Frames From the Weekend 3/20/15 - 3/22/15

Linking up with Irina and Tara to share some photos highlighting my weekend.

I had a pretty low-key weekend planned. In the office, my team is currently enjoying the calm before the storm. Next week, work is going to get real busy real fast. In preparation, I am trying to rest up and get all of my ducks in a row.

Vincenzo's Pizzeria and Sports Bar

On Friday night, Adam and I met up with friends Eric and Sarah, plus their adorable children, at Vincenzo's. It's one of my favorite neighborhood sports bars. It's laidback and has fantastic thin-crust pizza (this means a lot coming from a deep-dish diehard such as yours truly). Normally it's not insanely crowded, but the place was packed with NCAA basketball fans when we were there. (Disclaimer: as you might guess, the above picture was not actually taken on Friday night.)

Practicing my public speaking at my bi-monthly Toastmasters meeting

On Saturday morning, I went to a Toastmasters meeting. I love Toastmasters! It is priceless to be able to regularly practice my public speaking and communication skills in a safe and supportive environment. To me, public speaking is like a muscle that needs to be continually worked and challenged to stay strong. I've been a Toastmasters member for over ten years and I intend to be a member for life.

I've also met so many wonderful friends through the club. Thanks to my friend Kim for taking this photo of me at the meeting - and congrats also to her for making a magnificent skydiving speech at the meeting!

Top Left: Artful creations at Sushi Pink
Top Right: Exploring the menu at Olympic Meat Packers
Bottom: Newly-installed Fulton Market District sign in my neighborhood

On Saturday afternoon, Adam and I went for lunch at Sushi Pink, which is our go-to sushi joint in the West Loop. I had a mad sushi craving and this really hit the spot.

Our plans for the night included relaxing at home and watching the Blackhawks and Penguins games. Therefore, I decided it would be fun to make an at-home steakhouse dinner. After lunch, we stopped by Olympic Meat Packers to pick up some fixings.

While walking the long way home, I came across a newly-installed Fulton Market District sign. My neighborhood is changing so quickly that I can't keep up with all the new additions!

Left: Stretch-work and strength-work
Upper right: Blueberry blintzes
Lower right: Animal print accessories!

Quick update on Operation Eliminate Janky Stride: it is not going well. My left knee began bothering me a few days ago. I had been looking forward to logging some miles this weekend, but decided I didn't want to push things. Instead, I spent a lot of quality time with my foam roller, my offending Stick, and some hand weights.

On Sunday, Adam and I trekked out to the suburbs to see my parents. We went for a nice brunch, of which blueberry blintzes were a big highlight. Note to self that I need to add homemade blintzes to my list of recipes to try!

These days, I have a mild obsession with anything animal-print. Weeks ago, I saw an animal-print purse that I loved but didn't purchase at the time. This weekend I finally decided to go for it. I made a quick stop at a nearby mall on the way home from visiting my parents. (Credit to Adam for not rolling his eyes while he was being dragged along. =D )

The goods from my latest visit to the Chicago Public Library

Over the weekend, I finished up One Day, which was this month's book club selection. (For those of you who have read it and/or saw the movie, I enjoyed the story and its premise but I was not thrilled with the ending.) I'm already looking forward to reading next month's pick, How to Be A Parisian Wherever You Are by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas. Has anyone else read it yet?

And now, cookbooks!!!

I've been to Lidia Bastianich's restaurant in Pittsburgh, so I was excited to peruse some of her published recipes.

The Parthenon is a popular restaurant in Chicago's Greektown, so I jumped at the opportunity to try some of their recipes at home. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book includes some interesting details on the history of Greektown. For example, the owner of the nearby Rodity's Restaurant originally wanted to call their restaurant The Pantheon. Given how similar the name was to The Parthenon, the matter went to court. It resulted in the Rodity's name that remains today. Who knew?!?

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I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Cheers to a great week ahead!

2 seconds of fame, and Friday favorites

Happy Friday! I wanted to share a fleeting moment of publicity that I experienced earlier this week. I am also going to join in a few of the many Friday Favorites linkups!

Almost famous (okay, not really)

Comcast Sportsnet Chicago had a special "Behind the Lens" broadcast of the Blackhawks game this past Wednesday. It was a very unique introspective. They displayed various snippets of the work that goes on behind the scenes to produce a smooth and informative broadcast. Clearly there was an unbelievable level of coordination and detail involved. However, the directors and staff made the telecast flow like a piece of cake.

