THREE RUNNING THINGS
1. Not so GreatAfter being on the fence for months, I will not be signing up for the Great Race 10K in Pittsburgh next weekend. My family is hosting a brunch gathering that will conflict. This made the final decision easy.
2. New kicks come in fours
I finally started wearing my newest pair of running shoes (the Saucony Ride 8). They had been sitting in the box untouched since May. Craziness, right? I am loving that they have required no break-in period at all.
 |
| Welcome to my running shoe arsenal |
3) No shuffling
I got an email earlier this week that early registration has opened for the 2017 Shamrock Shuffle in honor of being halfway to St. Patrick's Day. Who knew?
I will probably be branded as a Chicago running heathen for saying this, but at this point I plan to pass on Shuffling next year. It's a fun race. However, I want to explore other options.
The next question is figuring out what those other options might be...
THREE OTHER THINGS
Yesterday, my office hosted a Guitar Hero and Wii tournament to raise funds for charity. Initially I was hesitant to participate due to lack of experience. I've never played Wii in my life, and I've only played Guitar Hero once (with my niece and nephew, who are resident experts). Here's a Throwback Thursday picture of my only Guitar Hero experience from EIGHT years ago:
2) Me Before You
When I was on the plane ride to Budapest, I watched a movie called Me Before You. In short, it is about a woman taking care of a quadriplegic. I had never heard of it before and WOW, what a story!!! It drove home very touching points about living life to the fullest. There were several emotional scenes which made me cry.
For Game of Thrones fans - Emilia Clarke plays the lead actress in this movie and she is the cutest, most adorable thing, ever. Quite the opposite from Daenerys Targaryen!
 |
| Left: Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones Right: Louisa Clark from Me Before You |
I always love a clever and humorous commercial. This one, featuring Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, has catapulted onto my list of all-time favorites.
I've already watched it about 25 times and I still burst out laughing every time I see it. AB is a natural!
--
Happy Thursday, everyone!!!
Haha! I love AB! And my husband drafted him for his fantasy team, so it's all good...
ReplyDeleteI must be getting old and cranky because the shamrock shuffle just does not appeal to me at all...what is happening to me?
I loved the book Me Before You--I don't know if the movie can possibly be as good!
AB is awesome. He's got the most amazing, megawatt smile!!! Adam and I were just talking last night about how he missed out on drafting AB for his team. I think your husband is in for a good fantasy football season. =)
DeleteI'm right there with you on wondering what is happening with me on how I view the Shuffle!
The Me Before You book must be a fantastic read! I'd like to pick up a copy but everyone always says you should read the book first before seeing the movie, right?
Haha, I feel like you're the only person I know who hadn't already read Me Before You. I read it and enjoyed it (except the book's author didn't do much research on endurance events...). I'll probably watch the movie if I need a good chick flick some night.
ReplyDeleteAnd we already know my opinion on running the Shuffle. So I suppose I'm a Chicago running heathen, too :-)
P.S. You look much better in your "now" photo :-)
I literally have never heard of the Me Before You story prior to last week! I must really not be with it when it comes to popular books. I can imagine how important it would be to the story to have the facts down on endurance events, too. Let me know what you think if you do end up seeing the movie!
DeleteAll hail to the Chicago Running Heathens group! =D
Thank you - it's always a process of trying to improve, yes? My friend Peter always used to joke about one of his hobbies being a "before" model, LOL.
I saw the trailers for Me Before You, but it's not a movie or book that interests me. I don't like to cry while watching movies or books, and if I want to, I'll just watch the last Harry Potter movies.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen the trailers for Me Before You! In all honesty, had I just seen the trailers or heard the synopsis, I wouldn't have been interested too. But on the plane I was a captive audience and got sucked in!
DeleteGosh, can you even run in Chicago if you don't do the Shuffle??? You'd better find some suburban races, STAT! ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time since I've played Guitar Hero - how fun to do it at work for charity!
LOL - I have officially lost my Chicago running license, yes? And I do need to explore more of the suburban races. =)
DeleteWhen was the last time you played Guitar Hero? The charitable cause was a good thing for my attempt yesterday because I was pretty bad! =D
Well, everything IS cheaper in the suburbs :)
DeleteI seriously can't remember the last time I played. Terry has it too, but we've never played!
This is true! Or, there's also the alternative that I've been going at, which is to just not race at all, LOL.
DeleteI bet Terry would enjoy Guitar Hero!!!
I've been wanting to see Me Before You but I can never tell when a good night to watch it would be - I'm not really in a crying mood but it looks so good haha
ReplyDeleteI hear you! I have to psych myself up for the emotional movies in which I know that I'll probably cry. There are a lot of considerations that go into picking the right night!!!
