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: 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.

A New 5K in Town: Charles "Peanut" Tillman 5K

We cheer for him on NFL Sundays, now Peanut
Tillman cheers for runners at his inaugural 5K.
Credit

It's kind of hard to get excited about running when it's freezing outside. You don't want to bundle up. You don't want to slip on the ice. You don't want to get all the way to the path only to wish you had your snowshoes instead of your running shoes. You don't want to race in the bitter cold that accompanies a morning start. And even the treadmill is getting boring--really boring. OK, so maybe that's just me and how I deal with this craziness nicknamed Chiberia.

But yesterday my eyes perked up at Universal Sole's announcement of the Charles Tillman 5K coming to Chicago on Saturday, March 8. A new running race and one that's not happening in the always jam-packed summer? It's love at first read. Here's why I'm psyched.

1. I love new running races--a chance to try something new--as much as I love powder days. Maybe even a little more. While I haven't taken action yet, I'm super tempted to skip a ski weekend for this run.
2. The race is on Saturday, March 8, at Lakeshore East (update: with a growing field of participants, the race will now start and end at Soldier Field). It has to warm up--even just a little--by then. Right? Let's hope so.
3. Universal Sole is partnering with the Charles Tillman Cornerstone Foundation to put on this race. If you've been to one of their Burgers and Beer fun runs or trail races, you know you're guaranteed to have a good time--and not go home hungry!
4. Speaking of Charles "Peanut" Tillman, who's up for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year honors, he sounds like a class act. I say sounds because I've missed literally every other opportunity to run with him. He also landed the top spot on Huffington Post's 'nice' list to close out 2013.
5. All of the proceeds from the race will go toward the Cornerstone Foundation, which helps hospitalized children including his own daughter when she was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. Talk about running for a worthy cause. 
6. Runners might see more than just Peanut Tillman. It sounds like the entire Tillman family will be in tow as well as some other Chicago Bears players.
7. For me, this race could be my chance to shoot for a faster 5K time, something I attempted to do at last year's Ravenswood 5K--and did for the first mile--until I tweaked something and practically dragged half my body across the finish line (we don't like to relive that race much). This winter I've been running at altitude (a good old 6,000 to 7,000 feet up depending on which path or treadmill I'm tackling for the day) so it'll be nice to run where it's flat and my lungs aren't fighting for air most of the time. 

Go to runningguru.com to get registered and start counting down the days to warmer weather. After all, the temperatures can't get much worse than what we've already suffered through...especially come March.

Photo grabbed from Jeffrey Beall at flickr. 

Fit-Pic: Elvis is Alive

August in Chicago can mean a lot of things. Lollapalooza. The Air and Water Show. The Chicago Triathlon. And tonight it meant the 16th running of an August classic: Fleet Feet Chicago's Elvis is Alive 5K. Call it a chance to put on your blue suede shoes, grow out your sideburns, poof your pompadour, and pull on your Elvis-inspired jumpsuits to party like you're in Vegas and run.

"One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go cat go!" Joe "Elvis" Tirrito, the star of the post-race Elvis tribute performance, blasted the start horn, and runners, all-Elvis dressed first, sprinted down the path in Lincoln Park.

Not all Elvis-dressed runners started at the front of the pack, like this duo back where a friend and I were running. But hey, we all earned our peanut butter and banana sandwiches at the finish line.

What's The Run Project All About?

We run to stay in shape. We run to lose weight. We run to push ourselves to our mental and physical maximums. We run raise funds for a cause. We run to support someone else or someone who can't. We all have our different reasons for running, right? And if we all had to answer a question as simple as "Why do you run?" we'd hear several different answers.

If you ask Jon Rankin, an elite runner who made the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team as an alternate in the 1500-meter run, that question, he'd likely say that he's running to save the world. He'd also probably tell you that he runs to beat his kidney disease and that running saved his life after he was diagnosed with a terminal kidney disease; that diagnosis gave his running a different purpose. Rankin and Benjamin Auerbach are co-founders of The Run Project, a company that started all because of a 2011 conversation the duo had about how running could save the world. The sport can save those who run, or runners can save others by lacing up their shoes for a charitable cause.

The Run Project is the online community for sharing those stories. As its site says, The Run Project is "home of the 60-second running story." The idea is to create one-minute videos as a way to connect runners, the charities and causes they run and fundraise for, and donors. And those videos can also serve as inspiration, help find causes worth supporting, connect runners and their stories, and aid in using running to save the world. Cool stuff, right?

Chasing an Olympian: Kara Goucher is hard to catch!

