Tuesday Night Review ... Time for A Running Coach?

Note: As I'm writing this, I'm eating Zataraine's jambalaya mix. Do I like it? Eh, not so much. The red beans and rice package is good though ...

Here's an update: for Tuesday (Wednesday) night, Brian and I went to a long-standing "English" pub, The Grafton, not to be confused with an Irish pub (no gaelic, less green, etc.). I give it 2 of 5 Zs.

Ouch! I know, I know. Why the low rating? The food really wasn't that good. My burger was blah, and the cole slaw proved that it is possible to have a dish that uses mayonaise and tastes just as bland as ... cold, chopped cabbage. Brian's cajun chicken sandwich seemed to comprise schnitzel-esque chicken (pounded meat). My mashed potatoes were good, but it's pretty hard to screw up mashed potatoes.

Here's where The Grafton wins: The atmosphere. The staff. Both are charming. If I were judging it by a pint and a good time, it'd be 4 of 5 Zs. But if you go there hungry, you might be taking your chances (after all, my experience was one night, right?).

Ideas for next Tuesday (Wednesday): The Fantastic Crepe (so new I couldn't find a Web site) or a Korean place.  Stay tuned.

***

So this running thing, yeah ... I've gotta get into a rhythm, and I'm scared. I'm scared of making my knees worse, and I'm scared of being in pain from the more frequent runs and then having my other workouts suffer. But I don't want to say "I can't," and I do want to continue to build strength and push myself.

That's why Brian is pushing for me to see Bill Leach, a well-known running coach (at least on the Northside) in Chicago who analyzes gait  along with training runners. I'm interested in finding out if how I run is the correct way. Believe it or not, you really can have a messed up stride or technique, and that can aggravate current problems or trigger new ones. Brian, for example, has completed several 1/2 Ironmans and a ton of Olympic distance triathlons to find, after nine months off a lot of pain once he resumed his workouts, that all these years he's been compensating for poor running technique and thus has more knee and leg pain than he should.

I'm also considering returning to PT, but I want to see "Coach Leach" first. I've actually watched him work with people while I took PT at Accelarated in Lincoln Park. He was focused and definitely coach-like. But that's what I need.

Yeah, I'm in pain. It's not a lot and definitelly something I can deal with, but I don't want it to escalate and genuinely want to understand how my body performs -- and what I can do to help it. Some people are natural athletes and can crank out ultramarathons (please excuse the Wikipedia reference there) without woes. I am not one of those people. But that doesn't mean I'll sit on the sidelines.

I GOT A 'GOOD JOB' IN MY AD CLASS

HEAR YE, HEAR YE: I GOT A 'GOOD JOB' IN MY AD CLASS!

Make no mistake: it was followed with an urge to "take it to the next level" and came with a reminder that "it wouldn't get into Archive [magazine]," but my instructors -- uber tough critics -- said, "Good job." Well, one of 'em said it, and the other one didn't have nearly as many bad things to say about it compared to my other ad campaigns or ideas.  This one, the complimentary instructor said, could run in Good Housekeeping magazine (hold your judgement on the type of magazine and work with me) -- a major publication!

I'd like to credit the subject matter -- food -- for my success. Specifically, junk food, comfort food. I can relate to food and no doubt that relationship helped me. They said food campaigns are the toughest, alongside fashion. Thankfully, I had my love of food on my side.

The ad had to be for Ruffles potato chips. I designed a campaign (three ads around the same concept) featuring a healthy person -- in workout gear or standing in an organic food aisle with a basket of fresh vegetables -- stuffing Ruffles potato chips in her/his face, crumbs everywhere, with the words, "Ruffles missed you, too." The third ad featured a long hallway-esque persepctive of a health club. No people, just a crumpled bag of Ruffles on the floor surrounded by crumbs.  Yeah, someone indulged, and it's OK.

Would this concept need a little oomph, particularly with the copy? Yes, among other tweaks. But I still declare last week's class a success, and I may or may not have had a twinkle in my eye when one of the students who "gets it" in class (and whose opinion I respect) said he liked it, too.

We will not talk about our group project -- why dwell on the "challenges?" (By the way, can I tell you how sick and tired I am of interviewing sources and having to ask what "challenges" they faced instead of using the word "problems?" I digress.)

