Welcome! I’m Caroline
follow me
Subscribe By Email
Search The Little Things Blog
Follow Me On Bloglovin’
Categories
Archives
I decided to flip my route around this time. I start in the middle of my route, do an out and back one direction, and then do an out and back the other direction. Normally I start in the same direction, but I went the opposite direction first that day. I decided to do this because it’s the hilliest part of the ride, and after 43 miles, I’ll cut out the hills if I can 🙂 I went about 10 miles in one direction, and then turned around… straight into a headwind. My pace instantly dropped. I struggled along, getting in a good rhythm against the headwind over the next few miles until I hit the trail again.
Staying on the trail was good, as I was definitely more covered from the wind, which was ideal. Once I popped back out of the trail and on the path through the fields, I passed by a couple who had stopped even trying to ride against the wind, and were walking while pushing their bikes. I was a little jealous I couldn’t join them.
At one point about 27 miles in I decided to stop next to a creek for a little break since I was having to pedal so much harder, and I definitely needed a snack and a breather. I saw these beautiful day lilies, and paused to enjoy them.
Then, it was back to a tough ride into the headwind for another 10-12 miles before hitting the trail again. I could’ve bailed at any point, but I realize that frustrating and difficult rides like this can also be really beneficial, both physically and mentally. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, as I mentioned in my post about last week’s ride (sweet country roads), so I tried to focus on that as I biked.
As I mentioned, the ride was unlike any of the rides I’ve done so far. I was chased by 6 or 7 dogs while biking (not all at once), which really made me feel nervous. Luckily none of them came out into the road, but they ran right up to the edge of it, and sometimes ran alongside the road with me for a bit, barking. Definitely a little nerve-wracking. There was also a turkey vulture on the side of the road, and as I was approaching, he flew up into the air and then swooped down far too close for comfort. Each of these events, along with the extra strong headwind, definitely made for an interesting ride.
I finally had some solid success in fueling my ride though, and ended the ride still feeling good. Before the ride, I had: 1/2 cup dry oats, 1 cup almond milk, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, 1/4 cup sliced almonds, and 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, which was definitely filling! I ate this with 10 ounces of orange juice. During my ride, I ate the following:
- Mile 8: 2 cran razz shot bloks
- Mile 18: 2 cran razz shot bloks
- Mile 27: 1 honey stinger waffle (I’m REALLY enjoying these mid ride)
- Mile 39: 2 cran razz shot bloks
- Mile 46: 1/4 cup of dried cranberries
- 32 ounces of water with camelback elixer tab in it (normally I drink closer to 50 ounces on a ride like this, but it was cool outside, and I just wasn’t that thirsty)
The dried cranberries were a new addition to the ride, and they were great nearing the end of the ride. I came in just a little over 53 miles, and it was fantastic!
I guess my body has adjusted to the longer rides, because I wasn’t sore on Wednesday, unlike the past few longer rides. Like my ride a few weeks ago, I listened to The Help on my Ipod throughout the ride, and am really enjoying it!
Happy Thursday! Most of these week has been about recovering from the Rock n’ Roll Chicago Festival weekend, which was so much fun! I ended up sleeping just under 10 hours on Tuesday night because the lack of sleep finally caught up to me! Here’s what I’m thankful for right now:
I’m thankful for a great race this past weekend! I ran a 5k, then accidently ended up running a half marathon instead. The story is STILL making me laugh days later (if you missed it, check out the story of my accidental half marathon).
I’m thankful that I got to meet Shalane Flanagan and watch her race. Honestly, this was one of the highlights for me, especially because I didn’t realize that I would actually have the chance to meet her!
I’m thankful for the time I spent in Chicago. This was the first vacation I’ve had in…awhile. Technically I guess it’s my first vacation since I went to Ecuador in January (and even that was for work). Even though it was just for a few short days, it felt like we were there for a long time, and I just had a great time. I loved racing, making new friends, seeing more of the city, and going to the beach. It was great.
