3:19:49 Baby!!

I know it's not Monday, but it takes a few days to recover from being out of town. So, at long last, here's the dish on our trip to Chicago:

On Thursday we drove to Wauconda, IL --a suburb of Chicago-- to see the house Pete grew up in, and go by his schools, etc. When we got to our hotel they told us that Pete was the Guest of the Day and gave us a free upgrade to a suite with a jacuzzi! Whoo-hoo! I love giant whirlpool tubs, and hope to someday have a house with one (a girl can dream, can't she?).

Friday morning we drove in to Chicago and walked around the city before going to the race expo to pick up Pete's packet. Millenium Park is one of the coolest places I've ever been, the outdoor sculptures are amazing. In the late afternoon we were finally able to check in to our hotel. All the bellhops at the Chicago Hilton (race headquarters) and Palmer House Hilton (our hotel) were in Chicago Marathon jackets with special make-up Chicago Marathon New Balances, it was pretty neat to see the whole city geared up for one event. Also, since we were at the hotel for the Marathon, they gave us these packets with Balance Bars and Gatorade, and even our room key had the marathon logo on it.
Friday night was our night on the town --we had tickets to Wicked! I've been wanting to see the show for a few years now, and Pete was pretty much just going along to be a good husband. Well he ended up thinking it was fantastic! Our seats were really good and there is more than one twist at the ending, so we really enjoyed ourselves.

Saturday we really wanted to take it easy since it was the day before the marathon so we just walked downtown to the Magnificent Mile and looked at all the buildings and cool stores. We had a really good time at the 4-story Crate and Barrel and saw some neat things at the Lego Store. Saturday night we went to the Cheescake Factory so Pete could carb load.

Sunday was the big day! We got up really early and it was COLD. It was colder at the finish of the marathon than at the start, and the wind chill made it feel 10 degrees colder than it actually was --so it felt like it was 23-26 degrees! But Pete ran really well despite all that. He was 2 minutes ahead of his goal at the halfway point, but just 'hit the wall' around mile 20. Pete ran the Chicago Marathon in 3 hrs, 19 min, and 49 seconds --averaging a 7:30 mile...not too shabby if you ask me. So we won't be going to Boston in April, but Pete feels really good about his performance. New Balance had a great shuttle system set up so I was able to see Pete at the start, 2miles, 13.1 miles, 21 miles, and again at the finish. After the marathon we went back to the hotel and got ready to drive home. We had a really great long weekend and truly enjoyed our visit to Chicago. Here are some pictures from our trip, I still have to get the film developed from our non-digital camera, so check back in a few days for more shots.

Our Guest of the Day Certificate

Cloud Gate at Millenium Park

At the Expo - Pete in front of the countdown clock and me with the NB992

Friday night at Wicked (in my new boots!)

Pete carb loading the night before the marathon

Race day photos --look at all those bananas!