Weekend Reflections

This weekend had it's great parts and it had it's rough parts. 

Great:

PRing at the Susan G Komen 10K (final time - 52:15 and I was 12th out of 107 women in my age division!!!)

Hanging out with Molly and watching  half of Parent Trap and Erin Brockovich on TV (yes, a REAL TV)

Trying out Peeled (see below)

Finishing reading Sarah's Key and starting Catching Fire!!!!

Getting to see Molly's beautiful face ALL THE TIME

Knowing I only have a 3-day week coming up!

Rough:

Letting my anxiety get the better of me

Cleaning up pee... all the time

Dragging Molly along on walks (it takes 50 min to go a mile...)

Anxiety-eating! (when I'm anxious, I eat)

Still not managing to clean Neville's bowl... poor fish. 

Leaving my Environmental Law and Policy book at school... oops. 

Ok, so most of the "rough" stuff was completely my fault. I allowed myself to get caught up in my anxiety, worrying about how I'm going to get everything done and what time I should do what, and in what order. Does anyone else do this?? I've been so good about it so far this semester, but this weekend I just let it overwhelm me! I worry too much... working on this (will take tips...). Hopefully tomorrow I can take a deep breath, know that I have everything under control, and just focus on the moment rather than everything else I have to do! 

So I mentioned one of the cool things that happened was that I FINALLY got to go try out Peeled! It's the only juice bar I've found in Chicago, right by the Whole Foods that I like to go to. I keep meaning to go in, and finally I made a plan to go get a drink and do a little reading! 

Life Support – A bloody brilliant synergy of minerals and vitamins, including green leaf, carrot, apple, beet, lemon and ginger

I actually meant to order the one above it... But it turned out really good! I ordered a juice, but they also make smoothies and they have a detox program where you can do a certain number of days only drinking juices that they prepare for you each day.

It was cool though to watch them make it right there. The girl in line after me ordered a drink that was hot pink; literally NEON hot pink! Very cool.

You know what else is cool? Molly. Most of my weekend involved this:

With way too much of this:

And this, which I wish I was looking at right now! Okay, okay, so she drove me crazy. But now I miss her! She's just too adorable! On our walk after dinner, she was on her best behavior, and it was so sweet to watch a little girl on a tricycle get so excited to pet her! 

Here's a picture from the night H&L brought her home (H&L = my brother and sister-in-law; much easier to type). She's grown so much! 

 Anyone in your life that you just can't stay mad at for long? Is anyone else a control-freak like me and gets anxious when you get thrown out of your routine? Haha, okay, that's just me.

Susan G. Komen 10K Race Recap

This morning I ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 10K in Chicago! I ran this same race last year, and it was my first race ever! Although I had made my goal of under an hour, it was a rough race for me last year - I don't think I was completely prepared!

One thing that I love about the race is that it's in downtown Chicago, with the start and finish in Grant Park! So cool to run with the city on side, and the beautiful lake on the other!

The race had about 10,000 participants, so there was quite a crowd! It didn't feel like it though running, I think most people were doing the 5K or the walk, or just supporting everyone! Since it's for breast cancer research, there were a lot of people there just to be a part of the event and raise money. I couldn't help but grin when I saw the Port-A-Potties! 

I ran the race with my cousin Allie. She's quite the runner, with half and full marathons under her belt! It was great to have someone there with me, especially since I was pretty nervous! It was very cold and after staying at my brother's and having to take care of Molly in the morning, I was a little thrown off my normal pre-run mind-set. I was just glad it wasn't raining before the race started, that held off until about mile 4! 

Like her shirt? She told me she wore that when she ran New York so her parents could find her! Apparently she wasn't the only one with that idea... The grassy area in Grant Park, where all the tents were set up, got very muddy because of the rain! While attempting to get all my food swag (don't even pretend you don't do this too), my shoes got very muddy! 

But I managed to get away with 2 bananas, wheat thins, string cheese, some kind of jello thing, 2 bags and half a bagel! Haha, I told Allie I wouldn't have to go to the grocery store today! 

I had to run back to my brother's to let Molly out and grab my stuff, and then I headed straight home to shower and warm up! I was so cold after my shower that I was walking around with a scarf and TWO sweatshirts on! 

I headed back to see Molly and after feeding her lunch, we went on a nice long walk! She kept trying to eat goose poop, so I had to pull her away. After quite a bit of this she finally sat down and pouted at me. Come on Molly, it's for your own good! 

But no worries, she found a great stick instead! She also made plenty of friends; people always love to stop and pet her and she loves the attention! Now it's time for Molly and I to have a relaxing afternoon... with a little reading for school thrown in. 

Oh I almost forgot, I finished the race in under 53 minutes! I'm not sure of my actual time, but that's definitely a personal record! I was really pumped about it! Races definitely make me push myself a lot harder, especially this one because there was a long narrow area where it was hard to pass, so I kept sprinting around people whenever I could! 

Do you ever get freaked out when you're about to run a race? Or any other activity that you've been preparing for? 

Susan G. Komen 5K Race for the Cure

Guess what I did this morning? Ran a 5K with my dad! Yesterday I was watching the news while working out and I saw the the Kansas City Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure was the next morning! When I got home, I asked my dad if he was interested and he said, "Will you do it if I do it?" and I said, "Of course!". So I got us registered and we headed out there this morning!

There were about 30,000 participants in the race and it sure felt like it! The whole place was packed! After finding a parking spot we made our way to the start, stretched out, and got ready for the run!

My goal was to make it in under 25 minutes, which I was very nervous about because 1) I've never run 3 miles that fast and 2) I knew this route was bound to be much hillier than anywhere in Chicago. And let me tell you, it sure was! The entire course was uphill or downhill, very little flat running space!

I pushed through it (wishing I hadn't eaten that piece of bread with almond butter and some banana slices before we left) and finally made it to the end! Although I thought I was going to throw up, I managed to make it there in just under 25 minutes! (I clocked it at 24:54, but we'll see when the official times come out!).

I was actually even more proud of my dad's time than my own time! My dad typically has a running theory that involves running when it's flat or downhill and walking when it's uphill. However, his goal was to run the whole way and he finished in about 30:40!!! I couldn't believe it! He ran almost the entire time and is definitely in great shape for his upcoming hiking trip to Colorado.

After the race we walked around and got some S.W.A.G. but there wasn't too much. The race area was in front of Union Station, which is the old train station in Kansas City. It still functions as a train station, but also has some great features like an interactive museum called Science City! (I had my birthday party there once, I thought it was so cool!).

We walked back through the station as we left since we had parked underneath. Definitely a great morning with my Dad!

Post-Race Breakfast:

1/2 Cup of Raisin Bran Cereal with almond milk...

And 9 tablespoons of Trader Joe's egg whites with some fresh strawberries and blueberries! Delicious!

Now, what to do with myself today?

Anyone else have fun plans for Sunday?