Zoo Run Run

My son Jake, his girlfriend Jessica and I ran the annual Run For The Zoo in Lincoln park this morning and had a grand old time cruising through this family-friendly 5k. There is also a 10k version but we elected to run the short one and I figured I'd look a bit conspicious in the kids run.

I got passed by a couple of baby joggers but it didn't bother me much because the paths were narrow, the humidity high and everyone was having a good time, including me. I was in no hurry to get this little race over with because the race planners really sent us on a scenic and interesting winding path around the zoo and Lincoln Park. There were a lot of families with little kids and that made the morning even more special than a PR or an attempt to run fast-er:)

One of my favorite runs is my personal zoo run. From my abode near Oak Street Beach on the Lakefront, winding through Lincoln Park and the zoo to Belmont Avenue and back is close enough to 5 miles that I don't feel guilty about notching that number in my mental chart of weekly mileage.

On my winter runs, if it is really cold, I will sometimes duck into the underground passage/observatory at the sea lion exhibit, warm up a minute or two and watch the sea lions do their underwater cartwheels and whatever. There's a nifty glassed in cove that allows human intruders such as I to watch the show, and perhaps the lions get a kick out of some goofball human staring at them through a glass while the frost melts off his beard in the winter and the sweat beads drip from his bald head in the heat of summer.

Jessica is doing well with her initial foray into running and has registered for the Chicago Marathon, hooked up with the Leukemia Society's Team In Training program and is getting stronger and faster. I keep reminding her to get the mileage in first and the speed will come later but she's young and I think she wants to go really fast...hmmm, don't we all.

Jake is cracking out 3-5 milers with ease now. Despite his silence, I think he is convinced we're nuts for pushing runs over 5 miles...and of course he's right. What's really great though is that he is very supportive and encouraging of anyone who wants to tackle a marathon.

He has always been fascinated with the show that Chicago marathoners put on here each year so Jessica and I will try to liven it up to the best of our ability, assuming we get to the start line with no serious injuries while training through the heat of summer.

I was thinking today of Gerry Lindgren (sp), the great mid-distance runner of my era, the late 60s and early 70s. He says his job was to make other people better runners.

A major difference between he and I is that he pulled runners from the front while I push from behind. But we're all part of a special team...and I'm proud of that!