Apartment Tour!

While there are still some things missing (namely stools in the kitchen and a bookcase in my room) I thought it was time to take pictures of my apartment for the world (or my family) to see.

Kitchen view from front door.

 

Living room from front hall.

Living room.

Living room.

Balcony view

Bedroom view from living room.

Race bibs and gallery wall in the making.

Nightstand/books.

Bed!

Messy desk.

Closet.

Closet.

Meghan’s room.

Bathroom.

Bathroom.

Andrea’s room.

Back hallway/ back door.

And that’s it! Clearly we have some more decorating to do, and I need to find a drill so I can get my gallery off the floor and on to the wall, but I think its a good start!

New York, I Love You

It’s difficult to put into words the emotions that I’ve been feeling over the last few days. My city – my home – has suffered unspeakable tragedy. Millions are without power, thousands have found refuge in shelters throughout the city, Long Island and New Jersey, and worse yet, an entire community was destroyed by a vicious fire.

Hudson River looking to New Jersey

It’s more than a lot to process.

On the one hand, my friends and family are all safe. Some are without power, some have some flooding in their homes, some have cars that have seen better days (Hi Mom!) but they are all alive and well. So many other were not so lucky, and my heart goes out to them and their families.

Williamsburg looking to Manhattan

It feels surreal to not be in New York at a time like this. On the other hand, if I was still living in New York, I wouldn’t have even been there for Sandy. International Quilt Market was this past weekend in Houston, TX, and my former coworkers are currently sitting in the airport in Houston waiting to get home. I would have been with them.

Twilight on the reservoir in Central Park

New York is a strong city, and it is times like these that we show the world that we are not selfish and rude, but selfless and a tight knit community. I have seen so many people asking where they can go and what they can do to help on Twitter and Facebook. New Yorkers stick by each other in times of need – this was evidenced in the wake of September 11, and it will most certainly prove true again.

Columbus Circle

We love our city. New York is still my city. One of the biggest events in the world is still going on this weekend – the ING New York City Marathon. There have been many mixed opinions on whether this is the right decision – as long as it doesn’t interfere with cleanup efforts and the course is safe, it will just be one more show of how strong NYC is. So many out of state and international runners have asked how they can help and what volunteer opportunities there will be for them to partake in. Sure, some people won’t be able to get here. Many who do run may abandon their goals and run to simply be part of something that not only brings the city, but the world together in a time of need.

More than anything, I am grateful. Grateful that the people who mean the most to me are doing well, grateful that the worst is over, a grateful that New York will undoubtably come back stronger than ever. And you can be damn sure that I will appreciate every moment I spend at home in a few weeks over Thanksgiving. I can’t wait to see my city shining bright once again, like I know it will.

Prairie Style Houses and a PR!

Let’s not give anything away, shall we?

I love a good race morning. Most of this year was spent getting myself to Central Park with just enough time to check my bag, stretch and get to my start corral without either a) freezing or b) melting. Normally I would go to the NYRR offices on 89th on the Thursday or Friday before the race to pick up my bib and race shirt, and I’d be ready to go as soon as I got to the park.

This morning was a different story. First of all, this race was in the suburbs. Second of all, it was in the suburbs. What that meant was a) I didn’t pick up my bib ahead of time and b) had to take a cab to get out there. The Green Line does go out to Oak Park, but who honestly wants to take an hour+ train ride that includes transfers at 6am on a Sunday? For sure not me.

The cab ride only took about half an hour, and unlike a Central Park race, this one took place at a local high school. Which meant somewhere indoors to spend the almost 2 hours we had before the race started. And INDOOR BATHROOMS. This MAYYYY have been the highlight of the race……especially after the race.

Warm and toasty waiting for the race to start!

So eventually we made our way to the start line to wait for the gun to go off at 8:45. Except there wasn’t a gun. Someone shouted ‘GO’ and we were off. I’d say that I need to get used to small local races, but the majority of the races that take place in Chicago are enormous (read 40,000 runners) so I’ll be back to my half hour waits to cross the start line in no time.

I had brought Andrea’s Garmin with me since mine is out of commission, but as soon as we crossed the start line I realized I forgot to put it on. There were clocks at each mile market though, so I had a general idea of how I was doing. I was on track to beat my goal through mile 4, which I hit in 34 minutes and change. At this point I was running side by side with this kid – we were totally in sync and I thought I’d cross the finish line next to him. And by next to him I mean I was going to sprint my heart out at the end so I could beat him.

But as is wont to do in a race that is going so well, I got a cramp around mile 4.5 and had to stop to stretch it out as my dreams of chicking a dude at the finish went out the window.

Forehead = shirt

I probably only lost a minute and a half, and still finished in 56:00, which is a 2:15 PR, and I placed 9th in my age group (suck it, NYRR races with your CPTC runners), but there was definitely still part of me that was disappointed in myself.

On the bright side, running through Frank Lloyd Wright’s neighborhood and seeing the homes that he designed was awesome. We were running down Forest Avenue, and all of a sudden I got this feeling like I was in the presence of greatness. It turns out I had just ran past the Huertley House, which is a private residence so it was marked. A few turns later and I was running past FLW’s home and studio – good thing this wasn’t a crowded race because I for sure would have tripped over someone as my neck turned more and more watching the house go by. Well, the house stayed where it was but I was moving….

