Summer in the city

Such a fun weekend. Played in my first ever beach volleyball tournament this Saturday. It started early in the morning (ick) on North Avenue Beach. It was such a beautiful day, though. We got a deal where we got entry to the tournament plus all you can drink beer from 10-4. We didn't enjoy the free alcohol as much as we may have if we hadn't been trying to win. Our team was actually pretty darn good, and we made it to the second playoff round. We killed it in the first round too.

It was just an all-around wonderful day in this city that has become my home. I'm definitely not jaded yet. I was standing there on the beach taking in the view of the lake and the city and thinking how lucky I am to have this opportunity.

Chicago has gotten its hooks in me, and I don't know if it's gonna let go. It's home.

Here are some pics of the tournament.

Soldier Field 10 Miler

Writing this blog on the train on the way to visit Heather. This morning I ran the race of my life thus far. I’ve been training for weeks for my 10 mile race. Somewhere along the course of training the idea of finishing in 1 hour 30 minutes popped into my head and I began to want it bad. Of course, I said, “Oh, I’d be happy to finish in between 1 hour 30-1 hour 40,” but what I really wanted was 1:30 because that is a 9 minute per mile pace.

Reasons I was able to do this and accomplish one of my goals today:

·      0Used Hal Higdon’s intermediate training plan for a 15k and only had one off week due to sickness.

·      0This plan incorporates speedwork and tempo runs so that you get used to running at a faster pace for a longer period of time (up until today the furthest I had run at under a 9 minute pace was 5.07 miles). But thanks to these tempo runs, I knew what that pace felt like, and I knew I could handle it.

·     0 I’ve run a freaking marathon in the past so absolutely nothing feels unattainable to me now.

·     0 I used mantras and positive affirmations when the going got tough, and it did get tough.

·      0I listened to music this time. I knew there would be limited course support cheering us on so I used my music to keep myself moving.

·      0I only stopped two times briefly to walk and drink water.

·      0The weather was perfect for running—high 40s, cloudy, no wind.

·      0I was freaking determined. Ain’t nobody can stop me when I’m determined.

This race was so super fun. It starts and ends at Soldier Field. The course runs south down Lakeshore drive for almost 5 miles before turning around and heading back along the lakefront path. The finish line is on the Bears’ 50-yard-line at Soldier Field. I have to say, this was just as cool as I thought it would be. They put you up on the big screen as you finish, and I really got caught up in the excitement. I was so happy too, because my friends Shelby and Carlos (who I met through volleyball) were sitting in the stands watching me finish. They got some great pictures of me on the field too. I never have people cheering me on at my races so that was really fun.

I feel so crazy proud and ridiculously happy. I feel amazing and like a true athlete. It’s taken me a long time to get to this point but I know I am a runner, a marathoner, and an athlete. When I put my mind to something, I can accomplish it if I just work hard enough and believe in it enough. And I needed every little bit of that determination because it got HARD at the end. I had to keep pushing myself even though my body wanted me to stop.

A few stats because I can’t help bragging just a little bit. Final results according to the official website: I came in 4,314 out of over 12,000 total, 374 out of around 1400 in my age group among women, and around 1600 out of 7,000 or so women. Official time was 1:30:27 (9:03 pace).

I’ll never forget this race and will only keep pushing myself further to be everything I can be.

The good ole days and the amazing NOW

I'm addicted to my computer. So that and the fact that I have had some extra time tonight meant that I have been going on a nostalgic run through some old memories. I hooked up the external hard drive and have been reliving Philmont, some old concerts I went to, hikes I went on, and my time at Bonjour and the library. It makes me a little sad when I look back because the time has passed, but it really does make me happy too. I'm so fortunate to have had such great experiences that have all worked to lead me here to this point right now. And right now, I'm happy too. And I'm sure some day in the future I'll look back and think about this time and how great it was too. So I'm going to keep trying to make each day worth remembering.

I was out last night for my Tuesday volleyball league. It was a perfect weather night, we won 2 of 3, and I was sitting out eating, drinking, and talking, and thinking, if this isn't perfect, I don't know what is. Same thing happened to me Sunday. I was at Montrose beach playing beach volleyball for three hours. Only left because I had volunteering and church. It was just so perfect. I thought for a second, hey it sucks that they were doing this all last summer and I didn't know any of them then. But then I thought, at least I know them now.  I really do have S3 leagues to thank for a lot of my really great times here. I took the time yesterday to send a thank you email to the guy who runs the leagues to let him know what a difference he's making. Take some time in the near future and thank someone, give them a compliment you've been holding back. If someone helps you out, thank them!

Okay, lecture done. My 10 miler race is Saturday and I'm super pumped. I feel like a running rock star lately!

 library friends

Here's to 26!

I have never written a blog post when I was this excited so bear with me.  Today was the best birthday I have ever had. Let's recap as I try to control my emotions.

I got to sleep in today because classes were shortened for the last day of classes. So I mean I already won before I even woke up because I got to sleep in!
Then I went to class and I just felt so good and positive and happy. I got my free huge Starbucks drink--venti skim iced caramel macchiato with extra shot and whip--and classes were just great. I feel so proud and so good about how far I've come. Can't believe only have summer classes left before internship.

Then I went home because I had a break before systems presentations. I went running and fought through the most brutal run I've had in a long time. Terrible cold wind! My mental toughness is the only thing that kept me going.

This evening we presented our Systems projects that have been tormenting us all semester. Proud of the final result!!! And I loved looking like a hot young professional coming from her high paying job in the Loop (I wish!).