I swear that's Kara Goucher's back side.

Chasing an Olympian is tough work. I know, I just returned sweaty, thirsty and a little achy from a run where I did exactly that.

That Olympian was Kara Goucher, who happens to be in Colorado Springs with Shalane Flanagan, Alan Webb, Lopez Lomong and a few other Olympic-caliber runners. They're training in and around the Olympic Training Center for three weeks--or so I learned from John at the Colorado Running Company (tip: befriend your neighborhood running store. They are pools of information.) and later confirmed by reading Innovation for Endurance.

I ran right by her at first. But there was something about the magenta top, capri tights and Nike Frees (at least I thought that's what she was wearing) on the ponytail-bobbing, sunglass-wearing runner that made me do a double take. This wasn't just an anonymous runner. This was Kara Goucher trying to be anonymous--or maybe simply running. It had to be her. The ponytail swinging. The dark hair. The build. The Nike outfit and Free shoes. Sure it took a few seconds to piece it all together, but when I did, I aborted my run route to follow her. After all, it's not every day you can run with, er behind, an Olympian. If you've followed Fit-Ink for a while you know how big of fans we are (I knew it was bad but I didn't realize we had all these Kara mentions), and you know how excited we'd get at the prospect of being that close to one of our running idols--and semi-running with them. And that's especially true when you've missed literally every other opportunity to run with her from Chicago media visits to running Boston in 2009 and sharing the same course (all stuff Liz has been lucky enough to do while I, in turn, could grow more green with envy).

Fit-Pic: Three, Two, One, Snowshoe

It's Sunday morning. It's January. It's after most of the holiday hype has cooled off. So why aren't these snow bunnies skiing? Because January 6 was the first snowshoe race of the season at Beaver Creek Ski Resort. Each winter the Beaver Creek Running Series offers a snowshoe edition with races held on and around the mountain in January, February and March that draw pro and amateur racers.

According to the race announcer, roughly 350 snowshoers took to today's 5K and 10K courses that wound up, down and around Beaver Creek's west side. These athletes make the race look easy. If you watched me on the trail, you'd probably think otherwise (I'm convinced I held up at least a dozen people when our course turned to slippery, downhill singletrack). But more on that tomorrow (and more pictures too)--I'm still warming up after standing around for too long this afternoon in wet socks and layers.

The Last Run of 2012

Maybe you ran today. Maybe you ran last week before all the holiday hoopla. Maybe you haven't laced up those running shoes since the cold air came in or since you ran that fall marathon (that's usually when I toss my shoes in the closet and let them collect dust until March). Maybe 2012 wasn't your year to run and you can't wait to get a jump start on 2013. Or maybe you're making that 2013 commitment at tomorrow's New Year's Day 5K or Commitment Day Run. Whatever the case, where was your last run of 2012?

Mine was two days ago. I ran to the post office and back, which can be quite enjoyable when you have the view pictured above and not the stop-and-go I'd get back home in Chicago (thanks crosswalks). And it can also be quite challenging. I'm currently in Colorado, trading my running legs for my skiing ones, where the elevation makes even a 3-mile easy run hurt, mostly in the lungs, and where running layers are thrown out of whack--26 degrees and I'm sweating in my fleece-lined gear. Yeah, I know I should be piling on my running layers and lacing up my shoes one final time today to get in a few last miles before 2012 comes to a close--you know, to make up for all the miles I couldn't run in 2011. But the closest I'm going to get is an indoor workout today followed by tomorrow's Commitment Day 5K--my first run of the new year and my first January 1 run ever. At least I'm starting 2013 on a running foot.

In my defense, I'm usually skiing--family tradition puts me in Utah, skiing at Alta's torchlight parade every New Year's Eve. This year, I may not have made it to Alta, but Colorado's just as good when it comes to hitting the slopes (unless all the storms land in Utah and they've dried up by the time they pass over Colorado). I skied yesterday to the point of extreme quad burn and my 5K "recovery" will be another ski day.

OK, your turn. Where was your last run of 2012? Where will you be running in 2013?

Note: A version of this post also appeared at ffcheer.posterous.com.

Run Run Rudolph

Elves. Santa Claus and his sleigh. Reindeer. The only thing missing from Sunday's Rudolph Ramble was the Christmas tree. Or maybe I just missed it, which wouldn't surprise me. Do I really not remember anything but foam antlers, which I have stashed in a bin of Christmas decorations, and snow from the last time I ran the Rudolph Ramble?

