Chi-town 2010

There is so much to report that I'm just going to have to start at the beginning and work my way through it.

Saturday:

We woke up super early, did some last minute packing and hit the road to pick up our friends Jim and Erin. They are both runners and also both from Chicago so it was perfect for us all to go together for the weekend! They also have 3 children (all boys) and were leaving them with grandparents. So the 4 of us hightailed it out of KY without kids and headed to the Windy City.

Much like last year, we arrived around lunch time and met up with friends Jason and Jennifer (also from IL area) to eat and explore the Expo. The weather was glorious. As we were walking to the expo we all remarked that we almost felt.....cold. It was strange. Overcast, slight breeze and a high of 80 is a far cry from the blazing heat we've had lately. Even on race day when the humidity went up and the sun came out, the high was only 84 and the breeze never stopped.

For lunch we ate again at the Artist's Cafe on Michigan Ave. With my sandwich came "hot parmesean chips". I will be trying this very soon. Although I think their chips were sliced and fried right there, the same effect could come from a good kettle chip. Sprinkle chips on sheet pan and place in oven until hot. Take out and drizzle with a little olive oil and freshly grated parmesean. Add pepper and serve while hot and parmesean is just starting to melt. These things were addictive!

With full tummies, we headed down to the McCormick Place to pick up our packets and check out the expo. Last year I fell in love with a shirt that said "Run Like a Mother". This year provided even more cute sayings. My favorite one was, "Does this shirt make my butt look fast?". I think I need that one :-)

And we always have to take a picture in front of the big sign:



After the expo - we went back to the hotel to relax a bit before dinner. Like last year (I like tradition what can I say?) we returned to Volare for a fabulous Italian meal. I had a homemade gnochi with pesto sauce and Spencer had homemade ravioli with salmonata (fresh salmon in tomato cream sauce). Doesn't the sound of that just make you happy? I love food. And then for dessert we had a crepe filled with warm Nutella and drizzled with banana rum sauce. Again. Happy. Love.



And there's not much you can do after a dinner like that except go pass out on your bed and be ready to run it all off the next morning. It seems that there was also a Bon Jovi concert in town that night as we were awaken a few times at 2:15ish a.m. and 3:15ish a.m. by people returning (loudly) to their hotel rooms. Oh well. I guess we got 'em back when our alarms went off at 5:00 a.m. so we could be at the starting line by 6:00.

Sunday:

Woke up early - got dressed and walked across the street to the starting line. I don't think we could have found a better hotel than the Congress if we tried. It was charming, clean, cheap, and located perfectly for the race. The hotel is a billion years old so each room is unique. They all have the standard bed, TV, bathroom, but the layout  and footprint is completely different for each one. Our room this year had 3 closets. I'm not kidding.

Anyway - at the start line. In a big race like this, we are started in "waves". The fast guys (like our friend Jason who was going to finish in 1:30) get to be in the first corral. The slower you run, the further back you have to stand. I was in corral 21 meaning I had some time to spare. There isn't a lot to do except people watch and listen to the announcer. It was then that I found out that Al Roker was there running his first half marathon! If you remember, we also rubbed elbows with Al when he came to the Oaks and ate at Lynn's the same morning we were there. Fine. We only saw him at Lynn's. And I never actually saw him at the race. But he was there and we were there. I think that makes us friends somehow.



I had planned on running this race with the 2:30 pace group. Last year at Chicago my goal was 2:30 and I finished 2:32:03. Then I ran Nashville with a goal of 2:30 and finished 2:32:05. Aarrgh! So this time I thought it smart to stick with the pace group and know that I would finish in time. The only problem is there were many people wanting to run with the pacers and in the corral I kept getting shoved (gently) further and further back. I could still see them, I just wasn't up there close to them anymore. When the race started, it was my goal just to keep them in my sights. As long as I could see the stick (the pacers carried a big stick with the pace time on top) I would be fine.

