iconLog In  |  Register

Illinois Half Marathon Training: Week 9

MarathonIt is six weeks out from the Illinois Marathon, and if you’re not in full-fledged training mode, you may end up a volunteer or spectator come race day. That is, of course, unless you’re running the half marathon like I am. Well, you probably won’t run as Abe Lincoln, but you still have time to be in great shape for the half marathon on May 1st. Remember, the half is half as long as the full marathon, half as time consuming, and half as painful. Even better, it is just as rewarding.

If you have a solid base of running under your feet, meaning you can run at least six miles already, you are well on your way to training for the half. Not sure what to do? I will take you through my training this week. Let’s see if you can keep up.

New Illini tradition?

Illinois is near the Big Apple tonight. It's Long Island, the candy apple of the greater New York Metropolitan area. The girls aren't as trashy as in Queens, or Jersey.

The Illini take on the Stony Brook Seawolves tonight at 8 p.m. I'll be watching on ESPN360. That's ESPN's online network.

360 doesn't work with some web browsers, so if you've never watched it before, you might want to take a moment to figure it out. Merely linking to ESPN360.com will tell you whether you have access or not — that's determined by your ISP. In Champaign-Urbana, both AT&T DSL and Comcast Cable subscribe to the service.

Novelty Inspires Trend?

The Stony Brook campus is agog at its biggest ever sporting event. To them, it's a party. I like that. In fact, I think I love it. For a college campus to come together as a whole... that's a wonderful thing.

SPORTS

Die another day

Jeff Jordan was specifically NOT the desired candidate for heroism. Jeff hit a crucial free throw in the final minute of Illinois' victory (yes they won) over Wisconsin (repeating: Illinois won). At 1:12 Bruce Weber pulled Jordan away from the scorer's table, realizing he didn't want Jordan in the game during an offensive possession."He can't shoot free throws!" Weber yelled at Gary Nottingham and Wayne McClain. Jordan returned to the bench. When Jordan reached the charity stripe moments later, I …

SPORTS

Make way for the champions

Even when she was winning by 20 lengths and defeating a classy field of males by daylight, somehow it always seemed that Rachel Alexandra was up against the odds. There were always the questions: did she over extend herself in her last race? Will she be vulnerable for this big test? Will she overcome the outside post? Will she be as good as the boys? She's only 3-years-old, can she contend against older males? Will she be invincible to the …

SPORTS

The Big Ten season culminates now

The Big Ten Tournament runs from Thursday through Sunday at Conseco Field House in downtown Indianapolis. If you've never gone, I recommend it. The area is nice and safe, and has interesting hotels and restaurants. You can park without paying a million dollars.

SPORTS

“Nice flag, douchebag!“: one man’s quest to run as Lincoln

It is a quarter to nine on a cold January morning―not so cold that it is uncomfortable, but cold enough, below freezing―and some twenty-something kid leans out of the passenger side of a truck on the streets of Savoy and yells, "Nice flag, douche bag!" Thanks, I think. The three young women I'm running with snigger under their breaths. It is the end of week two of training for the Illinois Half Marathon, and I've already survived -8° weather and …

SPORTS

All’s well, no worries, next year will be great!

Over the course of a challenging year, I've learned to distinguish between the two varieties of Illini follower. Some want to know all the news. Some want just the best stuff — the good news! Lately I've been harangued for appealing only to the former group. Today, I want to make up for that. GOOD NEWS! All's well with the Illini! For the sixth season in seven, Bruce Weber has led his charges to a winning record. And it's not …

SPORTS

March madness begins

Three graded stakes races for 3-year-olds highlight the first weekend in March. In New York, the Gotham Stakes won't star any standouts on the Derby trail, but you never know what's going to be produced in the building weeks to the first Saturday in May. In California, Big Cap Day also marks the running of the Santa Anita Oaks, where filly star Blind Luck will try to win her third Grade I race in a row. The Sham Stakes, which …

SPORTS

Looking down the barrel of the NIT

A couple of weeks ago, I agreed with the team's assessment of its anomalous loss to Ohio State: Just forget about it, and move on. The problem with losing to Minnesota at home is that this loss may very well prevent Illinois from moving on. On the bright side, the Illini could get another home game out of the deal. And that's good for those newspapers who can just afford to send their beat reporters to Champaign.

SPORTS

Semrau’s seen enough

Richard Semrau practices while reporters wait in the background. Having watched plenty of basketball from his seat at the end of the bench, Richard Semrau has decided to do something else for a change.

Page 1 of 44 pages 1234>Last »

Most Recent Sports Comments

{username}

You’re right!  Every runner, in my opinion, is a real runner.

