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Sounds much more interesting than the North Branch (and definitely warmer). Have a safe trip to Ndola and home.
Hi everyone! Sounds like Chicago is having quite the winter, though I guess it could be worse. I've been in Lusaka, Zambia for the last week. Running here is much more challenging than in Rwanda, but I am soldiering on. It is very flat in the city, and the part of town where I am staying really only has palm trees which don't offer much shade. Still a bit over 4000 feet so I guess I'm getting some sort of training stimulus though not really considered 'high altitude'. The roads are pretty terrible (potholes and full of trash and stray dogs and chickens) so I've been sticking with the semi-paved roads in the 'safer' areas and have been able to milk a very boring 8 mile route out of them. It is not as acceptable to see women running here (especially in shorts, though I do wear a shirt with sleeves) because our neighborhood is predominantly Muslim (some liberal, others practicing a very strict form of Islam with women fully cloaked in black). So I don't look people (especially men) in the eye because I don't know the extent of their religious practices. I run by the mosque everyday and will try to get a picture of the minaret because it is quite lovely. The Zambians are mostly okay with my running, and make fun of me by calling me 'muzungu' (white person) but it's okay I'm used to it from traveling over here since the late 90s. I am running 16 today, which means repeating my route twice. It is Sunday morning so I'm hoping the traffic stays light so I can finish the entire run. If not, I will need to switch to painful half mile out and backs in front of my house so that I don't get run over. Drivers have ZERO respect for pedestrians here, mostly because most people are poor and don't have cars so there are people walking everywhere you look so drivers have to be aggressive if they want to get anywhere. Also, you see a lot of guys 'jogging' in their work clothes and shoes in the morning, not for exercise but because it is faster to get places by running. Of course these guys 'jogging' are faster than my 'running', LOL. I'm sure they laugh at me, the crazy running muzungu who's skin offers no protection from the sun and who is sweating like a pig even though it is only in the 70s or low 80s. I am going to Ndola, Zambia in four days (near the border with Congo) and I'm hoping the running will be better. One of our expats is Ethiopian. She says I can run with her and that she is "slow". Should be interesting...
Hi everyone! Sounds like Chicago is having quite the winter, though I guess it could be worse.
I've been in Lusaka, Zambia for the last week. Running here is much more challenging than in Rwanda, but I am soldiering on. It is very flat in the city, and the part of town where I am staying really only has palm trees which don't offer much shade. Still a bit over 4000 feet so I guess I'm getting some sort of training stimulus though not really considered 'high altitude'. The roads are pretty terrible (potholes and full of trash and stray dogs and chickens) so I've been sticking with the semi-paved roads in the 'safer' areas and have been able to milk a very boring 8 mile route out of them. It is not as acceptable to see women running here (especially in shorts, though I do wear a shirt with sleeves) because our neighborhood is predominantly Muslim (some liberal, others practicing a very strict form of Islam with women fully cloaked in black). So I don't look people (especially men) in the eye because I don't know the extent of their religious practices. I run by the mosque everyday and will try to get a picture of the minaret because it is quite lovely. The Zambians are mostly okay with my running, and make fun of me by calling me 'muzungu' (white person) but it's okay I'm used to it from traveling over here since the late 90s.
I am running 16 today, which means repeating my route twice. It is Sunday morning so I'm hoping the traffic stays light so I can finish the entire run. If not, I will need to switch to painful half mile out and backs in front of my house so that I don't get run over. Drivers have ZERO respect for pedestrians here, mostly because most people are poor and don't have cars so there are people walking everywhere you look so drivers have to be aggressive if they want to get anywhere. Also, you see a lot of guys 'jogging' in their work clothes and shoes in the morning, not for exercise but because it is faster to get places by running. Of course these guys 'jogging' are faster than my 'running', LOL. I'm sure they laugh at me, the crazy running muzungu who's skin offers no protection from the sun and who is sweating like a pig even though it is only in the 70s or low 80s.
