zoo Run for CZS
Ran:    3.1 miles
Time:  00:22:16 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  7.11 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  54°

Andy and I at the 5K Zoo run. Finished 5th out of 41 in my age group, 69th overall, 65th out of 605 Males, new PR for 5K. First time I finished ahead of Andy in a 5K(only by 3 sec). This completes 16 weeks of training, only 2 more weeks before the marathon!

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Sat, 24 Sep 2011 6:54 Central
TurtleLake Trail
Ran:    12.15 miles
Time:  01:44:53 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:28 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  54°

Angelica, Maria, Andy and I at Turtle Lake running our 12mile long run.

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Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:01 Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    5.67 miles
Time:  00:46:16 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:30 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  61°

Andy and I on our 5 mile training out and back run from 91st and Central to 111th and Central.

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Wed, Sep 21, 2011 5:22 PM Central
Swallow Cliffs 8mi Loop
Ran: 8.16 miles
Time: 1:06:48 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace: 8:11 minutes/mile
Temperature: 70°

Solo on the Swallow Cliffs 8mi loop, new PR for this trail!

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Mon, Sep 19, 2011 7:30 AM Central
Chicago Lakefront Trail
Ran:    20.01 miles
Time:  2:58:44 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:56 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  63°

Andy and I on our long run along the Lakefront, a new PR for 20 miles for me, beat my last 20 mile run by 10 minutes!

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Sun, 18 Sep 2011 9:05 Central
Sully Shuffle 5k
Ran:    3.1 miles
Time:  00:22:27 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  7:14 minutes/mile
Temperature:  56°

John, Andy and I running the 5K Sully Shuffle, we all finished in the top 10 overall, John and I took second place in our age groups!

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Sat, Sep 17, 2011 7:25 AM Central
TurtleLake Trail
Ran:    10.59 miles
Time:  1:30:58 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:33 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  62°

Andy and I at Turtle Lake, nice 10 mile run in Autumn temps.

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Thu, Sep 15, 2011 3:46 PM Central
Country Lane 5mi Loop
Ran:    5.02 miles
Time:  39:23 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  7:50 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  58°

Solo, doing the Country Lane 5mile loop, beat my PR from last week by 15sec/mile! No wonder it was so tough!

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Tue, Sep 13, 2011 10:51 PM Central
Argonne WaterFall Glen
Ran:    10.05 miles
Time:  1:22:37 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:11 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  57°

Andy and I on our 10mile run at Argonne, getting colder, long sleeve shirt time!

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Mon, Sep 12, 2011 11:07 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    5.36 miles
Time:  46:54 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8:43 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  69°

Andy and I on our 5mile training run around the neighborhood.

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Sun, Sep 11, 2011 10:33 AM Central
Swallow Cliffs
Ran:    6.06 miles
Time:  00:49:06 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:04 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  72°

Solo, on the Swallow Cliffs 6mile loop, new PR for this trail, cooler temperatures make a big difference! Four more weeks for the marathon!

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Sat, Sep 10, 2011 6:08 AM Central
Argonne WaterFall Glen
Ran:    12.05 miles
Time:  01:48:07 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:56 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  58°

Angelica, Maria, Andy, Shawn, John and myself at Argonne, nice run in perfect temperatures!

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Thu, Sep 8, 2011 3:42 PM Central
Country Lane 5mi Loop
Ran:    5.08 miles
Time:  00:41:34 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:10 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  66°

Solo on the 5 mile Country Lane loop in a light drizzle, new PR for me for this loop : )

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Wed, Sep 7, 2011 6:05 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    6.17 miles
Time:  00:55:08 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:53 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  63°

Andy and I on our 6mi training run, cooler temps, fall is approaching : (

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Tue, Sep 6, 2011 4:47 PM Central
Country Lane 5mi Loop
Ran:    5.05 miles
Time:  00:45:25 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:59 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  61°

Andy and I at Country Lane, 5 miles, cool, nice and easy!

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Sun, Sep 4, 2011 6:35 AM Central
Chicago Lakefront Trail
Ran:    20.07 miles
Time:  03:08:21 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:20minutes/mile 
Temperature:  67°

Andy and I along the lake front, beautiful day for a long run. Another PR for the 20 mile long run, beat my previous time by 5minutes! This completes week 13 of the 18 week training program, 5 weeks to go!

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Sat, Sep 3, 2011 6:44 AM Central
Argonne WaterFall Glen
Ran:    10.12 miles
Time:  01:27:39 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:38 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  75°

Andy, John and I on our 10 mile training run. What a difference the temperature makes! Nice run at a decent pace!

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Thu, Sep 1, 2011 3:51 PM Central
Country Lane 5mi Loop
Ran:    4.88 miles
Time:  00:42:33 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:42 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  94°

Solo run in Country Lane Woods, another hot tough run, only 5mi but at least I didn't stop today!

