#chicago running

[94monkeys]

I spend a lot of time thinking about our lakefront path and why, despite an extensive renovation, it’s still total chaos. Here I have distilled the problem into the key elements. This could be fixed with a few signs or painted markings on the ground, but that should have been part of the plan to begin with because people are Confused. 

(Imagine being my graphic designer at work and getting “drawings” like this all the time!)

[thecausecoach]

25 Chicago Must-Do Races to fill your 2020 Race Calendar

Chicago is a great place to run and it has many unique and fun races. Whether you live in or near The Windy City or have a reason to travel here, do mark your calendar for some of these must-do races.

Chicago is a great place to run and it has many unique and fun races. Whether you live in or near The Windy City or have a reason to travel here, do mark your calendar for some of these must-do races. I haven’t done all of them (yet), but the ones I haven’t done come highly recommended by numerous sources in the Chicago running community. Wishing you happy miles…enjoy!

F^3 Lake Half Marathon(Janu…

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[unmaskedmissionary]

The first four years I lived in Chicago, I lived in the same apartment 2 blocks from the lake. Unfortunately, I lived away from trails. I had to go at least 0.7 miles to hit an actual running trail, and that trail was just headed south. It’s right on the lake, so it’s lovely, but since I could only go one direction, it didn’t keep my interest for long. Especially once I started running/biking that trail to work. Every darn day.

Living out in the suburbs, I find myself suddenly surrounded by many new options. I have to drive everywhere anyway (I miss walking! But this IS advantageous for this reason…), so it’s easy to just go an extra 5 to 10 minutes to hit up a new trail or entry point on a familiar trail.

One of the ways I’m helping myself fight both boredom and the desire to spend money on “new” adventures (since hubby and I are saving for some things right now) is by hitting up these new trails and trail entry points. I’ve started a tour of trails in Chicago’s northwest suburbs. I set a generic distance – or plan a training run – and snag a few photos along the way.

I’m also struggling with weight gain that’s come back after the initial weight-loss from going gluten-free. Right after going gluten-free, I lost about 45 pounds without effort. After having run/biked/walked 1200 miles from Key West Florida to the Canadian/New York border and losing only 6 pounds (including during my training time of 8 months before that!), it was amazing. However, like so many other folks have found, the weight has come back, even though that was 7 years ago.

My motivation is down, my weight is up, and my boredom is high.

So, using new trails to inspire a workout and keep me from getting too bogged down in my work-from-home job is the ideal way to get an edge on both of these things. If anyone else has similar issues, I highly recommend doing the same in your own area.

You can tweak this concept into other inexpensive “new” experiences, too, if you’re not a runner.

Find a new place to picnic each week

Find a new dog park every few days

Drive a different route to work every week (I do some things in the city still, and this method has opened up worlds of new ideas and opportunities for adventure!)

Get off the train one stop early or go one stop farther and walk the rest of the way home taking new streets

Get your bike out and commute somewhere new each week (work, church, picnic grounds, hang out with friends) – starting small if you’re not in biking shape already

Find some mystery shopping companies to join and dine out new places each week on their dime

You just might find the same beauty, inexpensive adventure, and new challenges I’m finding.

Catherine Chavalier Woods entry point at the Des Plaines River Trail

Rita’s Tour of Trails: Fighting Boredom and Retail Therapy The first four years I lived in Chicago, I lived in the same apartment 2 blocks from the lake.

[neurotransmittersandpixiedu-blog]

HC15k 2K15

A tribe I'm from has the official position that if something is done more than twice, it's a tradition. This is my third year doing the Hot Chocolate race and has become the marker for the end of my running season. Yep, guess it’s a tradition now.  This was the first time I've been able to attend packet distribution and the expo. Previously, my work commitments forced me to send a gopher in my stead. McCormick Place was dumped in favor of Wacker Drive's swanky Hyatt conference center.

Deep in the building's bowels, picking up your bib and goodie bag is now quick and painless thanks to a gauntlet of hard lessons and deafening complaints RAM Racing has had to pass through as they've grown their brand over the last couple of years, but they may have a few kinks to work out when vetting and training volunteers. The poor grandmas working the swag distribution booth had never seen a race bib before in their lives and were very flustered by the corral placement letter and gear check tabs.

If you suspect you signed up with the incorrect jacket size, a visit the exchange corner fixes it. They were also very generous with distribution of chocolate squares, chocolate-dipped marshmallows, shots of hot chocolate, and multiple mini-bags of Kraft Jet-Puffed Chocolate Marshmallows, which Kraft insist adds “fun” to your “yum.”

The website perennially boasts that Hot Chocolate's wearable premium will become my “go-to” outer layer for when I want to stay “cozy and stylish.” They always tout their swag as “award winning.” Which award, exactly? From whom?