I’m thankful for my computer. A source of fun, inspiration, ease in working, and a place of connection– I can’t really imagine living my life without my computer (especially since I need it for work!). It’s fun to disconnect a bit from time to time, but I love all the opportunities that it affords.
I’m thankful for fresh fruit! This summer I have absolutely LOVED eating fresh fruit- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, and watermelon have all topped the list, and I can’t seem to get enough of them!
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for this week? What fruit has topped your list this summer?
I’m pretty sure I said “The view is just unreal” over and over throughout the weekend. It was fun to watch the fireworks over Navy Pier from her bedroom window too.
view from the living room. unreal.
When we got to Chicago we picked up race packets, unloaded the car at her place, and then headed off to Riverview Tavern for dinner. This was my first experience using Uber, which we ended up using multiple times throughout the weekend. It’s so convenient, easy, and the cars are much cleaner than taxis, which is awesome. Melissa had been looking forward to her Taco Pizza for days, and I ended up getting sweet potato friends and a Turkey and Avocado Club Sandwich, which also had bacon on it. Delicious!
The next day after the girls finished their 5k, we headed off to Einstein Bagel to get a quick breakfast before we headed off to Aerial Yoga. We had been looking forward to doing this for weeks, so I was pretty excited. We got to the location about 7 or 8 minutes before class started, but the door was locked. We pulled on the door and someone came and opened up, informing us that we were actually looking for the other studio. Ummmm…. they had two studios? Nowhere on the registration did it give us an address of a different location, and it was not clear in any way. We were really frustrated because we were each out a chunk of money- they really need to change their system to let people know what studio they need to go to. And of course they won’t refund us either. Bummer 🙁 We headed back to Jill’s apartment to quickly shower, and then she went off with her family and Melissa and I set off to explore the city.
First we headed down to the beach to walk around a bit in the sand- it felt fantastic, and the water was great, especially since it was so warm (and not windy at all). We sat down there enjoying the water for a bit before heading off to Navy Pier.
After that we just walked around downtown for a few hours, logging a few miles on our feet (probably not the best idea, given that we would each be running 13 miles the next day), and it was really fun.
Once we got back we spent some time with our compression sleeves on and our feet in the air. Necessary after being on our feet all day and knowing we had a race to run the next day.
What? You don’t spend time with your friends like this?
We ordered dinner from the Cheesecake Factory, which is in the bottom of her building, and went down to pick it up. We ate watching Pitch Perfect, and Melissa and I both ended up falling asleep to it.
The next day after the half marathon, I iced my knee a bit, showered, and then we walked to lunch. I devoured some chips and salsa, along with a Chicago style hot dog and a few cups of water. Clearly I was in need of salt!
Overall the weekend was SO much fun, and I really enjoyed my time there. I am already anxious for my next trip to the Windy City– and this time I’ll bring beach attire as well 🙂
Now it’s your turn to share! Have you ever been to Chicago? What’s your favorite part of the city?
Running into the finish at the 5k.
I screamed and cheered my little heart out as I watched her cross the finish line. Then I went back to cheering for everyone else. Let me tell you something- standing at the finish line of a race is emotional, even at a 5k. If I ever lose motivation to run, I’m going to find a finish line to stand at for a few hours, and I’m sure I’ll be hooked again. It’s so fun to watch people so happy and excited at their accomplishments.
Melissa ran a solid race, coming in a few seconds slower than her PR, and Jill did AWESOME, especially for her 1st race! It was fun to see them both run. After that, Melissa mentioned to me that Shalane was doing a meet and greet. HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS. We went quickly to that location, and got in a line with others to meet her. We had some fun with some other runners- Dave Mari and Melissa Engel.
Then I started to freak out just a little bit about ACTUALLY meeting Shalane, and I realized that I didn’t have anything with me to have her sign (my shirt was dark and textured, and sharpie wouldn’t have worked). Melissa, being the sweet friend that she is, took the shirt off her back and handed it to me so that I could get it signed (I repaid her the next day by sprinting down the race course to save her 😀 ), and I so appreciate her for doing that!