Fans were asked to tweet their pictures and reactions from the broadcast. Yours truly did just that:

Here's a television shot from the Behind the Lens broadcast. Check out the familiar-looking tweet scrolling at the bottom!

Woo hoo!!!

Now if I may toot my own Blackhawks fan/Twitter horn for just a moment, this is actually the second time that one of my tweets has been shared on TV. Here is a screenshot from the first time, which was back in December:

And with that, my 2 seconds of fame are officially OVER!

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Let's move on to some of my current favorites.

Honey Stinger Waffles

Honey Stinger had a booth at the Rock N Roll DC race expo. They caught my eye with an enormous array of waffle samples. (Note to all running expo vendors - if you provide product samples, I will come!) 

WOW, are those waffles yummy! I am normally very partial to GU, with the occasional foray into Clif Shot gels. However, I couldn't resist picking up a few of the Honey Stinger waffles. I like them so much that I went onto Amazon and started a purchase subscription. These babies are going to give my GU and Clif Shot gels a run for the money (no pun intended).

Crazy tights

For the longest time, my lower-body workout attire consisted entirely of plain black shorts, plain black capris, plain black tights. Not anymore! I love love LOVE the patterned workout bottoms that are all the rage this year. I can't get enough of them. 

One of everything, please!

Totally rad

Adam and I were out to dinner earlier this week and the restaurant was playing a fantastic selection of 80s music. Best decade of music EVER. (The 60s are a close second, in my opinion.) I was inspired to start putting together an all-80s playlist for myself. Why did it take me so long to do this!?!? I can't wait to hit the streets in my running shoes with the dulcet tones of Foreigner, Journey, and so many others ringing in my ears. 

Once again, one of everything, please!

Source

Just a kid from Chicago

I saw this commercial the other day and it brought chills to my spine. I found it on YouTube and have watched it at least 10 times. It's especially meaningful to me since it is Chicago.

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Linking up with Claire, Katie, Heather, Courtney, Cynthia, and Mar.

Pennies for my thoughts

Here is some of the noise that is currently flowing in and out of my brain:

• The newspaper-stuffing method of drying out wet running shoes is quite possibly the most useful and ingenious runner's trick I've ever learned. Whoever discovered it should immediately be granted sainthood.
• I might be the only sportsfan in the Milky Way Galaxy that doesn't watch NCAA basketball or pay attention to March Madness. I think I've become disillusioned from participating in too many bracket pools where I came in second-to-last place. Apparently it doesn't work to make picks based on unscientific criteria such as how much I like the school's colors or how cute the team's mascot is.

Tommy Hawk is not an NCAA mascot, but he's still my favorite mascot.
(Throwback Thursday to the 2013 Blackhawks Fan Convention)

• It's rare for me to take consecutive rest days from working out. However, it happened earlier this week due to a combination of travel and work. WOW, did I lose both physical and mental momentum during that second day! It's amazing how quickly and easily you can get off track.
• I won Erica's giveaway for the March edition of the Bestowed healthy food subscription box! Many thanks to both Erica and Bestowed. My box arrived this week and I had so much fun tearing it open to see what goodies were inside. I really, really love getting packages in the mail. I think that's the real reason why all those subscription boxes are so popular - people just love receiving things in the mail!

• In honor of St. Patrick's Day this past Tuesday, I did wear green, and I enjoyed seeing so many of my coworkers partaking in the green festivity. I have wanted for the longest time to ask my friends of Irish descent how they feel about the raucous weekend celebrations and the "Everyone is Irish on March 17!" proclamations. To all my Irish compadres - what say you???
• Irish soda bread is the best. I get very excited when I see it in the grocery stores each spring. I need to seek out some good recipes and try making it from scratch at home.

Yummy yummy!

• For book club this month, we are reading One Day by David Nicholls. It has been a captivating read so far. The story is set in the U.K. and I am really enjoying the British humor. 
• If time permits, I want to start participating in a virtual running book club that I just found out about. This month's selection is 4.09.43: Boston 2013 Through the Eyes of the Runners by Hal Higdon. I put my Chicago Public Library card to work and am waiting for the book to become available.
• Adam and I went to Gino's East earlier this week (I had a Groupon that was about to expire), but we did NOT order deep dish pizza. Blasphemous!
• I've been taking some accusations of being a racing rain magnet from Xaarlin and Pete. I think I've scared Lauren, too. The pressure is mounting now with the Shamrock Shuffle coming up in less than two weeks. I pray to God it doesn't rain that day, otherwise I will never hear the end of it! Seriously, folks in California - how can I provide my rainmaking services?!?