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Wed, Aug 31, 2011 4:30 PM Central
Yellow Trail
Ran:    9.82 miles
Time:  01:29:53 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:06 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  93°

Solo, on the Yellow trail. Toughest run on the Yellow Trail ever, the heat really took its toll on me. After running the first 4 miles at a decent pace, I stopped about 4 times the remaining 6 miles and at one point walked a block. When I completed the loop I didn't even have enough energy to run the .18 miles to make 10 miles, I was DONE! This completes the month of August, 182.9 miles total a new monthly PR for me! Five more weeks of training before the marathon!

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Tue, Aug 30, 2011 5:42 PM Central
Argonne WaterFall Glen
Ran:    5.03 miles
Time:  00:41:44 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:15 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  77°

Andy and I on our 5mile training run. First time for Andy on the trails since spraining his ankle. He must be doing better, he forced a fast pace!

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Sat, Aug 27, 2011 6:18 AM Central
TurtleLake Trail
Ran:    12.01 miles
Time:  01:52:09 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:18 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  64°

Angelica, Maria, Shawn, John, Andy and I running our long training run at Turtle Lake.

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Thu, Aug 25, 2011 5:20 AM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    5.10 miles
Time:  00:45:42 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:56 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  67°

Solo, early morning training run around the neighborhood before work.

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Wed, Aug 24, 2011 4:47 PM Central
Swallow Cliffs Trails
Ran:    6.14 miles
Time:  00:53:05 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:37 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  91°

Solo run on the trails. Hot and humid today, tough run, but still nice to be back on the trails.

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Tue, Aug 23, 2011 6:11 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    5.30 miles
Time:  00:48:24 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:05 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  74°

Andy and I on our 5 mile training run. Nice and easy, and cool temps.

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Sun, Aug 21, 2011 6:11 AM Central
Chicago Lakefront Trail
Ran:    20.01 miles
Time:  03:13:19 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:37 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  72°

Andy and I along the lake front doing our 20mi long run. PRs for distance for both of us! 50 miles for week 11 of the training program. Two more 20 mile long runs before the marathon. We have made it this far and it doesn't get any tougher in the 18 week training program, so this is a real milestone week!

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Sat, Aug 20, 2011 6:26 AM Central
TurtleLake Trail
Ran:    9.24 miles
Time:  01:17:32 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:20 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  73°

Angelica, Maria, John, Andy and I at a new trail(for me), nice 10.5 mile run on a paved trail. Nice fast pace just keeping up with John.

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Thu, Aug 18, 2011 6:00 PM Central Time
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    6.08 miles
Time:  00:54:18 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:53 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  77°

Andy and I on our 5 mile training run. My stats are off, run was actually about 5.5 miles but I paused it and forgot to start it up, and then I didn't upload my Thursday's stats, so when I did my Saturday run it was a continuation of Thursday's run so I picked up an additional half mile, and I am too lazy to adjust the stats. Bottom line is that it was a nice 5 mile run at a decent pace.

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Sun, Aug 14, 2011 7:35 AM Central
Chicago Lakefront Trail
Ran:    19.01 miles
Time:  03:03:57 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:38 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  64°

Angelica, Maria, Shawn, Andy and I doing our long training run along the lake front. Andy was on his bike because he is still recovering from the sprained ankle. Shawn and I did 19mi and the girls did their 17mi. Tough run in rainy, windy conditions but PR for everyone for distance. This is the end of week 10 of the marathon training program, 8 weeks to go. For me, making to 19mi was a big accomplishment, it makes next week's long run of 20miles seem doable. Next week's total mileage is 50 miles with days of 5, 10, 5, 10 and 20 mile distances.

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Sat, Aug 13, 2011 6:43 AM Central
I & M Canal Trail
Ran:    9.00 miles
Time:  01:19:07 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:45 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  69°

Andy and I on our Saturday 9 mile training run. Great running weather, overcast and cool!

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Thu, Aug 11, 2011 5:19 AM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    4.29 miles
Time:  00:38:41 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:00 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  61°

Solo training run before work, only 4 miles but still tough because I was tired from the previous days run. Perfect running temperature!

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Wed, Aug 10, 2011 4:36 PM Central
Yellow Trail West
Ran:    9.01 miles
Time:  01:15:46 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:23 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  75°

Solo run on the Yellow Trail, I really pushed and beat my previous Wed run by almost 5 minutes. What a difference the temperature makes!

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Tue, Aug 9, 2011 5:58 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    4.59 miles
Time:  00:38:04 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:16 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  77°

Andy and I doing our 4 mile training run.

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Sun, Aug 7, 2011 6:17 AM Central
Longwood Drive Out n Back
Miles:  12.20 miles
Time:  01:50:09 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:00 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  75°

Solo, 12 mile long training run today on a set back week. This completes 9 weeks of the 18 week marathon training program, half way there!

