Epic, Amazing Summer

• Oh man! I cannot believe how long it has been since I've written on here. Things have been so crazy and busy and awesome and amazing that I haven't found the time to write. This summer was absolutely one of the best of my life. Every day there was soething new and exciting to do--dancing, beach volleyball (lots and lots of beach volleyball), festivals, concerts, parties, baseball games, I could go on and on. I'll try to just quickly hit a few highlights. There's just too much to go into detail. Here we go:
• Volleyball tournaments at North Avenue--I did three of these. They were absolutely some of the best days ever. You lose all track of time. You play matches and you lie around on the beach taking in the sun and talking. We went into the second round of the playoffs twice, and last time, we got second place overall in coed sixes rec. 
• Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon--I trained hard for this race. Followed an intermediate plan and it paid off. The race was in July and I met my goal time of coming in under 2 hours 30 minutes by coming in around 1 hr 59 minutes. It was absolutely one of the most difficult things I have ever done but completely worthwhile and amazing. Showed me my strength.
• Dancing at Crocodile--met up with some of my old teammates to go dancing at this bar I really love. We had the best time catching up, laughing, and dancing. Perfection. 
• Blackhawks Stanley Cup Champions--Watched some of the playoffs and the championship games at bars and had a great time seeing what winning can do to a city. The parade made me psyched for when the Royals finally win it all.
• 4th of July--My friend Shelby hosted a party at her house for the 4th. It was such a good time. I met all kinds of amazing people and hopefully started a new tradition.
• Wind down Wednesday--Went on a boat ride and listened to music at Navy Pier with some friends. Stayed out dancing and watched the fireworks. 
• Concert in park and picnic--Finally got to have a picnic at the Grant Park Music Festival with friends and it was every bit as fun as I knew it would be! 
• Brunch--I organized a brunch get-together with some of my friends who also invited some of their friends. Again, got to meet some amazing new people and had a wonderful time.
• Wine and Painting--I also organized a wine and painting night after buying a groupon. It was so fun getting a bunch of friends together who only knew each other though me. It also made me realize how much I've been missing crafting by being so busy!
• Great Urban Race--Sara, Justin, and Justin's friend Darnell, and I did the GUR, which was an absolute blast. You race around the city in a giant scavenger hunt. Can't wait to do it again this month with crazier challenges.
• I climbed another mountain!--Sara and I summited Gray's Peak in Colorado--our third 14er. So proud.

 Half Marathon

 Wind Down Wedneday (Meghan and me)

Abeer and me at Blackhawks Victory Parade

New friend, Beck, who  I met for the second time at 4th of July Party

 Shelby's epic 4th of July Party

Dora and the Explorers Team dancing at Crocodile

Abeer, Meghan, and me at a volleyball tournament

Brunch!

Beck, Shelby, Meghan, and me at Wind Down Wednesday

Life is only as good as the memories we make

This weekend was incredible.
Friday was the Blackhawks victory parade. It was insane. Seemed like most of the city skipped out on work to watch the players ride by holding the Stanley Cup. It was a really cool experience and made me long for the Royals to win even more. That night we won our bracket in the volleyball playoffs!

Saturday I went for my long run of the week and I had to tough it out this time. Then we tried to play beach volleyball and practice for our tournament in two weeks. The wind was insane though and blew the ball all over the place. It was like 65 degrees too so not exactly beach weather. Then that evening I did a trolley tour to various bars to try different craft beers with some volleyball teammates. It was a ton of fun.

Today I slept in and didn't feel like I could handle all the noise and chaos of the parade so I just hung out in my apartment until yoga. Then I went to Summerfest on Southport to hang with some friends and listen to this awesome 80s band called The Wedding Band.

Awesome weekend. Just gotta make it through a tough Monday and then I can have another amazing week!

Hawks win!

What an epic night.

I have never had a team win anything before or even come close, and tonight my adopted team now that I'm a Chicagoan, won the Stanley Cup!!!!
I went to watch the game with my friend, Abeer, at a bar in Lakeview. We had a complete blast. Hawks were down 2-1 with 3 minutes left and then scored and then scored again. Pretty much all hell broke lose, beer was thrown in the air, and I have never been so excited in my life. Good thing I didn't wait until the Royals won to celebrate like this. By the time they win it all I'll break a hip celebrating because I'll be 100 years old.

What an epic experience and an epic night. Hope I can go to the victory parade.

Chicago, I freaking love you.
Go Hawks!

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.