Travel hacks

Inaugurally linking up with both The Climbing Tree and with Malinda to share some travel-related thoughts.

Awhile back, I was swapping travel hacks with a friend. I decided to put together a list of some of my favorites.

• If traveling with someone else, cross-pack a few essentials in each others' bags. That way, if one bag gets lost, you'll still have some items available to you.
• Pack old underwear, socks, and any other clothing/footwear that is on its last legs. Wear them for the last time on vacation, then dispose of them before coming home. You can do the same thing with toiletries that are nearly used up.
• Pack shelf-stable snacks such as trail mix, sports bars, peanut butter, and crackers. Bring along oatmeal packets and tea bags, then just add hot water. Runners and other athletes out there - bring powdered Gatorade or Nuun.
• Pack lots of mix and match clothing items that can be dressed up or down. For example, black pants or jeans and nude-colored flats can go with pretty much anything.

• Workout clothing can double as sleepwear.
• Stuff small items like socks and underwear into your shoes before putting into your bag.
• Roll clothes instead of folding them. It saves a lot of space and wrinkles will be minimized. 
• Pack as many wrinkle-free items as possible. Who wants to deal with ironing while on the road?
• Drawstring backpacks are so compact and they are great if you need to free up some space in your suitcase. They're also great for walking around.

• Put some dryer sheets in your suitcase to keep things smelling fresher. Bring a little bag or plastic container of powdered laundry detergent - you never know when it might come in handy.
• Bring a scarf. It's so compact, yet it can be used as a wrap, an accessory, a blanket, a sarong, etc.
• Have two sets of all of your toiletries, one for home and one for traveling. Keep a prepacked bag of your second set of toiletries to just toss into your suitcase. Refill travel-size toiletry containers instead of buying new ones.
• Bring a reusable and preferably foldable water bottle and refill it at water fountains as you go.

• Email a scanned copy of your travel documents to yourself.
• Get a portable cell phone charger. Check to see if you can mix and match any of your USB cables (e.g., my Kindle, Garmin, and MP3 player all use the same type of USB charger).
• Bring a preloaded Kindle instead of a bunch of books.
• Exercise bands and workout DVDs take up very little packing space, but can provide a lot of fitness options.
• When traveling abroad, notify your bank and credit card companies in advance.
• Shop at local grocery stores or markets. It's a great way to interact with the locals, find local products and souvenirs, and avoid tourist mark-ups.

Drinking as the locals do while in Seoul

• Carry a small notebook and writing utensils. You never know when you might need to jot some thoughts or notes down. When filling out customs forms, pens always seem to be in short supply, too.
• Study the local map and familiarize yourself with the public transit system/map in advance.
• Talk to the locals and read reviews! Skip the concierge-types and be wary of tour guides, as they are sometimes commissioned on their suggestions.
• Maximize your smartphone! It can serve as your calculator, translator, map, weather tool, games, Skype, camera, alarm clock, book, transit reference, the list goes on and on.
• Use that smartphone camera to photograph your parking spot, key intersections, suitcase, hotel/car damages, etc.

What other travel hacks do you suggest? Please share!

Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon race recap

Finally getting around to recapping this year's Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon!

Here are a few snapshots from the race expo:

Brooks had their usual eye-popping displays.

It was awesome that Sargento was one of the sponsors this year!
I thoroughly enjoyed the cheese sticks they were handing out.

Met up with Xaarlin and Luis. Xaarlin and I decided to ham it up a bit.

The night before the race, I went to my friend Jenny's wedding. I am so happy for Jenny and her new husband, Kenny!

Jenny and me at the reception

The wedding festivities were a blast. However, in an attempt to get some semblance of a good night's sleep before the race, I didn't stay nearly as long as I would have liked. Sigh.

The next morning, I was back up and at 'em at the crack of dawn. Since I was in Corral 21, my plan was to minimize my wait time in the corrals as much as possible. I rode a Divvy bike over to Grant Park, stopped at gear check and the portapotties, then shimmied into my corral. Less than 15 minutes later, I crossed the start line.

The weather was very, very muggy. Thankfully the temperature was only in the upper 70s/low 80s - but that humidity was killer. It's usually not a good sign when you're already dripping sweat before you've even started the race!

The outset of the course included lower Randolph and other "lower" streets, affording some lakefront and river views, before winding through downtown. I was thankful for all of the shade and any breezes. I definitely wasn't shooting for any time goals so I took the pace easily.

I tried to absorb my surroundings as if I were a visitor. Gosh, the city and lakefront are beautiful! I smiled when I saw folks stopping to take pictures of things that I consider commonplace, such as the elevated train tracks.

