What I Talk About When I Talk About Trying to Run: Part Five

In 2013 I ran my first 5k. In 2014 I decided to run a 5k every month. In September I must have accidentally Freaky Friday-ed my body with an actual runner and decided it would be a good idea to run a 10k. I don't know what I was thinking. There's probably some defenseless woman out there who doesn't understand why she suddenly has the appetite of a Gilmore Girl.

I really felt like I was on my way to becoming a real runner. Partly because I had body switched with that lady (see above) but mainly because I signed up for a running class and actually started to enjoy running. I was in Green Bay for work and ran to Lambeau Field and back each morning. I did push-ups in my hotel room. Okay, I did a push-up. I ran five miles for the first time in my life.

October: Forest Park Firefighters 5k 
I was ready for my next 5k...which was in a cemetery. I got a lot of weird looks from people when I told them I was running the Forest Park Firefighters 5k and that it was in a cemetery. I've learned that you shouldn't smile when you say, "cemetery." Not that it's disrespectful, I think it just creeps people out. Lesson learned.

I'm still not sure I understand how the timing worked at this race. We all gathered at the cemetery (she wrote with a solemn look on her face), someone sang the national anthem, and then we just started running. We looped around the cemetery a couple times, ran on the street, and then crossed the finish line set up by the picnic grove. The Nesquick bunny gave out high fives and chocolate milk. I Googled to confirm that bunnies do in fact have five toes in their front paws, ensuring that it really was a high five and not a high four. You're welcome. I had my third fastest time of the year.

October: Frank Lloyd Wright 10k
I was losing steam as October continued. I was going out of town for work again and I still hadn't done 6.2 miles. I woke up the day I was leaving and decided that I would run the 10k distance before I left. It was bad. Really bad. I hated myself for not training hard enough. I hated my body for being so tired. I hated myself for wanting to cry. And then I actually did break down and cry. In the middle of the run I stopped and balled like a child. Bryan was with me and tried to comfort me, but I just needed to get it out of my system. All the bad feelings needed a place to escape and they decided to leave me in the form of embarrassing tears. Look away school children, this lady is having a rough morning, but do you have any water? I will say that I picked the worst day to attempt to run this distance. It was mid-October, but for some reason the humidity was 80 something percent. Another lesson learned. Sometimes Mother Nature is against you.

When the race day approached I was feeling nervous. I met up with my running class before the race for last minute advice and stretching.

Part of my running group. This is actually the first time I'm seeing their faces since I'm usually running blocks behind them in class trying and failing to catch up.

Something happened to my RunKeeper app during the race and it thought I was running about a minute faster than I actually was. This happens from time to time. I'll lose signal and it kind of just picks up where it lost it. Usually I hate when that happens, but this time it was actually helpful. During each audio cue, I thought, "Wow, I'm doing awesome!" In the back of my head, I knew that I wasn't really doing that great, but it was the motivation (i.e. lying) that I needed.

When I got tired, I stopped running and walked for a bit. When I was thirsty and passing a water station, I took some water. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean.  Wait, that wasn't me that was Forrest Gump. It's understandable how you could confuse my journey in an Oak Park neighborhood with that of a man running across the country multiple times. It's basically the same story.

I finished!

What I Talk About When I Talk About Trying to Run: Part Four

Me: Who is Ariana Grande?
Bryan: I don't know sounds like something you order at Taco Bell.

Readers, I'm getting old. I stumbled across a replay of MTV's Video Music Awards the other day and I could feel the years slipping through my fingers. Who were all those people? Is that what kids are wearing? Is that music today?! If it wasn't for the fact that it was nearing 7:30pm, my actual bedtime 50% of the time, I would have been a little more horrified. Alas, I went to bed instead.

Running is weird. It makes me feel old and young at the same time. At every race I've done this year, there's always at least three times when I think, "Why am I here? What am I doing? This sucks." But then at every race I cross the finish line and inside I'm shouting, "YEEEAAAHHHH!! LET'S SIGN UP FOR ANOTHER RACE!" Sometimes I shout it out loud. Most times I just try to catch my breath in the ugliest way possible.

I just finished my 12th and final race of the year last Saturday. It's been awhile since I've posted about my running (or about anything at all), so I promise this week I will finish out my running posts. It may take more than one post since my writing, like my running, is very long-winded.

