Thursday, April 23, 2015

Extemporaneously

Time to link up with Amanda's Thinking Out Loud Thursdays!


Struttin' my stuff for everyone
Earlier this week, I wore what I considered to be a very cute outfit to work. As a result, I was striding around the office with an added boost of confidence. I met with my boss, had productive discussions with several team members, resolved lots of issues. All in all, I was feeling really good about myself.

Then, around 11:30 AM, I realized that my fly had been open the whole morning.


Thank you, thank you, please hold applause.

A new do
It's been extremely windy in the Windy City this week. I've actually delayed running a few errands because I didn't want to have to walk/bike around in those conditions. It's been giving me a nice unique hairdo, too. This is pretty much the story of my week:


We need a metal detector
During the epic Blackhawks-Predators game on Tuesday night, it was hilarious when Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne lost the puck in his pads! Here's the video:


Apparently the Hawks and Preds have a penchant for losing the puck when they play each other in opening-round playoff series. Remember when Antti Niemi (who used to be my favorite Hawk) had a similar incident in 2010?


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Of the two incidents, I thought Niemi's had much better commentary. "It's almost like Niemi was giving birth to that puck!"

Runnerd
I'm running the Race to Wrigley 10K this Saturday. Check out the race shirt - I think it's pretty snazzy!


In the Race Participant email, the organizers are encouraging everyone to wear their event t-shirt on race day.

Hmmm. Most experienced runners consider that a no-no and a great way to brand yourself as a newbie. (Although, I have seen arguments going either direction.)

On one hand, the Race to Wrigley probably doesn't draw the most serious crowd of runners. The majority of participants probably will wear their event shirt. Who am I to go against the organizers' suggestions?

But on the other hand, I do believe that you shouldn't wear anything new on race day. Nobody wants to deal with potential chafage or other wardrobe issues.

Ahhh, the endless dilemma of what to wear...

Meet me in St. Louis
Within minutes of the 2015-16 NFL schedule being released on Tuesday night, Adam and I were already road-trip scheming. We are looking at going to St. Louis the weekend of September 28 to watch the Steelers play the Rams. Note: I've had some bad sportsfan experiences in St. Louis (within a span of 48 hours, we saw both the Blackhawks and the Penguins lose to the Blues) so hopefully this time will be better.

Being the planning runner that I am, I've already found a local race that I want to run that weekend. It's called the Flat as a Pancake 5K/10K. Considering how ill-trained I am when it comes to hills, any race with a name like that is a gimmee for me!

Probably not the most aerodynamic choice of running attire out there, but a great costume nonetheless!

25 comments:

  1. LOLOLOL! Gotta love when you're walking around feeling all confident, only to find out later your fly is open. Or you missed a button. Or you are wearing 2 different shoes. Or you have a big ole black hair on your chin. Not that I know anything about that...

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    1. I don't know anything about any of those things, either! ;-) Nor do I know about going into meetings or other speaking engagements only to later find out you had a big ol' piece of spinach stuck between your teeth...!

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  2. The wind needs to STOP! It's making me so stabby this week!

    That is such a cool shirt! I would wear it. Seems like the same idea as the Big Ten 10K or whatever it is called, right? Just lube up and go! LOL

    Flat as pancake?! I like! And... do they serve pancakes after?!

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    1. I was looking at the weather forecast and literally the entire week had winds of over 20 MPH. It's definitely stab-worthy!

      Good comparison to the BTN Big 10K! Hello, BodyGlide. =D

      YES! The Flat as a Pancake has an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast for their post-race party! So between a nice flat course and pancakes, what else could you ask for in a race, right? I was reading the FAQs and the guy who makes the pancakes is apparently very famous locally, too. Right on!

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    2. Over 20 mph with CRAZY gusts! Something has mentally snapped in me with regard to the wind. I am quite upset that it's making me so... upset! (just when I am running, otherwise, I find it amusing)

      I am not really sure what else there is to ask for!!!! A medal with Aunt Jemima on it?!

