Zach Runs Chicago

A foggy morning for a swim/bike/run On Saturday morning at Montrose Beach I completed my second triathlon: the Chicago Triathlon SuperSprint. There were a few differences between this one and the North Shore Triathlon that I did last year . The first difference was that this was a SuperSprint rather than a Sprint distance (375m swim | 10K bike | 2.5K run vs 750m swim | 20K bike | 5K run) or about half the distance. The second was that I was a part of the inaugural Divvy Wave of the SuperSprint, meaning that rather than needing to bring my own bike (or in the case of last year, Fuzzy's bike), I just showed up at the race site in the morning, grabbed a Divvy and set up my tri station stuff around it. For your typical triathlete I would say that this is a less than ideal set-up. You're not going to have the bike you want and definitely not the speed you want and if you're going for time, you're going to be disappointed. However, for someone dabbling in the tria...

The Freedom Trail - it even sounds American How American was your run today? Not as American as mine. For serious. Today I ran the most American run possible: The Freedom Trail . There was a little bit of Commonwealth Avenue thrown in there for good measure but, for the most part, this run was all Freedom Trail - from the Visitor Information Center in Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument and the USS Constitution, I ran all the history today. And if you're ever visiting Boston, I definitely recommend it - if you can stand that much history in one run. So here are some pictures from the run to highlight some of the most impressive/memorable spots along the trail. These placards are sprinkled throughout the trail and typically signify a site to check out

What if for every mile you ran $1 was donated to charity?  Well, that's possible this week. Some back story: a few years ago when I lived in River North I found out about an organization called Back on My Feet , a national organization that "uses running to help those experiencing homelessness transform their own lives and achieve employment and independent living." The group I ran with was based out of the Lawson House YMCA but there are three locations across Chicago . Though I was only able to run with the group for a few months - in the dead of winter, no less - I found the entire experience inspiring. Not only are you getting a morning run in, but you're running with people who are looking to get "back on their feet" and are using the program as a method to make that happen. All this is to say that Fleet Feet Chicago is teaming up with Mizuno this week to support Back on My Feet. As you may know, the Elvis is Alive 5K - hosted by Fleet...

Professional style Sproinging Sproing. What? Before I go any further I should probably give some description of what Sproing is - otherwise, if your mind is anything like mine, it goes to all kinds of places with that word. Sproing is a new type of fitness class based on the Pose Method and - more specifically to Chicago - it's a new fitness studio that is now open in Old Town. Back in May I checked out a Sproing class with a group of Chicago Running Bloggers. At the time - after a somewhat lackluster session that didn't leave me feeling very worked out - I wasn't especially impressed with the Sproing experience. Given that they were still relatively new at the time - having just opened in April - I decided to give it another try yesterday now that they've been up and running for several months. And I'm glad I did. Before I go into detail describing the class, let me just say that it is a serious (and seriously exhausting) high intensity, low impa...

Rita Jeptoo, eye-catchingly dressed in brightly-colored Nike running gear, with flashy pink fingernails that sparkle when she talks with her hands (which she does often), is surprisingly soft-spoken and reserved at first. Despite being the defending champion of both the Chicago and Boston marathons, she gazes around shyly as she offers a delicate handshake to each of us. She's instantly one of the most likeable people I've ever met. Rita Jeptoo discussing her training at Nike Running Bucktown Gathering around her with a small group of running bloggers (including Erica , Emily and Jen ) in Nike Running Bucktown to ask her questions I can't help feeling like we were boxing her in, each of us slowly inching closer and closer to hear her almost-whispered responses over the din of runners preparing for a Monday night run. But as the circle slowly closes around her she actually seems to grow more comfortable, unleashing several lengthy stream-of-consciousness responses to q...

Several years ago my wife participated in the Hustle Up the Hancock stair climb. At the time we lived in a highrise in River North and she trained by walking up and down the stairwell in our 33-story building. I trained with her a few times and quickly found out that stair climbing is wayyyy harder than it looks. Later, while participating in the Men's Health Urbanathlon I got another chance to tackle stair climbing. This time in Soldier Field. It was no easier. So, looking at the description for the upcoming Storm the Stadium (Chicago's longest and only open-air stair climb) at U.S. Cellular Field, I'm imagining that there are going to be plenty of people on event day showing up for an event that is a lot harder than they're expecting. I'd love to be one of those people. Unfortunately, I'm going to be out of Chicago that weekend so I'm not going to be able to. However, I do have a discount code for $10 off registration if you register before Au...

Runners delaying the inevitable Saturday morning before the Chinatown 5K If you were running on Saturday morning, you may have noticed that it rained a little bit. That's a bit of an understatement. It rained like Darren Aronofsky was in charge of the weather . Luckily, I didn't see Russell Crowe walking around with crazy eyes anywhere. But I did see a lot of runners who did not seem to give an eff about inclement weather - they signed up for a race and by god they were going to run it (hey, I was one of those people too). When I got to Chinatown around 7:30 on Saturday morning, I thought I might find a sparsely attended (and possibly cancelled 5K), but what I found instead was a hidden village of dedicated runners hidden under every bit of shelter throughout Chinatown Square like little runner Easter eggs. The race announcer made some pretty good jokes about the weather and about the race not being cancelled and, with around 10 minutes to go before start time,...