Purvi and Christie's Day of FUN!

Today just epitomized a typical summertime Chi kinda day. I'm sure you people are getting sick of how much I advertise this city (summertime or not), but I can't help it. Chicago (ESPECIALLY in the summertime) has got to be one of the most utopian places on Earth in the continental United States.

This weekend was no exception - it finally actually FELT like summertime for the first time in ages. I never thought I'd be so grateful for heat and humidity but MAN! If this is what it takes for it to actually feel like summer in the city... well, bring it ON.

I was actually expecting to be fairly useless today, given how unproductive my morning was shaping out to be. I mean, I'd arisen at my usual ungodly early hour (for a weekend) but... well, apparently, I can no longer expect to be a fully functional individual after a night filled with... well, wine. Lesson learned.

Oh well, after a couple of hours of napping, I was FINALLY ready to start my day anew... and it was only 11 AM! To be honest, I didn't have all too many monumental events lined up for the day, but I DID know I wanted to hit up my neighborhood Lululemon store for some goodies. Actually, let me back up for a second.

So let me be clear - before last weekend, I had never set foot in a Lululemon store despite being surrounded by Lululemon gear every which way I turned (hello, I live in Lincoln Park). Anyway, everyone I know who shops there has nothing but rave reviews... but it simply never peaked my interest. It's only been over recent weeks that my intrigue for this magical land we call Lululemon escalated, primarily based on the rave reviews my work teammates were giving it. I decided to finally bite the bullet last weekend and... well, at least enter the store to see what all the fuss was about.

Turns out. There's a reason for all the fuss. I ended up buying a pair of yoga pants from there last weekend and... well, I've pretty much lived in them all week long. They have got to be the most comfortable things I've ever experienced and... GOD! Not to be completely superficial, but they are just so... darn beautiful.

After texting my friend, Purvi, about my plans to go to Lululemon again this weekend to purchase a second pair of... yes, the exact same pants (this is how much the love developed over the course of one week)... she ended up calling back with her plans for the day and... well, one thing led to another which led to...

Purvi and Christie's Day of FUN! (See below video if you don't get the reference right off the bat.)



The day started off as any day can... and as any day SHOULD, really.

After that necessary pit stop, I headed south to meet Purvi at stop #1 of our Day of Fun: the Harold Washington Library. I consider Purvi to be one of those people who has seen and done pretty much anything. So when I recently learned that she had never set foot in the Harold Washington Library NOR did she own a Chicago Public Library card... well, to say I was shocked is an understatement. (I'm only saying this because I know how much reading this girl has done in the past.)

Most of you who know me know what a fan of libraries I am. The Harold Washington Library is absolutely no exception. And being able to see someone officially get their first Chicago Public Library card...?!

Happy, happy, happiness!

After touring this grandiose library's hallowed halls (seriously, it's like a museum), we continued our Day of Fun with a quick pit stop at Purvi's apartment to try on some dresses (her) and pick up a book (me).

Can I just share - I love visiting Purvi's apartment. Among other things:

1) She keeps me hydrated (a feat in and of itself, given that whole aversion to water thing)...

2) Her bookshelf keeps me occupied for hours (okay, slight exagg) on end. But honestly, isn't it one of the most beautiful things you've ever seen?

3) ... And she has no problems lending me books that I don't have on my own bookshelf in Chicago! (Not the first time I've borrowed a book from her, mind you...)

The little things in life, really. Anyway, after hanging out at her place for a bit, we moved from the literary component of our Sunday to... well, the more superficial component of the day.

Next stop: Lululemon. I had to get those pants!

Well... let's just say I got a bit carried away. I had a feeling this was going to happen because... well, how people are supposed to exercise any form of self-restraint when they see all kinds of beautiful colors right before their very eyes is a bit unclear to me.

And it's me! I'm not a shopper by any means. But... I simply do NOT know what happened inside those hallowed walls of Lululemon today. A girl possessed, if you will...

(I'm sure that lady in the back mirror really loved me causing a spectacle by taking this picture.)

But back to the point... yes, my friends. I did indeed try on every single beautiful item that is splayed out on that table. And God, was it glorious. I honestly don't know what came over me. Eh, oh well. No sense dwelling on that because... quite frankly, because today turned out to be one of the happiest (shopping) days of my life! Hahah! So I may be embellishing just a touch...

Okay, to be fair, I didn't walk out the STORE with all of those things I tried on - I mean, I'm not CRA-zy (others may beg to differ but I stand firm). Just... well, just a handful of... necessities, I guess you could call them. :)

I know, right?! I can't stop staring at my bag o' STUFF! Pure. Unadulterated. Beauty. If you will.

Hmm... come to think, I guess now may be a good time to actually start thinking about dabbling in this whole "exercise thing", huh? I mean, I have the whole "costuming" thing down, apparently. Eh, let's not get carried away here. ;)

In any event! After THAT oddly high on life experience, Purvi and I made a slight pit stop for some serious sugar (yes, this is how we do up fro yo)...

Before heading to our final stop of the day: Fleet Feet.

Another happy spot of mine (I love the staff here!!).

