As a member of Team Chocolate Milk, I went to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon last weekend. My first stop after landing in Midway and taking the train into the city was to go to the Expo to pick up my race bib and my VIP packet from Teach Chocolate Milk.
My first surprise when I landed was that there is a train that runs directly from Midway to the city. I had made a reservation for a rental car and when I saw there was a train, and it only costs $3 to ride it I cancelled my car reservation and got a ticket for the Orange line! That was so convenient. Especially since I have never been to Chicago before. I am so glad I took that train because once I saw the way people drive in that city I would have not been a happy camper, especially on the return trip to the airport when I had very little wiggle room to make my flight home (more on that in my race recap post).
I arrived to my hotel around 2:30, checked in and dropped off my luggage. I left the hotel to walk to the Expo and used my google maps to help me find my way. It estimated that it would take me 45 minutes to walk 2 miles! I found that hard to believe and now that I know that I could have just taken a right out of my hotel to get there rather than the left and right, and left and right, and left and right (see the pattern here?) that my google maps told me to take.
What a mess! I did get to see some beautiful sights of Chicago; but there were also some dark clouds starting to consume the buildings when I looked behind me. I checked my weather radar on my phone and there was a decent size thunderstorm coming right towards the city. I started walking faster, walked past the Chicago Aquarium, Soldier Field and then made it to “McCormick Place”. Just as I was about 15 minutes away from where I needed to be the skies opened up and a traffic director told me to get under a bridge overpass for safety because of the lightning. Great! It was now coming up on 3:00 and I was going to meet a fellow Mickey Milers team mate Susanna Cruz at the expo and she was already there. I stood there for about 5 minutes and then snuck out because the rain had stopped. By then I was a drowned rat. I continued on the route to the expo, but ended up in the basement of the Expo building which is a big old parking garage, but there weren’t cars in it!
I continued to walk through this deserted area and decided I should video the experience in case something happened to me! I was a little nervous. Here I was a little country girl from Connecticut wandering around in an empty parking garage in a city I have never been to before! Finally I had seem some people. I felt a little relief. I kept walking to the other end of the long and empty garage and found myself in a parking lot. Now the thunder and lightning was getting more intense. I was lost and I was scared. Susanna called me and asked me where I was. I had NO idea! She asked for some help and I did see 2 people and they told me how to get into that building… I had to go BACK into the garage! Once back in there I saw 2 more people who told me to go inside the doors and up 3 floors and then I’d find the expo. Phew! I made it! I found Susanna and hugged her and checked in for my race gear.
I checked in with Team Chocolate milk and picked up my VIP bracelet and then Susanna and I walked around the expo, played games in some of the booths to receive some free gifts and I purchased a Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon shirt. The expo was decent. We stayed there until it closed because it took me forever to arrive! But compared to other race expos I have attended it was a good expo.
After the expo we went out to dinner at the Cheesecake factory. The storms had passed and we were able to sit outside for dinner. It was a beautiful night and I was really enjoying my time with Susanna. This is what I love about racing. It’s not just the races, it’s the friendships you make at each event. After dinner she gave me a tour of the city and we walked around at Millennium Park. I was blown away by the beauty of the city, the cleanliness and how their park was such a welcoming atmosphere for families to come and walk around, play mini golf, enjoy a symphony at their outdoor theater while sitting on the large lawn with a blanket and a picnic dinner or perhaps some wine and snacks. It was so beautiful! Especially as the sun was setting. There was a splash pad area for children to enjoy the water and also lots of art. Chicago is now my new favorite city. I thought I loved NYC, but I’m sorry, there is something special about Chicago.
We said goodbye to each other around 9:00 after she dropped me off at my hotel and I went to my room to say goodnight to my family and start to lay out my gear for the race. It was a fun and exciting time, even if I was only just there for a few hours. I was loving every minute of it!
Stay tuned for the race recap in my next blog post!
As a member of Team Chocolate Milk I was given a free race entry to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicago Half Marathon and running gear.