CitySTRONG Hits Chicago October 2

I'll just leave this photo here and start with that.

But now you might be wondering why there are so many people tricep-dipping in the heart of a city (in this case, Nashville). They're breaking a sweat at CitySTRONG, a fitness tour hosted by celebrity trainers Shawn Booth and Erin Oprea. 

After a stop in Nashville in September, CitySTRONG comes to Chicago on Sunday, October 2. And instead of finding this workout at one of your more typical outdoor venues--Grant Park, Navy Pier, we're looking at you--you'll find CitySTRONG attendees working out on the rooftop at the 31st Street Harbor. 

Many fitness fans might be drawn to the celeb power--after all, Shawn was Kaitlyn Bristowe's suitor on The Bachelorette (and in real life he's a personal trainer) and Erin trains Carrie Underwood, among others. But there's more just star gazing Sunday morning. Think killer views of Lake Michigan, killer tunes spun by none other than Bachelorette Kaitlyn, and one killer workout from Shawn and Erin. I'm envisioning squats, lunges and pushups among the mix of bodyweight moves, although I really have no clue what I'm in for come Sunday morning.

So the Chicago stop of CitySTRONG is already sold out (I know I'm not surprised based on the weather forecasting the first break in rain in days, the unique venue, the not-too-early 9:30 a.m. start, and the opportunity to sweat with Erin, Shawn and Kaitlyn), but read more about it here or on CitySTRONG's website. And if you need an excuse to head to San Diego when you really start missing summer, that might be CitySTRONG's next city--but the November stop has yet to be announced.

Photos courtesy of CitySTRONG and Zach Harrison Photography.

Skiing's Open Season: Where to Ski This Weekend

If there's one thing that makes cold weather and snow tolerable, it's skiing. You won't find me layered head to toe running on the Lakefront Path very often (I'm a mostly treadmill girl once it dips below 30), but I will bundle up--handwarmers, four shirts and all--to carve turns on the snow. The ski season may have started off slow with Keystone and Breckenridge having to postpone their opening dates, but it's certainly getting into full swing now.

Skiers were treated to epic conditions at Breckenridge, Winter Park and Wolf Creek (we heard Sunshine Village in Banff, Alberta, Canada, was pretty good too). You can thank the storm that blanketed ski country with much-needed snow in time for last weekend's resort openings. But lucky for you (and me since I think I'm hitting up one of Colorado's finest on Sunday), the colder weather that stuck around is making this weekend's openings equally as amazing.

Here's where you'll want to make some tracks before the family comes to town for Thanksgiving.

One Day, One Low Price: Rock 'n' Roll Running Series Offers Discount Today Only

Credit

What's a common complaint among runners? That race registration fees can get expensive. Multiple 5Ks, 10-milers and half marathons that are creeping toward $100 (or more), marathons that are at least $100 (or more than $200 if you're running NYC).  When you run a lot of races, you start to feel like you're getting bled dry on the fees alone. So if you could save some dough and not pay top dollar for a race you think you'll run next year, wouldn't you take it? Of course! Here's your chance.

Today the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series launched #MyRnRTour, a new interactive race calendar planning tool for its 2015 races. To celebrate, the series is giving runners a hefty one-day discount on its race registrations where runners can register for Rock 'n' Roll series races for as low as $59 in select cities. Instead of costing upwards of $100 (if you drag your feet on registering, that is), the 2015 HumanaVitality Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon costs $70 while its accompanying 5K costs $35--an offer good only on November 20. The 2015 race will be held the weekend of July 18-19 in downtown Chicago featuring local bands blasting tunes along the course and concluding with a headliner concert at the finish line.

Fit-Pic: Winter is Coming!

Snow on the peaks of Crested Butte? Sure, it's only October (barely), but three inches of fresh snow this time of year is not an un-welcome sight in Colorado. When the rest of the country curses the snow, Colorado, its Rocky Mountain towns especially, embrace it.

