Chicago Marathon 2014: The Big Race Recap

My race recap of the Chicago Marathon is going to be long, and I'll probably think of a million details I wanted to mention right after I hit publish (le sigh). 

Since it's been almost two weeks since the race I mostly just have feelings from different parts of the race and my overall happiness with the Chicago Marathon left so this won't be a mile by mile breakdown if that's what you were looking for. 

The morning of the race I was lucky enough to crash at the apartment my friend was staying at on Michigan Avenue RIGHT across from Grant Park and the start line. This was a life saver since I was staying on the edge of the city and would have had a long train ride to the start and was still sick. All of my rest, medicine, and homeopathic immune boosters must have worked some magic because I woke up feeling pretty good Sunday morning.

I wasn't sure how my sinuses would feel once I got running, but the lack of feeling like a congested, sniffly mess like I had been all week was a good sign. 

All my gear laid out-Flat Lauren is ready to race!

Chicago Marathon 2014 Expo: Before the Start Line

I still have so many thoughts about the Chicago Marathon so here's a little pre-race recap. 

If you missed it, read about how I took a walk break last week and Skechers great Breast Cancer Awareness campaign going on this month.  

My last training update discussed how I had gotten sick the week before the marathon. Unfortunately the day I was flying out, a mere 3 days before the race, I started feeling worse. I was tired, worn down, sniffly, and dealing with sinus congestion & headaches. I decided to get the expo out of the way Friday morning (and I sadly felt worse) so I'd have more time to rest later. 

I must say it was one of the most organized and nicest race expos I've ever been to! It also wasn't too crowded Friday morning, and there was plenty of space in between rows of vendors so you weren't constantly being forced to move out of the way for people. 

When you walked in they had a little photo op with the start line and a countdown until the race.  All I kept thinking was I had 44 hours to feel better.

One of the coolest things was how when you walked up to a row of people with your confirmation page you were given a number and directed towards another desk area with those numbers. As I walked up to my desk number, a volunteer said "Lauren? Here's your packet." Pretty cool. 

The only lame thing was that the marathon shirts were just plain gray Nike tech tees that said Bank of America Chicago Marathon on the front in white. Pretty underwhelming, but I suspect it's because Nike wants you to buy all their other pretty marathon merchandise.  

Walk Not Run and Skechers Breast Cancer Awareness

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Skechers. As always all opinions and thoughts are my own!

Seriously THANK YOU to every person on social media who gave me shout outs, commented on my last blog post, and who helped cheer me on before the Chicago Marathon. Reading all those messages from people who believe in me was what powered me through my the race after being sick up until the night before. More on that later but spoiler alert: it was GREAT!

After the marathon, even though I was really pumped and exciting about running more, I took a walk break. 

Yep, I traded my running shoes in for walking shoes this week. 

Staying active and healthy is clearly important to me. I truly believe it makes me a happier and healthier person inside and out.  Especially since my body was fighting an illness all week before the race, and I wanted to stay as healthy as possible afterwards so I could have fun on my trip, I decided to take it extra easy this week. That means no runs, no interval circuits,no spin classes, no Crossfit classes-even though I was itching to get strong again. 

Sleeping in, indulging in many beers & doughnuts, and NOT following a training plan felt great. It doesn't mean I was sitting on a couch all day though. 

 

How to Get Over Being Sick Fast: Marathon Taper Update

So I've been in taper town and everything was going great until I woke up sick yesterday. Yes sick, as in I'm supposed to run 26.2 miles on Sunday and I've caught a cold from my boyfriend.  Don't worry I already yelled at him!  

I also JUST realized it's my second blogiversary. The celebration will have to wait until after Sunday I'm afraid! 

Once I felt the scratchy throat and post-nasal drip in the morning I immediately broke down in tears. Tapering makes you extra emotional, don't you know?  My first thought was how I spent 17 weeks and all summer training for a race that I'm not going to run. Or one that I'm going to try to run and suck at/it will suck. I'm going back and forth between telling myself I'll be fine by Sunday and the race will suck.  Trying to breathe deeply and smile, most of the time though!   

ON THE ROAD TO 26.2-WEEKS 15-17: TAPER

Expo East 2014 Trends and Favorite Products

I was lucky enough to be able to attend Natural Products Expo East 2014 right in Baltimore a few weeks ago. Last year was my first time attending and was super overwhelming. Expo East  is a huge expo where brands and exhibitors come to showcase all of their products including brand new ones to industry professionals, retailers, distributors, and the press. 

This year I knew what to expect and made sure to bring a big bag for all my goodies. I thought it seemed less crowded on the floor even though I had less time to spend at the Expo than last year. I still got to try some amazing products, talk to great brands and companies, and leave with bags of swag. 

I left stuffed from samples each time and made sure to snap some photos of my favorites!  I spent most of my time in the supplement and food sections of the expo.

Pin it Party 6

I decided to join Lindsay's Pin it Party this Friday since I LOVE saving things on Pinterest. I've put together some of my favorite articles and recipes lately that I'd love to get pinned more!  

I have been trying to make my posts more Pinterest-friendly for all you people like me who save everything they want to look at later using the site!

Just click on the photos to go to that blog page or the links below to go straight to the pin!

Protein-Packed Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Since it's already October I know everyone is all like OMG PUMPKIN EVERYTHING but my love for bananas never wavers. 

So last week when I spotted a couple dark brown bananas begging to be eaten, banana bread was exactly what I was craving. I am always saving and pinning banana bread recipes because it's something I can't just get enough of. I used this recipe as a starting point and changed it to so it packed a protein-punch (and to accommodate what I had on hand!). It came out super moist, sweet, and delicious. 

Somehow my boyfriend and I made a whole loaf disappear in a matter of days. 

The only question now is when I'm going to get my hands on some overripe bananas to make it again. If you're looking for more foods to add extra protein into your diet check out this article. See below for my recipe and share! 

Chi Marathon Training Weeks 11-14: Tackling Long Runs in between Weddings

I'm really behind on my marathon training updates, but really things have been going pretty smoothly and now I'm in taper town! 

Oh and this came in the mail last week so things are getting SERIOUS.