Rapture

So I have been a bit busy lately and have not updated anything since I went to Next.  Other than my normal busy weeks of volleyball, kickball and running we had our mid-season party for kickball, my roomies birthday, and a beautiful spring/summer day.  I am really ready for the good weather to stay but currently as I am writing this is it 48 degrees and raining, very different from Sunday and Mondays 80+ temperatures.

Friday started out like any other Friday with work but that is where it ended.  The whole day Groupon was offering “Now Deals” for $1 and I really wanted to use one.  I spent a good portion of the day trying to find time to get the Groupon for Bobtail Ice Cream but that was just not in the cards Friday.  Right after work I came home went for a run and then left immediately after that to start my evening.  My friend Karen was having a birthday party so I went over there and we grilled out and drank some wine and played some board games.  I had to leave the birthday party early to attend a kickball event that was also going on that night.

I have been playing kickball both seasons in Chicago since 2009.  So this current season marks my 5th season with WAKA.  I have built quite a collection of the same shirts but I am glad we switch up colors a little bit.  I have green, olive, and now red colored shirts.  I could wear an entire weeks’ worth of cloths and they would all say WAKA.  Friday night marked this season’s mid-season party which was held at Durkins.  Oh, Durkins the many of nights I have spent over indulging at this Chicago establishment and Friday was no different.  For the low low price of $10 for 3 hours open bar with call drinks and draft beer how can one go wrong?  It was nice to see everyone out and in real cloths (not WAKA shirts) and just hang out with people and have a great Friday night.

Saturday started very early and was very very packed.  I woke up at 7:30am to get ready to run errands and make it to boxing at LPAC by 8:30.  After a great work out at boxing I rushed home and got ready for my roommate Beth’s birthday party.  We left the house at piled into taxis to get over to the train station to catch the Metra out to Arlington Park Race Track.

Many of us were still hung-over from the night before but seeing us all dressed in our derby attire brightened the morning.  Once we arrived at Arlington Park we went up to the party suite Beth’s dad had rented for the party.  We were in the Miller Lite Party Deck which came with an open bar as well as a buffet.

We spent the majority of the day betting on horses and watching the races.  Between races we were enjoying the buffet of sandwiches, hot dogs, pasta salad, wings, and vegies.  The pasta salad was amazing!  Outside on the patio portion of the suite were cornhole and tables and a view of the far side of the track and the paddocks.  All around this was a great space with plenty to offer and great views of the track for watching the horses.  I however did not do so well with the betting on the horses though I did win a little bit on the Preakness which was simulcast at the track.  I did have a great time just enjoying friends and a nice day out at the park.  It was a good mix up from the norm of city life.

MORE PHOTOS

After the final races were finished the majority of us hopped back onto Metra and took it back down into the city.  Once we arrived back we headed to Louie’s Pub for some ordered in dinner and some karaoke.  Beth really likes her karaoke but I think she might have been showed up by Tyler and Nancy’s rendition of “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin”.

Our time at Louie’s Pub ended shortly after when an incredibly bitchy bachelorette party came in.  I don’t generally get pissed off at complete strangers but I wanted to get myself kicked out of the bar for throwing my beer at her to ruin her night just like she was ruining everyone else’s night on how absolutely rude she was being.  She had 2 tables reserved next to the tables we were at and she was trying to kick our group out of the table because she needed all the seats.  Apparently she needed 1 seat for herself and about 3 more for her ego.  Good luck to whatever idiot guy is marrying that girl.  I am hearing a 2 year divorce in their future.

After we all went our separate ways I ended up in Logan Square at a friend’s themed party.  The theme was spring formal and since I was still dressed from the races I was already dressed for the party.  It was a lot of fun though we only stayed about an hour before myself and Nicole and Nikki left and went to Lincoln Station to close out the night.  It was a long but super enjoyable day filled with memories that will last a long time I am sure.