July: Chinatown 5k
I almost didn't do this race. I woke up the morning of the Chinatown 5k, looked outside to see it pouring rain, and thought it would be really easy to just go back to bed. I hadn't really been training, but I thought I would go ahead and try it. It would probably stop raining and it would be fun to go to Chinatown.

It did not stop raining. I think it actually started raining harder. There were runners huddled underneath tents and the store fronts trying to stay out of the rain. They called for the runners to line up and like idiots, we all walked out into the monsoon. I was soaked within 30 seconds. After a minute I realized that I was REALLY soaked. People ran with umbrellas. I ran with the hope of taking the opposite of a shower as soon as the race was over.

Look at those smiles! You would never guess that we have squishy socks and underwear.

September: Bucktown 5k
I think it took all of August to officially dry off after the Chinatown race.  I was starting to feel unmotivated and in need of a group of people to run with so I signed up for a 10k running class with the one and only Janice Enloe. I love Bryan, but he RUNS and I more casually jog. Usually when we run together I'm out of breath and constantly apologizing for how terribly slow I am. I am the dial-up of running and Bryan is High Speed Internet. AOL will be sponsoring me soon.

If you sign up for races based off the swag, I would highly recommend the Bucktown 5k. I've worn the sweatpants from September's race multiple times. Bryan wore his at our last race. I typically wear mine to have more room for pizza eating.

My friends Annika and Dan ran the race with me. And by "with me" I mean, they finished hours before me. I think I might still be running in Bucktown.

My running class taught me how to dress for running. Dress like it's 20 degrees warmer than it actually is. It's unfortunate that I didn't listen to the advice for September's race. It was a little bit cooler that day and I decided to wear my cool looking running jacket. Five minutes in I was dying from the heat, but I couldn't take it off since my number was pinned on the outside.

I know I make a lot of jokes about running slow, but I really am proud of myself for trying. I see a lot of people post things about being faster than yourself sitting on your couch and it's completely true. Don't get discouraged if you're not as fast as you want to be. I am trying to constantly remind myself that I'm so much faster than I was even a year ago. Running is running. Go as fast or as slow as you want to go. Unless you're being chased by a bear. Then you should probably try to go a little faster, but as my Dad always says, "You only have to be faster than the slowest person."

2014 Lollapalooza: Best and Worst Moments

Another great Lollapalooza has come and gone. 2014 marks my 5th year attending the festival. A lot has changed over five years, but I think what's changed the most is my outlook. This was the first year that I finished the night at a smaller stage, instead of listening to one of the major headliners. Sunday's lineup was also the first in five years that I didn't really care about the majority of any of the acts. As with any multi-day festival, it's a long, but fun-filled experience. Below I've included the best and worst moments of 2014's Lollapalooza.

Best Stage: The Grove
The Grove has had an amazing lineup these past few years. It's easy to forget about it because it's hidden away under trees. It's the perfect stage to catch some early morning acts and, as we found out this year, to end the night. Ironically, the worst band we saw at The Grove is the band pictured below, Roadkill Ghost Choir. Their sound definitely sounded like it had been rotting away in the middle of a dirt road. We ended both nights at The Grove seeing Phantogram and Darkside. We also got our first taste of rain watching Gemini Club on Sunday and avoided getting drenched thanks to ponchos and the trees.

Best Day: Saturday

Maybe it's because Saturday had the best weather. Maybe it's because we ended it singing and dancing our way through Outkast's set, but Saturday was my favorite day of the weekend. Vance Joy, Fitz & The Tantrums, and Foster the People were just some of the highlights.

This is what Lollaplooza is all about. Sitting on a hill listening to great music with your friends.

Best Food: Lobster corndog

A little disappointed that the mustard-fried catfish was nowhere to be found, but I found solace in baskets of cheese fries, mushroom nachos, truffle parmesan popcorn, and lobster corndogs.

I have no pictures of the food, but this is what I looked like after eating non-stop for three days.

Best Throwback: Outkast

Am I old enough now to have a throwback band be music that I listened to in middle/high school? I guess so. Judging by the blank faces in the audience it also seems that Annika and I were the only ones who listened to more than just "Hey Ya!" I'm sorry Ms. Jackson, but there are better songs on Stankonia. Of course the blank faces could also have to do with the cloud of smoke that hovered over the crowd too. I think the best part of their set was that it just felt like watching two friends having fun.

