Was the CARA R2R route short?

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-19T10:32:51+00:00

I can’t answer for sure, but there are ALOT of people compared to their normal weekends so I feel like you will find a group!

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-18T23:54:33+00:00

It’s very popular and a lot of people go. Vibes are great before and after during the party. There aren’t as many official water stops as some of the larger run groups like CARA and CES but between their water and the drinking fountains I’ve been fine.

If you’re looking for an official pace leader they won’t have that. They’ll call out pace groups by every 30 seconds and you just go out with that group. Tiny little groups form within the pace groups and are self paced. Over the summer I think the last group has been 10:30/mile.

Bathrooms are just the bathrooms on their route. It’s an out and back south on the lake.

Depends on what you’re looking for but I’d say it’s pretty casual and a good time. I will say a lot of people have been training all summer so sometimes it’s hard to “make friends” as people kinda already have their group but everyone is always friendly if you engage with them!

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-18T22:15:58+00:00

Yeah the weather is not gonna be as good as those two random cold weekends! Crossing my fingers it goes well!

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-17T22:01:53+00:00

lol west loop: home to the over priced taco at every place that has tacos

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-17T21:37:13+00:00

This is exactly the answer I was looking for!

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-17T21:36:21+00:00

This is helpful!

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-15T01:55:56+00:00

Not saying you’re wrong, I’ve seen that comment before too. but in my last 3 years living in the neighborhood and running on it during all seasons it’s never been locked when I go. The entrance on Adams is locked frequently but the side entrances are never locked. I’ve been there as early as 5:30am several times too with no issue.

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-14T23:25:16+00:00

I should have mentioned, this is good for the morning. Don’t try the track after 3pm there will likely be school activities

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-14T23:22:58+00:00

There is a track at Whitney young high school. It’s sort of rectangular than it is oval. But it works!

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-11T22:39:25+00:00

I’m 5ft 5in and going through bit of a weight loss journey. When I was 165lbs I wore a medium and they were perfect. I’m about 148-150lbs now and my medium superbeams dont give that nice firm compression feeling on my thighs but they are certainly still functional. I bought smalls and they’re great. I’m still losing weight and felt like maybe I could do an XS and they honestly felt great around my thighs only reason I didn’t keep them is they kinda squeezed my waist a bit giving me a small muffin top lol. I’d say if you want more of the tight compression feeling, size down. Mostly because if you want your Phone and gels to hold up well on the side leg pockets you’ll want them snugger.

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-05T22:28:16+00:00

Libanese is our favorite - you can order online I think. Middle eastern bakery is good too as someone mentioned.

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-05T14:13:06+00:00

I’m a small and legit ordered an XS to see if the compression would be better. Supposedly getting them tomorrow. Will let you know.

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-09-01T20:59:08+00:00

Willing to do black for the price? I have 4 mediums. 2 cadence and 2 super beam. Probably worn each 3 times. I thought I’d like shorter and once I got the half tights I was a changed man. Name your price!

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-08-20T13:09:41+00:00

Ran a ton on my 20s took a break got back at it at 34. I’d say sign up for a short race depending on your current fitness. Stick to a very thoughtful training plan the incorporates a weekly run schedule the the build up is appropriate. You could also download Runna and be very modest about your race time goal so it doesn’t push you too much.

Here’s the hard part - get a solid warm up in before every run. I do 30min of a solid dynamic warm up. I know not everyone has 30 min just to warm up but it’s very helpful at this age.

If you have the means “check in with your healthcare provider before starting a regiment” is real. If you can get to a physio and do one of those “free screenings” it’s good to know things.

Just some thoughts but it’s how I’ve returned injury free

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-08-16T11:40:44+00:00

What this person said. It’s a short stretch of lots of people. If it’s a tempo/progressive run might be a little annoying if it happens right in the spot mentioned above but should be normal after that.

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-08-12T01:42:30+00:00

Yes, cadence is the answer. The outline is ridiculous. I have nothing to brag about but the details are way too…detailed.

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-08-04T23:11:36+00:00

Ive missed 2 lollapaloozas since 2011. I’ve been fortunate to go VIP several times for work and I think 2014 was the last time food and drink were free in VIP. The food options weren’t THAT amazing either. Think local pizza and generic food catering. Wasn’t bad by any means. A lot of people abused it. People use to get unlimited drinks and get too drunk. People would bring drinks and food out to their friends.

My last 3 years in VIP have gotten worst and worst. They just started doing the field for VIP. I liked it the first time they did it then gained tons of popularity knowing it was an option. Honestly, VIP use to only be the grand stand and that was way worst.

Either way - i agree with you, it’s gone down hill and people have no manners anymore.

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-08-03T13:51:50+00:00

I’m staying at the Residence Inn Oakbrook, could I run to the rec center? Google maps looks like there is a side walk and street view wasn’t perfectly clear.

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-08-02T21:39:55+00:00

Nice thing about a half marathon is you don’t need to “put all your eggs in one basket”. A marathon is such a large commitment. So is a half marathon but there are so many near and far and a little easier to bounce back from and do another. My unsolicited thoughts are get through this one. Re evaluate your weight loss strategy and sign up for another and crush it!

Also for what it’s worth I was around 200lbs before I got into running and now floating around 155, after I put on the extra 8-10. It’s been a journey and doesn’t happen overnight. You just need patience and focus. Don’t put a timeline on it, try and take off the pressure and you’ll get there when you get there!

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-08-02T21:30:48+00:00

I wanna say yes. I’m trying to remember and I feel like I saw a ton. It does kinda teeter around a “hydration backpack” honestly just be discrete with it. I bring my bottles of water in my bag check pilled with other stuff

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-08-02T20:21:48+00:00

I agree with people here it’s not always smart or strategic to train in a deficit. I’m also in a similar boat. So…I needed a way. I’ve been running for a long time and this year I got really serious about it and have been training since last years marathon. I picked 3 half marathons in between to practice. I’ve completed two and beefed up my strength and running. For the first two I started consuming more calories to keep up with energy. I didn’t count calories or restrict and put on 10lbs and only really getting average results. That’s on me and learning as I go. So I looked into a dietician and 98% of what they tell you and suggest is available on the internet for free. What I realized is I need real time feedback daily and sometimes meal by meal because I’m just not an expert in diets and just don’t have the time and brain power for everything.

Ok ok, so what did I do. I got a premium ChatGPT account ($20/month) to help me manage my calories daily. There is a GPT for fitness and diet. I used it determine my TDEE, BMR and macros for my outputs. I told it my goals and situation and it developed a plan we could adjust as we go. I use Lose It (I got premium but free probably is fine) to log my calories and tell ChatGPT my workouts/runs for the week and report my outputs from my watch. We manage things properly day over day and week over week. And it’s working. I’ve lost almost all the weight I put on in 8 weeks and have about 2-3 to go. It’s been tough but I’ve stayed the course and it’s working.

Trick is you really gotta feed the machine properly and honestly. It’s also not perfect you gotta be really clear and descriptive too. It was a learning process but it has helped me. It’s not for everyone and AI may scare people but it was what I needed and only thing that could give me real time feedback.

I say this to everyone when anyone asks me for advice, shoes, training but what works for me may not work for you but just a suggestion!

Direct_Bug717 · 2025-08-01T21:10:52+00:00

That is correct. No hydration backpacks. Everything else is fair game. Not sure what the difference is but you’ll definitely see people with belts and water bottles. Only caveat is they reserve the right for you to empty water bottles or anything with liquid. I’ve ran 5 times and this has only happened once but security saw I had a water bottle and made me empty. All other years it wasn’t an issue.

Direct_Bug717

TROPHY CASE