DeleteI adore those Mizunos! I wear the Waveriders 18's but have not tried the 19's yet. Heck I think they are on the 20's now but I can't seem to get away from the 18's! I'll be buying them till I can't find them anymore!
ReplyDeleteI read the book "ME before You" and even though I knew how it ended, I even put myself through watching the movie as well. You are right, it is very emotional!
I am currently wearing the Wave Rider 18s, too! They are awesome - although in my experience, the laces are too short. Is that a problem for you, as well? I've heard really good reviews about the 19s. OMG - I didn't realize the 20s were already out. No wonder the 19s were on such a great sale. I also like to stock up on shoes when I find a model that I like. =)
DeleteAhhhh, I am curious now about the Me Before You book! Even though I know how it ends, it would be interesting to read. I bet the book is even more emotional!
I think I'm not a "real runner" since I've never shuffled. Like. Ever. I swear Mizuno started making killer color combos the second I switched to Asics. Sigh. OMG that ad is SO funny!
ReplyDeleteI totally understand the feeling! There was a span of so many years where I wanted to Shuffle, but never could - and always felt like I was missing out! But if you're coming in from the burbs, it's a lot of time and effort for an 8K.
DeleteI also hear you on the ASICS - I used to wear the Gel Cumulus but the colors haven't been very exciting recently. The frustration of sacrificing looks for proper fit and function, right?
AB cracks me up. =D
Hahaha that commercial was hilarious!
ReplyDeleteI read Me Before You for the Chicago Healthy Living Bloggers book club (back when that was still a thing, so probably close to three years ago now) and thought it was such a powerful book. It really made me think a LOT about the right to die, which had never particularly crossed my mind before. Haven't seen the movie yet, but I did really enjoy the book!
I'm still doing the Shuffle next year. It'll be my fifth (!!) running of the race, but I really enjoy it. I love running through the city, I love running on not the Lakefront Trail, I love being on streets closed to traffic, I love that I'm always super fast at the race (haha true life), I LOVE how short it feels after doing the Chicago Marathon, and I love that it's so affordable this year. $40! That's insanely cheap, in my opinion, especially since it's an 8K, especially since it's not on the Lakefront. And, let's be real, if I didn't have the Shuffle on my calendar, goodness only knows how I'd motivate myself to run on weekdays before, like, mid-May. Haha.
I can't get enough of the commercial, either. Folks are joking that Antonio's new nickname is going to be "The Receptionist." =)
DeleteOh wow - I remember seeing some pictures from the Chicago HLB book club way back when. It's too bad the book club went defunct because I would have loved to join. Yes, I also thought a lot about the right to die, and what I would have done if I were in those situations (both Louisa's and Will's). If you do see the movie, please let me know what you think!
I did think about how the Shuffle is one of the few races in the city that allows you to run through downtown streets. $40 is a really good deal! Do you feel that in recent years BofA has had to use more promotions to encourage folks to register? Regardless, that's fabulous for repeat-runners like you!!! And it is a fun event to kick off the unofficial start to running season each spring. =)
Gosh, I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone now since apparently everyone knew about that story years ago except me! Have you read the sequel, too? I am off to research it as I am curious what direction it would go!
ReplyDeleteAh yes - I have also signed up for many a race that I shouldn't have, and then either DNS'd or dragged myself there. I completely agree that I would much rather have MO'd in many of those instances, too. Thanks for relating, Kelly!
Wow, ten times! You are a Shamrock veteran! It definitely is understandable that you'd skip the Shuffle next year. You've probably see the race evolve a lot over the years, yes?
ReplyDeleteOoooh, thanks for the invite to Run the Bluegrass! I do indeed need a Kentucky half marathon. You know me so well. =) Is this an FNRC gathering? I will do some research on the race!!!!!
Ahhhh, the book sounds like it was a very popular read! If you end up seeing the movie, please let me know what you think!!!
ReplyDeleteAll day !
ReplyDelete[slurp]
DeleteThe more the merrier indeed! Thank you again for the invite, Amanda! And thanks for the warning that the course is hilly. I do need the motivation to get the hill training in. =)
ReplyDeleteWhat? No Shamrock Shuffle for you?? Not possible. You must run it again. :-)
ReplyDeleteI bought a pair of the Ride 9 and so far like them. The 8 are on sale at Running Warehouse for $50 (with discount code). Just saying. :-)
Me Before You. Read the book and saw the movie. Loved both of them. The book is GREAT and I thought the movie wa great too.
Plenty of time to change my mind before next March, right? =)
DeleteOMG - $50 for the Ride 8 on Running Warehouse? Please don't tempt me - I don't need another pair of running shoes!!!!!! LOL
Glad to hear you enjoyed both the book and movie version of Me Before You!!!