The humidity kept wearing on me. By the time I got to about the 10K mark, I was already ready to call it a day. Some of the water stations were having trouble keeping up with all the runners taking the filled cups. I dropped down to doing run/walk intervals and was challenging myself to run as long as possible each time.

I tried to draw energy from the fun music being blasted at points along the course. There was a woman around Mile 7 who was shouting:

"There will be a day when you can no longer do this. 

Today is NOT that day!"

YESSSSS!!! At that very moment, her words were exactly what I needed to hear! I gave her the biggest cheer and high-five I could muster. Then I kept plugging along.

Around Mile 9, the course included a half-mile out-and-back along Martin Luther King Drive. It was awful. I was very tempted to cheat and cut it out entirely. However, I grudgingly ran the whole thing. My biggest motivation was that I thought the race organizers might have a timing mat at the turnaround point. (It turns out they didn't.)

Thank goodness for the cold sponges that volunteers were handing out around Mile 11.5. The McCormick Place tunnel that followed was stuffy and claustrophobic, as always. But after emerging from the tunnel, we were rewarded with a gorgeous view of the Chicago skyline:

Source

I crossed the finish line in 2:24:43. For a race that I essentially treated as a training run, that wasn't too bad. I was so happy and relieved to be done!

The day's humidity was definitely the worst I have ever experienced at any race. Along the course, I saw at least five runners down and being helped by medical personnel. I later heard that at least ten folks had been taken to local hospitals. Yikes.

Time for post-race fun! I met up with Xaarlin, Luis, Cristina, and CB. And I drank the most heavenly glasses of ice water in my entire life.

So ends the story of my 22nd half marathon!!!

As much as I enjoy summertime in Chicago, I am looking forward to running some fall races. Whew!

Linking up with April, Patty, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run, and with Jessica and Stacey for Race Recaps.

Runfessions - treadmill politics edition

Linking up with Marcia's monthly Runfessions.

The building I live in has a small workout room. It has two treadmills and they are both in high demand.

Since the day I moved in over five years ago, there is a man who shows up every day around 5 or 5:30. Every day, he uses one of the treadmills for over an hour. It's gotten to the point that if I want to use a treadmill, I try to time myself so I won't run into him.

I am not on the condo board or anything. But I runfess that I have thought about printing and posting signs asking that treadmill users be considerate of others waiting to use the machines. (Great way to feign authority that I don't have, right?)

To make matter worse, the man does the exact same routine every single day. He steps on the treadmill, immediately cranks the incline up as high as it will go, then hangs on to the handrails for dear life.

Good lord. Aside from the boredom factor, I am amazed that this guy hasn't gotten hurt yet. I've had enough of my own overuse injuries just from running 3-4 times a week!

One day, I was finishing up my treadmill run and I saw the guy come in. The other treadmill was occupied and I could tell he was ready to take my treadmill the moment I stepped off. I runfess that I considered extending my run a few extra miles. After all, I have had to wait for him so many times! But... I didn't do it.

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Do you have anything to runfess?

Coffee talk - August edition

I am linking up with Coco, Deborah, and Lynda for this month's edition of Coffee Talk.

The link-up actually starts tomorrow, but I am ready to get this party started a day early!

The premise behind this link-up is: "If we were having [insert choice of beverage here] together, I would tell you..."

Armed with my tall glass of either orange juice or water on the rocks, here are a few things I would share:

Adam and I are going to Israel in November! We got ridiculously good airfare on Turkish Airlines. We'll be flying into Tel Aviv with a layover in Istanbul. Now we are working to figure out our itinerary - there is SO much to see and do. The plan will likely include some combination of Jerusalem, Haifa, Tiberias, the Dead Sea, Tel Aviv, and a jaunt to Petra, Jordan.

The Old City in Jerusalem

We'll also be road-tripping to Traverse City, Michigan over Labor Day! I have wanted to visit northern Michigan for a long time, so I am very excited to finally make it happen. I've heard amazing things about the beaches, the hiking, the food, and the friendly people.

The Grand Traverse Bay

Traverse City claims itself to be the Cherry Capital of the World. I plan to take advantage of this by eating as many cherries and cherry-themed recipes as possible. I want to bring home a car trunk full of cherries!

This past Wednesday, I watched sports all day long. 
In the afternoon, my company held one of its annual Chicago Cubs rooftop outings.

Hanging out with Meghna and Alicia, two of my awesome coworkers

It was so hot and sunny that most of us only spent a few minutes on the rooftop. The rest of the time, we were inside hanging out. (Allright, maybe I didn't literally watch sports all day long.) I even wore a Cubs-themed shirt to Wrigley Field for the first time ever (thanks to running the Race to Wrigley!)

Later that night, I went to Soldier Field to watch Manchester United take on Paris Saint-Germain.

It was a complete and unmitigated disaster trying to get into the stadium. Soldier Field is not built to handle 60,000+ fans trying to enter the premises and go through security all at the same time. Blech.

