Chicago had an unseasonably warm-ish (emphasis on the *ish*) day today, with our highs reaching low-to-mid 50s. Most days lately have only seen 40s for the highs, so these extra few degrees are worth getting excited about.
This was also actually a perfect day to try out a birthday present I got, what I’m calling a cocoon for A to cuddle with (read: in) while we run together. I’ve only been running with her since April, so we have yet to tackle the Chicago cold and wind together yet. It’s no surprise that I adore cold-weather running, but I haven’t been certain about subjecting her to it… until now.
In other words, yes, I realize I’m a bit of a freak for enjoying winter running, but I don’t know if she’s picked up my freakish genes quite yet. 🙂
Anyway, the cocoon is basically this; think of it as a sleeping bag for kiddos that you can use in a stroller or in an infant carseat/carrier. It fits perfectly in the BOB, and I’ve been looking forward to using it with A on a run. (Of course, I didn’t think I’d be running with her right now, so soon after NYC, but whatev. C’est la vie 😀 ).
Here are some pics C snapped today of A and me before we got out on our 6-mile run. I eventually put her in her winter coat under the cocoon, but it was more because she sometimes likes to pull her legs out of the cocoon, and I wanted to make sure at least part of her was warm while we were out (sidenote: fortunately, aside from chucking her snack cup and lid while we were running, she kept it together).
Hooray for running! This is a good shot of the cocoon.
The other amazing birthday present was also for A and me while we run, and it’s basically a cover that is water- and wind-proof and that fits over the frame of the BOB. You can zip it all the way up (so the kiddo can’t see a thing), or you can zip it down so the kiddo can see but has a plastic shield over her to block the wind.
I think the cover, combined with the cocoon, will ensure that A could go on pretty much any cold-weather run that I’d want her to accompany me.
We’re not messing around with this. It is super toasty in there
After our photo session with C, we finally got out for our run: a nice 6-mile run from home to Belmont Harbor along the lakefront. My watch took a long time to detect the GPS before we got going, so here are a couple more pics I took as we were waiting to get movin.
The diddo and me, about to lay it downLet’s get this party started, bitches
The verdict is in, and it’s in favor of the cocoon. Well done. We’ll see how the cover holds once it gets cold enough to warrant its use. Until then, it’ll be all cocoon, all the time.
Saturday morning arrived, our final day of our Ragnar Madison-Chicago experience, and my day began around sunrise, as we pulled into Jamie’s home in the North Shore. A quick, refreshing shower called my name, though I didn’t bother to waste my time (or her water) washing my hair, since I knew that my last leg would leave me saturated in sweat again. Following my shower and pumping off some milk, I crashed on a couch for a few hours before we got up and departed for North Chicago.
We all kept saying that we needed to take a team picture–or at least a van picture–so here’s what we got. We look pretty reasonable for not really sleeping much in 24+ hours.
Van two holding it down. Me, Marc, Lindsay, Jamie, Randy, and Brian
And our ride for the weekend, the grocery-getter.
The side of Van two. Kills indicate how many runners we all passed while out on our legs. We ran out of room and had to use another window. Yea... cocky a-holes.The other side of van two.
By the time we got to the North Chicago high school area, it was already very sunny and warm, at least mid-80s. Just like before, time seemed to fly by, because before we knew it, Otis had come in from his last leg and passed off to Brian, beginning the last legs for van two. Here’s a video of Otis and Brian’s final exchange: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqVfHvg-3SQ&feature=g-upl.
Right after Brian started out, I was able to corral van one for a van picture. We never did get around to snapping a full team picture, but at the very least, we have two van pictures (that’ll work, right?).
Van one of Team Please Crack a Window! Liz, Ashley, Otis, Stephanie, and Allison, after Otis's last leg
Brian ran from North Chicago to Lake Forest, so it was neat to get back into that part of the North Shore after working at LFC for two years. We all hung out by the high school, waiting for Brian to come, while some runners were still catching some zzzs that morning (but good lord, it had to be hot in their sleeping bags).
Randy ran from Lake Forest down to Highland Park–again, very familiar areas of the North Shore–so it was actually kinda cool to get back into that part of the northern suburbs. As was to be expected, everything is still pristine and in wonderful condition.
Jamie was ready for her third and final leg from Highland Park down to Ravinia, and idiot me didn’t have my vid ready so instead settled with taking some pictures of Jamie and Randy’s actual exchange.
Jamie and Brian, hanging out, waiting for Randy to come in. Jamie is obviously very excited to run.Jamie anxiously waits for Randy's arrival...The exchangeAnd she's off!And Randy is very happy to be finished running in the inferno
Randy’s final thoughts on his last leg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=1BteeS6fX-s. Jamie remarked that she was actually looking forward to her final leg because, besides the obvious reasons, she was very familiar with that part of the north shore trail, which was kinda cool (huge advantage to running in familiar locales… you always know where you are!).
We made our way from Highland Park down to the Ravinia area, grabbed some extra bottles of water and gatorade from a neighborhood store, and waited for Jamie to arrive, which she did nearly just a few minutes after we got to her exchange. Once she exchanged with Lindsay, she had the following to say in her exit interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAE2pm12SVw&feature=plcp.
Lindsay was off and running in her final (fourth!) leg in twenty-four hours, and I managed to get her about halfway through her leg on video here. Brian interviewed her for her exit interview here. And then, like Lindsay, I was off on my final (fourth) leg of Ragnar Madison-Chicago.
This leg was among my shortest, but I thought it would be pretty challenging because
a) it was my last leg in twenty-four hours,
b) it’d top me off at 22.4 miles,
c) it was hot,
d) I was quality-sleep deprived,
but at the same time, I was looking forward to it because
a) I’d be running through Wilmette and Evanston, which are really pretty areas,
b) it was through residential areas and thus, somewhat shaded, and
c) I’d see my friend David at the exchange in Evanston near the Northwestern campus.
I started off too quickly, especially considering how hot it was, but stubborn me refused to run carrying a bottle of water. I figured I could tough it out for a couple miles. My van drove ahead of me and gave me some water part of the way through my run (thanks, guys!), which definitely helped. I also managed to run through some sort of bridal or baby shower, so the guests were cheering for me, and some elderly guy even yelled “YEA, RAGNAR!” (upon seeing the race bib) and gave me a high-five, so that was pretty cool. I started with low 7s (7:teens, I think) and finished right around 8, so I guess I stayed more or less around my projected 7:30 pace… but by the time I was finished, I was just happy to be done and to see my friend. Here’s my exit interview and exchange with Marc; thanks for taping it, Brian!.
Brian, in his longest leg of the race, took us home strong, and in super hot weather. He was a rockstar, and once he approached, all of us in van two ran through the Ragnar finisher chute with him. Stuff came up that precluded van one from partaking in the finish line festivities with us, but they were there in spirit. 🙂
Van two representing for Team Please Crack a Window. Notice that the finisher medals are bottle openers.
