Yesterday’s run went very well. It marked my first time running outside in over a week and the weather was in the 40s with no wind which made for a pleasant run. For my 4 mile run Wednesday I ran my usual 3 mile route (up Lincoln, west on Armatage, north on Sheffield and back and tacked on an extra mile. I discovered that my walk to the train everyday is exactly ½ mile so it was easy to tack on that route to make 4 miles.

The main notable thing about yesterday’s run is it was fast. I strung together four sub eight-minute miles which is as fast as I’ve ever gone at that distance (I have run a 5k faster).

For tonight’s run I was able to go outside again which was a treat. It was a little colder tonight than yesterday but still nice for this time of year. Tonight was my first time to the Chicago Niketown Running Club which meets weekly on Thursday nights at 6:15 for a 3, 5, or 7 mile run.

I managed to arrive at the store a little early and signed in – and filled out what felt like 100,000 forms. They got my address and phone number and my secondary e-mail address in exchange for an organized group of runners and freebies at the end.

Tonight there were 52 people that showed up to run which they informed us was a new winter record. Probably around 2/3 of the people there had run with the group before and the remaining third were new. At around 6:20 we left the store, hung a left down Michigan Ave. and another immediate left onto Erie.

The veterans of the group knew exactly where they were going so I made sure to follow a few of them until I knew where I was and could easily make it to Navy Pier and back. I kept up with some quicker runners for the first mile or so then they went ahead of me. My stupid Garmin was acting up so I only turned it on for the last half (1.5 miles) of the run.

From the midpoint of the course to the end I didn’t see anyone else but I made very good time finishing the last 1.5 miles in 12:10 for what I’m guessing was a total of 24:20 or faster or just over the 8 minute mile mark. In any case I finished before the majority of the others.

As far as the post run activities Nike provided, I was very pleased. If you had asked me 7 months ago what I thought of Nike and Niketown I would have said that they have some nice stuff that is extremely overpriced and were mostly glitz and marketing.

I have come around some since then because of the following:

1. The One Hit Wonder 10k race they sponsored last September was a blast
2. The Nike “Awake” Commercial which makes me want to run in the worst way whenever I see it on TV. I gotta get that on my iPod ASAP
3. The people running the club were friendly and helpful and I think I’ll go back
4. Free Post-Run bananas and bagels for all!!
5. Best for last … drum roll please…2 free tee shirts and free reflective stickers

See the above picture for the free stuff.

About the only downside of the running club was the 15 minute presentation (infomercial) they did on the new line of Pre (Steve Prefontaine) shoes, shorts, and jackets. Hey they had a captive audience so they might as well try and make a buck I suppose.

My hard-earned dollar will still go to Fleet Feet first but there is some good stuff at Niketown also.

So bottom line, Wednesday and Thursday were above average outside running days and I think I will be back with the club on March 2nd (next Thursday) for my next 3 mile training run.

Wish me luck on my 9 mile run this Saturday morning. TGI(a)FAIHTDO = Thank God It's (almost) Friday and I have the day off.