The goodie bag for 2015-16 eschews RAM Racing's hellbent insistence that pink (or other “warm” colors) are for the ladies while gents get blue (or other “cool” colors.), no small thanks to allowing participants to vote on colors. I love aqua. This year's pullover seems to take the best aspects of both the 2013 and 2014 premiums and give 2016's goodie bag a lot to live up to. We have inner and outer pockets, a refreshing, classy  lack of hood, and an overall dignified “brushed metal” look on the outside with fleecy softness on the inside.

The first thousand registrants got a special bonus: city- and year-specific bonus embroidery!

After participants pick up their necessities, they're invited to weave in and out of the vendor maze to find the grand exit...which is blocked by Hot Chocolate-branded merchandise. The apparel selections are the same uninspired sea of logo-stamped polyester from China that, to someone who didn't know any better, is easily interchangeable with goodie bags and volunteer getup of past and present. Hot Chocolate is not supposed to be serious or cool, unless you're a middle-aged mom who lives for her next Facebook selfie. 73% of Chicago's participants were female this year, and RAM Racing was prepared to pander to them with many items that read “WILL RUN FOR CHOCOLATE” or “I did it for the CHOCOLATE” to compliment all of the “I run for WINE!” and pink camo gear those ladies most definitely have at home. Never before has it been so easy to be a rebellious, salt of the earth chick who's not afraid to admit that she loves to par-tay after she jogs.

I did find a couple of useful items, though, the first being a cowbell for when I'm a spectator. Why the hell not? It's not as if I can stroll through a local running store and look into a glass case full of cowbells of varying size, shape, brand, and color.

(“I hope you didn't pay for this,” Critter groaned when he came home. Yes, dear, I paid $4 for the privilege.)

And here are a nice pair of gloves that neither too thin nor too bulky:

Rumor has it that this winter will be as mild as the previous two were cruel, but my hands are ready for whatever happens.

RACE DAY:

The weather had been unusually summery all week, and then suddenly 70 degrees dropped down to 55, which is still nice as long as you don't consider that we are now reaping the results of unrepentantly destroying our planet for decades.

Because of RAM Racing's “preferred corral” system, based on verifiable previous race times, I was seeded in a much earlier corral than last year. I didn't have anyone to wait for, either, so I was nowhere near the early stages of hypothermia while waiting for my race to start.

I'm still riding an emotional high from no longer living in the suburbs. I'm still infatuated with city races that don't require me selling my plasma in order to afford a parking garage for the morning. I met a handful of people out and about in my neighborhood, also en route to the El. We exchanged nods and polite wishes for luck. A few train lines, including my own, were running fewer but longer trains for the race. In a fit of hubris I left about ten minutes later than I should've, and it's a miracle I was able to get a train, disembark at Harrison, visit gear check, and get into my corral ten minutes before Wave 1 was closed off. Critter needed get back to work immediately after the race, so he had to drop off personal items at his lab. He got stuck between delayed trains and barely made to gear check and into his Wave 2 pen. We both fail to see how the “fewer but longer” method is more effective, but at least we're both glad we didn't need to drive.

FIRST THIRD: Miles 1-3.1

Last year I was assigned Corral M but chose to start in P out of consideration for my running group and a strong desire to stay huddled as the early stages of hypothermia set in. Being seeded in the front makes a world of difference in race experience for a pedes populi event like Hot Chocolate. Starting earlier obviously means finishing earlier, but there are other bonuses. Running with more serious people means fewer photo whores and other etiquette-challenged participants. A faster herd also provides continuous motivation to keep up speed. Best of all, aid stations aren't sticky and volunteers are still peppy and attentive.

This is the first race I used a pacing group and stuck with it the entire time. In the past, I've only been able to stay with a pacer for a short while. They're either too fast, too slow, or their walk break/stop schedule is too out of sync with my personal agenda. My pacer's style was to run a constant speed the entire time, not even stopping for aid stations. Since I've learned to race without being encumbered by personal hydration, I need aid stations for any journey over 6 miles. For the first two, I fell behind my group as I walked and drank (or took candy), then I had to sprint to catch up. I knew this would be unsustainable in later miles, I realized, so for all the rest I chose to run ahead, take in my liquids, and have them catch up to me.

MIDDLE THIRD: Miles 3.2 to 6.2

The course is the same as always. There's a lot of street overlap between the Chicago Spring Half Marathon, Rock 'n' Roll's half, the Chicago Ultramarathon, and I'm sure dozens more, but the only repeat feature I resent is the MLK Drive hairpin turn between 31st and 26th Streets.  A lot of Chicago runners complain these similar or identical courses along the lakefront. Can't they see how lucky they are to be running along an impressive body of water with a world-famous, unmistakable cluster of skyscrapers looking down on them?

