So Many Activities! (and how well-rounded I attempt to be)

Oh hey there, again.

Sorry to have been away from my laptop. I’ve been distracted with so many activities!

Like meeting up with Heather to listen to her tales of running the Chicago marathon last Sunday. To be honest, I have no intention of ever running anything longer than a half marathon, but I do love to hear about the training that goes into it and how much fun race day is.

Heather comes to Chicago to visit her sister often, however, we continued to miss each other. It would have happened again because I was frolicking through the historical city of Boston last weekend, but she and the fam happened to stay through Monday, so I got all the good details.

Congrats, Heather, on finishing yet another marathon!

The girl is fabulous.

I’ve also been reading over the past week in order to be of value to the discussion at the book club Lauren invited me to. The Book Thief was finished on the train home, and I would most definitely recommend it. However, it was terribly sad. So I didn’t mind finishing the book and then starting into the drinking portion of the evening.

None of us had done a book club before, except for one girl, so we were a little clueless as to what to do. But we were sure drinking and food were to be involved. Like duh.

There weren’t enough wine glasses to go around, so I drank Malbec out of a fancy beer glass. Because we’re resourceful.

The Book Thief was set in Nazi Germany over the course of World War 2. So the conversation wasn’t super happy-go-lucky (hence the need for more wine), but it was interesting to hear all of the different views on the book, the history surrounding it, etc.

We all patted ourselves on the back for being more well-rounded and cultured because of it. And stuff. Like totally.

And if that wasn’t enough, I’m even going to a museum this weekend. A museum! To learn about stuff! Check me out!

All this education and culture is making me twitch.

Excuse me as I check to make sure Jersey Shore is set to dvr tonight…

Offline Interactions

As mentioned a couple of days ago, it really is crazy how many people there are in this Chicagoland blogger community. There are so many different personalities. So many different ways we communicate and interact with one another. Comments, emails, twitter, texting, etc.

 

Why not actually hang out offline for a minute? Or maybe an hour?

 

After a little back and forth, Molly (A Foreign Land) and I were able to meet up yesterday for a blogger power lunch.

 

She let me choose the spot, and as a newbie to the area, I was a little nervous, but ended up going with Protein Bar. Mostly because people in my office rave about it and the couple of times I tried to go there, the line was out the door. There had to be something good about this joint.

 

The line was, yet again, out the door, but Molly had arrived first and assured me it seemed to be going pretty quickly. Apparently the crowds here likes to eat at their desk because we were easily able to grab a table.

 I went with the Memphis Salad. The restaurant smelled like BBQ and there was no way I was ordering something without. As the name “Protein Bar” suggests, their aim is to provide active people with healthy choices. My salad a good example- hello 32 grams of protein!

 

The thing I liked about meeting Molly was that neither one of us originally thought we’d end up here. Both of us grew up and went to college in Missouri (GO MIZZOU!) and somehow have made this city home and the only way to describe our feelings about Chicago is to call it a love affair.

 This girl is cute as a button, whereas my nose seems to be large enough to deflect the entire sun.

 

Then, after work, I met up with Lauren (Forward Is a Pace) and a group of Team Challenge runners for a few miles around the neighborhoods.

 

This meet up with Laurent was mostly my doing after I noticed, via the interwebz, about how much fun she had the week before. And she mentioned frozen yogurt.

 

You don’t just mention things like ice cream around me without expecting a follow-up.

 

So I was allowed to tag along and take advantage of adding a few miles to a day that started with me sleeping in past my normal wake-up call. Super!

 

Lauren and I go WAY back. Well. Way back to a month or so ago when we meet up for dinner and drinks. I admire her because of her excitement towards, not just running, but running for a cause. As a girl with Ulcerative Colitis, she not only has conquered her struggles with it, but she, along with my homegirl Kace, teach us not everyday is easy, but you never let something like a disease define who you are and what you do.

 

Cool kids all around.

 

Anyway, this time around we didn’t go for ice cream (definitely for the best), but took down 3.8 good but sticky miles of conversation with each other and part of her Team in Training group.

 

Clearly I just love meeting new people. It’s still up in the air on how they feel about meeting me (Weeeeee!!! How are ya guys? Nice to meet you! I’m so excited to run with you guys! I love running! So much energy! Weeeee!), but I did get invited to run with them again. And Molly seemed to be ok with the idea of lunching again sometime soon. 

