St. George Marathon Recap…

So it has been three weeks since I traveled to St. George, Utah for the marathon so I figure if I am going to write about it I should probably go ahead and do it.
After taking it easy at the start of the year, my goal was to be in shape and ready to go when training for St. George happened. I had planned on a 12 week plan, but you know what they say about the best laid plans. After straining my quad, a biopsy and minor surgery by the time July 1st rolled around I was wondering if I even wanted to train for St. George.
In the past, I have tended towards just running what everyone else was running when I trained for marathons, and this time I decided that since I was not in shape when I started training and I wanted to find a plan that would work for me I decided on Hal Higdon’s Senior Marathon Training Program. I decided on this plan because you could modify the 8 week plan, it was only running three days a week, and I have had trouble with overtraining in the past. I printed out the program and taped it to my fridge and decided to give it a shot. Even with the way the plan was written I did hills once a week and never ran more than six miles on my second weekday run, I also found a group that ran a pace I could manage so there wouldn’t be a lot of solo miles like there have been in the past.

These girls saved me this summer. I won’t even say how much work it was to get everyone in the same place, with the selfie stick that morning.
So I ran through July, August and September in the heat and the humidity of our Oklahoma summer, and while I wasn’t thinking this would be a PR kind of race for me I was proud of the fact that, unlike last summer, I had actually run every mile instead of walking. I felt confident that I could run the 26.2 miles even if they weren’t super speedy.
Fast forward to October 1st and we were headed to Utah.

Pre flight selfie. We wanted to make sure we got the plane in the background.
So we fly into Vegas, get the rental car and drive to St. George, check into the hotel, get some dinner and then I have the worst night’s sleep ever. After a two mile shake out run on Friday morning where my legs felt completely awful, we headed to the expo to pick up our bibs and grabbed some lunch and decided to drive the course.
I will say that Utah is beautiful, but this course scared the crap out of me. I loved the point to point aspect, but even though it’s billed as a downhill race there were some uphill portions too.
The starting line was pretty cool though.

Action shot:

They had flags from every state/country that had a participant, how cool is that?

First Aid, toilets AND fires? Oh yeah.

We headed back to the hotel, Rochelle and I ended up getting some not very good take-out and by 8:30 I was exhausted. That was about the time I realized that my sunglasses had broken in my suitcase. That was a bummer. Luckily Tim and Christie headed out to get some last minute supplies and picked up a pair for me.
I did get some sleep and then was up somewhere in the 3 o’clock hour. Everything was running smoothly and then I got thrown off a bit by a few panic moments before we left the hotel and managed to leave without a bottle of water. We made it to the buses and didn’t have to wait too long before we were on one headed up to the starting line.

It was pretty chilly up there. We got in line for the port-o-potties and then found a spot by one of the fires to relax before the start. I found a spot near the 4:30 pace group and just planned to go out and enjoy the day. Which I did, for 17 miles.
I chatted with some other runners and walked some of the uphill spots (miles 7-9 were no joke), and managed to keep myself either in front of or right around the 4:30 pace group. It really felt like a good day.
At the water stop around mile 17 I walked for a few minutes and was going to take a picture of the view. A guy that was walking by me offered to take my picture.

This was the last point I felt good for the rest of the race. I turned around and almost immediately I had sharp, shooting pains in my right leg that started above my ankle and would shoot up my leg and down into my foot ever time I stepped on my right foot.
It has been 3.5 years since my tibial stress fracture, but that one started exactly like this. Mid-run, shooting pain that hurt with every step. I knew I was in trouble. In an instant I went from feeling like I was having a great day to feeling like it was the worst day ever.
So what did I do? Well what I should have done was stop. I should have found the next medical tent and called it a day. But that is absolutely not what I did. I walked. I walked for NINE MILES, on what was in fact a tibial stress fracture. A bunch of people told me that I should have stopped, and yes I know that I probably should have, but when you are out there it’s hard to quit.
I walked 9 miles at about a 17 minute pace. It took forever! I cried. I cried a lot. I managed to finish about 8 minutes slower than at Chicago last year, I can’t decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I did not get stung by a bee this year, so that’s a good thing, but that happened at mile 17 in Chicago last year. I think next marathon will be all about making it past mile 17 because that mile seems a little unlucky for me. I managed to not be the last person in our group to finish, thanks Tim!
So I finished, got my medal, got back to the hotel for the most frantic post check-out shower ever and then we were on our way back to Vegas. In case you were wondering, Vegas is the absolute worst place in the world to be with a leg injury. Just walking (and I use that term loosely because I was limping) from the valet to the room seemed like miles. I made myself presentable and we headed to Mesa Grill for dinner.

