Training in the Windy City by Gina Dunning.

Butch and I spent three days in Chicago recently and attempted to keep some sort of training schedule. Because the weather was so good and our hotel was very close to the Lake Shore cycling/walking/running trail, it wasn't all that difficult. The Lake Shore Trail runs along Lake Shore Drive, north and south of Navy Pier. There are also several beaches along this stretch. On Sunday, it was amazing and somewhat overwhelming to see the amount of people that were on that paved path; everything from club cyclists, tourists on cruisers, parents with strollers, runners, people on roller blades, and walkers. It was hard to relax because at any moment I felt like I might be creamed from behind by a bike. On Monday and Tuesday, traffic was lighter. I understand, that farther away from Navy Pier, either North or South, it is not as crowded. If you are in downtown Chicago, you are not far from a scenic and safe running/walking trail. It also appears to be one of the few biking routes in Chicago. I spoke with a couple of triathletes, on Sunday, and they told me that the bike path is where they mostly train, except on weekends when they drive north to a forest and ride. I could have rented a bike for $20.00, for two hours, and $10.00 for each additional hour; but I didn't, even though there were decent cross bikes available. Instead, Butch ran on Sunday and Monday. I took advantage of the very nice gym at the Hyatt and also walked on the Lake Front Trail.

As for swimming, we were adventurous and swam in Lake Michigan, on Tuesday morning. Several of the beaches in Chicago have areas for distance swimming, including the Ohio Street Beach near Navy Pier. The distance swimming area at this beach runs parallel to the trail. There is a swim line, a 1/4 mile marker and a 2 mile marker. It was great, except is was cold, cold, cold. The day before we swam, the lifeguard told Butch that the water was 65 degrees. It sure felt colder than that to me. I mean, it was so cold that my face hurt for the first few hundred yards. We did not have wetsuits. Most of the distance swimmers had wetsuits. However, several swimmers did not. The Chicago triathlons were this past weekend, which explains the large number of swimmers that we saw. We managed to swim 2 miles.

In conclusion, if you are in Chicago, there is opportunity to keep up your training schedule, whether it be running, swimming, or cycling. One other piece of advice: Take AmTrak from Carbondale. It sure beats driving and parking in Chicago.