I am going to Ndola, Zambia in four days (near the border with Congo) and I'm hoping the running will be better. One of our expats is Ethiopian. She says I can run with her and that she is "slow". Should be interesting...
The Limping Jogger
Roxie - a slow Ethiopian? Good luck with that! Stay safe and do post some pictures.
Anyway, finished with ~62 on the week. Had a fartlek mid week and tempo pace work in my longer run today. Brutal. Even if I don't run well in Boston, I'll be primed for some shorter races. I already PR'ed in the HM a couple weeks back so now need to take down my 10 mile PR. That should happen since I beat my 10 mile race PR (from 2012) during that HM...
I have found that the path around the "lake" at the Glenview Park Center is reasonably clear so have been using it as an alternate to the North Branch snow path.
"Only a few more laps to go and then the action will begin, unless this is the action, which it is."
WOW, Roxie- that is incredible. I'd love to see pictures, if you have them! Safe travels.
What a gorgeous day today- I forgot what it was like to run outside and be warm! 20 done in neighborhood loops- I wasn't feeling well this morning so I wanted to stay close to home in case I needed to bail. It was slow, but other than that it was great! Hope you all got outside and enjoyed it too.
Duke of the Internet
WOW, Roxie- that is incredible. I'd love to see pictures, if you have them! Safe travels. What a gorgeous day today- I forgot what it was like to run outside and be warm! 20 done in neighborhood loops- I wasn't feeling well this morning so I wanted to stay close to home in case I needed to bail. It was slow, but other than that it was great! Hope you all got outside and enjoyed it too.
I agree! I did 16 on the Lakefront yesterday. The weather was perfect. No wind, full sun, 100% clear path. There were so many people out running, you would have thought it was summer. It was awesome!!
Amanda--what an amazing experience. Stay safe!
It was gorgeous out yesterday. I ran from my neighborhood over to Bunker Hill to see what the trail looked like - of course it's awful and the only people using it were walking dogs or cross country skiing! I ended up running a few parking lot loops, but, I didn't mind as the sun felt awesome and it was still better than my neighborhood. It sounds like we are supposed to get some more snow tomorrow. I'm done with it and ready for spring!
Anne
Park Center run today. Nice, warm 6 miles.
Is the Park Center open to everyone, or just Glenview residents? Do they have just a daily rate? It sounds like an indoor track might be a nice change of pace from the treadmill.
I attempted 6 on my neighborhood loop this morning- most of it was OK, but there were sections where it was way more slipping and sliding than running. I'm counting it as a core workout just to stay upright. My knee has been all weird lately (it sounds like runner's knee, but I am refusing to admit that), so I'm splitting tomorrow's 14 into 6 in the AM and 8 PM. Not ideal, but it a) sounds better than doing 14 on the treadmill after work on a Friday and b) seems like it might be a little easier on this stupid knee. We'll see.
Yep, it's open to non-taxpayers. No fee. It's on the second floor, just walk on. There's a little waiting area for changing and you can also use the locker room on the first floor, bring your own lock. 1/8 mile banked track and the walkers pretty much stay out of the way. Plenty of room to stretch in the corners and there is a stretching apparatus at the track entrace. Crowded on Saturdays and probably after work. We usually go mid afternoon when its quiet. There are also free tracks in Skokie and Niles, but we prefer Glenview. If you see a "middle aged" couple running, together, its probably us.
Is the Park Center open to everyone, or just Glenview residents? Do they have just a daily rate? It sounds like an indoor track might be a nice change of pace from the treadmill. I attempted 6 on my neighborhood loop this morning- most of it was OK, but there were sections where it was way more slipping and sliding than running. I'm counting it as a core workout just to stay upright. My knee has been all weird lately (it sounds like runner's knee, but I am refusing to admit that), so I'm splitting tomorrow's 14 into 6 in the AM and 8 PM. Not ideal, but it a) sounds better than doing 14 on the treadmill after work on a Friday and b) seems like it might be a little easier on this stupid knee. We'll see.