travel Archives - Page 17 of 17

I had big plans to write my recap of Chicago Marathon weekend on the plane ride home but then the obsession to finish The Namesake overpowered me. I knew that if I didn’t finish the book, my brain would just be useless over the next couple of days wondering what happens. P.S. It’s an awesome book, slow to start, but then I really enjoyed it. It was a great distraction from all the marathon nerves.

I decided that it would be best to spend two posts recapping my weekend in Chicago. This first one will be about everything aside from the race and the second will just be about the race. It was such an awesome weekend and I wouldn’t do it justice combining the two.

Josh and I landed on Thursday late afternoon in Chicago and immediately took a train to the hotel to meet his parents who arrived earlier in the day. We were staying at the Palmer House Hilton, which is in the heart of downtown and so close to the start and finish of the marathon (that’s the reason I picked it!). Thursday evening was pretty low-key, we went to dinner and then planned our next couple of days out.

entrance to the expo

Friday morning, we had breakfast and first stop was the marathon expo. I know how the expo can really suck you in and I wanted to get it out-of-the-way as soon as possible. It was convenient for us to walk about 15 minutes to another Hilton (the official race headquarters hotel) and take the free shuttle from there. The expo is located at McCormick Place, which I learned is the largest convention center in North America. The entire experience at the expo was really organized. I’ve been to the NYC Marathon expo twice and then smaller city marathon expos — Miami, Philadelphia, and New Jersey and I had a hunch that Chicago would be much more like the NYC experience. It was that and better. They scanned my registration information to enter the expo and by the time I got to the bib pickup area, they already had my bib ready! After that, I was free to roam. T-shirt pick up was next and then we had a blast exploring. The layout was spacious and I think that really made the big difference between NYC and Chicago. We spent the next 1.5 hours getting free samples (everyone but me, I was too afraid to upset my stomach) and other goodies (this I could do!). I stopped by the Nike pacers section and had to wait over 20 minutes to learn that the corral I was in didn’t have a pacer for my goal time. The 3:55 pacer was in Corral D (and I was in F, but in another wave, so a 30 minute start later) and in Corral F, there were 3:40, 3:50, and 4:00 pacers. I didn’t really understand why the pacers weren’t set up in time order based on the waves and corrals.

Nuun’s social media strategy successes – #marathonmonth

Pritzker Music Pavilion in Millennium Park

Next up was some sightseeing. We spent a bit of time in Millennium Park exploring Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Cloud Gate (aka the Bean), and Crown Fountain. I’m beyond in love with all the cool exhibits in the park. For dinner that evening we met up with my teammates, Tania and Julio for deep dish pizza at Giordano’s, yum! After dinner, we saw Amazing Grace, a pre-Broadway World Premiere musical. The show was in its second night and I honestly had really low expectations. After donating to Roundabout Theater this year, we’ve seen many shows and have even more lined up for the rest of the year. However, I really enjoyed Amazing Grace. The plot was interesting and of course, there was a romance twist.

I was like a kid in a candy store

amazing

resting my legs

Crown Fountain

yum

Lake Michigan and Willis Tower in the background

Saturday was a big day and in some ways, I wonder if we planned too much (more to come about this in the race recap). I started the day with my shakeout run with James. Grant Park was closed for marathon setup, so we ran by Lake Michigan and the views were breathtaking and it was so cool to be surrounded by all the marathoners doing the same thing. You could see all of the international tour groups meeting up for their runs and just many others all prepping for the next day. Afterwards, we all grabbed breakfast and went to the Art Institute of Chicago. Marathoners were allowed a free entry for themselves and a guest. With the help of Tania and Julio, we all made it in for free. The museum felt so much more manageable than anything we’ve been to in NYC or Paris even though we didn’t end up making it to every exhibit. I would definitely come back again, perhaps, another time when I would be more willing to walk more! Later that same day, we went on the Chicago Architecture Foundation river cruise. It was so cool to see all the diversity of the architecture through the city. It was also neat being on the river seeing more of the skyline. I highly recommend the Art Institute and the river cruise if you’re in Chicago. We had our carb loading pre-marathon dinner that night at the official marathon pasta party at The Plaza at Millennium Park. Perhaps, I should have guessed that the dinner would be outdoors but we had no idea until we arrived, nervous to find that we would eating outside for the next hour to two. The food was great but I really wish that there had been heaters or if it were more clear that we would be outdoors. After dinner, we all turned in for an early night which worked out great to help prepare and get our stuff ready for the next day.

Chagall exhibit at the Art Institute

river cruise

a little cold at the pasta dinner

We spent the rest of Saturday night preparing the spots that Josh and his family would watch me from, catching up with a few friends and their well wishes, and just getting all of my gear together. For the first time before a marathon, I was in bed by and asleep before 10PM.

