fun, no fun

So my friend had this amazing idea for her birthday...Pedal Pub! (In other cities it's called other things, such as in Milwaukee it's the Pedal Tavern.)  Since this was one of the options I had for my birthday I was quite curious to try it. 

Must admit...not as fun as I thought it might be.  Turns out that it is actually hard work, a.k.a. wear work out clothes if you choose to do this.  Also, the one in Chicago doesn't have it's liquor license therefore...no drinking on the Pedal Pub...which to me, means that at this point in time, it needs a new name.

Besides the fact that we worked our tails off and couldn't drink on the Pedal Pub, we did have an excellent time...but then again, that's the company I tend to keep.  By the end of the ride the majority of us had had enough to make us feel pretty loopy and one (the birthday girl) had so much that she was no longer able to pedal.

Oh yeah, and my elbows are painfully scraped up from the ride...:(  All in all...not sure I would do this again.

inspired

This past weekend I was in awe...in complete awe of the 45,000 runners from all over the world who chose Chicago as their location to run 26.2 miles (a.k.a. the Chicago Marathon).


Here are some of the most memorable parts of viewing my 6th Chicago Marathon.


*Standing at Mile 1 of the 26.2 mile race to watch...

     -the wheel chair athletes

     -the set up of the official race clock

     -the official start of the marathon with police motorcycles and pace cars

*Watching the elite runners race by mile 1 4:30 seconds after the race started.

*Cheering on my friend Thomas at 5 different beautiful Chicago locations

*Runners helping each other finish the race (check the middle of the photo...the guy in yellow is being helped by the lady in white)

*Carnival acts...juggling and costumes!

*Behind the photos of the ever popular Marathon Photo guys who happen to be at EVERY race.  Smile at mile 21!

10.10.10 was a great day!  Congratulations to all of the runners who trained for weeks and weeks and gave it their 100% best.  You have all inspired and motivated me to want to be a better person.  There were certain moments during the race where I almost teared up a little and other times in the race where I realized that I can no longer say that I can't do something.  Oh yeah...and a shout out to Thomas who raced the marathon in 3:26:and change :)

level two

Only 5 personal training sessions left and I have to say that having Veller train with me is the best decision I could have made. After getting ditched for her free personal training session I asked my trainer if she could just come with us...thinking that it would only be for a day. Within 10 minutes I realized how amazing personal training could be...as long as you are laughing the entire time. Clearing it with David first, I invited Veller to be my training buddy. Fitting since I convinced her to sign up at the gym so I could selfishly have a work out partner. Best thing I have done and all in the name of fitness.

The good thing about my workout buddy is that she is a little less experienced with some of the techniques being introduced and therefore helps me improve my techniques while correcting hers. As Veller said when asked if she would like to pay for personal training sessions no thanks, I took health class in high school. Fortunately or unfortunately working out and fitness in general has changed since that time.

She keeps me motivated...the best thing about a work out buddy. There are times during the personal training session in which I have to set the weight I am lifting down so I don't do damage to myself or anyone around because I am laughing sooo hard. That should be a prerequisite for any work out session...laughter must be involved.

At one point during a session we were in a triangle formation using our core muscles to bounce pass a large exercise ball to the next person. If we all passed at the same speed at the same time the exercise would have worked. We must have started speeding up before Veller got the hang of it because numerous times she would have all of the exercise balls in her corner of the room. In her I'm about to give up on the world voice she insisted this sucks! It's like I'm in a video game on level two when I haven't passed level one.

Isn't that the truth...