Independence Day

Thursday evening we ran with the Nike Run Club. Jennifer had run with the club before, but this was the first time we ran together. Nike is the new apparel sponsor of the Chicago Marathon, but it has sponsored the Thursday evening Run Club for some time. From its Michigan Avenue store, various Nike pace leaders lead groups on 3-mile, 5-mile and 7-mile runs along the lake. Because the weather was so good, and the next day was the July 4 holiday, we had a little more time and ran 5 miles. A friend of ours, Monica, has been running in the club too, but she decided to do a faster pace this week. Monica's friend, Conway, also met us there.

Although it was a bit windy, the run was a lot of fun. We ran east on Erie towards the lake and ran along the lake up to North Avenue Beach and back. There were already a good number of people on the lakefront getting ready for the fireworks that night. However, the crowds were light enough to run unobstructed. Kinnier's patella tendinitis, which came back during our weekend in Lake Geneva (from either the hills or the PARC football game) for the first time since April, started acting up, so that will be under watch.

Still, it was a nice run at a good but easy pace; and it was another day where we got to appreciate the beauty of city. Families, couples and groups of friends were all out enjoying temperatures in the high 60s and the festive atmosphere. There were people swimming in the lake in tri-suits, most likely training for a triathalon. The chess players near North Avenue looked focused but strangely, in a relaxed way. We ran to Castaways, the beach cafe at North Avenue, where people were also taking advantage of the great weather and were getting dehydrated in other ways. After the run, Nike has bagels, cream cheese, bananas and water for everyone. It's a pretty good time and we met some friendly people.

We were enjoying everything so much that we decided to do something else together for the very first time: we stayed downtown to watch the City of Chicago fireworks. For those who are not local, the annual fireworks take place on July 3, not July 4. In theory, it works well for us since we go to visit friends/family in the suburbs every July 4. We had previously only seen them on tv though. In fact, we have not watched fireworks outdoors and in-person since the Sydney New Year's Eve celebration. The Chicago fireworks were not the best we had ever seen, but they were well worth the price of admission. There were times when we "oohed" and "aahed" and Kinnier got really giddy because he loves fireworks. We have been trying to take advantage of city life this year, though we say it every year. So far, so good. We have run throughout the city, we have gone to museums, and we have visited the farmers market almost every week, which we also did this week.

When things are going your way, everything seems brighter. We are feeling fit and have a lot of energy on a daily basis. We went to bed much later than usual, but we would definitely like to see the fireworks again. To quote Bill Pullman's carnation of the President:

We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're
going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence
Day!

Well, that might be over-dramatic, but we are loving the training, and no shin splits or patella tendinitis will keep us from reaching the finish line in Amsterdam.

Statistics:
Distance: 5.0 miles
Start Time: 6:36 p.m.
Time: 0:51:29
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Maximum HR: 153
Average HR: 140
Days until Race: 103