Running – Page 2 – Run Morgan Run

April 12, 2011January 5, 2022

Chicago 13.1 Marathon Giveaway

Once again, the fine folks at the 13.1 Marathon Series have generously donated an entry for the June 4th, 2011 Half Marathon, which takes place along the beautiful Chicago lakefront path. Details about the course and facilities etc. can be found here.

All runners receive a snazzy Craft tech shirt, a finish line party at the South Shore Cultural Center, a free beer from Michelob Ultra (bring your ID) and an awesome spinning medal for all finishers.

Packet pickup will once again be a Fleet Feet Pipers Alley at 1620 N. Wells Street. If you have not been to the Old Town area in a while, parking is hard to find, so you may want to go with a friend and have one of you run in for pickup while the other circles the block. They had parking validation at a garage around the corner last year, but if that garage is full you are out of luck. Just plan ahead, or better yet, plan on spending a few hours, get there early and walk around and enjoy the neighborhood for a while. Pickup is on Thursday June 2nd from 4 – 8 PM and Friday June 3rd from 10am – 8PM. There is NO Race Day Pickup so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

To enter our giveaway for a free race entry, just comment on this post and let us know how the cost of race entry fees has affected your choice of races to enter. I will pick the winner at random on Thursday April 28th at midnight, so you have just over two weeks to enter. We will send the winner an email with their free signup code. Please only enter if you will be able to use the code. You are welcome to comment even if you don’t want to enter, but let us know in the comment to exclude you from the drawing. Good luck and see you at the race.

UPDATE: 4/28/2001 – The drawing is tonight so get your entries in.

Update: 4/29/2011 – Congratulations go out to Kristan Huenink who is the winner in our random drawing for the entry in this years Chicago 13.1. Thanks to everyone for your insightful comments on the high cost of racing. We will have more giveaways this year so keep in touch.

April 3, 2011January 5, 2022

Chicago Home Team Charity Run 2011

Today I experienced the first annual Home Team Charity Run 10K in Chicago. The event brought together 3 of Chicago’s professional sports teams to raise money for the local charities that each individual team already has relationships with. A portion of the $60 sign-up fee ($15) was divided equally between all three teams charities. During sign up, you were asked to select a team to support by selecting a particular race shirt design. You could select from the White Sox (my choice), the Bulls or the Blackhawks and your shirt would reflect that team in color and in lettering on the sleeve. All three shirts had the same logo on the front and white lettering on the sleeve. Besides being a White Sox fan I liked the fact that the Sox shirt was black, fairly unusual for a race shirt, while the Bulls and Blackhawks shirts were both the same red. I did notice while on the course that there was a much greater amount of Sox fans than the other two teams.

You may be wondering why they left out the Cubs. Well, it’s because the start and finish of the involved the stadiums were the three participating teams play their home games.

We started off at the United Center at 8am, in 41 degree windy weather, and finished at US Cellular field in 50 degree windy weather. It’s sounds a bit unpleasant but it was actually very nice once we got going and as long as you kept a few layers on the weather was unnoticeable. We were lucky enough to dodge the predicted rain, which held off until about 30 minutes after we finished the race.

The race was fairly small with just over 2000 entries that showed up and they handed out the bibs based on last name instead of by sign up date. A bit unusual but it was kind of fun looking at peoples numbers and truing to guess their last name ( the guy wearing number 9, I guessed had a last name like Aaron). The start was also pretty loose with people just lining up wherever they wanted to at the start. One nice surprise was we were treated to a rousing rendition of the national anthem, sung by none other than Jim Cornelison, the gentleman who sings the anthem at every Hawks home game.

With such a small number of runners, there was not much going on along the route except a few water stations, an aid station, one Mariachi band and one bag piper. While on that subject, thank you to all the volunteers who came out to provide the water and some support. It was pretty early on a Sunday for Chicago residents to be up and about in the neighborhoods.

The race went pretty quick winding through the city streets, some of which were in bad shape from the nasty Chicago winter we had this year. There was one long stretch of almost half the race down Loomis towards 35th. Once we turned onto 35th we could see US Cellular less than a mile away so we knew we were almost home. The streets were wide enough that passing was not a problem and there were no four or five wide groups to deal with.

