I took an early flight out of LAX to ORD on Saturday morning. After landing in ORD, I hopped on the train and headed for the expo at the McCormick Convention Center. Before I entered the expo, I bumped into a couple of Marathon Maniacs. I didn't buy anything, but I did register for the New Year's Eve half marathon and the Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge.
Race shirt
As I was ready for the hike back to the train station, it was pouring rain. But I had my little umbrella so it wasn't a big deal. I got to my hotel, The Travelodge, in the Loop. I checked in and dropped off my stuff before heading back out for food. There was a funky smell in my room, but it was tolerable. The room was also very old. The trains were very close by, so you hear it about every 5-10 minutes. This is not a place for light-sleepers.
View from the hotel room
I stopped by Al's Beef to pick up an Italian beef sandwich. I took it back to my room to eat it while watching TV. It was pretty good without additional toppings, but next time I will have to add the works. I didn't want to mess with peppers the day before a race.
For dinner, I went out to eat a "cheezborger" at the Billy Goat Tavern. People rave about In-N-Out and other burger places, but I still prefer the simple burger that Billy Goat serves.
Billy Goat Tavern - double cheezborger
On my way back to my room, I stopped by the Millennium Park. Looks like they have free concerts in the park. There was a lot of people sitting on the grass with their picnic baskets. I would have stayed if I didn't a race the next day. I took an obligatory picture of the bean before heading back. I went to sleep after watching a little TV.
Millennium Park Concert
Millennium Park - Cloud Gate
Race Day
I got ready and it was only a short walk over to the starting village. I walked over to the Gear Check area next to the Buckingham Fountain. They were still setting up so I waited a while before dropping off my gear bag. I then jogged over to the portapotties to take care of business before heading over to the Cloud Gate to take the Fanatics/Maniacs pre-race photo. After we were done, I jogged over to my corral. I lined up at the back, but it didn't matter. Seems like there was miscommunication between the corral leaders. They ended up releasing 2 corrals at the time, so the corral behind me was released as well.
Pre-race Maniacs/Fanatics photo
The first mile felt good. I haven't felt this good in a long time. I took it a tad too fast as I ended up running in front of the 1:45 pace group. They didn't pass me until mile 3 when I finally slowed down. Most of the race I felt like I was overheating. The weather wasn't too warm, but I could feel the humidity. In the later miles, it started to rain a little so it cooled me down a bit. But my legs were tired and just didn't want to move. It was as if my shoes were filled with lead. I took a lot of walking breaks. My arms were also cramping up on the final stretch.
1-2: 16:28 (8:14 pace)
3: 8:58
4: 9:37
5: 8:49
6: 9:31
7: 10:17
8: 9:59
9: 10:16
10: 10:55
11: 10:49
12: 11:34
13: 10:44
13.1: 0:59
Finish: 2:08:57
Race jersey and medal
Post-Race
I really liked this course. It showcased a lot of the good parts of the Loop. I took it pretty easy in this race. The tendinitis is still acting up every now and then so I didn't want to push my luck. I also ran this race to qualify for the Rock Idol medal. This is seriously my last year with the maniacal racing schedule. :)
I picked up my gear bag and the rain started coming down pretty good. So I walked back to my hotel and got cleaned up. Then I went back out to pick up some food at Luke's. Much to the disbelief of the guy taking my order, I got two sandwiches. I got an Italian beef and an Italian sausage. I took them back to my room and inhaled both of them. :)
Luke's Italian Sausage
Now for the bad part of my trip. The people staying next door started having a very loud argument in the evening which lasted a few hours. I didn't report them or anything as they sounded very uncouth. It gets worse the next few days.
Anyways, now for the best part of the trip... the next day I went for a good steak at Chicago Cut Steakhouse. I wore a nice polo shirt, but I felt kind of bad wearing my cargo shorts with my running shoes. I felt like I was Charlie Harper. :) At least it was only for lunch. I ordered a salad, 2 beers, and a nice bone-in ribeye steak. The salad didn't look too fresh, but was okay. The Harpoon IPAs were pretty nice, refreshing, and hit the spot. The waiter was suggesting a red wine, but I stuck with the beer. I've had a lot of steaks in my day and this was one of the better steaks that I've eaten in a long time.
Harpoon IPA
Mixed Field Greens Salad
Chicago Cut Steakhouse - bone-in ribeye
Marina City Towers
Chicago Theater
On my way back to my room, I took a few pictures... The Marina City Towers, the Chicago Theater. Back in my room, I watched Ghost of Girlfriends Past. It had bad reviews, but I thought it was an okay movie. I then went out for a little walk to the Buckingham Fountain to loosen up the legs. I guess I was out a little late as I was harassed a little by some ignorant people making racist Asian sounds. oh... if they only knew just how "white" I am. :) Usually I just pretend that I'm deaf and just mind my own business. I took a picture of the fountain and went back to my room to call it a night.
Buckingham Fountain
And the neighbors got worse. Without going into too much detail... they made up at 3:40am. They were very loud. I had two pillows to cover each ear, but it didn't help. Eventually it was over. Next thing to buy... earplugs. :)
Checkout time was 11am. I was planning to stay until then. But the neighbors were getting it on again around 10am, so I packed it up and checked out. I swear they were shooting a porn film in there. I headed out to the Navy Pier. Along the way I took a picture of the Marilyn Monroe statue just outside the Chicago Tribune building.
Marilyn Monroe in front of the Chicago Tribune
When I reached the pier, I walked all the way to the end and around the other side. I was able to take some cool photos. I checked out the restaurants at the pier and eventually I decided on eating at Bubba Gump. They have vastly improved their menu since the last time that I've eaten here. I guess the company that acquired the restaurant when they went into bankruptcy have been making improvements. The Mama's Homestyle Tilapia was pretty dang good!
Navy Pier - the view south
Ferris Wheel
Navy Pier
Navy Pier - the view north
Bubba Gump - secret mango sparkler
Bubba Gump - Mama's Homestyle Tilapia
After lunch, I went to the AMC River East 21 to watch a movie since my flight back home was a night flight. I finally watched the last Harry Potter movie in 3D. It was my favorite out of all of them. Even so, the books are still better. Nothing beats good 'ol imagination.
I hopped on the train and headed towards ORD. As I was waiting for my flight, I got a Chicago style hot dog with fries from O'Brien's. Pretty good stuff. I could've eaten at least 3 more of those dogs. And thus ends my food trip to Chicago!
O'Brien's - Chicago style hot dog
1 comment:
Did you get a Pepsi at the Billy Goat? "No Coke. Pepsi."
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