And why? Because it means that winter--and skiing all that snow--is coming. Fall colors might be lovely to look at (this coming from the girl who wasn't even a fan of the rich yellow, orange and red hues until a weekend in Aspen changed that), but bare trees and snow piled as high as the rooftops signal a season that's more fun to play in. And knowing that Crested Butte Mountain Resort, and other Colorado resorts who shared pictures on social media, got some snow makes the cooler weather and switch from shorts to pants more tolerable for this girl. I might savor every last bit of summer, but skiing keeps me sane in winter.

Who else is ready to hit the slopes? Fifty-four days and counting if you're waiting for Crested Butte's free skiing when it opens on November 26, the day before Thanksgiving.

Photo looking at Paradise Divide shot by Chris Segal and provided by Crested Butte Mountain Resort.

A New Kinda Girls' Night Out...with New Balance

Better get these laced and ready for Wednesday!

There are a lot of things I could be doing on a Wednesday night...actually cooking dinner for once instead of tossing together a salad (or grabbing something at the store), watching the new Top Chef Duels, catching up on the ever-growing errand list, or putting in some QT in the pool, on the bike or out on the trail.

But what's unfortunate about these options is that they're all activities I'd be doing alone. And while sometimes we all like a little alone time, I get enough of that other times of the year--like nights when my husband's on call. Besides, it doesn't take much arm-twisting when a night out involves fitness. Maybe when I have to drive there, but not when it's only a short bike ride away.

So when I heard about New Balance Chicago's new Girls' Night Out, I knew what I'd be doing on Wednesday, August 13. Question is: who wants to join me?

Fit-Pic: The Green Miles

I wish I could say that this trail blazer was me, but I can only dream of tackling this trail--a gem of one, if I might add--in Crested Butte, Colorado. You see, it was my husband who texted me this photo from the mountain town we fell in love with back in March during a ski weekend (as for the trail name, I'm drawing a complete blank on what he called it.) He was doing the mountain biking, and he "kindly" wanted to show me what I was missing as I chugged along on the trainer logging those Ironman miles. Judging from the picture, CB is as awesome in the summer as it is in the winter.

Jealous? Absolutely. Not only does the greenery stretch for miles, but the trail doesn't look too rugged for these terrible-at-mountain-biking legs. Even though the saddle on my mountain bike is about the most uncomfortable thing ever (that's what a bike upgrade complete with new Adamo saddle will teach you), I probably would have sucked it up just to avoid the hours I was pedaling...indoors. Not by choice on that trainer sesh, mind you, but it was the best option I had in southeast Michigan where I was spending the weekend. And I definitely could have taken a slice, or two or three, of pizza from The Secret Stash after my ride. There's always next year. That's what I'm telling myself anyway.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game--and Score an Entry to Strike Out ALS 5K

Just me and my media team buds after last year's race.

Baseball and beer? They go together: You’re most likely going to sip—or slam—a brew when you’re at the ballpark. Baseball and brats? Maybe it’s a brat or maybe it’s a hot dog, but it’s the meat in a bun that you’re ordering at the concession stand before the 7th inning stretch. But baseball and running? Sure, there’s plenty of running on the field between rounding the bases and sprinting for fly balls. But if you really want a connection between the two sports, or just run a 5K anywhere besides the lakefront or Lincoln Park, you’ll find it at the Strike Out ALS 5K, which does a riff on Take Me Out to the Ballgame that any runner can appreciate.

The Strike Out ALS 5K trades the typical Chicago 5K backdrop—the lakefront, the park, the city streets—for one of the ballpark variety with a course that starts outside U.S. Cellular Field, home of the White Sox, and finishes inside with a loop around the warning track (or at least that's how the course flowed in 2012 and 2013, but more to come on that.) And as its name would imply, it’s a race that sticks with the baseball theme from its location to its beneficiary. The 5K serves as a fundraiser for the Les Turner ALS Foundation, which is “Chicago’s leader in research, patient care, and education about ALS,” according to its website. ALS, short for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Gehrig was one of the most iconic and respected players in baseball who unfortunately had to quit the game far too soon.