Aren't you all glad that I'm a rainmaker and not an iceberg-maker?

Linking up with Amanda for Thinking Out Loud Thursday.

Janky, janky

At the race expo last week, I underwent a gait analysis. I've always been instructed to wear a neutral running shoe, and this instance was no different. However, I received some different running advice this time around.

The man performing my gait analysis (we'll call him Mr. Gait Analyzer) asked if I was dealing with any injuries. I told him about my bout with IT band syndrome, which has thankfully been under control these days. I also mentioned my stubborn piriformis syndrome.

Mr. Gait Analyzer showed me a video of my stride. He pointed out that my lower leg exhibits a noticeable angle when my foot hits the ground (he gave me the actual angle measurement in degrees, but I forget the exact number). Additionally, my footstrike exhibits a distinctive outward roll.

The technical term is that I underpronate. I believe it's also called supination.

I am the poster child for the underpronation diagram on the left.
Source

I have actually been keenly aware of my janky footstrike for quite some time. The outer soles of my running shoes wear down much more quickly than everywhere else. Plus, the underpronation is visible in some of my race photos. Here is an example from the 2013 Prairie State Half Marathon:

I always cringe when I see the jankiness caught on camera. I think it looks horrifically awkward. But when I am running, my footstrike doesn't feel awkward or painful to me. It's just my natural stride.

Mr. Gait Analyzer explained that the underpronation puts added pressure on the piriformis. This is because the foot's outward rotation forces the piriformis (and the entire lower body, really) to compensate for the uneven motion and unequal distribution of weight. He advised that I try to work on changing my stride to a more centralized footstrike.

The diagnosis and Rx both make perfect sense. However, it is much easier said than done to change your pronation.

I've given it a couple of tries. During my short runs, I've been focusing on trying to land more on my inner foot. However, it feels incredibly stiff and awkward. I feel like I lose all fluidity in my stride and that my feet are slapping the pavement. Plus, my feet hurt afterwards. In short, I feel like a fish out of water. Or maybe a fish trying to learn how to run.

On a side note, this is actually the second time I'm working on changing my stride. I used to be a heel striker, but several years ago I turned myself into a midfoot striker. That transition was not very difficult. It felt like a much more natural change than altering my pronation.

Honestly, I'm surprised that I am still being diagnosed to wear neutral running shoes. My footstrike looks anything but "neutral" to me! But, I will leave this to the experts. It probably says something that different experts have all given me consistent shoe diagnoses over the years, too.

I'm not sure if this pronation change is something that just requires time (a lot of time) to get used to, or if it requires more specialized focus? I'm going to keep working at this in the coming weeks and we'll see what happens.

To be continued.

Sticking up for myself

I had an interesting moment while traveling to DC last week.

At Midway Airport, Adam and I got randomly selected to go through the TSA PreCheck lanes. It was so nice not to have to remove my laptop, shoes, or 3-1-1 bag. Wheeee!!!

Alas, lest I sashay too gallantly through security, the TSA agent working the bag x-ray pulled my suitcase off of the conveyer and set it aside. He called for an inspection. Ruh roh.

???

I started racking my brain for what might have triggered the inspection. Were they going to nail me for the bottle of BodyGlide that I had stuffed into my running shoes instead of inside my Ziploc bag? I was pretty sure the bottle was less than 3 ounces but maybe not? Or perhaps the foil in the GU packets was causing suspicion. It would be terrible if they confiscated those. I had brought the Salted Caramel flavor, which are my favorite!

The inspection agent came by. She picked up my bag and asked me to confirm that it was mine and that I had packed it myself. Yes and yes.

She brought it over to the inspection table and showed me what had come up on the x-ray.

I peered at the screen and instantly realized the problem. It looked like I had a police baton in my bag! E.g.:

The culprit for the offending picture? It was actually my portable massage roller ("The Stick"!)

Since The Stick is much more portable than a foam roller, it is easily my go-to muscle-rolling tool when I'm traveling.

I tried not to laugh while I told the agent what it was. I offered to take it out of the suitcase for closer inspection. Adam, who was standing nearby, jokingly added, "...and if anyone is in need of some muscle relief..."

The agent smiled when she saw The Stick. She swabbed it for explosive residue and found none, of course. Then she said, "I had a pretty good feeling what it was. But the guy working the machine is new. He doesn't know." I also smiled and told her, "No worries, I'd rather that we are safe with these things."

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Linking up with April, Patty, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

Rock N Roll DC Half Marathon race recap

Rock N Roll DC Half Marathon completed this past Saturday!