Although these middle were my slowest, I unexpectedly smashed my record for the 10k despite not having done any specific training for this distance since 2013. At the halfway point I knew I was going to finish with a personal best, but I didn't know by how much.

FINAL THIRD: Miles 6.3 to 9.3

Once again, the tunnel through McCormick Place was dark. If Rock 'n' Roll can turn the lights on for us, why can't RAM? And while I appreciate the scenery, I do not appreciate those inclines throught the Museum Campus between Soldier Field and Grant Park. The spiral upward to Soldier Field is also really discouraging: there's not one, but TWO rows of people ahead of me to remind me that I'm not finished yet.

At the final hill, which I partially walked, a lady gently tapped me on the shoulder and said, “You have to run through the finisher's chute!” I wanted to say something, but didn't.  If I'd had the time and breath for it, it would've been, approximately,

“Well yes, that was my plan...not that you'd know it because you're a complete fucking stranger. What do you care if I do or don't? It's none of your business how fast I'm running or how slow I'm walking and if and when I take a break. Fuck off. Don't do this to people. You don't know what another runner may be feeling! You don't know what their goal is! You don't know what their body is telling them! You don't know why they're running the event or whether or not they're waiting for someone to catch up to them! YOU DID NOT PAY THEIR RACE FEE. THEIR CHIP TIME WILL NOT APPEAR IN YOUR RESULTS. Shut your fool mouth and mind your own business!”

I finished fast and strong not because of this anonymous busybody's decree, but because I wanted to and felt great. My finish time was nine and a half minutes faster than last year and I was surprised that my 10k pr was by nearly four minutes.

Last year, I forgot to grab a medal and had to run backward to get it. Not so this time; I knew to look to my left at the 5k/15k barrier as soon as I stepped over the timing mat and I snatched one up immediately.

POST RACE:

His late start and slower pace meant that I would have a lot of waiting to do before Critter finished. I was able to get my gear, change clothes, and devour my finisher's mug contents and sit around in the dirt for a while before he caught up to me.

The unforgiving cold in 2014 turned most of my chocolate dip to stone before I could finish submerging my snacks or greedy fingers into the designated dipping compartment, which led to a lot of frustrated scraping and chiseling over the sink later that night. This year, the warm and bright morning sun kept more runners lingering and the liquid chocolate still liquid.

The much-hyped entertainment at the much-hyped “party” in Grant Park wowed the crowd with their white people dance moves. The aggressive “family friendly” nature RAM tries to project goes beyond bounce houses and now extends to strangely censored dance music. Two years ago in the corrals and on the course I heard standard race fare in their entirety, including “Gagnam Style.” Now I guess the phrase “sexy lady” is no longer acceptable because they took great pains to muffle it.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Hot Chocolate has come a long way in such a short time. Their home-turf advantage and willingness to work out kinks make this not only a good RAM race, but an overall terrific Chicago race too. I'm especially fond of this race series and distance because when I first began running, I thought I'd be lucky to be able to run a 10k at most. The 15k made me realize that a half marathon was well within my grasp, and because I could do half marathons, full marathons were possible too.

[runningwithpump]

Indy Monumental: W3D4 - Easy 9 (8:00 pace) 

Sitting in Wicker Park people watching and enjoying my Sbux. 

Speed work on Monday, 10 yesterday, 9 today, 8 tomorrow, race on Saturday. 

Worst. Taper. Ever.

[runningwithpump]

Indy Monumental: W3D3 - Long 10 (7:12 pace) 

Had to move my long run up this week because of the 10K this weekend. It was kind of weird doing a "long run" on a Wednesday, but I had absolutely perfect weather here in Chicago. I wish I could take this weather home with me.

I love the 606 trail. Watching out for other runners and bikers is so much better than having to watch out for cars. I took a Gu at mile 6 and a drink of water every mile. I'm trying to simulate race conditions as much as possible. 

I used the Spring app again today for this run. I turned off the GPS voice over and I enjoyed it a lot more. I forgot to stop the app while I was walking to cool down, so that's why the paces are so different on the last couple of songs. I don't think a single one of those songs is on my normal Spotify playlist, yet I never really had a problem with the song choices today. I think that means the app is working. 

Time to spend the rest of the day with Lacey dog and maybe explore Chicago a bit. Let's be honest, I'll probably spend most of the day watching tv with the dog.   It is my "vacation" after all.

[kristenmgeil]

As of two weeks and two days ago, I had no desire to run a marathon.

