Halloween

Nicki's costume is a witch and Julia's is a cat for Halloween.

They have been making lots of decorations at school and decorating their doors at home, Nicki likes to draw witches on brroms and write "BOOOOOOOOOOO!", Julia likes to draw ghosts and pumpkins.

Yesterday afternoon was fun, we all went to a birthday party for their friend michael, who turned 6. Played hockey with Nicki, basketball with Julia, and pushed Nicki on a skateboard(Julia was off on her own skateboard).

I finally ran again since the Mararathon- just two miles on the treadmill Sunday morning because my right knee hurts. I checked on ask.com and looks like I have something called, now do not laugh- it is called "runner's knee"! So I have been using a heat pad at night, drinking lots of vitamin water, and taking it easy, as much as possible with two 5 year olds at home.

My flu and Julia's is about completely gone, now the one who is pretty sick at our house is Nicki, she has a really bad cough. Hopefully she be well enough to trick or treat tomorrow! They really love holidays, they are such good girls.

Ok more family and running updates later, take care all.

School Days

Spent some time at the girls school yesterday as there was a mobile book fair and painting. Julia got a great book about a dragon and another hallowwen ghost story, she really likes those very much. Nicki picked a Christmas story about a bear, and also a book called "Best Friends" which was the only one we did not read last night so I am not sure what it is about.

Tonight we all go to their school again for a meeting with their teacher where they chhose some "goals" they want to achieve this school year- one being academic and the other social.

Julia and I still have the flu, though Julia was well enough to attend her tumbling/gymnastics class today.

I re-read "A Clockwork Orange", mainly because it is so short, also just re-read Orwell's "1984" which remains vivid and moving.

My soreness from the Marathon has about fully abated and I am considering starting up the running again this weekend. I might be crazy but I am thinking about doing the Marathon again next year. We will see.

Chicago Marathon: YES I DID IT! :)

Well honestly it would take me forever to write about this so I will just mention a few thoughts I had this second time around.

First of all, I was very very happy to get to spend time with my sister Jen and her husband Andy, we had a few great meals and a wonderful time playing with the twins. Seeing them at mile 21 and then after the Marathon was very meaningful to me and I loved it.

Second of all, it was very reassuring to once again have the chance to stay with Brian at his condo, he helped calm me down by providing chips and salsa and a new show with one of the actors from Six Feet Under. Believe it or not, I slept very very well, partly from Nyquil and partly from calming down.

It was quite a different Marathon experience for me this time, training on my own rather than with the running group. It was more relaxing not having to get up early on the weekends to drive into Chicago, but it made some of the long runs over 15 miles for practice, difficult, I had nothing but my iPod usually for company.

Though at the start I was of course again very nervous and very cold. I had to stop five times during the race at the Red Cross tent to grab tissues to blow my nose. I got used to the cold but every so often the wind would blow and it really was cold, had on shorts and a long sleeve shirt, with a spring time vest over it!

And I was able to see Roley during the Marathon and he gave me words of encouragement, he was running really well and strong, definitely determined and focused.

Now that it is over I am trying to think of what to do next, it is such an amazing feeling of accomplishment and the words of praise I received from my family and friends really makes me feel very touched.

So now I am drinking vitamin water, staying warm, and thinking about my sister Jen, her husband Andy and my good friend Brian and I must send an extra thank you out to all of them, they really took such great care of me this weekend and that is something I will carry inside along with crossing the Finish Line.

Health and Fitness Expo on Friday

The Health and Fitness Expo was even cooler than in 2003, there seemed to be even more booths and more running sutff if that is possible. Jen and Andy kept an eye on N&J so I could roam around, I got a new long sleeve nike dri-fit navy blue shirt and picked up a free wrist band, sampled gatorade, ate free samples of cliff bars, drank some kind of juice. Also picked up a really nice free poster which I need to unroll at home at some point and maybe stick somewhere in the basement.

We would have liked to have stayed there longer but the traffic was awful and we needed to get home for dinner.