Best Closer: Phantogram
Can I just start by saying how crazy it was that Phantogram was a closer? Just four years ago I was standing at the front of the stage at Lincoln Hall listening as Sarah Barthel whisper, "Hi we're Phantogram. We're from New York." in her little girl voice. And they were opening for The Antlers! But you don't know who The Antlers are? Exactly. They were opening for a band that most people haven't even heard of today. Now their songs are on commercials and they're closing out Friday night at Lollapalooza. I'm not saying it wasn't a deserved spot, they put on an amazing show, their new album Voices is fantastic, and I really have fallen in love with Fall In Love. I just haven't gotten over the shock at seeing their name at the end of the day. Thank goodness she still has that high pitch baby voice, which she is now using to tell her bandmate, Josh Carter, how much she "f'-ing loves his beats" instead of telling the audience their hometown.

Worst Day: Sunday

There are many reasons why Sunday was not my favorite. The constant rain. Having to wear a plastic poncho all day. Missing the opportunity to get closer to see the Avett Brothers because of the mud pits that were forming by the Samsung Galaxy stage. We came prepared for rain, so while it didn't soak our stuff it did dampen the day.

The only thing separating us from the Avett Brothers was mud. Lots and lots of mud.

Worst Act: Iggy Azalea

There are no pictures of this act because we stood at the edge of Perry's for about five minutes before deciding to get the heck out of there. It was so loud that you couldn't really hear any distinguishing sound or even a voice in all the obnoxious bass. After reading reviews of her set it sounds like we didn't miss too much. Sweaty teenagers puking all around? Sounds pretty "Fancy" to me.

Worst Stage: Perry's or Lakeshore
Perry's is hands-down the worst stage at Lollapalooza for all of the reasons above. It's so loud that it's kind of destroying the music at Lakeshore. It's impossible for acts like Warpaint, Lykke Li, or The Head and The Heart to compete with the constant bass at Perry's.

Lakeshore Stage in the background.

Favorite Quotes:

"ID's out if you want to drink. If you don't want to drink, why are you here?" said by the guy checking ID's at the front of the gate. We took advantage of the Uncorked Wine Lounge on Sunday when it rained non-stop for hours.

After a few minutes of serious sound issues from their pre-recorded track, the lead singer of Of Verona said, "None of this is pre-recorded...except for the parts that are pre-recorded."

Favorite Moment: Fitz & the Tantrums
Fitz & the Tantrums put on a great show on Saturday, but for me, these two below stole the entire set. As we were sitting on our favorite hill by the Samsung stage, we see this little boy (yellow shirt) start coming down the hill as The Walker starts. He sees a woman (white dress) dancing and you can tell by the look on his face that he's thinking, "I"m gonna ask that lady to dance!" Then they performed the best synchronized dance! It was the cutest thing I have ever seen.

Final Thoughts:

Why are people bringing kids to Lollapalooza? I get that there's a Kidzapalooza, but you still have to walk through regular Lollapalooza to get there. As much as I love this festival, I would never in a million years think about bringing a kid to witness all the disgusting and foul things that become part of Grant Park. We sat next to a family (mom, dad, and two kids) on Saturday and they were the worst kids ever! The little boy kept hitting his mom and throwing pennies in her beer and the little girl would not stop whining. Everyone was miserable. Including me. There are rare moments (like the Fitz & the Tantrum dancing) where it's cute that there's a kid there, but for the most part, leave your little ones at home.

This was the first year that I've been to an aftershow. It was actually a pre-show since it was the Wednesday before Lollapalooza, but I would definitely do it again! Bryan and I got to see Courtney Barnett play at Schubas Tavern from about five feet away. They put on an amazing show!

What I Talk About When I Talk About Trying to Run: Part Three

There's a trend right now with my Facebook friends. They either post pictures of their kids or their running times. Of course there's that crazy sub-set of people who are doing both. I've been trying to run outside more and will sometimes see parents running with strollers. That's amazing! It's hard enough for me to get out there and push my own weight forward I can't imagine doing that with another human being. There's this crazy guy who runs with a double stroller AND a dog. Thanks for making us all look bad, man. I'm going to start running pulling my Harry Potter books in a Radio Flyer next time I see him and shout, "That's right, those are all seven HARDCOVER Harry Potter books. I'm literally running with the entire wizarding world behind me." He won't hear me because he's listening to Rosetta Stone mastering Parseltongue. 

