Chicago Trip

A mostly non running update with lots of pictures. We went on a short family vacation to Chicago. My parents went with us so that was fun. The weather was great. It was easily 20 degrees cooler there. I felt like I could actually breathe again. We still have the stifling heat here, it has been 100 degrees without the heat index. Ugh. So I was happy to be enjoying the breeze from Lake Michigan.

After we got there late afternoon on Monday, We walked down Michigan Ave and over to the beach. The kids got to play in the sand for awhile. We watched the triathletes in there wetsuits doing an open water swim.



I got up early Tuesday and ran from the hotel, down to the Chicago Riverwalk which led to the Lake Shore Trail. I only covered about 3 miles but I figured the kids would be up, which they were.



We started out early for the Shedd Aquarium. The kids had a great time.


We did everything we could possibly do before leaving mid afternoon and taking a water taxi to Navy Pier. We had some Ben and Jerry's before heading back for a quick rest before dinner. We had some Chicago style pizza. I had some spinach and broccoli, while the family had sausage. My 4 year old did not like the "brown" stuff(the sausage) and picked it off, you can see in this picture. The baby however, loved it.


Wednesday we headed to Millennium Park where they had free music,crafts and activities for the kids.


My kids were a little worn out this day and not so into it. It also started raining so we had to regroup before we decided to head back toward Navy Pier. I was going to take them to the Children's Museum there but by time we got there it was time for lunch, then my 4 year old wanted to do the ferris wheel. We decided to start her on the smaller rides, the carrousel and the lighthouse.


The lighthouse one cured her of wanting to do the ferris wheel and we headed over for some more beach time. This time the kids got there feet wet before we headed back. I should mention we had a stroller and an Ergo carrier so we let the 4 year old walk as much as she could and when she got too tired we either put her in the stroller or on Grandpa's shoulders and I carried the baby in the Ergo.

We ended Wednesday with dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. The kids enjoyed that very much and I had a veggie burger with guacamole and a beer so I have no complaints. We even had time to stop at the Sports Authority where I used a coupon and got a hat(free). Yay for awesome coupons!

On Thursday, it was time to head home but on the way back we stopped at Starved Rock State Park for a short hike and a picnic lunch. Did I mention there was a Trader Joe's a half block from our hotel? My four year old seemed to really enjoy leading the group and we wore her out so she slept almost the whole way home. The baby was a little more difficult. Lets's just say it was a long drive.




My little hiking partner.

On a running note, I got a 6 mile run done on the treadmill at the y. I was avoiding the heat:)

What We Are Eating- Lunch

I was reading on Lil' Runner that she was looking for vegetarian lunch ideas for the kids, other than peanut butter.  My 4 year old doesn't like peanut butter *gasp* so I felt inspired to post what I give my kids for lunch.  I have been a vegetarian for 19 years. I generally give them a serving of dairy or protein,fruit and/or veggie for lunch depending on what I have on hand.  I try to sneak in some healthy (monounsaturated) fats too.  Those are found in olive oil, avocados,nuts.
My kids are good eaters so I can give them just about anything.   My 4 year old loves yogurt in any form. She will ask for it several times a day so I have to limit her to 2-3 servings a day.  I usually buy plain greek yogurt and she picks from the fruit we have on hand, fresh or frozen, to add to it.  Sometimes we add granola, chopped nuts, she has even added sunflower and pumpkin seeds, not my idea.  Other times we make smoothies to have either as a snack or to freeze into pops.  Today she picked an apple and baby carrots to go into the smoothie.  I just peeled the apple and chopped everything up a little, tossed it in the blender to puree then added some plain yogurt.   I am used to cooking fruits and veggies before pureeing them.  We made our own baby food.  But it really didn't turn out bad.    If she goes to the store with me she like the little cups so I will let her get a couple that don't have high fructose corn syrup.  The 17 month old is liking the yogurt now too so I go through a lot of yogurt each week.

I take random pics of our lunches.

Another staple is chickpeas or hummus.  They love dipping veggies, pita,chips, whatever into hummus.  The baby will just bypass the dipping and eat the hummus plain, like with her hands, really gross to clean up.  They also eat chickpeas just tossed in salads, or in couscous.  I used to make couscous a lot more but the baby hasn't quite perfected the spoon thing and she makes a huge mess with it.  Couscous all over the floor is a pain to clean up.  Today I had some chickpeas leftover from my lunch so the baby ate them as a snack, plain.

  Last week I had goat cheese and they enjoyed putting that on their strawberries, grapes, and blueberries. The 4 year old likes salads too.  I usually use spinach as the "lettuce"  My 4 year old actually calls spinach, lettuce.  I let her pick what she wants to put on it.  She likes veggies raw.  If they are cooked, she is likely to turn up her nose.  She doesn't like them "mushy."
There are also the old standbys of cheese quesadillas, grilled cheese, chickenless nuggets, or leftovers from last night's dinner.

