Chicago Week -7

A very decadent Tuesday afternoon.

This week, I'm supremely proud of myself for completing 90% of my assigned mileage for week -7 of the Chicago Marathon.  I know I'm in the sweet spot of training where if I let my not-so-competitive running side win, I'll end up with a much more painful experience in Chicago than I want.

So I found a way almost every day to do something close to the assigned work-out.  This is despite the remodel, work, and travel.

The travel is probably net even in terms of quality of life.  The upside is new experiences with people I love and/or working from hotels, which is more comfortable than working from the home office during the construction.  There's no cleaning required and there's no worrying about avoiding the construction and making do with the outdoor pseudo-kitchen, we just eat out.

But, it requires clean clothes, thinking ahead and packing, and more time for logistics (particularly transportation and running route planning), each of which require that more basic life stuff gets dropped in their favor.  Also, it requires much more money and planning than staying at home, even with the outdoor camp kitchen.

Late last week, E asked if I'd like to go to Las Vegas on Monday.  He'd been put on a panel at a conference, and I agreed that a date night in Vegas sounded great.  We'd never been there together and I hadn't been in many years.  I used to love Vegas but the last several trips had been difficult (for me) big group trips, so I was hopeful I could regain my love of Vegas on a trip with E.

Then my mom let us know she'd be in Vegas at the same time with her husband.  It was also close to her birthday.

Quickly, I added them to the reservations and date night turned into mom's birthday night.  It was wonderful.  We had dinner at Milos (Best Saganaki Ever!) and saw Mystere.  We took pictures on the strip like tourists that I will treasure.  The next day, I set my out of office, took a day off, and enjoyed the hotel gym for a solid 2 hour workout followed by a much needed massage.  E and I had a late lunch and then E patiently watched while I turned $50 into almost $0 and then back into $400 and eventually $250 before we left the craps table.

From there, we headed to the High Roller, the supposed largest observation wheel in the world (we're suckers for infrastructure, heights, and things that rotate...)

We went for the "happy hour" where you get 30 minutes to rotate and enjoy the view while ordering from the portable bar they wheel into your pod.  It was a great value for Vegas at $24.95 -- we each had 2 drinks and marveled at the skyline.

Earlier, I'd waited for E to get back for lunch at the pool and it sprinkled rained on me -- strange weather

When the Paris was built, it was the tallest and had the best views... no longer

The blue roofs to the right are the dilapidated Imperial Palace -- the last time I'd walked the strip, it was functional.

Wednesday, I wrote off the interval workout and spent first half the day recovering from my day off.  It took me until 12:00 PM to clear my inbox and deal with the construction, even with E2 covering some of the other details I couldn't handle (in other words, without E2, the day off would have destroyed my week).

Thursday, I woke early, worked, made up the intervals (or rather 3 of 4 of them -- 3X1200 done sub 9/mile), dealt with construction, and then put in a *very* long day until BBQ.  After several pleasant hours with friends, I left E to close out BBQ at 10:40 or so, and he managed to keep the party going until 1 AM.  Go E.

Friday, I woke and did the 8 miler that was on the schedule.  This, for me, is the turning point.  When I start fitting in 8+ miles on work days, I know I'm committed.  I had a good run, closed out a few work items, dealt with some additional unexpected construction chaos, and then, E came home and we drove to Napa for a weekend with E's sister, her husband and two of their friends.

Much food, wine, socializing, and beautiful views were enjoyed.

I also managed to hit a local high mileage maximum for 3 days -- 26+ miles.  8+ on Friday. 10+ on Saturday (including 2.2 miles of hiking in elevation at 97F). 8+ today.

In case anyone is wondering, the napa valley river trail, heading south from 3rd street in Napa is very nice.  First 1.5ish miles gravel, then paved all the way down to a park with several loops.  Also, AM fog is a very generous gift in Napa.  Use it.  the difference between an 8 AM start and an 8:30 AM start is *very* noticeable. 

Overall, this week was well done and I hit 36+ miles with the majority running and 10% sub 9/mile, likely close to 20% sub 10/mile.  It was a huge collection of social events, fun, splurging, disciplined workouts, and work.  Here's to hoping I can string together several more good weeks like this before Chicago.