Cremini mushroom quesadilla with fontina and ricotta, topped with a fried egg. I ate ever bit and it was so good.

Rochelle, Tim, Kristy, me and Christie.
I did have a good time. I have spent the last three weeks wondering what I could have done different to have had a different outcome. I have been incredibly bummed about the whole thing.
I was back in the boot the Thursday after we got back, had an MRI the following Monday, and then told that I needed to be on crutches the next Thursday. After nine days on crutches I am back in the boot and I go back to the doctor on November 5th. If nothing else, after two less than spectacular marathons last year St. George showed me that I am not done with the marathon. I had a great day for 17 miles, I was feeling good and having fun, and I know that there are more races ahead.

Go Girl Half Marathon…

In March I ran a second half marathon, and it was my first all female race. If there is a Go Girl race in your area, you should definitely do it!

I was still running without my Garmin in March, and I was very excited to lace up without any goals other than going out and having fun.

Pre race in the dark photo! The race was in downtown OKC and parking near the botanical gardens was a breeze. We even found a real restroom to use before the race. It’s nice when things work out like that.

Anne, Carrie, Sarah, me, Rochelle and Britney

I ran this race with Carrie my friend who is now approaching the end of her pregnancy, and just like the half marathon a few weeks before, we just went out and had fun.

The route for this race was very similar to the OKC Memorial, but I suspect that they had a map and tried to make it not overlap unless it had to. What resulted was a not very scenic trek through OKC. It was hilly at times, there were few spectators, and some of the neighborhoods were a little sketchy. It is definitely not a race you would do for the view, although the same could be said for the OKC Memorial.

This guy was all over the route though, and we just had to get a picture with him. In 13 miles I swear we saw him about 50 times. (Okay, my perspective might be a little off since so much time has past, but you get the idea.) I have worked hard in the past as a race stalker, and I have a lot of respect for others that do it so well.

Medal group photo! Seriously, these were the biggest, heaviest medals I’ve ever received. We joked that it made our necks sore wearing them around after the race. Not lying, they could also be used as a weapon.

A few days before the race we received an email asking everyone who could to stick around and wait for the last runner to cross the finish line, so there was plenty of time for more post race photos.

It was a beautiful day so we sat and cheered all the finishers as they came in, and there was a group that even went out to meet the last runner to finish with her..I got chocked up that day, and even as I recall it now it still makes me a little misty-eyed, thinking about the people that remained to cheer on the last runner.

I was a great day, and I definitely look forward to running this one again next year!

A Little Running Shenanigans…

So it’s almost half way through March, so I thought I would update how my return to running has been this year. After the plague, and my almost zero month of running in December, I took it easy and slowly worked my way back into a normal workout routine.

So far this year, my beloved Garmin has spend the entire time in the junk drawer in my kitchen. All of the 148 miles I have logged in 2015 have been done without concern for my pace, and it has been so nice! I used to think that every run needed to be logged in my Garmin, but now it has been very freeing.

I wanted to get back to running because it’s fun, and I think I am getting there.

I even ran my first race without my Garmin.

I can’t decide if I am delaying getting it out and dusting it off because I am afraid to or if I just don’t want it to feel like work again. For now, though, I think I will leave it where it is and stick to the running I’ve been doing.

Next up is the Go Girl Half Marathon. I can’t remember the last time I ran two half marathons in one month. I have been wanting to do an all girl race, and I have lots of friends running it, so it should be a really fun race.

