Monday, June 27, 2011

June 23, 2012

This is a long overdue post...

June 23, 2012 is the day my family is going to grow by one. During the 6th race of the Kentucky Derby, my little brother put on his serious face and asked his then girlfriend to marry him. She of course said yes between many hugs and kisses. I felt very special to be a witness and the boy took many fabulous pictures.

Given that my family loves any excuse to celebrate, mom quickly took the weekend the BF and I picked to go home as the perfect date for an engagement party. I met the the soon-to-be in-laws. Funny enough, most of them have names that start with J (including my brother's fiancee). One of the mother's sisters prided herself on marrying someone without a name that started with J and she has subsequently added other letters to the beginning of her children's names.

I saw friends of my brother's that might as well be brothers to me. It amazes me how time flies. One of them actually gave my brother an engagement photo which was a photo of the two of them as kids. I'm guessing elementary school and my brother, pricelessly, had a shirt on that said his childhood name (think, Jimmy as a kid, Jim as an adult). Makes me think I should go digging through my old photos as a long time friend of mine from middle school also ties the knot on June 23, 2012 (and unfortunately, I had to decline the invite to be a bridesmaid).

I'm constantly amazed how fast time flies. It's hard to think that soon enough I will cross the big 3-0. Sometimes I still feel like a kid, but then I realize I'm not. I have plenty of friends that are married and have kids of their own. Meanwhile, my little brother is growing up and getting married. WOW. Congrats NBH! I love you.

Race to Taste

I wanted more than anything to turn off the alarm on Sunday morning and go back to sleep. Instead, I forced myself out of bed and out of the house by 8a. The boy and I had signed up for the Humana Race to Taste 5K. It's been a while since I've competed in a race, if you can really call running a 5K for no reason competing.

Since my move to Chicago in February, I've been a slave to the gym, in a very good way. Over the years, the gym and I have been on everything from fantastic terms, seeing each other almost daily, to long hiatuses, often due to the fact that I've injured myself. Recently, I've taken up Pilates. Not only am I attending the free mat classes, but I've also paid for a group apparatus class. Likely the first time I've paid for any trainer related activity at the gym.

Outside of the gym, I've found a couple of soccer teams. While the rules aren't as strange as those in Atlanta or Louisville, I do miss the full 90 minute games that I played in San Francisco. My teammates likely think I'm insane when a team asks if I'd like to play again and I excitingly say YES! I even sometimes eye the teams before taking off my stuff.

With all the activity going on, I'd say I'm back in good shape. However, it was Sunday that put it in perspective. The morning was perfect for a run and the loop couldn't have been better - Millenium Park past Solider Field and back along the lake. BF paced me for most the race, which both confused and motivated me to keep my pace. We passed the first mile at 7:15, a little faster than I would like. The second mile disappeared after 15 minutes. And I kept waiting to see the third mile marker. To no avail, I soon saw the turn and the last dash to the finish started. I crossed the line at 23:59 (7:43 mile pace). Not bad given that these days I may run 3 miles, but only with a combination of a mile warm up and 8 quarter mile sprints.

The race felt good! In addition, by 10a, I felt like I had accomplished a lot. We took the couple mile walk home to enjoy the weather and let our bodies relax. Plus, who can say no to a walk through the (free) Lincoln Park zoo? I just wanted to say hi to the big kitty cat (aka Leopard).

Chicago is definitely an amazing place during the summer!