Fall

Saturday's forecast called for cold and rain.  In other words, dreary.  But my a couple of my regular running partners and I were committed to getting a long run in.  And over the years, I have discovered that when you force yourself to get out the door regardless of how you feel or how bad the weather, you are usually rewarded with a memorable run.  And that was once again the case this weekend.

We started on the Prairie Path near my home in Elmhurst, for a ten miler on what has become my 'home' course.  I had to be back home early, so there was no time to travel to a more 'exotic' running location.  When I left the house there was nothing to suggest it would be anything other than a routine long run. 

Then we started down the path and started to take in our surroundings.  And we quickly realized it was not going to be routine.  We were in for a visual treat.  The trees were offering a fall rainbow of colors from bright yellow to orange, brown and brilliant red.  It was incredible.  I quickly realized I had left my camera at home, but at least I had the camera on my blackberry available to document some of it.  

So, while the pictures are not the highest quality (or shot by the best photographer-me), they at least give some idea of what surrounded us along the entire run. 

The change of seasons is almost always a great time to run.  Spring offers promises of new birth, and a new running season.  Fall offers a transition from summer into the holidays, and yes, winter.  But it comes with perfect running weather, and for about a week or two, brilliant colors as the leaves turn and fall to the ground.  It is brief though.  I noticed the big tree in my front yard turning the most amazing color about three days ago.  When I got home from the run today, nearly all those beautiful leaves had fallen on the lawn, leaving the tree bare.  Now I just get to rake them up.

Adding to the enjoyment of the fall color on this day was the nearly bare running path.  It's two weeks after the Chicago marathon now, and a week before New York.  So the folks training for marathons are pretty much done for a while, and the path is once again the domain of those (like me) running just to get some miles in.  I don't mind running on a crowded path.  It's fun to see other runners.  But it's also nice to be alone or with a small group of friends taking in the surroundings.

  At this point, none of us are training for anything.  I have a couple races planned for the rest of the year, but no plans to try set any p.r.'s in them.  So it's back to running for it's own sake.  And for my own enjoyment.  And there are few days as enjoyable as this one.

See you on the roads....

   
 
 
 
  
 
 

Lost!

It was supposed to be a great weekend watching football with my friend Chad and our wives.  I thought I'd start the morning off with a run.  But the fallen tree in the middle of the path was my first clue that there might be a problem.  I was running in dense woods near a lake.  I thought I had turned around and was headed back to my starting point during what was supposed to be an easy 30 minute run.  But I remembered hurdling the same tree just a couple minutes earlier, and that meant somehow I had run in a loop and wound up in the same place, rather than on the path back to where I was staying.

There were several problems with this.  First, I really had no idea where I was, other than somewhere near Atlanta.  Second, I had no ID, or cash, or phone.  Bad idea.  And, to make things worse, I didn't even know the address or phone number of the friends I was staying with.  Oh, and I was in the middle of the woods on what could loosely be called a trail that was covered by leaves and seemed to disappear frequently. In other words, I was lost, and had little chance of getting help until I could find my way out.  So I told myself not to panic.  It was a beautiful morning.  I was enjoying an easy run in an incredibly picturesque area.

But I was still lost.  I left the house where we were staying early, before my wife or friends got up, so I could get a run in without disrupting our plans for the rest of the day.  But as I kept running, trying to find my way back, it was apparent I was disrupting things.  I was pretty sure they would be wondering where I was.  Unfortunately, I didn't know the answer to that question. 

Nevertheless, I continued to run.  And I have to admit, I enjoyed it.  As I went on, I felt like I was headed in the right direction.  The 'path' seemed familiar.  In the back of my mind, however, I was pretty sure that I was grasping at straws.  My watch read that I'd been gone for nearly an hour when I started to have thoughts creep into my head that I might really end up spending a lot of time in the woods.  That I might end up missing the Bears game that evening against Atlanta that had drawn us there in the first place.

As luck would have it, a cyclist riding by answered my call for help.  He had a map.  But it didn't show any of the homes, so I couldn't find my way back to where I'd come from.  He said if I kept on the trail for another couple of miles, I would find a parking lot, and civilization.  Hmmm.  This was not especially encouraging.  Again, even if I found civilization, it was still going to be a challenge to find my way back to my wife and friends. 

I kept running for maybe another mile, and said a silent prayer.  Moments later, really, I happened accross a couple more bikers who gave me better directions to that parking lot, with the promise that there would be plenty of other people there, and I could probably borrow a phone to call for help.  I had been gone about an hour and a half at this point, but I finally felt a glimmer of hope that I wouldn't have to spend the night in in the woods with fallen leaves for a blanket. 