Some of us Kickballers

When I woke up Sunday the sun was out, the birds were chirping, and the world was still here.  The so called Rapture did not happen.  No kidding I could have told you that it was a bunch of crap.  The RVs said the bible guarantees it.  How can you guarantee something that is an interpretation of a story that was told and then written down and then translated and then translated again into modern language?   I mean do we get our money back? Was this a Satisfaction guarantee? What kind of guarantee do we get because I want my refund. 

Since we are all still alive I went to brunch at Rock’s with my friend Kate.  We sat on the patio since it was such a nice warm day and at one point I had to move into the shade because it got too warm sitting directly in the sun.  Rock’s is a one of those great little neighborhood bars with a very nice patio and great food.  After lunch I thought about going to the beach to play some volleyball but I elected to just sit on the front porch and enjoy the day and hung out with my friend Ashley.  I did decide to be a little active so I went for a six mile run along the lake front.  I really love warm days when there is a slightly cooler breeze coming in off the water.  There is just that sense of summer in the air.

I decided that it was a really nice day I should grab my bike and do something I have not done in a long long time.  I just went for a bike ride.  I did not have a destination in mind I just grabbed my camera and went biking.  I stopped and hung out in the very spot I sat when I came to visit my friend Ashley back in 2008 where I considered the offer I had received for my job I have now in Chicago.  Once my friend, Rachel, met up we just continued on biking and ended up at Navy Pier of all places.  The drinks sucked and the food was decent but very overpriced.  It’s funny how tourist love that place yet locals find it annoying.  I am looking forward to the new Lakefront Flyover that is planned for the lake trail at Navy Pier.  All in all it was a fabulous weekend that was jam packed.  I have no idea how I was able to fit it all in but somehow I did and I loved every bit of it!

View of Chicago from where I like to sit and think

Next - Paris 1906

Looking out from inside

So there are some experiences in life you just need to take.  I happened to fall into one of those experiences last night.  A friend sold his tickets yes tickets not reservations to the new restaurant in the city called Next and myself and a few friends bought them.  I was so excited to go to this restaurant I didn't care what the cost was.  It is by far the most expensive meal I have ever had at $172 and I am already looking forward to the next menu which rumor has it is Thailand 2030.  Next is the latest restaurant by Grant Achatz who also created Alinea, the #6 restaurant in the world, which has lots of hype.  I first heard of Next in the Redeye back before it even opened in an article about hotels not knowing how to send tourist to the restaurant.  With all of that said I feel pretty happy to have been fortunate enough to take part in the inaugural menu at what is sure to be a long lasting world famous restaurant.

First off the atmosphere is awesome.  Maybe its because we are young but the staff is so friendly and fun, they joke around with us and just make for a very happy upbeat experience not just another meal.  The theme for the first menu at Next is based off the Ritz hotel that opened in Paris, France in 1906.  The story talks about how the restaurant inside the Ritz became a fashion and social event for the upper class.  The dishes that are served at Next are the same that were served at the Ritz in 1906 using the recipes of Auguste Escoffier only modified to plate them rather than have them on a grand buffet as they were served in 1906.

Menu and the story

After the champagne (Château d' Orschwir Crémant d'Alsace Brut) is served the Hors d'Oeuvres are brought to the table.  It is a splendid display for the four of us to enjoy.

Hors d'Oeuvres tray

Oeuf Benedictine, Quail egg, Foie Gras Torchon, Pork Rillette,
minus Mushroom Duxelle wrapped in Leak (I eat it already)

After the first course was complete and the table cleared we joked a bit more with our waiters as they served us the second wine as well at the turtle consomme (fancy word for soup apparently)

Domaine de Montbourgeau l'Etoile 'Cuvée Spéciale', Jura 2005

#907 Portage a la Totue Claire - Turtle Consomme with
a mixture of onions, celery, carrots and parsley

Just as before the second course is cleared away and more wine is brought to the table to start our third course.