That aside, once I got to my seat I had fun. The atmosphere was very lively and those soccer players have footwork skills like you wouldn't believe.

My adherence to self-imposed goals lives to fight another month... but the streak is in jeopardy. (See this post for further background.) I did manage to log 62.5 miles during the month of July. As of right now, I remain perfectly on track to run 750 miles for the year.

The month of August is going to be a real challenge, though. My running motivation is as low as it has ever been. Combine that with the arrival of hot and humid summertime weather. Then throw in a dislike of the treadmill. Results:

These days my new jam is strength training. I am enjoying the quick and visible results that I've reaped from doing more consistent strength-training over the past few months. Woo-hoo, instant gratification!

I am trying to improve my dance skills. What a challenge this has been! In my Zumba classes, I'm paying closer attention to my instructor's form versus my form to identify what I can improve. The initial conclusion: EVERYTHING.

In an attempt to get some extra practice, I borrowed this DVD from the library:

It's a good thing that I don't have a mirror in my living room for when I try this DVD at home. Heh.

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So what is new with you? What would you share with me over a coffee or other beverage?

Questions nobody asks - Part 1

Last week Amanda wrote this post to ninja some of Alison's Questions Nobody Asks. There were some really great questions on the list!

To borrow Amanda's phrase, I am re-ninja-ing the questions to link-up to Amanda's Thinking Out Loud Thursdays.

There were a total of 43 questions in the original list. I'll cover them over a series of posts.

1. Do you go by a nickname?
I previously talked about my nicknames in this post - but in short, a few nicknames I go by include Em, Emmers, E-Dog or E, and Emzo. My friend Helen also calls me "M" (phonetic shortening of "Em.")

2. When driving, do you listen to CDs, tapes, the radio, or nothing?
I usually default to the radio. I'll flip around a selection of music stations (80s, classic rock, and "Top 30"-type stations), a local news radio station, or one of the sports-talk radio stations (God help me).

If I can't find anything good amongst those stations and/or I get bored, I'll switch to CDs. I think the car currently has a stash of Tori Amos, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Eagles, Journey, Disney, and some Beethovan and Chopin.

3. Are you a window person or an aisle person?
Window. I love seeing the scenery, and I enjoy watching the take-off and landing.

In concept, I do like the aisle, though - especially when I'm in the window seat and need to go to the bathroom. Incidentally, though, I read somewhere that the aisle is statistically the most dangerous seat. You have a higher likelihood of getting hit by a bag falling out of the overhead compartments, being elbowed in the head by people walking by, getting clocked by the beverage carts, etc. But hey, I guess some would argue that the probability that you'll need to go to the bathroom is much higher than any of those stats, right?

4. How do you relieve stress?
Working out, watching something light on TV, talking to a confidante. I do instinctively want to stuff myself with pizza, ice cream, chocolate, or some kind of crunchy, salty snack, too - but I try not to go overboard.

Yummy yummy... especially when I am stressed.

5. What's your favorite childhood TV show?
As a child and still to this day, I love the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air!

Honorable mentions: Bugs Bunny cartoons and Full House

6. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
So many things. Astronaut, scientist, vet, teacher, concert pianist, psychologist, journalist (newspaper or magazine), guidance counselor.

When I was in college (i.e., a big kid), I was a finance major. In those years my dream, like many finance majors, was to work in investment banking, consulting, or one of the big accounting firms.

Perspectives definitely change over time! These days, my dream is to be a travel/food writer (although I am sure it is not as glamorous as it might seem, either).

7. What is the best prank you ever pulled off?
Background information: Adam dislikes sweet potatoes. I don't understand why. I am even more confused because he LOVES pumpkin pie... and the two are not that different.

At Thanksgiving dinner one year, my mom and I made a sweet potato pie. We set it out on the table. Adam saw it and said, "Ooooh, pumpkin pie!" My mom and I didn't correct him. He got a big slice and started eating it and enjoying it. My mom and I began grinning. At that point, we told Adam what he was actually eating - and obviously it wasn't so bad, was it?

As you might expect, Adam was none too pleased! He claims to this day that he could tell that something was off and that it didn't taste right. But I believe that had he not known it was sweet potato, he would have polished off that pie without a second thought!

Sweet potato pie or pumpkin pie? You decide!

8. If you could have dinner with any three people, who would you decide?
I think I've answered this before - but I would choose Warren Buffett, Anthony Bourdain, and either Ina Garten or Julia Child.

Anthony Bourdain in Chicago!

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Your turn! I would love to hear your answers to any or all of these questions!

Showtime

Time to link up with Deb's Wordless Wednesday Disney photo hop.

The theme for this week is "Showtime."

