Suburban vs. City Running

As we all know, running is a big part of my life. Especially now with the Chicago Marathon nine weeks away! Ahhhhh. Halfway there baby! I've been doing my best to get better and faster at it, but obviously, its a struggle. With all the travel I have been doing this summer, I've been doing pretty well staying on track. Most recently, I was home in the suburbs of Chicago, and thankfully got in all my runs.

I've run at home for years and have the same couple of routes and paths that I take each time. There are obviously some pros and cons to running at home in Glenview versus running in New York City. They are both two very different running environments in so many different ways. After a few days, I get bored with each location anyway, but I power through because there is a goal in sight. And in my boredom, I also make lists in my head. Tons of lists. Random lists of thoughts. To do lists.  I love lists. One of those lists this time around was the pros and cons to running at home in the suburbs. I've thought it many times before, but this time I put pen to paper, or keyboard letter to blog post...

Pros:

1) I got a Garmin signal much faster. With no tall buildings in the way, the signal comes in much quicker and I'm not constantly moving around trying to find a signal with my hand up in the air looking like a moron. I even got a satellite signal while I was still in my house (in the bathroom...on the toilet...pooping...) which surprised me because that would never happen in my apartment in NYC. Back in NYC, I have to go try different corners a few times each time in order to get the satellite to come in. It's a giant pain in the ass and I have to wake up like an extra five minutes now so I can have the time to get one.

2) It's flat. There are no hills in my neighborhood. This is the beauty about most of the Midwest; it's flat. Central Park is soooo hilly! Especially on the west side with the three big rolling hills. Geez. People who run it the first time are always so surprised by it. That's one of the major reasons I do my longer runs on the West side highway. Not only is it waaay less monotonous, it's less hilly. The lack of major inclines is one of the reasons I wanted to do the Chicago Marathon again because its known to be a flat. If its flat, perhaps I will PR. Fingers crossed.

3) I can run right in the street (against traffic of course). On all the side streets, I just go ahead and run on the street. I can't do that in NYC, I'd probably die. I would get excessively honked at or hit (by a bike or a car). It's just a death wish. But once in the park, its free game early in the mornings before the cars are allowed to enter. At home, I enjoy doing it because it does offer some more freedom.

Side Note: Remember that episode of Real Housewives of New York years ago when they showed Kelly Bensimon running right down Fifth Avenue in NYC with traffic? It was bizarre because NO ONE does that. No one.

4) Almost everyone you pass who is also running or walking waves or says hello. In NYC, there are just so many people, no one takes the time to wave good morning or say hi. I kind of miss that. Maybe its because I go in the park at the same time almost every morning and recognize the same faces and hope they'd recognize me enough for a friendly grin. But nope. It doesn't happen here and I kind of miss that.

5) I pass a ton of memories. My grammar, middle, and high school. Old friend's houses (many of whom have parents who still live there). Playgrounds. So many memories. They make me smile. I grew up in Glenview so most things that I pass on the regular remind me of something. It does add some fun to the runs as I take a look down memory lane.

Cons:

1) Lack of water fountains. It's not like right at the corner of Willow and Pfingston there is a water fountain ready to drink.  If I need water I either need to wear my fuel belt or know where there are water fountains along the way. In my neighborhood the fountains are usually in a police station, fire station, library or grocery store. Or a public park that actually has one. They aren't the most convenient, but I have no problem going in them for a drink. Or to refill the fuel belt on longer runs. When I happen to go to the police station, which happens to have some of the best cold water around, you look up you see a bulletin board with pictures of all the sexual offenders in the area. Creepy! Sooo creepy.

2) Freight trains. I do many different loops and routes in my neighborhood and one of my most common goes over train tracks. Sometimes there's no train, sometimes just a commuter Metra train, but on occasion there is a freight train passing through. When that happens I always have the internal debate of whether to wait it out (could be over as fast as two minutes but as long as like twelve) or to just trim around an re-route myself. This past weekend, my 15-miler was put on pause as a freight train came barreling through around my 10-mile mark. I stood around and waited it out. It was a lllooonnng four minutes, but not gonna lie, I didn't not enjoy the little break!

Clearly, running the burbs and the city both have their pros and cons. Neither is awful and neither is fantastic. I mean, it is running for long periods of time, so how great can it be? When you do the same route every time, it gets to be a snooze. No matter where I am, I try to mix it up as best as I can and make it work.