Now this is what I give them.  Of course when they go to grandma's or great-grandma's they get things like cinnamon rolls, yes for lunch.  My grandma gave them american cheese for lunch on Tuesday and they didn't like it.  She was shocked and asked me about it, I don't like it, so I don't buy it.  I usually give them cheddar or string cheese.

So that's what we are eating here.  And know you know we are a vegetarian, make our own baby food,cloth diapering family:)

About last week..

Where did the week go?  Yup, I managed to get in all my runs and cross train.  Yay me! It has been super hot here.  It is 8:15 PM as I write this and look at this temp:

93°F
Feels Like: 109°

The heat index got as high as 114 today.  Yuck! So thankful for central air in this house.  When we moved in there was only one window unit.


This was my workouts for the week of July 4;
Monday: race day 1 mile race (7:06)

Tuesday:Rest

Wednesday: ran with single stroller, made it 3 miles before the baby started to get upset.  I finished up at 3.6 miles.

Thursday: ran with single again only had 3 miles on the plan then added in some cross training later.

Friday: cross training

Saturday:  5 miles after I worked the night shift. I felt like a rockstar getting that one done.

Sunday: I didn't make it out yesterday until morning nap time.  Ugh, it was hot luckily, this was a drop back week for me so I only had 6 miles to cover.  I drank so much fluid.  I refilled my water bottle twice!

Today was a rest day so I hit the pool with the kids.  Got to see a friend in from out of town and her kids.  The four kids played together nicely.  So sad she doesn't live here anymore.  She is also a runner and training to do a crazy Colorado Relay in August!

This week more of the same and continue to try and cross train.  Long run on Sunday will be 11 miles!

Can You Say PR?

Happy Fourth!


I did my 1 mile race this morning in 7:06, my watch.  They haven't posted the official results yet.  


P.S.  Check out the sticker they put in the packet.  Love it!

Week in review ramblings

This was a busy week for me.  I only had to work one day so I wanted to get some things done around the house.  I was cleaning out drawers, getting rid of furniture, making the spare bedroom into a playroom.

Tuesday I had speedwork.  The workout was 5x1000.  It went fairly well.  I did a 5:05, 5:03, 5:05, 5:08, 5:05.  I was fairly consistent.  The only bad thing was it was supposed to be short rest.  I jogged the 200 meters back to the start but would then have to wait for a couple minutes before the group started the next one.  Of course, I wouldn't have run as fast if I didn't have such a long rest period. I figure doing any speedwork is better than doing none and I certainly wouldn't be going to the track by myself :) I can't complain that I may have to wait a few minutes for the track to clear.  (There are 5 groups on the track at the same time).

I also went to an outside summer concert on Wednesday evening.  We met some of my family there and the kids had a good time running around while we got to relax and enjoy the uncharacteristically nice summer weather.  Of course to get there in time I didn't get to sneak in my run when the hubby got home like I planned.

I ran 3 miles pushing the double stroller on Thursday.  I went to a flat trail so it was much easier there.

On Friday, we had a rare evening out without the kids!  We went to see Eddie Vedder.  It was a great show,  definitely worth the ticket price.  Of course, when I got home at 11 pm, my 4 year old was still awake!    Didn't take long to get her to sleep.

Speaking of sleeping, she just left for a sleepover along with my nephew.  They are staying with my sister and her boyfriend at his family's lake house.  It is only about an hour away and we will be heading there tomorrow to get her but I am still a little anxious about her being away. I already miss her. The baby is taking a nap (and so is my hubby) so it is pretty quiet around here.  I know she will have a blast boating,swimming, fishing.

I ran my long run yesterday with my sister.  We did 9 miles on the marathon course.  We did an out and back so we didn't cover that much of the course.  It was hot, I looked when we got back, with the heat index it was in the low 90s.  And we started at 8 am!  I found my Nuun which worked out well.  I actually stuck a tablet in the pocket of my water bottle, so when I ran out, I just filled up along the route and put a second tablet in when I did.   I have gotten used to running with it now.  I drank about 50 ounces of water total during the run and still was down a half pound when I got home.  That is how much I was sweating it the heat and humidity.

Going to sneak in a short little workout this afternoon.  Might just do some core stuff.  I have a race tomorrow.  It is race #3 of the 5 race series I signed up for.  It is a one mile race which I think makes me more anxious than a longer race.   I think it is the run as fast as you can without puking for about 8 minutes part that freaks me out.  My goal is to go under 8 minutes, like 7:59 would be fine.  There are close to a thousand people signed up for this race so I guess part of it will be determined by how crowded and how fast those in front of me are running.  If I get behind a walker there isn't enough road to make up lost time.

Happy Fourth of July!

Any big plans, races this weekend?
Do shorter races freak you out?
Do you weigh yourself before and after you run to determine your hydration needs?