Oct 24-Nov 6 training, saying hello to my alma mater

Happy Monday, my friends!

Thank goodness for Daylight Saving Time ending yesterday. I've been feeling a little run down, so the extra hour couldn't have come at a better time. Currently I'm also fighting a headache that started yesterday afternoon and is stubbornly lingering today. Blugh!

I am linking up with HoHo and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap.

I never got around to recapping the week before last, so here are my workouts from the last two weeks:

Oct 24-30
MONDAY - Yoga class, 45 minutes strength training
TUESDAY - 35 minutes stationary biking
WEDNESDAY - Run 3.1 miles in Alaska
THURSDAY - Run 10 miles in Alaska
FRIDAY - Rest
SATURDAY - Rest (sightseeing in Alaska, read about one part here)
SUNDAY - Rest

Oct 31-Nov 6
MONDAY - Yoga video
TUESDAY - 10 minutes stationary cycling, 50 minutes strength-training
WEDNESDAY - Mobility 101 class, run 3 miles on treadmill
THURSDAY - Strength Max class
FRIDAY - Yoga class
SATURDAY - Rest
SUNDAY - Rest

I intended to do an 11-miler yesterday morning, but due to other commitments I didn't have enough time. My Plan B is to run 11 tonight after work. At this very moment my head is not in any mental or physical condition to do a long run, so I'm hoping the headache dissipates by then. If not, then I'll be looking at doing the Rock N Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon on a single 10-mile training run 2.5 weeks ago. Real smart, eh?

Let's switch gears now to talk about a MUCH more pleasant topic!

Last Saturday, I went to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with Adam and my brother-in-law, Marc, to visit my nephew Reid for Dad's Day Weekend. Yay!!!

As I have mentioned many times before, I am a proud Illinois alum. It's a huge treat any time the opportunity arises to visit my dear alma mater.

As part of the Dad's Day Weekend festivities, we went to the Illinois-MSU football game. It was awesome to be surrounded by the orange and blue again! I was home. =)

Up until just a few years ago, I didn't understand football at all. I went to games in college having no understanding of what was happening on the field. Thanks to watching so much football with Adam since then, now I know how to follow the strategies. It was great! Not to mention that the weather was unseasonably warm and beautiful. It added even more atmosphere to an already very exciting game.

Here are a few pictures:

As you can see, Adam (who is a Penn State alum) dressed "neutrally" for the game ;-)

In game snapshot!
From L to R: Marc, Reid, Adam, and me

Both teams gathered on their sidelines just prior to the end of the second quarter:

If anyone has ever seen the movie Coming to America, there's a funny moment when Akeem proclaims halftime as his favorite part of the game. All joking aside, I absolutely love the Marching Illini performances during halftime of Illinois football games. My favorite is the famous 3-in-1 (Pride of the Illini, March of the Illini, and Hail to the Orange). This isn't the actual performance from Saturday, but here's a video of what it looks like:

I get tears in my eyes every time I hear/see the 3-in-1!

Illinois dads doing the biggest and most hilarious Rockette-style kickline you've ever seen:

Coming back out onto the field to start the second half:

Post-game celebration:

Victory tradition:
Everyone links arms to sing the Illinois alma mater

As we were leaving the stadium area, we passed Snyder Hall. I lived in Snyder during my freshman and sophomore years, and I have so many good memories from my time there. A picture was absolutely necessary:

We headed back to Reid's fraternity house where we got some food, toured the house, saw Reid's room, and hung out for a bit. It was so much fun to be chilling on campus again amongst all the students!

Later, we went to the Illini Union Bookstore where I fulfilled my critical mission to load up on Illinois gear. (At one point, I showed Adam two Illinois shirts and asked which one he thought was better. He didn't even blink before saying, "Get them both." Now that is when you know it's all about piling it on! LOL.)

Another critical mission was to get pictures at the Illinois alma mater. What a wonderful surprise to run into my old friends Jennifer, Faye, and Tina there! I can't even remember the last time I saw each of them. It was so appropriate for the four of us to get a reunion photo with the statue:

From L to R: Faye, Jennifer, Alma Mater, Tina, and me

As I'd mentioned here, my friend Nhan, who is an MSU alum, also journeyed down to campus to watch the Illinois-MSU game. As luck would have it, he happened to pass by at that very moment. Perfect timing to get a photo with Nhan, too!

I took Adam around campus to reminisce about some of my old stomping grounds. I have long been inspired by Wendy and Ana's yoga pose pictures, so I decided to do my own version on the quad:

Tree pose with Foellinger Auditorium in the background!

We went back to Reid's fraternity house where they were hosting a whiskey tasting (!!!). I didn't try any, but lots of families were there enjoying themselves. Later, Marc, Adam, Reid, and I went out and had a very nice dinner. Really fun times! Afterwards, it was time to (reluctantly) head back.

I'm already looking forward to my next opportunity to visit campus again. Many thanks to Marc and Reid for allowing Adam and me to tag along for the festivities!

Go Illini!!!