Aside: Three Floyds Brewery Ride

One of my "goals" for the summer was to bike to Three Flyods Brewery in Munster, IN. Particularly after talking with my friend Javier about the Austin to Shiner ride (I guess it's called Shiner GASP) while we were training through Chicago's Polar Vortex for the Boston Marathon.

Since the prospect of doing a long run and an 80 mile bike ride on the same weekend didn't sound too appealing, I decided to schedule the ride after Grandma's Marathon while I would take a break from running. Props to Lyndsey Baum for completing her scheduled 16 miler AND our Three Floyds ride!

Considering the apparent popularity of this ride there weren't really that many good resources to help plan the ride itself (that said, it isn't rocket science), so I decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to write a little aside covering some of the important details for fellow Chicago riders.

Where should I start?

Meet your friends on the Lakefront Path (I can't stand calling it the Lakefront Trail). Did you know you can check the conditions of the path by following @activetransLFT?

We rode from the 0 marker at Ardmore Ave (5800 N). Actually, I got on at Lawrence and rode up to meet the Baums:

Meeting anywhere on the LFT is probably a good bet no matter where you live in the city. During the summer there are public bathrooms and access to water fountains from 5800 N to 7100 S (the South Shore Cultural Center, where the other 0 marker is).

Where do I go after the Lakefront Path ends?

Actually, if you've never been to the 0 marker on the Southside, it's actually not that easy to find. Up until this point, it is pretty clear how to follow the Lakefront Path south, Once you get to 71st/E South Shore Dr, it may not really be clear that you'll need to turn east and continue until the two streets split (you should Google Streetview if you really want to see what it looks like, in fact here's a link).

Once you've made it to The End (the marker is at the northeast corner of the intersection), you'll want to continue down South Shore Drive until you get to 79th Street (1.25 miles). At this point, you have the option of riding on what looked like the recently reclaimed S Lakeshore Drive (which was very beautiful) or continuing on South Shore Drive (which does wind a bit) to 95th Street:

I'm getting hungry...

For the full experience, you'll want to refuel at Calumet Fisheries, a Chicago dive which has been critically acclaimed by the press for years. Be forewarned you won't find any bathrooms here so do you business elsewhere! Also it's cash only...

Anthony Bourdain and the ATM

Regardless of what you do at the earlier fork, you can easily get to Calumet Fisheries as long as you're paying attention for 95th Street, both Harbor Ave and Ewing will get you to 95th:

The Burnham Greenway

If you don't like traffic and underpasses, I would suggest taking the eastern route, outlined as it will connect you to the Burnham Greenway with minimal bustle. The more direct route is to ride Ewing to Indianapolis and get on immediately after crossing under the Skyway:

It may look a little funny presented here, but the X marks where you'll be getting on the Burnham Greenway which lies just south of the Skyway and runs parallel for a half mile before turning directly south.

Follow the Greenway (this is dummy-proof) past Eggers Woods Forest Preserve for about 2 miles. This section is literally flat and straight with a handful of street crossings. Once you enter Eggers Woods, pay careful attention for the only fork in the path (again about 2 miles from where the Greenway departs from the Skyway). Take this left (east) turn immediately to get onto Wolf Lake Boulevard:

Follow Wolf Lake Boulevard to the southern most exit by the Ranger Quarters on to Avenue N. At Avenue N and 134th turn left (east) again. This gets a bit sketchy, but should be fine if you ride smart.

You'll  come to a T (there is a Luke's Gas Station on the northwest corner). At this point you'll have unceremoniously crossed from Illinois into Indiana and 134th will be 136! The T intersects 136th with Sheffield. After turning right (south) onto Sheffield continue right at the fork which should keep you on Sheffield which has much less traffic than Hohman though when Sheffield dead ends at Hoffman, you'll want to get on Hohman which will take you through downtown Hammond, IN!

Riding south down Hohman for about a half mile, look for Sibley St and turn left (east). On Sibley you'll be looking to turn right (south) onto the Erie Lackawanna Trail. If you pass the First Baptist Church, you've gone too far!