I kept running for another mile or so, and found the parking lot!  Civilization!  My prayer was answered as I found a couple of friendly cyclists who lent me a phone and offered a ride.  I accepted the phone and called my wife.  I declined the ride, because I didn't know where to ask him to take me.  But my friends came to the rescue and picked me up.  It turns out they realized I was probably lost and were out looking for me.  I doubt they would have found me had I not been able to call, but a potential disaster turned into a joke for the rest of the day, and we were able to continue with our plans, despite a short delay! 

When we got back, I learned the name of the area was called 'Blankets Creek mountain bike trails' surrounding Lake Allatoona.  It's really a nice area, if you know where you are going!  Lesson learned.  Never leave the house in a strange place without at least some sort of contingency plan on how to get back!

Before any of this started, however, it was already a full weekend of running.  I got in a beautiful 10 miler along the Prairie path in the morning.  Then, right before we left for Atlanta, I helped emcee the kids races at the Pumpkins in the Park 5k in Lincoln Park.  What a blast!  The kids dressed up and raced distances from 20 yards to a half mile depending on age.  They started at one year old!  

The adults then ran the 5k, and there were plenty of great costumes in that race also.  My friend, and fellow runner, Amy Freeze from Fox helped emcee the adult race while I headed to the airport. Before we left though, I got some great pictures of the leaders in the Pumpkins race, and also some of the costumes at the starting line.  This is part of what makes our sport so much fun.  You can enter a race to really race, or you can find plenty of company if you goal is to get some exercise and have a great time.

 

This is the time of year, after the marathon, when you have some of the great themed races.  The Pumpkins run is one of several good Halloween races.  Then there are the Turkey Trots coming up, and the Christmas runs, like the Rudolph Ramble, and of course, the New Years runs. 

And while it wasn't a seasonal theme, there was another great race on Saturday morning.  I was signed up for the Urbanathlon, a ten plus mile run along the lakefront that includes numerous obstacles and challenges.  Unfortunately, given our busy day with travel and kids, I had to back out at the last minute.  But it really looked like a great race.  I was especially excited for one of the obstacles, to run the steps of Soldier Field.  Congratulations to all the finishers in that race.  Hope I get to join you next year.

Meantime, I'm happy to be back home on familiar running terrain!  See you on the roads.... 
 
 
 

Marathon Thoughts (no, I didn't run it)

  It was a perfect day to run a marathon in Chicago.  It was a pretty chilly day to watch a marathon in Chicago.  For me, it was a busy morning that had little to do with running.  That's because my wife was working at the marathon while I had the job of getting our kids up, fed, dressed, and ready for Church.  I watched as much as I could of the race on TV, but our kids, ranging from 7 months to just under 5, require a lot of attention!

So I sat this one out.  There have been and will be plenty of others where she has done the work at home while I get to have fun at the race.  I was, however, cheering from afar for my friends who were running.  And for Sammy Wanjiro and the others elites to run fast times.  My friend Rick Staback gets the photo credit for the shots of the leaders as they passed him at about the 12 mile mark on the course.

My own marathon weekend was pretty eventful even without running the race.  It began with the kickoff press conference on Thursday, where I got to interview the nine runners who have completed every one of the 32 Chicago marathons.  Each has an amazing story to tell.  They have all witnessed many changes in the race, and the city in their three-plus decades of running the race.  I was struck that for many of them, the Chicago marathon was their first race, 32 years ago.  The oldest in the group is 81, at an age where I hope to still be walking without a cane, much less running a marathon!

Thursday was also the day to celebrate race director Carey Pinkowski's 20th year as race director.  Carey has overseen, with the help of Mike Nishi and others on the staff, the tremendous growth of this race from being nearly extinct to it's present status as a major international race.  Carey and Sue Pinkowski posed for pictures with the honorary street sign the city installed on Adams and Columbus at the starting line of the race.  And then to help him celebrate, after a couple rough years with the weather on marathon day, Carey was blessed with great running weather Sunday.  And a new course record, as well as the fastest time ever run for a marathon in North America.

Thursday evening a former American record holder, Joan Benoit Samuelson, was in town for an event at Niketown.  She was reflecting on the marathons she has run Chicago.  She ran a record at the time of 2:21:21 here many years ago, before winning the Olympic Gold medal at the 1984 Olympics.  I asked her about her plans to run New York in a couple weeks.  She is hoping to set an age group records (for 50 and older).  She says she is ready and hoping to run fast.  I also asked her about Lance Armstrong's desire to run part of the race with her. 