After Purvi finished her own little shopping spree of inserts (practicality can be glamorous, right? :)), we finally decided to part ways.

All in all, such a sweet (albeit somewhat superficial) success of a Day of Fun, if you will.

Til next time...

My First 5K!

That's right, ladies and gents! Today, I completed my very first 5K! I signed up for the Fleet Feet Women's 5K race about a month ago, primarily because my half-marathon training schedule me to do so. And you KNOW whatever that training schedule says, I will FOLLOW!

Needless to say, I was not the ideal 5K'er this morning. It all started with my bad decision to stay out till about 1 AM, despite fully knowing that I had a 6 AM wakeup call this morning. Come 6 AM, my alarm went off, and I... well, just groaned, turned my alarm off, and continued to lay in bed, seriously contemplating just skipping the race.

Sure, I was tired, but I think what was mostly contributing to this lack of motivation was the knowledge that it was going to be one scorcher of a day. To say I'm a wimp in heat is pretty much one of the bigger understatements one can make.

Sigh. After about three minutes, I just forced myself outta bed and focused on getting ready... my brand new race shirt certainly helped matters along, not going to lie! :) Yess!

Since I was having some trouble waking up and/or thinking positive thoughts prior to the race, I unfortunately did not snap a single "before-race" picture. Sad, I know.

I have to say, though. Fleet Feet knows how to make a race FUN!

We started with some pre-race stretching, sponsored by Accelerated Rehab. I'm not going to lie... this pre-race stretching was kind of like a workout in and of itself. Let's just say I was DRIPPING with sweat by the end of it... and I still had the race to run! The 90+ degree weather at like 7:15 AM was certainly NOT helping matters.

Shortly after the pre-race stretching (read: workOUT)... we were all corralled together to get ready for the big race! The theme of the pep talks being given in the last ten minutes? Hydration, hydration, hydration!

But you know me and my feelings about water. I hate to say it, but I decided to kind of turn a deaf ear to all those pieces of advice (being blared from every megaphone available).

But soon enough, off we went! I'm very open about how I'm not a fast runner by any stretch of the imagination. My primary goal with any race is to just FINISH it running. Therefore, I was perfectly content positioning myself around the 10:30 pace section, since I'd been pacing at around a 10/10:30 minute mile during my other runs.

And imagine that. Mile 1 went by just like that! I was feeling just fine and dandy, despite my worries about still being sore from my five mile run (!! I know, right?!) on Friday. I felt like I could go on all day long.

But then Mile 2 hit. And hit HARD. I swear, that sunshine was beaming brighter than ever and the shady parts of the path had gotten to be quite few and far between.

I'm not kidding, I felt like death was coming a'knocking.

Okay, maybe I just felt like the heat and beaming sunshine was significantly slowing me down, but whatever. You get the idea. I ended up feeling better about halfway through Mile 2, primarily because I was just thinking "Alright, the faster you pick up the pace, the sooner you'll be done with this DAMN RACE".

Talk about real healthy, positively reinforcing, completely non-abusive thoughts. Oh well. I tried.

Just as I was mentally reconsidering why I'd EVER touted the glories of "sunshiney goodness" (GOD, that sun is INSANE today), sweet Jesus, would you look at that?

I did it! I did it! I finished the race, running! Huzzah!!

Sigh. Don't I look so genuinely happy and refreshed... and not totally ready to keel over from heat stroke? HA. In my DEFENSE, this picture was taken like RIGHT after I finished, when I was still trying to figure out whether my body was going to let me live or die by this point.

It was kind of funny because I hadn't taken advantage of any of the hydration stations Fleet Feet had set up (God bless Fleet Feet- they SO know how to take care of their runners), despite all that hydration encouragement to which I'd turned my deaf ear (hey! I told you at the beginning I wasn't the ideal 5K'er this morning!). However, I ended up snagging a bottle of water that was being handed out at the finish line.

But I got quickly distracted because...

Weeee! There were those Gatorade people, handing out little cupfuls of Gatorade deliciousness. Before I even THOUGHT about opening up that bottle of water, I JETTED on over to the Gatorade guy, snagged a cup of Gatorade deliciousness and pretty much took it like one would take a shot of vodka. I guess I was thirstier than I thought. Whoops.

But man! Talk about a parTAY after the race finish! There were all KINDS of goodies and tents set up for individuals to peruse at leisure. Of course, I first made myself at home at the Luna tent... free samples? Hello.

Next, I decided to get my knee all checked out (it's been pretty swollen the past few days) with a free injury screening at the Accelerated Rehab tent.

After getting myself armed with a sports doctor referral, I decided to make myself right at home at the Moji tent. Before this race, I hadn't really known what Moji was, but BOY, am I glad that I found this tent. Moji is like this special type of icepack which, quite frankly, is heaven. ESPECIALLY in the 90+ degree weather. You basically can get icepacks strapped to you, and it's SO much more flexible than a standard icepack. Anyway, you KNOW it took me no time at all to get myself all nicely situated and start icing my knee.

Very ladylike, I know.

I ended up staying for a little bit longer, checking out the New Balance fashion show, partaking in some post-race stretching, and staying for part of the awards show (umm! The fastest runner had like a 5:53 PACE?!?!? WTF?!). What can I say? Once the race was actually over, I was totally all ABOUT it! Haha.

