Sunday, April 22 was the Lisle 10K. Great day for running, temperature in the mid 50s at the start of the race. There was a significant wind from the South. Not a gale, but you certainly felt it. Not sure it really made a difference. The course was exactly what I expected, but was not hoping for something different. Lisle has run this race for 8 years with only a 5K. Runners had asked for a 10K as well, so they just made it two loops. It actually turned out ok.
The very first 10K I ever ran was in Lisle, at the same starting position. However, that route took you across Maple Avenue twice. They closed Maple only on the first crossing, the second time you were on your own. The 2007 course kept you in the area around Community Park and Lisle Senior High School. You ran mostly on the park path so street control wasn't as big a concern.
My goal was to run around 52 minutes. I thought if things went perfectly, I could get close to 50. But, I felt tired in the morning and as I warmed up, 54 minutes would be acceptable. As it turned out, my time was just under 52 minutes, at 51:52. And I was ok with that. I started the first two miles slower than last week -- 7:43 and 7:56. But, from the first 1/2 mile, I didn't feel fast and was hoping for the 54 minutes.
I was extremely happy with the last four miles. For the consistency. 8:20, 8:20, 8:21, 8:27. It didn't seem that my pace was that consistent. I'll take it though. The total distance according to my Garmin was 6.34 miles. The first mile was off by maybe 2 steps, the second mile and subsequent miles just a little more. Hmmm, can I tun those 8:20s into 8:10s next time?
Lori asked how I did. Same answer. I'm still old, and I'm still slow. It seemed effortless when I was running sub-40 10ks at 32 years old!
Monday, April 23, 2007
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Everywhere Saturday
Well, everyone had a different agenda today. Lori was scheduled to work the OTS table at the Living with Transplantation event in Oakbrook.
Patrick had a tennis match scheduled, actually three matches --- Waubonsie Valley was competing in a quad event at Wheaton Warrenville South High School. So, I dropped Patrick off at school to join his team on a bus to the event.
I headed over to Herrick Lake which less than 1/2 from Wheaton Warrenville High School.
I ran about 1/4 mile on the Herrick Lake trail until I picked up the Illinois Prairie Path. I headed west on the IPP until I reached the Blackwell Forest Preserve. This was the first time I had gone this way.
The IPP west from Herrick is interesting. It runs right along with Butterfield Road which has a fair amount on traffic. The path is asphalt on this stretch, although it it broken up in places. The elevation also changes as it goes -- it is never flat. The IPP runs on both sides of Butterfield for about 1/2 mile until the north side tunrs under the road and connect with the south side.
You cross a busy intersection to get onto the Blackwell trail. But at 7AM on a Saturday morning, that was easy to accomplish. I enjoyed the run through Blackwell, but I didn't follow the trail completely around. My goal was to run ~6.3 miles or so today. Throughout Blackwell, the terrain changes. There are lot sof small streches of uphill and downhills. Of course, Blackwell is most famout for Mount Hoy, or Mount Trashmore since it formerly was a garbage dump. I almost made it to McKee Marsh. Next time.
There was one negative about running through Blackwell. My Garmin went crazy. The third mile was definitely short --- maybe about 1/3 mile short. The 4th mile was short too. Otherwise, I ran those two miles in 14 minutes, which wa snot likely. That took away a lot of my energy, so I'm estimating that I ran 6.5 miles today. The good part is that my time to my turnaround out and my time in were within 10 seconds of each other.
Patrick had a tough day on the tennis courts. This event was doubles only. They played a JV1 team of sophomores in their first match (Patrick is a JV2 player) and were beaten easily. In the second match, they won the first set, lost the second set, and lost the tiebreaker. This broke their spirits for the next match. They played well in the second set in this match, but lost 6-1, 6-4.
Patrick had a tennis match scheduled, actually three matches --- Waubonsie Valley was competing in a quad event at Wheaton Warrenville South High School. So, I dropped Patrick off at school to join his team on a bus to the event.
I headed over to Herrick Lake which less than 1/2 from Wheaton Warrenville High School.
