So i'm in Chicago for a short vacation. My husband is here for business (lollapalooza) and i have family and friends to hand out with for the concert. I'll check out the music Friday night and late Saturday and return home on Sunday. the rest of the time is all mine. Saturday was humid with overcast skies. After breakfast i want out for my long run for the week. I don't recall ever being in Chicago without a coat. I'm sure i've been here in the summer, but just not as an athlete and i saw the city in a whole now light. It was really fun. The hotel was downtown and only about 10 minutes from the recreation path that runs along lake Michigan. I headed north on the path and saw a few groups of swimmers training in the lake. They had set of a huge lap lane with a turn around about 1/4 mile down the beach. How fortunate they are to have such an accessible place to swim safely in open water. If i come again in the summer will be sure to bring my swim suit and wet suit. surprised that my pace and breathing ws so good. My legs feel fine and my head feels fine today as well. Did a 2:13 min run over 14.5 miles at 9:10 minute mile. HR average was 155, a good target.
I spent a good portion of that afternoon walking around downtown and then went to the festival. Had an excellent dinner very late. Good times!
Sunday David and i went for a run together. This is an easy recovery run and good thing because it is disgusting outside. I was dripping with sweat in about 5 minutes. Headed to the lake again but this time ran up Navy pier. Had never exploerd that before. This greenway is rewlly well used and much better than what we have in NYC. The better air quality is apparent as well. David was not having a good time and cut his run short. I kept going and finished my 1 hour run over 6.4 miles and 9:41 min/mile pace. HR was 150bpm and that was perfect for this recovery run. Surprised how slow i was though. The humidity really killed me.
I always enjoy running when i travel, but it's not ideal for triathletes. Was difficult this week fitting in my other training because my weekend was only going to consist of running. I was short 1 swim session for the week and short a bunch of miles on my bike due to the accident. I think on Monday i'll be back on track. Worked on my training program for the week on the airplane home. Had plenty of time for that with the 2 hour delay.