Lake Shore Running

Spent the first half of the week in Chicago and got up early on Tuesday for a run alongside Lake Michigan. It was sunny and humid, and promised to be a hot day. Still, I enjoy that route quite a bit and it ranks in my top five places that I've run so far. Runners and bikers were out in full force. The hotel was north of the Chicago River and a few blocks west of the lake. I ran south past the Navy Pier and around the backside of the aquarium and then the planetarium. Not many were on the part of the lake, and I ran until the concrete petered out. Funny, I forgot to start my GPS when I started and didn't get it going until over a half-mile into the run. I ended up running about 6.15 miles. When I returned to the hotel I was going up to my floor by myself, but then the car stopped on the second floor where the restaurant is located, and three people had to share my stink in the small car. I almost apologized but skipped it since they were enjoying breakfast while I was out sweating.

Today was a pretty hot run at home with the temperature in the upper 80s. It wasn't bad compared to some of the scorchers we've had lately, but I still took my water bottle with me. I ran 6 miles and only walked two minutes on the hill by the golf course. It was an enjoyable run and I only saw three other people out enjoying the day.

Yesterday at the airport I had to buy a new book since I'd finished the book I took with me as well as the new issue of Runner's World. I ended up buying Born to Run. I've heard about this book in the pages of the aforementioned magazine and probably should have borrowed it from the library rather than overpaying for a paperback version, but I was in Chicago and the library was in KC. Nevertheless I devoured the first half of the book by the time the plane landed. The adventure and the writing reminds of Into Thin Air, which I need to re-read. I won't be running barefoot, by any means. The message I've taken away so far is the joy of the ultrarunners in the book. That translated into a few attempts to smile on today's run, which was mildly successful. Guess it needs more work.