Once I got up to the front Shalane and I had a brief little conversation about racing while she signed my shirt. We took a quick picture, and then we all jumped in with her for a group picture. She is TINY in person, and was SO so sweet. I definitely wish I could run with her one day!
Later that evening I realized that she had sent my tweet out to all of her followers, and I totally geeked out- Jill and Melissa can definitely attest to that 🙂
All in all, my Saturday morning was REALLY exciting, and I had a great time cheering on both friends and strangers, watching my running idol race, and getting to meet her! Best start to the morning…ever… 🙂 I’m so happy I headed to town for the Rock n’ Roll Festival weekend- between this and my race on Sunday, it was fantastic.
In terms of the aerial yoga… that’s another story, and I’ll post that in my general Chicago post in the next few days!
Make sure to head on over and read Melissa’s Race Recap too!
On Sunday morning I was supposed to run the Rock n’ Roll 5k, and then cheer for Melissa with her friend Jill as she ran the half marathon. Melissa and I lined up together in the corral, and proceeded to slowly shuffle forward for almost a full half hour before finally crossing the starting line of Rock n’ Roll Chicago. I’d heard SO much over the years about the Rock n’ Roll series, and I was so excited to be running my first race. Melissa and I ran together for just under a mile before the course split, but it was nice to start with her.
Once we split, I took off and enjoyed running along the lake, past Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, and Grant Park before the LONG road into the finish line. Honestly, I loved getting to run with views of the Chicago skyline in front of me- it was beautiful! I ran a solid first two miles, but had to slow down the 3rd mile due to the heat, leading to a 34 minute finish time. Overall, I was really happy with my race though!
I went through the finishing chute and then ran back to the finish line, where I stood right at the line to watch Shalane Flanagan finish (and win) the half marathon in 69 minutes- I’m SO impressed! Can you even imagine running at that pace? Jill and I walked around for a few miles as I ate a bit and drank some gatorade.
Being this close to her finishing was AWESOME.
At this point this is where it gets interesting. Melissa sent a text asking us to meet her at mile 10 (well- that’s what I assumed she meant out of the garbled mess that was texted while running). It was hot, and I know she gets really dizzy in the heat, so I was immediately a bit worried. Once we started walking backwards on the course, I saw multiple people collapsed on the ground with medics around them, and I got especially worried. Jill was in flip flops and couldn’t run, so I told her to stay put, handed my stuff off to her (except a partly drank water bottle and my phone), and started sprinting down the course as fast as I could, trying to find Melissa. I realized how hilly those last few miles were as I was throwing myself down them as fast as possible. The second mile I ran clocked in at 7:52- something I couldn’t ever do in a normal circumstance, but I guess I was worried enough about her to keep it moving. Somewhere around mile 11 (I think) we popped down into a dark tunnel, and I was worried I’d miss her there, but I kept my eyes peeled. Once I hit mile 10, I realized that either she had been pulled off the course or I had missed her, so I called Jill to let her know that I was turning around and then tried to hurry back as soon as possible.
It was HOT, like I said, and the shortest way back to the finish line was to run the course, which I did. However, since I hadn’t paid for the half marathon, I didn’t feel like it would be fair for me to take in water or gatorade. So, keep in mind that I’m out there without any fuel, my pace had been way faster than it should, I was in my old running shoes (which are fine for short miles, but totally inappropriate for long distance), and it was getting hot.
I trudged along until melissa finally called me to say that she was at mile 12 and would see me in “just a minute” (she didn’t realize where I was in the course). I kept trucking along, definitely feeling the heat get to me. I DID cave when they were giving out cold wet sponges on the course, and grabbed one. I just couldn’t refuse, and it was honestly one of the best things I could imagine at that moment. At least there were some great things to look at.
As I mentioned, there were HILLS the last few miles of the course, and they were rough. Right before the finish, I started noticing that a blister was forming on the bottom of one of my toes, and it hurt to put pressure on it. I slowed to a walk so I wouldn’t injure myself, and once I hit the finish line (I had walked off the course at that point), I had another mile or so to walk to meet Melissa (who ran an awesome race! And-by the way, she just wanted to toss her shirt to us at mile 10- she was fine otherwise.) and Jill.
