Ted’s first marathon. I think he is excited with a bit of nervousness in there somewhere. He has been icing his foot for two weeks and, as I sit here typing this post, he’s STILL icing.
His response when asked, “What do you think about Sunday’s race?”
Ted: “Try to stay injury free, it will work out. I got my fuel, I got my partner, …you ready?! You’re my partner so you can’t leave.”
Ok.. So I’m the partner and the pressure is on. We’re almost at the starting line, we’ve got to make it to the finish. This is what happened in between…
Friday: We walked and enjoy a little bit of Chicago. River walk to Navy Pier.
Chicago’s Navy Pier was already decked out for Halloween, sporting cob webbed floral displays, complete with head stones as Ted shows above.
We took in the nice weather with an afternoon snack and refreshing brew and light wine.
After the MEGA shrimp and Mediterranean plate of hummus, vegetables, and pita, we made our way back to the hotel for an couple of hours of pool, spa and feet up before finding the Mexican restaurant called Mezcalina.
The Yelp reviews were mixed so we didn’t know what we were in for but the ambiance was nice and the paintings made for extended and interesting discussion on our part.
The guacamole appetizer resulted in three varieties of guac. Classic, House special of peach &apple, and finally pineapple, served with a generous bowl of yellow and purple corn tortillas (thin and very crisp).
A very fresh, small salad followed and served with light, citrus dressing
Ted had, what he described as a delicious, juicy, very flavorful steak and I had Red Snapper on top of thin sliced potatoes, a side of white rice and grilled zucchini. The sauce should have topped the fish, I had it served on the side. I’m glad I did because the fish was much better without the sauce. The little bit I drizzled on, I quickly scraped off. The caper taste was too overbearing for the grilled fish.
It wasn’t too late when we got back to the hotel and watched the movie “Heat” with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. We laughed hysterically at so many scenes in the movie. It was excellent barring the very aggressive language.
An now it’s the day before Ted runs his first marathon. Saturday morning, we ran a shake out run to the starting line.
Ted’s in the middle of the starting line area, ready to go…but he has to wait until Sunday.
We saw our starting corral, ready to be put up and show us our beginning point.
We stopped for breakfast at a place called Wildberry Pancake Cafe. It was the best breakfast cafe we have been to in ages. EXCELLENT! The steel cut oatmeal we shared was perfect in every way. The EggBeater vegetable omelet I had was oversized but fluffy and light, served with fresh berries and melon. The pumpkin spiced pancakes Ted had, AMAZING! Service not rushed (even though there were crowds waiting), quick, and very friendly. Can’t say enough about Wildberry Pancake Cafe.
Time for the Expo at McCormick Place.
It was a short wait for the shuttle. Even though it wasn’t too far from our hotel, Ted didn’t want to put any more walking miles on his foot than necessary. We knew we’d be standing around, waiting in lines at the expo.
A lot of people but very organized and easy to get around. We picked up all necessities and some extras. Took photos…
Back to the room to give the legs some rest.
We’ll enjoy a gourmet Italian meal tonight, get to bed early and be ready to see 26.2 miles of Chicago on foot tomorrow.
How is Ted feeling about his first marathon adventure now?
Ted: “The same. Good. Still excited about participating. I’ll be more excited in the morning.”
Good for Ted because in the morning, my nerves will be on fire. 
Excited to read how Ted does! Gorgeous photos of Chicago. Have never been there. GO TED!!
Never would have thought of pineapple or peach and apple guacamole, how were they? It’s so great that Ted runs, too, and is getting into it enough to run a marathon. It must be very nice to share that. I hope you both had a great run today,
Hope it went well – I was thinking about you guys yesterday!!