About .25 miles after getting on the trail, south of Douglas, you'll want to take the right (western) path which is the Monon Trail.

You're Almost There!

Following the Monon Trail for 4.4 miles will get you to Fisher St, cross Fisher and turn left (east) towards the Walgreens and Calumet Ave. Staying on the west side of the street (the sidewalk is nicely divided for bikes) turn right (south) onto Calumet Ave.

Ride a single mile south on Calumet, looking for Superior (there's a Speedway/White Castle just before Superior, if you're thirsty you should buy stuff to drink at this Speedway). Take Superior to Indiana Parkway and you'll have arrived:

Glorious, isn't it?

Once you've arrived, you'll probably have to wait as you can observe in the photos above and below. But that's why you ride with friends (thanks Eric and Lyndsey)!

Eric and I planning our meals.

(photo credit: Lyndsey Baum)

We arrived around 2:00pm and waited for a good couple hours to be seated (We ate, drank, and were on the road again around 5:00pm). I think you might be able to mitigate some of the wait time by arriving closer to 4:00pm of course this would push back your departure time.

Ultimately, it is rather astounding the number of miles you can bike on paths, away from car traffic. This ride was also done in rather mild weather for July and with a nice tailwind out of the south, expediting our return trip a bit. For complete route information of our trip, check out my Strava posts: to Three Floyds and Back Home.

I hope this was helpful for those planning a similar ride. 

Do you have any questions about the ride?

What are some rides you would recommend?

Pasta Party!

I've had "All You Can Eat" pasta two nights in a row this week and I think it is time to write a post on one of my pet peeves, the association of pasta with distance running.

From our youth, we are taught that you need to "eat carbs" before a race and big events are often preceded by celebratory Pasta Parties, where athletes gather to eat (in my case inhale) pasta most commonly served with red (tomato) sauce and cheese.

Exhibit 1: A photo of 2004 Northside College Prep Cross Country Pasta Party

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy these festive pre-race events. They're great for creating a sense of camaraderie and they can be a lot of fun. What I take issue with is the intentional focus on consuming carbs and widespread acceptance of pasta as a defacto fuel of choice is probably not the ideal pre-race ritual.

While I'm not a physiologist nor nutritionist and I readily acknowledge that everyone is (very) different I would like to point out a few reasons to reconsider the Pasta Paradigm. I'll be offering up a few alternatives in a later post (this one is kind of long).

I attribute a lot of my ability to train at higher volumes over the last few months to embracing (at least theoretically) the Thrive Diet's One Step Nutrition philosophy.

One Step Nutrition

This philosophy prioritizes foods containing simple carbohydrates (think fruits), fatty acids (nuts and seeds), and Amino acids (leafy greens) over foods containing complex carbs (processed grains), fats (animal fats), and protein (animal protein). 

While foods that contain simple carbs, fatty acids, and Amino acids put less strain on your digestive system leading to a plethora of benefits including faster recovery and digestion.

Pasta is full of complex carbohydrates

While some complex carbs are a necessary part of your diet, they do put additional stress on your body. When you're preparing for peak performance additional stress should be minimized!

Pasta is lacking in nutrients

Pasta lacks fiber which helps remove toxins from your body and triggers your sense of fullness. I've always had problems with over-indulging when eating pasta so this makes a lot of sense to me.

An aside on "carb loading"

Pasta's lacking nutrition isn't the only factor when it comes to my over-indulgence when eating pasta. For me the idea of wanting to have "enough" energy was always a license to over-indulge. The funny thing about this is that it is unnecessary to over-indulge as your muscles can only store about 2 hours worth of rapidly accessible glycogen. If you're eating a reasonably balanced diet it is pretty easy to top this supply off before a race.

Additionally, if you're racing for longer than 2 hours you'll be relying in some part on your nearly endless body fat stores of energy. Even the most lean people on the planet have enough energy stored in body fat to fuel many marathons.

Finally, pasta often contains gluten

Gluten is a protein with a pretty bad rap. Like I said, I'm not an expert, but for some people this causes mild to severe GI distress (I'm sure there are better blogs to read about this). Since most things that contain gluten also fall under the umbrella of my other two issues with pasta, it's probably best to avoid before a big workout or race. I know I feel better GF before a hard workout or race.