(Blackhawks fans, when I heard this theme I have to admit the first thing that came to mind was Patrick Kane's famous utterances. I love this Kaner gif! But this is a Disney-themed photo hop so we will keep things on point. =) )

My favorite nighttime show at Disney is Epcot's "IllumiNations - Reflections of Earth." It's an absolute must-see for me anytime I visit Disney World. I love it so much that I bought the soundtrack on CD.

Here is one of my few reasonably-clear snapshots of IllumiNations. It so does NOT do it justice:

My second-favorite nighttime show at Disney is Fantasmic. I've seen it at both Disneyland and at Hollywood Studios and it's spectacular at both locations. I also own the Fantasmic soundtrack on CD. ;-P

Again, I only have a couple of reasonably-clear pictures from Fantasmic. Here is one:

I've only seen World of Color at Disneyland once. Unfortunately, my spectator angle wasn't very good. I look forward to going back and seeing it again someday soon!

My fellow Disney fans, what say you? What is your favorite Disney nighttime show?

BTN Big 10K race recap

This past Saturday, I ran the BTN Big 10K for the first time.

This race is enormously popular, probably because of the strong representation of Big 10 alumni that live in the Chicago area. I think it's very clever to use the word play on the Big Ten Conference for a 10K race! Kudos to whoever came up with the idea.

I've been eyeing this race since its inception in 2012. I have always been wary about its annual timing in July, though. With that in mind, I signed up for this year's race with exactly zero intention of shooting for any time goals. My true motivation?

THE RACE SHIRT!!!

Each runner gets to select one of the Big Ten schools to represent, along with a school-specific shirt. I've mentioned many times that I am a proud alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (Go Illini!) I will happily rep the orange and blue anyday.

The race village was located in Soldier Field's south tailgate lot. On race morning, I zipped there on a Divvy bike and gleefully docked at a station right next to the starting corrals. Divvy is the best.

I stopped by the Illinois booth and grabbed some rocking Illini sunglasses.

I was hoping to wear the Illini sunglasses during the race! You couldn't really see through the lenses, though. This meant I was back to wearing my plain old neutral sunglasses. Ah well.

As I was making my way towards the starting corrals, an emcee announced that Illinois had the largest representation of runners at the race. (Michigan State came in a very, very, VERY close second.) Several folks around me grumbled, "What a surprise that Illinois won in a Chicago race." YES, there was a disparate hometown advantage, but I was still happy. The winning prize? The playing of the Illinois fight song at the starting line!

The starting area was jammed with spectators and mascots cheering us on. So much energy! The runners were fairly packed in at the start, but as is typical in most races, everyone gradually spread out.

The course consisted of an out-and-back on Lake Shore Drive down to 42nd Street, returning along the lakefront path. The course also went underneath the McCormick Place tunnel twice.

The temperature was in the mid 70s and rising, and the humidity was thick. I started at a semi-easy pace and felt good for the first three miles or so. Then, the humidity began wearing on me so I slowed down. (I saw one guy veer sharply off course, head directly towards some trees, and then violently throw up. Yikes!)

Around Mile 4.75, there was an on-course slip and slide. You better believe that I took advantage!

Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the slip and slide, so here is a snapshot from Lindsay's 2012 race recap.

As we all know from our childhood days, slip and slides generally require lots of momentum via a nice running start. However, there was a long line of folks waiting to go through. This meant there wasn't much room to do anything but take about two big steps and then plop-dive in head first. Embarrassingly, I only made it about halfway through the slip and slide before I came to a grinding halt. I had to try to get up from there and claw my way to the end. Awkward... but still fun. =D

At each of the aid stations, they were playing a rotation of the schools' fight songs. Loved it! One station played the Penn State fight song as I passed through. Adam is a proud Penn State alum so this made me smile on his behalf.

I ended up crossing the finish line in 1:02:57.

The post-race party was basically the biggest tailgate party I've ever seen in my life. There was lots of beer, plus rows and rows of grills cooking up Amylu sausages. There were also opportunities to attempt field goals, do a 40-yard dash, play corn hole, or practice your football throwing skills.

Several school mascots were present to take photos with their proud alums. There was no Illinois mascot, so I got a picture with some of the Illinois cheerleaders.

I found out later that my picture ended up getting some extra recognition - it showed up in this article! Ahhh, the magic of social media and hashtags, woo hoo!

The BTN Big 10K was a really fun, festive race! I think all Big Ten alums would enjoy it. It is nice that they offer both the 10K and a 5K distance. I am already trying to plant the seeds for Adam to sign up next year. We all gotta represent, right? =)

My next race: The Fort2Base Nautical 10-Miler on August 23.

Linking up with April, Patty, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run, and with Jessica, Mary Beth, and Jennifer for Race Recaps.