Snowy Windy City Week

Every February for the past thirty years or so has meant an annual pilgrimage to Chicago for a big four day trade show and educational deal. A fun diversion, but a challenge to marathon training the past three years. It usually makes for a whirlwind week and this year was no exception.

Last Monday morning, knowing that it might be difficult to get in all the miles on the schedule for the week, I decided to go for a run on my usual rest day. A snowstorm was in the forecast, but hey, let's start the week with a challenge. Photo above. What I hadn't figured real well was the length of time it would take me just to drive to the park and back given the conditions and ended up only having time for about amile of running in the tree inches of snow that had arrived at that point. Still, always great fun to place the first footprints in the freshly falling stuff. Tuesday and Wednesday the roads were clear and the park path mostly, allowing nice typical early morning jaunts.

Wednesday night I caught Amtrak in Ann Arbor and arrived in Chicago a bit after midnight to snow falling and at least a sane cab driver who managed not to slide over and get hung up on a median barrier on Wacker Dr like one taxi we saw.

My classes began at 9 on two days and at ten on Friday, so I decided that would be my day for the long run with a thirteen miler north on the Lakeshore bikepath into a howling frigid wind going and a real tailwind coming back. Quite a few runners given the conditions. Six miles the other days were fun. Saturday night at 6:30 as I was walking back to the hotel it was obvious people were setting up cameras on tripods for something at Michigan Avenue and the river. Just as I started to ask someone what was up --fireworks lit up the sky and continued for about ten minutes. What fun.

The train trip gave me time to make it through most of the book BORN TO RUN that Austin gave me for Christmas and I'm loving it. I'm totally sold on his compelling argument for barefoot running and how cushy shoes have screwed us up. Now how to transition is the question. To be continued. Nice to be back home.

mileage for the week 40

All in all