FRIENDS! Tomorrow, Sunday, May 19, I will celebrate my four year anniversary as a college graduate. In even bigger news, I AM RUNNING MY FIRST HALF MARATHON IN THE MORNING.
I'm carbed up, hydrated, and ready to go. And it certainly helps that I've received an insane amount of will wishes from friends and family this week. So thank you! Oh, and did I mention that my parents are here to cheer me on?! Well, they are. And I couldn't be happier.
So here we go, kids. If you happen to be up around 7 am CST tomorrow and you'd like to follow my race progress, check me out on Twitter or on Facebook. If this crazy world works the way I think it does, every time I pass a mile on the course, my bib should tweet where I am...
Before we get started... please click this link. I'm in the mood to give this blog a soundtrack today.
Feeling good? Alright, let's start. With 17 days left til the race, I've got a lot to catch up on. Here was Week 8 in numbers.
2.5 with a stroller.
3 on a treadmill with wet feet.
6.5 in the rain.
8 in the snow.
4 out of anger and confusion.
All 18 miles out of choice.
I
think I'm officially a runner. I signed up for this marathon out of a
desire to do something for me. All 18 of those miles were for me. Week 8
happened to be the week of the Boston bombing. That week, Monday's
miles were to cope with the shock. Friday wasn't much different. I've
been tossing ideas around in my head in regards to my feelings about the
event, and frankly, many other people have put my thoughts into words
in a prettier fashion and you should probably read this, this, or this. (Okay, that last one is just hilarious.)
Dealing
with the one year anniversary of a friend's passing, plus Boston, plus
the normal turbulent tumult of my ever transient twenties has made the
last few weeks less than excellent. But instead of bringing everyone
down further, I've made a small departure from my usual blogging style
and compiled a list of ten things that made me feel better over the last
few weeks -- hopefully some of them will lift your spirits as well.
1.
RUNNING. On Monday, April 15, I ran through Diversey Harbor. Nay,
sprinted. I was angry at the news and I couldn't slow myself down until
after mile two. I was missing the Boston skyline and instead had this
insane view of Chicago midstorm. Boston in my heart, Chicago on the
horizon. And I felt better.
2. THIS LINK came
to me from my good friend Dani. As someone who is paid to look after a
tiny person, I can say that I have multiple experiences like this every
day. Henry is a fan of shutting himself in his dog's kennel. Why? I do
not know. But it makes me laugh each and every time.
3. TURTLE RACING.
What's that you may ask? Exactly what it sounds like. Go to the bar.
Buy beer. Get tickets. If your ticket gets pulled you choose a turtle.
If that turtle wins the race, you get a free drink or a tshirt. We
didn't actually get to race a turtle but I'm 100% going back. It was
100% hilarious and 100% worth the beer I drank out of a solo cup. I
recommend this wholeheartedly. 100%.
5.
EATING STUFF. Making good use of all of the food Chicago has to offer
also helped out over the last few weeks. Right now I'm trying to decide
which was better. Eating this Chi Dog Pizza at Dimo's or getting free rhubarb pie last week at Bang Bang.
(Side note: Free pie officially makes us regulars! I've always wanted
to be a regular somewhere. Couldn't have picked a better spot to make
our own.) Shout out to Leor for being present on both food-tastic
occasions.
SERIOUSLY THOUGH GUYS. THAT'S CHICAGO DOG PIZZA.
6.
LOVE. Phone calls and texts with my loved ones. I spent so much time on
the phone during the week of the bombing. I talked to my parents,
my friends in Boston and beyond. And I was overwhelmed at the number of
texts I received asking if my family and friends in Boston were okay.
Thank you to everyone who looked out for me. I appreciate the gesture
more than you know. (Except I just told you, so now you know.)
7. SARA BAREILLES released a new single. Which means a new CD and another tour. Gosh this girl is incredible.
8. THIS ARTICLE.
Please tell me these are real comments and not something made up by a
comedian. Please, please, please. Not sure you want to click one more
thing? This is a preview:
HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
- Derrick, age 8
HILARIOUS RIGHT!??! Get reading.
9.
CULOTTES. I'm happy to report that I've gotten a lot better at biking
since last year. But one thing that drives me crazy is always having to
wear shorts under my dresses and skirts while I bike. Well, thanks to
Target, my problem is solved! Check out these babies, you only THINK
they're a skirt. THEY'RE ACTUALLY SHORTS. Mine are adorable like this:
10.