At the finish in the north parking lot of US Cellular we were treated to a band, a free beer and a chance to have our picture taken with the Sox World Series trophy or the Bulls NBA Championship trophy. Southpaw, the Sox mascot, and Benny the Bull were also on hand for picture opportunities.

I ran the race with my sister-in-law Mary, who is also a middle-aged runner, sorry Mar. She is a bit younger than me and a bit faster, so although I PR’d today, she beat me by about 30 seconds.

All in all it was a very pleasant way to start a Sunday and it was nice to be out there with all the other Chicago sports fans having fun and supporting a good cause. I look forward to doing it again next year.

November 25, 2010January 5, 2022

Bonefield Express 2010

Just like we do every year, we participated in the Bonefield Express Thanksgiving morning 5K this year. I either run with my son or my daughter but strangely enough never both of them at the same time. I ran with Jenna this year as she had a few friends who were scheduled to run it as well so she thought she would see them while she was there. But that was easier said than done, as there were over 4100 participants this year, up more than 900 from last years race.

The race starts on main street in Downers Grove just south of the Metra rail tracks at around 8:00am (8:30 this year), and winds through the business district and a few residential areas as well as Denburm Woods, which can be really beautiful if it has snowed recently. One year we had an ice storm the night before so all the trees were covered with shimmering icicles. The road was a bit trecherous that year but a wonderful sight.

This year the weather was pretty cooperative for an end of November day in the Midwest. The sun was trying to peak out with just a bit of drizzle and a high of around 40 degrees. I had a good day and set a PR for the 5K but Jenna had a bit of trouble as she had not run regularly since Volleyball season ended more than a month ago, and her asthma was acting up a bit. We broke off from running together at about the 1.5 mile mark and I met her at the end in the large paring garage where they have coffee, water, snacks and massages. This race has really become a community event with more than $120,000 give out in scholarships to local high school students since the race started in 2002.

If you have never done a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, I highly recommend it. It is a great way to start your day and in most cases a great way to say thanks by supporting others.

September 24, 2010January 5, 2022

Sweaty Noggin

Of the many things I have genetically inherited from my parents, Active sweat glands is one trait I definitely got from my father. The Morgan men have always been very sweaty when it comes to manual labor or sporting activity. My dad likes to tell the story of his high school and college basketball days where they always had two jerseys for him, because he would sweat through one of them by the end of the first half.

I have similar moisture expulsion capabilities when it comes to my running activities. I usually wear a compression shirt under my regular shirt when I do distances over 7 miles so that the loose wet shirt does not start rubbing on my skin to produce the bloody man nipples.

I have experimented with different hats and head gear to prevent the flood of salty sweat into my eyes and I think I have finally found a solution. The hats were OK but they don’t let enough heat escape from the top of the head. At the suggestion of Adam Tinkoff, I tried a headband from Kat over at www.goheadband.com. Kat makes these great tech fabric headbands that keep the sweat away from your face while you run. The secret is a little plastic band that she sews into the front to trap the sweat and make it move to either side of the center of your forehead. As much as I sweat, I still get some dripping on either side of my forehead, but that is a MAJOR improvement over what I was dealing with before the headband. I chose the Mojo Loco design (she has many to choose from) as a tip of the hat (of headband) to Adam and his Mojo Loco run coming up in December, 2010.

I have used it on a 4, 5 and 7 mile run so far and although the fabric is completely soaked by the time I am done, it still keeps the sweat out of my eyes. I will probably need to get a few more soon as my running schedule will require lots of laundry time which can be brutal on the life of any garment.

September 5, 2010January 5, 2022

Men’s Warehouse 2 for 1

Mileage	7 Miles
Time	6:40PM
Location	Indoors – Treadmill
Weather	Cool and Rainy

I continue my quest for miles with a solid 7 put in tonight. I had planned on running at the lake with my sister in law but she was on a different schedule and I was not quite awake when she wanted to run this morning. I ended up coming home to pay for a few suits that my son had ordered for me as I thought I could do it on Monday, but he was not working on Labor Day. Men’s Warehouse had a great sale going on where you can buy one suit and get the second suit free so I thought is was a good chance to refresh my wardrobe and get him a little commission at the same time.