Fit-Pic: The Calm Before the 70.3 Storm

Nothing like 1,500 or so bikes racked in transition at the Boulder Reservoir before tomorrow's Ironman 70.3 Boulder. Also known as the Pro Town Showdown, it's the one race on the circuit where not only most of the pro triathletes who call Boulder home come to toe the line but also where they can sleep in their own beds the night before the race. If only I could be so lucky....

Who wants to guess how much that transition area is worth with so many primo rides parked there for the night?

Fit-Pic: What Your Legs Look Like After a Trail Run

It was a tough choice, but my dirty legs won over my Tyrannosaurus Rex-looking arms (apparently my arms don't look normal when I run trails) when it comes to the image I'd prefer to remember in conjunction with today's 10K Spring Runoff. Not that I expected to be clean after running 6.8 miles across Vail's trails, but I never thought my legs would be covered with so much dirt. That was what last week's Mudderella was for--when I still found mud all over my body after splashing into the Hat Trick obstacle's pool and after showering in the Rinse & Revive area.

The Runoff's course didn't even seem that muddy, dusty or dirty--plus I'm so slow when it comes to running down the trail that I couldn't have been kicking up that much dirt. But one glance at my lower half at the finish line and I was sorely mistaken. Instead of being sweaty, and caked in the white salty residue I'm accustomed to after most warm-day races, my legs had acquired a shade of brown that no summer tan could ever match.

Do your legs look this dirty after you've been running on the trail?

As for my T-Rex arms, I'm the poster child for those T-Rex Hates Pushups T-shirts. You'll have to come back to see those because I'm too embarrassed to post them anywhere but a race report.

Fit-Pic: Vail Pass Here We Come

Talk about some serious bragging rights these runners are attempting to earn. They're just steps into the Vail Pass Half Marathon, one of the three running-centered events--the Badass Dash and the Spring Run-off are the others--that takes place during the GoPro Mountain Games, held at Vail from June 5 to 8, 2014. With a name like the Vail Pass Half Marathon, you'd be correct if you guessed runners would be running (or walking, stumbling, dragging their legs, etc.) up Vail Pass, whose summit is roughly 13 miles east of the Golden Peak start line.

Fit-Pic: Udder Century 2014

This is far from a glamour shot of the annual Udder Century Ride (Liz's first 100-miler way back when!) organized by the McHenry County Bicycle Club. But it's pretty much all I have to offer from the Sunday ride given that I should have taken pictures of the bikes and cyclists en masse at the rest stops and I wish I were talented enough to snap photos while pedaling (GoSonja: what's your trick?).

Had I done either of these, you'd get to see more bike traffic--the rest stop that does double-duty as stops 2 and 4 was hopping--and the craziest parade of tractors I've ever seen while traveling through farm country (the Ironman Wisconsin bike course in all its farm glory had nothing on this). There had to be at least 10 tractors in different colors, including hot pink, and sizes, from the petite to the monster truck variety, rolling down the road and even holding up some fellow riders. Apparently a course marshall for a time trial that was sharing part of our route thought it was a good idea to let the tractors roll through their stop sign and make the cyclists stop and wait.

One thing is always guaranteed at the Udder: It's a perennial favorite of Chicago-area cyclists. We come out in droves to ride, rain or shine (we had both today), and smooth sailing or holy headwind. These are just a small handful of the bikes scattered about Donley's Wild West Town, where the ride starts and finishes. The rest were either still on the course battling those darn headwinds--they were rough--or already stored in the cars as we noshed on the endless pasta and salad each participant is treated to at the end of the ride. Texas toast-style garlic bread never tasted so good!

Fit-Pic: Mudderella's Wheels in Motion

If you ever want to test your balance and core strength, this obstacle, one of the 13 (or was it 14?) obstacles Mudderella participants faced earlier today on the Chicago course, is where you can do it.

Wheels in Motion looks like something you'd find on a playground--and probably was a recess activity you'd leap at doing when you were eight. But maybe it's the added height and weight I've acquired since I was in elementary school (and the fear of falling I've gained as I've grown older and have more distance between my body and the ground): Crossing those tires is challenging. More than I thought it'd be.