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Sat, Aug 6, 2011 8:01 AM Central
Chanpion 10K
Ran:    6.20 miles
Time:  00:49:36 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  07:59 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  72°

Andy and I at the Champion Run, Andy ran the 5K because he is recovering from his ankle injury. Andy did great and finished with a 7:49 pace 9th in his age group, I finished the 10K with a pace of 8:00 4th in my age group. Needless to say we both enjoyed our Beer, eggs and sausage!

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Thu, Aug 4, 2011 5:19 AM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    4.27 miles
Time:  00:37:34 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:47 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  74°

Solo, ran the short 4 mile training run, it was tough, probably because of the 9 miles that I ran about 12 hours ago.

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Wed, Aug 3, 2011 5:24 PM Central
Yellow Trail West
Ran:    9.01 miles
Time:  01:20:10 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:52 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  83°

Solo, back on my favorite Yellow Trail, it has been a few weeks since I was on this wooded trail, what a difference, the trail is narrowed and the brush is more dense.

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Tue, Aug 2, 2011 5:16 AM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    4.22 miles
Time:  00:36:15 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:34 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  81°

Solo, short training run around the hood before work.

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Chicago Lakefront Trail

Ran:    17.08 miles
Time:  02:41:42 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:26 minutes/mile
Temperature:  77°

Solo on the Sunday long run along the lake front. End to a great week and month of training. Set a new PR for monthly miles 172.8, and a new PR for miles for a run 17.08. This is the end of week 8 of the marathon training, 10 to go. Next week is a step back week(thank you!). 17 miles was tough both mentally and physically. After the run I tried a new recovery drink, chocolate milk! Not sure if it worked, but it sure tasted great! I found out about chocolate milk as a recovery drink from the Hal Higdon Forums at trainingpeaks.com as well as other articles from coolrunning.com and active.com. From coolrunning.com :

An interesting article from Fox News stated the chocolate milk is a good recovery food that has exactly what your body needs (perfect carb/protein mix 4:1) after a long run. "The findings suggest that chocolate milk has an optimal ratio of carbohydrates to protein to help refuel tired muscles, researcher Joel M. Stager, PhD, Indiana University kinesiology professor, tells WebMD."

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Sat, Jul 30, 2011 6:06 AM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails Warmup Run
Ran:    1.91 miles
Time:  00:17:31 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:07 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  73°
================================
Run For the Cops 10K
Ran:    6.3 miles
Time:  00:53:40 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:28 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  73°
John, Maria and I running the Run for the Cops 10K at Swallow Cliffs.
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Thu, Jul 28, 2011 3:30 PM Central
Country Lane
Ran:    4.00 miles
Time:  00:34:18 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:33 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  88°

Solo, back at Country Lane, haven't run these trails for a few weeks, nice to be back, but it was hot and humid..

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Wed, Jul 27, 2011 4:40 AM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    8.01 miles
Time:  01:08:45(hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:34 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  72°

Solo around the neighborhood before work.

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Tue, Jul 26, 2011 5:31 AM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    4.25 miles
Time:  00:36:08 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:29 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  73°

Solo training run around the neighborhood. The start of a tough week, ending with 17 miles on Sunday.

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Sun, Jul 24, 2011 5:51 AM Central
Chicago Lakefront Trail
Ran:    16.01 miles
Time:  02:34:09 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:36 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  77°

Solo, 16 mile long run today. Perfect weather, overcast and a refreshing rain the last three miles. This is a new PR for me, never ran this far before. More than the distance, I found it hard to believe that I ran for 2 1/2 hours! This ends week 7 of the 18 week marathon training program. Tough week, 43 miles. Next week the long run increases to 16 miles. Better start resting up...

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Sat, Jul 23, 2011 7:39 AM Central
Waterfall Glen Xtreme 10
Ran:    11.06 miles
Time:  01:36:34 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:40 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  78°

John, Andy and I running the Xtreme 10. Fortunately it was an overcast day, no sun no xtreme heat. Unfortunately Andy twisted his ankle after about 2 1/2 miles and was done for the day. I was able to stay pretty much on pace @9:00 min/mile(give or take 20 seconds.
Note, my stats are not official, they are from my Garmin, I doubled back to check on Andy and ended up running an extra mile.
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Thu, Jul 21, 2011 5:32 AM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    4.04 miles
Time:  00:33:46 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:20 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  83°

Solo, early in the morning before work. Running early beats some of the heat but not the humidity. It was a tough 4 miles.

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Wed, Jul 20, 2011 4:39 AM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    8.04 miles
Time:  01:10:50 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:47 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  78°

Solo, 8 mile run in the morning. I rather get up early and run in 78° than run in 95° in the sun!

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Tue, Jul 19, 2011 5:37 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    4.01 miles
Time:  00:34:45 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:36 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  93°

Andy and I on a 4 mile training run on the Swallow Cliffs trails. Tough run in the heat and humidity. As soon at the Garmin hit 4 miles, I stopped!
Tomorrow is suppose to be even hotter and it is an 8 mile run, this is gonna be rough..