Strides of March Half Marathon…

Last year we ran the Strides of March Half Marathon, it was inexpensive, local and had great volunteers. While I had been pondering the thought of running it again, it wasn’t until Saturday that we got signed up for it.

I have had very low expectations when it has come to my running this year. I have been running without my Garmin all year, and just trying to slowly get back into it. It’s amazing how freeing it has been. I haven’t seen double digits since we ran the Route 66 Half in November, before Thanksgiving so I knew that this half was going to be pretty tough.

I love that it only takes about 15 minutes to get to this race. Rochelle and I got there, found Kristy, Lauren and Carrie, got to hang out in our cars for a little bit and had time to hit up the port-o-potties and got to the starting line.

Carrie and I had been chatting about our race plan. Mine was mostly to not die, and hers was to take it easy. We decided to stick together and just see how it went. We did go out a little fast, but mostly because we were around other runners. We worked on holding back some, stopped at the water stops, and took a short walk break at about mile 4. Before we knew it we saw everyone else heading back and then we were at the half way point.

I convinced Carrie we needed a half way point selfie with the race volunteer.

We headed back and I was definitely feeling the miles, but we chatted away, listened to a little music, chatted with the volunteers and kept at it. The finish has a pretty good sized hill before the downhill to the finish. I made it up the hill and finished just behind Carrie in just over 2:05.

Not as fast as last year, but the fastest half since last year. I was very happy to be done.

Post race with Carrie, Rochelle, Kristy, Lauren and I. Notice the three in the middle with their age group trophies for top 3 finishes. I didn’t even check on my age group until after I got home. Turns out I should have had one of those trophies too! Second in my age group.

Sometimes it’s good to be 40.

Today I am incredibly sore. I feel like I have the body of an 80 year old. The memories are worth it though.

Next up, the Go Girl Half in two weeks. I can’t believe that I am doing two half this month. Here’s hoping I am getting back in shape and I will be less sore the next time.

How About Some Goals…

So I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions. I think they are silly and people don’t stick to them. I think if you want to do something you should set goals. Small steps in the right direction are more apt to get you where you want to go than a New Year’s Resolution.

I have considered my goals for the year, but I thought I would focus more on monthly goals for now.
Here’s what I have come up with so far, they cover a range of shenanigans.

• On the running front, how about I start running again? My total of 9 whole miles run in December might seem impressive, but I’m ready to start hitting the streets again. So far, so good. I am focusing on running because it’s fun, not because I have to. Two Saturday’s in a row of 5 miles a piece, a hill workout, and even a not so terrible treadmill workout so far. I’d say I’m off to a pretty good start.
• Running naked. Yep, for the entire month of January my goal is to run sans Garmin. I do not want to worry about pace AT ALL for at least one month. (I will reassess this goal for February when February gets here.) This is not to say that I am not keeping track of my miles, but I know most of the routes we run so I can keep track of my distance but not care about how fast I get from the start to the finish.
• As for meal planning, I plan to do it. December was especially hectic with all the baking, and I feel like we were always scrambling for what we were going to have for dinner. Now we talk about it, or we have for the last two weeks, and we have a list of dinner options on the fridge and the girls get to pick.
• January has been much less busy on the baking front, but my goal for this month is marketing, marketing, marketing. I’ve baked up a couple of batches of cookies to take to my favorite salon for passing out. Valentine’s day is right around the corner!

• I also plan to get more organized with my business. (Set up my LLC, and open a business account.) There I sais it, so I have to do it. I have the forms for the LLC in my in box, just have to do it.
• I am so excited that I actually bought a new, to me, fancy camera last week. It’s a Nikon D3000, and my first goal with it is to learn how to use it. I signed up for a photography class, and since I missed the first class last week I am going to night for the make up class. Should be interesting.
• Finally, my last goal for January is to get more yoga back in my life. When I PR’d the marathon, almost two years ago, I was practicing yoga pretty regularly. In fact, all I was doing at that time was running and yoga. No strength or anything. After the horrible miles of 2014, I realized that the thing that was missing for almost the entire year was yoga. I am working on getting back to my mat. It’s good for me and I really enjoy it. It’s practically a no brainer.