Olivier Merlin 'La Roche Vineuse', Macon 2009

#1950 Fillet de Sole Daumont - Sole fillet, crawfish mousse,
fried crawfish, stuffed mushroom all in a toasted butter

Course four is now presented to our table along with yet another wine!  If this is what the chicken I cooked tasted like I might actually really enjoy chicken.

#3130 Suprêmes de Poussin - Chicken cutlets topped with foie gras,
cucumbers filled with chicken mousseline wrapped
with cured pork belly and topped with dill

Chateau de la Liquiére 'Les Amandiers', Faugéres 2009 

The wines are coming faster then we can finish

Onto the main course, course number five.  For this course we have yet more wine as well as the most amazing potatoes I have ever had and some succulent duck made on a duck press.

Domaine Brusset 'Les Travers', Cairanne 2006

#3476 Caneton Rouennais à la Presse - roasted and pressed
duck in reduction of cognac, red wine, and jus

#4200 Gratin de Pommes de Terre à la Dauphinoise -
Potatoes baked in cream and butter and cheese

Course six is much lighter after the duck and potatoes but certainly no less tasty.  The salad was simply amazing and the presentation was awesome.  This was the only course not served with wine.

#3839 Salade Irma - Asparagus tips, cauliflower, radish, an edible
nasturtium flower with a lemon dressing, tarragon and chervill

The next course , course seven, starts the deserts.  Also served with another wine.  I think this might have been the best wine pairing because the port went so well with the bombe ceylan.

Graham's 10 year Tawny Port

#4826 Bombe Ceylan - coffee and vanilla rum ice creams encased in
chocolate garnished with macerated cherries and mint

We have finally reached our final course of number eight.  I am so full now but the candies they place on our table are just so delicious looking I can not resist.  This course is continued with the port from the eighth course as well as fresh pressed coffee with brown sugar and cream.  These were some of the best deserts I have ever had in my life.  The caramel was so sweet and rich and the pistachio nougat was so tasty.

Mignardises - beet fruit pate, pistachio nougat, and salted caramel

French Press Coffee with brown sugar and cream

Yes I know this is a little pricier and not the average meal but the experience was so worth it.  In all we had eight courses of food and six courses of wine.  We were all so stuffed and happy with this meal!  We finished our coffees and talked with the restaurant tried to get us a cab.  Being where they are on Fulton Market is a bit difficult to get cabs.  After we waited a little bit they came to our table to tell us our transportation had been arranged.  Little did we know that our waiter would be our transportation.  He drove us all home.  It was a perfect end to a perfect dinner.  We joked with the waiter about how we were the fun table that enjoyed the experience so much.  It was well worth everything I paid.  I am looking forward to what menus will come in the future.

It is very interesting how this restaurant works.  The website is very basic yet they are very active on both Facebook and Twitter.  It is a restaurant with a price point that most of the times would never be on Facebook let alone use it to sell tickets and spread word about the restaurant.  Maybe social media is really here to stay and will make a much larger impact then just on our social lives but perhaps the way business is done in the future.

A look at the dining room

Myself with one of our waiters, Wes (not the one who drove us home)

Thank You!

Thank you is such a normal thing right?  Often I don't even realize I am saying it.  I feel thank you is just a simple form of recognition that is so easily shared for any variety of things.  Yet, somehow I am still amazed at how so many people do not say this.  It does not offend me but I do think to myself that maybe it is just me that thinks "thank you" is a very important part of life.

On a daily basis I take the CTA and PACE.  Every morning when I get on the bus I say hello to the bus driver and if I exit from the front door thank them when I exit.  It is not needed to say thank you, all they did was do their job and get me where I needed to go yet still I am appreciative for the service they fulfilled.  I could have been made to walk, bike, drive, or any other mode of transportation but instead I elected to take them up on the service they provide and in return I feel a simple thank you is in order.  I have noticed that many people say thank you while still so many other do not find the need to say anything.  I wonder if the reason the other people didn't say thank you is because they really are not thankful and are not appreciative of what they got.  What would those people say if their bus just simply wasn't there one day or what they would do if the bus broke down on route.  Are these the people that would blame the driver for their tardiness to their final destination when is was not the drivers fault at all?