 

Hopefully it’s not just because they’re really polite.

 

All in all, Wednesday was a good day.

 

But seriously, guys… I’m glad it’s Thursday!

A Little Less Boring

My lunches are often boring. I often eat the same things. In the same places.

Boring.

Sometimes, a few of us girls at work take a 30-minute walk around the area. But that’s only once or twice a week.

The rest of the time? Boring.

But yesterday, I had a lunch date!

Fountains are fun!

The lovely Kim and I toted our boring lunches to Chase Plaza, a nearby outdoor destination, to chit chat and enjoy the sun (and lack of humidity- thank goodness).

Turkey sandwich and veggies. Soooooo boring. But good. But boring. Sigh…

We may not be able to meet up for our Tuesday runs anymore, but this is the next best thing!A lot of the conversation revolved around the ZOOMA Great Lakes Half Marathon, which we’re doing together as ambassadors.

Also, if you’re considering running the race or are interested in finding out more about the series, come party with us next week!!

Fleet Feet has been wonderful enough to host the kick-off party next Thursday. I’ll be there along with a few of the other ambassadors. And we wanna meet you! Or at least I do. I can’t speak for the other ladies. But they seem nice. So I assume they do, too.

Anyway, because I have friends who are most likely getting to my house before I do tonight, I must rush off and throw my mess into a closet do some last minute tidying before heading to work.

Happy Friday!

Because I need ideas- What have you been eating for lunch recently?

Progress

Remember how I said I’m really awful about how I need things planned and it’s hard to find time to meet up with other peeps?

We’re finally making progress.

Ok, well not on the planning part. Lauren and I, much like with the running kids I met up with last week, emailed back and forth for over a month trying to work something out.

We’re both clearly a big deal. Finally, we found a chill Sunday evening to spend some time relaxing and chatting at John’s Place in Roscoe Village.

I’ve visited this spot recently, and Lauren offered to meet up elsewhere, but I said NO.

Because they have a solid patio and I did not have a burger the last time. And the burgers, according to their menu where they brag about winning Roscoe Village’s Burgerfest in 2010, must be something.

So I went for it.This, my friends, is “The Cowboy”. Sharp cheddar. Carmelized onions. A lil’ BBQ Sauce. And something called “bacon jam”.

The bacon jam was what first weirded me out. But our waitress assured me it was more like a relish- just bacon chopped up really fine.

All in all, it was delicious. I expected more flavor from the bacon. But maybe the amazingness of the cheddar and BBQ had me all distracted. Who knows?

And I love that salad is a side they offer without charging extra for it. It’s a rare thing. Sad but true. I should really write Michelle Obama about this observation.

Anyway, Lauren and I had fun chatting it up about our lives, races, and mutual friends (like woah).

She’s sort of new to this particular area of the city, so hopefully that means she’ll need a partner to check out more places in the area…. I’m so selfless like that.

The meal was definitely a nice protein boost for my next few workouts. I say that mostly because I want to go back as soon as possible.

Well, that and I really have done ok in the morning workout department.

Especially since my roommate woke up earlier than I did today to catch a flight for her holiday in the sun. It left me with the ability to jump and stomp around all I wanted in front of the tv and not worry about waking her up at 5:00 in the morning.

She’s excited about her week on the beach. I’m excited because I can do The Shred in the morning and not wake her up.

There’s something wrong with this.

Either way, I need to work harder at the strength training (what’s new?) and this will help. That and going outside would have been a total downer. The humidity is a bit suffocating. But I’ll still brave it to get to the office with no complaints. I sort of have to. And the sooner I do, the sooner I’ll get to leave for the 4th of July holiday. Which isn’t nearly as exciting as it had been in recent years with an extended weekend.

Nevertheless, a day off is a day off. And I will sleep in. And lounge. And be lazy.

Ahhhh…

Have a good holiday, kids! I’ll catch ya on the flip side.

Coffee Date

“Sunday coffee sounds perfect. Can we do earlier on Sunday?”
“Sure… uh… what time exactly is early?”
“11 or 11:30?”
“Perfect! I was really nervous ‘early’ was going to mean 8:00 and I would have shown up looking pretty rough…”
“Trust me, I would have too! I know how your weekends go… there are rules to follow!”

This girl totally gets me.

Which is why she is awesome.

Love her!
On a side note- does it bother anyone else that the flower on the vase is broken off? I picked at it the entire time. I wonder if she noticed...