Running in 2015...

After three super busy days at my day job, and not much baking going on, I decided to try out a new recipe last night.

Dark chocolate shortbread cookies. I have wanted to make shortbread cookies forever and I finally got a chance to.  I found a recipe and gave it a try. I was very surprised that the recipe didn't call for eggs. I even googled it to make sure it hadn't been left off the recipe.  Nope, no eggs. I baked them, dipped them in semi sweet chocolate and added some sprinkles. Nothing says celebration like sprinkles. 

Josh and I bundled up, packed up some cookies and headed to Jerry and Tiffany's to run in the new year. It's officially a tradition, two years in a row. 

Worst selfie ever, but it was cold and we were out there. No wind though, so that was good. 

We took a shoefie after. We even got dog feet in the shot. Hunter ran in the new year with us. 

If you are going to take a shoefie, you must take a selfie too! Tiffany, Jerry, Patti, me and Josh. It was a great way to end 2014 and start 2015. Looking forward to the miles ahead. 

Goodbye 2014...

 There are just a few hours left of 2014, so what better time to be nostalgic about the year that has passed then now? No big plans for the evening, except a few extra teenagers, a little take out, and a midnight run planned for later.

There has been a lot of baking this year, but how about everything else?

There has been some running...

1. Chicago Marathon, definitely a bucket list race, I got stung by a bee, and I'd like to do it again and run stronger.
2. OKC Marathon, the last time I ever run the full in OKC, it was brutal.
3. National Running Day, that day that I didn't actually do any running.
4. Route 66 half marathon, the horrible half that turned into an upper respiratory infection and pneumonia
5. Sooner State Games trail run, the day I seriously thought I was going to be last.
6. Strides of March half marathon, my second fasted half ever, and the reason I decided to run the full at OKC. What was I thinking?
7. Birthday running, I love birthday running with the girls.
8. Walking the Turkey Day 5k, got Josh out of bed to walk that with me.
9. Scorcher half marathon, the wettest race I've ever ran, and my last race in the 35-39 age group.

 And some other fun stuff...

1. My 40th birthday, when my aunts and great aunt flew in to surprise us.
2. Joshs's 41st birthday and one of those times he did a shot of tequila on his birthday.
3. Rochelle's birthday celebrating at Blu.
4. The girls' birthday at the Melting Pot in Dallas
5. Food basket deliveries for the Elks Lodge before Christmas.
6. The tailgate after the crappy OU game Josh and I went to.
7. The Daddy Daughter dance, only one year left...
8. Spring break in Branson, or that time we tried to go to Silver Dollar City and it freaking snowed.
9. Birthday celebrating for Sarah and Rochelle.

By the numbers:

• 1,047 total miles
• 7 100+ mile months
• 2 marathons
• 3 half marathons

I think I ran my most miles in a month in October with 147 total miles, and my least amount of miles this December when I logged only 9 miles. That is quite a drastic change. Two marathons in one year is a lot. 

I am looking forward to a fresh start that the new year brings. Time to get back on track, set some new goals and decide what comes next. I can't wait!

Not So Much Running…

By the time I got home from the Tulsa half marathon three weeks ago I was completely worn out. I took a nap, which I try to never do on Sundays, and I was still tired. When The Walking Dead was on later that night I had a cough and could barely stay awake long enough to see one of my favorite shows.

Monday rolled around and I called my doctor and got in to see him Monday afternoon. The diagnosis? Upper respiratory infection. Armed with a z-pak, prednisone and cough medicine with codeine I was on my way. Thinking I would be feeling better in a day or two.

I knew that I was in no mood for running. I had decided during the half marathon that I was going to take a little break. I was worn out and not having fun and really needed a little break.

Thanksgiving was a couple of days later, which meant the Turkey Day 5k. I had so much fun at this race last year. I was bummed that I was not going to feel up to running, so I talked Josh into signing up and going for a 3 mile walk with me.