I left the lake at about 1PM and took the long way home through Kenosha, WI so I could stop at the outlet stores up there off I-94. Big mistake. I have never seen it so busy in and around that set of stores, but being labor day, everyone was out for a sale. I had to park a good distance from the normal lot, and park on the grass. I was only there to hit the Ralph Lauren stop for one of my favorite white dress shirts, so I got in and out as quick as possible and back on the road.

Normally it is not a good deal at the outlet stores, but today was 30% off the sale prices at Polo so it made the cost of the shirt ALMOST as low as Marshall’s or TJ Maxx. The problem is, it is hard to fine the fine cotton versions of those shirts at Mashalls or TJ Maxx. They usually carry the broadcloth version of the shirt which does not look as good with a suit. I ended up paying $6.00 more for the shirt at the Polo outlet, but at least I now have one. I will keep my eye out at the local discount stores for more in the future as I like to buy a few copies when I find something I like. I have made the mistake in the past of not doing that and then end up not being able to find the item again. I have a favorite pair of tennis Nike tennis shorts and a favorite 3/4 zip Fila sweat shirt that are so tattered that I look like I don’t have a penny to my name. That is next year when both the kids are in college.

August 26, 2010January 5, 2022

Mile Marker

Mileage	6 Miles
Time	7:00PM
Location	Indoors – Treadmill
Weather	Hot and Sticky

I am continuing with my steady mileage increase towards my half marathon goal and it seems to be working. I was able to crank out 6 miles tonight with not much difficulty and I actually ran it faster than my pace during my last 5.5 mile run. My previous attempts at training did not follow the 10% rule ( increase your mileage by only 10% over your last run) and thus caused a failure to achieve my goal. I still finished the races but no where near as comfortable as I wanted to. Yes I know, if you are comfortable during a race then you are not really leaving it all out on the course. That is true, but my goal for the race in January is to finish strong and still be able to walk around the Disney parks with my son over the next few days following the race, without looking like I am 80 years old.

I am talking the night off on Saturday which is my next scheduled run, to go have dinner with a few old friends from high school (they are not old yet, just the friendship) so I will do my 6.5 miler tomorrow. I could probably do 7 miles, but I don’t what to blow my progress and get discouraged at this point. My serious program starts in October. I can’t wait.

August 22, 2010January 5, 2022

Mile Marker

Mileage	5.5 Miles
Time	7:00PM
Location	Indoors – Treadmill
Weather	Hot and Sticky

The weather continues to be brutal here in the Chicago area but at least the village finally sprayed for mosquitos this past week. It was to the point where even stepping out on the deck in the early evening was like ringing the dinner bell for the little blood suckers. Running outside was a double whammy as it is too hot during the day to put in any meaningful mileage and there are too many flying pests to run at night. This continues to perpetuate my habit of running inside, which I KNOW is not good for me, but at least I get the (junky) mile in.

August 18, 2010January 5, 2022

Mile Marker

Mileage	5 Miles
Time	7:00PM
Location	Indoors – Treadmill
Weather	Warm and Sunny

I am definitely getting back in the groove again with my training for the Disney Half Marathon in January. I am slowly increasing my mileage as I should, instead of pushing it like I did last year. My schedule training plan starts in October so right now I am just concentrating on increasing my miles in general. I will concentrate on speed and mental capacity when I start the program in October.

August 1, 2010January 5, 2022

Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon 2010

I ran the Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon this year for a couple of reasons. First, I needed a goal to get me back on track with my training. Second, my brother Joe’s band was one of the groups playing along the course. Third, I was able to run with a fellow LT grad so I would have someone to talk to along the way.

Point one.

I needed something to shoot for so I would be motivated to increate my miles during these oppressive summers we have in Chicago. Since I am not a morning person because of my sleep depravation, I cannot get up and run first thing when it is still semi cool outside. I am relegated to running in the evening inside on the treadmill where I can at least do two things at once (run and listen to my podcasts). Increasing my miles at a steady pace this year will help me achieve my goals for the Disney Half Marathon in 2011 – a PR and being able to walk around the parks the next day without looking like I am 90 years old.

