Chicago Half Marathon

I'm a little behind, but a week ago today, Mark ran in the Chicago half marathon. For 8 weeks Mark trained for this big event and I'm happy and proud to say that he finished! One of the reasons in doing the race was the cause. BP chose to support Juvenile diabetes, which Mark has. We felt that the cause was the main reason in doing the run. We hope that eventually, there will be a cure for this disease.

It was a very eventful day, we woke up at 4 a.m. so that we would leave at 5 a.m. The race started at 7:30 and we wanted to be there in enough time to settle and prepare for the race. Luckily, BP had a tent there, so it was a great meeting spot for the family, if ever we didn't know where the others were, head to the tent and wait there. It was a lot of fun being a part of the thousands of people cheering the runners on. I've never been to anything like it before...it was a little convicting though, 99% of the people there were physically fit. It definitely made me want to go to the gym to workout. It must not have motivated me too much, I still haven't made it there yet.

Anyway, a cute story. The spectator's are very encouraging to all runners. On their bib, which is the paper thing that they attach to their clothes, has their number and name on it. As Mark is running he can hear people encouraging him saying "Good job Mark," "Let's go Mark" He thought to himself, wow, it's amazing how many people know me! Later, he realized that the bib has his name on it and that the people didn't actually know him, they were just encouraging him on. I was able to see Mark at three different spots, one spot ( forgive me, I can't remember the name of the street), was right by the BP tent, so that was nice, the second was off of Lake Shore drive and the third was the finish line. He finished in 2 hours 20 minutes, and he was absolutely thrilled to be done! We are all extremely proud of this event in his life, it has helped, both him and I to be more watchful of what we eat and to try to lead a more healthy lifestyle. He is going to join a runners group at BP, so he will keep up with the exercise, now it's my turn to commit to working out.

The rest of the day was restful...somewhat. Doug and Ann rented a hotel room downtown for their anniversary, so we were able to take advantage of their room. We all went back there for a bit so the kids could roam free, meanwhile Mark took a shower. Afterwards, we walked around, went to a couple of shops, ate, went back to the room, picked up Doug and Ann, went to the American Girl store, ate and then headed home. It was a long day, but a fun one. Here are some photos of the half marathon.