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Sun, Jul 17, 2011 6:28 AM Central
Argonne Water Fall Glenn
Ran:    10.01 miles
Time:  01:34:29 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:25 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  73°

Andy, John, Shawn and I on our Sunday long run. This was a "stepback" week where every third week the long run and the weekly total is reduced from the prior two weeks to help gather strength for the next push upward. Today's long run was 10 miles and weekly mileage was 32 miles versus last week's 14 mile long run and 36 mile weekly total. Next week(training week 7 of 18) we bump it up to a 16 mile long run and a 40 mile week total. The next month is where the training gets tough!

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Sat, Jul 16, 2011 6:20 AM Central
Willow Springs Run
Ran:    8.86 miles
Time:  01:22:54 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:18 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  81°

Angelica, John, Andy and I running in Willow Springs going past the location where Santa Fe Speedway used to be(fond memories of dirt car stock car racing).

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Thu, Jul 14, 2011 6:10 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    3.31 miles
Time:  00:28:30 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:34 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  82°

Andy and I around the neighborhood running our 3 mile training run.

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Wed, Jul 13, 2011 6:04 PM Central
Yellow Trail West
Ran:    7.01 miles
Time:  01:00:55 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:38 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  73°

Andy and I on the Yellow Trail in Country Lane woods. I lost a mile and had to run 8 miles for Garmin to register 7. User error, I stopped the watch and didn't turn it back on until a mile later.. :( (much to Andy's amusement)

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Tue, Jul 12, 2011 6:36 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    3.52 miles
Time:  00:28:40 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:06 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  74.5°

Andy and I around the hood, overcast and in the 70s.

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Sun, Jul 10, 2011 5:48 AM Central
Chicago Lakefront Trail
Ran:    14.00 miles
Time:  02:12:30 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:21 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  80°

Andy and I along the Lakefront, our long training run of the week, 14 miles. This was our longest distance run ever. This weeks total was 36.24 miles. They say 'cooler by the lake', I don't think so! Not today it was 80 degrees when we left Oak Lawn and 80 degrees when we hit the trail. It was hot and humid along North Avenue and Oak street beaches even at 6AM.

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Sat, Jul 9, 2011 6:16 AM Central
Yellow Trail West
Ran:    8.45 miles
Time:  01:20:58 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:29 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  71°

Angelica, Maria, John, Andy, myself and Daisey today on the Yellow Trail.

Interesting article from ACTIVE.com "25 Best Trail Running Destinations in the U.S.". The Swallow CLiffs and Country Lane trails are in the list! We are lucky to have access to these trails all year long!

Palos/Sag Valley Trail Systems
Palos Park, Illinois
A hidden gem on the outskirts of Chicago, these adjacent forest preserve parks offer more than 30 miles of dirt trails through thick deciduous forests and deep ravines, past wetland lakes and marshes, and across wide-open meadows. Among the best routes are the hilly 12-mile Maple Lake loop and the nearby 6-mile Swallow Cliff Woods loop, which encircles a series of morainal hills created by retreating glaciers 12,000 years ago. The Chicago area is known for its network of flat, crushed gravel rail trails (including the 61-mile Illinois Prairie Path and 31-mile Des Plaines River Trail), but the rolling single-track trails in Palos are carved out of a secluded natural setting that belies the trails' close proximity to the bustling city and suburbs.

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Thu, Jul 7, 2011 1:44 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    3.27 miles
Time:  00:26:10 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  07:59 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  72°

Solo, short training run around the hood.

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Yellow Trail West by samrunr at Garmin Connect - Details

Wed, Jul 6, 2011 5:56 PM Central
Yellow Trail West
Ran:    7.07 miles
Time:  01:04:23 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:59 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  78°

Andy and I back on the Yellow Trail. It has been more than a month since we ran the Yellow Trail, what a difference now that summer is here, the trail is overgrown with green stuff(foliage) and much more dense. This is a great run through the woods, winding trails and inclines, roots, stumps logs and bike riders as well.

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Tue, Jul 5, 2011 7:07 AM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    3.44 miles
Time:  00:29:02 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:24 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  74°

Solo, 3 mile training run around the neighborhood.

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Sun, Jul 3, 2011 6:29 AM Central
Chicago Lakefront Trail
Ran:    13.11 miles
Time:  02:04:53 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:28 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  78°

Andy and I along the Chicago Lakefront doing our long run. Beautiful morning along the lake from Montrose Harbor to Navy Pier! Nice cool breeze on the return trip to Montrose Harbor. I would rate this run up there with Central Park New York and The Strand in Hermosa Beach! We definitely need to come back for future long runs. We left Oak Lawn at @5:45AM and made it to Montrose Harbor in a little less than 30 minutes, the return trip was about the same so traveling time is better than what you would expect.

This ends week five of the training program. 31.24miles this week. The mileage keeps building. The Sunday long runs keep increasing, by the end of July the longs runs are 16 and 17 miles, and August hits 20 miles.