Sarena from Non-Dairy Queen happened to be in Chicago with her husband all weekend and was darling enough to meet up with me for coffee and girly gossip before they headed back home!

If you’ve ever read her blog, you know she’s a sweetheart.

If you’ve ever read mine, you know I’m a…

Well.

I’m honestly not sure. Guess you could fill in the blank. Many answers would be acceptable. Either way, I was excited she wanted to hang out.

We chatted away nonstop over coffee. Luckily, she didn’t judge me and the massive breakfast burrito I ordered to cure my grogginess from the late night before.

Because not all nights are low profile…

Twinsies! Photo credit goes to the only other guy at the cafe who was very nice being as how we interrupted whatever work he was doing. Thanks sir!

After sadly getting ready to leave and hugging like 10 times, we parted ways.

She had plans for the day and I had a mission to beat the rain home.

However, as the girl who is easily distracted, I made a quick pit stop on the way back to the train stop.

This is one of those things I've seen from far away, but never up close. I'm a total nerd when it comes to all the random buildings/sculptures in Chicago. Rain be damned, I had to take the risk to see it!

“Agora” is definitely one of our creepier sculptures. But still kind of cool to see because of how big it is (over 100 9-foot headless men).

Afterwards, I retreated back to my respective spot on the couch to watch Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

You guys were right. Don’t watch with kids or parents.

As disturbing as it was, I still slept like a rock. Exhaustion trumped fear. Which is good. The early morning workout was calling my name.

After some resistance training via the windy walk to the gym, I did my standard routine as of late, which includes 22 minutes on the stairmill and 20 minutes on the elliptical. Followed by a visit to the big bad weight room to pretend to know what I’m doing do a few random arm and ab machines/free weights.

On the walk back home, I noticed the increase in the amount of runners hitting the streets.

I then noticed how much I’ve been missing my regular outdoor running.

I should do something about this.

Tomorrow, of course. I’ll let the kids in Boston do all the work today. Good luck, everyone!

Cheap Eats and Necessary Drinks

Well this happened:And no, that’s not a fruity cocktail- it’s actually Goose Island 312. Bar lighting is so silly sometimes.

It and the refill that followed calmed me down from yesterday’s “blahs”. Imagine that.

*As did your comments about how we all have those “crap” days. Thank you.

After our little location mixup on Tuesday (Tuesday! I should have known!), I suggested Houndstooth in Wrigleyville as a place to meet up. It’s a smaller area. There’s only one Wrigley Field. So uh… we shouldn’t have a problem. 

Stephanie and I had ourselves a nice little chatty chat over beers and $1 tacos.

With $1 tacos, you don’t expect much…. and these were nothing overly grand to write home about. But hey… they were decently light, the chicken was good, they came with free guac, and were $1 each. The price alone makes me enjoy them greatly.

This was the first time Stephanie and I have ever met and again, like every other time I’ve met girls from the blogs, the conversation flowed naturally and we swapped stories until I had to be lame and duck out because of a never-ending to-do list waiting for me at home.She also confirmed that I need to act on my desire to get myself to Boston. ASAP.

Le sigh…

The other thing that helped me out, as I knew it would, was my run with my guy friend over lunch. Usually we keep it at a pace where we can talk (although between jagged breath) for the entire 2.5 miles. But as I was ranting about one thing or another, I noticed how out of breath I was- chalking it up to me not running much with him as of late and my pace getting slower.

However, he texted me afterwards and commented on how much faster we ran this time than last.

Whew. It wasn’t just me then…

Like I said earlier, I’m in a much better mood today. My weekend starts tomorrow and everything is starting to fall in place a little more as we go along.

Have a good one, kids! I’ve got about 8 hours standing between me and a mad dash home where I have 15 minutes to get myself looking respectable before a night out in the presence of a male acquaintance.

Let’s all laugh about how me looking respectable is just not in the cards.

He’ll have to deal with it.

Celebrating St. Patty’s

LOVED all your comments on Friday. And I’m glad where you all saw where I was coming from. It’s not the conversation about food (I love talking about it and will whenever you would like), it’s the misunderstanding and almost condescending remarks that grind my gears…

Anyway, it’s been 5 days since Vegas (sadly) and I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things.

Which is good. I’ve entered the last month of training for the St. Louis GO! Half Marathon. Excitement is starting to set in.