My thinking goes well beyond "Thank You" to my other thought of do people really care about one another any longer?  Has the world become so self absorbed with ourselves that we do not take the time, all 1 second, it takes to just let people know that others care about what they are doing.  I know that I am one to step out of my way and help out if I can and I do not even think twice about it.  The part that strikes me odd is the looks people give who over see the good deeds.  For example a few weeks back I got off the Blue line at Damen and a girl in front of me was struggling to carry her suitcase down the stairs.  Since I only had my backpack and both of my hands were free I offered to help her carry her suitcase down the stairs.  The suite case was not that heavy it was just an awkward shape but it was very simple for me to do this.  It is not that the girl couldn't have done this all her self but sometimes its just nice when someone helps you out.  A few people passing by just kinda stared and my friend with me made a joke about well aren't you a nice guy.  I don't think that it is being nice other then just helping out when I can because I know that when I need help I would be very appreciative of receiving help.

Last year I went with my friend Patricia to The Chicago Film Festival to see Trust by David Schwimmer and after the film during his Q&A he made a statement that I don't think I will forget anytime soon.  The reason I will not forget it is because it hit home because I am exactly what he was talking about.  David Schwimmer made a statement about a scene he took out that showed a family of 4 at a restaurant for dinner where none of them were talking to each other but all on their cell phones talking to whom ever.  This stuck out at first because it is so easily imaginable these days.  The reason I will not forget it is I am that absorbed person in todays world that doesn't notice what is going on around because I am glued to my cell phone.  As soon as I left the theater I went straight to my cell phone and was too focused on that and came within inches of a collision with another person.  That person I almost ran into on the sidewalk was the same one who had just made the statement, David Schwimmer.  I think that was the moment I realized that my cell phone is not as important to me as the people around me are and I think that is when I started to pay more attention to the little things like I used to.

Going on with how we have become so absorbed into ourselves makes me think of a time I was trying to fly to Atlanta when all hell broke loose and all the flights got messed up and canceled.  I was among the many passengers stranded in the airport and I was appalled by the negative things that were being said to people working.  I realize that people are frustrated but please someone tell me what good can come from yelling at the clerk behind the gate kiosk.  What did they do to you that makes it ok for you to blame them for your problems.  Last I knew they were just employees of the airline that are doing what they can to try to help you.  They are not the ones who cancelled the flights in the first place what good is going to come from blaming them.  Let me ask you something, when was the last time you knew exactly what your company was doing?  That product that launched, did you know every detail about it and why it launched on this date vs that date.  Why did your boss decide to make you point on this project and not that project?  No you probably can not.  You might be able to say something about it but you can not really tell me why.  So you do you expect the gate kiosk employee to know why people 15 pay grades above them canceled the flight you were on.

I really just think doing one simple little thing like saying thank you when someone does something nice will really go along way.  Why have we all become so self absorbed that we can't even notice what is going on in front of us and why can't we just realize that things happen and that sometimes the people we blame and take our frustration out on are just as frustrated as we are.  Just try to be a little friendlier.  I am generally happy with what I see on a daily basis but I really think there is plenty of room for improvement.  I know I can do better and I know that everyone else can to.  Just think of what you learned in kinder garden..... Treat others like you want to be treated.

A Little Life Lesson a Little Late in Life

During this past week I think I might have finally realized a fact that I should have learned in high school or college.  I have realized I over think things way too much.  I am about to go a little emo here but relax its fine I figured everything out eventually.  I had a very fun enjoyable last week (minus getting sick and now an ear infection I am still battling) and leading into the weekend I was excpecting that to continue however that was not really in the cards for me it seemed. 