Snow must have scared me from becoming a regular Rudolph Rambler--that whole December, snow, cold weather bit. Judging from Sunday, it certainly couldn't have been the race atmosphere, which was fun and festive. I learned after the fact that Santa, his reindeer and the elves were new this year, but a lot can change when you don't run a race in nine years.

Nike Women's Half Heads East

This race heads east in 2013! Credit

I should be psyched about races, especially new ones, to run in Chicago. And most of the time, I am. I can ride my bike to the start line. I can run a course that's flat and fast (yep, that's pancake flat Chicago for ya). I can run familiar routes. I can roll out of bed to run without stressing too much about having the right layers, the right pre-race foods and the right directions to the start line--and if I don't, it's my fault for not stocking my fridge or shopping for gear.

But this time around, I'm psyched about a new race that's happening more than 500 miles away from home. Here's why I'm ready to break my routine and sign up, stat!

1. It's the Nike Women's Half Marathon. I've wanted to run the San Francisco race FOR-EV-ER, hills and all, to get that Tiffany bling at the finish line. The race vibe sounds too cool to miss, unless you're religious about running the Chicago Marathon, turn yourself into a total cripple (or expect to) on race day, and know that the only way you could survive San Fran was cheering a friend from the sidelines and having a Segway on call to power up the city's hills. Ahem, that's me.  
2. It's in Washington, D.C. I have runner friends and family who live in and around our nation's capital. Surely, I can fire them up to run with me? After all, some of us have been talking about running another race together since 2009. And I've never run in D.C.--not even a training run--so I'm in for a surprising race course.

Fit-Pic: Pumpkins in the Park

Since when did Pumpkins in the Park welcome so many costumed runners? Since the 5K became the Chicago race to run for Halloween, which was this year. I seriously think I could stare at costumed runners all day--I'm still thawing out from this early evening event, a result of wearing too little clothing on too cold of a day and staying outside for too long with too few layers.

 These runners are far more daring--especially those who wear costumes that don't look conducive to running--and more creative than I. If you weren't wearing a costume, face paint or some Halloween colors, you were in the minority. Who'd think to cross dress like the couple above? Or wear a cloak that looked like it belonged to a Japanese emperor (I don't have pictures of that one but I literally followed that costumed runner the entire race)? Or how about the the hunter and his sheep (at least I think that's what he was supposed to be), above at right?

So much for my excuse that you can't run fast in a costume. Minnie Mouse proved me wrong--she, Melissa Hardesty, was the second fastest female of the day. And if memory serves me correct, the female winner, Pam Staton, also ran clad in costume. Guess I should have whipped out the ladybug wings...maybe I would have flown across the finish line a little faster.

Fall Favorites: Chicago Running Races

Wouldn't you shiver for some finish-line hot chocolate?

I don't like fall as the season--the leaves changing, the cooler weather, the shorter daylight hours just aren't my thing--but I do like fall for running. Especially when the running happens after the Chicago Marathon. The Lakefront Path is practically deserted, you can run almost any time of day without roasting or freezing, and there are still plenty of races to run on the weekends. Perfect if you're ready for a late-season PR before shutting it down for the year, looking to run your first 5K (this is aimed specifically at my friend who wants to run a 5K but has put it off time and again), or just have fun at the races (the costume-wearing crowd). I'm not even a week out from running the marathon--and thought I'd be putting away my running shoes for a few weeks, or months--but I can't help but want to race again. Not a marathon--two in 28 days was plenty for my legs--but anything shorter will do.

Some local races I’m eyeing:

Men’s Health Urbanathlon, October 13. Race registration is about to close (or has closed?) for this 10.8-mile event that's not your usual running race. With a name like Urbanathlon, expect to see obstacles and challenges where you’ll test your strength and not just your speed. Rumor has it that there's a stair climb inside Soldier Field. And if Chicago doesn't work, there are still Urbanathlons to be had in New York (Oct. 27) and San Francisco (Nov. 18).

Mend Those Muscles

Legs feeling a little rubbery after running 26.2 miles? Sore in all the wrong spots? Go for a massage. Not to say that the Chicago Marathon finisher's gear isn't cool (I'm sure this year's Nike stuff will be awesome--it always is), but a massage is the best post-race treat you could give your body, except for maybe that beer we like to imbibe at the finish line.

Based on recent research, 10 minutes of a Swedish massage can reduce inflammation in the muscles. And after all the pavement pounding you'll be doing during the marathon, it seems like an hour with a massage therapist's touch would be more worthwhile than another T-shirt, especially if your drawers are as stuffed as mine. I'm already remembering how stiff I usually am after a tough race--I practically fall out of bed Monday morning--and how my calves could use some kneading. Here's even more reason to get massaged post-race: The Spa @ Equinox is offering 15 percent off all of its massage services to Chicago Marathon runners. Runners can take advantage of this offer by bringing their marathon bib to the Equinox at 900 N. Michigan between October 8 and 14.