I got a couple of morning workouts in this week after getting back- crazy considering it definitely took a day to recover from the time loss (I’m a baby like that and daylight savings is not going to help!).

Yesterday was also my “long run”. Because I had a place to be and wasn’t about to get up earlier than 7:00 on a Saturday, it got cut down to 7 miles (at an 8:40 pace). Not a huge deal because I’m just switching around Saturdays in my training plan- so next week is the big double digits run!

What plans did I have? Well… I had a date with Miss Kelly from My Verbal Vomit!We had settled on Miller’s Pub in The Loop where all the action was (St. Patty’s Parade was going on when I got down there). This caused a line and wait issue. But the line to get inside moved quickly and we just entertained ourselves with green beer until a table was available.

I did apologize in advance for ordering the pulled pork sandwich and taking it down like the classy broad I am- 7 miles and a late lunch leaves Amy with a bit of an appetite. 

Kelly was in town on a little getaway trip with her boyfriend who was very very patient with us bloggers chatting away about people with “@” attached to their names and running randomness.

I’m positive we were the most sober people in the bar. St. Patty’s is quite the holiday around these parts. This was quite clear when a random drunk man came up and “breathed” on the bf’s bald head and pretended to shine it.

Seriously. That really happened.

To “let our food digest”, we walked around after leaving the bar and checked out the freshly dyed green Chicago River…And shopped. Because that’s what girls do.

Again, her bf was super patient with us. Much appreciated! 

After a few hours, I decided to get out of their hair (or at least Kelly’s- the bf shaves his head). I was walking along back to the train station. Quite content with my little afternoon in the city. Then this happened:

J: Did you just go by (insert two street names here)?

Me: Um… yes?

J: Just saw you. Turn around. I’m bartending.

Me: Coming now!

Apparently my friend was looking up right as I was passing by. And I had no idea that was his bar. Or that he was working. What luck! Green beer and shots for everyone!

Needless to say, I missed the train I was heading to.

Did it matter?  Not at all. I had nowhere in particular to be and got to catch up with a friend over a few more drinks. Double win!

I’ve never really celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in the past. Always have been more of a Mardi Gras girl.

I’m starting to think both should be celebrated equally. It’s only fair.

Have a great Sunday, everyone! Don’t forget to fix those clocks! 

Running Around Madison

As we were sitting in a little coffee shop yesterday morning, I was discussing the winter doldrums with two really awesome chicks.

Sure, there’s been a massive blizzard. Some chilly days where the snot instantly freezes inside your nose when you walk outdoors.  The endless bundling and unbundling of multiple layers. Cursing under your breath as you shudder and wait for the car to warm up.

Over the last few years, I’ve found myself disappear from the social scene in January. Only to reappear at some point in February.

Not this year. I’ve been all over the place. And this last weekend was no different.Megan and I visited Holly in Madison. Clearly, us three girls took over the city (and Lake Mendota in this case) for 24 hours. And clearly these pictures are not all from my camera- Holly takes wonderful shots and was kind enough to share them with the rest of us.  So if you think “wow, this picture is really nice”, it’s probably Holly’s.

Yes, we are standing on top of the lake. Yes, this freaked me out. Yes, Holly made us do it.

But yes, I’m sort of glad we did it. Because it was awesome. I wasn’t kidding when I said we were all over the place.  I can’t believe people were just hanging out… fishing… enjoying the weather… what?

We also did quite a few other noteworthy things. Holly was a fantastic tour guide and made sure we got a feel of the entire town.Megan and I were even able to throw in our opinion on some serious legislation…We were obviously skeptical, but willing to listen to both sides. As any good politician would do.

After the capital, we walked around part of campus and Holly took us to the student union to show us how cool the people of the University of Wisconsin are.  I mean… really… drinking on campus?PBR. Because cheap beer is what you drink in college. (although I was more of a Keystone gal)

The student union is also where we accidentally found the theme of the weekend. It was the perfect toast for each round of drinks we would share from then on…Balls 4 Life. Holla’.

I’m going to open up the comment boards here to the best graffiti you’ve ever seen in a public place?

It’s probably important to mention I support observation and finding amusement in it. Please do not deface a restroom stall because I told you to. Because I didn’t.

Moving on.