Finally it was time for Sara! My favorite artist of all time--Sara Bareilles. I hopped in a cab to make it in time and got a seat in the first row of the balcony. It was at Park West, a super intimate venue. I had a pretty sweet view. Sara is such an amazingly talented singer/songwriter. She was on tour solo because this is her Brave Enough tour, and she's showing that we have to be brave and put ourselves out there and show our true selves even though it can be the scariest thing we've ever done.

She completely mesmerized us with her voice of course and was hilarious throughout in between songs. My favorite moment was definitely Once upon another time. It was absolutely haunting. I also loved the one where we got to sing along about how "that guy's an asshole, that girl's a bitch." Check out Sweet as Whole if you're curious. After the show I of course was thinking like my good The Vampire Diaries friend, Vicky, whom I met on twitter--you only live once! Go meet her!

So it is freezing outside but I resolve myself to stay as long as it takes. I find the crowd of people shivering waiting for Sara to come out. I tweeted about freezing to death and Ana, another girl I had been tweeting, tweeted that she was out there too and we met up! I love twitter for real!
Finally Sara came out and signed autographs and took photos. I was able to tell her how much I loved her show and that it was even better because it was my birthday! She wished me Happy Birthday twice!

So I am on top of the world. I'll never forget this night or this birthday.

I run to add life to my days

I love the above quote. I do run to add days to my life too, but I love the sentiment of the way this quote is worded. Running really has added SO much to my life. And I love when other people start running too and see how much it can do for them. When I feel happy, it makes me more happy. And when I feel angry or sad, it is one of the only things that will ALWAYS improve my mood. All I have to do is think back to crossing the finish line of the marathon, and I swear I get a little jolt of endorphins.

And not saying it's easy to get out the door even now, but I'm never sorry I went for a run.

So what are you waiting for??? Go run! You can do absolutely anything you set your mind to.

The day I met the one, the only, Ian Somerhalder

This Sunday I went to the Vampire Diaries convention here in Chicago. I bought my tickets over a year ago for the convention and the chance to have a picture taken with Ian Somerhalder, the love of my life, my obsession and passion since his first appearance on LOST. My love has only grown with time as he has played my favorite character on my favorite TV show for four years now. I had been planning on going alone until I found someone on twitter asking if anyone else was going alone. We exchanged info and ended up spending Sunday at the convention together.

Vicky, (one of my new favorite people ever, thank you twitter), picked me up Sunday and we drove out to Rosemont, which is a suburb northwest of me. This was my first ever convention not for something boring or academic so I was pretty excited. I got my Ian photo ticket and then talked with Vicky and some friends she met the day before before getting in line for my photo. I waited in line next to some other really nice people who showed me their pictures from the day before (Next year I'm going both days!!!). When we got inside the room with Ian finally, my first words to the girl in front of me were, "OhmyGod, he is a real person!" When my turn came to take a picture with him, I like seriously had no idea what to do or say or think. All I could stammer out was "Hi," and "Thank you." He greeted me with, "What up woman?" He also asked me how it was going, but like I said, I seriously was not processing the fact that Ian Somerhalder was wrapping his arms around me. All my brain could do was smile. He is just as amazing looking in person as he is on tv. It was an amazingly crazy too fast experience. Like, I keep staring at the picture and cannot believe it really happened. I need more time with him next time so I can process things and actually be able to speak.

I went back upstairs to the main expo area, and we got to see Arielle Kebbel (Lexi) and Charlie Bewley (vampire hunter and Demetri from Breaking Dawn). They were pretty hilarious and put on a good show for us and answered some questions. Then we got to watch Torrey Devitto (Dr. Fell, also Melissa on Pretty Little Liars and Paul Wesley's wife) answer questions. She was super sweet.  Finally it was time for Ian and Paul's panel. They were really funny (Paul has a dry sense of humor, Ian's is more upfront). They even answered my question! I had written down the question, "If you could live in any era in history, what would it be?" They had me stand up and Ian joked around saying, "Thanks for traveling so far to see us," (because I had put on there I was from Chicago so I would know when they were reading my question, and "She's tired from running all the way here." They answered the question by Ian saying the 1920s and Paul agreeing, but also saying he thought the 60s and 70s would've been cool.

After, it was just kinda over, but we didn't really want to accept it. We contemplated airport stalking but ended up just waiting to pick up our photos. We then hung out with two really sweet girls from California at McDonald's talking about TVD. Finally, other people who understand the awesomeness that is The Vampire Diaries.

Totally awesome experience! Cannot wait for next year!

Sweet Home Chicago

I've been living here for 1.5 years now. I can't believe how time flies. I was just offered 2 intern positions--one at Niles West in Skokie, IL (just north of where I live) and one in Grand Junction, CO. Talk about a tough decision. On the one hand, all I've talked about for over a year is getting my internship out in Colorado. On the other hand, when I first started talking about that I didn't know how much I was going to love it here. I hadn't found my places yet. Or met some of the great people I now know. After my interview at Niles though, my gut feeling told me that that was the position I should accept. It seems like an amazing opportunity and challenging in a way I need. I have to continue to push myself to be the best I can be. It's easier sometimes to go the route of doing less or pushing yourself less because it's comfortable. But I didn't go into this so that I could just do paperwork and do what comes easily (i.e. report writing). I got into this so I could help kids and teenagers have better lives. And that means pushing myself further outside of my own comfort zone. So this is going to be tough, and it wasn't the original plan, but I feel that it is the right decision.