This deal gets more and more enticing for this girl, who hates to pay full-price on anything, especially since I missed out last year (what was I thinking?!). If you need me after the marathon, chances are I've fallen asleep on the massage table--and based on how I currently feel, that time can't come soon enough.

Have you gotten a massage after a race? Did it make you feel better?

Photo courtesy of Equinox.

Fit-Q: What's your ideal running temperature?

Credit: lululemon athletica

It's fall and it's marathon season. Sometimes that means cool temperatures (we hope) but in recent years, we haven't been so lucky especially when the Bank of America Chicago Marathon hits the Windy City. Remember the year it snowed? It was 1993. How about the year where it was so hot the race was cancelled and runners were encouraged to pull off course? That was the 30th anniversary in 2007, where temperatures soared into the high 80s and it felt like an oven on the city streets. Or when the starting temperatures were at freezing? It was 2009. Or what about last year when it felt like summer? 

Sure marathons get their fair share of weather extremes--don't remind me about the Grandma's Marathon I ran where it was uncharacteristically warm and the promise of cool air blowing off Lake Superior didn't happen--from rain to sun, wind to still air, cold to hot. And sure the weather can change in an instant. How many times have you looked at the weather forecast only to watch it change again and again before race day? I know I was expecting to see temperatures in the 60s or 70s when I looked at this year's Chicago Marathon forecast--I've simply grown used to it, between the warm races the last two years and not running a chilly race once this season (and I've been racing since March).

But while some of us beg for chillier air, even if it borders on freezing, others want a little warmer weather. So we want to know...

What's your ideal running temperature, marathon or not?

poll by twiigs.com

Note: Degrees are measured on the Fahrenheit scale.  

Photo grabbed from lululemon athletica at flickr.

Trade 13.1 for 3.1 at Chicago Half Marathon Weekend

How far are these feet running? Credit

Sometimes shorter is better. When that applies to racing, it's less pounding on the joints, less pain the next day, less chafing, less worry about wearing the right socks (the ones that won't give you blisters 8 miles into a long run), and obviously less mileage. And all of those apply two weekends from now when the Chicago Half Marathon takes place.

Sure, you can run the 13.1 miles of the half--it's a great course, by the way, that takes runners past some scenery we don't often run by--but if you're not ready, willing and able, it could be more of a death march than a happy-go-lucky race. But a 5K? That's manageable, less stress on the joints, less time taken out of the day (or a not-so-early wake-up call depending on how you look at it)--and any other reason that'll justify 3.1 miles over 13.1. So sign up for the Hyundai Hope On Wheels 5K instead.

Hooked on Brooks RnR Gear

Dear Brooks, when did you start creating such cool Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series gear? No joke, I wanted at least three of the T-shirts and the navy hoodie I spotted in the 10 minutes I had to spend at the expo. And had the lights not turned off, begging expo goers to exit at 6 p.m., you probably would have gotten a sale out of me.

It doesn’t take much for me to drool (almost) over running gear. Name a race expo—Rock ‘n’ Roll, Boston, Chicago—and I can always find something that’s begging me to take out my wallet and spend, spend, spend. Not necessarily because I want the coveted Boston Marathon jacket or all the gear that sports Chicago running pride, although that tends to be my first inclination. I’m practically the ideal customer, always wanting to buy a T-shirt secondary to the race shirt that every participant receives regardless of how many tees I already have exploding out of the drawers at home. You should have seen me at last week’s Ironman 70.3 expo—sure enough, I had to have the shirt with every participant’s name printed on the back to make the M-Dot logo.

Strike Out ALS 5K: Where Baseball and Running Mix

Running the warning track at the 2011 Strike Out ALS 5K

I’ve walked three miles (or what felt like it) in the pouring rain to watch the Home Run Derby. I’ve scoured the internet for tickets to a face-off between the Cubs and the Yankees—and then begged and pleaded for a friend to sit in what could be Wrigley Field’s worst possible seats. I’ve biked from Chicago’s North side to U.S. Cellular Field to finish the Nike Rock ‘n’ Run 5K steps from the outfield. I’ve read more baseball-themed books than I can remember—Campy, the story of Brooklyn Dodger Roy Campanella, is currently on my nightstand. I’ve run around the warning track of U.S. Cellular—and up and down its ramps and steps—mere days after getting cleared to run post-stress fracture.