Friday was a beautiful warm spring day and I really had a craving to grill out.  I started to invite a few friends that live right near my house just to come over after work Friday to grill out.  I made homemade salsa and guacamole.  The only people that participated were my roommates Jana and Beth.  I didnt think much about everyone else not being able to come over as some were out of town, others already had plans, etc.  Saturday was the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby which I have always liked and even more so after last year where I actually went to the Derby.  I wasnt sure what to do for this race, I really wanted to watch it but I didnt know anyone watching it.  While talking to my roommate about the Derby she invited me out to her families Derby Party in the burbs.   At first I was very skeptical; one I never go to the burbs, two I would be like the youngest person there, three I felt like I sorta invited myself and Beth was just being nice to invite me along cause I was whining about not having anything to do.  I know that I shouldnt think things like that but that for some reason was the first thing that poped into my head. 

I really had a lot of fun out in the burbs.  I think it was my first time ever to go to burbs just because.  I have gone out to the burbs I think three time before not for work related things.  I went out to Naperville once to get dinner with my friend Mary when she lived out there before she moved into the city.  I went to run the Morton Arbiritum 5k with Rachael and then went to dinner with my friend Allison from MSU when she was in the area for a work thing.  This trip was different, it was just a trip for fun; no time limits no agendas no nothing.  I feel like I did the true burbs thing of going to a mall; it has been such a long time since I went to a mall.  Living in the city malls dont really exist like they do in the burbs and all the stores I would find in the mall have stand alone stores that I go to.  The Derby party its self was great too.  Though the party didnt particuallry need to be in the burbs but it added to the fun of being in a real house with a yard and a dog and everything.  The horse that I got in the drawing for betting was Shackleford which was looking great to be the winner till about 200 yards to go when the rest of the field passed him.  After the party Beth dropped me off at Metra and I took that back into the city.  It was my first experience taking Metra by myself.  Also I think it might be the only time I have taken Metra sober as normally I am taking Metra to Ravinia.

Once I got home from the burbs Saturday started my real emo moment.  Since I didnt go out Friday night I really wanted to do something Saturday night.  I got home met up with Jana and Arren but once I got to George Street Pub they were just getting ready to leave to go to the Apartment which I had no desire to go to.  I am not really liking the Depaul, douche bars all that much currently and The Apartment might be the worst of all the Depaul bars.  So I didnt go with them instead I tried to find some other people who might be out near me.  Most people were out but I just felt like if I joined them I would just be inviting myself and crashing so I just went home and watched TV.  I was just really in a bad mood Saturday night which shaded the fun I had just had.  I went on to thinking no one likes me and wants to hang out with me and thats why no one came over to grill out Friday and blah blah.  Sunday I woke up and tried to just think it was a new day which turns outs it was.

Like I said I figured out everything and dropped the emo shit.  Sunday my friend Sarah called me up wanting to go to lunch, Monday Newman asked me to come to trivia with him and his group, Kate asked me to do dinner Monday but we ended up doing that Tuesday instead, my friend Jason called me up wanting to go grab drinks, and Danielle called to ask if I wanted to join them to watch the Wings game.  So while over the weekend I may have had a lapse in judgment and might have been way over analysizing everything and thinking I had no friends, I am reminded that I am stupid sometimes.  I am so greatful for all the friends I have who remind me just by being themselves to stop over thinking on the random little things that didnt go the way I wanted them to over the weekend.  I am full of shit and people do really like to hang out with me and for that I thank everyone who I know for helping me learn this fact I should have learned a long time ago that sometimes people are busy and sometimes things dont go the way I want but in the end I have some really awesome friends and people do really care about me.  Thanks!

