Carlos and I were up early. We went for a walk to Whole Foods to pick up my pre-run necessities – chia, banana, oats and nut butter.

Before heading out to brunch I got the final text announcing my training partner had just finished her first half marathon. She ran the Hartford half and did a fabulous job. I cannot wait to hear all about her experience. It was my first half marathon too so I have a soft spot for it.

We’ve joined  modern times and took our first Uber to the Chicago Diner, an iconic diner that has been meat free since 1983 and survived!

The Chicago Diner was delicious. Going out to breakfast isn’t all that enjoyable since I started eating a plant based diet. It’s cheaper and honestly I make a much tastier breakfast at home. This was a delightful splurge. It’s a good thing I’m running a marathon tomorrow!

Then a much needed walk to work off breakfast and enjoy the gorgeous day! First stop, a park to swing 😀

We walked along the lake while we searched for a Divvy bike station.

We finally found a Divvy station and rented some bikes so I wasn’t on my feet too much before the race. It was such a beautiful day to outdoors. There were so many people out. We rode for a while and docked our bikes across from Maggie Daley Park. There was a huge playground for kids (and adults I might add). I’ve been to a lot of playgrounds in the last 9 years and this was probably the most creative, family friendly playground I’ve seen.

We walked back to our hotel through Milenium Park. I was looking down from an overpass out towards the finish line. Seeing everything set up gave me goosebumps. I still cannot believe I’m running the Chicago Marathon. I swear if you had told me 10 years ago I would be running marathons I would have been able to comprehend that as a reality for me.

We went back to the hotel for a little bit. I had a few supplies to get like more blister bandaids, some gloves, and a throw away long sleeve shirt. The weather looks perfect for the race, but it will probably be really chilly in the morning. I ended up with a $5 thermal shirt and a $1 pair of fuzzy socks from Walgreens. They didn’t have gloves out yet so I grabbed the socks to use as mittens! I’ll end up throwing them to the side anyway when I warm up on the course.

We left in search of more Divvy bikes and we continued our bike ride. There is a 30 minute limit on the bikes or you get charged a fee for each additional half hour. We returned the bikes on time, but we were unable to find 3 bikes to continue on our ride. With 40,000 runners, their families and friends, and all of the Cubs fans in town the bikes were a hot commodity. We walked around the Shedd Aquarium in search of bikes. Unfortunately the next two stations we found were out of bikes too.

It was nearing dinner time so we caught an uber to Lou Malnati’s per Biz’s recommendation. Deep dish pizza for the guys and a bowl of pasta with marinara sauce for me. I keep it simple.

It’s easier on the stomach!  It’s an early tonight tonight. My race clothes are set out. I scared Carlos and Orlando with my anti-aging face mask! I am relaxing in bed watching a little Netflix.