I ran about 1/4 mile on the Herrick Lake trail until I picked up the Illinois Prairie Path. I headed west on the IPP until I reached the Blackwell Forest Preserve. This was the first time I had gone this way.
The IPP west from Herrick is interesting. It runs right along with Butterfield Road which has a fair amount on traffic. The path is asphalt on this stretch, although it it broken up in places. The elevation also changes as it goes -- it is never flat. The IPP runs on both sides of Butterfield for about 1/2 mile until the north side tunrs under the road and connect with the south side.
You cross a busy intersection to get onto the Blackwell trail. But at 7AM on a Saturday morning, that was easy to accomplish. I enjoyed the run through Blackwell, but I didn't follow the trail completely around. My goal was to run ~6.3 miles or so today. Throughout Blackwell, the terrain changes. There are lot sof small streches of uphill and downhills. Of course, Blackwell is most famout for Mount Hoy, or Mount Trashmore since it formerly was a garbage dump. I almost made it to McKee Marsh. Next time.
There was one negative about running through Blackwell. My Garmin went crazy. The third mile was definitely short --- maybe about 1/3 mile short. The 4th mile was short too. Otherwise, I ran those two miles in 14 minutes, which wa snot likely. That took away a lot of my energy, so I'm estimating that I ran 6.5 miles today. The good part is that my time to my turnaround out and my time in were within 10 seconds of each other.
Patrick had a tough day on the tennis courts. This event was doubles only. They played a JV1 team of sophomores in their first match (Patrick is a JV2 player) and were beaten easily. In the second match, they won the first set, lost the second set, and lost the tiebreaker. This broke their spirits for the next match. They played well in the second set in this match, but lost 6-1, 6-4.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
40 Year Itch?
This week recalled two events that happened 40 years ago. One I remember, the second one I don't.
The first one occurred on April 15 in 1967. It was a Friday night. A seemingly pleasant April night. I was just 9 years old. Along with my family, I was watching the movie "It Happens Every Spring," starring Ray Milland about a college professor who creates a tonic that makes a baseball do strange things. Clearly illegal. But it would be years before I would see the last half of the movie. As happen in April in the Chicago area, a storm came up quickly. And we lost power. My father called us out to the front porch, while my mother would have preferred that we head to the basement. From the front porch, we could the tornado cloud (as shown in the first picture) off to the south. We would later learn that it was less than two miles away. Included in the damge were part of Oak Lawn High School and a roller skating arena on Cicero Avenue - both places were many teens had gathered.
One of the suburban newspapers recalled the tornado, included recollections from people directly involved. One story was that the St. Laurence and Brother Rice high school teams were scrimmaging that afternoon (when Catholic League schools still had spring workouts). The coaches called off the scrimmage when they saw the grayish-green clouds forming. Brother Rice got on their bus, and headed back to their school. They were just 5 minutes behind the storm. Wow, that's amazing. At the same time, the St. Laurence coaches had their players sit in the shower with full pads still on, including their helmets.
Another story involved a young teen who lived at 85th and Lawndale - darn close to where my grandparents lived. He said traffic was backed up because crossing gates were done at a railroad but no train was in sight. Ay, we knew that railroad crossing well. He walked down the train tracks with his friends and they found a roof on the tracks -- completely intact. It looked like he had been placed there. And it triggered the gates to go down.
It turned out to be a crazy week. News stories indicated that the next day, there was a significant snowfall, maybe close to 6". I don't remember that though. I do remember going to school the following and everyone had stories to tell.
It's interesting that the first story started with a baseball movie, because the next event certainly is baseball related. Last night, Mark Buehrle pitched a no-hitter for the Chicago White Sox. It was the first no-hitter by a White Sox pitcher since Wilson Alvarez on August 11, 1991. However, it was the first no-hitter at home since April 19, 1967 by Joe Horlen.
Wow, any other 40 year events that can happen this week?
