Progressive Improvement

Wow, that countdown on the right is really getting smaller and smaller. Hard to believe that in a week and a day I'll be on a plane to San Francisco. I'm halfway there to being ready... We have dinner reservations for Friday, a restaurant planned for our pre-race dinner on Saturday that doesn't accept reservations (Vietnamese food, which should match with the ol' stomach pretty well), and tickets for the Alcatraz tour as well. I can't wait to catch up with my gal pals from Texas - TK and Suz - so it promises to be a good trip. If any bloggy readers notice me at the race, be sure to say hi! I know Maddy, Amanda and Maritza will all be there so I'll keep a look out for you. Too bad I'll miss you at the animal cracker station Martiza! Now all I have to think about is what I want to pack...
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Yesterday I hit the pathway over lunch for weekday run #2. I finished up with 5.52 miles and it was pure running nirvana. I mastered the art of increasing my pace throughout the run. I know posting mile splits are boring, but check these out:
1 - 10:58
2 - 10:41
3 - 10:28
4 - 10:18
5 - 9:50
0.52 - 9:59 -- OK, so technically the pace lagged a bit here, but I was back running through tall buildings and I stopped my watch when it looked like it had lost the GPS signal. So I'm assuming this number might be a tad off.

All in all, not too shabby. Today is a rest day, and this evening I meeting the 'rents at the airport as they are flying in from Indonesia. I last got to see my mom in May, but I haven't seen my dad since my Christmas/New Year's vacation so it will be great to have both of them in town here. They are meeting their granddaughter for the first time....exciting, eh?

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Oh, I feel like I have to post a link to this article in the Chicago Tribune. Wow, this story really struck a nerve with me. Obviously this fellow isn't a runner or else he wouldn't have written an article like this. I don't want to comment on what may or may not have gone wrong at the Chicago Marathon because I wasn't there. But try to tell a runner that they shouldn't have raced, that it was all their own fault if they fell - that I disagree with. If 10,000 people didn't show up to the start - it might have been because they were concerned about the weather, but I wonder what percentage of people who sign up don't make it due to injuries or dropped out due to lack of training. Don't call those 10,000 people smart and then imply that the rest that lined up at the start line were stupid. If I was there I would have been ticked off that water stations ran out of supplies when you were told beforehand by the race officials to make sure you hydrate properly. Don't make us out to be whiners when we rely on those aid stations in a race and they run out. I guess everyone wants to offer their opinion, but as a runner I was taken aback by that article. If you want to read some amazing accounts of the race check out Running Jayhawk, Emily, Ali, or Cranky.