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Sat, Jul 2, 2011 6:30 AM Central
Country Lane
Ran:    6.00 miles
Time:  00:54:00 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:59 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  81°

Angelica, Maria, John, Mark, Andy, myself and Daisey on a humid run on the trails.

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Thu, Jun 30, 2011 6:14 PM Central
Country Lane
Ran:    3.07 miles
Time:  00:25:37 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:19 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  84°

Solo at Country Lane, warm and buggy. 116 miles for June, well below my average, but next month's training schedule calls for 164 miles so it will be getting tougher.

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Wed, Jun 29, 2011 5:45 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    5.95 miles
Time:  00:51:23 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:35 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  78°

Andy and I at Swallow CLiffs, my Garmin battery was dead so I had to get the numbers from Andy. Overall a good run, just a little on the hot side.

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Tue, Jun 28, 2011 6:14 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran: 3.11 miles
Time:  00:26:58 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:39 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  79°

Andy and I doing the 3 mile training run, nice and easy, we will have to enjoy it while we can, the training starts to get harder in the next few weeks.

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Sun, Jun 26, 2011 7:09 AM Central
I & M Canal Trail
Ran:    8.23 miles
Time:  01:19:43 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:40 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  73°

Andy and I on a new trail, straight, flat paved trail along the I & M Canal. Good run overall, I was able to stay on the goal pace of @10min/mi. This is the end of week 3 of the 18 week training program, only 14 weeks to go!

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Sat, Jun 25, 2011 6:17 AM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    6.93 miles
Time:  01:02:03 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:53 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  72°

Maria, Rhonda, Mark, Andy, John, Daisey and myself this morning. Today was a 6 mile pace run. Thanks to the Garmin "Lap Pace" I was able to stay on my marathon goal pace, which is tough because my normal pace is between 8:15 - 8:30 and I tend to revert back to the faster pace. Today Maria(who is turning into a personal trainer for Andy and I) coaxed us into running the stairs, the hook was just one time up and down the stairs, but it turned into 3 times plus a sprint to the car! Overall a beautiful morning for a run(and stairs :( ).

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Thu, Jun 23, 2011 6:19 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    3.25 miles
Time:  00:27:34 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:26 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  65°

Andy and I doing the Thursday training run.

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Wed, Jun 22, 2011 5:43 PM Central
Argonne Water Fall Glenn
Ran:    6.79 miles
Time:  01:00:35 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:52 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  71°

Andy and I at Agronne Waterfall Glen.

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Tue, Jun 21, 2011 6:37 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    3.49 miles
Time:  00:29:48 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:32 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  85°

Solos training run around the neighborhood.

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Just signed up for the The Champions Run 10K & 5K run, the event ends with a "Breakfast of Champions" breakfast of eggs, meat and BEER for all, along the lakefront by Montrose Harbor!

Sun, Jun 19, 2011 6:29 AM Central
Argonne Water Fall Glenn
Ran:    11.05 miles
Time:  01:46:09 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:34 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  64°

Andy and I, at Argonne Waterfall Glen doing our Sunday long run. We had to consciously work at slowing down our pace for the long run. We are suppose to run the long runs at one minute slower than our marathon goal pace of 9min/mi, so we were shooting for between 9:30-10:00 minute miles. We had previously tried displaying the Garmin "Average pace" but found that that value is the average pace for the entire run and it does give us a good barometer of the current real time pace. Today I selected the "lap pace" which gives you the average pace for the current lap/mile which is exactly what we need to adjust our pace. The Garmin watch is really cool, there are so many options for what is displayed, for pace alone there are probably at least 8 different selections. For training the "lap pace" and the "last lap pace" works great. I am sure that once our long runs start hitting the 15+ mile distances we will not have to work to slow down to the desired pace.

This completes week two of the 18 week marathon training program, so far so good!

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Sat, Jun 18, 2011 6:39 AM Central
Country Lane
Ran:    6.03 miles
Time:  00:54:10 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:57 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  63°

Angelica, Maria, John, Andy, myself and Daisey today. 6 Mile Sat training run, finally, right on track marathon goal pace(@ 9min/mi)! After the run, Andy I went to the new Performance Bicycle Grand Opening in Orland Park and picked up two cases of GU for $4, what a deal!

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Thu, Jun 16, 2011 5:43 PM Central
Country Lane
Ran:    3.05 miles
Time:  00:26:23 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:37 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  83°

Andy and I running our Thursday training run back on the trails :) Only three miles, but 3 humid miles.

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Wed, Jun 15, 2011 6:21 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    5.13 miles
Time:  00:46:06 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:51 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  68°

Andy and I running our scheduled 5 mile run around the hood.

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Tue, Jun 14, 2011 6:26 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    6.88 miles
Time:  01:00:20 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:42 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  82°

Andy, John and I ran around the neighborhood.