The first one occurred on April 15 in 1967. It was a Friday night. A seemingly pleasant April night. I was just 9 years old. Along with my family, I was watching the movie "It Happens Every Spring," starring Ray Milland about a college professor who creates a tonic that makes a baseball do strange things. Clearly illegal. But it would be years before I would see the last half of the movie. As happen in April in the Chicago area, a storm came up quickly. And we lost power. My father called us out to the front porch, while my mother would have preferred that we head to the basement. From the front porch, we could the tornado cloud (as shown in the first picture) off to the south. We would later learn that it was less than two miles away. Included in the damge were part of Oak Lawn High School and a roller skating arena on Cicero Avenue - both places were many teens had gathered.
One of the suburban newspapers recalled the tornado, included recollections from people directly involved. One story was that the St. Laurence and Brother Rice high school teams were scrimmaging that afternoon (when Catholic League schools still had spring workouts). The coaches called off the scrimmage when they saw the grayish-green clouds forming. Brother Rice got on their bus, and headed back to their school. They were just 5 minutes behind the storm. Wow, that's amazing. At the same time, the St. Laurence coaches had their players sit in the shower with full pads still on, including their helmets.
Another story involved a young teen who lived at 85th and Lawndale - darn close to where my grandparents lived. He said traffic was backed up because crossing gates were done at a railroad but no train was in sight. Ay, we knew that railroad crossing well. He walked down the train tracks with his friends and they found a roof on the tracks -- completely intact. It looked like he had been placed there. And it triggered the gates to go down.
It turned out to be a crazy week. News stories indicated that the next day, there was a significant snowfall, maybe close to 6". I don't remember that though. I do remember going to school the following and everyone had stories to tell.
It's interesting that the first story started with a baseball movie, because the next event certainly is baseball related. Last night, Mark Buehrle pitched a no-hitter for the Chicago White Sox. It was the first no-hitter by a White Sox pitcher since Wilson Alvarez on August 11, 1991. However, it was the first no-hitter at home since April 19, 1967 by Joe Horlen.
Wow, any other 40 year events that can happen this week?
Sunday, April 15, 2007
NCO Spring Ahead 5K
This morning, I ran the NCO Spring Ahead 5K. It was brisk out there, and the wind from the the Northwest was stronger than expected. Originally, I had planned to wear a singlet, but switched to a long sleeve thermal shirt at the last moment.
First impressions. A little disappointed. I started well, better than expected with a first mile of 7:20. It felt quick, but not too stressful. However, I couldn't hold the pace and fell to a 7:41 in the second mile. The third mile was worse, with the wind in my face and a hill to climb. 8:15. And, the mile markers were off slightly. My finishing time was 25:10, officially 25:11. But the distance I recorded was 3.25 miles.
The pictures on this page are from last year's race when the weather was better. Today, many people rain in tights, sweats, and sweatshirt. Naturally, five hours after the start, the temperature is up to 51.
The variance was a little more than I would have expected. I knew I wasn't running the shortest line, but I tried to keep close to the middle of the street where it would be more level. My goal was anything under 25. Had I only run 3.1 miles, my time would have been around 24:25 so I'm not too unhappy. It's certainly something to build upon.
I ran no races in 2006 and just two in 2005. I rand the Aurora CIS 5K in 25:38, and the ALF 5K (the course was well short of 5K so time is insignificant).
I finished 86th overall out of 491, 10th out of 39 in my age group, and 73rd out of 248 men.
There was a 10K as well, and the 10K runners were not happy. There was confusion on the course about some of the markers and marshalls were either not there or not paying attention. Many runners felt they ran .75 mile longer than a 10K. It's the same they've used for 3 years so there is no excuse.
First impressions. A little disappointed. I started well, better than expected with a first mile of 7:20. It felt quick, but not too stressful. However, I couldn't hold the pace and fell to a 7:41 in the second mile. The third mile was worse, with the wind in my face and a hill to climb. 8:15. And, the mile markers were off slightly. My finishing time was 25:10, officially 25:11. But the distance I recorded was 3.25 miles.
The pictures on this page are from last year's race when the weather was better. Today, many people rain in tights, sweats, and sweatshirt. Naturally, five hours after the start, the temperature is up to 51.
The variance was a little more than I would have expected. I knew I wasn't running the shortest line, but I tried to keep close to the middle of the street where it would be more level. My goal was anything under 25. Had I only run 3.1 miles, my time would have been around 24:25 so I'm not too unhappy. It's certainly something to build upon.