So, in total, I ended up running a half marathon on Sunday without intending to do so at all. I think the story is so funny (it’s much better in person!), and Melissa and I have spent quite a bit of time laughing over it. While I only get credit for the 5k, I’m definitely counting this as a “0.5 half marathon”.
I’m really proud of my body right now. I busted out 13 miles without training, with very little fuel, and with shoes that I set my half marathon PR in 2 years ago (so they have very little tread left at all but are fine for walking around a city in). I know that I probably couldn’t do that if I didn’t think it was an emergency, but I did it, and I’m pretty happy!
My knee was (understandably) hurting a bit after the race, so I headed over to a medical tent where I wrapped some of my blisters (I’ve never gotten blisters before in a race really- at least like this), and got my knee wrapped with some ice.
Honestly, although everything happened pretty quickly on Sunday morning, I had a really fantastic day, and this might be my favorite race day ever (ESPECIALLY because I got to see Shalane run)!
I was so thankful I had worn my BioSkin Compression Sleeves! Click here for more race recaps!
I have more recaps of my Chicago weekend coming up over the next week, so stay tuned!
What stones are you casting out into the world today and this week that will create the layers of ripples? What do you need to do today to get ready to cast that stone and create the ripples?
Have a happy and well Sunday!
Happy Thursday! As I type this it is 61 degrees in my living room- absolutely ridiculous for a week when the average high is in the mid to upper 80s! I’ve pulled out some winter clothes because, honestly, my living room is usually warmer than 61 one in the winter (But I’m refusing to turn on a space heater because it’s the middle of July! Come on!), but I’m enjoying the cool breeze. Here’s what I’m thankful for right now:
I’m thankful for fresh air and the ability to keep my windows open a lot of the time. In the summer my air conditioning doesn’t come on until 80 or 81 degrees, so unless it’s the hottest part of the day, my windows tend to be open, and I love it! I love having fresh air constantly, especially because I get very little of it in the winter.
I’m thankful for lightning bugs. I LOVE THEM, and they make the month of July that much better.
I’m thankful for staying safe on my bike ride on Tuesday. This will go in a bigger post on my ride that will post next week, but I was chased by or 7 different dogs during my bike ride this week, and it definitely made me nervous. I’m glad that none of them actually attacked me or chased me into traffic!
I’m thankful for the opportunity to run in memory of my grandma and raise money for the type of cancer she had! I wrote all about it here– check it out!
I’m thankful for laughter. So healthy, right?
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
Here are a few ways to appropriately deal with your stress and anxiety:
Watch Your Language: The words that we choose to use can greatly increase or decrease the amount of stress and anxiety that we have (this is the connection between thoughts/words, feelings, and actions). Words like always and never (black and white thinking) and horrible, terrible, awful, and miserable (catastrophizing words), and other distortions take the situations we’re in and increase the anxiety. Words mean something, and we react in accordance to the severity of words! Learning to avoid language that isn’t equal to or appropriate for the situation can help your anxiety quite a bit!
Work on changing your language (use something like the Thought Record to help!). Forms like The Thought Record and the REBT self help form can help you work on changing your language, but can also help you deal with stress and anxiety in the moment. The forms are straightforward and quick and easy to use! Implementing and maintaining healthy boundaries is really important for controlling our stress levels.
Use Grounding Techniques. Grounding techniques help by drawing you into your senses in the present moment. This is often used for those experiencing trauma related anxiety, but it can be applied to any stressful or anxious situation.
Determine what you can and cannot control. This has been a HUGE thing for me personally. Owning our own reactions, and learning what ownership vs. influence is in our lives can take away a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety in our lives.
Use Deep Breathing and Progressive Muscle Relaxation. When we’re stressed, our breathing tends to become more and more shallow. Focusing on deep breathing gets oxygen into our bodies and helps fight against stress hormones. Here’s a tip: practice deep breathing when you aren’t stressed so it’s an easier skill to tap into when you are stressed!
