VOTE NOW!
So here’s the deal… my other logo was too complicated to upload onto the online t-shirt shop (file size was too big, too many anchor points for the distressed look, blah blah blah), so I made 4 new ones. Whichever one you guys like the best out of these is the one I will put on the t-shirts!!!
The logo for runners will be this minus the “Support Team” at the bottom.
Which one is your favorite?
5.24.12
Just a little preview… the *beginning stages* of a Tumblr Runs Chicago logo… (Taken with instagram)
5.14.12
Just signed Craig and I up for the Chi-town Lifetime Fitness Torchlight 5k! I’m excited for this one… it doesn’t start until 7:30pm on a Thursday night in June, so I think I might stay downtown and take that Friday off work! Oooh getting excited for a long weekend 2 months in advance… I clearly need more excitement in my life.
4.17.12
Shamrock Shuffle 2012 Recap
Me with my friend, Heather and boyfriend, Craig :)
I had such a great time yesterday at the Shamrock Shuffle!! I’m so happy Craig and Heather decided to sign up with me because it was lots of fun!! We arrived downtown bright and early (worst part about any race is waking up early on the weekend…), but there were so many people swarming the streets of Chi-town that my tiredness left pretty quickly and I was excited to run! After we made it through gear check and got our wristbands (always thinking ahead to the free beer after the race!), we snuck Craig into our start corral (why was he in a different one if I signed us up at the same time and put our finishing time as the same?) and started running a little before 9!
Craig and I at the start of the race
There were people cheering over the bridge and along the streets, music blasting, runners in green tutus (I think I need one for next year), Claire and Andrea cheering at Mile 4, and almost 40,000 other runners helping kick off Chicago’s outdoor running season! I felt great for almost the entire run, I made it up the torturous hill at the end without too much trouble, and we finished in just under our goal time of 50 minutes!
After the race we sat outside, enjoying the perfect weather, drinking beer, and watching Mike and Joe. I even got a mini face tan! It’s not much, but I’ll take what I can get ;) After a couple hours we headed over to Beef & Brandy on State Street (my go-to after race restaurant) for some grub. I got my usual skillet with toast and mimosas… YUM! Definitely a nice way to spend a warm and sunny Sunday.
Heather, while we relaxed and watched Mike and Joe!
I think Shamrock Shuffle 2013 will have to happen :) Next up? Warrior Dash!!
3.26.12
I’m fueling up with coffee and oatmeal for my big day/weekend ahead of me! I have a half day at work today and then I’m super excited to go downtown with Craig and Heather for the Shamrock Shuffle expo!!! Last year I went at the very end of the expo and everything was pretty much sold out and there weren’t many people, so I’m happy we’re going earlier this year. It’s even more exciting because it’s Craig and Heather’s first race and first expo! Personally, I’m hoping for some free GU, maybe some Clif bar samples, and some cool t-shirts! Not that I should be spending more money on race clothes… ha. Stay tuned :)
3.23.12
We made it!! I have a super fun weekend ahead of me and I’m ssooo excited!! Can’t wait for the Shedd Aquarium, tapas, and Blue Man Group tomorrow :)
2.3.12
Look what Craig bought me today for my new Keurig!! I’m so excited to try both of these tomorrow :) Day 1 of my new job is over, and I did in fact survive… but I’m discovering the hardest part is not the actual job or the waking up early… but the part where I have to force myself to go to bed at a reasonable time. Ugh.
Luckily I have a super fun weekend ahead of me to look forward to. Two nights downtown + Shedd Aquarium + Blue Man Group + great food and really awesome company. I can’t wait!!
1.30.12
Beautiful… the race officially starts in 20 minutes, but I probably won’t be starting till 8ish. Wow, this is crazy.
10.9.11
Kelsey and I on our walk back from dinner! Sorry for the spamming, but I have lots of pics for you all! I’ll save some for a photo montage tomorrow :) 12 hours you guys… oh my gosh.
10.8.11
I’m getting excited. Welcome to my one track mind.
10.5.11
Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon Recap!!
After the expo on Saturday and a delicious pasta dinner with Claire, I went back to my friend Neie’s place to sleep so I wouldn’t have to drive downtown the morning of the race. I slept on a couch, the AC was broken so the windows were open, and he lives next to a fire station… so needless to say I didn’t get all that much sleep. I think I got 5 hours though, which isn’t horrible for the night before a race.
Neie, Jon, and I at Buckingham fountain before the race.
In the morning, I still wasn’t all that nervous. We woke up at 4:45am and were out the door by 5:20. When we got to Buckingham fountain, we had plenty of time to go to the bathroom (multiple times), check our bags, and stretch before the race.