A Personal Holiday

This turned out to be a somewhat strange week for me.  I worked Monday and Tuesday and then Thursday and Friday.  I completely took off Wednesday for a personal holiday.  It was great Beth got free Sox tickets so Erin and Beth and myself went down for the 1pm game vs The Twins.  The seats were in the club level.  I have now sat in every section there is at US Cellular field.  Now don't get my wrong I really dislike the Sox but what I have to say for their stadium has nothing to do with that.  I think US Cellular is a horrible field.  The lower level is fine and the Luxury levels are standard with other professional sports I have seen, but overall the stadium is bland and poorly set up.  The seats in the upper deck are too steep and I am very much against the segregation the stadium has.  If you have an upper level ticket you are confined to that level.  Are we back in the days of Trans-Atlantic travel where class passengers have to only remain on their class floors.... No I think not.  I feel the stadium would be much better if it was made more compact like some of the other ballparks in America.  I really like the Phillies but Citizen Bank Park is built just like US Cellular.  They are both flawed in the same way.  Though in Philly there is no segregation and there is a nice skyline view from the park.  I am done sharing my opinion on that but it just needed to be shared.

View at US Cellular from the Skyline Club

The game on Wednesday was very nice.  It was not the warmest of days but it turned out to be quite nice as long as you were in the sun.  The seats we had were on the 1st base line of the club which were very nice seats however they were in the shade.  It was a bit too cold and so we moved to the 3rd baseline side of the club halfway thru the game.  Those seats were not quick as nice as they were further out in the outfield but they were in the sun so it was a vast improvement.  I really enjoyed the private lounge and the waiter system that they have.  It made it so easy to just sit back and get food without doing a damn thing.  I have lived in Chicago for about two and half years and I go to a few Sox games, generally when they play the Tigers but also some others.  I have also attended Spartyball which was hosted at US Cellular in The Stadium Club.  It is sad to think that I have been to more games at US Cellular then Comerica or Citizen Bank Park but baseball is baseball and I really enjoy spending a nice afternoon with my current roommate and my past roommate.  Its even more fun to do all of that on a random Wednesday afternoon.

The rest of my Personal Holiday was spent at spinning at LPAC and then a nap and some volleyball later on.  When I woke up Wednesday to go to spinning I was thinking it would be dead because who goes to the gym at 9:30 in the morning.  Wow was I wrong,  it was packed and not just with moms but all kinds of people.  Do people ever work here? 

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful other then the fact that I got sick and somehow managed to get an ear infection.  I have not had an ear infection in well I dint know if I ever have had one.  I am sure I have at some point in life but this is nothing I know from personal memory.  I finally went in to get it checked out on Thursday.  For not really having a doctor in the city and not knowing how to find out this posed a bit of a challenge.  After a lot of Googling I found a Minute Clinic at CVS.  Yes, even the retail world has doctors these days.  Whats next, can I go to the local super market and get surgery done or what?  It was a very pleasant experience though and I think the next time I need something done I will be going back.  It was so easy and convenient all up until I tried to make my purchase of over the counter drugs.  The doctor prescribed me a prescription and also said to try an over-the-counter for a few days in place of the prescription.  I really like the idea of over-the-counter vs prescription so I elected to give that a shot.  However CVS was not going to have anything to do with that.  I tried to make my purchase but the clerk at the pharmacy could not prove that I was over 18.  I know they are just following procedure but are these really the people we want filling prescriptions and holding the keys to our health I mean they need a computer to tell them if they are an idiot or not.  The girl who took my ID to check my age scanned it into her computer and then just stood there with a blank look on her face, then she tells me the computer isn't doing anything and that she has no way to verify my age.  I just stared back.  I so wanted to ask her why she needed a computer to tell her if she was an idiot of not.  After she tried her computer about 5 times she called over the pharmacy manager to see if he knew.  He didn't even try but just told me he wasn't going to be able to sell me anything.  Seriously I think a monkey could have done their job.

