Chicago: Part two

Thanks for stopping by for the rest of the story. If you missed Part one of the trip, you can view the post here.

After a early night in, we woke up to the race day: Rock 'n Roll 1/2 Marathon.

Pre-race via the iPhone.

I did not feel nearly prepared enough for my first 1/2 marathon! But I tried to stay positive & reassure myself in the days prior to the race. My first real sense of nervous panic came while standing in my Corral waiting for kick off! It makes my stomach hurt thinking about it!

But actually, the race went great! Could I have prepared more? yes. But with what I had to work with at the time and it being my first 1/2 marathon, I felt great!

For those of you who run races, I don't know if you have felt the same way, but it was very emotional for me. I think that came from a combination of a huge sense of pride, accomplishment, and pure wearing down of my body for 13.1 miles! Because at about mile 11.5 or 12, I looked up, saw the finish line & started to cry!

Not the tear jerking kind, but more of getting choked up & teary-eyed. A mix of elation that I was almost finished & exhaustion!

With that being said, I averaged about 10 minute miles; finishing in 2:13 and was pleased with my time! :)

My mom & I post-race. Freezing & exhausted!

I was so sore after the race, and the next couple days following. I have never walked so slow!

But since we still had so much city to see, and thought it might be good for us to walk that afternoon to loosen up our legs, we hit the town :)

First up Millennium/Wrigley Park to see the bean and the fountains!

Dirty bean!

 

Next we went to the Art Institute of Chicago.

One of the highlights of the museum were the staircases with the colorful lit words, reminded me of the Light Bright! 

Do you remember those?!

The last day we went to the top of the John Hancock Observatory! What an amazing view!

If you look hard enough in the distance, just at the edge of the large green patch towards the top of the picture, you can see Wrigley Field. 

One thing we didn't get to do, but definitely on the top of the list for next trip! :)

And last but not least (and another fabulous recommendation from you!)

We went to Sugar Bliss for a delicious cupcake!

Chicago was a blast! The run was a success! And spending time with my mom was unforgetable!

Thank you again for all your fabulous recommendations! You helped make our trip very memorable :)