Gimme a Spring Break

 

When we left the Chicago area last weekend, the weather was warming up enough that I was running in shorts and a t-shirt.  But we drove about 5 hours north to Traverse City, Michigan to find winter was still in full force.  As we got within an hour or so of our destination, we found an increasing amount of snow on the side of the road.  And it seemed to be getting colder by the mile.

I was never one to go exotic places for spring break when I was in school.  In fact, I never really went anywhere for spring break.  So Michigan seemed like a nice treat for our kids.  Or so I tried to convince myself.  

And it was a great time.  It's beautiful country, and there's lots of fun stuff to do in any season.  But from the runner's perspective, it was a step back.  The first couple days I was back to dodging snow piles and patches of ice.  And forget the shorts and t-shirts.  It was running pants and jackets all the way.  I think it turns summer there in July! 

As for my training schedule, I suppose it was a little less than ideal. Right now, with a bunch of races ranging from 1/2 marathons to five milers coming up, I should be a pretty heavy week of training.  That would mean high mileage, and some speed work.  So going eating big meals at restaurants and enjoying the nightlife with my wife every night, combined with filling the days with kids activities, was not really the ideal for training.  

I did manage to fit in some running.  But it wasn't easy.  Basically it meant running first thing in the morning before everyone else got going for the day.  That would be fine.  And frankly, fair.  But there was that little 'enjoying the nightlife' issue that made it a bit difficult to get motivated to go long or fast on those early morning runs.

When we left on our trip, I looked forward to some free time to be able to run without the pressure of having to get right back to take the kids to school or a practice or something. But, even on vacation, they all want and deserve my time, so I still found myself hurrying to finish my run to get them to the pool, or the movies or something.  Those are the choices and sacrifices we try to balance as runners I guess.  I run because I love it.  But I also love my family, and doing lots of things that often conflict with training.  So we try to fit it all in as best we can.

One of my friends has been able to train pretty seriously for about the last year, following a strict schedule of high mileage and tempo-type workouts.  As we talked about that recently, he said he realizes how fortunate he is to have his kids all grown, the support of his wife, and flexibility with his job.  Without all three of those, he would probably be like me, fitting in running when and where I can.

So what all this basically means for me this week, is that I plan to run the Shamrock Shuffle on Sunday without the benefit of any speed training.  I love this race and this distance.  I'm running with several of my usual training partners as well as a number of fellow media teammates who are running in support of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.  And we'll all be with the 40,000 others who are running this huge race.

The department (and entire city) has suffered four high-profile losses in the last year or so, and the Foundation helps honor those officers, and provide support for their families.  If you are interested in making a small donation, you can do so here: http://www.active.com/donate/teamcpdshuffle11 .  It's a great cause. 

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to running the streets of Chicago once again.  After the cold of Michigan, the unpredictable Chicago spring is no big deal.  In fact, just to drive that point home for me, I had to drive back home from Michigan through a blizzard!

 

 We made it back safely, and let's get back to spring running!  See you on the roads......

 

 

Comments

[Mandy]

Hey John! I love your blog! I am a fellow Chicgoan as well and have participated in many races (this year I'm tackling the marathon for the first time). The Wrigley Start Early Race is coming up in 16 days. The nonprofit that I work for, Illinois Center for Violence Prevention, is a participating agency in the race. We are trying to gain more support and have people sign up to run with Team ICVP. It would be great if you could help me out in promoting our involvement in the event....or maybe sign up to run with us. Please contact me at mvukits@icvp.org. Thank you in advance.

[Rrue Religion Outlet]

Remember the best love is to love others unconditionally rather than make demands on them.