Chicago

I've always wanted to live in a big city. I love the idea of city living. Everything is conveniently close and easy to get to. I have been staying with a friend in Chicago for the past week and am absolutely loving it. Although my training isn't going exactly as I planned (we've been attending a lot of festivals, eating at all the great Chicago eateries and drinking libations) Chicago is a great place to run. It has been insanely and record breaking-ly hot here and with all the fun we've been having getting up at 5 am for a run just hasn't been in the plans. I ran a few times in the heat but didn't go over 3 miles. When I did run the 3 miles, I ran two outdoors and the final mile on an indoor track to escape the blistering heat. Finally, on Saturday afternoon there was a break in the heat wave and on Sunday afternoon I went for a run along the Lakeshore Trail. It was a beautiful run. It was the first long run of my marathon training plan. My goal was to run for at least an hour or 6 miles. The trail was so beautiful and inspiring I continued a little bit further to run 7.68 miles at a pace that felt effortless. I know I'll need to slow down during future long runs, but this pace felt good so I went with it.

A girl could get used to this...