I ran no races in 2006 and just two in 2005. I rand the Aurora CIS 5K in 25:38, and the ALF 5K (the course was well short of 5K so time is insignificant).
I finished 86th overall out of 491, 10th out of 39 in my age group, and 73rd out of 248 men.
There was a 10K as well, and the 10K runners were not happy. There was confusion on the course about some of the markers and marshalls were either not there or not paying attention. Many runners felt they ran .75 mile longer than a 10K. It's the same they've used for 3 years so there is no excuse.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Greene Valley
Today was another new adventure for this blog. The location for today's run was the Greene Valley Forest Preserve. This was the first time that I had run there. I had bicycled through Greene Valley oncve before, and around it may time. In my one adventure bicycling through it, I decided that it was not a good bicycle trail. The main trail is choppy in places -- due to use by runners, cyclists, hikers, yes horse, and yes dog sledders. Oh, normal erosion too. And horse piles. Some fresh, some not so fresh. Addiitonally, the main trail has a lot of turns and elevation changes. I started at the West trailhead and my objective was to start on the Tricky Tree-Key Trail which is only 0.8 mile. Tricky Tree-Key is also called the Caruso trail, after an Eagle Scout who built most of this trail and who later lost his life in Iraq.
However, I actually started on a service road that leads out to the campsites. Besides being a forest preserve, Greene Valley also is the site of a youth camp sites, called Thunderbird. Out and back on the service road was actually 1.5 miles, but the road was gravel in spots and not a good road to run. This path is actually referred to as the Thunderbird Spur Trail. Then, I picked up the main trail until I crossed Greene Road to the Valley Trail, and I came back to the Main Trail which took me back to the West Trailhead.
It was kinda quiet there this morning. The temperature was 38 F and there was only a slight breeze from the E - definitely not a factor. Saw a few hikers early, and I followed a couple runners from the Valley Trail back to the trailhead. The most exciting part was when I came to within 10 feet of three deer while on the Valley Trail. They looked at me, but they weren't alarmed at all. About 40 yards further, I came upon another group (?) of deer, who scrambled deeper into the trees when they saw me.
As I finished my run, I came across a couple who appeared to be training their dogs to pull their dog sled. I hope they were rewarded, because those dogs were working hard.
The first mile seemed slow, but I ran it in about 9:08. I picked up the pace after that running a few miles in the 8:40 range. Garmin reported a short third mile, so I subtracted .1 mile from what it reported. Total run that I credit myself with - 6.4 miles.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Winter Wonder Land
Are you kidding me?
This is Spring in Illinois?
This morning's run was deferred until this afternoon, when I'll be on the treadmill at the YMCA. Same for tomorrow.
This had been a good week. I did a nice 7.8 trail run on Monday, and a fast 5.7 mile run on Tuesday. The knee was a little sore after the runs on Saturday and Monday. But, it felt better on Tuesday. I'm going to focus on more quad rolling, since there feels like I have a couple knots.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Virgil Gilman
The Virgil Gilman Trail is another of the rails to trails in the Chicago area. This one is a little different though. The Illinois Prairie Path and the Great Western Trail are crushed limestone, as are many of the Forest Preserve trails. The Virgil Gilman is mostly asphalt.
I chose to run the Virgil Gilman Trail today for a couple reasons. First, I always have wanted to check out this trail and see how it was for surface, traffic (cross streets), shade, etc. Two, the weather forecast called for 18 mph winds out of the northwest. I wanted to run at least 9 miles today and I was concerned that on a loop route with wind to battle, I would be tempted to bail out early. Running the Virgil Gilman, I could start running into the wind, struggle for 4.5 miles, and then have the wind at my back on the way home.
Well, it wasn't as windy as forecast, only about 12 mph. The temperature though was 20 F. It was pretty much a solitary run, saw a few people but not many. It's an interesting trail with businesses and houses on top of the trail. It's probably better in the summer once the trees are populated with leaves. The trail takes you by the Spring Hill Cemetary, the Aurora Country Club (looked green, but no golfers today), and the Hesed House (transitional housing for people in need). The picture above shows the bridge across the Fox River. On the east side of the bridge, this trail also connects with the Fox River Trail. The Fox River Trail connects with the Great Western Trail, and is also used by bicyclists on their way to Wisconsin.