The weather was wonderful!

He’s smiling even though I made him get up early.

Rochelle stopped by after her 8+ mile run to walk a few blocks with us.

There was a Tim sighting at the OK Runner water stop!

It was a great day, I just love seeing friends out at local races. While I was sad to not run that day I still wasn’t really missing running, my motivation was about zero. That’s fine though, with my hacking cough I thought it best to take it easy.

The following Thursday, I met Rochelle and Patti for a nice easy 4.5 mile run from my house. I was fine when we were moving but whenever we stopped I would again start hacking. It had been a week and a half since I had been to the doctor and I still had a cough, felt tired, and just didn’t feel like myself. I stuck to other non-running workouts and lots of baking until last Tuesday.

I called my doctor and told him I still wasn’t feeling better. He called in another antibiotic for me, which was filled by my pharmacy about the exact time Josh got home from work and swinging by Target to pick up more cough drops and Mucinex. Nothing better than a husband that will turn right around and drive across town again to pick up your meds.

The antibiotic was one I had never heard of and I could tell after just a few minutes that it wasn’t going to work for me. My tongue, ears and face started getting very itchy and while I tried to convince myself that maybe I was imagining it after a little bit of it not going away I had to take two Benadryl and turn myself into a walking zombie for the rest of the evening.

I again called my doctor and went to see him last Wednesday. Turns out my upper respiratory infection had turned into Bronchial Pneumonia. No wonder I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I left armed with another antibiotic and an inhaler. I even took a sick day last Thursday. I spend the day catching up with The Newsroom on HBO just in time to see the last episode of the series air last night.
It’s been three weeks since I started to not feel well, and how do I feel now? Not fabulous. I have gone through more tissues than I can count. (I actually ran out at work today.) I am completely sick of coughing until I feel like I might throw up, I am tired of feeling like I can’t take a deep breath, and

I am so tired of feeling tired.

And I am starting to be bummed about my lack of running. After three weeks off I am going to have to get back into shape before I can run with any of my group. It’s so frustrating.

Another Route 66 Half Marathon…

It has been crazy busy the last three weeks! That paired with the fact that I feel like I have had the plague the entire time it has been hard to keep up with everything.

I ran the half marathon in Tulsa again this year. I love this race, it’s the fifth time for me to run it, and even though I was didn’t feel prepared to run a strong half this year I still registered for it. I have been less trained in the past and it’s been fine. Spoiler alert! It was a very hard day for me. Probably the hardest of all the previous years.

We got lucky and it was not 19 degrees this time, there was no ice storm two days before the race, and it was not raining. My luck pretty much ran out.

There were pictures before the race, but they seem to have happened on someone else’s camera and I have not managed to get them.

My goal was the same as last year, just run by how I feel and go with it. No goal times or pace. I’m really not sure what happened but it was just so hard to keep running. There were many walk breaks and there was a side stitch that nagged me in the second half. I just felt tired. I had done an almost 11 mile run the week before the race and felt fine, not great, but almost good, so I had been confident I could go run 13.1.

I was again plagued by guilt at knowing everyone else was waiting for me at the finish line. I really need to get over that, but it’s hard when you feel like your forward progress is slower than a snail’s pace. I did keep moving forward, and if there is one positive from the day it is that I didn’t quit.
They changed the route AGAIN this year. This is one of my favorite races, but seriously they need to pick a route and stick with it. I enjoy the six miles of hills at the start of the race, but in the past you always know that it’s going to level out when you get by the river. Not this year. It was like they wanted to have as many hills as possible, and they managed to get in a lot.

I must say that the little out and back on the bridge once after running by the river before you headed into downtown was probably my least favorite part of the whole race. It seemed so pointless and stupid and I am not a big fan of turning completely around like that in the middle of a race unless it’s an out and back and you know it’s half way and you get to go back the same way you came. Might just be me, but it’s hard on my legs/knees/feet.

