a belated goodbye.

d. just reminded me that i never officially said goodbye to "kenyanfeet." the point of the blog was to get me up to the 2006 chicago marathon and to leave it at that. you followed me through training, the race itself, and the post-marathon depression (and surprising speed!) that followed.

for more on my latest exploits, check out my new blog:

http://obligationtoendure.blogspot.com/

new race, new blog.

here you go, b.! :)

if amateur philosophy bores you...

... turn back now!

it's going to come as no surprise to those of you who have spent any time with me over the last month or so that i've been in one hell of a funk. when the excitement and drama and exhaustion of the marathon wore off, all of a sudden i realized that i was stuck with just me again. no four hour long runs to distract me - no marathon glory to obsess over. and it turns out, i guess, that i don't much like being stuck with just me.

but running, for me, has always been a means of either running away or running to. lately, i think it's been about running away. i've been desperately planning long road trips and attempting to convince bridget to veer onto the highway on the way to school and take us far, far away from here. the "here," i thought, was a looming dissertation, conflict with professors, exhaustion, the city, etc. upon reflection, however, i think the "here" is actually me.

still, just as i was starting to despair over this sorry state of affairs, i decided to take my run today as a means of running to, not running away. i tried to cultivate mindfulness: being mindful of every out-breath. i let the thoughts drift from my mind and listened to the slap of my two feet against the pavement. in other words, i spent some time with me, in me. and i found that i wasn't nearly as scary as i had feared.

i would encourage all of you to try, for one day, running to. you just might be surprised at what you find.

the fun continues...

... with a 10k PR!!!

well, a post-high school 10k PR. i jumped into the lincolnwood turkey trot yesterday with bridget and, somehow, magic happened. we were both planning to run the 10k as a tempo run but after clipping through the first mile in 8.08, i kind of went for it. 5.2 miles later, i crossed the line in 51.29 - 8.18 pace! incidentally, bridget came in 2nd overall so i think she's officially back.

it's so good to have FUN again!

happy (tofu) turkey day to all.

post-marathon update.

thanks for all of the kind words! i've included my favorite marathon pic for your amusement.

um, yeah. that's either me pulling my frozen gloves off with my teeth or wiping my nose!


now that i've had a good three weeks to recover myself - physically and emotionally - i'm in an intersesting place. i'm not displeased with my marathon performance but i'm amazed at how dumb i was going into it! i had so many good days during my training that i just wasn't prepared to have a really bad day. and that was a really bad day. still, i can't wait to get out there in the spring and give it another go. a 4.10 should be in my near future!

in the meantime, i'm hoping to get F.A.S.T. and have fun! i ran a vicious 5.1 mile trail race on sunday and had a blast. [universal sole's rock n sole] we ran through two underpasses that were literally waist deep in water. i got muddy. bridget crashed into a tree. drew fell in a creek. it was BLISS! i ran it in 44.47 (8.47 pace) which, given the hilly, muddy, and water-logged terrain was pretty darn good. just what the doctor ordered after a humbling marathon debut!

okay, so far as my "speediness" goes, i could clip off 5.40s in high school no problem. after 15 slow years, i've run a low 7 minute mile and that's about it. that's where i'm starting. i'll keep you posted about where i go!

peace out, c.

i'm alive!!!!

too much to say and too little time but i made it through the 35• rain in chicago for a 4.22.15. i'm pleased as punch with my marathon debut.

thanks for all the love!

one week from sunday.

wow. race day is officially in sight and i guess i don't quite know what to think. i'm oscillating by the minute between thinking this is a REALLY big deal and thinking that it's no big deal at all. bridget kindly assures me that's a good place to be. i know i'm as trained as i can be and that i just need to get out there and have some fun. but wow. the last five months of my life have been spent leading up to this. that blows my mind.

15 days out: quote of the day.

"it hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse."

-steve prefontaine.