What happens next? To be continued…!

I’ve decided that traveling for work is never really easy. You’re uprooted from your weekly routine and usually work hours are much longer while away than they are while in the office. It’s especially worst when you’re marathon training and in the last week before the taper period.

Two weeks ago, I went to Indianapolis for three nights and was fretting about my running and eating schedule. Fortunately with a little preparation, I was able to maintain a decent diet and fit in two planned runs. Some pointers I found that worked for me are:

–Monitor the weather for the city you’re going to. In my case, I was lucky that the weather was nice and breezy so I didn’t have to wake up too early to run outside.
–Pack light. I am not a light packer but I’ve found that when I overpack especially for a couple of days, I get overwhelmed when deciding what to wear. For this trip, I packed one pair of running shoes (even though I would have alternated between two if I were at home) and just enough running clothes.
–Research running routes. Usually for big cities, you can find routes on MapMyRun or even Garmin (if you have an account). Unfortunately, since I didn’t know the area too well and the routes for Indianapolis weren’t terribly recent, I had to dig a little deeper. Lucky for me, the hotel I was staying at had a running route published on their website and they gave me a laminated hard copy version at check-in. Thank you RunWestin!

Thank you RunWestin!

–Get a tough workout done at home first. My schedule worked out where I had a later flight on a Tuesday so I was able to get a sprint workout in earlier in the day. Knowing that I got one of my tougher workouts done and out-of-the-way, I felt better knowing I didn’t have to fit that in an unfamiliar environment.
–Plan your workouts. I mentally planned what I wanted to accomplish each day before I even left. Granted I only had two runs to plan for, so it was much easier, I find that it helps you know what exactly what you want to do in advance.
–The treadmill is your best friend. Book a hotel that has a treadmill, even if it is in a small gym. If you can’t run outside for whatever reason… weather, safety, lack of route, timing… knowing that there is a treadmill in your hotel will be a savior.
–Ignore your GPS watch. When running a foreign route, especially with a map in hand, I find that I am stopping a lot, either to take pictures or to make sure I am on the right path. That is when I just ignore the watch for pacing and just go by the distance I want to cover. There is no need to fret about pacing when you should enjoy exploring a new city.
–Take lots of pictures. I love exploring by foot and am guilty of taking running selfies but I was good about not doing so this time. I did however, take a lot of pictures along the way. It’s a great way to take the focus away from your watch but also to capture memories.

Picturesque route

–Find colorful meals to eat and pack snacks. This part is the hardest. Some meals are preplanned already and a ton of cocktails or socials you need to attend. Where possible, I tried to find an escape for meals that I could control… hence Qdoba and Panera, neither of which are the healthiest options but at least I could count on getting in carbs, protein, and veggies. I also always travel with snacks, my favorite are LaraBars (Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is the best flavor).

Qdoba burrito bowl with guacamole

–Travel in comfortable clothes. I absolutely cannot sit still, so even an hour plane ride is too long for me. I find that it helps to wear comfortable clothes while traveling. It’s hard to do so for work trips. To make sure I was comfortable on the way home, I changed out of work clothes before checking out of the hotel and put on something that doesn’t look too casual but super comfortable. If you’re looking for a pair of pants that don’t look like workout pants but are just as ridiculously comfortable, try Athleta’s Interlude Ankle Pant (they’re even on sale now, I may need to get an extra pair or two).
–Read a running book or something inspirational. If you’re mental like me, you’ll need something to take your mind off the fact that maybe you didn’t run as fast as you would have liked and/or can’t handle waiting at an airport. Fortunately, I had my signed copy of Nick Symmonds’ Life Outside the Oval Office. It was such an easy, fast and inspirational read. Nick is a clearly an accomplished runner but I really enjoyed learning more about his background, running goals, and what it’s like at the Olympics from the athlete’s perspective.

“Lounging” at the airport

Indianapolis Water Company Canal

Indianapolis was a gorgeous city to run in. I opted to run one day on a treadmill since I had an earlier meeting and was able to fit in some light core work as well. The next day I followed the route that the hotel recommended and added in an extra mile along the canal. It’s a very scenic route which includes the Eiteljorg Museum of Western and Indian Art, Victory Field, Indianapolis Zoo, NCAA Hall of Champions, IUPUI campus, and the Indianapolis Water Company Canal. The route is relatively flat with the exception of the pedestrian bridges and the weather was perfect for running when I was there. Running through a city is one of the best ways to see it and I am so glad I was able to do so in Indianapolis.

See work travel isn’t all that bad, right?!?

cindyruns

Category Archives: travel

Chicago Marathon Weekend – Part 1

Running in Indianapolis (and pointers for running while away)

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