April 2013 Illinois Trip

Last summer, my mom invited all of our female family members to visit her in Illinois this April.  A number of us are into being walking and/or running, and the last weekend of April is the Illinois Marathon.  No, no, we did not run the marathon (although Aunt Nesi did try to convince the passengers of our airport shuttle that we had), but we did compete in the Mini-I Challenge (a 5K on Friday night, followed by a 10K on Saturday morning).  Finally, the trip was here and five of us girls were together in Urbana!  

I debated whether or not I should attend after figuring out I'd be 6 months pregnant at the time, but finally decided that a. I owe it to myself to try and b. I could always finish the races by walking.  

We all arrived in Urbana on Thursday night, and hit up a frozen custard place for dessert.  Soo tasty!  I just love spending time with these girls: Amber on my left, Haley on my right.  We had a great time!

On Friday afternoon, we picked up our race packets, and listened to Katherine Switzer talk about running and changing the world.  She was the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon back in 1967, and actually entered the race using her initials because females were not allowed to race (you know, because our uteruses might fall out).  Not only did she bring me to tears, but really reminded me why it's important to do the things that make us happy and feel accomplished, even when others might think we shouldn't.  I'm getting emotional just thinking about it.  You can find out more about her here.

On Friday night, Amber, Mom and I finished the 5K!  Oh man, there was some sweat going on.

The churro's first race!  We ran the whole thing, and didn't even finish too far below my regular running time.  Which is either great or disappointing; I choose to think it's great.

Saturday morning, we all competed in the 10K, with Mom, Amber and I running it, and Aunt Nesi and Haley speed-walking.  We have our medals to prove it!
I'd like to send a little thanks to Amber, who motivated me to jog the whole race.  Without her, I would've been out after mile 4.  So nice to cross that finish line with you, Amber!

Yes, Haley, it's real.

After the race, there was free beer!  I didn't partake, but you'll notice that Amber stepped up to the plate for me.

On Sunday morning, we hitched a train up to Chicago to spend a few days in the big city.  Our first stop was the Bean, where Haley and I posed for a couple of photos before I met up with a college friend for coffee and baby talk.  So nice to catch up, Chelsea!

We did an architectural boat tour on Monday morning.  How beautiful is that skyline?!  It was a great tour, and I would highly recommend it next time you're in the city.

We hit up the Adler Planetarium for lunch.  Yes, this is a terrible picture, but look at Mom's glow-in-the-dark shoelaces!

The Field Museum is a must.  Here are Mom and Haley with Sue the T.Rex!

Thanks to my cute new matching robot ring, Mom and I won't forget our weekend.

What a wonderful trip!  I hope we can all do it again next year!