Turkey for everyone!

I'm sure I'm not alone right now in feeling like I'll never even be able to fit into my running clothes again, much less actually be able to run.  Yes, I enjoyed quite a bit of turkey, potatoes, stuffing, and desert.  Quite a bit.  But at least the day started off with a metabolism boosting run.

My friend Dave Zimmer, the owner of Fleet Feet Sports, says Thanksgiving day is the biggest day for running in the U.S.  That's because there are so many 'Turkey Trots' everywhere.  In the Chicago area alone there are at least a dozen.  Dave's store sponsors three of the biggest:  Lincoln Park, Edison Park, and Elmhurst.  It's like that in many other cities as well, and it makes sense. 

Judging by the race I ran in Elmhurst, there seem to be lots of people who run one race a year, and it happens to fall on a Thursday in late November.  The Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot was in it's 24th running this year, and they drew more than 6,000 runners.  It has become quite a tradition in the western suburbs.  From what I could see there were relatively few faster, more experienced runners, and lots of families running together.  There were also plenty of walkers.  And everyone seemed to be having a good time.

This was not the race to worry about P.R.'s or speed.  I estimated the first mile marker had to be long by probably somewhere near 200 yards, judging by my splits, but I think I was one of the few who noticed.  And I doubt anyone really cared much.  This was all about having fun, and working up an appetite for later.  They also raise quite a bit of money for the Dupage County food pantry, and on this day there really can be no better reason to run than to help others less fortunate than ourselves.

They also weren't collecting numbers or chips at the finish line.  I will have to live without knowing what place I finished in, or my official time.  That wasn't something they were worrying about, so neither was I.  I got my time off my watch, and I succeeded in running an easy 7 minute pace.  Hey, this is the off-season!  And I got a couple extra miles in running to and from my car, which was parked quite at least a mile away.  So all in all, a good day, and the start of a good relaxing holiday.

Lots of food, family and football.  Eventually, I'll digest it all and hit the roads again, but right now I can't imagine when.  The diet starts tomorrow (or after all the left-over turkey is gone).  Happy Thanksgiving!

Back at it

Everyone needs a break once in a while.  Lots of us have different definitions of an appropriate break from running, but we all have to do it at some point.  The body just isn't meant to go 'pedal to the metal' without easing up every once in a while.  As for me, I feel like I haven't really taken a break from running for at least a year an a half.  Possibly longer.  So the current couple weeks of barely any running has served as a pretty good break for me.

I ran once or twice in the two weeks after the last marathon three weeks ago.  Part of the reason for that was because I was packing or unpacking boxes during every other waking moment that I wasn't at work.  Moving is not fun, even if the end result is.  But we are starting to have things a bit more under control, and I have been back to the roads a little in the last week or so.  I actually tried to run long last weekend, and was sick.  I got two miles into it, and my training partners urged me to quit.  Good advice.  I pretty much slept the rest of the day when I got home.

I think the physical and mental break from running helps recharge the batteries, and remind me of why I love to run.  Sometimes you have to get away from something to remember why you do it in the first place.  I was getting a little burned out, but I got to the point where I missed getting out.  Now I plan to just run for the enjoyment for a while, with no training goals in mind for at least a couple months.

This morning, I made it back out out for real.  Waterfall Glenn turns out to be relatively close to where we have moved in the western suburbs.  It's about 15 minutes away, and that is a huge bonus.  It's such a great place to run, and my partners don't mind meeting out there, because it's only 20 minutes or so from downtown. 

The secret is probably out, however.  This morning the parking lot was full, and there were cars parked on the street a quarter mile down from the entrance.  There were a lot of runners, and cyclists.  The path winds around and is tree lines pretty much the entire way, so as a result, you really never feel like the path is crowded.  I've mentioned before that it is a 9.5 mile loop on a trail that has a few small hills.  It's really nice, at least until the snow and ice hit.  I'm told it's not a great place to run in January and February.

In my new location, however, I also have the Prarie Path.  It's about 2 miles from my house, so it's a nice run down to it.  Depending on how long I run, I can get some miles in on the path, and then cool down on the run home.  I don't know how it will be in mid-winter, but we'll see.  It's much too soon to be thinking about that.  It's not even Thanksgiving yet!

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I am reluctantly giving up my tradition of running the Turkey Trot in Lincoln Park on Thanksgiving morning this year.  It's a great race, and I really enjoy it, but this year I can't pass up the opportunity to jog down to the starting line of the Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot in Elmhurst.  It's a 5k, and I'm told they get more than 6,000 runners on a course that combines streets and the Prarie path.  It should be fun!

So I hope you get a chance to run over the next couple days.  It'll make you feel better about eating a big meal on Thursday, that's for sure. 

I'll see you on the roads....

Big changes

This past weekend was a great weekend for running!  Unfortunately, I didn't run.  In fact, I've run once in the last week since the marathon.  It feels strange, especially since I recovered really quickly from the 26 miler last weekend.  It helps that I didn't run especially hard or fast, but 26 miles is still a long way to run.  So I'm pleased that I feel like running.

Unfortunately, I haven't had time. I spent much of the last week packing up our townhouse in the city, and moving.  Uhhh!  I suppose it was inevitable that I would have to leave the  city and make the move to the suburbs.  We have two young children and another on the way, and they need more space. 

We found it in Elmhurst.  So we are now officially suburbanites.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  I grew up in the suburbs.  But it's a big change. 

One of the biggest changes I'll notice immediately is with my running.  Over the last decade or so, I have run pretty much every inch of the lakefront path.  I have figured out dozens of routes that have become ingrained in my muscle memory.  It's great because I don't have to think about where to run, and I can just go out and do it.

That's all changed now, because I won't be driving a half hour every day to run the lakefront path.  So that means I have to discover new running coursed in Elmhurst.  Fortunately that should be fairly easy.  One of the best places to run in the area is the Prarie Path, and the Great Western Trail.  They both happen to run through Elmhurst, or so I've been told.  I have yet to figure out how to get to either one from my new home.  But I will soon.

In the meantime, it was a great weekend to kick back and watch running.  I managed to have the television on during the Olympic trials telecast on Saturday, and the New York marathon on Sunday.  Both races were incredible.  Ryan Hall's race was amazing!  And Ryan Shay's death was devastating.  The men's and women's marathons were also great races.  It was nice to see Paula Radcliffe regain her fitness so quickly after having a baby.

One of the most amazing performances, however, was Lance Armstrong's marathon.  last year, on very little training, he ran a 2:59.  He commented that it was the most difficult athletic contest he had ever competed in.  I thought it was a gutty run last year, with all the hoopla that surrounded it.  This year, there was much less hoopla.  No Lance cam following his every move.  But, apparently, he trained a little more.  He ran a 2:46, and finished in 233rd place.

Great stuff.  Anyway, the weather is cooling down.  The Illinois high school cross country meet is over, and our move is just about finished. I will, however, be unpacking boxes for the next ten years.  But I will start running again soon, and I'll be sure to tell you all about it!