Fit-Pic: Inline Skating, Alive and Kicking

I'm not trying to offend anyone with the title of this picture. And please ignore the far from spectacular imagery. It's just that I remember one-time reading and/or hearing somewhere along the lines that inline skating was a fast-fading sport, at least on a general fitness level around home. And to be honest, I even believed it for a time too. Roller skates were back for roller derby. The summer inline rink at North Avenue Beach wasn't as hopping as I remembered it in years past (or I was missing the action). And the Lakefront skaters that made me cringe at my decision to take my bike or my running legs onto to the path when the leisure users were already out and about--causing me to swerve around the skating legs that left me thinking I could get kicked at any unexpected moment. Instead I'd see them cruising at night, in the dark, late evening hours when the police cars and random wanderers cruise the path more frequently than the runners and cyclists.

But today's Mad Dash to Madison race, a 10K skate and 5K run, definitely pushed those extinction thoughts out of my mind. Especially after I woke up and realized the inline skate at a hockey-focused race made total sense: ice skating, inline skating, inline skaters like Chad Hedrick picking up speed skating to win Olympic gold. And there were plenty of Chicagoans lacing up their skates for the 10K. Those donning full-on uniforms for Team Rainbo and other teams who made the skating look easy and fast (something I could never do), leisure skaters like those pictured above, and others who looked like they hadn't worn inline skates in a long time--or ever. Even so, it was finally a race where the skates were welcomed and not banned, and with relatively smooth roads to skate on, too.

Media Mayhem at Blackhawks 5K

Chicago is all about its sports, whether it be baseball, basketball, football or hockey, and the city gets even more into them during a championship year. Or so I've noticed after living here going on eight years (yikes, that makes me feel really old!). I remember pictures of the Bulls championships plastered across the newspapers and the parades. When the White Sox won the World Series, it's almost safe to say that most of the city played hooky from work, school and other obligations to line the streets downtown. And while I never got into following the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup win a few months ago, the pictures from that post-win parade made the turnout appear even larger than who cheered for the Sox, not to mention a Michigan Avenue shut down over a State Street one.

Whether you're a hockey fan, a die-hard Blackhawks' follower, or just a runner looking for a local 5K to log on a Saturday morning, tomorrow you'll want to be at the United Center for the Mad Dash to Madison, a 5K run/walk and 10K skate that kicks off the Chicago Blackhawks Training Camp Festival and benefits the Blackhawks. But if you aren't already signed up, the only way you'll get to participate in this event is from the sidelines. My best guess is that the Stanley Cup win popularized this event even more than the notoriety it already had.

And I guess you could say that's part of the reason for why I'm checking out this 5K--to share in a part of Blackhawks' history after missing the big ticket earlier in the year--plus the invitation to be a part of a team with many more Chicago media, especially some famous names and faces like Amy Freeze, John Garcia, Anthony Ponce, Dina Bair, Billy Dec and Jimmy Greenfield. While most would say they're there to run, walk, or finish their first or fastest 5K, that's certainly not the case for me. I'm going for experience only, not so much caring about the clock--a vast difference from my usual race-day outlook. But I'm not even a week out from completing an Ironman, and one where I struggled on the run like you wouldn't believe (darn leg spasms), so it would almost be stupid of me to even attempt to go all-out in this effort. Don't you think? Regardless, I'm all about survival come tomorrow, and knowing that I'm OK with walking if I have to or feeling totally off my normal 5K pace.

Who else is running tomorrow? Or what other ways are you staying active this weekend?

Photo grabbed from chicagoevents.com.