Tales of the Deep

Finished! And survived… mostly.

rachelr1977 — Thu, 26 May 2011 22:34:00 +0000

So, I said that I was going to run the Hub Run 5k. And I totally did. Okay, well TECHNICALLY I ran 2 miles and walked a mile, but whatever. I did the whole route. AND I did it way faster than I thought I would/could. My out-loud goal was to finish in 50m. My in-my-head goal was to finish in 40m. I actually finished in just over 37 minutes. Holy balls.

(the reason that I had those two goals is because I’d only been training (ha, training) on the treadmill. outside is different and HARDER)

And I lived. Well, kinda. running in the 42 degrees pouring rain turned out to be bad for my pneumonia, which is back (can you say 104.75 fever and six hours in the ER?) …. but I’m not DEAD, so technically I lived. go me.

I don’t think that I’ll be doing any big races this year. But maybe another 5k later on. I just need to not have pneumonia for more than 9 days before running a race next time I think.

Anyway, excited to have done it.

how’s this for cutting it close?

rachelr1977 — Sun, 08 May 2011 21:43:10 +0000

This was the year that I was going to run all kinds of races. I really was. And then I got pneumonia. Man that sucked. But, I’d already signed up for a 5k on 5/15. So today I went back to the gym to make sure that I could still make it 3 miles without collapsing. The good news? I still can. On the treadmill anyway. Did just over 3 miles at about 3.5 incline in 50 minutes. Not my best time, but not too terrible for the first time out in like 3 months.

And then the shocker? Got on the scale. Holy balls. Pneumonia is apparently good for something after all. You know, I’d thought that my pants were feeling kind of big, but i just figured it was cuz I’d like, stretched ‘em out. Nope. Apparently it’s because I’ve lost 15 pounds. Good lord. That means that I really only have about 20 to go. Scary. Guess this means that I better get my act together, huh?

Anyway, in a week I’ll be back in good ol’ CP doing the Hub Run with my sister and my parents. Not sure if I’ll actually RUN the whole way, but we’ll see.

Happy weekend!

I have joined the dark side

rachelr1977 — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 02:08:58 +0000

I really didn’t think I’d ever do it, but I totally did. I found love… in my nook color. Yes, I’m reading from an e-reader. And it’s kind of awesome. I never thought I’d like it, after all, I’m the girl with over 400 books (yes, I counted) in my 288sq ft apartment.

But, for my birthday this year Nick got me a nook color, and after yesterday, it’s my new favorite thing. I mean, I liked it before, but yesterday killed it. Why, you ask? NEW RELEASE DAY. Hot damn. So I have several authors that I am totally caught up on their books and wait very impatiently for the Tuesdays that their books are put out. Most notably, Kim Harrison, Charlaine Harris, MaryJanice Davidson, and Jim Butcher (all of which I heartily recommend if you like vampires or witches or anything along those lines). Yes, I pre-order books. But here is why I love my e-reader: If I pre-order a book, it downloads to my nook automatically overnight. So when I get up in the morning on new release day there my book is ready to read on the bus ON THE WAY TO WORK. I don’t have to wait until after work to go to B&N to go pick it up… don’t have to wait til the afternoon deliveries at the office to get my preordered hardcover. Nope. I can read it on the bus in to work.

Yesterday Pale Demon was released. It’s the newest Kim Harrison book (the series is about Rachel Morgan, a red headed witch who lives with a vampire and a pixy and is the student of a demon and she’s a private detective of sorts. SO GOOD). I woke up on Tuesday and there it was. Best Tuesday Ever.

I mean, I’m still going to buy the hardcover of the book – it goes up there on the shelf with the rest of them. And I can’t give up books, i love the way they feel and smell and look – and nothing beats browsing around in a bookstore to find new things to read. But for the OMG I need it RIGHT NOW factor? Can’t beat the nook.

Plus, it’s got crosswords and sudoku, which is also super. all in all? I vote yes.

Chicago Auto Show 2011 … OR … “oooooh, shiny!”

rachelr1977 — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:21:07 +0000

So, years and years ago I used to go to the Chicago Auto Show every year like clockwork. A few years back, I stopped going. It was just too crowded every time I tried to go. (Here’s a shocker – the longer I live in Chicago, the worse I get with crowds.) But I’ve missed going – I don’t know anything about cars (except to drive them) – but I sure do love to look at them. And yes – it’s mostly because they’re brightly colored and shiny.

This year I was able to get a media pass for Social Media Day. I got mine from Chevy through a link talking about the Volt. They had a track that you could take a ride on in a Volt. I actually lucked out and scored and extra long ride – there were some serious journalists doing some photo ops where we needed to park.

They also had a section where you could go for a ride in a Jeep, and also a Toyota area. I didn’t ride in either of those, but it was really neat to see.

