Tuesday, May 20, 2014

A Whole Entire Week of "Firsts"




My first triple digit week! Boom. I won't recap any of that since no one (including myself) would want to hear how I was on the stationary bike for hours and hours reading Running Times.

During this week I also cycled 20 miles (at one time)  my furthest ever. There were also some elliptical and a few running miles mixed in this week too.


I ordered my first legit swimsuit this week. I used a tape measure to measure myself so I would ensure the suit would fit- because like duh. Size charts are there for a reason. The suit ended up being ridiculously small. I'm confused. So now I'm ordering one 4 sizes bigger and will be playing a game of trial and error. So dumb.

On Friday I had my first PBR. At least according to untappd. I doubt I would have had a PBR pre-untappd days because I don't generally drink beer flavored Koolaid.

The PBR was consumed at Wrigley field for the Cubs game. Because drinking shitty beer and watching baseball go hand in hand. Clearly.

I also spectated my first race of the year- the Chicago Spring half! It was fun seeing Kim, Bobbi, Amanda, Marcia, Nicole, Eric and even my neighbors out there enjoying themselves.

CB even came out to spectate and was a hit with the runners.

I ran-walked a bit that morning and my ankle didnt appreciate it at all. Well, it warmed up and then turned back into the Crankle. It needs more time off.

I've been debating going to a doctor or PT or whatever but keep coming to the same conclusion: I honestly don't care about a diagnosis for my ankle. (It's probably peroneal tendonitis since it fits most of the symptoms.) and I don't need anyone to tell me to rest and not run. Im doing a bang up job of that currently. I'd rather get an assessment for my gait, leg length etx to see if there's something structurally wrong that causes issues consistently on my right side. But I was injury free for over 1.5 years before this. And I have zero interest in orthotics. So I'm not sure where that leaves me currently

CB even met a new friend.....

Later on after the race I went to the new Goose Island Barrel Aging warehouse for the first time for "Sunday Funday." It's Chicago Craft Beer Week #CCBW and there's loads of events going on at the breweries and restaurants.

The facility is enormous.

"Sunday Funday" had free beer, a dodgeball championship between the breweries, a live band, and more free beer.


They were pouring many varietals of Bourbon County Stout- my favorites being the Weller and Proprietors blend. And they were pouring their signature sours like Gillian, Juliet, and my favorite: Madame Rose. Sours are my jam and I was in heaven.

Because spending time with good friends + all the best beerz is always a Funday. TOTES.


DODGE BALL!
Barrels for dayz.
One week of awesome in the books, looking forward to another, because why the hell not?

Now if only the cankle would stop being cranky so I could enjoy running the lakefront again.

-Xaar

19 comments:

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  2. Your first (and presumably last?) PBR is quite the milestone. I think my first one (or several, whatever) was only because it was free :)

    I'm impressed with your mileage, especially since it's all on a stationary bike! I need to get my bike tuned up for summer, since running is seemingly not my friend right now either. And it's interesting that your injuries have been consistently on one side, mine have all been on my left leg. Perhaps that would be worth looking into?

    And speaking of CCBW fun, are you going to the West Loop Craft Beer Fest on Saturday?

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    1. Hahaha only because it was free sounds right ;) it's not like we are beer snobs or anything ;)

      Eh the cycling looks impressive mileage wise but I'm not too fast. I use low resistance and lame hill settings to mix it up as I play on my phone ;) and really I can't stand it for more than an hour. I'd say I'd like to join you for some rides (on my sleek hybrid bike) but I'm honestly scared to go on the lakefront outside of weekday mornings.

      It looks like the west loop festival is sold out :(

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    2. I could meet you halfway some morning! I ride a 3 speed cruiser, so I'm definitely not fast :)

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    3. Xaarlin! I was going to text you last night to see if you wanted to ride with me while I run Wed ams before work. Let's make it happen ;) Although... that won't be much of a workout for you!