For a lot of reasons. “I don’t want to get injured”- very fair, considering my past stress fracture. “I like having a life”- marathon training kind of takes over that. “I just don’t really want to”- it’s never been a bucket list item for me. All valid reasons to say “or nahh” to running a marathon.

Two weeks and one day ago, I learned it was the deadline to register for the lottery for the 2014 Chicago Marathon. I was fresh off a great weekend long run, twelve miles of hills and blue skies and perfect 55 degree weather in Kentucky, and for some reason, I opened the website, entered my information (laughing to myself as I clicked the box for “First Time Marathoner?” and wildly guessed at what a finish time might look like), and before I could think too much about it, clicked “submit.”

“There’s less than a 50% chance I’ll get a spot,” I thought. “Probably won’t get it, but it might be fun if I do.”

But I think that deep down, I kind of knew in my heart that I would win a spot in the lottery. For the past year or so, the adjective of my life has been “weird.” From adventures with Red Frog to nannying in Cabo to getting involved in great stuff with Nike to following the UK basketball team around the Midwest like a groupie- I’m not completely sure if I make myself really available to these situations, or if it’s fate, but I have a habit of attracting unusual circumstances and then saying “yes” to them without too much hesitation. So I guess what I’m saying is, I can’t completely feign ignorance here. I knew what I was getting into when I entered the lottery. My life is weird.

One week ago, I had basically forgotten that I had entered the lottery. I didn’t tell a lot of people about it- bad mojo- so out of sight/G-chat, out of mind.

Yesterday, I definitely remembered that I had entered the lottery. All across social media, friends and acquaintances and running clubs and gyms were talking about the Chicago marathon, eagerly asking each other across platforms “Did you get in?!” It seemed like a bigger deal than getting into Harvard, and as I sat in my desk chair with my G-mail tab nonchalantly pulled up, I started getting a little irritated that I hadn’t heard anything yet. Ten am, noon, two pm, four pm, through meetings and lunches and a gym trip- nothing. No acceptance, no rejection. And I started to realize, the fact that I was upset about knowing probably meant the following:

I wanted to do a marathon.

At exactly five pm yesterday, I got the email I had been expecting all along. Congratulations, self! You have been selected to run the 2014 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. You now get the privilege of paying $185 to run 26.2 miles in god knows what kind of weather, to train through the summer, to wear out probably at least two pairs of expensive shoes, to say no to Friday night happy hour in favor of a good night’s sleep before your weekend long run, to get way too hyped when someone tells you they have a new flavor of energy bar you can try, to become the kind of semi-asshole who regularly talks about her long runs, her compression socks, the pros of running sans headphones, the best anti-friction gels, and whether or not she should buy a “26.2” sticker for her MacBook Pro.

I’m excited.

I’m excited to get a silver space blanket at the finish line. I’m excited to eat alllllll the pizza and beer to get my carbs after long runs. I’m excited to compete against myself by doing something I staunchly did NOT want to do my entire life. I’m excited to have my friends and family in town to enjoy Chicago at its most Chicago-y. I’m excited to achieve something that I’m going to be incredibly proud of for years to come. I’m excited for Saturday morning long runs with my running friends, and for the perks that come with running a marathon as part of an official Nike training crew. I’m excited for free shirts, free food, and a heavy medal that I’ll probably lose in a couple of weeks.

Today, I registered. I paid my $185, I helped my mom book a hotel for the weekend, I started looking at the course map, and I began to explain to my friends and family that yeah, a marathon is kind of batshit fucking insane, especially when it’s never been a dream of mine, but I’m never going to be in better shape than I am in now, and I’m never going to have such a supportive community around me to help me through these six months, and Chicago is known for being a flat, fast marathon course. Running a marathon is not going to be easy, by any means, but it’s also never going to be easier than it is right now. So to borrow from Mark Stoops, “Why not?”

Now, I have stopped feeling waves of nausea from excitement and “holy fuck am I really going to do this” emotions. I’ve started to digest how these 26.2 miles are going to dictate my life for the next few months, because if I’m going to run a fucking marathon, I’m going to do it well.

I guess this has served as a long-winded warning that this blog is naturally going to hit on a lot more running stuff as October 12 gets closer. Get out while you can because I am fully aware of how douchey marathon runners are (right up there with Crossfit cultists, right EA?). On the flip side, resources and words of encouragement are very welcomed.

Today at the gym I fell while doing a box jump- I didn’t get my foot up quickly enough, and my foot got caught and I tumbled over the box in what felt like slow motion. I got up and laughed it off to the girl behind me, “Welp, at least the worst part is over. Nothing else to be scared of now.” And that’s kind of how I feel about this. Deciding to do the marathon is the scariest part. Nothing else to be scared of now.