So, on to some photos!

This is the Volt, but not the one I rode in. Mine was RED.

the dashboard of the Volt I rode around in

Everybody brought a cop car this year -

Mostly I just ran around and took pictures. It was superfun.

the Ford robot made friends with some guys in uniform. he wasn't so good at high-fiving though

So, hello and goodbye from the Chicago Auto Show! Enjoy!

running!

rachelr1977 — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:37:48 +0000

So, I’m totally serious about doing races and junk this year. no really. i am! So next week I’m going to go buy actual running gear, and starting on 3/1 I’m going to really actually TRAIN. Plus on that day i’m going to register for races so i’ll be more likely to actually follow through. Kind of like that gym program where they charge you for not going to the gym? like that. so we’ll see.

here are the races i want to do this year:

Not in Chicago:

Hub Run (5K) in Crown Point, IN

In Chicago:

Rock n Roll Half Marathon

Monster Dash

Chi Town 5K

Chicago Half Marathon

13.1 Half Marathon

AND THE BIG ONE:

the Chicago Marathon.

my shins kinda hurt just thinking about it. But i think it’ll be good for me. and fun!

Happy New Year!

rachelr1977 — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:10:12 +0000

Man, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Well, I’ve made a new years resolution to be better about that. I sorta missed the first new year, so I’ll make it my Chinese New Year resolution. Happy Rabbit!

Not too much going on, taking a short break from school – will be headed back next quarter. My apartment is still tiny and wonderful. Oh, and I started playing WoW again… sorta. DCU Online is fun too, but I kind of suck at it.

One of my goals for 2011 is to class myself up a bit. Shocking, I know, but I figured that I’ll start with the easy stuff – classing up my work wardrobe. So, tonight I’m going to get started on that. We’ll see how that goes.

Next week I’m going to the Chicago Auto Show on social media day. I also need to plan a trip back home to IN.

Also, I’m tired of the snow. It can go away any time now.

I took some pictures – I’ll put them together for a #SnOMG blizzard overview, Rachel style. I know you’re super excited.

Happy New Year!

looking at shoes is a bad idea …

rachelr1977 — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:45:11 +0000

… because now I have a HUGE Fluevog wish list. But they’re so awesome. Here’s my list:

See? told you it was dangerous. And I know that it’s fiscally irresponsible to buy shoes that cost nearly a third of my rent (some of them anyway) – but still. They’re so PRETTY.

drugs and running

rachelr1977 — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 00:37:04 +0000

So, I started a round of Wellbutrin this week. Well, yesterday really. Just wanted to try to get ahead of the curve as far as fall/winter n stuff. So far, just taking a bit of getting used to… you know, the two days I’ve been on it. The first day I felt all speedy – like I’d downed a couple of energy drinks on an empty stomach or something. ‘Course, then I was up all night (well, just til like 12:30 or 1) doing work – so then I was totally wiped by the time I went to bed. Woke up at 7 and then again at 9, then back to bed til 11. Whoops. Guess I was tired. 2nd day – no speedies. Haven’t really eaten anything today – but I’m guessing that’s just more due to the fact that I don’t usually eat regularly on the weekends anyway rather than one of the side effects of ‘loss of appetite’. So we’ll see.

Didn’t run last night, didn’t want to risk it with the way I was feeling – same with today. Tomorrow, though, back on the treadmill. If I need to cut it back to just 2 miles instead of the 3 I’m planning on, I’ll do that.

So, that’s my weekend so far. And now off for a rousing round of dishes, Superman movies, and homework.

stupid running

rachelr1977 — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 02:00:06 +0000

Man. Did 2 miles tonight, and those two miles fought me every single step of the way. So I caved. I’d originally thought I’d do between 2 and 3 miles. I figure if the first two weeks I do every other day 2 or 3 miles (hoping for more 3s than 2s) then I can get used to starting to run/walk/jog regularly. So, we’ll see.

tonight:
2miles
32:30
incline 2.0
walk/jog 3.0-4.5 speed
179lb

(and yes, I know it’s silly to weigh yourself every time you go to the gym, but I want to make sure I’m tracking the same info each time)

Eventually I’ll start to like doing this, right?

no running tonight…

rachelr1977 — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 02:07:45 +0000

… because I forgot that I have to have bloodwork done tomorrow (woooo physical!) so I can’t eat or drink anything except for water after 8pm. Well, since I like to eat after I run, that won’t do me any good. But I’ll be back on track tomorrow.

My knee felt weird today, but I’m hoping it’s just because I’ve been babying it since my fall rather than because there’s actually something wrong with it. Guess I’ll find out (ass-early) tomorrow morning! (my wooo physical! is at gross 8am. earlyearlyearly)

see ya’ll tomorrow!