Step too quickly and you're flipping the tire; step too slow and you're freaking about the line forming behind you while trying to grab the rope for your next move. Or at least that was what rolled through my brain on this obstacle that looked easier than it actually felt. Unless that was just my core telling me I ignored it all winter. Every time I thought I had the tire-crossing figured out, between engaging my core, getting my balance in check and finding the sweet spot on the tire, I'd be thrown for a loop. The tire would start to flip, I couldn't reach the rope, and I felt like the one fool up there who could make a seemingly less daunting challenge, compared to the mud pools we tackled earlier in the course anyway, that much more difficult. But hey, that was just part of the fun, challenge and skill of Mudderella--and I'd do all again. When's the next race?

May's going out with a bang

You know it’s summer when it’s not a question of how you can workout, train or race without spending a Saturday and Sunday in the gym, but how you can cram all of those outdoor activities into your already busy weekend. Memorial Day Weekend has nothing on this coming weekend, which signals the end of May and the beginning of June.

Even with last weekend’s arsenal of perennial favorites, the Soldier Field 10, Bike the Drive and the Ridge Run, to get you outside, Saturday, May 31, promises to be even more action packed. Check out these four events that’ll get you running, sweating, stretching and putting all those winter workouts to the test come the weekend. Just think: At least you have Sunday to sleep them off!

Lindsey Vonn supports Wings for Life World Run May 4

Wings for Life World Run logo,
PRNewsFoto/Wings for Life World Run

She didn't race most of the World Cup ski season. She missed the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Lindsey Vonn may have been absent from the skiing action we followed this winter as she underwent knee surgery, again, and rehab, but she's not letting a bum knee keep her from participating in the Wings for Life World Run on May 4. In March, Vonn vowed her support of the first-time event even though she won't be able to run it because of her knee.

"I'm inspired by the Wings for Life World Run and what they are trying to accomplish, which is finding a cure for spinal cord injuries," said Vonn, a Wings for Life Ambassador. "This is an opportunity for everyone to be part of a global race - and run for those who can't."

The Wings for Life World Run is a running race that was organized to raise awareness and funds for spinal cord injury research. All of the registration fees ($50 at the Denver event) go directly to the Wings for Life Foundation to fund research to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.

Crested Butte Reopens for the Weekend

Bonus ski weekends are the best. OK, so maybe I've only skied one of them--last year when Vail had so much snow on its official closing day on April 14 that it reopened a good portion of the mountain the following weekend--but it was pretty amazing, and I'd do it again without thinking twice.

So when I heard that Crested Butte was reopening for one final hoo-rah of the season, I was giddy. I skied there for the first time this season, and on a weekend where freshies were nowhere to be found, yet you wouldn't find me hesitating to go again, powder stashes or not. It also helps that we found some of the best pizza west of the Mississippi and the closest thing to Joy Yee's Governor's Chicken outside Chicago.

Act Fast! Register Before the Chicago Marathon Lottery Closes

Tomorrow's not tax day. Nor is it Marathon Monday where we'll all be watching the 118th running of the Boston Marathon. But Monday, April 7, is a special Monday if you are in the market for running a fall marathon, specifically the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. It's the Monday when registration closes for the October 12 race.

Sure, it seems odd to be announcing that a race's registration is closing. Usually we're waiting in anticipation for registration's to open (hello Ironman) so we can grab one of the coveted spots before they're gone. But after last year's Chicago Marathon registration debacle where runners flooded the registration system and caused it to crash, the race turned to a lottery system to randomly select entrants who weren't running with a charity partner, had completed the race multiple times in recent years, or were fast enough to use a qualifying time to enter.

At noon central time tomorrow, the registration period will end for those runners who'd wish to enter the marathon's lottery system or register as a legacy finisher or time qualifier. Lottery entries are not guaranteed, but those entrants will be notified of their status on April 14. Time qualifiers need to have run verifiable races after Jan. 1, 2012, of sub 3:15:00 for men and sub 3:45:00 for women. Legacy finishers need to have finished the Chicago Marathon five or more times within the last 10 years (2004-2013).

