So, you guys have been busy while I've been in the great state if Illinois. Lots of good posts. Firstly, traveling with small children on short jaunts is somewhat exhausting. Yesterday was my day but after rising at 5:45 AM to make it to our flight at O'Hare I had no juice in the tank for yesterday's scheduled trot after getting back to Boston. This morning we all slept until about 8 AM and I missed my window -- which is a bummer because it was perfect weather, but what are you going to do?
That said, I took a great run on Saturday.
It was a beautiful morning and there were loads of runners, bikers, walkers etc., and you really can't beat Lake Michigan as a back drop. It was a lot of fun to run in an urban environment with other people. It took me back to my Brooklyn running days and got me reflecting that much of my running career has been an urban running career. I still recall one of my early forays into running, just after moving to NYC in 1998, and how amazing it was to cover so much ground and see so many things in a brief span. I remember one run where I went from the West Village to E 12 St and 2 Ave and then wound my way back across Manhattan at rush hour -- dodging people and jumping over garbage, it was a blast.
I love to run in the country, don't get me wrong, but I covered nearly 5 miles in 40 minutes and I attribute it to the people who were around. It was great and I think Chicago is great. My brother and his family are moving to Houston in June and I look forward to adding that city to my running locales.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Chicago Run
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Cool comments about experiencing different locales, especially an urban one, via the run. I'll never forget an "early morning" (8:00am) run my wife and I did in NYC on New Year's Day a few years back. We ran through Time Square, which was like an eerily quiet monument to the festivities of the prior evening. I remember the wind taking hold of the leftover confetti and streamers and swirling it high into the air as if to say it was their turn to party now. It was such a cool feeling to know that we were surrounded by millions of people, even though none of them joined us on the streets.
I remember when you guys took that run. We lived in the West Village at the time and you were staying with us. I was always amazed that you guys made it out that morning -- as I recall I was in no condition for something like that (that was also in one of my running downturns).
I think that I take energy from the city when I run -- classic extrovertism -- and it helps me perform better. It's almost as if you have an audience even though no one is probably even looking at you -- though . . .
On my back route in Chicago, I reeled in this guy and ran next to him for a few strides and then went on past. He noticeably picked up his pace but I just kept pulling away from him. When I broke off the lake-side path and took the Oak St. underpass he was about 30 yards back. I chuckled a bit not because I beat him, but because I forced him into a little different pace and shook up his routine a bit, all the while benefiting my own. That doesn't happen at 7 AM in the Boston 'burbs.
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