For me, the excitement really escalated at dinner. Wisconsin is known for its cheese. (Duh)

To Holly and Megan’s surprise, I had never tried cheese curds.And The Old Fashioned fries them.  Crazy, right? Holly even captured “my first time”.Words cannot express how happy I was. Mozzarella sticks have got NOTHING on these things. Sure, the word “curd” sounds gross and rhymes with things that make me giggle. But I don’t let such things bother me. We cleaned the basket of them in no time. Holly could not have picked better eats for us during our visit.

Here’s the funny thing about bloggers.  We sort of “know” each other.  And sort of “know” the same people. And read a lot of the same things.  So we have a lot to talk about. Imagine 24 hours of straight conversation.

Well… not quite 24 hours. We had to sleep for 7-8 of those hours. Which reminds me, thank you SO MUCH Holly for letting Megan and I crash on the futon.  Yes, we both fit on it quite comfortably. I’m pretty sure there was no spooning.

The next day, Holly took us to one of her favorite coffee shops.I never thought I’d go “aawwww” when seeing a building for the first time. But come on, isn’t that just freaking adorable? And yes, it’s snowing… again… how many days until Spring???

Luckily, I didn’t spazz about the weather because I had coffee and carbs to keep me sedated.Holly was right- the peanut butter and chocolate chip scone did not disappoint.

Now I just want to make scones… like everyday.

We got home with enough down time before the Superbowl.

I watched it with my neighbor Bailey. Who happens to be a Green Bay fan. I sat quietly with my bottle of beer as she jumped and cheered a little too often for my liking.

And was it just me- or were the commercials really not that great?  Seriously… I can only think of a few that caused a reaction from me at all….

Pretty Colors

I’m glad you all enjoy the “spectator’s point of view” post.  If you’ve never gone out to watch a race like that, I highly suggest you do it!  Not only does it make you appreciate running a little more, but I’m glad I got to help support everyone.  I know that on some of my longer races, I really appreciated that random stranger on the side of the road cheering me on.

Sometimes I have a hard time getting back into the swing of things after a long weekend.  It’s already Wednesday and I’m just now feeling adequate enough to tackle the week. 

You can tell I’m a few days behind everyone else.

But it’s ok.  I’ve caught up on sleep.  I’ve gotten back into my workout routine.  I’m cooking for myself (after eating every meal this weekend out) again.  To summarize, I’m feeling like a rockstar!

It was high time I get back into my running routine after a few days off.  After watching the marathon, I will have to say I felt like I had gotten a swift kick in the butt for my 15k training.  Clearly I’ve been slacking.  So Monday I said “Um- you just watched thousands of people run 26 miles.  You should be able to handle 5 with no problem.  Get it together!”

So I ran 5 miles- with an 8:28 pace.  Not bad.  I feel like having a few 5-milers like this and then a couple more solid long runs and I should be ok with running 9.3 miles in less than a month.  I say that in all seriousness, but just got a little nervous that the race is closer than I realized! 

Since I’ve learned that alternating my running works best, I friended the elliptical and stairmill last night.  Not much exciting there.  So let’s not talk about it.

AND since I mentioned the 15k, I am just gonna go ahead and give a shout out to all the kids in the area over the first weekend of November!  I know there are a few of you running the Hot Chocolate 15 or 5k’s- wanna meet up afterwards?  Since the post race par-tay sounds SWEET (excuse my awful pun- but come on, there are gonna be chocolate fountains!), feel free to email me if you think you’d want to hang!  Doesn’t sitting around as sweaty messes and sipping hot chocolate with strangers sound like fun?!?!?  I thought so. 

Moving on…

Thanks to my mom’s visit last weekend, I’m full up on eats straight from the garden.  My stash of sweet potatoes alone will prevent the next famine.  Mom also brought up a zucchini that was on it’s last leg, so I knew I’d have to use it fast.  No problemo- I’m all about the roasting and using it all week for salad…Preeettttyyyy colorsssss….

Because I’m indecisive, I decided to put pretty much everything in my refrigerator in it: lettuce, spinach, sweet potatoes, red onion, zucchini, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli.  What?  I was hungry!

And here we are in the middle of the week in the middle of October.  Which reminds me that Halloween is coming up.  I’m a little late in the game, but I might actually be dressing up!  Or at least ideas are floating around. We’ll have to wait and see if anything materializes… 

What about you?  Doing anything fun this year? Favorite Halloween costume ever?  Let’s just discuss Halloween in general- I got a little overwhelmed at Target earlier this week when I saw the aisles of Christmas cards and wrapping paper.  What is going on?!?!

