THE DAY
One word. Unreal. Today was one of the best weather days in Chicago I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying. My day started at 10:30 sharp with a mild hangover. Other than a minor headache from the booze and smoke the night before I was doing well. I felt much better after I made it outside just prior to noon and experienced he 52 degree weather that felt like 72 to my winter-ravaged body.


I got some lunch and made a trip to both The Container Store and Banana Republic before my afternoon run. I’m not sure exactly what it was – maybe the comedy show on Thursday, maybe the concert (I saw Dropkick Murphys on Friday) on Friday, maybe the weather or maybe some combination of the above – but I felt good.
The 2 hours or so before my run I was twitching with excitement and mentally preparing myself for a nice little 5 miler along the lake.
One other PS here, this is the first weekend in as long as I can remember where I didn’t have something planned. Knowing I had all day Sat and Sunday to do whatever the hell I wanted to do was a nice feeling too.

THE RUN

I left the gym and headed along my well traveled route along the lake. Crossing the park via the dirt path around the baseball fields proved tricky. The warm weather combined with thawing snow made for muddy conditions. Soon enough my shoes were caked in dirt but I didn’t really mind as it made for an entertaining run.
The lakefront path was full of people. Young people, old people, people with dogs, people on unicycles. Okay the unicycle part is made up but the rest is true enough.

THE REVIEWS
Stuff
New Kicks by Asics. GT2120 iPod Nano 2GB silver Nike + system (shoe transmitter plus receiver) Switcheasy to hold the transmitter (and NOT force me to run with Nikes) Sunglasses by Ryders (my future’s so bright I gotta wear shades).



LONG TERM GOALS
Feel Better / More EnergyLook Better / Lower Weight / Lower Body Fat %

HOW I GET THERE
EXERCISE
1) Morning Workouts: They suck but that’s how you got in shape in the first place … hitting the weights 3 days per week plus running.
2) Running Clubs: Niketown Chicago (Tuesday 6:30) Niketown Atlanta (Wednesday 6:30)
Fleet Feet Hash House Harriers
3) Races: Momentum St. Paddy’s Day (3/15, 3/16, 3/17) Shamrock Shuffle (3/25) Race to Wrigley (3/31) Wrigley Start Early (4/21) Ravenswood Run (4/29) Run for Hungry Children (5/19) Hoffman Estates Soldier Field 10 Mile – (5/26) Bix 7 (July)
4) Tracking Progress Mark weight / time / activity and post it on the web. Why the hell not?
5) Stretch

DIET
1) Drink more water
2) Eat more sensibly
Eat IN not OUT more often. Don’t skip breakfast…
3) Try to cut down on the partying. Beer / Booze will set you back 100+ calories each. That means I had to run 5 miles TODAY to erase the drinks LAST NIGHT.
4) Veggies are good, fruits are good, whole grain is good.