Anyway, the finish was the same place it was last year, and while I like that you don’t have to worry about taking a bus back to the start to get in your car, I kind of miss the finish in Veteran’s Park. It just seems so crowded when we finish downtown.

I finished up, running my slowest half marathon to date and found my super speedy friends for finish line pictures.

Tiffany, me Sarah, Lauren, Rochelle, Lauren and Kara.

Aside from the actual running it was a great weekend. We got to hang out with the in-laws and celebrate Josh’s birthday with Mexican food on Friday night.

Some of the best fish tacos I’ve ever eaten, and the guacamole was amazing.

And they gave Josh a shot of tequila for his birthday.

We drove home after the race and by Sunday evening I knew that I was getting sick, I just didn’t know that I would still be sick three weeks later. But more on that later.

More Birthday Running…

I think that almost everyone I know has a birthday in November! There is no better way to celebrate a birthday, in my opinion, than to wake up early and meet your friends for a run.

Last Thursday was Sarah’s birthday.

Me, Ro, Cornelia, Anne, Britney, Lauren and Sarah.

Today it is Rochelle’s birthday.

Again with my mad photography skills! Me, Anne, Rochelle and Britney! We had a hard time finding enough for this group selfie, we parked in a spot that has very little light at the crack of dawn.

It was a bit chilly.

The air temperature was 7 or 8 degrees colder than Tuesday, but the winds were only about 13 mph instead of 25 mph. It felt colder today. It was not an easy run. My legs felt cold and heavy. It was nice to not feel like a wind gust was going to blow us off the I-35 overpass though.

We ran, what I assume will be, our cold weather route. Only run east and west, that’s how we beat the cold weather her in Oklahoma.

How about a little #tbt?

Rochelle and I ran on her birthday last year. I don’t think it was quite as chilly last year!

Happy Birthday, Rochelle!

A Whole Lot of Not Running…

I can’t believe it is Monday again. It feels like the weekend just flew by! I don’t feel like I sat down at all this weekend. Well, sat down in my own house. We were on the go the entire time!

Friday night’s trip to the grocery store, followed by dinner at Chuy’s with the family left me not feeling so well on Saturday morning. I actually crawled back into bed rather than head out to the east side hills for my Saturday morning run. Crazy, right? It’s like I don’t even know who I am anymore.

It was nice to just not run though. I might regret the decision in two weeks when I am on the hills in Tulsa, but oh well. You only live once, and it’s less fun if you feel like you have to do it.
That brought my weekly mileage to 6. I don’t know when the last time I ran six miles in an entire week was. I might want to get back on the ball this week. I know I am not racing Tulsa, or planning on any kind of a spectacular PR, but I still am going to log the 13.1.

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Josh and I headed to my first OU home game in a couple of years. I can’t even remember when the last time I sat down in Memorial Stadium was.

We were hoping to see a good game, but what we saw was a lot of disappointment. I hate to leave early, but in the third quarter when we had had enough we headed over to meet some friends that were tailgating. Best. Decision. Ever.

Rochelle’s sister Shaundra was in town for the weekend, she got to tailgate and she gets to head back to Arizona before it gets crazy cold around here tomorrow.

The cold wasn’t bothering Avery at all on Saturday. I don’t know how kids can run around in no coat and no shoes when I am bundled up in a coat, scarf and boots!

11 am kick-off makes for a very early bed time for me. I was up and ready for some baking at 7 am yesterday. On the menu, a birthday cake. Sarah said she loves all things sugar related and said I could experiment with her birthday cake, so I made her a funfetti cake. The whipped frosting was amazing! And who doesn’t love sprinkles?

Rochelle’s birthday is on Thursday so there will be more birthday celebrating coming up this weekend. How is it that everyone I know seems to have been born in November?

End Of The Year Plan…

This year of running has been much different that 2013, some good, some bad. If you had asked me in January if I would be running two marathons in 2014 I probably would have laughed at you. But now the year is starting to wind down, and my family is getting very irritated by the Target Christmas commercials that are ALREADY on tv.

So with the holidays just around the corner, I thought I would take a minute and see what’s next. Because as a runner, there is always a next, right?

