Great food…great shopping…and oh yeah…a half marathon.
Since Rachel moved to Chicago a couple of years ago, it has become one of my favorite places to visit (not that I’m a world traveler by any stretch of the imagination). The opportunity to run a half marathon in May (where the temperature is less than 90°) makes for the perfect family vacation. Lindsey would be running the Brooklyn Half Marathon the same weekend, so only 75% of the Sandhouse Running Club (excluding members without the last name of Sandhouse) would be together.
We took a 7am flight on Friday morning and met Rachel for lunch. She was working that day, so Glenda and I went to pick up my race packet at the Chicago Athletic Association. I was excited that they moved this from the running store they had it in last year, plus it was walking distance from our hotel. Sadly, it was not much of an expo, with only a couple of vendors. On a positive note, the race shirt was one of the nicest I’ve ever received. Quite a contrast from last year. They were handing out cans of a new sparkling water…YUCK!!! Once Rachel finished her workday, we had supper at Summer House Santa Monica. The food was great, and it was our first time going to Lincoln Park. It was also the first time Glenda and I had taken the train in Chicago, which was way more fun than taking the train in New York.
Saturday consisted of brunch at Crosby’s Kitchen, located in Lake View. This was also the first time we had been in this “neck of the woods,” and the day was filled with shopping. I even got a pair of joggers from the Vouri store, but most of the day consisted of me sitting and watching Glenda and Rachel shop around the clock. Once back at the hotel, we rested for a bit and topped the night off with supper at RPM Italian. This is a super-fancy restaurant, and the food lived up to the hype.
Now that the food review portion of the blog is over, it was time to focus on the race Sunday morning.
The starting line was a little less than a mile from the hotel, so I left around 5:45am. Since Chicago is on Central time, the sun was up around 5am. I met a guy along the way who was participating in his first half marathon, so I tried to give him as much advice as I could (he asked). I was in a better corral this year than last year (“E” vs. “H”), mainly because of my delusional expectations for finishing the race. As my new bud and I got ready to enter the corral, he had to go to the bathroom for a second time. WOW…someone who has to pee more than me! As 5,306 waited for the gun to sound at 7am, I asked a guy next to me to take a photo. The girl he was with asked me “Are you Rachel’s father?” It was Rachel’s friend Lauren, and she identified me by the Sandhouse Running Club headband. We met last year, but I’m sure neither of us remembered the encounter. We took a picture together and sent it to Rachel, who I’m sure was still sleeping.
It only took about 12 minutes from the start of the race for my corral to officially begin. The weather was around 72° and did not go up at all during the race. Two notable things about this race this year verses last year: First, more people to pass me, since I started earlier. Second, way more people behind me during the turnaround. This made me feel as if I were running faster, but we all know the real deal. I have to say it was way more enjoyable than last year, with more people around me at all times. The only thing missing was Elaine 😢. There were virtually no bicycle riders on the course this year, which was annoying last year. I ran a very strong race, and only had to stop and pee two times (I would say both were gratuitous). There also seemed as if there were less pedestrians on the course this year, but that was also because there were more runners around me. As I was crossing the finish line, I had a big smile on my face when I saw Glenda and Rachel cheering me on. The medal was amazing, and I was happy to not be one of the last stragglers (even though I am still the ultimate slowpoke). No race photos this year to show, as they decided to charge a shocking amount of money to purchase (last year they were free). Even us narcissists have a price limit.
We walked back to the hotel, but Glenda and Rachel made a detour along the way to do more shopping. Later that day, we took the train once again to Lincoln Park and met Rachel’s friend Anoushka for brunch at Gemini. This place wasn’t bad, but nowhere as good as the rest of the venues we dined in. We were all pretty beat down at this point but decided to walk back to Rachel’s apartment. I probably did an additional five miles of walking on top of the half marathon. We were too tired to go out for supper, so we ordered in from Happy Camper, which truly made me a "happy camper".
Very enjoyable and scenic race. I hope both Lindsey and Elaine will be there next year.