So I crossed the start line. Beautiful weather. Nice breeze. Saw the stick. Felt good. This went along for the first mile or so. It was very crowded so there is a lot of bobbing and weaving in the beginning as everyone found their stride. As we passed the first water station around mile 1.5, the crowd cleared immensely as everyone went to the water tables. I didn't need water so I just kept going. And (woohoo!) I saw the stick. Now that everyone was out of the way I could not only catch up to the stick but I passed the stick! New goal: Stay ahead of the stick. If I just keep running comfortably and make sure that I am in front of the pacers then I will be fine.
Mile 2.
Mile 3.
Mile 4.
I am doing great! In fact, my watch is telling me that I am about 30 seconds per mile ahead of the pacers. Now I start to get haughty. I start dreaming of a 2:15 finish. But then I do quick math and realize that I'd need to be minutes ahead per mile, not just seconds. Oh well. I'd be happy with something in the 2:20's?
Mile 5.
Mile 6.
Mile 7.
I am feeling really good folks. Nothing hurts and I am way ahead of the stick.
Mile 8.
Mile 9.
Mile 10.
Still feel good. But I can tell I'm slowing down a bit. My watch time tells me that I'm no longer 30 seconds per mile ahead. My pace group should have passed mile 10 at 1:55 and I passed at 1:54. But I haven't seen the stick yet so I know I'm okay. While I'm thinking this, I look up and on the side of the road is the stick girl! It's one of the pacers! (there were 2). What's going on? So I slow down a bit and yell out, "Where's the pace group? Are you still on for 2:30?" She yells back, "Yes - they're right behind you!" It seems that my pacers cheated a little and one of them ran around the loop while the girl cut across the route to rest up and finish the race. 60 seconds after I saw her on the side of the road I saw her passing me with the stick. eeek! New goal: Stick to the stick. I didn't want to keep her in sight, I wanted to be joined to her hip and finish this thing. Easier said than done.
Around mile 11 was another water station. But this time I needed water and had to slow down to grab it. I would also like to add how wonderful it was for the race to provide cups of ice at a few stops. It was genius. You wouldn't think that rubbing ice on your neck, face and arms would be the most euphoric experience in the world, but at that moment - it was. So I grabbed my water and stick girl got ahead of me. And the elbows of 75 other runners on a narrow path made it difficult to catch her again. I could still see her but I wasn't making headway to be right beside her as planned. And now I'm getting tired. Bobbing and weaving is taking on more energy than I can give. New goal: Keep the stick in sight. Because of the shoe chips I know that my time is recorded from the time I pass the start line until I pass the finish line. In the beginning of the race I know that the pacers were way ahead of me in the corral. So I figure that I have a few seconds to spare and it's okay as long as she never gets further ahead of me than when we first started.
Mile 11.5.
Ouch.
Mile 12.
Double Ouch.
Still running though. So far, I have never stopped to walk.
Mile 12.5.
Reaaalllly want to walk. Stick getting further away. Tell myself that walking hurts just as much as running so keep running.
Mile 12.8.
Legs just stop. I walk for about 5 seconds.
run. run. run. run. run.
Mile 13.
I can see the finish line!
Mile 13.1
Done.

I finished in 2:30:12 

Copied from website - you can order for $30 if you want :-)

And Spencer finished in 2:04 beating his record of 2:06.

A short walk back to the hotel and a looooonnng shower later, we were treated to a fantastic breakfast buffet at the Hilton. I ate about 28 pieces of bacon and told myself that I was replenishing salt to my system. And then I ate these dreamy little rolls of sweet cream cheese. I can't remember what they were called, but oh dear. So yummy. Unfortunately, we were far enough North that there were no biscuits offered on the buffet. How am I supposed to eat breakfast without a biscuit and jam? Crazy yankees.

More rest time and we met up with Erin and Jim to do a little sight seeing. Spencer was in charge of the camera and took a ton of pictures. Although I laughed at him a little because it seemed that he was stopping to take pictures of everything - I have to admit that he got some great shots.















We ate dinner in Greek town. Besides the gyros at the mall I'd never had Greek food. Well, I am reformed. It was amazing. Opa! means happy in Greek. I know this because they brought flaming saganaki cheese to our table, lit it on fire and said OPA! And it indeed made me happy. I want more. Also was some wonderful eggplant dish, real gyros, and dolmades which were beef, rice and herbs wrapped in grape leaves. It was all fantastic.



A quick cab ride took us from Greek town to the Hancock Building and we ate dessert on the 94th(?) floor. Cheesecake cost a billion dollars, but the view and ambiance were worth it.



Again, with full tummies and tired legs, we returned to the hotel and slept wonderfully.

Monday:

Until 7:15. Which is 8:15 EST! I think that's a new record! And like any good Chicagoan we pranced down Michigan Ave to Cafe Baci and had coffee and a little breakfast outside on the patio area while watching the hustle and bustle of a Monday morning.

See? We're not crazy. This running thing is really just an excuse to eat great food and hang out in cool cities. We had a great time and I can't wait to do it again.