PRIDE. I've run with this hat a lot during the past few weeks, and all I
can say is, I'm so proud to be from Massachusetts. Proud, proud, proud.
And that's helped me getting through. (And yeah, that's Ollie the Owl
and me showing some Boston/Brandeis pride. And maybe a little sadness.)
PS - That's me trying to look disheartened. I realize now that I kind of
look like I'm saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Deal with it.
Well, Erika, (you might be saying), that certainly was random. It sure was, dear readers. But here's what I've got. Messy things are going to happen every day. Sad things are going to happen every day. But so are the happy and the silly. So all I've got for now is -- just keep running.
Well friends, here I am, ten weeks from my first half-marathon and making good on my promise to rebrand my blog. I've come a long way since I bought that new pair of running shoes. Literally. Since February 23 (our first official day of training), I've logged 35 miles, and will complete an additional 9 by the end of the weekend. I'm pretty proud of myself seeing as I've never considered myself to be a runner before.
I did a little research (you can take the girl out of Brandeis...), and discovered that not only is the half-marathon (that's 13.1 miles for those of you who don't know) is the "fastest growing road race distance in the United States," but that 59% of the people who run half marathons are women. Most of them are in the 35-44 age bracket, with the second highest concentration of ladies between 25-34 years old.* The more people I talk to about running this race, the more people tell me that they are currently training for a half or have run one in the past. It seems amazing to me that so many people a year put themselves through the training - mentally and physically to run such a distance. And now I'm one of them.
So I've got my schedule, my flashy shoes, and my GPS watch is supposed to come in the mail tomorrow. But what's it all for? I've spent a bunch of money on gear and thrown myself out on the street to run four times a week. But why?I've already told you that I need some "me time". But while I stand before you as a coordinated, athletic (ha!)26-year-old, I often need to remind myself of what happened to six-year-old Erika. As a kid, I couldn't run in a straight line. I don't mean by choice...
...but I mean I was physically unable to run in a straight line. I was slower and less coordinated than your average child. You can imagine how rough a game of tag was -- I was "it" until someone took pity on me and let me tag them. In late elementary/early middle school, my parents sent me to my first ever personal trainer to literally learn how to run. (This one didn't think I was fat, but I doubt he thought I'd ever run a half marathon either.) Now, I'm not saying this incident scarred me for life. Trust me, I know a lot of people have it much worse off than that. (Plus, I grew out of it once hitting puberty.) But on some level, it made me aware very early in life that I wasn't meant to be a competitive athlete. And it wasn't for lack of trying, but I just didn't get that gene.
But somehow, here I am, ten weeks away from a 13.1 mile ROAD RACE and I'm feeling pretty good about my training. It has been almost a year since I moved to Chicago and in the past year I have experienced some of the largest changes in my life. I feel like I've been moving towards a major goal, and adding this race to the list of things I've tried in the past year is exciting. My longest run to date is 5.5 miles, I'll do 6 this weekend, and I find myself actually excited to go out for a run each week. And still, there's more. This race has actually given me a physical goal to reach for, not just an intangible one like, "I want to audition more." And I actually think (gasp) this might be making me a more well-rounded person. You know, while simultaneously making me a less round person.
Plus, I get to drink a large glass of chocolate milk at the end of every run, so there's that.
Ladies and Gents - we are now 71 days into 2013 and it's been about that long since I promised you a rebrand. Well, here it is. When I started this blog in 2010, it all had to do with one list of 65 things. I was going to try and accomplish them all in a year, I didn't succeed but I learned a lot about blogging and about myself. As time as continued, I've gotten better at blogging on a more regular basis, but I've still found it hard to stick within my original parameters. So here it it -- I'm going to add some new segments to the list. Introducing my first two!
The first new segment is dedicated to training for my first ever half-marathon. I've currently living a single girl lifestyle (happily and by choice), but it doesn't mean that I can't rely on the opinions of some really wonderful gentlemen that I've dated in the past to fuel this title. I mean, who hasn't felt like this?!
Next segment...
I have a lot of these so get ready. And yes, I'm hashtagging that. All the kids are doing it. I think. Tune in Thursday to see the first rebranded post EVER. (Well, if you're not counting this one.)