Things I Learned Over Marathon Weekend

So I promised the “bestest post ever”. 

I really shot myself in the foot with that one, huh?  That may or may not have been said with a wee bit of sarcasm.  But now I feel the need to deliver.

Well.  Let’s see what we can do…

Because I do well with lists, here are a few important things I learned during the weekend of the Chicago Marathon (through the eyes of a spectator):

1. Inevitably, we’re all going to turn into our mothers.  Sorry peeps, it’s gonna happen.  The “family dinner” we had consisted of the three aunts and cousins congregating at D’Agostino’s for some decent pasta and pizza.  The cousins spent a lot of the time catching each other’s eyes.  As our mothers all chatted us  up in circles, we realized this is most likely a window into what our futures look like 25 years down the road.  Gulp.

2. To actually see someone running a 4:30 pace for a marathon is amazing.  I’ve seen sprints on tv.  I’ve read about crazy marathoners.  But to actually see these people run right past left me speechless.

3. You will never find a Starbucks when you’re actually hunting for one. Or even a coffee shop in general.  Amy had no caffeine or food until 3 hours after she got out of bed.  This is never ideal for the people who’s company I am keeping.  I had no shame in stopping everyone with a Starbucks cup and asking, almost accusingly, “where did you get that?!?!”.  I apologize to anyone I may have frightened.

4. People are crazy creative.  Or sometimes, just crazy.I can’t imagine running with this thing on for one mile.  And I’m going to assume the few guys with him were there to switch off.  Either way- that’s crazy.When I do races, I love reading the signs.  They can be hilarious.  This was one of my favorites.  On the other side, it said “I promise there’s beer at the end”.

We were creative in our own right.  My cousin had on a Missouri Tigers shirt and had her mom bring Mizzou flags to wave so she could spot us easier.  That’s right, we had a theme.  No party (or marathon) is a success without one.5. My cousin is an awesome runner!  At mile 11, she still looked like she was feeling amazing!Granted, this is only about half way through.  But I know I can’t run 11 miles and look so perky…   She did great and finished a little under 4:15!

6. Do NOT use the porta potty in the runner’s reunite area.  Or if you do- try to be one of the first to do so.  Not after hundreds of sweaty, smelly people used it before you.  When there’s no toilet paper.  And you consider getting out to use another one, but do you really want to wait in line to take your chances?  Granted there’s not much worse than poo hanging off the inside of the seat and trying to figure out if that’s drops of sweat or pee on the seat itself.  I knew I was doing all those squats for a reason.  I hovered like my life depended on it.  Knowing the condition of the toilet seat, it’s possible my life actually was depending on it…

7. Marathons are good excuses for blogger meetups.

First, I made sure to hang out to not only see my cousin, but to also see Pham!The kid was able to beat the heat and get a new PR!  Nice work, Pham!  Did you even see me the second time?  Doubtful.  For real- you were 2 feet away from me as I screamed at you. 

After the marathon, the family all left and I headed over to Megan‘s to celebrate Sunday Funday!  We ended up hitting McGinny’s- because who doesn’t love buckets of beer?I promise you, Megan loves the buckets of beer, too. Contrary to the picture.

We were also joined later on by a couple ladies who traveled to Chicago to RUN the marathon…Shelby and Angry Runner came to say hello (check out their blogs for their own versions of how the marathon went)!  I was so excited!  And not just because Angry was wearing some sweet hot pink compression socks (Christmas list, anyone?). 

One thing  you’ll notice when bloggers meetup- first, because it can be awkward, we talk about what we blog about.  Like running.  Plus the marathon had just happened.  It was a “duh” topic of choice.  But then you get a little more comfortable, possibly a little tipsy, and start talking about anything and everything.  For example, there was about five minutes dedicated to trying to figure out what “Like a G6″ meant.  Still clueless on that one.

If you know, please inform me so I may pass the information along.

8. Even if you don’t run, the Chicago marathon will be exhausting.  Between the early wakeup call, walking to multiple points of the course, the heat, the food, the drinks, and the late metra ride home, I was DRAINED.  But it was such a great experience!  I may not run it (although I’ll never say never), but I will DEFINITELY be going back next year to cheer on the runners.  You guys are amazing!

So there you go.  I hope this rises to the occasion as an “awesome recap post”.  But if it doesn’t, please understand it’s Tuesday.  And everything’s worse on a Tuesday…  :p

Later!