In the end, it was a great race. I’m upset that I didn’t PR quite the way I wanted to, and I’m still upset that I didn’t race at all in September, but that was still race number 13 for 2012 in the books!

Results were printed and posted in the school gym. Imagine that at a NYRR race…

WE. ARE. AWESOME.

 

Twas the night before a 10K

There are many things I’m good at. Throwing my laundry in front of my hamper. Doing my readings for class on the way to campus. Shopping.

One thing I am not good at, which was made abundantly clear Thursday night, is Zumba. The first time I took Zumba it was at the urging of my coworker back in New York. I believe I described the experience has feeling like I had 3 left feet.

Nonetheless, I had about an hour to kill before dinner with my roommates near my job, and the class we were doing was Zumba. The take-away? I may have 3 left arms as well.

My neighborhood is so pretty!

So you agree – you think you’re really pretty?

GIRAFFE

Last night I went to spin at Go Cycle. I knew it would be nothing like my beloved Soul Cycle, but I was itching to get back in the saddle. Go Cycle has monitors on each bike that tell you your RPM’s, and the instructor calls out RPM ranges to hit, much like at Flywheel. Typically I’m all about the numbers when it comes to working out, but I just don’t like it in spin. I realize that even if Soul Cycle was in Chicago I wouldn’t be able to afford to go all the time, but I still miss it!

I had to be at work at 7am this morning, and had no intentions of going out last night. Until the girls who live upstairs invited us over. Since it didn’t involve actually putting on a jacket, I suited up and headed upstairs. Too much wine later, it was after midnight and I knew it was time to call it a night. I got myself ready for bed, set my alarm, and prepared to be jolted out of a deep sleep at 5:36am.

Cue to 7:04am when I realize I set a weekday only alarm. By some miracle I made it to work by 7:30 (thank you CTA bus gods) but it was definitely not the way I wanted to start my day.

Tonight is another night in, because tomorrow is my first race since July! I’m heading out to Oak Park in the morning for the Frank Lloyd Wright 10K. I grew up in a house where I knew what Falling Water was before I could even read, so you can imagine my excitement about running through FLW’s neighborhood.

My running and training in the last few months has been sporadic at best. I struggled through summer running, as evidenced by my pitiful performance at the Rock N Roll Half in July. Since moving, I haven’t gotten into a groove, which isn’t helped by my constantly changing schedule and being on my feet all day.

I mentioned before that I typically love numbers. I can spend hours analyzing the splits from a 5 mile run. I think part of what’s been keeping me from getting back into the running game is that my Garmin has essentially not worked since July. I plugged it into my cousin’s computer when I was visiting for the Rock N Roll Half, it got all jacked up and it hasn’t done anything useful since. I tried email product support, but they kept telling me to do the things that they had posted on their website WHICH I ALREADY TRIED so I got frustrated and stopped responding to them, lest I get a little snarky with them.

There is a Garmin store in the Loop, and going would also provide me with the opportunity to visit the newly opened Nike store (!) but that can really only happen if I’ve done all my reading and assignments for school.

Which I haven’t. Clearly.

But back to the race! My current PR is from April, 3 weeks after running my first half, and during the perfect running weather in Spring in NY when every other word out of my mouth was OMG I LOVE RUNNING SO MUCH. I’m not sure that I should really have any goals going into this race given my lack of training, but if I’m really being honest with myself I can’t go into a race without goals. So here it is:

54:59!

Runner’s World says I should be capable of 56:48 based on my best 5K time, so I’m pushing that a little (lot) bit. In all honesty, I will probably be happy with any PR, even if it is only a few seconds. And worst case scenario is that I get my geek on oogling Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio along the course!

I’ll leave you with the Mexican Chicken Mac and Cheese I made for dinner while I go figure out what the heck I’m wearing for this race tomorrow:

Cheesy cheesy cholula goodness. YUM. CHEESY.

Where Do I Begin?

Seven weeks ago, I left NYC and moved to Chicago. Three weeks ago I started my master’s program at Northwestern University. In four days, I will run my first race as an Illinois resident. In about 20 minutes, I have to put my laundry in the dryer. The best part of all of this? The washer and dryer are IN MY APARTMENT.

I also have an exposed brick wall. These are the two features that sold me on this apartment, sight unseen. And let me tell you, the rest of the apartment could have been a hole and I would have still be happy to be able to do my laundry naked.

This is Lake Michigan. It’s also pretty much the view I have when I step out of my apartment. ISN’T SHE PRETTY??

Not that I do, but if I wanted to, I would have the option.

The rest of the apartment is not a hole. My mom has been begging me for pictures, which I have yet to take. They’re coming Mom, I promise. Eventually. This year. Maybe.

So, welcome. I like running. I like guacamole. I want to be a teacher. Coincidentally, that’s what I’m going to school for. I’m hoping that boys in the Midwest really are nicer than in NYC.

Here’s to a new adventure, and hopefully some nice, shiny PR’s!