Where should I run?

I live in Chicago, not far from Lake Michigan.  I love my neighborhood, and I it gives me some amazing options for running.  For starters, there's the Lakefront Trail.  It is 18 miles of uninterrupted running and biking, and the views are spectacular.

And when I get bored of that view, there's all of the North Side to explore.  I love picking an area a few miles away, running over to it, running around a bit, and then running home.  There are a lot of streets, restaurants, and homes that I would have never noticed if I didn't run around aimlessly.  It's nice to just get lost for a while.

Running outside also give me to opportunity to be a bit creative.  I have an annual tradition of running 10 miles on opening day.  The area around Wrigley Field really is quite lovely.

2013

2014

And while in Florida a few weeks ago, I had to take a detour during a run to go visit a neighborhood at mile 6.

I'd like to meet the civic planner that dew this one out.

As nice as running outside in the Chicago summer is, I sometimes end up at the YMCA for my long Sunday runs.  For runs over 12 miles, there's something to be said for AC, a place to put my food and drink, and a movie on my tablet.  Music and podcasts help me deal with long runs on the road, but they don't compare to some good old fashioned violence in a good action or superhero movie (I'm looking at you Steve Rogers).  It's nice when you forget you're running because you're so excited some bad guy just got thrown off the plane.

And while we're talking about running on treadmills, lets not overlook the speed difference.  I'm MUCH faster on the treadmill during solo runs.  When I run on the street, I fall victim to a very common mistake: I start fast when I feel strong, then get tired, and struggle to keep my speed up.  On a machine, I can set my initial speed at a reasonable pace, and then slowly build the speed mile by mile.  In my last 15 mile run, every mile was faster than the last, and my last mile was 1.3mph faster than my first.  That's what I need to know I can do during races.  It feels like cheating (the treadmill has freaking fans you can aim at yourself), but my legs are doing the work, and I'm getting faster.

I think the real reason that I'm faster at the gym than on the road is that I can defeat my built in governor.  When I'm running in the wild, I get tired, as people do.  While I know what my goal time is, I'm fighting my body's urge to take it easy, slow down a bit, and run within my means.  When I'm on the treadmill, I'm staring at the speed, time, and distance the entire time.  I set the dial for what my goal is, and there is no way in hell thats going down.  If I'm not going to change the speed, I'm left with 2 options: run fast, or fall off of the treadmill.  The human body is capable of quite a bit when pain and embarrassment are looming.

When all is said and done, I think as long as I get my miles in, I'm doing ok.  Even if they are country club miles with movies and drinks and food, they are miles.  And I'm running them fast.  I have a half marathon on September 7, so we'll have an opportunity to see if I'm right.  If I run a good race, the weekend crew at the Y may see a bit more of me.