Fit-Pic: My Happy Place...on Skis

Everyone has their happy place. The fantasy land Happy Gilmore imagined. Cruising the Queen K on a bike. Scuba diving off the gulf of Thailand--or maybe in Banff, which I didn't know was even an option until last fall.  Running the trails outside your house. Swimming in the open water of an ocean or lake.

It's the place that puts a smile on your face even when the conditions might not be optimum. It's the spot you want to go to again and again. It's where you plain and simple just feel happy.

Here's mine: Bolshoi Ballroom (or at least what I think is Bolshoi Ballroom if I'm reading the trail signs correctly) at Vail. Located in Siberia Bowl in Vail's Back Bowls, it's easily my go-to ski run.

I Want America's Best Summer Job in Vail!

Hanging creekside at the 2013 GoPro Mountain Games

It might be one of the most overused phrases about Vail: "You come for the winters but stay for the summers." I've heard it, I've had it repeated to me at media events, I've read it, I've even experienced a weekend of it at last summer's GoPro Mountain Games. But what's so appealing about a place that was built specifically for skiing during the one season that's not for skiing?

There must be something special about that mountain flora and fauna that makes those snow seekers stay. And Vail wants one person to find out this summer and share those experiences--and get paid for it--in 10 weeks at America's Best Summer Job.

6 Chicago Races Whose Fees Go Up at Midnight

Finish on the 50-yard line at the Soldier Field 10
on Saturday, May 24. 

I hate (big bold hate here) paying full price for race registrations. And when you participate in a lot of runs and triathlons like I do, especially those half- and full-Ironmans, your wallet takes a huge hit.

I'm still in the process of finishing my 2013 taxes, and itemizing everything that can't be written off, but I don't want to even think about how much money I spent on races in the last year. Or how much I could have saved if I didn't wait until the last-minute to sign-up for some races because I didn't know if my body would hold up to be able to cross the finish line.

Surely, I'm not alone here. Who doesn't wait until the weather gets warmer or the first race of the season has been completed before plotting out the rest of your running and racing season? OK, so I have a friend who might sign up for everything and then bail on all those races that sounded pretty exciting in January but lost their luster come June and July. For the rest of us, we weren't ready to pull the trigger in the middle of winter, but we're ready to add some races to the calendar now before we're paying full price (or watching the race fill).

Tomorrow might be April Fool's Day, but it's no joke that some race registrations will rise with the start of a new month. No fooling here: The clock's counting down to save on these six Chicago races.

Fit-Pic: Up Close with a Sochi Paralympics Medal

When the 2014 Olympians and Paralympians won medals in Sochi at the Winter Games, they really won some hardware. Not that I'd expect anything less, but let's just say that Keith Gabel's bronze medal, which he won in para-snowboard cross, was H-E-A-V-Y. According to details about the medals presented in Sochi, it should be.

• Each medal is 10mm thick and has a diameter of 100mm.
• While the Olympic medals weigh between 460 and 531 grams, the Paralympic medals weigh between 585 and 686 grams. 
• The metals used to make these medals come from Russia. 
• The bronze medal, which I got to check out in more detail courtesy of Keith Gabel, is made of 585 grams of bronze. 
• The Paralympic medals are designed in the same style as the Olympic medals, but they also have inscriptions written in Braille. 
• It takes roughly 18 hours to make one medal--and 1,300 were produced for the Games!

I got up close and personal with the bronze medal Keith Gabel won in para snowboard cross at an event Thursday night in Colorado Springs (so glad I randomly found out about that one!). But I didn't dare wear it around my neck after he gave the OK to look at it. Gabel said the medal could get tarnished if it touched a zipper, so I kept it as far away from my jacket as I could.

After listening to Gabel speak about how his road to the 2014 Paralympic Games, I still had one question: How did he wear this hardware around his neck for his hour-long presentation and not show any signs of it weighing him down? He must have gotten used to wearing it for long hours celebrating post-race in Sochi!