The first mile marker is off. I reach the 1 mile marker in ~7:40 and my Garmin indicate that it was 0.90 miles. Other than that, the mile markers were accurate. The path does deteriorate at about 3 miles into rough gravel. You move onto to streets for a short time then back onto the asphalt path. It's not the greatest trail in the area, ok maybe one of the worst. But, it is a nice out and back route.
I ran 9.3 miles at an average of 8:52 mpm. Every mile except one was under 9 minutes, and that was 7 mile. This may be more mental because I seem to struggle on the seventh mile of every run. I ran this mile in 9:35 today. This covered the broken segment of the path so this explains so of that. But then, I ran the eight mile in 8:30. So, go figure.
I did register today for the NCO Spring Ahead 5K on next Sunday ...
Friday, April 6, 2007
A New Rest Day
Oh yes, the weather has been dreadful. Wednesday morning, the temperature was in the 20s and so was the wind. Thursday, the temperature was again in the 20s and the wind was in the high teens. So, time for Plan B. I ran 6 miles each day on the treadmill at the YMCA. 53:26 on Wednesday and 53:05 on Thursday. The last three miles were Thursday were run in 25:47. Nice set of effort with ugly conditions outside. I think I've shaken off the effects from last week's blood donation.
Today is a rest day. I have shifted my rest day for a couple reasons. First, most training plans specify Friday as a rest day - before a long run on Saturday. Ok, sounds good to me. Actually, Friday had become my best quality run of the week after resting on Thursday. So, my Saturday runs should be high quality, right? The second reason is that my Thursday night golf league starts in a few weeks. The league is a 9 hole league, but I usually play 18. The last 9 often get played at a fast pace and I'm often tired on Friday morning. We'll play to that and plan to not run on Friday mornings. I've run 44.9 miles over the preceding 7 day, which is excellent. A day off is earned, but may not be needed. I'm feeling good but I'll be glad in about 8 weeks.
Today is a rest day. I have shifted my rest day for a couple reasons. First, most training plans specify Friday as a rest day - before a long run on Saturday. Ok, sounds good to me. Actually, Friday had become my best quality run of the week after resting on Thursday. So, my Saturday runs should be high quality, right? The second reason is that my Thursday night golf league starts in a few weeks. The league is a 9 hole league, but I usually play 18. The last 9 often get played at a fast pace and I'm often tired on Friday morning. We'll play to that and plan to not run on Friday mornings. I've run 44.9 miles over the preceding 7 day, which is excellent. A day off is earned, but may not be needed. I'm feeling good but I'll be glad in about 8 weeks.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Nice Weather Forecasts!
The weather forecasts have been dreadful. And just a little off. Not that I'm complaining. If they were correct, I would not have been able to run outside on Saturday, Sunday, or Tuesday. But I did. I hope the trend continues.
After yesterdays 8 mile run, today was to be a recovery run. Less than 5 miles but at least 4. I don't follow the normal labels for runs - recovery, easy, tempo, etc. I run by feel. I have a distance goal. But I run as I feel.
Now, my Garmin continues to give inconsistent readings in the first mile. I pretty much where the first mile ends. But, on Tuesday, it was long. My time for the "first" mile was 9:16. It felt like a 9, and it felt easy. I tried to keep the pace, but iwas easy so I actually picked it up. I ran the Springbrook trail on the east side of Plainfield-Naperville Road. I had not run this route in a while. The third mile has a little uphill segment. Not long, but a nice incline. So, this mile is always slow. On this day, the third mile was run in 9:01 which means I was feeling pretty good. It ended up as a 4.6 mile run, at 8:49 mpm. Pretty good after yesterdays 8 miles.
But the rest of the week looks bad. Cold (under 30) and windy. Rain too. We shall see.