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    3. I totally hear you. I wimped out earlier this week and did a run on the treadmill instead of going outside. I couldn't handle fighting those winds. =(

      LOVE the idea of a medal with Aunt Jemima on it!!!!!!!!!!!! On that note, it would be really fun if Quaker or Betty Crocker or any of those food companies sponsored their own race. At expos, I love visiting the consumer goods company booths because they always have such great giveaways. =D

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    4. I wouldn't be surprised if Mnpls or Cedar Rapids had some of those items at a race expo or something! :)

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    5. Ah yes, I forgot about Quaker's presence in Cedar Rapids! I was thinking about PepsiCo and Quaker being part of the same company, but PepsiCo is here in Chicago. Incidentally, I had a friend who worked for Kellogg's in Battle Creek. He says that he could never say the word "great" without hearing the voice of Tony the Tiger in his head. =)

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  3. Lol omg I'm literally dying over those lost puck videos. I've never seen anything like that happen, but omg how awkward would that be?! Not only for the goalie, but for the linesman that has to frisk him up? Lol.

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    1. Agreed! Not to mention that you know that all the cameras are focused on you from every angle, the entire stadium is staring at you, and the video is going to be replayed a zillion times via the sports news reports and YouTube. NO PRESSURE OR ANYTHING, LOL!

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  4. I think the only time I've worn the shirt the race gave me when running the actual race was when I ran the Santa run in Arlington Heights back in....2011? Anyway, it was a whole Santa suit, not a shirt and with everyone wearing them it made for spectacular pictures. The overall winner of the race, however, wasn't wearing her Santa suit and Kim and I always thought that was a let down!

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    1. A Santa Run that provides an entire Santa costume would definitely be the most perfect scenario for everyone to wear the outfit on race day! I mean, who earns their PR at a Santa Race, right? =D I would have been hugely disappointed by the overall winner not wearing her Santa suit. Bah humbug to her. ;-P

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  5. OMG the fly story. 😀 Did you worry later that people might misconstrue your confidence as thrill due to exhibitionism?

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    1. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! My line about "struttin' my stuff for everyone" was meant to be a reference to the Bears Superbowl Shuffle, but in retrospect it probably could have been perceived that way, too. =D

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  6. Unfortunately, I never seem to be able to do the Wrigley race, because it is always the same weekend as the Ravenswood Run. It's funny because they are probably two of the closest races to my house all year. Good luck!

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    1. Well, I am SURE this is a coincidence - but the weather forecast is currently calling for 100% chance of rain on Saturday during the Race to Wrigley... and sunny, clear skies on Sunday during Ravenswood. The funny thing is that early on I was strongly considering signing up for Ravenswood. Aren't you glad that the rain magnet went with Wrigley instead? =D

      In any event, thanks for the good luck wishes! I wish you a fantastic race as well!!!

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  7. I totally feel you on the race day shirt dilemma. I am SO particular about that rule, and I've willingly looked like a way too serious loser at races (BTN Big 10K and Santa Hustle come to mind...) by refusing to wear the race shirt on race day, even though everyone else does.

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    1. So if you could do it over again at BTN Big 10K and Santa Hustle, or for future editions of those races, would you wear the shirt? Or would you still refuse?

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  8. I'm the world's worst about having a little piece of food stuck somewhere around my mouth. Why is that? So embarrassing! That's a very cute race shirt but I don't like to run in sleeves so I would pass. I always heard it was bad luck...you have to earn it first.

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    1. So embarrassing indeed! In a pinch, I've started using my phone's camera on "selfie" mode as a mirror so I can check my teeth. I hear you on the "earning it first" mentality for the race shirts! A friend gave me a Ragnar shirt and I feel a little guilty when I wear it because I've never run Ragnar...!

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  9. I've never worn a race shirt on race day except the Chinatown 5K and that was because I was cold during the race. I just think it is a no-no because I haven't "earned" it yet. It has nothing to do with not trying anything new on race day. This is the girl that has run two races on new shoes and no problems. Anyway, to each their own about wearing the race shirt.

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    1. Fair point about "earning" the shirt. For a longer race, I think it's appropriate to finish the race first (although, I am a hypocrite because I've never run Ragnar or the LA Marathon but wear a Ragnar shirt I received as a gift, plus a LA Marathon shirt that I bought online). Regardless of my hypocrisy, I would relax that standard for "fun" races like themed 5Ks. (Spoiler alert - I did wear the Race to Wrigley shirt yesterday) =D

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    2. I saw that and you look very cute!

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