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Sun, Jun 12, 2011 2:14 PM Central
Oak Lawn Neighborhood
Ran:    10.40 miles
Time:  01:28:01 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:26 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  78°

Solo today. In the training program Sunday is the long run. Todays the goal was 10 miles at a pace of my goal marathon pace plus one minute which would be @10:00 minute/mile. Lots of issues today. First, I ran around the neighborhood because of all the rain from the previous two days and I did not want to deal with the mud. Second, I forgot to hit the start on the Garmin until .75mi so I actually ran @ 11.25 miles. Third, I tried to run the slower pace but kept falling back to my normal pace, so I ran the 11+ miles at too fast a pace, no wonder my hamstrings are sore. Lastly, I came with a bloody shirt because I didn't wear a compression shirt or lube my nipples, OUCH!

This finished my first week of the 18 week marathon training program. Training consisted of 28miles running, two cross training days(Stairmaster and Stationary bike) and two days of weight training. Not bad, hopefully I can keep it up for the next 17 weeks.

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Sat, Jun 11, 2011 7:13 AM Central
Country Lane
Ran:    5.69 miles
Time:  00:50:07 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:44 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  63°

Angelica, Maria, Andy and I at Country Lane. Training program calls for a 5 mile run at our goal marathon pace which for me is @9:00minutes/mile. My pas was a little faster but it was in the ball park.

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Thu, Jun 9, 2011 4:28 PM Central
3.2 mile Oak Lawn Loop
Ran:    3.74 miles
Time:  00:29:55 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:00 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  59°

Did weight training at work, Ran solo around the hood after work. Nice easy run. What a difference the cooler temps make!

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Wed, Jun 8, 2011 6:03 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    5.01 miles
Time:  00:43:47 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:41 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  92°

Andy and I at Swallow Cliffs, ran up the stairs and did the short loop.

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Tue, Jun 7, 2011 4:15 PM Central
Yellow Trail Maple Lake East Out n Back
Ran:    3.15 miles
Time:  00:27:43 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:46 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  101°

Solo run today because we are going out for dinner with friends at Bourbon Street. Wow, this marathon training is tough. 3.15 miles in 101° temp. I decided to run portion of the wooded narrow yellow trail because it is mostly in the shade. The heat and humidity made it quite difficult.

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June 6th Start of Marathon Training

Day 1, Week 1. I did cross training at work, 15 minutes on the stairmaster and 20 minutes on the bike. I finished the day up with weight training at the Pavilion. I felt pretty good despite the fact that I haven't done the stairmaster and bike for almost two years. My goal is to do the cross training and weight training twice a week.

Sun, Jun 5, 2011 6:08 AM Central
Western Ave. Run
Ran:    10.01 miles
Time:  01:30:02 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:56 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  73°

Andy, John and I running from Central Ave to Western Ave and back.

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Sat, Jun 4, 2011 6:15 AM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran: 5.95 miles
Time: 01:05:18 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace: 10:52 minutes/mile
Temperature: 78°

Angelica, Maria, Rhonda, Andy, Mark, John, Daisey and I at Swallow Cliffs. Angelica and I just did the smaller 6 mile loop because we had other commitments in the morning.

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May running 144 miles

I finished May with 144 miles, 6 miles short of my goal. I took 4 days off running before starting the 18 week Hal Higdon's Intermediate I Training Program. We are running the Chicago Marathon on October 9th. This will be my first! Last year I did my first 1/2 Marathon, so now I am psyched for the marathon. My goal is to complete the marathon under four hours so that means @9 minute miles. October 9th seems so far away!

Mon, May 30, 2011 7:59 AM Central
10K Ridge Run
Ran:    6.2 miles
Time:  00:48:37 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  7:50 minutes/mile
Temperature:  73°

Andy, Ray and I running the 10K Ridge Run.

Complete Final Results

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Sat, May 28, 2011 7:08 AM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    6.04 miles
Time:  00:51:06 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:24 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  60°

Andy, John, Daisey and myself at Swallow Cliffs.

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Thu, May 26, 2011 6:07 PM Central
2 Laps 3.2 mile Oak Lawn Loop
Ran:    7.02 miles
Time:  00:56:50 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:05 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  46°

Solo in the hood, cool and windy.

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Wed, May 25, 2011 3:41 AM Central
Country Lane
Ran:    5.47 miles
Time:  00:45:03 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  8.22 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  47°

Solo at Country Lane Woods.

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Mon, May 23, 2011 4:16 PM Central
Country Lane Yellow Trail West
Ran:    7.43 miles
Time:  01:06:08 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:52 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  79°

Solo on the Yellow Trail West.

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Sun, May 22, 2011 6:45 PM Central
2 Laps 3.2 mile Oak Lawn Loop
Ran:    7.03 miles
Time:  00:57:41 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:11 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  72°

Solo, 2 laps around the hood.

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Sat, May 21, 2011 7:17 AM Central
Bullfrog Lake
Ran:    5.55 miles
Time:  00:57:52 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  10:17 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  69°

Angelica, Maria, Andy, John, Mark, Daisey and myself at Bullfrog Lake, AKA Lossey Goosey.