Red (tomato) sauce can cause indigestion

I often experience indigestion(acid reflux) after eating tomato sauces. This is particularly severe when the sauces contain additional sweeteners and fats from the meat and/or cheese ingredients.

Cheese

While I enjoy cheese, I've had a sensitivity to it and other dairy products for my entire life. It leaves me headachey and often times with excessive congestion.

Beyond allergic stress, the fats present in cheese can slow digestion. Same goes for cream sauces.

Running on Empty

No matter the race distance I like to make sure my GI system is as close to empty as possible. For me, the typical pasta dinner is full of foods that can make this a challenging pre-race meal as it lacks fiber, can trigger acid reflux, and can be high in animal fats.

If you've ever had GI issues on a run or (much worse) during a race, I think I rest my case.

What is your pre-race fueling strategy?

Do You Know the Way to San Jose? (Training 9/16-9/22)

Didn't quite hit the volume goal I had for the week (I was about 60-90 minutes shy), but considering the amount of time I spend traveling and with family I don't mind too much. I spent 9:24 running (not counting the other stuff like massage).

I also didn't feel like doing another quality session while my sleep and eating schedule was off during travel. Quite honestly I ate a lot while I was away. My family likes to eat! Also my left tibia has been a bit tight and not being at home I didn't want to press things too much.

All in all I don't think this was a bad week, but after a down week and with not much longer until the BoA Chicago Marathon, I was hoping I'd feel a bit better this week.

9/16 Monday

52 Minutes at MP? - 2:13 with 52:00 at about marathon effort
Originally intended to run 5 miles at 5:50 pace with Mark Wehrman, I ended up meeting up with Scott, Robert, Evan, and Mark and getting talked into doing 52 minutes at about marathon effort. Had a tailwind for most of the later half of this harder effort segment which helped, but I felt remarkably relaxed and controlled. Ended up running about an hour more than I originally intended.

9/17 Tuesday

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Palmer Square - 1:04 at an easy pace
As easy as things felt yesterday, I paid for it today (that and the extra distance). Everything felt awkward, like I was slamming my feet into the ground. 

I love running here. Ran here for the first time with my friend, Skinny Dan.

9/18 Wednesday

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Skokie Valley Line Trail - 1:02 easily
My legs still felt beat and my left shin was sort of sensitive so I decided to run easily again.

As much as I enjoy Palmer Square it is much more relaxing to run up to the Skokie Valley Line Trail as it is quieter and there is much less car traffic. By the way, I hate cars. Just wanted to put that out there. Also it is not too late to start Car Free Week! 

Also my eating habits were all jacked up specifically I was eating meat AND eating late night snacks (cereal and other crap) before bed when I had to run in the morning.

9/19 Thursday

Skokie Valley Line Trail - 1:00 at an easy pace
Didn't want to risk things so I just ran an hour easily before work & travel to San Jose, CA for my grandma's memorial service on Friday.

9/20 Friday

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Los Gatos Creek Trail - 1:02 at a moderate pace
A decent mix of asphalt and some very mild single track .5 miles from the door of where we stayed in San Jose. I was very blessed to be staying at a family friend's house that was just short jog from this fantastic path. On Sunday, I ran 20 miles on this path and had to cross just a handful of streets.

9/21 Saturday

Los Gatos Creek Trail - :50 at a moderate pace
Up late visiting with family & off to another family gathering before people had to leave. Snuck this one in.

9/22 Sunday

Los Gatos Creek Trail to St. Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve - 2:13 at a moderate pace
Felt good to get a longer run in after just trying to recover from my long effort early in the week and dodging travel and family time.

Stayed on the Los Gatos Creek Trail through Campbell and Los Gatos to the foothills of St Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve. There were a couple nasty climbs near the turnaround. Never felt great thanks to dehydration and late nights. Also wasn't able to eat properly after. I really wanted to do a long run while in San Jose, hopefully not at the cost of training for this coming week.

Where are some of your favorite places to run?