Probably wasn't a great idea to do a long run this past Sunday morning. My right hip flexor (where the leg meets the groin) had been sore for a week. But I still ran an hour on Saturday morning.  Got home and took kid to soccer game. Meanwhile we had a birthday party at the house most of the afternoon. Mom flew into town Friday night and that kept me busy. Kids were amped up on sugar Saturday night.

I was moving around on my feet from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, the day before my planned 20 miler. And it was hot this weekend. But I was determined to get my long run in.

Plan was to leave at 6 a.m. and finish around 8:20 a.m. to beat the heat on Sunday. Problem though...my body was so worn out from Saturday that I slept through the alarm and didn't get out the door until 7 a.m.

So in any case, I managed to run through my tiredness and "deal" with the hip flexor issue to slog through just under 19 miles in 2 hours, 17 minutes. It was not one of my prettier runs and was not one my most enjoyable runs. But I did it.

About 15 miles into the run, I felt on irritation in my throat, which I though was a particle or something. It didn't go away when I got home, and then I started sneezing. so after my mediocre run I'm treated to what I thought were allergies the rest of the day. It was warm and slightly windy out and it certainly felt like an allergic reaction.

Well the next day...BAM...here comes the sneezing and runny nose. Yes, my first cold of the Fall. But I still ran 5 miles that morning to clear out my head. That night, though I don't like doing this, I took a Nyquil that knocked me out and dried me up. The next morning and day I was a zombie, parched mouth and lips, no energy, felt like I hit a brick wall.  But I still managed to run a SLOW 1.5 miles in the morning, once again, to "clear my head."

By Wednesday I felt about 60% and today, Thursday, I'm back to 90%. I still get the chest congestion but my morning runs help me unclog that with some massive coughing attacks.

And I visited the chiropractor today to work on my hip joint. I think I made some progress in attacking my hip flexor issue. Crossing my fingers...

So while I'm quite happy to have completed this long run, one of my final ones prior to the Malibu Marathon on November 14th, this was not one of my better weeks!

So why the Chicago Marathon medal you ask!? I was reminded of the Chicago Marathon this weekend because it was a spectacular finish in nearly 80 degree heat. Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru won his 2nd Chicago Marathon in a row in a time of 2:06:24...pedestrian compared to Haile Gebrselassie's 2:03:59 2 years ago in Berlin. I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2:42:47 exactly 15 years ago. That was my 5th marathon and a PR at the time (even with a 1 1/2 minute mid-race "pit stop).