After yesterdays 8 mile run, today was to be a recovery run. Less than 5 miles but at least 4. I don't follow the normal labels for runs - recovery, easy, tempo, etc. I run by feel. I have a distance goal. But I run as I feel.
Now, my Garmin continues to give inconsistent readings in the first mile. I pretty much where the first mile ends. But, on Tuesday, it was long. My time for the "first" mile was 9:16. It felt like a 9, and it felt easy. I tried to keep the pace, but iwas easy so I actually picked it up. I ran the Springbrook trail on the east side of Plainfield-Naperville Road. I had not run this route in a while. The third mile has a little uphill segment. Not long, but a nice incline. So, this mile is always slow. On this day, the third mile was run in 9:01 which means I was feeling pretty good. It ended up as a 4.6 mile run, at 8:49 mpm. Pretty good after yesterdays 8 miles.
But the rest of the week looks bad. Cold (under 30) and windy. Rain too. We shall see.
Happy Birthday
April 2. Happy 49th Birthday. Ok, the theme for the day seemed to be just 365 days until you're 50. and that's really old. Is it?
Years ago, I worked with a James Copher. He was a big man, maybe 6'3" and 320 lbs. He wasn't always big, but he was acting stupid on skis and really damaged his knee. I guess these days they might have been able to repair it so he could remain active. But he really couldn't do anything but eat and sit and think. People who knew him a long time called him Jamie, but he created a new personna for himself as James, a Texas Gentleman. He convinced me the your birthday was a special day. And you didn't have to do anything with anybody, you could do whatever you want. He never worked on his birthday, and he let his kids stay home from school on their birthdays ... just because. Well, it seems like a good idea to me. Soooo, I do what I want.
Last year, I hurt my knee on March 29 so I wasn't able to run. This year I could and I did. 8 miles through Springbrook. Actually 8.3. A nice way to start the day. I ran at a nice pace and still averaged under 9 minutes per mile.
The morning was brisk, with a moderate wind from the SW. It was supposed to warm up in the afternoon and the wind was going to diminish. It would be a great day for the White Sox opener. My other objective was to play a round of golf on my birthday, something I've done since I started playing in 1996. When we lived in Fairfield, CA, they offered you a free round of golf at one of the two city courses (I guess you could have played at both courses for free on your birthday).
My plan was to play at the Prairie Landing golf course in West Chicago. It's a very nice course, next t0 the DuPage County airport. The course is wide open and every time I've played there, it has been on a windy day. April 2 would be no exception. I played from the gold tees which provide a 6580 yard challenge, with a course rating of 71.3 and a slope of 130. For non-golfers, that means it plays hard. And with all the rain, there wasn't a lot of roll. Which means the course was playing about 6800 or 6900 yards. Long for me.
But I played pretty well. With the conditions, bogey was a good score. I missed a makeable par putt on 5, but got up-n-down for par on 6. I messed up on 9 for a double bogey and a 45. Not too bad since the front plays harder for me.
I parred 11, but 12 is a difficult par 3. It was playing 210 over water. Actually, in the water. Double bogey. Double bogey on 13 too. Yikes. I had chances for pars on 14 and 15 but couldn't make it happen. 16 was playing 420, and I hit a nice tee shot. I couldn't see where it landed because of mounds but there was a ball right about 150 out. Wow, that doesn't seem right, it must have gotten a good role. Oops, it's a Titleist and I'm playing a Bridgestone. So where is my ball. I do find it -- in the fairway, 225 out, embedded. Wasn't going to roll. I do get an up-n-down on 17 for par and end up with a 45 on the back.
45-45 for a 90. Nice, consistency. It works to a handicap differential of 16.3, which I'll take all year long. My stats - 9/13 fairways, good. Only 3 GIRs. Can do better. 37 putts, must do better.
Watched the last half of the Sox game - very ugly. Hope for a great dinner. Steak. Oreo cheesecake for my birthday cake. Watched 24, my favorite tv show. And some of Florida winning the NCAA basketball championship.
And that was my 49th birthday.