The rules state if he jumps in the race part-way through, and paces her, she would be disqualified from any record she might set.  But if he starts with her it's ok.  He could then drop out any time, and she would not be penalized.  She told me, however, she's not sure she wants him to start out with her, because he might take her out too fast!  I thought that was interesting, because she is a notoriously fast starter anyway.

Saturday morning brought the regular weekend long run for the guys I run with.  None of us were doing the marathon, so we were excited to have the Lakefront path almost to ourselves on Saturday morning.  Normally it's packed with large marathon training groups, but on the day before the race, most people were sleeping in, and doing very little running.  So we enjoyed our own little preview of the race, albeit we only ran 10 miles.  The weather might have been even better on Saturday than Sunday, so it was one of our best runs in a long time. 

And making it even more memorable was the fact that it was my friend Tom's 40th birthday!  He is pictured in the red shirt, next to Rick.  We runners like to point out that he officially entered the master's division Saturday.  And he also gets an extra five minutes to add to the time he needs to qualify for the Boston marathon!  Tom has run it a couple times already, but as we get older, it's nice to have a little more cushion!

So happy birthday Tom, and congratulations to all the marathon finishers!  Great job! 

See you on the roads....

 
 

 
 

Milwaukee Follow Up

Everyone I've talked to about the results of top women at the Milwaukee Lakefront marathon Sunday has been amazed.  As I wrote a few days ago, the top female finisher was disqualified for running part of the way with a friend who gave her some water outside the designated water stop areas.  It is a strict interpretation of USATF rules to be sure, but it is the correct interpretation.

As I mentioned, the second female finisher, Jennifer Goebel (who is from Lombard and part of the Elmhurst running club), was awarded first place because of the disqualification.  But as I learned from one of my old college track buddies who lived in Milwaukee, Jennifer has also not been disqualified.  And the reason for hers raises even more eyebrows!

It seems Jennifer was wearing an ipod for part of the run.  Someone captured a photo of this, and reported it to the race director, who disqualified her a couple days after the race.  She apparently admitted listening to it for part of the run, when she thought she was out of contention.  So she knew it was against the rules.  She did the right thing, and I would have to say the race director did the right thing also. 

We can debate how much assistance either runner really gained from their rule violation.  But rules are rules, and despite what many casual runners might think about it, the credibility of the race is at stake over these things.  The race director really has no choice about what to do, as disappointing as it is.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal story about Goebel's disqualification suggests this might be the first time in the country that someone has been disqualified for listening to music during the race.  The story is linked below.  http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/lifestyle/63668622.html

I have to admit I wore an ipod during last year's New York marathon.  If I had run about an hour and change faster, I might have been worried about being disqualified.  I've also had friends run part of the Chicago marathon with me in the past.  Again, there was no danger of me losing a spot on the podium.  But I suppose I was aware that I was breaking the rules, and I would have been more concerned if I was running competitively.

Anyway, from what I hear, we have a little marathon of our own in Chicago coming up in a few days.  I'll be writing much more about that coming up.  Hopefully, we'll have great performances, and no disqualifications!

See you on the roads....

Countdown to 26.2

All she did was take some water from a friend who joined her on the course for a short while.  But that was enough to get the first female finisher in last weekend's Milwaukee Lakefront marathon disqualified.  This might be the strangest marathon result I've ever heard of.  But it benefited the second finisher Jennifer Goebel, a member of my Elmhurst Running Club.  Jennifer finished in 3:02, about 44 seconds after the first finisher, but she wound up with the $500 first prize. 

I've run with her in group runs before, and she is a strong runner.  She says she was in 11th place at the half, but had a great second half of the race and finished strong.  That is what they mean when coaches  preach the importance of negative splits. Congrats to Jennifer on a great race!

Oh, and it really is a rule that USATF follows.  I read that Lance Armstrong wanted to run part of this year's New York marathon with Joan Benoit Samuelson, to return the favor she did for him a couple years ago.  But since she is competing for a prize and possible record for a 50 year old, they told him unless he runs the whole thing with her, she would be disqualified.  It's weird, but that's the rule.

While Jennifer was enjoying the Lakefront in Milwaukee, I was taking it easy in the Bucktown 5k.  I ran long on Saturday, and was out late that night, so I decided to jog the Bucktown race as a way to get a few miles in and enjoy a great morning.  This is 12 year old race that's grown every year.  It started out as a neighborhood run, sponsored by 'Running Away' a Bucktown running shoe store.  Now it's a big event that takes over the neighborhood for a few hours on a Sunday morning in early October.  Thanks to Brenda Berrara for the pictures of the men's and women's winners!

