Oh, the Places I Go

I'm putting this picture up for my dad so he can see the Chicago train map. The only thing that isn't correct about this map anymore is that the Blue line doesn't fork into two, it just goes to Forest Park (and not 54th/Cermak). I'm sure that doesn't matter, but I just wanted to be accurate when explaining this.

So, I live right in between the Southport (Brown Line) stop and the Sheridan (Red Line) stop. They're essentially equidistant from my apartment.

All of the lines collide downtown, where the legend gets all crazy and there are stops everywhere. That's the heart of downtown.

To get to the Marriott I take the Brown Line from Southport to Quincy (20 minute ride).

To get to Sports Authority I take the Brown Line from Southport to Chicago. (15 minute ride).

To get to Bubba Gump I take the Red Line from Sheridan to Grand and then take a bus east to Navy Pier.

When I fly out of Midway (Southwest Airlines), I use the Orange Line. If I'm flying any other airline it's probably O'Hare, so I use the Blue Line. I've only been on the Green Line once and I rarely use the Purple Line. The Yellow Line just goes to Skokie, IL, so I've never used it. I think the Red Line and the Blue Line are the only ones that go underground, so that's kinda fun.

Anyway, that's the mass transit life. Doesn't it sound fun??

Chi Town Half Marathon

I've finally gotten around to crossing some of those New Year's goals off my list. This past Sunday I ran in the Chi Town Half Marathon, making it the first half marathon I've ever ran. I had been training for a while and definitely felt prepared on race day when I took the bus at 7:30am to get to the start line. The atmosphere was really cool, people were excited and looked ready to run. The limit for this race was 3,500 people and I don't know if it maxed out but it seemed like there were at least 2,000 people at the start line. The bus I rode on had about eight runners on it, and as each of us got on I think there was a mutual understanding between all of us that we were all about to do the same thing. When I got off the bus, though, someone asked me where we were supposed to go. I told him I had no idea and we found that we were both brand new to this. We finally found the starting line and he went a little behind me because he said his pace would be slower than mine. We exchanged numbers though, and now I have a new running friend! These races are exciting!

The run itself wasn't so bad, and I think it was just because I knew exactly what I was in for. The trail was kind of what I was used to running (along the lake shore) with a couple of extra detours that were pretty cool. The map is located here: http://www.allcommunityevents.com/chi_town_half_marathon/chi_town_half_map.pdf but I don't know that anyone would understand it anyway, haha. I listened to my headphones the whole time, with an upbeat playlist I had made the night before. I got a few aches and pains along the way, mostly in my feet and my knees, but overall I wasn't hurting too bad. I think one of my problems is that I just want to go really fast, and don't realize I need to pace myself. Grabbing drinks from people on the sidelines is fun though, and throwing them on the ground when you're done is even better. I'm not one to litter, so I felt like a rebel just throwing a paper cup in the grass.

The finish line was fun too! After being cheered on to cross, I went to get my picture taken with my medal (see below). There were also a lot of vendors who had stands and were giving away free things! I drank a lot of Gatorade and water, ate a banana and walked around for a little bit. I would have probably stayed a little longer but I was wearing a short sleeve shirt and shorts, and the breeze was starting to get to me. One of the biggest and best decisions I made before the race (literally 10 minutes before I left for the bus) was to NOT where long compression pants under my shorts. I thought it would be cold during the run, but the pants felt really constricting, and I knew I would be uncomfortable. Luckily, the weather was perfect and I didn't need them after all. Anyway, the race was over, a breeze was blowing, and I was ready to get home.

Post-race hasn't been too bad. My knees were hurting a little yesterday and I have blisters on my pinky toes, but I only had very limited soreness. I feel lucky because my new running friend (we'll call him Jake because his name is Jake) said he was pretty sore the past two days. Maybe it's just my genetics!

I found out that I ran the 13.1 miles in 1:50:38, at a pace of 8:27/mile. I'm pretty happy with my results, I knew I wanted under 2 hours but I would have liked to be under 1:50. That just makes me more motivated to go out there and do it again! I also got some coupons for half marathons in June and September so I will definitely be signing up! I think I'm hooked!

Just starting. Wrapping my headphone cord
around my iPod, as you can see.

Finished!

Post-race photo with my medal.