Now I know I sound a bit negative currently but really I am not.  I really had a blast at the Sox game and just because I don't like the stadium doesn't mean I cant have fun.  Clearly I had fun at Phillies games in the past and I think the same for that park as I do for the Sox.  And as for the ear thing well that's still an on going battle and perhaps what is causing my irritability but I was very impressed by the Minute Clinic.

I am a Runner

The words "you are a runner" or "running fool" or anything along those lines used to be said to me a lot in high school when I did actually consider myself a runner.  However I went to college and quickly discovered all-you-can-eat buffets, no rules, no regular schedule outside of class, and of course partying.  Needless to say running and soccer took a back seat to college.  Yes after freshman year I started to get back into things but nothing like high school.  Junior year I even ran in my first organized 5k, The Race for the Place 5k on MSU campus.  One of my bosses at IM West helped run the race so I decided to run it with some friends from work.  It was a great start to getting me back into interested in running.  Sadly it didn't last..... I did however help at the Race for the Place my senior year but did not run it but I did start running on my own around campus more.

I did start to run more on my own while I lived in Pennsylvania but still never did any organized race till my friend Rachael asked me to run the Morton Arboretum 5k.  It was a good little 5k but still didn't hold my interest long to get back into running.  That interest sparked the following spring when my roommate, Erin, and my friend, Laura,  talked me into running the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k.  That race goes through downtown Chicago and even though it had cold and wet weather I loved every bit of it.  It got me interested though I don't know if I would have stuck with it had it not been for Erin suggesting I run the Race to Wrigley 5k a month later or Laura asking me to run the United Run for the Zoo 10k a couple months after that.  After I finished the United Run for the Zoo I knew I was hooked!

All in All last year from March 21st thru mid December I ran a total of 9 organized races for a total millage of 322.  I trained and ran my first half marathon in September.  It was so much fun training and accomplishing that feat.  I was hooked for sure maybe even a little crazy.  I even expect the term "you are a runner" and don't laugh.  It is great to be back to where I once was not all that long ago.  Now I wouldn't agree to the term "you are a runner" if I wasn't going to be ambitious this year as well to continue on my way running along.

Katie, Laura, Me, Erin
After the Chicago Half Marathon Sept 12th, 2010

In 2011 I have set an unofficial goal to run 750 miles.  I also started out with a goal to run one organized race a month for 12 months.  I have not ruled that out but I did this year due to lack of money and the fact I live in Chicago where we have this thing called snow.  I stepped up my ambitions and signed up to run my first marathon.  I will be running in on of the 5 world marathon majors, the Chicago Marathon, though I wont have the same goal as all the elites do.  I will not be taking this task on alone.  I have my friend Brittani to help motivate me as well as Laura and Katie.  When I run it I will have about 2 million spectators including my family to help cheer me on to the finish.  I know I can do this.  The training for the marathon will put me 420 miles closer to my goal on 750 miles.

Besides the Chicago Marathon I plan on running the Chicago Half Marathon again and possibly the Philadelphia Half Marathon.  I will also be running the United Run for the Zoo as well as a few others that I ran last year.  One of my biggest accomplishments will not be my own running but the fact that when my mom and aunt came out to visit last year they saw me run the Hot Chocolate 15k and they both said they would want to try that the following year.  I was so shocked, this coming from mom who only an hour before the race said she could never run 3.1 miles.  I know she can not run the whole thing but a run walk is an amazing start.  Over the winter I got my mom and dad to try out spinning and now they both go alot and really enjoy it.  I hope this will be a great way my mom can find a physical fitness hobby and can help get into shape while having fun.  So this year I will not be running the Hot Chocolate 15k but I will run the 5k so that I can run and then hang out along the course to cheer on my mom and my aunt to finish the race.

I feel that anyone can do anything it just takes a little motivation and an attainable goal.  I hope that I can surpass my goal and that my mom can finish the 5k this fall!  I found this website while writing this with lots of little motivation sayings for running.  Most of them made me laugh but some were pretty good.  So wish me luck on my quest as well help me support my mom on her new goal!