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  3. Congrats on all the mileage. Seeing that graph is getting me motivated to dust off my bike in the basement and get out to the lakefront. I used to do 10 miles in about 45 minutes and I could get down to Fullerton and back before work. When I'm done biking my legs usually feel better than when I started, not always so with running. Sorry about the injury, mine is starting to twitch again, I may go to PT. I am starting to accept it as part of my life and not get down or anything. I'll just learn how I can best exercise around it and hope for the best. I'm with you on not wanting orthotics, they hurt for a couple of weeks when I start wearing them - I never have the patience to get used to them.

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    1. You should ride the lakefront! I might venture out on weekday mornings because the weekends are just too intense and crowded out there. I'm sure you can cycle much faster than 10 in 45 too :) I'm averaging around 16.5mph on low resistance/lame hill settings.

      Noo! Ankle feel better. :( seems to be an ankle issue epidemic happening around here. Boo.

      I'm also starting to just accept the random injury stuff and figure out ways to exercise around it. Nothing beats running, but I go crazy if I don't do something.

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    2. Yeah, weekdays are much more chill on the LFT. Bike riding is a good way for me to get down there for the awesome views without doing my any ankle any harm.

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  4. Competition suits are supposed to be snug. I would guess you are probably somewhere between 24 and 28. Glad you're getting in the pool sometime soon! :)

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    1. I should have asked you about sizing!! Ah. Good to know they are supposed to be snug. This Nike was a 26 and there's no way I could have gotten it on without ripping the seams in it. I ordered a 30 so I'm hoping that one is better. I'm excited to try swimming :)

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  5. Sour beer! Yum! Their my fave right now.

    I've had the same issue with swimsuits. I ordered a suit, it was super small. So I ordered a bigger size, and it was super big. So I guess I need to go somewhere and try them on. Which is always so much fun.

    Also I feel the same way about getting my knee looked at. I know running makes it worse right now and I need to rest. I'm talking to my friend who is a much more experienced runner and has dealt with many injuries and am taking her advice. Based on what happened when I rested for a week, I think I just need to rest a little bit longer. This isn't my job, so I don't want to deal with orthotics or crazy weird stuff. I can do stuff other than run.

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    1. We should do a bottle share party sometime. Always fun to try new ones and other people's favorites :)

      If this new larger suit doesn't work, I'll just go and try one on- which is what I wanted to avoid.

      You're so right- we can do other stuff asides from running. It's not as fulfilling for me to cycle but it will have to do. And it's not like we are the first people to experience our current injuries- there's so much knowledge between our coaches and message boards that we can figure out our own rehab plans. Hope that knee heals fast!

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  6. Sorry the ankle is being a crankle. Peroneal tendonitis sent me to the pool (for pool running, I'd never do the other) for a good long time. I always size way up on suits, WTH? Did someone say dodgeball?

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    1. I was going to suggest crankle!
      FYI - Chicago Park District lap swim memberships are $40 for 3 months if you don't have access to a pool yet. It's good for all their locations.

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    2. Sorry to hear you had the peroneal tendonitis too Marcia. I can't imagine pool running. But I might have to consider that now too. ;) the suit sizing is bonkers.

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  7. You go to to some of the coolest events - Chicago Craft Beer week sounds awesome. And there is a dodgeball championship? Awesome on the court being fenced in lol.

    Bummer about your ankle - yea seems like you have it pegged as to what it is, hopefully the symptoms subside and you can run soon. Maybe that would be worth checking out a form analysis clinic or something. I've looked into going to a Chi Running workshop, I probably should look more seriously at it. Looks like there is one on May 31 in Chicago.
    http://www.chirunning.com/learn-it/find-a-workshop/

    And congrats on 100 miles this week!

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  8. oh man that stinks on the swimsuit! I wish your cankle would cooperate. My knee is still throwing tempertantrums every so often

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  9. Totally LOLing at the PBR. Was that the worst first this week? Hee hee.

    That is some badass mileage on the bike. You get an award for doing that. You can't run, but your mental training is going fantastically!!! :)

    Heal cankle, heal!!!!!

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  10. I have done PT and never gotten orthodics or anything like that. Could be a shoe thing or something simple. If a bit more rest doesn't help, I have a good referral for you who won't suggest orthotics or anything drastic.

    Good luck!

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