My CrossFit Getaway to Chicago: Day 3- The 5K, Mexican and Margaritas, and the Block Party

If you didn't read Day 1 and Day 2.... read them now because otherwise, this post will make little or no sense... :P

After Georgia's and my night out on the town, I had to be up and ready by 6:40 because Tanya was coming to get me so we could head out to the Zoo for the race. Well, the phone rang for the wake-up call, and let me tell you, I really did not want to move. That little bit of champagne and a couple beers later had really done me in. My stomach was revolting against me. Literally, it felt as if we were fighting medieval style and my stomach was just using a trebucket to throw rocks around. It did NOT feel nice. (Wait, did I really just use the word trebucket?) Wow... ok I did. Anyway, after a little bit of TLC to my tummy, I headed down to wait for Tanya. I was really nervous for the race and I was afraid if I ate, I would get sick, so I chose not to eat anything. Tanya was right on time and she and I headed out to pick up her friend and head for the zoo. Chicago's zoo is free to the public, and I have to say it was amazing. I left my camera in the car, and it was really a shame. The lions were hilarious and the flamingos were very... well... PINK. :P

We did a quick check in and got our chips, and then did a short warm up jog to get ready. Then we headed for the start line. I didn't really think about that part of the race, but where you start is important. I was aiming for the middle somewhere but Tanya wanted to go a little closer to the front, so I went with her. The start line was crowded. We were on the footpaths in the zoo, so it was very narrow. Well, they were playing some music to get everyone pumped and it just made me more nervous. Before I could really think too much about it, the woman was through the prizes, and the horn sounded. I have to say, at the moment my chip crossed the line, I knew I couldn't turn back, and I was insanely proud of myself just for getting that far. This weekend was a ton of fun for me, but it was also about doing a lot of things that I had feared or had felt that I could never do. At the point that foot crossed the line, I realized the weight of what I had just done. I had taken one more big step towards conquering my utter fear and hatred of running. I was doing something not many thought I could do. I was beating a weakness of mine. Running now does not hold as much sway over me as it did. At that moment, I was damned proud of that.

Moving away from the start line was complicated and again, not something I was prepared for. The narrowness of the path made passing difficult and people were on top of one another. Through the zoo, the pack stayed pretty tight, and I really need to assess more how to effectively pass people. You can waste a lot of energy and momentum I think trying to go back and forth across the path to pass. I think there must be a strategy for it. It was more complicated than I thought and I definitely need to figure it out before Baltimore seeing as how it will be a much bigger race. Anyhoo, on mile 1 I was really disappointed because the clock was not working, so I had no idea where I was. I was aiming to come in under 35:00. I figured that would be good for my first run. Mile 2 rolled around and the clock was up, and low and behold I was on 21:15. I knew that I was close to my pace. Mile 2 was a rough one though, and Pukie and I nearly interfaced, but I kept him at bay and headed into mile 3. I knew if I could just maintain stride, I'd be in in my goal. But maintaining is hard. I actually felt myself finally settle down and pick up the pace a bit. Before I knew it, I could see the finish line ahead. I could see the clock as I got closer. I was still under!!! When I hit the finish line, I finished in 32:12, way under my goal! I was stoked. But what I forgot, was that I did not cross the start line when the horn sounded. Think of one of Jerry's staggered starts. I had a few minutes. So I found out that my official chip time was 31:56. I was 105th in my division, which was the largest of them all actually, and there were 215 people. So, I was literally right in the middle. I was very proud of myself for finishing, well, and even having the guts to start. I know though, that a large part of that was thanks to Tanya's pushing. :)

Well, after the race, Tanya dropped me off so I could shower, and then we met up a little while later to go see some things. She took me to see the bean, and the faces which are really cool things in Millenium park. We picked up a train and then headed across the city to go eat. I was starving and needed some food. We settled on Mexican, which was great, because I could go Zone. I got fajitas, and Tanya and I celebrated the race and my trip with a pitcher of margaritas. They were tasty! :) Afterwards, we headed out to the block party which was going on nearby. We wandered around, completely stuffed, and eventually wandered to the lemonade stand. The lemonade was quite good, and became ever better when Tanya and I added our own special ingredient. The weather was gorgeous, there was a band playing, dogs were out. It was a great afternoon... for awhile.




I'm not sure when it happened... probably after about the 3rd time we added our special ingredient to our lemonades... that the afternoon becomes, well, how shall I say... a bit muddled? ;) There are photos on my camera that really, I have no idea how they got there. Eventually Tanya sent me in a cab home... and well... on the way to the cab... I ran into Pukie. He was very happy to see me and was waiting beside a bus stop sign.... now you can ask Tanya to clarify, but I'm told that there was some sort of conversation that occurred at this time in which I apologized for eating the fajitas. Don't ask... I'm not sure either... by far though, not a very proud moment for me, but one apparently passers by thought was hilarious. The cabbie seemed reluctant to let me in the cab, but got me to the hotel with no problems. I was alseep by 630 and really didn't move until Georgia told me I couldn't sleep on top of the covers. Heavens.... I told my father this story, and his response was "Great. You embarassed the family."

Yeah... sorry dad... :( But... that is not the end of my Chicago fun... oh no...there is still more fun to come... so stay tuned for my final installment... Day 4- The Aquarium, Chicago Style Deep Dish, and I miss my plane...

I'm not really proud of the last part of that story, but I'm sure it's one that others will get an insane kick out of.... me being very un-me like. :P It doesn't happen often, so you might want to jot this down. :P Ah yes...