I love baseball almost as much as I love running. So when the two come together as they do at the Strike Out ALS 5K, it doesn’t take much convincing to get me to go. Even if I barely arrived before the race started (yeah, I completely underestimated the traffic). Even if I didn’t know what my legs would do after not running since April (it was July). Even if it was hot and humid and not letting up as day turned to night. Even if part of the course involved running two loops around the ballpark’s parking lots (some might be turned off but I was too happy to try running again to care—and this year’s course promises to be different).

Wetsuit Dash

Let's go running...in wetsuits. Credit: brentzooka

The Jim Gibbons 5K was last night (I love that race and the fun festival afterward!)--the run. The Bike to Work Rally at Daley Plaza was this morning--the bike. Now what about triathlon, or mainly swimming? Life Time Fitness has an answer for that: a wetsuit dash. News of the event landed in my inbox last night. And, well, I couldn't help but get excited for a kick-off to the 30th anniversary celebration surrounding the Life Time Fitness Chicago Triathlon, whose Olympic-distance event closed to general entry earlier in the week.

If you're a triathlete who needed a reason to call off work for the day, or skip out early, this is it. If you pass by Millennium Park this afternoon and see several wetsuits, this is it. If you're at Ohio Street Beach and watch a throng of wetsuit-clad runners march onto the sand, shed their shoes and take a swim, this is it. If you see trolleys full of triathletes, this is it. It's the Life Time Fitness Chicago Triathlon kick-off complete with wetsuit dash getting underway at noon and ending around 5 p.m. at Park Grill Plaza, 11 N. Michigan Ave.

It's Not Cinco de Mayo Until Cinco de Miler

Runner at the 2011 Cinco de Miler. Credit: RAM Racing

I’m a sucker for chips, guacamole and salsa. I’m also a sucker for races that I’ve never run—as if the Ravenswood Run was any indication. Combine these two factors and the Cinco de Miler on Sunday, May 6, sounds like my ideal race.

That would probably explain why I signed up for it months ago—and up until about a week ago I thought that the race was actually on May 5, the true Cinco de Mayo. Oops! But at least now I know I won’t be showing up at Montrose Beach on Saturday morning wondering why I’m not hearing tunes from the El Guapo band, smelling the breakfast burritos and churros that await runners at the finish line, seeing the piñatas that can be cracked for charity, or fighting the typical traffic that occurs at the Wilson lot before races. Those are just parts of the post-race fiesta, minus that traffic situation I fear, that follows the five-mile race. There’s beer, each runner gets a cerveza on the house, and chips and salsa, the perfect complement to the margaritas consumed on Saturday.

Show Me the Money

The stadium blanket participants received at the 2011 race.

I don't get bonus points for using the famous line from Jerry Maguire, "Show me the money," because Fleet Feet Sports Chicago said it first. But they couldn't be more spot on in using it to incite and excite runners to register for one of the city's favorite races, the Soldier Field 10 Mile. I'm psyched and I'm already registered (so what if part of that excitement stems from my inability to run the 10-miler last year). Sure, the race is still a month away, 29 days and counting to be exact, but it is all about football this weekend. With the NFL draft happening Thursday, April 26, to Saturday, April 28, Fleet Feet is using the time to offer a signing bonus promotion that rewards savings to participants who get their friends, family and coworkers to register during the next four days for this year's Soldier Field 10 Mile. And indeed, you will be shown the money.

Here's how it works:

• Registered participants in the 2012 Soldier Field 10 received an email today detailing the "draft."
• In that email, participants received a link that could be shared with friends and family who might want to register for the race. You can try my link but Fleet Feet was kind enough to offer me an entry back on opening day so I won't be reaping any benefits, unless I somehow could give the money to Salute, Inc., one of the race's beneficiaries.
• When someone uses your link to register for the May 26 race, you'll receive a "signing bonus" on the credit card that you used to register for the race way back when.
• The earlier your team registers, the more money you can recoup from your race registration. On Thursday, it's $15 per registration; on Friday, it's $10 per registration; on Saturday, it's $5 per registration; and on Sunday, it's $5 per registration.

Need a selling point for your Chicago friends? I have some: You still have plenty of time to train for 10 miles. And for anyone who's now wondering why they signed up for Saturday's Lakefront 10, another 10-mile favorite in the Windy City, you can run the Lakefront on whatever mileage you already have stored in your legs and then plan to better that time next month. Hmm, maybe that means I should take my own advice.