Thursday, April 10, 2014

I Chased After Some People in a Circle a Bunch of Times

Harry is a big fan of local things, and of being involved, or at least informed, of some of the coolest things around town.  The thing about this city is that there are a million-trillion (maybe I'm exaggerating) things to do!  We've gone to fun events around the neighborhood, checked out quirky restaurants around the city, and been to large (kinda scary) gatherings since I've moved here.

Last night, Harry and I met up with a group of runners.  He had learned about the (brand new) meet-up on a Reddit group, and asked if I wanted to give it a shot.  I reluctantly agreed to go.


Why so reluctant?
A.)  Besides racing, I've never run *with* other people for a similar goal.
B.)  I'm a morning runner.
C.)  I haven't done speedwork in quite some time.  Can you say "RUSTY"?
D.)  All of the above.

So after being able to sleep in yesterday (but not really...I still got up when I usually do to get some running laundry done), I felt pretty rested.  I had a light lunch, not wanting any issues to pop up.  Know what I mean?


I somehow convinced myself that I indeed DID NOT need any of the Nutella S'mores that one of the classrooms made in their cooking class.  *le sigh*  


However, I did need an afternoon pick-me-up.


In my head, it was just a handful.  In reality, it was more like three.

Later in the afternoon, I picked Harry up from the METRA station (lucky guy gets to commute via train to and from work; so jealous).  He quickly got changed and we head up to River Park to hit the track and meet the crew.


As you can see, it was absolutely gorgeous out.  It was about 60*F and slightly breezy.  Naturally, I wore shorts.  I was beginning to get a little nervous at this point.  Harry reassured me that even if I was DFL, that my pace was pretty close to those posted by others who were joining us.  I figured that no matter what, I was probably getting in a quality workout, whether I was alone or with the group.  Anxiousness ensued.


I lucked out, though!  Greg, whom I deemed "Our Fearless Leader" and organizer of the group, brought along his girlfriend, Stephanie.  I want to believe that she was just as relieved as I was that there was someone there with a similar pace.  I told her that if she'll be my bunny, that I'd be hers.  <3

This being our first run together, we all had to learn about each others' paces fairly quickly.  While there was a plan in place in text, Greg further explained his idea for our workout today.  We started off with an 800m warm-up, then followed up with 4x100m stride outs (which I would call "sprints") with a short rest to follow.
Then the party began!  4x800s...here we go!

Stephanie and I took off with the gents, but eventually fell back just behind them.  We learned a bit about each other in the first three of the 800s, mostly about where we were from, how we met our fellas, and what we did for a living.  I'm super glad we learned that much about each other, since we were sort of 100% quiet during the last set.  :)  We took stop-breaks between each 800, which I'm not particularly used to, but wasn't totally against with the paces that Stephanie and I were rockin'.

I somehow took pictures during one of the intervals.  Can you tell which pictures are of the first and second lap of the 800m set?  :P



*le pant, le pant, le pant*

We finished the workout with an easy (yeah, right) ~700m, with a strong ~100m finish.  Thank the Lord the workout finished here.  My legs were just about out of turbo.


 As per the meet-up deets, we reconvened at a local joint, The Atlantic Pub.  They were hosting pub trivia night when Harry and I walked in.  Come to find out, it was "Arrested Development" trivia.  I've never watched the show, but I still thought it was pretty cool.

 

My cheeseburger (WITH STEAK FRIES!  YES!), and Harry's Mac n' Cheese with Bangers.  


Great conversation, laughs, *WOOTS* for the Blackhawks win in OT, and re-hydrating was had by all.  My biggest giggle was the fact that we had only run three miles, yet we all ate the hell out of our food.  Gotta love runners!


Harry and I couldn't stop talking about the evening on the drive home.  We are super-stoked about meeting up again next week with the crew!

Also, thank goodness today is a rest day.  Otherwise, I'd probably look like this.



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Do you run with groups?  Have you ever done speedwork with them?


Do you have any races or events coming up this weekend?  Tell me about it!


Are there any running workouts you like more than others?  Intervals, Tempo, etc.?
I generally adore 400s and 800s.  My legs, not so much.  :)

5 comments:

  1. So Reddit isn't just for trolls... or is it???

    That is so neat. I'm glad you had a good experience at the track meet! I've been thinking about joining a local running group - I don't generally go out of my way to run but I think it would be fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've never been on the thing! Harry's the one who stays informed, but I'm sure it's loaded with trolls. :P

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  2. I wish I could have joined you guys! I'm part of the /r/RunnersInChicago sub but I live out in the burbs so getting there would just be so tough. One day though, I plan to make it. Sounds like you guys had a great time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For sure! I should probably get on the dang thing and see what all the hoopla is about. ;)

      Delete

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