New shoes, traveling news & tutus

What a lovely weekend. Yesterday I woke up early with my littlest one and hung out having coffee and a super yummy smoothie with cantaloupe, cucumber and fresh ginger before a nice warm 5 mile run in my new kicks. I always know when it is time to get a new pair, as my legs, knees and hips start to ache.  I love the feeling of the first run in new running shoes. It feels like running on clouds to me after running on depleted shoes for too long. Instant love. I have to give props to New Balance, too, as the shoes arrived on Thursday after I ordered them on Monday night. I am glad to have them and be able to run a few times in them before Chicago in one week. I just hope they are broken in enough by then. 

Yup. So the Chi-Town Half is only one week away. I'm really excited about it and the fact that it is state #14. I can't wait to run in the beautiful city of Chicago. From what I can tell, the route is all along the lake front area. I traveled to Chicago for work several years back and loved it. I was lucky enough to be able to hear legendary young adult librarian and author, Patrick Jones, speak at a symposium. What a rock star he is! I loved every minute of it and loved the city of Chicago, too. I'm delighted to be heading back there and running the city. I think it is such a fine way to experience a place. I am also thrilled to be connecting with two of my college friends on Saturday night! I will post some pictures from our mini-reunion. 
So, I'm basically feeling good physically going in to this race, although my lower back has been a little tweaky lately. I know it is just from my lousy posture in my normal day-to-day mommy role. I bend down a lot to deal with little ones, and when I'm not careful, I put undue strain on myself back there. I really need to work on posture moving forward. But overall, my running feels good, so if the weather cooperates, it should be a fantastic run in Chicago. 
I'm still not sure what I'll wear for this race, as weather this time of year is so unpredictable. I'll likely bring everything from winter warm wear to spring strip-down. We'll see on the morning of the race what wins out. Speaking of what to wear when you run, in the headlines this week, a woman was ridiculed by SELF magazine for wearing a Wonder Woman costume with tutu for a race she ran. Turns out, she wore the outfit because she was battling brain cancer and wanted to feel strong on her run. Nice job, SELF-ish! The woman not only has received a huge outpouring of support since the article was blasted, she also has received great publicity for her tutu making business, Glam Runner. I hope she makes millions and can stuff it to that magazine. What is so wrong with wearing a tutu in a race if you want to? I haven't worn any costumes to date, but if it makes you feel good and you enjoy it, why not? What ever happened to just having fun? That SELF magazine thing makes me want to wear 10 tutus all at once just to support the woman. I think I'd get too itchy wearing one for an entire half marathon, but for a 5K? Bring it on. 
Time to head back to savoring my weekend and getting organized for my trip. See you in Chicago!