Skip to main content

Running with Tera Moody and Abdi Abdirahman at the Shamrock Shuffle Expo

I got off work early to head to the media event at the expo for the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle. The plan was that we would get to hang out with and run a two mile "Fun Run" with Olympic runners Abdi Abdirahman and Tera Moody. Trying to decide whether to take a bus or a cab to Navy Pier I realized that I was clearly discounting a third, more appropriate, method: running.

So I put my iPhone in a super high tech protective case (aka a ziploc bag) and headed out the door. Surprisingly, the light rain actually made it a nicer run - I find that pedestrians and cars alike are a lot more accommodating of runners in the rain than they are to us in sunny weather... it could just be that they figure if we're dumb enough to run in the rain they should probably steer clear because we might just run into them at any second.

After covering the mile and a half to the expo (and getting only mildly soaked) I collected my race bib (number 469! Definitely the lowest number I've had for a race anywhere near this big) and packet (VIP wristband!), checked out all the free stuff (Clif bars, 24-hour Energy, FRS Energy, Gatorade, QDoba, etc.) and then headed over to the main stage to watch Andrea Metcalfe lead the two Olympians in some "warm up" exercises and briefly interview them.

Here's a recap for you: Abdi is planning to run 5-6 miles BEFORE the race as a warm-up and then four miles AFTER the race as a cool down. So his 8K is more like 15 miles. Just keep that in mind when you're feeling really tired on Sunday (plus he's aiming for 4:30 miles). Craziness.

As we were getting ready for the short run, it was decided that it was too rainy outside for us to do a full two miles, which was a bit of a disappointment, but they still filmed us running in a tight media/Olympic pack for about 100 meters or so. Hopefully we looked like we were in the middle of a really long, hard run. In the rain, no less. Fake hardcore is as good as real hardcore if it's on film right? Some part of the run should show up on ABC7 tonight. Probably as background for the interviews with Abdi and Tera.

But the best part of the event for me was that I got to talk to Tera quite a bit before and after the run about Chicago, Colorado, journalism and theatre. She's super-friendly and even introduced herself to me.

It was kind of like this:

Tera: Hi, I'm Tera.
Me: Zach... and I'm not even going to pretend. I totally know who you are.

Anyway, to recap: a nice run in the rain, a sweet expo (it was definitely nice to be there before everyone else gets off work and it gets crowded), and a conversation with a hot Olympian. I was pretty happy with my Friday afternoon.

So I ran home...
Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 23, 2012 at 11:00 PM

    Wow that's awesome!!!

    But more importantly, did you ask why the shirts are RED?

    ReplyDelete
  2. The JudgeMarch 24, 2012 at 2:23 PM

    Haha! I'll see if I can get to the bottom of this mystery for you.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top 7 Chicago Race Shirts (and a Hat) of 2012

Remember when race shirts were pretty much guaranteed to be over-sized white cotton, seemingly designed so that you could wear them once (if you really wanted to show that you ran the race) and then probably never again? One side had the race logo and the other had about 20 sponsors. And the long-sleeve ones had little cuffs at the wrists to make sure you got that nice puffed sleeve look that no one has ever asked for. These days it seems like almost every race is giving out running shirts rather than old-school cotton, and mostly I'm thankful for this change because it seems like they spend more time picking an appropriate color and working on a legitimate design rather than just slapping their logo onto some cotton for you (although I did get a few race shirts this year that went with that style... surprisingly enough, those shirts aren't in my closet anymore). Anyway, pretty much every race includes a shirt. Some are awesome, some are terrible and some are just... shirt...
12 comments
Read more

Winning a 5K and Being "That Guy" - P.A.A.W.R. to Empower 5K in pictures

Some organizations are not quite ready to organize 5Ks. And Pan-African Association (a group that provides "services and programs that benefit refugee and immigrant individuals and families") is one of those organizations. They have a great group of volunteers, an ideal location for a race and plenty of other well-organized family activities around the race (including dance lessons, kid's races, etc.). And though this was the second annual P.A.A.W.R. to Empower 5K (Pan-African Association Walk & Run to Empower Refugees and Immigrants), there was very little in the sense of "organization" around the 5K, which was scheduled to start at 10:30 (see schedule below) but didn't get going until 11:10. (seriously? 40 minute delay? yes, seriously). The "official" race schedule But before I start describing the bad parts of this event and sound like the Type-A runner that I am, I'd like to talk about all the good stuff. And there's plenty...
7 comments
Read more

Your Guide to Chicago City Chase...

Before 6 hours of city chasing ...based on the challenges we did (and didn't) complete. If you did City Chase this year then maybe this list will remind you of the challenges you chose to take on (assuming there was some overlap). If not, maybe this will inspire you to take it on next year. If you're into the element of surprise (which is part of what makes City Chase so fun) then don't read any further (spoiler alert and all that). I won't be listing all the specifics about any of the challenges so there should still be some mystery around the challenges but this list should definitely give you a leg up if you're just looking to know more before you take this thing on yourself. For a review of the event as a whole (not a detailed recounting of this year's challenges) check out my Newcity review . Anyway, here we go. Since we picked up our packets and whatnot at one of the locations earlier in the week we didn't have to arrive at the starting lin...
5 comments
Read more