The temps were pretty good at race start, hovering in the 70’s, and we had the luxury of the shade provided by the buildings during the first third of the race. By the time we hit mile 5 it was starting to get pretty hot a I was sweating like a Morgan. They had plenty of water/sports drink stops along the way and I took advantage of each of them, usually mixing a cup of water with a cup of the Cytomax as that particular sports drink was too heavy by itself.

A few nice things touches they added were cold water sponges at mile 11, ice water hand towels at the finish and popsicles at the finish. We could have used the sponges a few miles earlier, but I can see why they did not do that as people were not holding on to the sponges very long and were just throwing then on the course from mile 11 to the finish. I held onto mine to the end as it made for a nice way to keep the sweat out of my eyes.

2010-08-01_06-38-51_364

Point two.

The race promotions had said there would be bands every mile so I figured there would be 13 bands along the course and that they may not have all the acts scheduled yet when I started thinking of doing the race back in March. I called the organizers and sure enough they still had a few spots left, so I called my brother and suggested they get involved as this would be good PR for them and they would provide some quality entertainment for the runners.

There were some really good bands along the course but they only had about half the advertised number. That was a little disappointing as I am sure many runners left their MP3 players behind thinking there would be music every mile. Joe’s band actually had the best possible spot in my opinion. they were situated at mile 10 just after the turnaround to come back towards the city. There were setup between the running path and the lake so they had not only the most beautiful spot but after you make that turn it is a mental boost knowing that you are no longer headed away from the finish line but are now just a 5K away from the finish and are heading in the right direction.

You can check out Joe’s band over at Scarecrows Grin.

Point three.

With a few days to go before the race I still did not have a plan to run with anyone. I find that running with a race partner tends to keep me and I think them, a little more honest about the effort. On days that are that oppressive it is easy to talk yourself into walking more than you usually do or taking it too easy. With a running partner, you can keep each other going through the tough parts of the day and you get to share an accomplishment with someone as well.

I put a call out on Facebook asking if anyone else was running the race and received a response from someone I went to high school with. The two of us were not actually friends back then so it was nice to make a new friend so long after we graduated. It is not that we did not like each other back then, I just did not know Sue and she did know me. Out of the 5000 students at my high school, there had to be a few we did not get to know.

We decided to meet in her corral and start, run and finish the race together. Sue had two sisters running the race as well but they decided to run with their respective pace groups that day. I was not out for a PR and was more interested in sharing the day with a new friend which I did.

I won’t go into detail about the race, but will instead say it was a day of firsts for me. First time I had to stop and use a porta-potty during a race (bad choice of food the night before). First time running with a new friend. First post race dehydration. First Half Marathon in Chicago. So two goods and two bads, but the day overall was great and I plan on doing it again next year. Thanks for running with me Sue.

July 31, 2010January 5, 2022

Chicago Rock & Roll Half Marathon Expo

This morning I attended the Chicago Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon Expo to pick up my packet for tomorrows race. The expo ran all day yesterday and runs today, Saturday, from 9am to till 5pm. I left the house at 8:15am and was in the parking garage at McCormick Place East by 9:00am for the opening of the expo. It was not too busy when I pulled in but by the time I exited the building at 9:30 the line of cars at the parking entrance was starting to get pretty long.

The race organizers anticipated this Saturday rush thinking the out of towners would be coming to the expo today to pickup their packets, so they suggested that if at all possible that the locals should shoot for a Friday pickup. They even tried to incentivize pickups by offering prize drawing entries to anyone who did come in for a pickup on Friday instead of Saturday. Unfortunately my schedule did not permit a pickup yesterday so I wanted to get there for opening today and that plan worked out pretty well.

Lots of the usual race branded clothing, sports accessories, bars, gels, sports healthcare providers and a ton of Brooks stuff, the main sponsor of the race. Even a couple of electric vehicles on display for a healthy planet.

I know I am not fully ready for the race tomorrow so I am going to run with the 2:15 pace group and see how it goes. I expect to loose them at mile 11 when I stop to say hi to my brother Joe and his band who will be performing there, or before that if I have trouble. At any rate it should be a beautiful day and I am really looking forward to it.