Mica Swyers avatar

Congratulations on the AG place! In all of your accomplishments, don’t forget what it was like to think a mile was an impossible distance. Getting to the six-mile point takes a lot of training and preparation to acclimate the mind and musculature to so much pounding. Your…

{username}

Sounds like it!

emma reaux avatar

I heading out on my 9 miler before my 10 hour work day right now. Do I have what it takes?

SFJon avatar

I wonder with Griffey if he’s not in game shape enough to play a significant number of minutes.  If you look at his minutes played this year, he’s never played a starters minutes.

{username}

*Shrugs*

Kelly Innes avatar

Sometime between now and their first game in this year’s NIT, the Illini need to practice taking a shot before the game clock expires. 

{username}

Can we please refrain from ever EVER comparing running a marathon to childbirth? Especially when the comparison is made by someone without a vagina? Kthx.

SFJon avatar

I think we are in.  But being blown out again by OSU might give the selection comittee doubts. I dunno anymore.

{username}

Mark: You raise some interesting points. I’m impressed by anyone who runs a marathon, no matter their finishing time.  It’s the commitment people show to accomplishing a goal they set for themselves that impresses me most. A sign I saw at the Illinois Marathon last year along…

Most Recent Comments

Beth D avatar

Awesome looking lineup… I’m excited.  Another vote towards the Smoking Popes rocking out at the first Laughing Prairie Dog festival… it was a pretty good energy, and plenty of groups considering the cheap ticket.  The rest all look pretty good for the ticket price as well.  …

Beth D avatar

(Not to talk too much, but I would delight in being proven wrong.  I hope that there are many vegan dishes, and next time I am there, I will ask the owner for dishes that are vegan that are offered and post them as a comment here,…

Beth D avatar

I understand the disclaimer, and I appreciate it, but given the title of the article, it would be nice to have more of a talk with the owner and less of a “to the best of my knowledge” thrown in the article as an aside, when vegan…

{username}

Nate, No offers to crash but I was wondering if you’d ever considered publishing the plans to your trailer.  You might make a dollar or two especially after you go solar! Let me know if you do it. Sincerely, Don

{username}

Not sure if it’s been mentioned here, but they’ll also be playing the Old Rock House in St. Louis on May 22

{username}

Interesting about who owns land in the path of the Olympian Drive extension. My comment was in response to ‘Tony C’s remarks about the I-74 expansion. Just who owns land in the 150 [BloomingtonRd]-I-74 corridor?? Because the corridor is zoned for future use as Commercial/Industrial, I am…

{username}

(happy face)

Timbo avatar

Wow, great article.  I wish you the best in your endeavors and hope you have a nice trip.

Seth Fein avatar

Um. Yeah — check out that “General Disclaimer” at the bottom of the article, folks.

{username}

As an adoptee, I can empathize—although I’m not an international adoptee, and I apologize if I’m assuming too much on the nature of your adoption.  You can feel what you feel, but don’t be too hard on yourself.  When I started a search for my birth family,…

{username}

I highly doubt a single dish is vegan at Bombay.  Most Indian dishes use Ghee(essentially clarrified butter) as the base fat. While I guess they could make some dishes with canola oil, I would for sure ask the exact ingredients before I consumed if you are following a vegan diet.

{username}

You’re right!  Every runner, in my opinion, is a real runner.

Mica Swyers avatar

Congratulations on the AG place! In all of your accomplishments, don’t forget what it was like to think a mile was an impossible distance. Getting to the six-mile point takes a lot of training and preparation to acclimate the mind and musculature to so much pounding. Your…

{username}

Sounds like it!

emma reaux avatar

I heading out on my 9 miler before my 10 hour work day right now. Do I have what it takes?

{username}

Nice, killer work pretty man…the channeled, one sided collaborated rhyming poem.  An oft forgot genre.   The ruckus was felt even here in my living room, which is normally a safe haven from ruckus.    

{username}

wait, I was commenting on the wrong thing - sorry - he’s actually a gigantic sellout but who really knows what all this is about.

{username}

If the democrats didn’t have Kucinich, and the republicans didn’t have Ron Paul, where would both these parties really stand? These men actually mean what they say.

{username}

Joel, thank you for the opportunity to answer these questions and have them posted here. I really appreciate it! Yes, I was thrilled to see that Rep. Kucinich flipped today, so he will has committed to voting yes for health reform. I appreciated his comments which seem…

{username}

It appears to me that your reviewer did all that could be expected: she paid her money, saw the play and conveyed her impressions. The review (on the whole, laudatory) may have been rushed, in a generous attempt to publicize the production while it was still available…

Log In



Auto-login on future visits

Forgot your password?