Waiting in the corral for the race to start!
I started getting more nervous when the gun went off and people starting slowly inching towards the start line, but not nearly as nervous as I thought I would be. I guess already having run 26.2 miles did help with my nerves :)
Walking towards the start line- there were more than 15,000 people running!
When we started running, I kept my pace pretty slow for the first couple miles. I could tell my Jogtracker was off almost immediately (grrr), because it said I ran 1 mile in 8 and a half minutes, which definitely did not happen. I kept it on though so I could at least see how long I’d been running for and then calculate my pace at the mile markers.
Jon, Neie, and I ran together for probably the first 4 miles, which was nice. I don’t know if I mentioned it before, but Jon and I made a deal a few months ago that whoever wins gets a $100 Dicks Sporting Goods gift card, paid for by the other person. This motivated me to pull away from them after a few miles. I saw the 2:15 pacers around mile 5 and they were going pretty fast! I was keeping up with them, but it was hard. Jon caught up with me around 6 miles and said he was going to look for the 2:10 pacers. I thought about trying to keep up with him, but I was really worried about wearing myself out and suffering for the last few miles. Last weekend’s 5k made me really not want to tire myself out too early… so I decided to stay with the 2:15 pacers.
Eventually, I lost sight of the pacers and I had no idea if they were in front of me or in back of me, but I felt good at the pace I was running so I just stuck with it. I really didn’t have any moments of feeling tired or wanting to walk during the race. I kept worrying that I was going to get tired out, but it never happened. At the 10 mile mark I picked up the pace, but not nearly as much as I should have. I kept thinking about that 5k and worrying about going to fast. Once I saw the 12 mile marker I kicked it into high gear. I was passing people for the entire last mile, because I clearly had way too much energy left.
I started getting stomach pains with 1/2 a mile left, but I ignored them and sprinted to the finish line. I felt great crossing the line and decided I was fine with whatever time I got. I didn’t beat Jon (who ran it in 2:04), but I’m ok with that. I run for fun. I’m not running to win the race or running to qualify for the Olympics, so I’m ok with the fact that I could have run faster. Running faster probably would have meant a much less enjoyable race, and with my knee pains and other running frustrations, I really needed a great race like this one.
Official time: 2:13:05
After the race, I stocked up on much free food as I could (obviously), got my photo taken by the race photographers, and got my metal and two free finishing beers. In case you didn’t see my other post, I ran into Andrea in line for beer, who I met at the Do Life 5k in July! It’s awesome running into people who I know through Tumblr or Do Life :)
We didn’t stay very long after the race. Bret Michaels wasn’t there (his doctor said he couldn’t go on or something), which was lame, but it was pouring anyways and I was freezing, so we left to put dry clothes on and go out for breakfast.
Breakfast consisted of a margarita, a shot of tequila, and a delicious vegetarian skillet. As you can probably imagine, I was completely exhausted after that. But I somehow managed to do homework for the rest of the night once I made it home. Yay for being productive!
So overall, I had a really great weekend. The race went better than I could have imagined, and I’m just hoping now that the marathon (in 55 days!!) will go just as smoothly. I didn’t have knee pain during the race, which is AWESOME, so I’m really hoping they’ll behave for the rest of my training. I doubt that’ll happen, but I can dream, can’t I?
Thanks so much for all the messages and comments about the race- you guys are so awesome and I’m so lucky to have so many great people supporting me!!
Coming up: 16 mile run this weekend and possibly signing up for a 5k in my hometown! Stay tuned! :)
8.15.11
Obviously I had to get an iced coffee after the race… I can’t wait for foooood!
8.6.11
Pre-Race Fuel
Oatmeal with a banana and Chia seeds now, peanut butter banana sandwich before the race! I successfully got up at 5 am without wanting to die. I can’t decide what my goal for the race should be… just run it and not worry about my time because of my knee? Get under 26 minutes? My dad asked me if I was aiming for under 30 minutes and when I said, “Really, Dad?” he said he hoped my goal was at least under 35 minutes. Let’s hope I can at least hit that goal :)
8.6.11
Great run yesterday at the Do Life 5k :) I ran with Claire the whole time (who is AWESOME by the way- go follow!) and we even went off the path to run a massive hill that nearly killed me. I think I need to run by the Lake front more often!
I’ll be doing a full recap later :)
7.5.11
Oh hey, Ben! He told me to make him look good, but there’s only so much photoshopping I can do from my phone! ;)
7.4.11