Despite weather challenges, I had a great time running this race! I've got a lot to share. Today we'll go with the "Good, Bad, and Ugly" recap format.

The Good

• The course was stunning. The amazing array of scenery included the National Mall, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the White House, the Memorial Bridge, Rock Creek Park, the Potomac River, Woodley Park, Calvert Hill, Howard University, the Kennedy Center, Adams Morgan, etc. etc. etc.

The starting line.
Due to rainy conditions, this was unfortunately the only picture I took on the course.

• There were a lot of touching elements to the course, too. In Rock Creek Park, there were dozens and dozens of signs with pictures of fallen soldiers and their names/ages. Along Calvert Hill, there were folks lined up along both sides of the street holding American flags. These all brought tears to my eyes.
• Despite very rainy, inclement conditions, the volunteers, spectators, and my fellow-racers were unbelievably energetic and spirited. 
• At the water stations, the volunteers were amazing. They did a great job keeping things upbeat. Some made jokes like, "Don't be shy, there's no water shortage!" or "We're just putting out the cups. The rain is filling them up for you!" 
• Dozens of spectators were cheering us on in costume, setting up dance stations for us, offering us all kinds of food and beverage. Bacon? Oreos? Bloody Marys? Ask and you shall receive.
• The runners were very diverse - I must have heard a half-dozen different languages being spoken. Folks were cheering each other on, singing at the top of their lungs, kidding around, and overall just having a marvelous time.
• The DC Metro couldn't have been easier or more convenient when getting to the race expo or the starting line.
• My father-in-law, being local to the area, knew of a McDonald's near the starting line that we could stop at. This enabled me to do all of my pre-race prep indoors. It was a godsend.

Donning my stylish garbage-bag dress pre-race to ward off the rain.
Look for this to hit department stores soon. Accept no imitations! 

• Consistent with my prior Rock N Roll race experiences, the event was very well organized with excellent offerings for the runners. I loved the race shirt and medal. I also appreciated the on-course bands, Clif Shots, great selection of post-race food and drink, and space blankets at the finish.
• Military personnel happily handed out the medals at the finish line. This again brought tears to my eyes.

The Bad

• As was feared, it started raining on Friday night and didn't stop until Saturday afternoon. The precipitation kept going throughout the ENTIRE race. Obviously it made for some uncomfortable circumstances. (If you're keeping score at home, this is the third time in the last nine months that I've run a water-logged race. Maybe I should start running races in California to help ward off their awful drought?!?!?)

This is what the DC-area radar looked like on race morning.

• There was no corral enforcement. I think there were 32 corrals, and I saw plenty of folks from later corrals lined up in the earlier corrals.
• This race was not intended to be a PR attempt. However, I did sign up to run with the 2:15 pace group. The pace leader (I think his name was Charlie) was supposed to be stationed in the same corral as I was. I looked for him several times but NEVER saw him. Additionally, other pacers seemed to be positioned weirdly. For example, I saw the 5:00 pacer in an earlier corral than mine. Then, Adam said he saw the 2:15 and 2:30 pacers at the 10K mark only about a minute apart from each other.
• Adam and my father-in-law planned to cheer me on at the 10K area. My father-in-law was wearing a neon orange jacket and Adam was waving his Terrible Towel. They should have been easy to spot in the crowd. I looked all around for them. Unfortunately, we never saw each other. This made me feel bad, considering the effort they made to be there.
• The course was hillier than I expected. It wasn't outrageous, but Calvert Hill near the Mile 6 marker was tough. Additionally, the pavement on the course had some rough patches. Presumably these were the lingering after-effects from a rough winter in DC.

Obligatory race photo body spasm
This was listed on the photo site as "Drumberton Bridge" but I can't find info on it.
My uneducated guess is that it was somewhere around Mile 10.

• My Garmin indicated that I completed the course in 2:16:44, plus or minus a few seconds. However, my chip time was 2:17:27! I think I know what happened. At the starting line, there were two timing mats - one directly under the starting line sign, and one a few feet prior. The organizers/volunteers had my corral line up just prior to the timing mat under the sign. However, some of us, myself included, crossed the other timing mat while we were waiting. I think it activated my chip before my corral was released. I have emailed the race organizers to inquire.