All in all, a success! Granted, my time was slower than I would have hoped, but I was happy to have just finished this darn thing, given this ridiculous heat wave nonsense.

And the best part? I totally have my day's workout all over and done with by about 10 AM! FAN-tastic! Now I can finally focus on the REAL priorities for today... celebrating National Ice Cream Day! Yessss!

At Least I'll Be All Pimped Out for my Half Marathon...

i dont know why im doing this to myself again. after last year's failed attempt to train for the Chicago Half Marathon, i vowed never again to attempt this whole running thing... i didnt enjoy it, i was in unnecessary pain and i am NOT a natural runner. how people can just pick up and run five miles after not having run in months is beyond any remote realm of understanding.

but then i added it to my bucket list (like how im tying together my blog posts here...?). and well, hello. if it's on the bucket list, it MUST get done. right? right. therefore, i made a resolute decision to attempt this yet again... but i am proud to say that i have learned from my mistakes and am approaching this year's half marathon training with enhanced positivity and enhanced attention to my physical limitations.

so last year, when i started training, i was happy enough to have gotten up to about 6.75 miles before flat-out quitting. but i was in some SERIOUS pain... my wide feet's pinky toes were encountering some SERIOUS blistering- blistering that was unusual for the mileage i was running, apparently (advice c/o some runner friends that i had, not medical professionals). soo, learning from my mistakes and all that... i decided to really take that into consideration before starting some intensive training...

so, off to Fleet Feet i went. i'd heard amazing things about how Fleet Feet will fit your feet to shoes that meet your needs (ie: based on running stance, etc.) and so i figured i might as well give it a shot...

and OMG, Fleet Feet SO DOES NOT FAIL TO IMPRESS!! i felt so well-EDUCATED after getting fitted for some shoes. for instance, did you know that you're supposed to go a shoe size or two bigger than your normal size because your feet expand when they are warm (ie: when you are running extensively)?? call me ignorant, but this was like the biggest revelation EVER!

not only that, but the Fleet Feet lady totally watched me run on a treadmill and was able to determine "how" my feet were hitting the ground, because i guess a lot of people run more on the insides or outsides of their feet (pronation or something?)... thankfully, i was pretty "neutral" according to her.

with all this scientific examination, the Fleet Feet lady brought out three different types of shoes, all with wider tips, thanks to my unnecessary pinky toe blistering experience... after a few more test runs, i finally settled on some Pumas... i guess it helps that i have a soft spot in my heart for Pumas anyway, but whatever.

unfortunately, Pumas come in some pretty outrageous colors (i know, i know, i shouldn't be seriously considering colors when determining "proper" running shoes)... and sadly, i had a choice between a dark purple or a hot pink. and... please, if you really think im going for hot pink, you are so mistaken it's not even funny. so check out my snazzy new purple shoes!! im a little embarassed by how outrageously purple they are but oh well. all in the name of medical necessity, i guess.


alright, so shoes... done. i was all set to march on outta Fleet Feet with my purchase in hand... but then, the Fleet Feet lady started talking about how my feet could probably use a little more support c/o some inserts that they can fit in the shoe... and, well, i forget all her selling points but, long story short... well, it's all in the name of medical necessity right? the last thing i want is to dislocate/sprain my knee AGAIN this year , so i went ahead and totally added these ridiculous neon green inserts to my little purchase pile.








again... i was all proud of my purchases, totally experiencing renewed motivation for my half marathon training... when the Fleet Feet lady totally commented on how the socks i was wearing (cotton socks) are so not good for running feet because they'll absorb sweat and cause blistering (i mean, im telling you- total education session for me!) so... well, okay, so i tacked on a couple of pairs of new non-cotton running socks.



well, WHAT? i dont know! any/all of these purchases could be the maker or breaker for completing my half marathon! hello! and this year, nothing is getting in my way... short of my knee blowing out again...





which leads me to yet another instance of Fleet Feet's amazingness... did you KNOW that every first monday of the month, they have a free physical examination to check out any potential concerns you may have?? and talk about perfect TIMING... you better believe i totally signed myself on up for my free exam last night! at this point... why not, really?

and huzzah!! i got the seal of approval from this physiologist (or whatever they are)! her only advice was that if it starts hurting, just go a little easy on it... which i guess could be construed as common sense but whatever, better safe than sorry at this point.

so, with renewed comfort and appreciation for the art of running... i totes started my half marathon training this week! hip hip hooray! i love training plans that start with a day of "rest"... hahahaha. my kinda PLAN, baby!




but that was yesterday. TODAY, i totally ran for the first time in like seven months and ran 1.5 miles without TOO much difficulty... granted it was so embarassingly slow im not even going to go into the details but STILL. 1.5 miles!! i was pumped!! (and yes, don't laugh but you saw right... i totally have to start with a 5K training plan since the half marathon training plans assumes you can run 3 miles "comfortably"... and i don't think "comfortably" equates to "experiencing heart palpitations and shortness of breath".)

i know, i know... but small victories, right? rome wasn't built in a day and all that, after all...