Despite my success, I am leaning toward not continuing the class. I'll finish this trimester, but there are two others left at $1,360 each. I'm not learning takeaways that are applicable to any type of marketing materials I might have to prepare (this class is specifically geared toward people who want to be a creative in advertising and preparing a portfolio for that), and $1,360 is a lot to spend on fun. Even the "fun" part is debatable sometimes. If I were getting reimbursed, I would definitely continue. But after paying off my car and debt, and a reduction in rent, I'm supposed to be saving money. Hence, I'm waivering.

I have a few weeks to decide. In the meantime, I have a new campaign and a new partner to focus on. And a little hope to boot.

I HEART RUFFLES. And food, I heart you, too.

Tac Quick: 4 of 5 Zs

Here are two amazing sides from Tac Quick, a local Thai restaurant: fermented pork sausage and papaya salad. I've been there three times and love it. It truly is authentic Thai -- we always eat off the "traditional Thai menu," which you have to ask for -- which is great to try if you haven't. The preparations and ingredients are different than the typical American Thai restaurants, and it reminds me of the Thai food I had in Sydney, which is incredibly close to that of Thailand, I'm told, b/c of the number of Thai immigrants and proximitity to the motherland.

Dishes I'd recommend from Tac Quick: the Thai beef jerky; Tom Kha soup; pad thai with shrimp in an omelet; green curry with chicken, egglplant and egg; and the pork sausage. I'm sure I'd recommend more if I had samples the entire menu.

Bonus: clean atmosphere, incredibly friendly staff and cheap! Lots of bang for you buck.

It's Random Meal Week!

I just got back from the grocery store and have the makings for many individual side dishes but not a main meal:

• Sweet potatoes for mashed sweet potatoes
• Brussels sprouts for some type of dish (olive oil, a little butter and some brown sugar? no sugar and just salted?)
• Collards
• Chicken breast and green pepper to throw in with jambalaya mix from a box

I've recruited Brian to make the collards at some point, and I have to whip together the potatoes and collards on my own. Sometimes I start the week with set menus in mind. This time it's all over the place. Randomness is good sometimes.

I'm really excited for Fiber One's version of Pop Tarts in strawberry, two slices of carrot cake forwhenever and Fudgcicles, which are on sale at Jewel for those who might be interested. (Can you tell I have a sweet tooth this week?)

We'll see where this food leads!

The Concert High

Members of Airborne Toxic Event join The Henry Clay Band, the opener, on stage -- one of the many joint songs throughout the night

I'm currently on a concert high, which is what I use to describe the first 24 hours after seeing an amazing concert. They're the concerts where you find yourself sticking around after the show in hopes the excitement keeps going or you catch a glimpse of the singer. The ones you find yourself wanting to stare at the band. The ones you know you'll remember and immediately force you to shift around your list of the best concerts.

Brian and I went to Airborne Toxic Event at Metro. They're they band from L.A. that sings "Sometime Around Midnight," and we both love the CD and the band themselves. In interviews, they always seems super down-to-Earth, which is refreshing. Also shocking is we love their songwriting (how often can you say that?) and their musical talent, too. So we were pumped going into the show -- we even got there early to make sure we could see the stage clearly -- and situated ourselves center balconl.

The show kicked ass! They put so much energy into what the were doing, had just the right amount of talking with the audience, and on top of it, invited the openers to do "People Who Die" by the guy who wrote "The Basketball Diaries" (and unfortunately just died). All three groups (Matt Gomez, The Henry Clay Band and Airborne Toxic Event) were jumping up and down, jamming out, throwing water and beer on themselves and the audience and joking around with eachother -- and the audience was involved. We couldn't stop cheering and clapping! The right elements were at play.

That doesn't happen often, but when it does, it makes for a great concert experience. I got to thinking about other great concerts I've scene and how they shift around. Here are some highlights of my favorites, in no particular order:

• Airborne Toxic Event, Metro, Chicago, as I just described
• The Editors, July 2006, 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C. Being the third person back from front row in a small venue is awesome, especially when the band throws themselves into the show as they did, you're listening to one of your favorite albums with a Yeungling in hand, and you're with one of your coolest friends. It all comes back to the energy of the band, and this one had it. I lost contact of how many times I made eye contact with the lead guitarist (knowing he was a flirt) -- totally added to the show!
  