The Ugly

• The race finished at RFK Stadium. It was a lengthy walk from the finish line to the stadium's Metro stop. The walk also included either going up a long incline, or traversing a long flight of stairs.
• Worse yet, once we got to the Metro station, there was an EXTREMELY long and slow-moving line to get onto the train. Had the weather been good, it would have been much less of an issue. However, on this day all of the runners and spectators were exhausted, cold, and wet. There was no place to change clothing or to sit down, either. It was torturous to be standing outside waiting. It took a good hour before we got onto a Metro train.
• Once we did finally get onto the Metro, it was jam-packed, of course. We all couldn't wait to get moving so we could get home. But then, the conductor ended up having to stop the train because a passenger (probably a runner) got sick onboard. Yikes!
• Remember when I said here that my piriformis pain was gone? Yeah, scratch that. During and after the race, my piriformis reared its ugly head again with a vengeance. Sigh. I've clearly still got my work cut out for me.

In closing...

It is really too bad that the relentless rain marred everything, because Rock N Roll DC was a fantastic race. The course was one of the most scenic that I've ever had the privilege of running. The energy was astounding and the sense of patriotism was unparalleled. I would give this race a HUGE two-thumbs up.

Post-race medal glee

Finally, I have to give a very, VERY special thank-you to my wonderful family. Adam and my father-in-law were both up at a truly ungodly hour on Saturday morning to get me to the starting line. As I mentioned, my father-in-law's local knowledge of the pre-race McDonald's location was an absolute godsend. Then, Adam and my father-in-law spent the morning riding the Metro all around DC amidst the rain, crowds, and long lines to spectate, meet me at the finish line, and get me home in one piece. My stepmother-in-law was unfortunately unable to join the day's festivities due to foot issues, but she couldn't have been more supportive, hospitable, or accommodating throughout the entire weekend. Huge thanks also go out to Aunt Marylin, Uncle Marty, and cousin Matthew for all of their wonderful hospitality over the weekend, as well!

MY NEXT RACE: The Shamrock Shuffle on March 29

Thinking out loud

Another new-to-me linkup! Today I'm participating in Thinking Out Loud Thursday, hosted by Amanda.

Weather stalker
Over the past week, I've been watching DC's weather forecast like a hawk. Things are not looking good for the half marathon this weekend. Originally, the meteorologists were forecasting rain almost the entire week and weekend. But now, they are only forecasting rain starting Friday night through Saturday night. PERFECT timing for a Saturday morning half marathon!

After the torrential rainstorms that I experienced at the Chinatown 5K and Disney Wine and Dine last year, I thought my luck would swing in the other direction. But then I remembered the unexpectedly fantastic weather we had at the F^3 Half Marathon in January. It's quite possible that I've used up all of my good weather blessings for that day. (It was very well worth it, though.)

Fingers crossed for this Saturday.

Race-cations!
Yesterday, I talked to my friend Smita, who I haven't seen her in forever! She's considering signing up for the Rock N Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon and some other races. I told her that I would love to go to Philly to visit and either spectate or run the race with her. That got us talking about other races we could do together, whether in Philly, Chicago, or as a getaway weekend. Maybe even to a tropical destination?!? I have never run with Smita, ever, so I am beyond excited to plan something!

This year's Disney Wine and Dine is under consideration, since Smita has a 4-day weekend. Also under consideration would be any other races within driving distance of Philly that same weekend (November 6). Does anyone have recommendations or suggestions?!?

A triple tangent
Since we're talking about (west) Philadelphia... I LOVED watching the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as a child. Over the past week or two, I started watching it again in syndication. To this day, I still love it and I still think it's the funniest show ever!

Carlton always knew how to let loose on the dance floor!

Since we're talking about dancing... my Zumba instructor is an amazingly good dancer. Even when she is improvising, she still looks great. She is really inspiring me to work on my dancing skills. These days I'm learning to let loose without judging myself. I can really see the difference in the mirror when I'm dancing halfheartedly and/or self-consciously.

Since we're talking about fitness classes... I got an email promo for a 30-day new-client membership at the Bar Method (my thoughts on them here) for $50. The normal price is $75 so this is a great deal. The only thing is that my company's fitness center already offers a wide bevvy of great, FREE classes (although, no barre classes). I'm debating whether it would be worth it to fork out extra dough just for barre?

Other randomness

• On a recent run, I was wearing New Balance shoes, Feetures socks, Pearl Izumi tights, a Nike sports bra, an ASICS shirt, a Sugoi jacket, Mizuno gloves, and Saucony hat. No joke. A brand ambassador I am clearly not.
• Adam and I flew Southwest to DC. Yesterday, Adam checked in within 30 minutes of the check-in window opening. He got an A58 boarding pass. Comparatively, I forgot to check in until almost three hours had passed. I didn't buy any special upgrades or anything. Yet, I got an A27 boarding pass. Very bizarre!