 As I was moving along in the midst of some 4000 other runners through Bucktown, I was thinking that this was near perfect weather for the marathon.  The sun was out, but the temperature was crisp, even a little chilly, and there was no wind.  It was great football weather too!  I enjoyed the Bears big win over the Lions at Soldier field after the run! 

In any case, after the last couple years of heat, this year's marathon is due for good weather!  We;ll be talking much more about that later in the week.  But first I want to give you a peek at some of Nike's new stuff for this year.  The good folks from Nike stopped by the other day to show off some of their 2009 marathon products.  They've got a bunch of great designs that will be for sale at their booth at the expo before the race.  A couple of the designs I like are the white long sleeved shirt with the logo 'eat, drink, run'.  The short sleeved red shirt is kind of a throwback design that also features the city's skyline.  There are tons of others as well, and they are all dri-fit this year.  Last year they had some great designs that were on cotton.  They were nice, but I wouldn't wear them out for a run. 

Seriously, since Nike took over shoe and apparel sponsorship of the marathon from New Balance a year ago, the selection has increased dramatically, and they've freshened image quite a bit.

 

There is another new marathon product I ran accross the other day.  I have run the streets of the Chicago marathon course many times, but many in the field every year are doing it for the first time.  And for them, a great way to get a look at it in advance of the race, without driving it all, is on a new website:  www.racemyrace.com .  They show video of the entire course and can personalize it to your pace.  Chicago is just one of the races they've done so far.   They have 11 races in their stock so far, and are adding more every week.  It's pretty cool.

Anyway, if you are running, enjoy the week.  Eat, drink, and sleep!  Good luck Sunday, and I'll see you on the roads.....

   

 
 
  

Seems Like Yesterday...

The countdown is on.  If you've been training all summer, you already know what I'm referring to.  Yes, there's that little matter of 26.2 miles you gotta run on October 11th.  You know, they call it the Bank of American Chicago marathon.  This year marks the 32nd running of the race in our fine city.  It's not the oldest.  It's not currently the fastest,  And it's not the most prestigious.

But it is one of the biggest, fastest, and best marathons in the country.   Chicago has seen world records for both genders, and annually attracts some of the top distance runners in the world who are looking for a fast time.  Chicago also has more Boston qualifiers than any other marathon.  And the 45,000 runners entered make it at least tied with New York for the biggest marathon in the U.S.

I've gotten the chance to run both Boston and New York in the last year, and I can promise you, they have nothing on Chicago!  I've lost count of how many times I've run the Chicago marathon, but I've done a bunch of them and have seen the race evolve from a relatively small marathon of about 7,000 or so runners to the race it is today with the field of 45,000 that fills up in April.  The million or so fans who line the course are tremendous.  The volunteers are wonderful.  And the fact that the course starts and finishes in Grant Park, is ideal.

This year marks the 20th year for Carey Pinkowski as director of Chicago's biggest running event.  It's been an incredible ride for him, and runners can credit him for helping grow the race to the point where it is today. 

Carey tells me when he first took over the marathon they also ran a 5k the same morning.  In those early days, the 5k attracted about as many runners as the marathon, about 2800 runners in each.  These days that's about the number of people in just the first pen for the runners under 3:10!

John "The Penguin" Bingham describes marathons like Chicago these days as moving festivals.  They are parties to celebrate all the training and accomplishment that so many in the middle and back of the pack are experiencing.  That's exactly what Chicago has become.  Back when there were only a few thousand runners, it was mostly pretty competitive runners who were aiming for relatively ambitious times.  There were no walkers.  There were no charity runners.  There were no giant training programs.

My how things have changed.  And Carey Pinkowski has seen it all.  He has led the race to become one of the 'big three' marathons in the country, along with New York and Boston.  Chicago is also one of the five 'World Marathon Majors', which attract the top athletes in a points competition for a million dollar prize.

He's had his share of troubles as well.  No one will forget the 2007 marathon that suffered from extreme heat and humidity and had to be stopped before everyone finished.  And 2008 was pretty warm also.  But that's part of the job. Before the last couple years, I used to think Carey had made a deal with the devil to insure great weather every year on marathon day. But when it comes down to it, in my opinion, the weather is simply a variable that runners have to deal with.  The marathon is a grueling event that requires tremendous effort.  The first guy who did one, back in ancient times, died at the end!  But as soon as you show me a race director who can control the weather, I'll show you a candidate for a promotion!

I don't think Carey is looking for a promotion.  This is a guy who loves what he does. He was a tremendously talented runner himself back in the day, and working on races and with runners, is not work to him.  So on the verge of the big race, give a shout out to Carey Pinkowski for helping make the race what it is today! 

You can see part of the interview I did with him here: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7043865 

See you on the roads....