• Radiohead, Grant Park, Chicago, 2002 or something? Perfect quality, perfect scene: a warm summer night with the Chicago skyline in the background (and good friends with you to boot!)
• Coldplay, Riverbend (?), Cincinnatti, 2005. I was with one of my favorite friends, Cynthia, front row at one of my favorite bands. Need I say more?
• Coldplay, The Rave, Milwaukee, 2001. Small venue (about 3,000 people) before the band turned huge. Everyone there knew their songs and sang along; Chris Martin made the most of it and was probably one of the most interactive, personal concerts I've ever been to. I can't remember if it was before or September 11, but I do remember him teaching the audience the lyrics (for those who didn't know it) to "Everything's Not Lost" for the closing song of the encore. Dare I say it was sprirtual? My friends Jen and Justin felt like it too. 
• Peter Yorn, August 2009, Park West. A more mature Pete Yorn decides to sing one of my favorite songs. He's one of my favorite artists. Just an overall good night.
• U2, United Center, May 2005. Laurie and I were about 50 feet away from the stage, knew all the lyrics and just had some moments. Classic moment: At the start of "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" blurting out, "Ah! The song of my life!" to spur Laurie to say, "But that's the song of MY life!" We still joke about it.
• Cari Clara, 2005, Cincinnati. So there's this guy in Cincinnati who used to record individual parts of songs and put them together himself, then have his friends learn the parts so he can do acoustic sets in Allyn's Cafe. He goes by Cari Clara and also wears red pants a lot (or used to) and exudes "rock star." I love the CD, so hearing it live was definitely a moment. Having him dedicate a song to the Chicagoan in the audience may or may night have been a highlight. :)
  

There are so many more concert memories that should be on the list -- The Twilight Singers with Cynthia, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah with Brian, my first concert ever (REM). I'm sure as the years go on they'll creep their way back up depending on what I'm remembering the most. Here's to the artists that make the memories for us!

Food of Late! (Restaurant Edition)

Sushi at Green Tea, Lincoln Park. Some of the freshest, best-prepared and reasonably priced sushi in town (4.5 out of 5 Zs)

I never knew about Vaccaro's Italian Pastries while I went to the University of Maryland, but apparently they're famous. After a visit, I could see why. Mounds of custard, eclairs, cakes and more beam from the refrigerated cases. Thanks to my friend Mindy, I experienced the rum cake (above) -- layers of yellow cake soaked in rum with vanilla and chocolate custart -- and cream puff.

Black bean frittata (I hate that word) at Great Sage in Maryland. Great Sage is the first stylish, clean vegetarian and vegan place I've been to whose atmosphere was more in line with mainstream people who aren't hippies, although clearly the people there and zen vibe came through. No fruit flies buzzing around. Very clean.

Oh, heavenly Chik-Fil-A chicken 'n' biscuit, how I wish thee were in Chicago (locations nationwide. Except within 35 miles of Chicago, of course).

Amish Chicken with herbs (can't remember details. sorry) at Feast in Wicker Park. I think Feast is a tasty, reliable restaurant. I'm never wowed there, but it's thoughtful, the menu has variety, and people always like it. Great for parents or people with varied tastes.

My New Favorite Stroke

Hear ye, hear ye: I have a new favorite stroke. For the past four swims I've incorporated about 10 min. of backstroke, and it's fun and also very efficient. I'm good at it, too (unlike writing ads, but that's a different blog).

The best part is my heart rate stays up. I was hesitate to do backstroke because the people I generally see doing it are lazying around. They're usually overweight and not committed to their workout at the time I'm watching them. That's fine, but the image doesn't make me want to jump into it. I've also been afraid -- for the past two years -- to not do freestyle, which is what 99 percent or so of triathletes do in the water. Why wouldn't I try to perfect it?

I've had it all wrong. I did learn proper backstroke technique in college but only jumped back into it when I read a sentence in a swim column in Triathlete magazine: Doing the backstroke makes you stand taller, and you develop leaner muscles. Here's to the power of the written word, because that image of a tall, thin swimmer stuck with me. (Note how much images influence me? Or is it ignorance?) The article dove into detail (no pun intended) about  all the benefits. I was convinced. And I appreciate the variety to my workout, too.

That's actually what the off-season is about: variety. Trying new things without the pressure of going hard each time. Going slow so you can focus on technique. What will next week bring?