Create a list of relaxing, life-giving activities. Being proactive in planning when you aren’t stressed for times that you are stressed is really beneficial. Come up with a list of activities that are not only relaxing, but also recharging and life giving. Think about the things that breathe life into you, or the things that fill you with energy and excitement, and make sure to do them too along the way.
Of course there are plenty of other ways to deal with stress and anxiety, but I’m throwing a few things out there that might not be the first things that people think about! No matter what, it’s important to be proactive and plan and practice outside of stressful moments so that you can handle those moments in healthier and more effective ways.
Now it’s your turn to share! How do you like to manage stress and anxiety in your life?
Team in Training has been something that I’ve heard about since I started reading blogs back in 2010, and I knew eventually that I’d like to run a race with them. When Melissa took the leap, she encouraged me to do the same, and last week I signed on to run with them!
Team In Training, which races money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, partners with runners to raise funds to help find cures and ensure access to treatments for blood cancer patients. This cause is near and dear to my heart, as my grandma was diagnosed with lymphoma back in 2005. She was a silent but strong fighter, never complaining through her rounds of chemo. She kept her joking spirit as she lost her hair, and always believed she would survive. As soon as I landed back in the US after my study abroad to Greece, the first thing I did was go tot he hospital and sit with her as she got a round of chemo. Thanks to the dedicated doctors at the Mayo Clinic, along with her fighting spirit, she beat lymphoma in her early 80’s! She has since passed away from other causes, and I miss her every day.
My very first race was in 2011, 4 days after she died. I ran the race in her memory, and her initials were on my hand, giving me strength and motivating me as I ran.
This fall I’ll run in her memory again as I lace up my shoes to run the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon for the third time. I’m gunning for a new PR, and I’ll be training hard as I raise money for this great cause. I’d be honored if you would partner with me along the way; every dollar helps! If you have questions, feel free to contact me! You can check out my Team In Training page here!
Thanks for joining in this journey with me, whether through virtual support, or through donation!
I went on the same route as last time, but I added a few miles to each of the ends of the ride, so I explored about 12 miles of new territory. About half the time was spent on the trail, and the other half was spent on beautiful country roads.
I’ve loved getting to watch the corn grow.
To me, being out in nature and getting to really experience it is one of the fantastic little things we get to experience in life. I passed fields of flowers, corn, and soybeans. Butterflies and birds flew around me, and chipmunks, squirrels, muskrats, and dogs ran around on the sides of the road. The air was crisp, clean, and sweet smelling, and the sun beat down, but not too intensely. I wish I could’ve captured that morning and that ride in a bottle and experience throughout the year. It was beautiful. Miles 26-40 were actually my fastest, which I felt was interesting. It also showed me that I’m getting my nutrition down better, figuring out more of what I need. I did feel shaky from miles 47-51, and I would’ve had something else to eat if I had brought something with me. I bought a 30 ounce water bottle at Dick’s over July 4th weekend because the Freedom Run gave a coupon in the race packet, and it was really nice to be able to bring more fluid with me!
Seriously. This thing is huge!
For breakfast I had half a cup of dry oats with 1 cup of almond milk- topped with half a cup of sliced almonds and 1/3 cup of blueberries. 10 ounces of OJ to drink. While riding:
- mile 6: 2 margarita flavored shot bloks
- mile 14.75: 1 honey stinger chocolate waffle (delicious!)
- mile 25: 2 margarita flavored shot bloks
- mile 34: Clif Gel (in tri berry- my first time trying it and I liked the taste!)
- To drink: 30 ounces water with 1 camelbak elixir electrolyte tab (in orange- has caffeine in it), 20 ounces of water with half a nuun tab in it.
Lesson learned- this still isn’t quite enough nutrition for me, so I definitely need to bring something else. I loved having something that wasn’t gel like to eat, and I felt like the waffle gave me a definite energy boost.
This is the first season that I’ve biked on country roads, and I have to say that it’s one of my favorite things right now. Oh country roads… take me home.