Years ago, I worked with a James Copher. He was a big man, maybe 6'3" and 320 lbs. He wasn't always big, but he was acting stupid on skis and really damaged his knee. I guess these days they might have been able to repair it so he could remain active. But he really couldn't do anything but eat and sit and think. People who knew him a long time called him Jamie, but he created a new personna for himself as James, a Texas Gentleman. He convinced me the your birthday was a special day. And you didn't have to do anything with anybody, you could do whatever you want. He never worked on his birthday, and he let his kids stay home from school on their birthdays ... just because. Well, it seems like a good idea to me. Soooo, I do what I want.
Last year, I hurt my knee on March 29 so I wasn't able to run. This year I could and I did. 8 miles through Springbrook. Actually 8.3. A nice way to start the day. I ran at a nice pace and still averaged under 9 minutes per mile.
The morning was brisk, with a moderate wind from the SW. It was supposed to warm up in the afternoon and the wind was going to diminish. It would be a great day for the White Sox opener. My other objective was to play a round of golf on my birthday, something I've done since I started playing in 1996. When we lived in Fairfield, CA, they offered you a free round of golf at one of the two city courses (I guess you could have played at both courses for free on your birthday).
My plan was to play at the Prairie Landing golf course in West Chicago. It's a very nice course, next t0 the DuPage County airport. The course is wide open and every time I've played there, it has been on a windy day. April 2 would be no exception. I played from the gold tees which provide a 6580 yard challenge, with a course rating of 71.3 and a slope of 130. For non-golfers, that means it plays hard. And with all the rain, there wasn't a lot of roll. Which means the course was playing about 6800 or 6900 yards. Long for me.
But I played pretty well. With the conditions, bogey was a good score. I missed a makeable par putt on 5, but got up-n-down for par on 6. I messed up on 9 for a double bogey and a 45. Not too bad since the front plays harder for me.
I parred 11, but 12 is a difficult par 3. It was playing 210 over water. Actually, in the water. Double bogey. Double bogey on 13 too. Yikes. I had chances for pars on 14 and 15 but couldn't make it happen. 16 was playing 420, and I hit a nice tee shot. I couldn't see where it landed because of mounds but there was a ball right about 150 out. Wow, that doesn't seem right, it must have gotten a good role. Oops, it's a Titleist and I'm playing a Bridgestone. So where is my ball. I do find it -- in the fairway, 225 out, embedded. Wasn't going to roll. I do get an up-n-down on 17 for par and end up with a 45 on the back.
45-45 for a 90. Nice, consistency. It works to a handicap differential of 16.3, which I'll take all year long. My stats - 9/13 fairways, good. Only 3 GIRs. Can do better. 37 putts, must do better.
Watched the last half of the Sox game - very ugly. Hope for a great dinner. Steak. Oreo cheesecake for my birthday cake. Watched 24, my favorite tv show. And some of Florida winning the NCAA basketball championship.
And that was my 49th birthday.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday. Possibly the most important day in the Christian calendar. Which means that churches are full and parking spots are harder to find than normal. The reading of the Passion story doesn't seem to take as long as when I was 10. This year, the Passion story from the Gospel of Luke was read. This version is the second shortest. The church was full but there has been more people in attendance. At St. Raphael parish, they start 10 minutes early with blessings of the palms outside followed by a procession inside, and a scramble for seats.
Well, I have to say that I've been lucky with the weather this weekend. Based on the forecasts, it was unlikely to have run outdoors on either Saturday or Sunday. But the worst weather cam Saturday night. I ran on the Springbrook Trail again this morning. There was only one spot with one significant puddle. Of course, it was quiet out there as it usually is on Sunday morning. This was truly a recovery run. I was hoping to feel more comfortable than I did yesterday, and I did. It was good than 80% of the run was in a east or west direction, because the wind from the south was quite brisk, at least 12 mph.
For the past several years, I have encountered an injury almost every year. Usually it has been my knees. For a while, strength was a concern. I doubt that really was a problem. Flexibility is next on the list. So, I work on hamstring flexibility every day. All day. I'm stretching maybe 15-20 minutes during the day, and then a dedicated 10 minutes at night. I've concentrated mostly on my left left, but it has become more flexible than my right.
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