Here is what Hal Higdon wrote about the expo, which I found interesting. Remember, he is the old veteran runner who now coaches people, and I used his training schedule on his website to train for the Marathon on my own:

HAL HIGDON:

"What a sight it is. Imagine the impression on a first-time marathoner walking into their first Expo. Well, at least some of you will see how it feels tomorrow (meaning Saturday).

I was at the Marathon & Beyond booth from 9:00 to 5:00, except for one 20-minute break in the middle. Saw a lot of people. Shook a lot of hands. Have all 40,000 entrants trained for the marathon using my programs? Sometimes it seems that way. A lot of V-Teamers stopped by the booth to say hello, some of them saying they would be at the party, others claiming commitments.

And in another hour, I'll be heading to the Marquette Room for our party, and after that to a second party at The LaSalle Bank's executive offices. Saturday morning, we're skipping the Expo in favor of the Semi-State cross-country race at New Prairie. We should return to the Expo around 2:00, and Dana Summers, co-author of Run, Dogs, Run! will be in the booth with me.

Everybody's worrying about the weather. That was the one question I answered the most, and my question was the same: a wicking, long-sleeve shirt with a singlet over it. Shorts, not tights. Some throwaway clothes for standing in the corral waiting for the start. But I'm not even sure what the latest weather report is. Someone said, rain has been taken out of it. Winds less (11 mph vs. 25) than originally predicted. But cold: 35 at the start rising to 45. I don't trust weathermen in Chicago more than 24 hours out, so we'll see which way the wind is blowing at 8:00 on Sunday."

Chicago

Leaving work soon, going home to pick up my sister and her husband and then driving to Chicago to the Health & Fitness exhibition to pick up all of the Chicago Marathon stuff!

Last night we all ate at the Cheesecake Factory.

I have a head cold that seems to be getting better, all though unfortunately the forecast is for cold and rain Sunday, Marathon Day! Yikes!

The girls are thrilled to have their auntie and unlce here and have been playing with them quite a bit.

And Jen gave me some packets of vitamin c/energy drink crystals which I have been mixing with bottled water, hopefully that will help clear me out too!

Three more days

Three more days until the Marathon!

My sister and her husband arrived late last night.

I have been sick all week, started in earnest Monday afternoon, basically a head cold- runny nose, cough, headache, muscles are sore and weak. Seem to be improving. The downside is have not run at all yet this week, have been returning home from work and going straight to bed. So, I am well rested but feel weak. If cannot do final practice run tonight will try to do it tomorrow.

Likely will leave work early tomorrow, go home, pick up family and drive to Chicago to pick up Marathon race number, t-shirt, etc.

While I have been sick the girls have been great, they visit me every now and then, bring me water and gatorade in bed and sometimes lie at the end of the bed and talk to me. Plus, they have been drawing Halloween themed stories at school, last week they did a collection of different ghosts, and yesterday they drew a story about pumpkins. It is great to look at these things, makes me very proud of them.

Oh, and at their Polish school, the teachers both told Aga last weekend that N&J are the best students in the class, that their vocabulary is outstanding.

I am alternating between worrying about the marathon and then remembering how successful all of my training runs were, especially the 20 miles. The coolest thing was how little soreness I had the day after the 20 mile practice run, so maybe this marathon will not be as painful as the one ran in 2003?

10-11-06 627pm

Oh my God I just learned that Tower Records is closing/going out of business! This sucks, about half of my entire cd collection I bought there when I lived in Lincoln Park! This is realy terrible, unfortuante, and more so than any other adjective I can think of, it is sad. I like browsing cds!

Lots of memories of Tower Records, even a few months ago the whole family stopped there after a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo to get soemthing obscure and difficult to find elsewhere.

I'm stunned, really.

I guess more Best Buy and Borders, and Apple store now.

10-11-06

Shucks it is really getting cold out. I'm tired! Aga has not been around much, she is taking her friend Beata otu alot, I have been watching the girls, last night I took them to an indoor play area, then we bought those big hot pretzels with salt, then we went home, they had a bath, brushed theiur teeth, put on their pjs and we watched "Dancing with the Stars", then we all went to bed.