I'm pretty sure that guy's a superhero.

May 2014 - Easter Seals Run for the Kids Superhero Hustle

My first 5k in May was on my birthday. I briefly mentioned it in an earlier post, but forgot to mention one crazy thing that happened. If you recall, I was dressed as Spider-Man during the race. My friend Katie was Superman and Bryan was Batman. 

Fun fact: I've never run in men's boxers and blue tights before.

My "costume" wasn't that comfortable and after the first stretch of the 5k in the bright, hot sun I was really regretting the tights. I felt bad for the ones with capes as they kept getting in the way. As we were running through the neighborhood I looked around and noticed that almost all of the other runners were dressed up as some superhero. There were police barricades every other intersection or so, but they didn't have enough officers to cover every one. As I turned the corner down one road, I saw a car back out of a driveway and start to drive down the road. The guy was driving a little fast and was trying to swerve around the runners. I could tell he was irritated they were running in the middle of the street. On any other day I totally would agree with Mr. Road Rage. Runners are supposed to run against traffic and usually on the side of the road, but we were obviously running a 5k. Finally Lex Luthor (aka Mr. Road Rage) passes the group and I realize that he really didn't understand that we were running in a 5k. What running group goes out dressed up in full superhero costume? And how do I join them?

May 2014 - The Original 5k

I didn't get to run a 5k in June thanks to a disgusting blister on the bottom of my right foot, but I did run two 5k's in May, so I'm still on track for my goal. The Original 5k was on May 31st so I got as close to June as I could. I'm still not 100 percent sure why this race is called the Original 5k - something about the first 5k happening or when running the 5k got super popular? All I know is that I decided to sign up for this race because the entry fee was $19.72. I ran this race with Bryan, Katie, and Ellie. 

Instead of a t-shirt we got tube socks (as seen in the background)

Walk/Run Method

I took a running class last year. Our instructor was a big proponent of the Walk/Run Method. I wasn't sure if it made a lot of sense. How could I run faster if I was walking? If you're new to running or looking for a way to mix up your running I would definitely suggest this method. I typically will run three minutes and then walk one minute. The minute of walking gives my legs a quick break and I'm fresher and able to run harder for the next three minutes. Last September I ran a 5k straight - no walking, only running. For the Superhero run I did the Walk/Run Method and had the exact same time as last September and felt a lot better after.

The Great Midwest Road Trip of 2014: South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa (Part Three)

Stop six and a half: Wall, SD and Mitchell, SD
There is nothing exciting in between Rapid City and Sioux Falls. This is why places like the Wall Drug Store and the Mitchell Corn Palace exist. I was not a fan of either of these tourist traps, but if you're traveling through South Dakota, they do help to break up the five hour drive. They're both free to visit.

Everything was slightly creepy at the Wall Drug Store

All of the stores (which basically sold the same crap) were connected together

Outdoor play area for kids that was kind of like a very poor man's Disneyland (very poor)

Six foot rabbit? Sure, why not?

We tried to make the best of it

Three hours later we arrived in Mitchell at the Corn Palace. It is still being decorated so it didn't have quite the impact as I'm guessing it normally would have. Inside the Corn Palace is basically the equivalent to a high school gym. The majority of the "gym" was taken up by their gift shop, but they did have a cubicle-like wall separating an area for people to watch a short movie about the Corn Palace. It was so noisy with all the kids talking and playing in the gift shop that it was hard to hear why and how the Corn Palace was built, but it seems like a huge waste of food. I can't remember how many fields of corn it takes to design the building, but I do remember turning to look at Bryan and mouthing, "REALLY?!" Also, on a side note, I did buy a corn on the cob from their concession stand and it wasn't good. Pretty disappointing that the Corn Palace makes crappy corn.

Their theme for 2014 is Remember When (maybe referring back to a simpler time when Americans didn't waste a bunch of food, time, and money decorating a building)

Don't get me wrong - it's a cool concept and their murals are done really well, but come on guys? How wasteful can we be!