Well, first of all, what is NOT next is another marathon. It will be a while before I jump into another 26.2, and I have let all my friends know that if they pick another marathon PLEASE let it have a half marathon. I don’t want to even consider a 3 hour training run for a long time.

So what is happening next is Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, where I will be running the half. I am mostly running this for nostalgia, this will be my fifth year in a row. It was my first half, and while it hasn’t always been a great race (read: it was below freezing last year), I love this race.

We go up, hang out with the in-laws, and I go run a little with my friends and then we go home and get ready for Thanksgiving. Sounds like a great weekend to me.

What kind of expectations do I have? None. Last year I was coming off injuries, surgeries and accidents. This year I am coming off about six months of pretty horrible running. I am in search of my love of running so I will lace up, hopefully not have to bundle up too much, and go run for the fun of it. Plus the medals this year do this little spinny thing like my first medal in 2010. I do have a couple of friends that are running the marathon, so there might be some marathon stalking after I cross the finish line.

After that there will be the Turkey Day 5k. The inaugural race was last year and it was so much fun.
Plus I didn’t have to drive All The Way to OKC, it was practically in my front yard. Need I mention that they gave us long sleeved cotton race shirts, and Christmas ornaments?

Then there is talk of some of my friends running a marathon in December. If that happens I would definitely up for going with them to run the half, but we will see how that turns out.

Running for the fun of it, seems like such a novel ideal. I am hoping to get my head on straight so I can set some goals for 2015.

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One of my favorite things about running is birthday runs! I love that my friends love to get up on their birthdays and log some miles as the start of their special day! We celebrated one yesterday, in fact.
My friend Sarah turned one year better. (Not older!) We had to take pictures!


When I posted this on Instagram, I managed to cut most of my fact off.

I have mad photography skills. Anne’s son Pace said “I can see Becky’s eye!”

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Finally, I posted that I didn’t have a copy of the pictures we took after we finished Chicago. Almost immediately my friend Lauren texted me the pictures.

What a great shot of Chicago in the background! Notice that they all have on their comfy clothes and look well rested, while I look horrific. Oh well!

The Non-Running Part of Chicago…

Even though the running part of Chicago wasn’t fabulous, it was a really good weekend. I have said it before, but I love Chicago. It really is my favorite city. I did like that it was much warmer this time than it was for Christmas last year.

We flew out early on Friday morning, so we got to Chicago pretty early.

We dropped our bags off at our hotel, headed out for lunch and then hit up the race expo.

The expo was huge! Very efficient packet pick up and we shopped around a little bit.

And had our picture taken in front of a giant pink bra.

On Saturday morning we headed out for a shake out run right by the home of Josh’s favorite football team.

I hate the the stadium looks like a space ship landed on top of it.

We got to meet Bart Yasso…

And Deena Kastor.  How cool is that? We ran an easy two miles and headed back to the hotel to relax.

We did wander the city a little bit. Rochelle and I headed to the Navy Pier. I had to take a picture of the Ferris wheel from Divergent! I sent that one to the teenagers and got no response. I guess they weren’t impressed.

We opted for take out and dinner in our hotel room and called it an early night.

After the race on Sunday we headed back to our hotel to rest up a little before we ventured out for food. We headed to Giordano’s for deep dish pizza. It was right by the Sears (Willis) tower.

I was so glad that Jordan came and hung out with the crazy runners.

We ended the evening with drinks at the top of the John Hancock building. The drink was fabulous and the view was amazing!

We had a later flight on Monday so we got up, grabbed breakfast and headed to the bean, or as it’s formerly known Cloud Gate. I am surprised I’ve never been there before.

After we hit up Lululemon, got rained on and road the train again we headed to the Art Institute. With our race bibs/medals/registration info we got in for free.

 

We saw some beautiful art, and a whole lot of runners hobbling up and down the stairs. I’d like to go back when my legs aren’t killing me because there was plenty we didn’t get to see.

It really was a great trip, and I can’t wait to go back to Chicago.