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Thu, May 19, 2011 5:47 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    8.04 miles
Time:  01:07:23 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:21 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  70°

Andy and I at Swallow Cliffs.

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Tue, May 17, 2011 5:37 PM Central
Argonne Water Fall Glenn
Ran:    9.56 miles
Time:  01:18:45 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:12 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  54°

Andy and I at Argonne/Waterfall Glenn, beautiful weather for a long run!

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Sun, May 15, 2011 3:16 PM Central
2 Laps 3.2 mile Oak Lawn Loop
Ran:    7.03 miles
Time:  00:58:49 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:20 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  42°

Solo around the hood in the cold drizzle, still better than the 90° plus heat(I think?).

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Sat, May 14, 2011 7:00 AM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    10.13 miles
Time:  01:31:28 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:56 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  46°

Angelica, Maria, Rhonda, Mark, John, Andy, Daisey and myself at Swallow Cliffs, cool overcast day, great for running, sure beats the 90° plus temps during the week!

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Thu, May 12, 2011 5:46 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    7.92 miles
Time:  01:12:59 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:08 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  85°

Andy, Ran and myself at Swallow Cliffs.

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Wed, May 11, 2011 4:10 PM Central
Country Lane
Ran:    5.54 miles
Time:  V (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:09 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  92°

Solo, attempted the Yellow Trail, only made 1/3 of the wooded trail, tough run in the heat again.

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Tue, May 10, 2011 5:35 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    8.00 miles
Time:  01:18:40 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:45 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  94°

Andy and I at Swallow Cliffs, very hot and difficult.

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Sun, May 8, 2011 7:08 AM Central
Country Lane 5 mile Loop
Ran:    5.03 miles
Time:  00:42:50 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:28 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  48°

Beautiful Sunday morning run in Country Lanes woods with Andy, John and Daisey!

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Sat, May 7, 2011 7:49 AM Central
Quarryman 10 Mile
Ran: 10 miles
Time: 1:19:21 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace: 7:57 minutes/mile
Temperature: 59°

Great 10 mile run with Andy, Ray and John!

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Thu, May 5, 2011 5:38 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    4.45 miles
Time:  00:38:41 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:38 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  62°

Andy and I at Swallow Cliffs.

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Wed, May 4, 2011 12:24 PM Central
Country Lane Yellow Trail
Ran:    10.01 miles
Time:  01:25:04 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:28 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  56°

Solo, back on my favorite Yellow Trail, the limestone trails have been groomed no more ruts, the wooded trails only had a few muddy spots, great run on a sunny afternoon, perfect weather conditions, and a new best time!

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Sun, May 1, 2011 7:31 AM Central
First Midwest Bank Southwest Half Marathon
Ran: 13.1 miles
Time: 01:45:10 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace: 08"02 minutes/mile
Temperature: 58°

Angelica, Maria, Andy and myself running the Southwest Half Marathon, absolutely beautiful morning for a long run. Beat by personal best by 9 minutes!

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Fri, Apr 29, 2011 6:06 PM Central
2 Laps 3.2 mile Oak Lawn Loop
Ran:    6.27 miles
Time:  00:54:20 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:38 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  54°

Andy and I in the hood.

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Wed, Apr 27, 2011 5:54 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    6.08 miles
Time:  00:53:11 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:42 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  55°

Andy and I at Swalllow Cliffs, no rain but very muddy.

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Tue, Apr 26, 2011 4:21 PM Central
3 Laps 3.2 mile Oak Lawn Loop
Ran:    10.25 miles
Time:  01:25:13 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:17 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  70°

Solo. 3 laps around the hood.

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Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    8.16 miles
Time:  01:09:39 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:30 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  50°

Andy and I at Swallow Cliffs.

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Sat, Apr 23, 2011 7:15 AM Central
2 Laps Country Lane 5 mile Loop
Ran:    10.05 miles
Time:  01:25:52 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:43 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  48°

Angelica, Maria, Rhonda, Mark, Andy, John, Daisy and myself at Country Lane, nice weather, maybe Spring is finally here?

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Thu, Apr 21, 2011 5:37 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    8.12 miles
Time:  01:19:18 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:44 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  44°

Andy and I at Swallow CLiffs, cold for a spring day.

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Mon, Apr 18, 2011 5:27 PM Central
2 Laps 3.2 mile Oak Lawn Loop
Ran:    7.00 miles
Time: 00:56:07 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  07:59 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  45°

Solo, had to work late, so just ran around the hood today.

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Sat, Apr 16, 2011 7:16 AM Central
Country Lane 5 mile Loop
Ran:  6.01 miles
Time:  00:52:35 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:43 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  48°

Angelica, Maria, John, Mark, Andy, Daisy and myself on a rainy morning.

After the initial run Angelica, Maria, Mark, Andy and myself did an additional 2.8 miles, more fun in the mud and rain! Half way to my monthly 150 mile goal, and exceeded my weekly goal of 35 miles by doing 38.03 miles this week. Two weeks until the half marathon.

