My weekend turned out pretty good. I had a great chat with woman that has her heart set on qualifying for Boston. I attended Mari’s Halloween party. I capped it off with a good day of running.
Before going to Mari’s Halloween party, I had a great chat with a woman buying an assortment of energy gels. She finished a marathon two weeks ago and missed qualifying for the Boston Marathon by 54 seconds. She was at the REI in Schaumburg stocking up on energy gels to train for another marathon in two months. She thought she was crazy but I stayed silent while she talked. I enjoy listening to people’s stories and goals especially if the person is a cute runner. I told her that I understood how she feels about not making your goal because of my experience in at the Chicago Marathon. The Philly Marathon is around the corner and hoped to meet my goals for that race. She thought she was crazy after I told her my intentions. Before she left, I realized we were both running in the Hot Chocolate 15/5k on Sunday. I meet strangers common interests when I’m out and about. I haven’t been able to transition small talk about common interests into something more. I’m not talking about meeting my future bride. I’d like a circle of friends acquaintances to go do and share experiences with. I would have loved to know about her and maybe even go on a fun run.
I hope GOD has a sense of humor. If GOD doesn’t I’ll be in a world of hurt in the next few days. It’s been raining in the Chicago area for the past couple of weeks. I didn’t make my original costume idea as rain might have ruined it. Plus, I’ve been pretty lethargic due to school, work, and the rain. I decided to go as GOD to Mari’s party. How does one dress up at GOD for Halloween? Dress up as a regular guy in jeans, wear a green Chicago White Sox cap, and walk around wearing a name badge label. “Hello, my name is GOD.”
Is GOD is a White Sox fan? Yup. It’s one of the reasons the Cubs haven’t won the World Series in over 100 years. GOD wears jeans? Jesus was a guy who came from humble beginnings. Someone asked me what made me GOD. Her husband shot back, “Do not question GOD!” Awesome. TP harassed me all night about being GOD and to do things since GOD was omnipotent. I simply told her that GOD has faith in GOD’s servants. I asked TP how to play Cranium and said I should know because GOD is all knowing. Well, my team beat her team soundly. Need I say more. 
I think GOD has a sense of humor.
I slept a few hours before Matthew and Aimee gave me a ride to the Hot Chocolate 5k. We picked Art up at his place. I met up with Diane and her family at gear check. I took a couple of photo before lining up the race. It was slightly chilly and I was well prepared for it. I wore a long sleeve hoodie, shorts, and pants. It’s refreshing to wait with a friend that I can chat with, dance with, and be silly.
The Hot Chocolate was much larger than I thought it would be. Runners and walkers of all abilities attended the race. The race announcer asked all the walkers and those with strollers to head towards the back. Unfortunately, very few listened. Many of them did not line up in the right spot so most of the time, I ran in the grass and dodged walkers and strollers. I paced with Di and her family for the first mile. I left to run my race. I enjoyed running by parents running with their children. A parent with a CARA shirt challenged his son and daughter to sprint to a garbage can. A kid weaved in and out of the crowd to reach his mom.
I shot straight to the fondue line after crossing the finish line. I can smell the warm chocolate being poured and served. I picked up my plate and walked slowly to the Illinois Bone and Joint post run stretching tent. There were a lot of cute women stretching runners out especially a short haired brunette wearing these quirky glasses. I ended up getting stretched out by the only guy working in the tent at the time. Getting stretched out by a big burly man felt pretty good.
I’m all chocolate out. I ate chocolate, pizza, and these fried ball thingies at Mari’s party. I consumed fondue and hot chocolate after the race. They passed out chocolate while I waited to get a post run stretch, after my stretch, when I ate fondue, while I talked to Art, and as I waited for everyone else. Mmmm…chocolate.
Di’s parents were kind enough to drive me home. I fell asleep asleep as soon as I started watching the Chicago Bears game. I woke up about 4p and needed to complete my long day. I ended the day with a great 14 mile run and three mile walk. I didn’t want to risk injury so I slowed to a walk. It’s one thing to get injured while attempting your best race and another to injure oneself for not being smart. In Park Ridge, I found a home decked out in Halloween decor. This smartly decorated house even had a fog machine and sound effects. A family stood there taking it in. I ran by breathing heavily. I moaned a bit and startled the kids. What a wonderful night to end the weekend! How was your Halloween weekend?
thanks for that