No show here

I went on a "date" last night with my L to go photograph the huge waves on lake Michigan thanks to Hurricane Sandy. I was expecting 20+ feet high waves and mayhem much like the photos in Pete's "Lakefront Trail" Blog post.

We headed out towards the Shedd Aquarium thinking there would be some great photo opportunities.


As you can see in the top right, there is a barrier in the water creating a "harbor" between navy pier (white area at top) and the Shedd (red dot). Needless to say the waves weren't quite what we were expecting.


The sunset was amazing!


There were some waves crashing onto the lower level by the Shedd- nothing more than what you'd see during a normal storm.


Adler Planetarium with waves.

The water was choppy, but nothing to write home about. I know north of Navy Pier the big waves were still crashing- the section of the lakefront from Ohio St to North Ave was closed. (for very good reason)


I'm thinking of dressing up CB for HOWLoween tomorrow since the dog food truck, Fido To Go will be in our hood. If we dress him up, he will get a free treat. He likes treats, so hopefully he can tolerate my costume idea for a few minutes.

Happy Halloween!

What are you (or your pet) dressing up as?

-I'm not saying what CB will be because I don't want to get you all excited for nothing if I don't dress him up :) I dont celebrate Halloween, but instead love the idea of the Day of the Dead.






- xaar

I want to go see the giant waves

First and foremost I dropped the "blogspot" from my blog address. I am now the proud owner of my own domain- http://www.Xaarlin.com
I feel so legit now :) but I also feel the need for a complete redesign... Not sure where to even start with that.

Big Bad Waves


The forecast for the next few days will include 50-60 mph winds as well as 15-20+ feet high waves which will be crashing onto the lakefront thanks to the FrankenStorm. The national geographic explorer photographer (aka crazy person) in me wants to go take photos. Im mildly concerned about getting washed away. Who's with me??

Running

This weekend I ran 2 times with my boys. The weather was chilly, but beautiful. I actually ran 12 miles for the week!


My ITB is still a bit funky & the ankle is almost 100%. I'm running for fun and that's all that really matters to me currently. I will start strength training today too. I'm a lazy arse when it comes to stretching (I don't do it at all- for good reason), core strength, and weights. There is so much benefit from doing these activities (minus the stretching- story for another day..) that I need to get with the program.


The sky was stunning Sunday morning...

This run brought to you by da Bears tailgating fans


Running in the morning when the bears are playing at home is risky... Since I ran down by soldier field, I encountered 1000's of people tailgating and cooking delicious things on the grill at 8am. Needless to say my mind kept thinking about joining them for a burger- I'm sure Cb dog felt the same.

Cooking!!

I made my favorite soup this weekend. It's the Hearty ham and white bean soup I found from Runners World a while ago. It's easy, delicious, and pretty quick to make.


I also made the Men's health, one pot turkey chili also found on the runners world recipe page.


Both recipes came out great!! Yum!

PSA
I fire roasted a jalapeño on my gas burner as a garnish for the chili last night. Basically I let the pepper sit in the flame until its skin was black. Then I peeled it and chopped it to top the chili. Lesson learned is- no matter how many times you wash your hands after handling a spicy chili, the oils will still be on your hands which will cause your nose, lips, eyes to burn each time you touch them. Even if it's 12+ hours later. be careful!

In other news, Yay Giants!

During the weekend runs, I also discovered my dog is a Chupacabra.


The shadow is infinitely more menacing than the CB dog.

Who wants to go see the crazy waves?

What's your go to easy winter recipe? next up will be French Onion Soup..



- xaar

Chicago lakefront, Beer and Turkey Trotting

Running

I ran a few times with the Churro Dog last weekend. The weather was spectacular as well as the view...


My ITB started feeling funky both times about midway into both runs of about 4.2 miles. I thought after the first occurrence of this at Fox Valley, followed by 3 weeks of Sloth that it would be ok for the Chicago marathon. After the CM, I had an additional 2 weeks of no working out and craft beer drinking and bam! The ITB starts being funky again. Why would this start out of nowhere??



I'm trying to avoid buying a knee strap because I think I can do some exercises on my own to fix it. After every run I do the "Myrtl Routine" which I think is helping. My hips were sore Monday after my 2 weekend runs, so it has to be helping right? I ran 3 miles in 25 minutes on Tuesday to "push the pace" and see how my ankle and knee would react and the ITB started feeling tight around mile 2. BUT, it actually felt much better than last weekends runs. The ankle doesn't really hurt much anymore but still looks a little swollen (to me).


I think fall suits the Lakefront trail nicely...

I can't wait to go back out this weekend and enjoy the cooler temps on the trail again.

Beer Academy

This Wednesday I went to Beer Academy at Goose Island brewery. They hold one academy each month and focus on a different style of beer- IPA, Stouts, etx. This month was "Barrel Aged Beers." Barrel aged could mean Bourbon barrels, tequila barrels or even wine barrels, or just a wooden barrel.


For $20, you get about 10 good sized samples of beer the Brewmaster has chosen for the event- I believe 3 were from Goose and the rest from other breweries. While sampling the beer, the brewmaster asks questions to us like "What does it smell like?", "You are hosting a dinner party and serving this beer- what are you making for the main course, sides, dessert to pair with the beer?" and people yell out answers to contribute.


Its a great event to get you thinking outside of the box concerning beer- its not just something to drink during football games. Beer can be paired with food and enjoyed like a fine wine. Plus, the brewmaster talks about how the beer is made- not like I'm going to start a home brewery but I can appreciate the beer more once I know the care and thought that's been put into it. Next months Academy is "Sour Beer"- which is the first academy I went to last year. I'm really hoping our schedule works out so we can go back and try out some beers we wouldn't necessarily try otherwise.

I'm Xaarlin on Untappd if you want to follow what I'm drinking.


Turkey Trotting

I've done turkey trots for the past 5 years and want to continue the tradition of running on Thursday morning.


For my Thursday morning fix I plan on registering for the Lifetime Turkey Day 5k I think this race took over the 8k that used to happen on turkey day.


I think I'll also register for the Grant Park Turkey Trot on Saturday too. My BFF runner Tribu is coming to visit and we haven't run together since the awful Hip flexor explosion/ Miami Marathon from January of this year. 2 5ks in a few days isn't too much right?

Have you had ITB trouble? Do you wear a strap? Or we're you able to over come it?

Are you planning to run a Turkey Trot this year? Will I see you at either of the 2 I plan on doing? :)



- xaar