Stop seven: Sioux Falls, SD
About an hour later we finally arrived in Sioux Falls. When we finally got out of the car Bryan looked at me, his nose scrunched up and said, "Does it smell like poop here to you?" And it did. I'm not sure why, but we were staying at a hotel by the river so maybe that was it.

The next morning we had breakfast at Phillips Avenue Diner, walked around downtown Sioux Falls (the poop smell magically disappeared), and then went to Falls Park. Downtown Sioux Falls also had a sculpture walk going with sculptures along the main road. We didn't see all of them, but did manage to see most of them. And yes, it's the second time in South Dakota that we ate breakfast and then went on a sculpture walk. It might be a new trend.

This was right outside the Phillips Avenue Diner

Bryan's favorite

My favorite

We both liked this one

After walking around downtown we decided to check out Falls Park before we left South Dakota. We almost didn't go, but I'm really glad we did because it was really cool.

It was the perfect day to see this

Stop eight: Omaha, NE
After Falls Park, we made what was supposed to be a 2 hour and 45 minute trip to Omaha. As we were driving down 29, though, we had to take a detour since some of the road was closed. This was a 45-minute-long detour. We had no idea where we were going and they only used about five signs the entire time so you didn't really know if you were still on the detour or not.

We finally got to Omaha, dropped off our stuff at the hotel, and went out to explore. Our first stop was the Gene Leahy Mall, which is a beautiful park. Since everyone else in Omaha was at the College World Series we had the park almost to ourselves. Well, we also had to share it with the ducks.

Empty park on a beautiful day - baseball is clearly destroying everything good about America

Giant slides that I couldn't slide down because I was wearing a dress (I couldn't talk Bryan into going down either)

A little to the right was a family of ducks and a little to the right of them was all of their poop - classy ducks, real classy

After the park, we walked half way across the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge so we could stand with one foot in Iowa and one foot in Nebraska.

It may not look like it, but it was 200 degrees that day

I almost had a heat stroke in two states at the same time!

For dinner we ate at Dundee Dell (a recommendation from my friend Ellie). Bryan was in bourbon heaven and tried four different samples with dinner of stuff that he either can't get anymore or would have to pay an arm and a leg for in Chicago.

I think Bryan started silently crying because he was so happy with the selection here

Great wall of Scotch

The next day we made a stop to visit with my member company in Omaha, then we went to the Henry Doorly Zoo.

Everything they did was adorable

How cute is this guy? He kept hamming it up for us.

The famous walk-through aquarium

Taking a ride on the Skyfari

Bryan did not enjoy it as much as I did (the Skyfari is to Bryan what roller coasters are to me)

It really is an amazing zoo

After the zoo we went to my member company's pre-4th of July picnic for dinner and fireworks. However, Mother Nature had her own firework show and we got rained out. We made the drive back to our hotel through a pretty bad storm, but we made it okay.

Stop nine: Emerson, IA
The next morning we made the 45 minute drive to Emerson for the start of Bryan's family reunion. We met up with Bryan's grandfather and aunt at the Indian Creek Historical Museum. Bryan's grandfather showed us the property including an old barn, schoolhouse, and log cabin before heading into the museum which houses many of their family's antique farm equipment. I had a great time meeting Bryan's extended family and learning more about his family's history.

The Barn and the bridge which leads to the school and log cabin

One-room school complete with 48 star flag

I really loved all the art work on these feed bags

Just some of the farm equipment

Bryan and his grandfather

Family church - we went to service before heading back to Oak Park

Final thoughts:
This has been one of my favorite vacation experiences to date. There are so many beautiful and interesting places right here in the Midwest! Here are a few tips that I would share with anyone going on an extensive road trip:

1. Invest in a USB car charger for your phone
2. Pack a cooler with snacks and water bottles (buy the smaller bottles so you can fit more)
3. Get ice each morning from the hotel's ice machine
4. Use the "laundry" bags that are in your hotel closet to separate your dirty laundry from your clean (they're just plastic bags with the hotel name on it) or bring your own garbage bag to do that
5. Take videos and pictures - I started doing this later in the trip, but wish I would have captured a few 15-30 second videos of different things that we were seeing
6. Be flexible with your time
7. Watch the weather
8. Print out directions as you may lose cell or gps service in the more rural areas
9. Always make a great playlist (which should always include The Beatles)...

Our beautiful views from the road