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Fri, Apr 15, 2011 5:35 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    8.09 miles
Time:  01:11:44 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:50 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  52°

Andy and I at Swallow Cliffs, we were able to get the run in avoiding any rain!

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Wed, Apr 13, 2011 5:44 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    6.11 miles
Time:  00:51:48 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:27 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  58°

Andy and I at Swallow Cliffs, nice sunny afternoon, perfect running weather!

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Mon, Apr 11, 2011 4:17 PM Central
Country Lane Yellow Trail
Ran:    10.05 miles
Time:  01:26:01 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:32 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  58°

Solo, back on the Yellow Trail, my second best time!

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Sun, Apr 10, 2011 9:02 AM Central
2011 Shamrock Shuffle
Ran:    4.97 miles
Time:  00:39:20 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  07:53 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  Nice°
Great Event! Well organized!

2011 Shamrock Shuffle by samrunr at Garmin Connect - Details

Sat, Apr 9, 2011 7:11 AM Central
Country Lane 5 mile Loop
Ran:    5.40 miles
Time:  00:51:50 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:33 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  47°

Angelica, Maria, John, Andy, Daisy and myself, nice slow pace in prep for the Shamrock Shuffle 8K tomorrow.

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Thu, Apr 7, 2011 5:44 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    6.12 miles
Time:  00:51:14 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:20 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  45°

Back home hitting the trails. Andy and I at Swallow Cliffs.

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Tue, Apr 5, 2011 7:08 AM Eastern
Central Park 6.4 mile Loop
Ran:    6.42 miles
Time:  00:53:30 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:18 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  50°

Last run in Central Park :( Warmer but rained for a mile or two. Luv running in Central Park!

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Sun, Apr 3, 2011 7:16 AM Eastern
Central Park 6.4 mile Loop
Ran:    6.35 miles
Time:  00:52:44 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:16 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  43°

Park was very busy today. There was a women's half marathon being run in the Park. So I ran with over 10,000 women today! Actually, as I hit the six mile mark they were just starting.

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Sat, Apr 2, 2011 7:20 AM Eastern
Central Park 6.4 mile Loop
Ran:    6.44 miles
Time:  00:52:54 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:11 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  41°

Nice run in the Park again. Today there was a bike race, very cool.

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Sat, Apr 1, 2011 6:20 AM Eastern
Central Park 6.4 mile Loop
Ran:    6.44 miles
Time:  00:54:00 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:22 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  36°

Second time in Central Park, I had problems with the Garmin picking up the satellite because of the cloudy conditions so numbers are approximate. A very enjoyable run the second time around because I was confident of the trail and was able to take in the scenery.

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Thu, Mar 31, 2011 6:25 AM Eastern
Central Park 6.4 mile Loop
Ran:    6.44 miles
Time:  00:55:24 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:35 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  38°

Awesome run in Central Park! A lot of runners in Central Park at 7:25AM in the morning. A long winding hill around the north woods of the park. Great scenary, I would love to run the loop when everything is in full bloom.

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Tue, Mar 29, 2011 4:09 PM Central
3.4 mile Oak Lawn Loop
Ran:    3.48 miles
Time:  00:28:50 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:16 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  45°

Solo, short run in the hood.

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Mon, Mar 28, 2011 3:45 PM Central Time
2 Laps 3.2 mile Oak Lawn Loop
Ran:    7.03 miles
Time:  00:57:46 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:13 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  39°

Solo, 2 loops around the neighborhood, nice sunny day, pavement is hard but at least it is flat(no hills) !

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Sun, Mar 27, 2011 1:26 PM Central
Country Lane Yellow Trail West
Ran:    7.43 miles
Time:  01:06:00 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:51 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  32°

Solo, at Country Lane Woods on the Yellow Trail. My Garmin 305 wouldn't not turn on, so I had to run without it :(
Ran the same trail on Thursday, so same distance just a minute slower. Trail was very muddy today, but at least the sun was shining.

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Sat, Mar 26, 2011 7:11 AM Central
Country Lane Yellow Lane West
Ran:    7.94 miles
Time:  01:16:55 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:41 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  28°

Angelica, Maria, John, Mark, Andy, Daisy and myself on the trails on a cold morning.

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Thu, Mar 24, 2011 4:30 PM Central
Country Lane Yellow Lane West
Ran:    7.43 miles
Time:  01:06:02 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  08:51 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  38°

Solo on the west portion of Yellow Trail, still a little muddy, but overall a good run. 4 of the 7.4 miles of the west portion of the yellow trail are narrow, wooded, rolling and winding trails, fun and challenging!

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Wed, Mar 23, 2011 5:34 PM Central
Swallow Cliff Trails
Ran:    6.23 miles
Time:  00:57:43 (hh:mm:ss)
Pace:  09:13 minutes/mile 
Temperature:  38°

Andy and I at Swallow Cliff, nice run, little muddy, and cool, what happened to Spring?

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