Doing It Right in Chicago! (TWSS)

Highest of Highs to the Lowest of Lows

Bobbi & I, Friday night, in CHICAGO!

I could be talking about:

Baseball Playoffs

Nursing School

Chicago Marathon

Any Marathon, for that matter

My weekend away in Chicago that involved a police officer & background check?

Chicago Chicago Chicago.  

The energy pulsed through me from the moment our plane took off from good old RVA.

It was a weekend that was all about counting down to the Moment when The Good Dr went out and proved to himself what I already knew:  One can execute a race to perfection if one FOLLOWS THE PLAN.

The Good Dr's plan, every single training run, was to start slow, and ease into a solid pace, and bring it/hold it for the last miles of the run.

I know following a plan to perfection can be done (Rehoboth Marathon, Frostbite 15K). To do it, a runner just needs to combine mental strength and stamina – both things he has, cos’, ya know, he’s a marathoner and all.... uh...

I digress.

The Good Dr and I met up with Zeroto26point2 Bobbi and her Husband on Friday night for dinner when they were kind enough to pick us up from the Airport. Best.Dinner.Company.Ever.

Ever had that moment when you just fall into a connection, and the conversation flows, and the beer flows, and the dinner is delicious, and the city is beautiful and raw and amazing all at once? Chicago Chicago Chicago...

The next day we were

Tourists played by the part of a Nursing Student and a Pre-race Day Marathoner.

Thus, we did some exploring, we took cabs, expo, rode the freaking best Ferris Wheel EVER, we found delicious food, and we visited with our friends who had travelled with us from RVA to run the marathon also.

We also had to hang out for a few hours back at the hotel while I dug deep into my studies, as I had a Mid-Term Exam worth 30% of my grade in one of my classes on Monday at 5pm.

Of course, a smart person would have maybe skipped the trip all together... but if that’s the criteria for smart, well then, I’m not smart.

I wouldn’t miss The Good Dr’s Chicago experience for ANYTHING.

SO I decided I just HAD to study on the trip and get a good grade despite my travels.

Moving on to Sunday morning.

Bobbi showed up, a little unexpectedly, to spectate the race with me. It was Epic. Wonderful. Amazing. Super Fun.

We were freaking BRILLIANT.

We decided the caption of the day was, “Doing it Right”, as we navigated the course, the train system, held a sign until our arms were shaking, and screamed and screamed and screamed our support for every single runner we saw running Chicago Marathon.  Chicago Chicago Chicago...

I heard a lot of runners say, “Best sign EVER!” as they ran by, and I pretty much agreed... which is why I chose to grace the side of Chicago with some words to live by, per Q.

Maybe some of you all saw the article in the Chicago newspapers and carried by the big networks that The Chicago Marathon was threatening to arrest Bandit Runners as a security risk... that kinda put a crimp in jumping in and running with any of the 8 or so people I knew running the race on Sunday.

Doing it RIGHT on the Train
(TWSS)

But Crimps don’t usually stop me, and I won’t say I did jump in and run, but I won’t say I didn’t. 

Let’s just say it was a great day.

The Good Dr’s race went down to perfection, negative splits on an amazingly congested course brought him in with :50somewthing seconds to spare on his goal and earned him a nice PR.

We celebrated with beer, and hugs, and beer, and a power bar, and beer, and burgers, and ... yeah, I realized at some point during the day that I drank a lot more beer than water this weekend...

The Good Dr, with me and a beer, after running
Negative Splits(!!!) at Chicago Marathon.
HE ROCKS!

Anyway, after we’d sobered up, we checked out of our hotel to make our way back to RVA via O’Hare. We had a nice direct flight, we’d be in at a decent hour, there would be ample time to study before bed, and in the morning I could even sleep in a little and study some more.

Oh well... you know what they say about the best-laid plans?

We rode the train from the city out to the airport, and it was crowded.  We disembarked and my phone suddenly started going a bit crazy with Text Messages and incoming calls from unfamiliar numbers.

And this is where we hit a stumbling block that brought me down to the lowest point I’ve ever been at while in an airport.

It was my bank, notifying me of suspicious activity on my Debit Card, and I opened my purse, which was oddly not snapped any more... to discover that my wallet was gone.

My ID was in that wallet.

Anyone here have any idea how to get through airport security without a wallet?

Yeah, well... I didn’t either, but fortunately for me there’s a process to make it happen, but it takes a freakishly long time and involves cops and high level TSA folks, a complete body scan, a luggage search to the nth degree, and... yeah, I think that covers it.

The Body Scan was the standard scan... you know, the one they assure you that isn’t invasive at all?

Well do you know what I figured out? It is looking for objects in your pockets, but it is also detecting heat in your body.  After my cough run cough, my right medial ankle was a bit sore.

And it lit up on the scanner as a point of interest.

As did my Va-Jay-Jay.

Um. 

WTF? 

Yeah, well, apparently I have a hot desire to change the subject here before I offend half of my readership.

The Good Dr was amazing, and as cool as I was ~ahem~ hot, and handled everything as it came to us... we missed our flight, flew standby on the next flight – which was delayed, and were home at a ridiculously LATE, er early hour on Monday morning

But it all worked out.

It was an adventure that is worth reliving in it’s best and worst moments, because even at my lowest point, I found myself laughing with the TSA guys, teasing the Body Scanning/Pat down folks about my ~ahem~ hotness, and spending time with one of my truly favorite people to spend time with...

And honestly, could life be any better if you’re laughing?

I think not.

Congrats to The Good Dr, and all the other’s who dominated Chicago Marathon one way or another.

(Oh by the way, I did a little better than OK on the Mid Term. i.e. I’m pleased)