The cold bugs me as I still need to one the 12 mile training run, most likely will do this tomorrow night. I am leaving work at 1130am today because Aga is going to Chicago with Beata and I need to be home when the school bus drops off N&J. Also, I took my final vacation day off for this Friday.

Supposedly it is going to show tonight and/or tomorrow morning. I find it hard to believe but who knows?

I wore the new running shoes yesterday night around the house and with the twins and they feel very comfortable, not sure yet if they weill be what I wear for the Marathon.

Oh and a funny observation, Nicki is so good natured in the morning, she sometimes asks me not to go to work but to stay at home, which makes me feel really really really cool. :)

Update-new shoes

I got a pair of white with black and a bit of red asics 1110, mainly due to price and plus they felt good on my feet, but researching them I discovered this:

"Asics 1110 are a recipient of the Seal of Acceptance of the American Podiatric Medical Association which recognizes products that have been found beneficial to foot health, and of significant value when used in a consistently applied program of daily foot care and regular professional treatment."

New shoes

"new shoes, new shoes, new shoes" - Leo in Twin Peaks

Not sure if anyone remembers the above quote.

Well I decided after running 8 miles last night that I am getting new running shoes today at lunch, and also I have to at some point buy comfortable shoes to wear to work, what I have now well it just hurts whenever I walk around!

The run was good but it is getting cold out and I felt it.

Aga's friend Beata is here for the whole week, she leaves Sunday she is really friendly, they stayed up late talking, drinking tea and catching up.

I took the twins for a bike ride again yesterday after dinner and we had fun.

Not much else to say, it is funny how during the week I feel confident and positive about running and the marathon and all, but on the weekends I get really anxious. Just something I realized.

20 done and twins update

Last night I completed my final seriosuly long training run for the Marathon, 20 miles, it went pretty well though it was so cold and windy and I kept thinking it was going to rain, I saw lightning several times but I think it rained after I was home safe asleep in bed.

So next week the long run is 12 and then the week after that is great- I do 3 miles the 17th, 4 miles the 18th, and 2 miles the 19th, 20th and 21st are rest days(though one of these days I need to drive to Chicago to pick up the race bib and t-shirt), then Sunday the 22nd is the full 26.2 mile Marathon!

When I got home last night the twins had drawn tons of beautiful pictures of animals, they are learning this from a book they got last year for Christmas.

Next week Aga's friend Beata will be visiting us, she originally of course is from Poland though now her and her family live and work in Ireland. So next week besides getting those final intermediate training runs done, I will be spending tons of times with N&J, including a trip on Friday to Rosemont Theater to see "Mickey Mouse's Magic Show".

N&J start a gymnastics/tumbling class today after school, we decided no ice skating classes this year though we will still go ice skate with them some nights occassionally. So Mondays they have ballet class after school and Thursdays they have the gymnastics. Busy girls!

walking and thinking

The highlight of the weekend was taking a walk last night with N&J and we checked out all of the Halloween decorations in our neighborhood.

I have nothing else left to say about Trot except good luck to him and his family and he will be missed.

Finally finished Time Traveller's Wife and have a few comments. The way it ended with her seeing him and waiting for him every day as an old lady was very touching to me, additionally the way their daughter knew he was dead before the wife did was something I thought about often. Unfortunately I receommended this book to several people before realizing how raw and how much graphic sex stuff is in it, which, while disturbing, did not negate the strong feelings the end of the book brought up. In a way it reminded me of the show Six Feet Under, again reminding me of the fraility of my own existence, and left pondering what will happen when I die, how will my family react. Hopefully people remember fondly and lovingly and say that I was a good man.

I was talking about wakes and funerals and other fun stuff with Aga last week in the basement while we were watching a movie and she said that besides her family not many people would be at her funeral and that she preferred not to have a wake. i told her that I think a wake is very very important, it enables the living to say goodbye to the dead. And then we joked that it would not matter becasue surely I will die before her. But who knows. I guess the point is, to have a love as strong as the characters did in the book, to spend your whole life waiting just waiting for someone just to see them one more time, well that sums it all up for me. Throughout the story I was reminded again and again how strong their love was, though at the end it was reinforced for me, and after the painful parts, it left me very pleased.